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A bowler conceded 92 runs off just four legal deliveries as one of cricket’s strangest scorecards emerged from Bangladesh’s domestic cricket this week

Mohammad Isam13-Apr-2017A bowler conceded 92 runs off just four legal deliveries as one of cricket’s strangest scorecards emerged from Bangladesh’s domestic cricket this week. Sujon Mahmud, playing for Lalmatia Club in the Dhaka league’s third tier, gave away 65 wides and bowled 15 no-balls in an over that eventually lasted 20 balls. It meant Axiom Cricketers chased down their 89-run target in less than an over, in an innings that lasted 17 minutes, at the City Club ground in Dhaka on April 11.Mahmud’s bowling, it later emerged, was a form of protest against what Lalmatia alleged to be biased umpiring during the game and throughout this season’s competition. Lalmatia were bowled out for 88.”It started at the toss,” Adnan Ahmed, Lalmatia’s general secretary told . “My captain was not allowed to see the coin and we were sent to bat first and as expected, the umpires’ decisions came against us. My players are young, aged around 17, 18 and 19. They could not tolerate the injustice and thus reacted by giving away 92 runs in four deliveries.”This is not an isolated incident. Earlier this month, the daily reported a scorecard from the same tier of the competition that was manipulated to reflect fewer lbw decisions during a relegation play-off match between Kathalbagan Green Crescent Club and North Bengal Cricket Academy at the Jahangirnagar University ground. According to screenshots from the BCB’s official scoring site, there were four lbws at 11.55am, six at 12.39pm, and five at 1.32pm in the game on April 4.Screenshots of the scorecard from the match between Kathalbagan Green Crescent and North Bengal, at 11.55am (left) and 12.39pm (right)•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There have been several more complaints about poor umpiring in the Dhaka league system this season and in the last few years, including in the 2016 Dhaka Premier League which is Bangladesh’s main domestic tournament, given List A status.Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) chairman Gazi Golam Mortaza said on Tuesday that his proposal of letting CCDM appoint umpires to each league match wasn’t taken into consideration.”The only solution is for the CCDM to take charge of the umpires during the league. I also proposed that we pick umpires through a lottery, which will take place in front of both team officials the day before their game,” Mortaza told the Bengali daily . “But these proposals weren’t approved.”We don’t get any response from the umpires committee despite repeated calls. We have also requested them several times but to no avail. They insist that appointing umpires is in their jurisdiction, but this is not going to solve anything. CCDM has to decide which umpires will stand for each match.”The Dhaka league system consists of four tournaments, with the Premier League at the top, and the First, Second and Third Divisions below it. The top two teams in each division are promoted and the bottom two relegated.

South Africa have earned themselves an excellent opportunity to win the ODI series against England despite a century An outstanding, unbeaten century from AB de Villiers enabled South Africa to become just the fourth side to come from 2-0 down to win an O

The Report by George Dobell14-Feb-2016An outstanding, unbeaten century from AB de Villiers enabled South Africa to become just the fourth side to come from 2-0 down to win an ODI series after defeating England by five wickets in another enthralling, if error-strewn, match in Cape Town.On a couple of occasions, first as Reece Topley claimed three wickets in nine deliveries and then as England’s spinners provoked a hiccup in mid-innings, it seemed South Africa may buckle under the pressure of chasing their modest target in the fifth and final game.But, in the end, the class of de Villiers, proved decisive. The South Africa captain, playing his 200th ODI, made a sparkling century – the 24th of his career – to lead his side to victory with 36 balls remaining and ensure they did not lose the ODI and Test portions of a home season to the same opposition for the first time since 2001-02.It was not just de Villiers’ extravagant ability to put away the poor ball that made the difference. It was his composure. In a match characterised by missed opportunities and reckless batting, de Villiers was one of the few to combine restraint with his natural positivity.So while England were, for the second match in succession, bowled out within their 50 overs as punishment for some reckless batting, de Villiers attacked with discretion. And while Farhaan Behardien was lured into clubbing to mid-on and Rilee Rossouw, who replaced JP Duminy in the South Africa side, drove to short cover, de Villiers waited for the poor ball and was happy to play out a few dot balls safe in the knowledge that his side had plenty of time.That result – both of the game and the series – represented scant reward for Alex Hales. After four half-centuries – including an innings of 99 at Port Elizabeth – in the first four matches of the series, Hales became the fifth England player to register five successive scores of 50 or more in ODI cricket. The previous four were Geoff Boycott, Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart and Jonathan Trott. None of them had managed it in the same series.Here Hales, with his second and highest ODI century, was the only man to reach 30 as England failed to exploit a frenetic display in the field from South Africa and failed to show the composure required on a pitch offering the bowlers some assistance. It helped Hales finish the series as the leading run-scorer on either side (he amassed 383 runs at an average of 76.60) but he lacked the support to earn England a commanding position.The frustration, from an England perspective, will be that South Africa did not bowl especially well. With de Villiers winning an important toss – rain had kept the pitch under covers until about 30 minutes before the start of an overcast morning – the bowlers benefited from some assistance.AB de Villiers recorded his 24th ODI hundred•Getty Images

But instead of maintaining a tight off stump line and full length, they instead unleashed a barrage of short deliveries and struggled to maintain the tight line that might have brought them greater rewards. Chris Morris, while the quickest of the attack, also conceded four of the 11 wides.Imran Tahir, introduced into the attack in just the fifth over, trapped Jason Roy – beaten a leg break that gripped and hit him on the back leg – with his sixth delivery, while Joe Root was unable to punish Hashim Amla for dropping him on 12 and was adjudged leg before, after a review, when he missed an attempted sweep against the same bowler. Eoin Morgan’s modest series with the bat – he averaged 12.80 – ended when he gave himself room and could only edge a wide delivery outside off stump.While Ben Stokes and Hales were putting on 70 in 11 overs, it appeared South Africa may have squandered their opportunity. But when Stokes, moving across his stumps, was bowled round his legs by Kagiso Rabada, it precipitated a decline that saw England lose five wickets for 37 runs in nine overs in mid-innings.Jos Buttler, beautifully set up by a field that suggested a short ball, was slow to react to the full ball that followed from Rabada and played on, before Moeen Ali, attempting to hit over the top when the situation – with more than 15 overs remaining – required retrenchment, was brilliantly caught at cover. Chris Woakes chipped a half-volley outside leg stump directly to the fielder on the fine leg fence and Adil Rashid then attempted to clear the in field – an unnecessary risk with so much of the innings remaining – and gifted a simple catch to mid-off.Not for the first time, the thought occurred that, for all England’s admirable dynamism and boldness in recent times – and it is worth remembering that is exactly 12 months since they produced a timid performance in their opening match of the World Cup – it might prove rather more successful if it was allied to some common sense and match awareness.On this surface, a total of 280 may well have proved enough, but in attempting to score 320, they left themselves requiring a miracle. They were, once again, the Blackjack player that keeps saying ‘hit me’ until they have a perfect 21. A more sophisticated approach may serve them better.Hales, once again showing the maturity to complement his natural positivity, put away the wayward deliveries – and there were many – with customarily sweet timing to keep his side in the game. Strong off his legs, strong on the cut and pull, he also drove fluently. The on drive that brought up his century, a beautifully timed shot, was reminiscent of the stroke that brought Boycott his 100th hundred.He enjoyed some fortune. He utilised a review, on 20, when umpire Johan Cloete thought he had edged a delivery off Morris – reward, as much as anything, for Hales persuading Roy not to squander the review on his leg-before dismissal – and reached his 50 with an inside edge that flew perilously close to the stumps on its way to the fine leg boundary. Twice more he was slightly late on yorkers, but got enough bat on the ball to squirt the ball past the stumps or slips.Within eight overs of the South Africa reply Topley had three wickets and South Africa were 22 for 3. Quinton de Kock was caught behind – England reviewing a decision that was originally given as not out – before Faf du Plessis was beaten by a beautiful inswinging yorker first ball and Rossouw mistimed a slower ball to cover.But first with Amla and then with David Wiese, who took the pressure off his captain with a thumping 41 off 32 balls, de Villiers kept his head when all others were losing theirs and saw his side to a victory that should restore some confidence going into the T20I section of the tour and the World T20 that follows.

Two young Durham players, Jamie Harrison and Usman Arshad, bowled their side into a dominant position against Surrey at Chester le Street

Les Smith at Chester-le-Street24-Aug-2013
ScorecardJamie Harrison claimed his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket•Getty Images

Two young Durham players, Jamie Harrison and Usman Arshad, bowled their side into a dominant position against Surrey, who are still 261 runs behind with seven wickets in hand after being made to follow on.From 97 for 6 overnight, were only able to add 11 to their first-innings total. Their tail was mopped up by Harrison, a 22-year-old Lancastrian whose left-arm swing and seamers are delivered at a very brisk pace. He disposed of Surrey’s last three batsmen, two lbw and finally scattering Jade Dernbach’s stumps, without conceding a run.It was Harrison’s first five-wicket return in first-class cricket, taken in his first County Championship appearance this year. Steven Davies, easily Surrey’s most impressive batsman in a poor team showing, stood firm amid the mayhem and finished unbeaten on 41, with his team 313 behind.Harrison was a satisfied young man at the end of the day. He suffered a frustrating 2012 when he was hobbled by shin splints, and has worked hard on his fitness in the meantime. “All through the winter I was in the swimming pool at six in the morning and ten at night, and putting ice on my legs,” he said. “That seems minimal when you take five wickets.”He has also put in a lot of overs, 350-plus, this summer for his club side Stockton and the Durham seconds, and the fitness dividend was clear to see.With an eye on the weather forecast and trusting the bowlers who had served him so well in the first innings, Durham’s captain, Paul Collingwood, enforced the follow-on and Harrison was immediately at it again, bowling Arun Harinath behind his legs for a duck. Rory Burns stood firm for three quarters of an hour but then Collingwood introduced Arshad and the innings took a new direction.Arshad, 20, is making his first class debut, and he looks very useful. From Bingley, near Bradford, he has made his way northwards and impressed the Durham coaches with his performances in the second team this summer.The absence of Ben Stokes with the England Lions has given him his opportunity and he grabbed it. He took two good wickets in Surrey’s first innings, then two in two balls in the second. First he had Burns caught by Scott Borthwick at slip, then he tied up Vikram Solanki, who was caught behind down the leg side.The day’s play was restricted to 23 overs by rain and bad light. The decision by the umpires to take the players off in the late afternoon was not popular with the sparse crowd, and the light didn’t appear at that time to offer any danger to batsmen or fielders. It became academic, however, when rain set in.Harrison said that Durham were confident that, if the weather stays fair on Sunday and their bowlers stay patient, they will take the seven wickets they need for the win. He is probably right.

With rain again playing the decisive role, Essex and Leicestershire had to settle for a draw in their Division Two match at Chelmsford

04-Aug-2012
ScorecardWith rain again playing the decisive role, Essex and Leicestershire had to settle for a draw in their Division Two match at Chelmsford.The adverse weather restricted the action to just under half-an-hour in the morning session, long enough for David Masters to claim his seventh wicket and the visitors, resuming on 336 for nine, were bowled out for 359.This left Essex with a lead of 75 but before they were able to embark upon their second innings, rain returned to wash out further play, stumps being pulled up shortly before 2pm.Shiv Thakor and Matthew Hoggard carried their last-wicket partnership to 56 before Masters struck to finish with a haul of seven for 60 from 26.5 overs to record his best figures of the season.He did so by finding the edge of Hoggard’s bat to Harbhajan Singh, who pouched his fourth slip catch of the innings. His success in that department was in complete contrast to his bowling where he managed just one wicket at a cost of 96 from 37 overs.It was the 23rd time in his first-class career that Masters has claimed five or more wickets in an innings, and underlined his liking for playing against his former county. Last year at Southend, he took eight for 10 as the visitors were swept aside for only 34 in their second innings.Hoggard’s departure for 28 left 18-year-old Thakor stranded on 62, his highest score in the Championship. Neat and compact, the teenager’s effort included three fours and a six but it was an ability to coax the ball into the gaps that was a feature of his knock.Essex, who had gone into the match still had slim hopes that victory would keep alive their promotion aspirations, had to settle for 10 points while the visitors emerged with seven on a day when only 5.5 overs were sent down.In what has proved a miserable summer, Essex have now lost a total of 1,677 overs in the County Championship due to the weather and close on 2,000 overs if the Clydesdale Bank 40 and Friends Life t20 competitions are also taken into account.

West Indies and Guyana umpire Clyde Duncan has died in Trinidad, where he had been undergoing treatment for cancer

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2011Clyde Duncan, the West Indies umpire, died in Trinidad, where he had been undergoing treatment for cancer. Duncan, 57, had officiated in two Tests, one each against Australia and England in the early 90s. He also stood in 21 ODIs and six Twenty20 Internationals, the most recent being when West Indies hosted South Africa in May 2010.Guyana Cricket Board’s president Chetram Singh said Duncan’s loss would be felt across the Caribbean. “Clyde has contributed so much to umpiring in the West Indies and Guyana,” Chetram told . “He was always willing to impart his knowledge to the youngsters.”WICB president Dr. Julien Hunte said: “It is with immense sadness that the Board has learnt of the passing of Clyde. We extend deepest condolences to his wife Fay and their four children.”Clyde served West Indies cricket faithfully for over two decades and was always humble in his service. He was a consummate gentleman, always kind and pleasant and he will be missed in the cricketing fraternity. The West Indian cricket family is poorer with this immense loss.”

Michael Hussey believes Pakistan’s batting depth will be seriously tested in the absence of Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan for the upcoming series against Australia

Brydon Coverdale11-Jul-2010Michael Hussey believes Pakistan’s batting depth will be seriously tested in the absence of Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan for the upcoming series against Australia. However, Hussey is wary of an “outstanding” attack that is likely to determine the fortunes of the side six months after they lost 3-0 in Australia.Younis did not play in that series but has been one of their most reliable Test players in the past couple of years. Both he and Yousuf, the captain during the visit to Australia, average over 50 in Test cricket and in their absence, the only member of the top six who averages above 40 is Umar Akmal, who has played only six Tests.”I think their depth is going to be tested,” Hussey said. “You take Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf out of that team and you’re losing two outstanding, classy players. That’s going to be a big loss, particularly in the Test match arena. It’s going to be very hard to find those runs that those guys consistently score in Test match cricket.”But their bowling attack looks outstanding. They’re very well balanced and they cover all bases very well. Run-making for us is going to be tough, but hopefully if we can bowl well and keep them under pressure, I’m hoping we can bowl them out for less runs than us.”Although Pakistan might enter the series with some confidence left over from their two Twenty20 victories in Birmingham, history is against them, as they haven’t beaten Australia in a Test since November 1995. During the most recent series in Australia, Salman Butt was the only Pakistan player to score a Test century, and only he and Umar Akmal averaged above 30.For the Australians, five men posted hundreds and averaged 50-plus including Hussey, whose 134 in Sydney helped Australia to a famous victory from what seemed an unwinnable position. He enters Tuesday’s Lord’s Test in fine form, having cruised to a century in the warm-up game in Derby, but he knows the challenge will be far greater against Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul and Danish Kaneria.”I feel like I’m seeing the ball well, but it doesn’t really matter in a practice game,” he said. “I’d give all those runs back for a hundred at Lord’s in a Test match, that’s for sure. The Pakistanis have an excellent attack, it’s going to be a lot better than the attack we faced up in Derby. It’s going to be a huge challenge.”At 35, Hussey is one of the old men in an unusually inexperienced Australian squad . Five of the 14 members are yet to make their Test debut, although Steven Smith and Tim Paine will wear the baggy green for the first time at Lord’s. Hussey said the youth in the group helped create genuine excitement ahead of a rare neutral Test.”In our team we’ve got a great mix,” he said. “All the guys love playing for Australia and you can really see it in their faces. Even Ricky Ponting at the moment, I think he’s loving being captain of the team at the moment. It’s a new team, it’s fresh, he wants to have an input on how these young guys develop as cricketers and there’s a real enthusiasm around the team.”

Pair’s unbroken stand of 268 sets fifth-wicket record for Durham in first-class cricket

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2024David Bedingham made his third Championship century of the season against Lancashire and also passed a thousand first-class runs for this campaign to help Durham take control of their Vitality County Championship match at Chester-le-Street.Having restricted Lancashire to 228 all out in their first innings, the home side were 367 for 4 at the close, a lead of 139, with Bedingham on 177 not out and Colin Ackermann unbeaten on 111. The pair’s unbroken stand of 268 has already set a fifth-wicket record for Durham in first-class cricket.The one positive aspect of the day’s play from a Lancastrian perspective was the bowling of the Trinidadian, Anderson Phillip, who took 2 for 86 on his debut, but it now looks as though the visitors will face a battle to avoid a third Championship defeat in succession.In the morning session, Lancashire’s last four wickets added a further 51 runs to their overnight total. Matty Hurst was run out for 90 after a mix-up with Tom Bailey and Ben Raine took his fifth wicket of the innings when he had Phillip leg before wicket for 2.Raine finished with 5 for 44, his best return of the season, but crucially for their hopes of staying in Division One, Lancashire failed to earn a batting bonus point for the third successive match.Replying to the visitors’ modest 228, Durham’s batters encountered their own problems against the new Kookaburra ball. Ben McKinney gave Phillip his first wicket for his new county when he played on for 8 and Scott Borthwick’s indeterminate waft at a ball from Bailey edged a catch to Hurst with the home skipper on 9.Bedingham and Alex Lees took Durham to lunch on 46 for 2 and the pair batted serenely for nearly an hour after the resumption, at which point the home side were rocked by two lbw decisions in eight balls.Lees fell to Phillip for 43 and then Ollie Robinson was trapped on the crease by Tom Aspinwall for four to leave Durham on 99 for 4. Bedingham and Ackermann prevented Lancashire making any more breakthroughs and Durham reached tea on 178 for four, only 50 runs in arrears.Shortly after the resumption, Bedingham reached his thousand first-class runs for the season with a single off Tom Hartley and it was noted that nearly a quarter of them had been taken off the Red Rose’s attack.But worse was to follow for Keaton Jennings’ bowlers as Bedingham reached his sixth Championship century in just 15 innings this season when he stroked Hartley to long-on for another single. The South African had reached three figures off 143 balls with 11 fours and a six and there had hardly been a moment in his innings when he hadn’t looked in complete control.Nor was there any point in the evening session when Lancashire looked like taking a wicket. For long periods, Jennings posted five men in the deep and appeared content to cut off the boundaries. The fifth-wicket stand partnership passed 200 when Bedingham pulled a lifter from Aspinwall through midwicket for four.While almost all other Championship games in the country were interrupted by rain, home supporters sat in the sun and waited to see if Ackermann would reach his century and if the Durham pair would eclipse the county’s record fifth-wicket partnership of 254 set by Ned Eckersley and Bedingham himself against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 2021.They were not disappointed. Three overs from the close, Ackermann got to his hundred off 165 balls and a new fifth-wicket record was set when Bedingham stroked Bailey to deep square leg off the next delivery.

Green says that the thinking was to win and put pressure on RCB, and not worry about NRR equations

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-20231:29

Moody: Massive step for Green in his IPL career

Despite acing yet another 200-plus chase, Mumbai Indians need Gujarat Titans to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last league game of IPL 2023 to confirm their playoff spot. If they don’t make the cut, their captain Rohit Sharma feels that they only have themselves to blame.Mumbai’s win over Sunrisers Hyderabad took them to 16 points with a net run rate of -0.044, and even though RCB have 14 entering their last fixture, they have a superior NRR (0.180) already. For Mumbai to have gone past RCB’s NRR, they would’ve had to win in 12 overs with the assumption that RCB win by one run.”We came with the mindset of winning the game and not worrying about what happens elsewhere,” Rohit said after the match. “What you can control, you can control and hope for the best. If we don’t go through, we have ourselves to blame for it. If we go through, I’ll give all the credit to the boys. That’s the last thing you want – to be dependent on the other results.Related

• Green century and Madhwal four-for help Mumbai Indians finish fourth

“Last year we did a big favour to RCB, I hope the result comes what we are looking for.”In IPL 2022, RCB needed Mumbai to beat Delhi Capitals in their last league game to go through to the playoffs. Mumbai, who were already eliminated by then, went on to beat Capitals by five wickets.While summing up Mumbai’s season, Rohit looked back at two games – against Punjab Kings at home and against Lucknow Super Giants away – as ones they should have won. Against Kings, Mumbai needed 40 off the last three overs with seven wickets in hand and a set Suryakumar in the middle. But Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis denied them. Against LSG, chasing 178, they were 92 for 1 after ten overs but couldn’t close out the game.”We did a lot of things right as we went along,” Rohit said. “We lost a couple of games at the start and won three on the trot. The crucial moments in the game that we lost… if I have to look back there are a lot of moments like that. The game against Punjab here, we needed 30-34 [40] off 18 balls. We could have played well there. Against LSG, we had the game in our hands after the first half of the innings. But can’t look too much into that. I am sure the guys want to do well but sometimes it doesn’t come off.”Cameron Green reached his century in just 47 balls•BCCI

Green: ‘Thinking was to just win and put pressure on RCB’

Cameron Green, who starred with an unbeaten 100 off 47 balls, also said that they were not thinking about the NRR situation. “Our intention was to win the game,” he said. “We were not going to chase down a total in the seventh over or anything to try to boost our net run rate. The thinking was to just win and put pressure on RCB.”Earlier, Green, who came in at No. 3, and Rohit added 128 in 10.2 overs for the second wicket. Talking about the partnership, Green said: “It was absolutely awesome being out there with Rohit. We helped each other through that. Chasing 200 you got to show intent at the top. I was trying to smack the spinners and he was batting beautifully against pace bowlers.”With me and Rohit batting, it’s awesome knowing you have got SKY [Suryakumar Yadav] after you. Watching those guys in the nets and then you have got Polly [Kieron Pollard] to help with range hitting. That’s a pretty good setup we have got.”Green smashed eight fours and eight sixes in his unbeaten innings. However, towards the end, with Green on 99 and Mumbai needing just one to win, he and Suryakumar refused to take a bye. On the next ball, Green hit the winning single to bring up his hundred.”When we had 20 to get, I just said to SKY, just finish it,” Green said. “We’ve obviously come here to win the game firstly, so make sure you do that. Then we had a couple of runs left, we just trickled over the line.”Green has spent the best part of the last four months in India, as part of the touring Australians for the Tests as well as the ODIs first, and now at the IPL. He said that playing in the subcontinent was “valuable” as prep for the upcoming ODI World Cup which will be held in India.”Getting exposed any time you can to subcontinent conditions – as an Australian you are not really used to how low the ball skids at times, how much it spins at times – any experience you get over here is so valuable for us who bat in pretty different conditions,” he said. “The past three and a half months I have had here is so valuable and hopefully holds me in good stead coming here again and I can pass it over to other guys who come over.”

Bonner racks up 123 in marathon knock as hosts build 62-run buffer

Valkerie Baynes10-Mar-2022Nkrumah Bonner played an innings of patience, resilience and reward to mirror his international career with a hard-earned century guiding West Indies to a first-innings lead over England.Bonner fell for 123 shortly before stumps on the third day in Antigua, to the elation of England’s bowlers who had done it tough on a benign pitch against a stubborn West Indies line-up. Veerasammy Permaul offered keen resistance to remain unbeaten on 26 at stumps with Jayden Seales yet to score and the hosts 62 runs ahead.At the age of 33, Bonner raised the second century of his fledgling Test career, which is only 10 matches old and began in February last year – almost a decade after he made his international debut in a T20 against England at the Oval in 2011. Bonner played just one more T20I, in March 2012, before eventually earning a recall to the West Indies set-up, initially in January last year for three ODIs in Bangladesh before playing two Tests on that same tour.His first Test ton had come at the same ground as this one, a similarly attritional 113 not out in a Player-of-the-Match performance in the drawn first Test with Sri Lanka. On this occasion, he batted for nine hours to lead West Indies’ recovery from 127 for 4, build a small but potentially crucial lead and put merciless miles in the legs of an England attack without – no, not – an injured Mark Wood, who disappeared to the changing room shortly before lunch having bowled just five overs for the day and 17 for the match before succumbing to an elbow problem.Bonner resumed on 34 not out and with West Indies 109 runs in arrears, having helped haul the hosts back into the contest in partnership with Jason Holder after the tumble of wickets had all but ruined the solid foundation laid by an 83-run opening stand on day two.Holder fell to Ben Stokes – and his own indecision – early on the third day, adding just two runs to his overnight 43 before making a late move to leave one around off stump and edged a catch to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, ending his union with Bonner at 79.Stokes almost had Bonner, on 40 at the time, attempting to pull a bouncer which looped towards midwicket, where substitute fielder Ollie Pope dived forward but couldn’t manage to grasp it.Bonner brought up his fifty prodding a single through the covers and he faced another 15 balls for his next scoring shot, launching Wood over the fence at fine leg for six off a top edge.He had a life on 73, when Zak Crawley spilled an edge off Jack Leach at slip, but reached his century off 257 deliveries on the second ball of the evening session, sweeping a Leach half-volley on leg stump behind square for four. Bonner celebrated with a relieved sigh as he embraced Kemar Roach, with whom he ultimately shared a partnership to follow the theme of the day – patience – worth 44 off 173 balls for the eighth wicket.But when Bonner nudged Leach to backward point and the pair dashed off for a single, they were chancing the arm of Pope, who fired the ball to the striker’s end and Foakes removed the bails with Roach just shy of his crease. Roach had provided steadfast support to Bonner, facing 89 balls for his 15 runs.Twice England thought they had Bonner lbw to Leach but they failed to overturn Joel Wilson’s decisions, upheld on umpire’s call with ball-tracking suggesting it was clipping leg stump on both occasions. Bonner was also given out lbw to Stokes on 121 but successfully reviewed after getting an inside edge.They finally broke through when captain Joe Root, running out of ideas, brought Dan Lawrence into the attack to almost immediate effect as Bonner feathered his fifth delivery to Foakes down the leg side, although it took an England review to overturn umpire Gregory Brathwaite’s not-out decision with replays showing the faintest of edges.Stokes ended up bowling 28 overs – with 2 for 42 to show for it – his heaviest innings workload since 2015, having only just returned to bowling after breaking down with a side strain in the fourth Ashes Test.Much had been made of England’s 12-match stretch without breaking the 300-mark before Jonny Bairstow’s century led them to 311 in their first innings here, but West Indies had endured a virtually identical run dating back to the second Test against Sri Lanka in Antigua last March.Their ability to forge partnerships was key as they passed the milestone on Thursday, all but the first one held together by Bonner, on a day when 171 runs were scored from 90.1 overs.His most-substantial stand of the day came with Joshua Da Silva, who wisely reviewed his lbw dismissal to Craig Overton when on 16, but there was no such reprieve shortly after lunch when Leach, who at that point had bowled well for no reward, rapped him on the back pad with one that skidded onto the knee roll. Da Silva’s review failed this time, with replays showing the ball was hitting leg stump, but he had already helped add another 73 valuable runs.

Sophie Devine produced a brutal innings to leave the Scorchers’ fate in their hands while the Thunder held their nerve in a tight chase

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2020Melbourne Renegades 4 for 169 (Lee 79, Webb 46*) beat Sydney Sixers 4 for 166 (Healy 63) by six wicketsLizelle Lee turned on the power to leave the Sixers with only a slim chance of making the semi-finals and needing considerable help from other teams to do so. Despite a century opening stand between Alyssa Healy and Ellyse Perry, the Sixers couldn’t make the most of it in the second half of the innings. In reply, Lee was stunning – after being dropped at backward point in the opening over – her innings including four sixes one of which was clocked at 87 meters is it went out of the ground.ALSO READ: CA investigates Sixers’ playing XI ‘administrative error’Lee added 73 in just over five overs with Courtney Webb to turn the game in its head, after the Renegades had been 3 for 70 in the 11th over, and though she fell to a catch in the deep Webb was able to comfortably see the game home amid a ragged fielding display which included Perry and Dane van Niekerk colliding as they both went for a catch. The Sixers were also without Hayley Silver-Holmes who was withdrawn from the XI midway through the game due to an administrative error which meant she was not eligible to play.Webb had earlier produced one of the highlights of the first innings with a stunning, full-length diving catch running back over her shoulder at cover to remove Perry which came just two balls after Healy’s barnstorming 63 had ended.That stalled the Sixers’ momentum and though Marizanne Kapp played nicely they never quite regained it. Healy, though, had shown the full 360-degree game she has previously spoken about developing, the most eye-catching shot of her innings not the four sixes but a reverse paddle scoop through third man.Georgia Redmayne continued her fine form•Getty Images

Laura Kimmince did it again for the Heat, launching 19 off 5 balls, as the defending champions overcame a wobble to put initially put one foot into the semi-finals before the Sixers’ defeat later in the day confirmed their spot. At 2 for 109 in the 13th over they were well in control of the chase, needing 43 off 43 deliveries, but Katherine Brunt pulled off a brilliant run out from her follow through to remove the in-form Georgia Redmayne and things got tight.Georgia Voll had given another glimpse of her talent with a brisk 34, including a straight six over long-on, but both her and Maddy Green fell to catches in the ring in the space five deliveries. Kimmince appeared to have sealed it with a massive leg-side six, but Tess Flintoff bowled an excellent penultimate over which claimed two wickets and cost just two runs leaving eight needed off the last. However, it only took Kimmince two balls as she smoked consecutive boundaries off Annabel Sutherland.The Stars’ total was built around another half-century from Mignon du Preez – her fourth in five innings – and after Grace Harris struck twice in the 17th over to leave them 5 for 117, Brunt and Alana King provided a strong finish as 27 came off the last two overs.Rachael Haynes picks one up over the leg side•Getty Images

The Thunder held their nerve in a tense chase against the Strikers to keep themselves well placed for a place in the semi-finals. It got closer than they would have liked, particularly when captain Rachael Haynes departed in the penultimate over to leave them needing eight off seven deliveries, but some scampering by Phoebe Litchfield and Tahlia Wilson then a boundary by the former sealed the match.The chase had started well as Tammy Beaumont and Rachel Trenaman added 44, but there was a wobble in the middle order and the Thunder were grateful for the experience of Haynes who made 30 off 23 balls.The result left the Strikers on the brink of elimination with a host of results having to go their way. They struggled for momentum with the bat, particularly through the first half of the innings: at 10 overs they were 2 for 51. Katie Mack and Stafanie Taylor lifted things – Mack bringing up her half-century off 45 balls – but the Thunder closed out strongly with the ball with just 11 runs coming off the last two overs.Sophie Devine brought up a typically belligerent half-century•Getty Images

The Scorchers’ opening pair, the fit-again Sophie Devine and prolific Beth Mooney, flexed their muscles to power their team to a crushing victory to leave their semi-final destiny in their own hands.Devine, who did not bowl following the back injury that had kept her out for two games, clobbered 87 off 53 with five sixes, one of which was a monstrous blow over long-on that narrowly avoided taking out two policemen and the last was a massive blow off Chloe Tryon to finish the game. With Mooney ticking along comfortably the century stand was raised in the 12th over against a Hurricanes attack that had few answers after Belinda Vakarewa limped off unable to complete her first over. The margin of victory, with more than five overs to spare, was also a boost for the Scorchers’ net run rate which may yet be a factor.They were excellent with the ball and in the field – Devine calling it their best display of the season – with Taneale Peschel once again impressive with 1 for 13 off her four overs, including a maiden, while Sam Betts removed the key wickets of Nicola Carey and Tryon in the space of three balls. The sharp fielding display was typified by Sarah Glenn’s direct hit run out to remove Naomi Stalenberg.