Category Archives: close finsihes

August 9, 2020 · 1:18 am

Super Fightback Win by England in Test Match vs Pakistan

Valkerie Baynes, in ESPNcrickinfo, 8 August 2020, where the title runs thus “Chris Woakes, Jos Buttler lead England home in memorable fourth-innings chase”

England 219 (Pope 62, Yasir 4-66) and 277 for 7 (Woakes 84*, Buttler 75, Yasir 4-99) beat Pakistan 326 (Masood 156, Azam 69, Broad 3-54) and 169 (Yasir 33, Broad 3-37) by three wickets

A fighting century stand between Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler carried England to a stunning three-wicket victory over Pakistan in a thrilling opening match of their three-Test series. Buttler’s gutsy knock of 75 from 101 balls in the face of mounting criticism over his place in the side, combined with Woakes’ new-found form with the bat, handed England an unlikely victory and broke their run of five consecutive series in which they had lost the first match.

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August 5, 2020 · 5:28 pm

The Fighting Irish down England in High-Scoring ODI

Matt Roller, in ESPNCricinfo, August 2020, with this title “Paul Stirling, Andy Balbirnie set up famous chase as Ireland hunt down 329″

Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie shared a second-wicket partnership worth more than 200 runs PA Photos via Getty images

ireland 329 for 3 (Stirling 142, Balbirnie 113) beat England 328 (Morgan 106, Banton 58, Willey 51, Young 3-53) by seven wickets

Ireland pulled off their second win against England and their first ODI victory against major opposition since the 2015 World Cup, with Kevin O’Brien, the hero of Bangalore, hitting the winning run after centuries from Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie had laid the foundations.

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July 13, 2020 · 5:19 pm

Jermaine Blackwood stands up for the Windies

Nagraj Gollaupadi, in ESPNcricinfo, 12 July 2020, where the title reads “Jermaine Blackwood writes history in his own way”

Dom Bess mocked him in the first innings. Jermaine Blackwood had charged England’s offspinner on Friday to hit hard into the hands of James Anderson at mid-off. Bess imitated swinging a golf club, as if out of a bunker in the golf course adjacent to Ageas Bowl. Blackwood’s audacity was not to the Englishman’s liking.

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July 13, 2020 · 4:56 pm

Test Cricket to Savour: Tests commence again with a Wham-Bang!

‘What a Test match to herald the return of cricket’ – Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara’s Tweet among the Host of Tweets: “What a test match to Herald the return of cricket. Steely determination from @windiescricket both @benstokes38 and Jason Holder have shown themselves to be exemplary leaders.
9:18 AM · Jul 13, 2020
Mark Wood floors himself as Jermaine Blackwood’s lofted drive beats mid-off

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November 21, 2019 · 9:46 am

Agar vs Agar: Ashton badly injured by His Brother’s Hit

Louis Cameron reporting at https://www.cricket.com.au/news/ashton-agar-injury-concern-bloodied-head-marsh-cup-wes-agar-south-australia-western-australia/2019-11-17

Ashton Agar suffered a laceration to the bridge of his nose in Western Australia’s Marsh One-Day Cup clash against South Australia on Sunday after dropping a catch hit by his own brother at Karen Rolton Oval. Rated as one of the better fielders in the country, Agar ran around** to attempt a straightforward catch off his younger sibling Wes at mid-on but slipped and copped the ball right between his eyes. With blood on Agar’s face, teammate Jhye Richardson signaled for medical assistance as Wes Agar immediately ran over to check on his brother’s well-being.

Agar walks off the field after copping a blow to the head // AAP

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October 24, 2019 · 11:08 pm

Sri Lanka’s Travails in Canberra … with Highs and Lows

Alex Malcolm, in ESPNcricinfo, October 2019 …. https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/19242/report/1204310/prime-ministers-xi-vs-sri-lankans-tour-match-sri-lanka-tour-of-aus-2019-20

Prime Minister’s XI 9 for 132 (Nielsen 79, Rajitha 3-21 Sandakan 3-21) beat Sri Lankans 8 for 131 (Fernando 38, Christian 2-16) by one wicket

A sublime 79 from South Australia youngster Harry Nielsen and some last-over heroics from Fawad Ahmed has seen the Prime Minister’s XI squeeze home by one wicket with a ball to spare against a rusty Sri Lankan side in the T20 tour match in Canberra.

Sri Lankan bowler Kasun Rajitha unsuccessfully appeals …

Dickwella in the dumps

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October 9, 2019 · 7:18 am

Bhanuka Shines: News Reports on Second T 20 at Lahore

News Item in Daily News, 10 October 2019

Sri Lanka’s match-winner in their series clinching second T20I win against Pakistan at Lahore on Monday, Bhanuka Rajapaksa praised the coaches for helping the team beat the no. 1 ranked side in the world. ”Not an easy task to come to Pakistan and beat the No. 1 side but the confidence from the coaches helped a lot,” said Rajapaksa after winning the man of the match award for his exhilarating knock of 77 off 48 balls. “Beating the No. 1 side, I would take it any day. It means a lot to me,” he said.

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September 7, 2019 · 4:22 am

Lankans castled by Astle and Kiwis ‘malinguered’ by MALINGA

Sri Lanka Innings

WIA Fernando…. b Astle …..6 ………..Over 6.4 bowled’m with a wrong’un! Avishka didn’t pick that up at all. It pitched around length outside off, turned in a fair bit and Avishka was on the back foot to steer it away after it turned away but it went the other way to knock over off stump 39/2
MD Gunathilaka ….. b Astle ………..30 …….Over 8.5 another wrong’un and another one beaten! ……This time it’s the well-set Gunathilaka. He pitched it nicely and slow with some flight on leg stump, Gunathilaka went back to defend it but the ball turned away and knocked over the stumps 50/3

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August 31, 2019 · 3:56 pm

Heroes: Two Number Elevens who hung in There till the Last Hurrah …. Fernando and Leach

Andrew Fidel Fernando, in ESPNcricinfo, 30 August 2019, where the title is “The near-identical tales of Vishwa Fernando and Jack Leach taking their teams to epic wins”

On a warm weekend afternoon, a left-hand No. 5 batsman is on a fourth-innings warpath for the ages. There are fearsome quicks tearing in – bowlers who together form one of the most lethal attacks on the planet. They are breaking like waves but they can’t quench this inferno. The batsman is cutting, hacking, driving and reverse-bludgeoning his way through incredible odds. On the leg side, it’s open season. The area beyond the boundary is bombarded repeatedly. From the ground first, and later, thrillingly, from the air.

Heartbeats around the planet have quickened on his account. Shallow breaths are being drawn all through the stadium. But although he is batting better than he (or perhaps anyone) ever has, late in the piece, he must endure a moment of utter helplessness. Continue reading →

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August 20, 2019 · 3:11 am

Day 4 In Galle: Sri Lankan Opening Pair bring Victory into Sight

Danny Byrne: “Karunaratne and Thirimanne share a magnificent partnership to leave Sri Lanka close to victory”

I arrived at the ground a little later than on previous mornings after doing some preparatory shopping for a bird-watching visit to a rain forest after the conclusion of the Test match. I found a pair of plastic sandals in a sale for 600 Rupees and a bag of table salt in Food City set me back a further 125. When I climbed up to the first floor of the Galle CC Stand at 9.30 am the outfield was completely covered in tarpaulins. In less than 15 minutes they had all been removed by six teams of lads in bright yellow shirts with twenty individuals in each team. The umpire’s inspected the wicket and the outfield with the clouds distinctly darker than on the previous three mornings and play finally got under way at 10.35 am.

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