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Time of India
a day ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Batters' paradise? The Oval's last game had 1444 runs, 6 hundreds and a triple ton
Image credit: Sahil Malhotra/ NEW DELHI: An exciting finale to the five-match Test series between India and England is set to unfold at The Oval, with the fifth and final Test beginning on Thursday. All eyes will be on the toss—yes, it could be a crucial moment given the recent history at the venue. The last first-class match played at The Oval was a County Championship Division One game between Surrey and Durham in June, and it turned out to be a high-scoring spectacle. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Surrey, led by Rory Burns, were put into bat by Durham and went on to post a mammoth 820/9 declared in their first innings. Opener Dom Sibley starred with a monumental 305 off 475 balls, while Sam Curran (108), Dan Lawrence (178), and Will Jacks (119) also smashed centuries to propel Surrey to that enormous total. In response, Durham were bowled out for 362 in their first innings, forced to follow on, and then ended their second innings at 262 without loss. Poll Who do you think will win the final Test between India and England? India England Draw The match eventually ended in a draw, with a staggering 1,444 runs scored in total. The run-fest featured one triple century and six individual hundreds across both teams. With that in mind, the big question is: Will India or England look at those numbers and opt to bat first if they win the toss? Could the fifth Test turn into another run fest? IND vs ENG: Gautam Gambhir loses cool during heated exchange with ground staff at The Oval ahead of 5th Test A lot will hinge on that toss when India's Shubman Gill and England's Ben Stokes walk out in their blazers to the middle of The Oval on Thursday morning. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Brain tumor has left my son feeling miserable; please help! Donate For Health Donate Now Undo After four fiercely contested matches, India trail 1-2 but remain alive in the series. The visitors lost the opener at Headingley, bounced back with a dominant win at Edgbaston, and then saw England reclaim the lead at Lord's. A gritty fightback in Manchester helped India force a draw in the fourth Test, setting the stage for a thrilling decider in London. The final Test promises high drama, and the toss might just set the tone for what lies ahead. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
County cricket: who cares for records when almost every match is a draw?
Surrey nudged one point above Nottinghamshire at the top of Division One after they could only draw with Durham. There were five matches played in the latest Kookaborra round of matches and four were drawn. OK, you do need to bat well to score 305, as Dom Sibley did, or to declare on 820 for nine, as Surrey did, but the champions fell 10 (yes, 10) wickets short of their objective. So Rory Burns' strategy was, at best, suboptimal. Which raises the question: do such absurd scores in the first innings of a match reach and pass a tipping point where a draw becomes more likely than a win? I can't quite rationalise it, but it feels like it's not just leaving time to bowl out the opposition twice that counts, but leaving them a sliver of hope that the match is still alive. Perhaps the most damning judgment on the whole debacle of using a ball wholly ill-suited to promoting balanced, attacking cricket was offered by the radio commentary team at the Oval, who could barely conceal their contempt for whatever it was that this version of first class cricket had become. Congratulations to Durham, and especially Alex Lees with two centuries, but if so varied and skilled an attack as the champions' concede 362 and 262 for none, and cricket fanatics on the mic are tearing their hair out, it's time to send the ball 10,000 miles home. Or into space. Nottinghamshire also drew having come no closer to the win than Surrey, but they secured three fewer bonus points in doing so and slipped into second as a consequence. If someone had told me a decade ago that I would be writing about draws, record scores and bonus points, I might never have started this column. To be fair, Notts had a tougher ride than the Londoners, finding themselves three down and still 236 runs in arrears of Somerset's first innings. Cue centuries from Ben Slater and Jack Haynes, and handy contributions from Ishan Kishan and Lyndon James. But once a dashing Tom Kohler-Cadmore and a circumspect Tom Abell came together to bat out the match's last 40 overs, the draw was inevitable. Could Notts have done more to force a win because they will need them to overhaul Surrey, who know how to manage a run-in? Probably not, the match 'enjoying' three innings, all progressing at a tad above three an over. If the experiment really is intended to allow English seamers to develop the skills required to take wickets overseas, I'm not sure the 95 overs delivered by bowlers answering that description (for four wickets), nor Jack Leach's 53.2–7–121–6 helped at all. It's not often that you get two double centurions in one innings, but Worcestershire captain Jake Libby (228 in well over 10 hours) and Adam Hose (266 in well under six) did so against Hampshire. But, following on, the old hands, Ben Brown and Liam Dawson, batted for three hours to see out the draw. Evidence perhaps that the tipping point for a first innings is not Surrey's 820 or Worcestershire's 679, but something quicker and lower? So, in four-day cricket, do you ever need more than 500 batting first? Instinctively, I doubt it. And if you pull out at that score as a rule, you're not going to lose too many are you? The result that bucked the trend came at York, where Essex, having started well, fell off a cliff in response to Matthew Revis and Ben Coad racking up 169 runs for the home side's ninth wicket, demolishing the visitors' fragile confidence. Revis's 150 and Coad's 89 represented career highs, the all-rounder and the bowler completely upending the match with bats in hand. But, as the previous points attest, scores were one thing, wickets quite another and Jack White and Coad shared 12 in the match, the opening bowlers ably supported by the back-up seam and spin to deliver a crushing ten wickets victory. Both remain just above basement dwellers Worcestershire but will it matter? A pow-wow this week will finalise the structure of English domestic cricket next year, despite the fact that the current Championship season is well past the halfway mark. Honestly, what other sport would get itself into this situation? Runaway leaders Leicestershire have prompted speculation that they might already have the Division Two title in the bag. But I doubt it was in the plan to test that theory out. After a draw last week, they took a shellacking from Middlesex, the margin an innings and 127 runs. After Sam Robson and Ben Geddes had led the way to 534, the home side were eight down at Grace Road before three figures were on the board. A late rally helped them above 200 but, following on, the pattern more or less repeated itself. Two young Middlesex bowlers did most of the damage. Noah Cornwell, a left-armer pacer in his third first-class match bagged four wickets. Naavya Sharma, a year younger and right arm also in his third match, helped himself to six scalps. Is the future looking brighter for the longsuffering Middlesex members? Well, it's a start. Speaking of starts, Lancashire, under up-and-coming stand-in skipper James Anderson notched an entry in the win column at the ninth attempt. At 132 for six, it was another sigh and another 'here we go again' for Red Rose fans, but Keaton Jennings found a partner in Chris Green and both scored tons, Jack Blatherwick and Tom Bailey contributing too. Anderson removed both openers, but it was George Balderson who ripped out the middle order and, for once this season, Lancashire were ahead in the game. Ashton Turner was the century maker in the second dig and Anderson was soon running in with a lead of 512 and plenty of time, thinking this captaincy lark is a breeze. The other fortysomething skipper, Wayne Madsen, led the resistance, but Balderson, enjoying quite a match, picked up four victims and Lancashire were over the line and out of the bottom two. This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog
The Guardian
26-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
County cricket: balls bring bore draws and Blast needs a boost
The County Championship returned for its first fortnight of high-summer matches (there's another in a month's time) and it was much welcomed, as always, at grounds and online. Less welcome was the return of the Kookaburra ball, which is being used to help England players prepare to play with it overseas. It's a good idea on paper – not so good on grass. There were four draws in Division One. Call them nailed on or hard-earned if you like, I'm calling them boring. Perhaps batters need to be more positive: Essex scored 654 runs at Chelmsford at three an over and Hampshire weren't much better at the other end, compiling 453 at 3.27. Perhaps captains need to be bolder: did stand-in skipper Craig Overton need to set Warwickshire 377 (in 69 overs), a chase understandably declined? If the four-day game is using the five-day ball, perhaps an injection of five-day attitudes to the draw might be worth a trial too? It was no surprise that the one positive result in the top flight came at New Road, where champions Surrey steamrollered basement dwellers Worcestershire with five sessions or so in hand. Rory Burns can call on six international bowlers, supplemented by the very consistent Jordan Clark and the pace of Tom Lawes, in for Dan Worrall. They're not all going to have an off-day are they? It was Clark and Matt Fisher who led the way in bowling out the hosts for 214 in their first dig and Fisher (again) and Nathan Smith who hogged the wickets second time round, Worcestershire mustering just 125. Surrey are now two points behind leaders Nottinghamshire, who drew against Yorkshire, just 20 wickets falling to bowlers across four days at Trent Bridge. Slightly against history, there was much more enterprise shown in Division Two, especially at Bristol, where emotions were still very raw after the untimely death of David 'Syd' Lawrence, an icon of Gloucestershire cricket – and beyond the West Country too. With a daddy hundred of his own and another from Graeme van Buuren, Cameron Bancroft declared well past 500, setting Derbyshire 316. The visitors, tucked in behind runaway leaders Leicestershire, need wins if they want to secure the second promotion slot and they went off like a Brunel express train. An opening stand of 177 in 31.3 overs set up the victory chance, but Harry Came and Caleb Jewell fell in swift succession and van Buuren was back to torment them, this time with the ball and Derbyshire fell 19 runs short, eight wickets down. A fine match, a worthy draw. After two first innings, each of 400+ characterised by late middle-order runs, Toby Roland-Jones declared at Wantage Road to set Northamptonshire 311 for the win, Middlesex with 73 overs to take the 10 wickets. But he ran into a perfect storm of two centurions (Luke Procter and James Sales) and drops where the catches that win matches should have been. Both sides needed to put together a run of wins to grab what looks like one available promotion slot, so a declaration that opened up the game made perfect sense. In the past, Roland-Jones would have been castigated for losing after a declaration, but I hope we live in more enlightened times. I hope too that should the same circumstance arise in Middlesex's next match, he does the same thing. Sometimes the winners win much more than the losers lose. In the T20 Blast North Group, despite two consecutive defeats, Northamptonshire still enjoy a four-point lead at the top, with Lancashire, Leicestershire and Durham occupying the other qualification spots. Only Derbyshire and Yorkshire look out of it as the competition pauses for some high-summer red-ball cricket. It's a similar picture down south, with Somerset leading Surrey, Sussex and Kent, with Essex tailed off and reigning champions Gloucestershire, despite two wins on the bounce, needing snookers. I'd like to suggest making this break more meaningful, more natural, perhaps splitting into Trophy and Shield competitions, but it seems that it's all changing again soon. Can't The Problem Of The English Domestic Cricket Season be given to some bright MBA students as a case study and then make their pitches public for us to have a squint? Their ideas would surely be better than the miasma of compromise the suits usually come up with and foist on us for five years, before deciding that they need even more money and rip it up again. It would be easy to say that England has so much history that it can be complacent about it, ignoring its potential. But India is hardly short of history either, and the IPL has done much more to create a sense of heritage for what was once an upstart tournament. You can't open Cricinfo or social media without seeing stories such as 'Which teenager has the best strike rate in death overs in IPL history?' or 'Which batter has hit a six and a four off consecutive deliveries and been out next ball most often for the Bangalore Balladeers?' As shown by the Ploughman's lunch – both the meal and the film – history can be conjured from thin air and then used as a powerful marketing tool. English cricket should trade more off the oldest professional T20 tournament and less off a format ignored by the rest of the world (and plenty at home too). Starting now, every Cricinfo question about the IPL, every morsel of inconsequential IPL clickbait on social media, every meme marking MS Dhoni's 50th leg-side stumping of a left-hander, should be mirrored by whoever runs that operation for the T20 Blast. It shouldn't be that hard to do. This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog
Rhyl Journal
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Sam Curran steers Surrey to draw while Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire earn wins
Champions Surrey started 386 runs short of an improbable victory target of 418 and when Simon Harmer accounted for openers Rory Burns (39) and Dom Sibley (40), Jamie Porter's three wickets in quick succession – on his way to five for 88 – set up a tantalising evening session at Kia Oval. Struggling on 167 for five, England outcast Curran backed up his first-innings 80 with another mature knock of 77 from 121 balls before his dismissal sparked brief hope for Essex. Match drawn 🤝 We take 12 points from a tense game at the Kia Oval. 🤎 | #SurreyCricket — Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) May 26, 2025 Further light showers in a rain-affected day four halted the visitors momentum before Surrey's fifth draw from seven fixtures was confirmed after they got to 289 for seven from 84 overs. Leaders Nottinghamshire strengthened their grip at the top of the table, seeing off Yorkshire with five wickets on the final day at Headingley. The Division One pace-setters racked up their fourth win of the campaign by 163 runs, with Dillon Pennington making the running. Pennington, an unused member of the England Test squad last year, had two wickets overnight and finished with five for 106 as he prised out the defiant Matthew Revis, stand-in skipper Dom Bess and tailender Ben Coad. 💬"We've got to find some answers because as much as we talk and everything like that, it's about performances." Anthony McGrath spoke on Yorkshire's defeat to Notts and upcoming player availability.#YorkshireGrit — Yorkshire CCC (@YorkshireCCC) May 26, 2025 Yorkshire batted for 120.3 overs to show some grit but were finally dismissed for 299 when Mohammad Abbas claimed the final wicket. While Nottinghamshire ride high, question marks are piling up for the White Rose, who sit second-bottom of the standings with one win from seven, and have just lost captain Jonny Bairstow to the Indian Premier League. Chris Woakes claimed three wickets for Warwickshire, but they were denied victory by rain at Worcestershire. Worcestershire resumed on 57 for two and, while Woakes finished with three for 30, Matthew Waite hit 44 not out amid plenty of showers to help the hosts escape with a draw after they battled to 181 for eight. In Division Two, Derbyshire ended a sequence of five successive draws at Kent's expense, skittling the visitors before lunch to win by an innings and 14 runs. Mickey was delighted after the win over Kent. Watch the full interview ⤵️ — Derbyshire CCC (@DerbyshireCCC) May 26, 2025 Needing six more wickets overnight, they picked them up for the addition of just 90 runs as Kent subsided for 247 after following on. The writing was on the wall when Zak Chappell had Tawanda Muyeye caught behind for 55 off the first ball of the day. A knock of 49 from tailender Grant Stewart was the only real resistance as a cheap double from all-rounder Luis Reece and Jake Ball's injury absence helped Derbyshire to take the result. Rain forced Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire to settle for a draw. After Northamptonshire declared on 259 for six, it set the visitors 350 for victory and a thrilling finish was on the cards when Gloucestershire slipped to 214 for six before wet weather after tea ended the chances of a winner.
North Wales Chronicle
26-05-2025
- Sport
- North Wales Chronicle
Sam Curran steers Surrey to draw while Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire earn wins
Champions Surrey started 386 runs short of an improbable victory target of 418 and when Simon Harmer accounted for openers Rory Burns (39) and Dom Sibley (40), Jamie Porter's three wickets in quick succession – on his way to five for 88 – set up a tantalising evening session at Kia Oval. Struggling on 167 for five, England outcast Curran backed up his first-innings 80 with another mature knock of 77 from 121 balls before his dismissal sparked brief hope for Essex. Match drawn 🤝 We take 12 points from a tense game at the Kia Oval. 🤎 | #SurreyCricket — Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) May 26, 2025 Further light showers in a rain-affected day four halted the visitors momentum before Surrey's fifth draw from seven fixtures was confirmed after they got to 289 for seven from 84 overs. Leaders Nottinghamshire strengthened their grip at the top of the table, seeing off Yorkshire with five wickets on the final day at Headingley. The Division One pace-setters racked up their fourth win of the campaign by 163 runs, with Dillon Pennington making the running. Pennington, an unused member of the England Test squad last year, had two wickets overnight and finished with five for 106 as he prised out the defiant Matthew Revis, stand-in skipper Dom Bess and tailender Ben Coad. 💬"We've got to find some answers because as much as we talk and everything like that, it's about performances." Anthony McGrath spoke on Yorkshire's defeat to Notts and upcoming player availability.#YorkshireGrit — Yorkshire CCC (@YorkshireCCC) May 26, 2025 Yorkshire batted for 120.3 overs to show some grit but were finally dismissed for 299 when Mohammad Abbas claimed the final wicket. While Nottinghamshire ride high, question marks are piling up for the White Rose, who sit second-bottom of the standings with one win from seven, and have just lost captain Jonny Bairstow to the Indian Premier League. Chris Woakes claimed three wickets for Warwickshire, but they were denied victory by rain at Worcestershire. Worcestershire resumed on 57 for two and, while Woakes finished with three for 30, Matthew Waite hit 44 not out amid plenty of showers to help the hosts escape with a draw after they battled to 181 for eight. In Division Two, Derbyshire ended a sequence of five successive draws at Kent's expense, skittling the visitors before lunch to win by an innings and 14 runs. Mickey was delighted after the win over Kent. Watch the full interview ⤵️ — Derbyshire CCC (@DerbyshireCCC) May 26, 2025 Needing six more wickets overnight, they picked them up for the addition of just 90 runs as Kent subsided for 247 after following on. The writing was on the wall when Zak Chappell had Tawanda Muyeye caught behind for 55 off the first ball of the day. A knock of 49 from tailender Grant Stewart was the only real resistance as a cheap double from all-rounder Luis Reece and Jake Ball's injury absence helped Derbyshire to take the result. Rain forced Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire to settle for a draw. After Northamptonshire declared on 259 for six, it set the visitors 350 for victory and a thrilling finish was on the cards when Gloucestershire slipped to 214 for six before wet weather after tea ended the chances of a winner.
