Geoff Lemon's Blog, page 38
August 2, 2022
Alice Capsey’s bat inspires England to victory over South Africa
England’s women, having trounced South Africa through bilateral matches this summer, delivered them one last defeat that all but qualified them for a Commonwealth Games semi-final in T20 cricket. The eenage sensation Alice Capsey was again the key for England’s batting, with an even 50 out of 167 for five. South Africa never looked like meeting that pace in the chase, finishing on 141 for four.
With England’s regular captain, Heather Knight, still on crutches with a hip injury, Capsey has made the most of her absence. Her innings of 44 on Commonwealth Games debut steadied a wobbling run chase against Sri Lanka last Sunday, then she backed it up with her first half-century for England in this match. Capsey is still nine days short of her 18th birthday but is aiming to start the party early after the gold medal match this Sunday night.
Continue reading...
July 23, 2022
England beat South Africa by six wickets in second women’s T20 international – as it happened
The hosts wrapped up a series victory with a calm and composed chase of South Africa’s 148-6 at New Road
6th over: South Africa 34-0 (Bosch 23, Goodall 6) Better against Sciver, both batters hitting straight for ones and twos, then Bosch reads a slower ball to end the over, waits for it, and lofts it over mid-off for four. End of the fielding restrictions, but South Africa need to boost the scoring rate.
5th over: South Africa 26-0 (Bosch 18, Goodall 3) Sophie Ecclestone on early, left-arm orthodox, and she does exactly what South Africa can’t afford: ties them down for one run from the over. Bosch looks very unsure of how to approach England’s premier bowler, and her only shot is to the leg side with the sweepers back, not to the off side where the field is up.
July 11, 2022
Sri Lanka’s Test team look to future as Australia briefly slip back into past | Geoff Lemon
From the moment protesters began marching past the ground on the second day, the hosts took control and never let go
So in the small city of Galle ended a momentous few days on the field and beyond. For Sri Lanka the nation, a popular revolt removed a tarnished president from power. For Sri Lanka the cricket team, a stunning turnaround swept away the visiting Australians to level a Test series. It would be naff to equate the two, but it would equally be naive to discount the broad as an influence on the narrow. Players are people too. For months, Sri Lankans en masse have sweltered through nightly power cuts, daily shortages of essentials and weekly price spikes. Transport paralysis has caused economic atrophy. The departing prime minister says the country is bankrupt. On the back of the pandemic, there is a national level of exhaustion.
In this context, Sri Lanka’s players had to absorb a belting from the visitors in the first Test, bowled out in 22 overs as Australia’s spinners turned supposed home advantage against them to finish the match before its allotted halfway mark. Nobody looked competent against Nathan Lyon. Positive Covid tests started coming in, first removing Angelo Mathews mid-match and then a slew of squad players between Tests. Replacements were drafted in, then replacements for replacements. One vastly inexperienced bowling attack was replaced by another even more so. Of the four spin options eventually picked, three were on debut.
Continue reading...July 4, 2022
Where bat meets Galle: why cricket is the least of Sri Lanka’s tests
Steeped in history and framed by sea and sky, Galle International Cricket Stadium, venue for Australia’s Tests against Sri Lanka, is also an arena for protest
Watching cricket at Galle, you are joined by the Indian Ocean on either side. Off the southern curve of the teardrop shape of Sri Lanka, a short promontory juts into the sea. Most of it is taken up by Galle Fort, vast in bulk and rising from level ground in an imposing apparition of stone. From Portuguese to Dutch to British to its modern Sri Lankan tourism incarnation, its eras reveal themselves in patches like different coats of varnish wearing through. People shelter from the rain under its central archway. A bird flies like an arrow into a tiny hole worn high in the rock. On a patch of grass below, lush with rainfall, 60 kids armed with cricket bats practice pull shots and drives in a soundless ballet.
At the neck of the promontory, where it narrows, the oval sits like a pendant at its throat. The playing area and the trees beyond glow emerald in the sun. From its seats, one view faces the fort wall. The opposite side faces the broadening city. Then on the flanks, that ocean. There are plenty of cricket grounds that show you water from a distance: some river or estuary, a blue background miles away, tiny boats for a zoom lens to tremble on. Here, it is close enough for detail. A heaving surface of green and grey. Waves thunder in, that white foaming herd of horses, snorting and jostling before crashing to shore. All day, in the stands, you hear that surge and swell, lulling you or lifting you on your own personal tide.
Continue reading...June 28, 2022
Australia promised trial by Sri Lankan spin in first Test in Galle | Geoff Lemon
The tourists face a daunting prospect on a dry pitch, even though they will feel more competent against the turning ball than on previous trips
Trial by spin. That was the likely scenario for the Australian men’s Test team, as posed by Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne. Softly spoken and not inclined to swagger, the content of the message rather than the delivery held a challenge for Australia, with the likelihood that Sri Lanka will take four spin options into the first Test at Galle.
“Last time we had two fast bowlers, we did not use one,” said Karunaratne, referring to last year’s Test against West Indies when his quicks Suranga Lakmal and Dushantha Chameera bowled 14 overs between them across two innings. Lakmal was not required at all in the second dig.
Continue reading...June 19, 2022
England win second ODI against Netherlands – as it happened
England have completed a series win over Netherlands
We should be good to get our match eventually, but.
Liam Livingstone, then. His 66 off 22 the other day gave him a strike-rate of 300.00, better even that Jos Buttler’s paltry 231.43. There’s a part of me that wonders if he might be worth a Test-match punt at some point (because yes, England are in dire need of some lower-middle order biffing).
Continue reading...Netherlands v England: second ODI – live!
We should be good to get our match eventually, but.
Liam Livingstone, then. His 66 off 22 the other day gave him a strike-rate of 300.00, better even that Jos Buttler’s paltry 231.43. There’s a part of me that wonders if he might be worth a Test-match punt at some point (because yes, England are in dire need of some lower-middle order biffing).
Continue reading...June 17, 2022
England set new world record score of 498 against the Netherlands –as it happened!
Jos Buttler led the way as one of three centurions as England thrashed the Netherlands
5th over: England 34-1 (Salt 23, Malan 9) Malan shuffles over to off stump, which works better for him than it did for Alex Lees in the Caribbean. He drives van Beek past cover point for his first four, then clips to midwicket for three.
4th over: England 25-1 (Salt 22, Malan 1) Snater comes down to earth as Salt hits two more fours – a handsome straight drive and a simple flick past fine leg, who is up in the circle.
Continue reading...England set new record score of 498 in first ODI against Netherlands – live!
5th over: England 34-1 (Salt 23, Malan 9) Malan shuffles over to off stump, which works better for him than it did for Alex Lees in the Caribbean. He drives van Beek past cover point for his first four, then clips to midwicket for three.
4th over: England 25-1 (Salt 22, Malan 1) Snater comes down to earth as Salt hits two more fours – a handsome straight drive and a simple flick past fine leg, who is up in the circle.
Continue reading...May 22, 2022
Matthew Mott risks it all to try being white-ball saviour for England’s men
Having built a winning juggernaut with the Australian women’s side, the coach must now repeat the trick all over again
In some ways it seems strange for Matthew Mott to decide that this is the moment to move jobs. Since 2015 he has been building the Australian women’s cricket team into a canary-yellow juggernaut, bristling with firepower on every deck.
Faster bowlers, bigger hitters, fitter fielders, better athletes: even as other countries have raised investment in the women’s game, Australia are further ahead of the pack than ever. They may still be basking in a recent 50-over World Cup win, but there are more international trophies to target very soon. Mott has helped create a dynastic power, one poised to dominate the next few years like never before.
Continue reading...Geoff Lemon's Blog
- Geoff Lemon's profile
- 12 followers
