Contributions from Nat Sciver-Brunt, Ecclestone and Knight not enough as England fall short

Valkerie Baynes24-Feb-2023South Africa staged their best performance of the tournament – with bat, ball and in the field – to upset England and secure a place in a World Cup final for the first time in any form of international cricket – men’s or women’s.Their victory was built on a 96-run opening stand between Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt as both racked up half-centuries for the second consecutive time in this tournament before Marizanne Kapp’s cameo of 27 from 13 balls took the hosts to 164 for 4. That left England needing their joint third-highest successful T20I run chase and joint-highest at a World Cup, matching their 2009 semi-final effort against Australia.Ayabonga Khaka and Shabnim Ismail then claimed seven wickets between them – and Brits took a Women’s T20I record-equalling four catches to put the task beyond England and set up a clash for the trophy with defending champions Australia on Sunday. All of this had seemed so far away a fortnight ago.The hosts had lost the opening match of the tournament to Sri Lanka by three runs at Newlands, setting back their campaign and were also beaten by Australia in Gqeberha. But they defeated Bangladesh in their final group game to squeeze into the knockout stages at the expense of New Zealand. Back in Cape Town on Friday, they held their nerve superbly to pull off a stunning victory before 7,507 fans.Heather Knight and England came so close•AFP/Getty ImagesIsmail, Khaka the destroyersIsmail bowled with pace and guile in the powerplay – including some aggressive bouncers, one of which was clocked at 128kph. She claimed two wickets in that time, although England had 55 runs on the board compared to South Africa’s 37 without loss. Sophia Dunkley first miscued to midwicket, where Brits took a simple catch but it was Brits’ absolute blinder from the same position to remove Alice Capsey for a second-ball duck that set the innings alight. Cramped by the short ball, Capsey steered the ball to the right of the fielder, who ran towards it and dived, clutching the ball just above the turf as her team-mates steamed in to congratulate her – none more so than Ismail, who leapt into Brits’ arms.Brits took another sharp catch to remove Danni Wyatt and give Khaka her first after Wyatt had been put down by Wolvaardt off Khaka’s bowling earlier in the innings. It looked like it would fall to Nat Sciver-Brunt, England’s in-form batter, to rescue her side, particularly when Chloe Tryon missed a caught-and-bowled chance, but Brits came to the fore again with a catch at long-on off a Nadine de Klerk slower ball.Having also had Amy Jones caught by Anneke Bosch, two wickets in two balls from Khaka to remove Sophie Ecclestone and Katherine Sciver-Brunt in the 18th over left England needing 25 runs off the remaining two overs. Heather Knight’s six off Kapp helped make it 13 off the last, but then Ismail pegged back Knight’s leg stump with three balls remaining and 12 still needed. Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean managed just five between them before Glenn dropped to her haunches in anguish and the pair trudged off arm-in-arm as the South Africans celebrated wildly.The Brits and Wolvaardt show: Part 2After a sluggish start – South Africa scored just 14 off the first four overs after winning the toss – they started to raise the tempo led by Wolvaardt’s heave a long way over the fence at wide long-off. After the powerplay, they looked more in control as she and Brits followed up their unbroken stand worth 117 runs against Bangladesh with another key partnership.Tazmin Brits produced a second successive fifty in a must-win match for South Africa•Getty ImagesWolvaardt brought up her sixth T20I fifty with a four through cover off Ecclestone but fell three balls later to a leading edge gobbled up by Dean at cover. But that prompted Brits to flick the switch as she danced down the pitch twice in three balls to power Glenn over deep midwicket and long-on for two sixes. She brought up her half-century next ball with a four through the covers, helping herself to 17 runs off a pivotal 15th over. Brits eventually fell to a solid catch by Katherine but not before she had propelled her side towards a competitive total.Ecclestone keeps England in itEngland hadn’t helped themselves with a scrappy performance in the field, but Ecclestone’s two wickets in three balls – she snared the potentially explosive Tryon, caught attempting to pull but picking out Nat at deep midwicket for just 3 and de Klerk, bowled for a second-ball duck – momentarily derailed South Africa’s final push in the penultimate over.But then Kapp, the beneficiary of a misfield while on 2, cashed in first off a high full toss by Katherine in the final over which she pulled for a one-bounce four through deep backward square leg. Then she hammered back-to-back fours off the last two balls piercing the gap between cover and mid-off and high over deep midwicket to give the hosts the late lift they needed.

Traditional virtues to the fore at Edgbaston where champions battle for supremacy

David Hopps28-Apr-2023

Patience and persistence are still necessary attributes when it comes to winning the LV= County Championship and both Surrey and Warwickshire had those qualities in abundance at Edgbaston. It was a day of toil, a serious-minded affair between arguably the most tough-minded sides around and, at the close of the second day, it was Surrey who had stolen a slight advantage.Surrey, the defending champions, led by 61 runs with two wickets remaining as they sought to assert themselves against the county that took the pennant the season before. There would be some tired minds and bodies at the end of a day that illustrated that county players do not always throw the bat fatalistically when conditions are in the seam bowlers’ favour.Superficially spindly, yet physically threatening when there is sap in the pitch, Ollie Hannon-Dalby spearheaded Warwickshire’s seam attack on an engrossing day when everybody was on their mettle. Hannon-Dalby, closely cropped now, jogs in with his right arm outstretched as if he is carrying a little wicker bread basket, but opposing batters have long learned to sense danger and a wicket in the final over – the only one with the second new ball – left him with 3 for 29 in 14.3 overs.It was Jamie Smith, the most ambitious of Surrey’s batters, who finally shifted the match in his side’s favour. He remained unbeaten on 57 by the close and upped the tempo in a sunnier final session in discerning fashion.”I thought we bowled pretty well all day,” Hannon-Dalby said. “We know that here at Edgbaston, day two, if the sun is out generally it is a nice time to bat. They bowled brilliantly yesterday, albeit in helpful conditions, so we just had to try to emulate them.”Surrey’s captain, Rory Burns has won only three of his last 17 tosses, so he will not apologise for the slight advantage that winning this one has given his side. Seam-bowling conditions were ideal on the opening day, but even when blue skies broke out in the final session, there was still assistance to be had and the favour in bowling first was not excessive. Smith played well.The path had been laid by many who went before, firstly Burns, who was quite perky in making 32 from 81 balls, looking as if he is perching on the edge of a toilet seat as the bowler approaches and then springing up as the bowler delivers, as if rudely interrupted, which he eventually was by an inswinger from Chris Rushworth which had him palpably lbw.Ben Foakes continued the good work, the sober side of dapper as he reached 39 from 100 balls before he fell tamely against Hannon-Dalby with a leading edge to short midwicket as he tried to clip him through the leg side. “The longer I batted, the worse I got,” Foakes said. This has not been a pitch that becomes gentler on a batter the longer they stay, which makes Smith’s easeful innings all the more impressive.An hour’s delay for a wet outfield did not help Warwickshire. The clouds had begun to lighten by the time Surrey had taken the last two wickets and begun their reply. sang Flanders and Swann, and they were no kinder about the rest of the months that make up the English climate either, but perhaps this miserable start to the season is finally beginning to ease up. Somebody may have even risked taking a coat off in the afternoon.Warwickshire’s bowlers held their discipline. Rushworth brought Dom Sibley’s return to Edgbaston to an early end with the assistance of Rob Yates at slip and Hasan Ali’s second ball trapped Ollie Pope lbw. When Ryan Patel edged Hannon-Dalby to second slip it was 99 for 4 and the match was finely balanced, but Smith wrested the initiative until two wickets in the last two overs rewarded Warwickshire’s discipline.Chris Woakes had reported “a good kind of hurt” after completing his first Championship match for a year against Kent and he beat the bat enough to have been frustrated to have endured a wicketless day.It is typical of Woakes that he is seeking to win an Ashes place, at 34, with hard work. Jofra Archer has good reason not to fancy such a laborious route. He has been laid low with elbow trouble for more than two years now and might well have to take a view on the longer formats if his condition does not improve.Archer feels so vulnerable that when his secret visit to a Belgian clinic for a minor elbow procedure was reported this week, he appeared to complain on Twitter that such information should not be revealed without his express approval. Client journalism might well be growing, especially in the field of elite sport, but even if he wins the Ashes with 10 wickets in every innings, he will not have exclusive rights to everything written about him.

Wicketkeeper Matthew Gilkes posted his highest Sheffield Shield score to lift NSW from a precarious position on day one of their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland.NSW, who require victory at the Gabba to avoid a record winless run, were lurching before Gilkes’s innings helped them reach 9 for 311 at stumps.Gilkes, whose previous best in an 18-match first-class career was 83, reached his seventh half-century only to be dismissed minutes before stumps for 94.Gilkes struck 14 boundaries in a 160-ball knock before directing a Xavier Bartlett delivery into the hands of Joe Burns.NSW were struggling at 5 for 134 and with all five recognised batters back in the pavilion after Queensland elected to send the visitors in to bat.Gilkes added 60 for the sixth wicket with Hayden Kerr (24).Chris Green followed up his maiden half century last week with 52 as he and Gilkes added another 91 for the eighth wicket.Queensland bowled a consistent line and length during the morning session to leave NSW 3 for 70 at lunch in a session that included the key scalp of heavy-scoring opener Daniel Hughes (21).Other batters failing to build on starts were Kurtis Patterson (31), Moises Henriques (23) and Jason Sangha (34).Queensland lined up with two debutants in the form of Aryan Jain and teenage offspinner Jackson Sinfield.The latter, who came into the side in place of Test call-up Matt Kuhnemann, picked up 3 for 70 with NSW skipper Patterson being his first Shield victim when he chipped to midwicket.

The USMNT manager demanded that his squad take the national team more seriously after seeing Christian Pulisic drop out

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• Pochettino said U.S. player pool must take national team more seriously
• Christian Pulisic has come under fire for taking summer off
• USMNT have two friendlies next week, then Gold Cup

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  In an interview with , Mauricio Pochettino urged his players to prioritize representing the national team ahead of a busy summer. The U.S. manager referenced stars he's worked with such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Harry Kane, as prime examples for players who were proud to wear the shirt – and asked his squad to do the same.

  His comments come amid controversy in the USMNT, with Pulisic opting to sit out two international friendlies and a Gold Cup.

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• WHAT POCHETTINO SAID

  "The people need to prioritize the national team. We were talking about Argentine players, or Brazilian players or English players or Spanish players, they are desperate. Even Messi, even Neymar, even Mbappe, we were working with these guys, even Harry Kane… these guys are desperate to go to the national team," Pochettino said in an interview with Tim Howard and Landon Donovan.

  The manager called for more pride when players wear the U.S. badge.

  "For them, when they go, they don't see if it's a friendly game, if it's an official game, it's a World Cup game, it doesn't matter, because the possibility to defend one time your flag, your shirt. I want to feel proud about that. And that is the responsibility to us to translate," he said.

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The USMNT have a busy summer ahead, but will go about it with a depleted squad. Pulisic is staying at home, while Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna, Tim Weah, Antonee Robinson, and Yunus Musah are also set to miss the next two months.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR THE USMNT?

  They will play twice in 10 days before starting their Gold Cup campaign, playing Turkey and Switzerland.

Manchester United are interested in signing Mile Svilar from Roma this summer, according to a new report.

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Red Devils interested in SvilarTalks over new contract at Roma have stalledRoma demanding around €50m (£42m/$57m)Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Per Il Messaggero, United are interested in signing Svilar this summer as the club consider alternatives to Andre Onana. Svilar has two years remaining on his deal and he is yet to agree new terms with the Serie A side, prompting suitors to explore his availability. Bayern Munich are also reportedly monitoring his situation.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The 25-year-old enjoyed a strong season at Roma as they finished fifth in Serie A; he made 51 appearances in all competitions, keeping 19 clean sheets. United are also said to have an interest in Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, with their scouts seemingly running the rule over the Italian top-flight.

DID YOU KNOW?

Svilar would cost around €50 million, with Roma set to make a huge profit on a player they signed for free in 2022. His wage demands also appear more than achievable for United; he is reported to want around £60,000-per-week.

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United face Leeds on July 19 in a pre-season friendly. Whether they have launched a bid for Svilar by then remains to be seen.

Two centuries for Australia A came either side of not being offered a central contract, but good news was to come

AAP22-May-2023Matt Renshaw credits a moment of enlightenment on the Australia A tour of New Zealand with helping him to book a spot on the upcoming Ashes tour.The 27-year-old left-hander, who was born in England, had endured a dire Test tour of India where he made scores of 0, 2 and 2 in two Tests. Only runs, and lots of them, were going to get him on the plane to England.The Australia A tour started superbly for Renshaw against New Zealand A with scores of 112 and 78 at Lincoln while opening the innings.Related

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With just one match to go, he was looking out for the release of Cricket Australia’s centrally-contracted players list and his mind started to play tricks.”I had a little bit of a blip in the first innings of the second game. The contract list had just come out and I had missed out,” Renshaw told AAP. “I had done a bit of thinking about that and was trying to predict stuff in my own head, but that didn’t really work out.”That second game it got in my head in the first innings. I played a terrible shot and got out for two. I said to myself, ‘OK, that’s not why you play. Get back to why you want to play’…and I scored [140] in the second innings.”Obviously India was tough mentally from the cricket side of things. I would have like a lot more runs but unfortunately that wasn’t the case,” Renshaw added.”So I went to New Zealand with a mindset to enjoy my cricket. It can be tough when you know you have to score runs to get in a side, but I wasn’t thinking about that. I was just trying to enjoy myself. That is when I produce my best batting. The results over there were part and parcel of that.”Renshaw’s approach was like that of a zen monk, clearing his mind with no thought of grasping or striving for an elusive goal. He hit the jackpot when Australian chair of selectors George Bailey phoned later with news of the Ashes squad.”I had spoken to Usman Khawaja and he got his call the day before so I knew mine was coming,” Renshaw said. “George gave me a call and it started with all the standard stuff and I said,’ Come on, just tell me whether I am in or out’. He told me I was in and I was really excited to be going to England.”Renshaw opened the batting early in his Test career but said being dropped from the Queensland side several years ago was “a silver lining”.”It made me force my way back into the side at No. 5, just because of how strong our batting order has been,” Renshaw said. “I always thought I had the game to bat in the middle order. A lot of openers do, it’s just that they haven’t had the opportunity.”In terms of this tour, it is going to be about supporting the boys at the start and if I do get an opportunity to play, whether as an opener or in the middle order, I will enjoy myself.”It is the Ashes. There will be more emotions and more people watching but at the end of the day it is a bowler against a batter trying to score runs.”

Kevin Sinclair’s match-haul of 7 for 123, backed up by important runs in both innings from Joshua Da Silva helped West Indies A win the second unofficial Test against Bangladesh A by three wickets in Sylhet. They now have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.Chasing 190 on the fourth and final day, it was the captain Da Silva who shepherded the chase after the visitors slipped to 70 for 5 in the afternoon. He added 76 with Brandon King, and then a 41-run unbroken eighth-wicket stand with Akeem Jordan. Da Silva was unbeaten on 47, with seven fours and a six.King struck six fours and two sixes in his 54 off 78 balls, but when he popped a catch to Shahadat Hossain at silly mid-off, the Bangladesh A side got hope. The hosts were truly back in the game when Tanvir Islam then removed Sinclair in the same over. Da Silva and Akeem, however, kept their calm, scoring the remaining 41 runs in the following 6.5 overs.Offspinner Sinclair was Player of the Match for his seven wickets, which included a five-wicket haul in the second innings. He took two wickets in the first innings, which Akeem dominated with his 5 for 45.Sent into bat, Bangladesh A were bowled out for 237 runs in 65.3 overs in their first innings, with Shahadat top scoring with 73, his innings laced with ten fours and two sixes. While he was the ninth man out, the rest of the batters hardly supported him. The captain Afif Hossain cracked seven fours in his 37. Akeem’s five wickets apart, Anderson Philip and Sinclair took two each, while Jair McAllister picked up one.Kirk McKenzie top scored in West Indies A’s first-innings response, making 91 with nine fours and three sixes. He added 116 runs for the second wicket with Raymon Reifer. Keacy Carty made 68 – the second highest score in West Indies A’s first innings – and added 79 runs with Alick Athanaze. Then then put on another 48 runs with Da Silva for the sixth wicket as the visitors claimed a 108-run lead.Fast bowler Tanzim Hasan Sakib took four wickets while Saif Hassan took two wickets.The hosts put up a better batting effort second time around. Shadman Islam struck 74 with ten fours, but it was Irfan Sukkur’s 72 which gave Bangladesh A an important boost. He struck 12 fours in his 106-ball stay. Alongside Sinclair, Akeem and McAllister were among the wickets in the second innings.It set up the visitors for a 190-run fourth innings chase on the final day. King, Da Silva and Akeem got them home in the final session.

Nidamanuru’s 76-ball 111 helped Netherlands tie the game after they were set 375 to win

Himanshu Agrawal26-Jun-2023

“I can’t really explain it,” Player of the Match Logan van Beek said. Netherlands, chasing 375 against West Indies, were deep in trouble with 205 required from the remaining 125 balls with only six wickets in hand. Who would have known they would end up getting 204 of them in a frenetic finish that would force the game into a Super Over?And if you thought that was enough excitement for the day, van Beek bashed 4, 6, 4, 6, 6, 4 to smash the record for most runs in a one-over eliminator. In reply, West Indies lost two wickets for eight runs, and that was it. Netherlands took two vital points into the Super Six of the World Cup Qualifier, leaving West Indies with nothing to carry forward after being beaten by both Netherlands and Zimbabwe. The two-time World Cup champions are now teetering, their hopes of making the World Cup proper hanging by a thread.Before van Beek batted like a free spirit, it was Teja Nidamanuru and his captain Scott Edwards who made that finish possible, adding 143 for the fifth wicket to give Netherlands hope from the most helpless of situations. That stand consumed only 90 deliveries. West Indies stormed back, though, taking 3 for 14 in a hurry to leave Netherlands needing 30 from the last two overs.Teja Nidamanuru celebrates his century•ICC via Getty Images

At the crease was none other than van Beek. The first three legal balls of the 49th over, bowled by Roston Chase, disappeared for 4, 6, 4. Nine needed off six balls. Four more from van Beek. But there was a twist. With one to get from the last ball, he swiped to mid-on, where Jason Holder tumbled to his right to grab the ball. It was given out only after the third umpire made sure Alzarri Joseph hadn’t overstepped.Van Beek hit 28 at a strike rate of 200 during the run chase after Nidamanuru belted 111 off just 76 balls, with 11 fours and three sixes. Edwards, meanwhile, smashed 67 from 47. Not only did they find boundaries at will, they also made the West Indies fielders look ragged, converting ones into twos and twos into threes. Every run counted towards a remarkable Super Over win.The game was set up by West Indies’ centurion Nicholas Pooran. After half-centuries from Brandon King and Johnson Charles laid a solid foundation, Pooran added 108 with Shai Hope for the fourth wicket in less than 13 overs.Pooran was on 7 off 17 balls at one stage. He then took Saqib Zulfiqar for a four and a six in the 35th over. In the 39th, he targeted the same bowler with a six and four again, before reaching his fifty in the 40th with another run of boundaries off Vivian Kingma.West Indies added 118 in the last ten overs. Pooran reached his second century of the World Cup Qualifier in the penultimate over, before Keemo Paul took over, ransacking Aryan Dutt for 20 in the final over to propel West Indies to 374. Who knew even that wouldn’t prove enough?

Australia’s frontline bowlers have been unchanged throughout the season which has meant no action for the reserves

Alex Malcolm07-Mar-2024

Australia are set to field an unchanged side for the fourth Test in a row and an unchanged bowling quartet for the seventh match of the summer with back-up quick Scott Boland likely to be sent home to play Sheffield Shield cricket for Victoria on Monday.Captain Pat Cummins confirmed Australia’s expected line-up for the second Test against New Zealand at Hagley Oval starting on Friday as they look to secure the series 2-0 following the victory in Wellington.The final round of Shield matches begins on Monday and Victoria have a chance to qualify for a third straight final as they host Western Australia at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.Related

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Boland and Michael Neser are the two back-up quicks on tour, with Matt Renshaw the only spare batter in the 14-man touring party. Australia will need to keep at least one spare batter and one spare bowler with the squad in case of a concussion but could release one of the quicks to play in the Shield. Queensland are out of contention for the final and would not need Neser to return to try and qualify.Boland looks likely to be released after the toss on Friday to return home to prepare to face Western Australia.”There was talk of maybe sending Scotty back for Victoria but holding Nes back from Queensland just to annoy Marnus [Labuschagne] and Usman [Khawaja],” Cummins said. “I did hear the back end of that conversation the other day.”It has been a frustrating summer for Boland. He was the star of the World Test Championship final for Australia in June last year and kept Mitchell Starc out of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. But England attacked him in the two Tests he played in the Ashes and Australia returned to their big three for three for the final two Tests.Boland was rested for specific Shield matches at the start of the summer at the request of Australia’s selectors to be fresh for the Tests with a genuine concern that one of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc would not be fit after a gruelling ODI World Cup campaign. But the trio have got through unscathed, and Boland has played just five first-class matches for the season as a result.Michael Neser is Australia’s other spare pace bowler on the tour•Getty Images

“I think I said at the start of the summer I’d be surprised we played all seven just because it’s rare that something doesn’t pop up,” Cummins said. “But thankfully we’ve all kind of managed all the little niggles that pop up pretty well. I think even the schedule this summer seems to be just when you need a week’s break, there was a week’s break in between Test matches.”Obviously it’s been a long summer but we all still feel like we’ve got a fair bit of freshness about us. We’re not limping over the line. I still feel like we’re in a great position. I wouldn’t have thought we’d be here a couple of months ago.”While Australia are settled, there is a wariness heading into the second Test. In 2022 against Sri Lanka, and just last month at home against the West Indies, Australia gave up 1-0 leads with poor performances in the second match of each series.There are concerns around the batting group with some frank discussions held internally during the week about being more ruthless and accountable to individual plans.”I think it’s just decision-making around plans, and having really clear plans,” Cummins said. “It doesn’t mean you need to have 12 shot options. It might only be two or three. But you’re building innings around that. I think Greeny was a great example. For all his big shots last week, he also showed a lot of restraint at times.”So just managing that tempo, having a really clear game plan and just living and dying by that. There have been a lot of conversations. A lot of guys working in the nets just to have a think about that.”

A sensational century by Ben Duckett, at 88 balls the third fastest against India in India, left the hosts shell-shocked in Rajkot

Sidharth Monga16-Feb-2024A sensational century by Ben Duckett, at 88 balls the third fastest against India in India, left the hosts shell-shocked after they once again left runs un-scored in their first innings of 445. There was none of the streakiness one might associate with a century scored at this pace. None of Duckett’s 19 fours and one six in his first 102 runs came off an edge. No bowler seemed to have an answer for his stroke-play: Duckett pounced on any width from the quicks, swept and reverse-swept the spinners to distraction, and then cashed in on the consequent shorter deliveries.He scored 133 of the 207 England made for the loss of two wickets in just 35 overs on the second day. India had batted 45 overs in the first half of the day for the addition of just 119 runs to their overnight 326 for 5. The recurring theme of India losing wickets without a build-up or a discernible plan from England’s bowlers continued.Not that plans or build-ups were working as Duckett demonstrated. India tried bowling the channel but Duckett stayed beside the line and crashed the quicks through the off side. Kuldeep Yadav tried his wristspin but Duckett swept and reverse-swept seven fours in his first four overs. R Ashwin, who got to his 500th Test wicket with the scalp of Zak Crawley, was allowed no time to celebrate as Duckett slog-swept a good length ball from the stumps and then followed it up by going back and pulling him.Related

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The only time Duckett looked in any kind of trouble was in the first four overs when he was beaten five times. He had tried to hit a four off each of those balls, and wasn’t dissuaded from doing that the next time he saw width.Ollie Pope, who scored the breathtaking 196 to steal the first Test away from India, and Crawley, who has been England’s best batter this series overall, were reduced to being mere spectators even though they batted with assuredness and comfort. Crawley scored just 15 in the first-wicket stand of 89, and Pope just 39 in the 93 added for the second wicket. However, there was still time enough for Pope to display the reverse Dilscoop that left jaws on the floor in the first Test.It was the partnership with Crawley, though, that once again set India back. This was their fourth association of 50 or more in five innings this series. Between 2018 and 2023, all visiting openers put together had put together four stands of 50 or more. By the time Ashwin came onto bowl, Duckett and Crawley had raced so far ahead he started off with a negative line outside leg to Crawley. That ended up bringing his landmark wicket as the ball bounced from the rough to take the top edge on the sweep.Jasprit Bumrah hugs R Ashwin after his 500th wicket•AFP via Getty Images

Now was the moment for India to try to build to another wicket. Pope is not that good a starter, and Kuldeep started by beating his bat on the outside edge. On 2 off 11, Pope, who might not have picked the earlier wrong’un, decided it wouldn’t matter which way it is turning if he gets to its pitch and biffs it over the infield. It heralded another wave of attack, which included the audacious slog-sweep off Ashwin for his first six.Pope then played used the pace from Ravindra Jadeja to start picking boundaries behind the wicket: a paddle-sweep followed by the outrageous reverse Dilscoop. Then the reverse-sweep. Then the orthodox one from Duckett. The closest India came to getting a wicket during this phase when Bumrah hit Duckett’s toe with a yorker, but he had got the inside half of the cue on it just as the ball landed.A particular cause for desperation for India was that they were playing their best possible attack at home, barring probably Mohammed Shami for Mohammed Siraj. And yet, England were bossing them without any trouble scoreboard pressure be damned.India then decided to slow the game down. They did what England did with Mark Wood. A field for bouncers, and keep bowing them one after the other. Not only did it slow the runs down momentarily it also slowed down the over-rate. And then when Siraj bowled one on a length, it behaved like his wobble-seam ball with the new ball does. It took such a good ball with the old ball, and then a review, for India to get some relief. Pope was trapped on the crease, but England were already 182 for 2 in just 30 overs.Even with stumps around the corner, the wicket failed to bring down Duckett’s disdain. He immediately reversed Jadeja for a flat six over what would have been point had he not switched his stance. In the last over, Ashwin came close to getting Duckett out when he defended for a change, but the offbreak had landed just outside leg.The amount of work India are having to put to get their wickets will be a good reminder to them of how easily they gave their own away. After the run-out on day one, the centurion Jadeja patted a return catch to Joe Root in the early exchanges of the day, reminiscent of how Yashasvi Jaiswal got out in the first over on day two in Hyderabad.Ashwin and debutant Dhruv Jurel then added 77 for the eighth wicket, but Ashwin too hit legspinner Rehan Ahmed straight to mid-on in a manner that left him with his hand on his head in a “what-did-I-just-do” kind of way. It is not like the spinners had built any dot-ball pressure on India as loose balls were readily available.Three stands put together 358 of India’s 445 runs. One – for the last wicket – was responsible for 30 of the remaining 87. That, though, has been the story of the series for India’s inexperienced batting line-up.