Rob Smyth's Blog, page 130

June 8, 2019

England v Bangladesh: Cricket World Cup 2019 – live!

Cricket World Cup updates from the 12th matchTable: the latest standings | Listen to The Spin podcastAnd feel free to email Rob with your thoughts

6.30am BST

They fed us all little white lies. In the build-up to this World Cup, we were told the league stage would be a pressure-free formality for England; a nationwide tour on which they would play all their greatest hits – 400, the 50-ball hundred, the relay catch – in front of adoring fans. The pressure would only really kick in with the excruciating tension of a semi-final. Wrong!

England are under pressure all right. Not to qualify (at least not yet), but because everything is different now. Every detail is magnified, every experience heightened, every conclusion jumped to, every cock-up sniggered at by every other country. This is the World Cup.

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Published on June 08, 2019 01:30

June 7, 2019

Pakistan v Sri Lanka: Cricket World Cup match abandoned – as it didn't happen

Heavy rain in Bristol meant that no play was possible, with both sides picking up a point each

3.58pm BST

Both sides take a point each from the washout – which moves them both into the top four in the nascent Cricket World Cup table.

3.48pm BST

The umpires have called it off, presumably because of an unsafe outfield. That’s pretty frustrating for both sides, who would have fancied their chances of victory, but they at least get a point each and their bus fare home. Thanks for your company; please join us tomorrow morning to see whether plucky England can beat Bangladesh at a World Cup for the first time since 2007.

3.47pm BST

The umpires are inspecting again, this time with the match referee. We’ll know pretty soon, one way or another, because the match has to start by 4.19pm.

3.45pm BST

“I love Karl Blau’s version of Falling Rain,” writes Simon Burnton (yes, that one). “I saw him live, on a bill with the also excellent Laura Gibson, and the version he played that night was just extraordinary. He brought on a woman who played some kind of primitive traditional Korean fiddle. The two had obviously never met: Blau didn’t know her name, didn’t know whether she played standing up or sitting down, or which way up she held her instrument. It was a bit of a chaotic concert, full of forgotten lyrics, or words read out from hand-written scraps of paper (and a lot of it wasn’t great) but this was the apogee. Then they proceeded to play the most incredible version of that song. It was one of the greatest moments of live music that I’ve experienced, and I’ve been to quite a lot of concerts.

“So the good news, I guess, is that we can be digital acquaintances.”

3.30pm BST

In other news, I can’t imagine how this will play out

3.25pm BST

The match needs to start within the next hour or it will be a washout. The umpires are inspecting, so we should have some news soon.

3.12pm BST

“Can I humbly suggest Creedence Clearwater Revival - ‘Have you ever seen the rain?’” says Brett Welch in sunny Edinburgh.

Indeed you may.

3.11pm BST

“Hi there Rob,” says D Cheema. “Sorry, I don’t use social media. I just wanted to say that, if the game is reduced to 20 overs per side, it would certainly benefit Pakistan – they’re the No1-ranked team in T20s.”

You don’t use social media? I was once told that I was no use to the Guardian unless I had at least 10,000 Twitter followers. I argued vehemently that such an attitude was unfair; that, no matter how many followers I had, I would always be useless.

3.07pm BST

I can’t quite believe I’m saying this, but

Brexit means Brexit
the chances of play are improving. The weather is okay, and if there’s no more rain we could yet have a T20 ODI.

2.49pm BST

There’s a lot of surface water, as feared, and the umpires will inspect again at 3.15pm.

2.47pm BST

And here’s some more rain music. If you don’t like this, I’m not sure we can be digital acquaintances.

2.44pm BST

No news on the inspection yet, so here’s some more rain music.

2.35pm BST

Sri Lanka’s next game, since you asked, is against Bangladesh on Tuesday. Pakistan play Australia in a potential humdinger on Wednesday. You’d expect that, by the end of next week, the semi-final picture will start to become a bit clearer. At least one very good side is going to miss out. If it’s England, I’m done with this thing of ours.

2.27pm BST

In theory, we could start a 20-over match at 4.15pm local time, but it will almost certainly rain again at some stage. Sorry to be so pessimistic. Here’s something to cheer us all up: it’s Mayor Max!

2.26pm BST

Words, while u wait Victor Marks esq. has written a preview of England’s awkward match against Bangladesh in Cardiff tomorrow.

2.24pm BST

“Rather inclement out there, I’m afraid,” says Bill Hargreaves. “With regard to the rather dispiriting meteorological conditions, I wonder if the groundsman’s play list should consider:

2.15pm BST

There will be an inspection at 2.30pm. It has stopped raining, so there is an outside chance that they could start in a couple of hours’ time.

2.10pm BST

“What are the rules if no play?” says Tom Carver. “Points shared? Try again tomorrow?”

Points shared. There are no reserve days until the semi-finals.

2.09pm BST

“’Sup, Bob?” says Mac Millings. “If the weather in my neck of the woods is any guide (and I’m sure it is), you’re looking at three more overcast days with a high chance of intermittent thunderstorms, followed by two weeks of 35-degree temperatures accompanied by Satan’s Undies levels of humidity. Also, more than half of everyone will be chewing tobacco and carrying a rifle in the back of their pick-up truck.”

I had no idea you’d moved to Sittingbourne.

2.08pm BST

Just over a week of action at #CWC19 and we've seen some pretty special grabs so far!

Which of these is your favourite? pic.twitter.com/eN9AZxlG4d

2.06pm BST

The match needs to begin by 4.19pm local time, which is just over two hours away. Even if it stops raining, the outfield will take a long time to dry. I would say there are two chances of play today, and slim only plays red-ball cricket.

2.03pm BST

Thanks Simon, hello everyone. Let’s start with the bleedin’ obvious (and still bleedin’ brilliant).

1.53pm BST

I’m going to step away from all this excitement for a while and hand over to Rob Smyth, who will guide you through the latest meteorological madness. Email him here, if you’d be so kind. Before I go, here’s a rain-related classic courtesy of @MashMath on Twitter. The chorus is, er, unexpected.

1.20pm BST

Sky have briefly interrupted their broadcast of highlights of previous games to bring us an extremely dispiriting live picture of a still emphatically soggy Bristol.

Here’s some rainy-day reading:

1.18pm BST

“Why-oh-why don’t they have alternative venues to use in case of a forecast washout?” wonders Andrew Benton. “Hands up for Hove, Eastbourne and Arundel, some of the sunniest places in the country!” Even with absolutely no knowledge of organising global sporting spectacles and a naturally optimistic outlook, that seems like a headache too far.

1.16pm BST

4.19pm is today’s precise cut-off point. There will be play by then, or there will be no play. In the meantime, another rainy-day favourite:

1.13pm BST

1.08pm BST

This chap is studying meteorology at university and thus should know his weather-forecasting stuff:

@Simon_Burnton Rain set to stop by 13:45, leaving two hours for the cleanup with good drying weather - breezy, occasional sun. Could still all be scuppered by showers later though!

1.01pm BST

It’s the hope that kills you.

Hey Bristol. According to my radar you should be clear of rain by 3-10. Whether they can mop up by cut off time of 4-15 is another matter. pic.twitter.com/B0hCztIFiU

12.54pm BST

12.48pm BST

This is just cruel.

@Simon_Burnton the adverts are trolling me pic.twitter.com/AQWM1cY5I1

12.35pm BST

They need to start by about 4.15pm if a 20-overs-a-side match is going to be squeezed into the day. So, just another few hours of rain-watching before we’re allowed to give up.

@Simon_Burnton assume that the obvious (to me at least) Rain by The Cult has already made an appearance? https://t.co/tdwbzQ38Px

12.23pm BST

You can find the latest weather forecast for Bristol here. It makes for pretty grim reading, and given the amount of water already on the outfield and the general expectation that there’ll be a lot more dumped on it before the day’s out, I’d be very surprised if there’s any play. On the plus side, the County Ground DJ will be able to give his entire rain-themed playlist an airing. Here’s a fairly obscure suggestion:

11.56am BST

Update: It’s still raining in Bristol.

11.36am BST

“For those of us sitting in our offices, without access to headphones, can you let us know what the DJ is playing?” pleads Martyn Fairbrother. “I’m guessing Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head and It’s Raining Men.” No doubt they’ll get to those eventually, but the songs in those clips were Umbrella by Rihanna and Thunder by Imagine Dragons.

11.28am BST

More musical hilarity at Bristol:

@Simon_Burnton he's at it again! pic.twitter.com/ydrgWR7580

11.24am BST

Rohit Singh has an update about the big yellow blob. “I heard one is on a state visit to England,” he joshes.

11.23am BST

At least the DJ at the County Ground is having fun:

@Simon_Burnton being trolled by the DJ at the county ground pic.twitter.com/EMwnahm8pt

11.22am BST

If I have one complaint about this World Cup so far, it’s that there hasn’t been enough coverage of the branded apples. They are being given out again to those hardy souls who have braved the Bristol downpours today. Fruit is a new battleground in the battle for branding. Where next?

My six year old just been handed a #WorldCup apple on way into #Oval pic.twitter.com/ijL1SHtVJH

11.13am BST

“This is set in all day, mate,” forecasts Sarah Balfour. “Met Office says thunderstorms later, which will be fun, I love a good storm. Better at night, though, when you can see the lightning. There’s a big yellow blob, which where I live is under too. Any road, looking at the forecast and the first possible dry patch isn’t until 16:00 which is far too late to even get in a T20-style game.”

I should add that the big yellow blob is on the Met Office’s website. There is not a literal big yellow blob covering much of England, which would be alarming, and probably significant enough to warrant its own liveblog.

10.58am BST

A touching expression of solidarity from Norway:

@Simon_Burnton if it makes you feel better, this is the weather in Trondheim at the moment pic.twitter.com/fGdisLW9yw

10.52am BST

A couple of photos of a soggy Bristol this morning:

10.34am BST

In 1992 Pakistan were thrashed by West Indies in their first game, won their second, and the third was a washout. We all know how that ended. “Pakistan; get a hiding in the first game, glorious comeback, then rain intervenes. Just like 1992. They are going to win it aren’t they?” suggests Andrew Benzeval.

10.29am BST

There is some actual sport happening in Paris, where Jo Konta’s French Open semi-final against Marketa Vondrousova has just started. Follow it here:

10.06am BST

Live footage from Bristol suggests that it’s not raining very hard at the moment, but that everywhere is extraordinarily soggy.

Unfortunately it's not looking too pretty in Bristol ☔ #PAKvSL #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/pnlG9mO713

10.00am BST

10am, half an hour before the scheduled start, and the toss has been delayed because of rain.

Live from Brissle. pic.twitter.com/oMT3CZLFja

9.23am BST

At this World Cup were told to expect a deluge of runs, a flood of fun, a downpour of excitement. Today, however, we are expected to get just a deluge, a downpour, and potentially a flood. The Met Office, Britain’s meteorological masters, have issued a yellow weather warning. “Flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely,” they say. This is not promising. They suggest a 90% chance of rain in Bristol at 10am, rising to in excess of 95% between 11am and 1pm. At 2pm it drops to 80% and the afternoon looks (comparatively) much better, never exceeding a 60% chance of precipitation with just a 10% chance in the hour after 3pm. There needs to be enough dry time to squeeze at least 20 overs a side between the showers in order for the result to stand, and there are no reserve days set aside until the semi-finals.

Potentially useful information for ticket-holders: you’ll get a full refund if no more than 15 overs are played, and a 50% refund if more than 15 overs but fewer than 30 overs are completed.

Bristol. 9.15am. Match day. Good luck Pakistan and Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/k1nlbHiVCy

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Published on June 07, 2019 07:48

June 4, 2019

Cricket World Cup 2019: Afghanistan v Sri Lanka – live!

Cricket World Cup updates from Cardiff, 10.30am BST startCricket World Cup 2019: the latest standings
And why not email Tom or tweet @tomdaviesE17

9.00am BST

Morning everyone. Well, we’ve got ourselves a tournament. After some limp mismatches on Friday and Saturday, Bangladesh and Pakistan have since brought the noise – registering thrilling upsets against South Africa and England respectively, and the cards have been thrillingly thrown in the air. If you’re going to have this interminable league format, then this is the sort of compellingly unpredictable stuff you want to happen.

So if you haven’t got Cricket World Cup fever now, you probably want to have a bit of a word with yourself. But back to Saturday’s non-contests: today its two defeated victims lock horns in a match that some have described already as the wooden-spoon decider and, even more insultingly, “one for the hipsters”. All of which is a tad belittling to, respectively, one of the most improved teams in world cricket in recent years and another who’ve been world champions once and runners-up twice.

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Published on June 04, 2019 01:30

June 3, 2019

England v Pakistan: Cricket World Cup 2019 – live!

Live updates from Trent Bridge, 10.30am (BST) startEngland ready to exploit Pakistan’s fragilityFeel free to email Tim to tweet @TimdeLisle your thoughts

9.34am BST

Nobody has made an individual hundred in this World Cup, or even a 90 – the joint top scorers are Ben Stokes and David Warner with 89. Only Warner has faced a hundred balls (114), and only Dimush Karunaratne has lasted longer than 132 minutes (146). It’s a similar story in the bowling, where only Oshane Thomas has taken four wickets. None of this matters very much – it’s a team game and you can win a match with a quick 70 or lose it with a slow ton. But every so often it’s a thrill to see one player put a great big stamp on a game. Cometh the hour, cometh the Roy?

9.29am BST

It’s coming home? No, no way (© Nasser), you cannot say that yet. What can be said with confidence is this: it’s warming up.

On day one, we had a good game and a great moment – a fine example of the right man being in the wrong place at the right time. On days two and three, not much to write home about, but on day four, a classic upset: David, sent in by Goliath, rattled up the highest score of the tournament and then bowled well enough not to blow it. Thank you Bangladesh, for delivering the first memorable result of this World Cup. And thank you South Africa, for showing, twice, that it’s perfectly possible to win the toss and lose the match.

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Published on June 03, 2019 01:36

May 31, 2019

West Indies thrash Pakistan by seven wickets in Cricket World Cup – as it happened

Oshane Thomas and Andre Russell starred as West Indies bounced out Pakistan for 105 and raced to victory with 36.1 overs to spare

3.25pm BST

I’ll leave you with our match report from Trent Bridge - thanks for your company, bye!

2.50pm BST

There are two games tomorrow, and we’ll be OBOing them both. New Zealand v Sri Lanka starts at 10.30am in Cardiff, and Australia v Afghanistan begins three hours later in Bristol.

2.40pm BST

The Windies’ big win means they overtake England at the top of the standings. You can follow them throughout the tournament here:

2.13pm BST

Jason Holder speaks

“We got new-ball wickets, which is what we asked the guys, and we never looked back from there. Andre Russell is an impact player; it’s really good to see him bowl like he did today. We know Oshane can be expensive but he’s a genuine wicket-taker and that’s a gamble we’re willing to take. You need to get wickets in one-day cricket and that’s an area we’ve pinpointed. We’ve come here to win this World Cup but we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. I want us to enjoy our cricket, play fearless cricket and make the people back home proud.”

2.08pm BST

Sarfaraz Ahmed speaks

“If you lose the toss in these conditions you will lose early wickets and it’s hard to come back into the game. I think we have to bat positively, but we didn’t do it well today. It was a bad day for us; I’m very confident my team will bounce back.”

2.02pm BST

ICYMT department

2.01pm BST

Oshane Thomas is the Man of the Match for his 4-27

“I wasn’t nervous, I had a good sleep last night. All good. Andre Russell led the way with his aggressive bowling and I just had to step in and do the same thing. I don’t mind where I bowl – I just want to win games for the West Indies.”

1.59pm BST

Well that de-escalated quickly. The entire match lasted 35.2 overs.

1.58pm BST

That was a frisky cameo from Pooran, playing only his second ODI. He slapped 34 from 19 balls, with four fours and two sixes. West Indies have done a spectacular number on Pakistan. They were ruthless with the ball, bouncing Pakistan out for 105, and then zoomed to their target at almost eight an over.

1.56pm BST

13.4 overs: West Indies 108-3 (Pooran 34, Hetmyer 7) Pooran hooks Wahab for six to complete a thumping victory for West Indies - with 218 balls remaining.

1.52pm BST

13th over: West Indies 96-3 (Pooran 24, Hetmyer 6) “Just to echo Phil Russell’s sentiments about taking tea early (over 3), the tea-making person is indeed final arbiter,” says Brian Withington. “When K&D 2s wrapped up Earlswood in rude haste on Saturday, said tea person was nonplussed by the early return of the ravenous horde, admitting that (s)he only monitored overs on the scoreboard and was rather sketchy about the relevance of the wickets figure.”

1.48pm BST

12th over: West Indies 91-3 (Pooran 24, Hetmyer 1) Hetmyer is dropped on nought, a difficult low chance for Imam running in from deep square leg. Pooran then hurries West Indies towards the finish line with four and six from consecutive deliveries off Wahab; the six was a spectacular blow down the ground. They need 15 more to win from 38 overs.

1.44pm BST

11th over: West Indies 77-3 (Pooran 10, Hetmyer 0) Mohammad Amir has taken as many wickets today as in his previous 13 ODIs.

1.42pm BST

A third wicket for the excellent Mohammad Amir. Gayle, who reached a bruising 33-ball fifty earlier in the over, heaved a slower ball high in the air and straight to backward point.

1.37pm BST

10th over: West Indies 71-2 (Gayle 49, Pooran 6) Gayle mistimes a swipe down the ground off Wahab. Six runs. He follows that with consecutive fours, but hurts his back in the process and almost keels over while taking the slowest leg bye in the history of cricket. He has 49 from 31 balls.

1.32pm BST

9th over: West Indies 56-2 (Gayle 35, Pooran 6) When Amir drops short, Pooran gets his first boundary with a tennis shot through mid-on. The next ball is edged through third slip at catchable height. Pakistan might as well have eight slips now; a Test-match collapse is their only chance of victory.

“Oh, I don’t know,” says John Starbuck. “If you were Hassan Ali’s blood pressure you’d be pretty high and what’s wrong with that?”

1.28pm BST

8th over: West Indies 48-2 (Gayle 33, Pooran 1) Wahab Riaz comes into the attack. His last World Cup contribution was that scorching spell to Shane Watson in 2015. If he produces something similar here, Pakistan might just pull off a respectable defeat. He starts with an impressive maiden to Gayle, including a slower ball that bounces past the edge.

1.23pm BST

7th over: West Indies 48-2 (Gayle 33, Pooran 1) “Morning nap?” sniffs Robert Wilson. “Bonus nap? How many napping options does your life-style quiver contain? The Drinks-Interval forty winks? The in-between-overs kip? Under-the-shower shuteye? Have you ever caught a few ZZZs while brushing your actual teeth? You’re a model for the kids in these hard times, you feckless Dormouse.”

This feels as good a moment as any to formally my announce my candidacy for prime minister.

1.20pm BST

A second wicket for Mohammad Amir, who has bowled beautifully. Bravo fences a seaming back-of-a-length delivery to first slip, where Babar Azam takes a simple catch.

1.19pm BST

6th over: West Indies 46-1 (Gayle 33, Bravo 0) Gayle slashes Hassan Ali for another boundary to third man and then edges short of slip. Hassan Ali looks like he’s about to do this. Gayle smears another pull for four to move to 33 from 17 balls. He’s 39 years old.

1.15pm BST

5th over: West Indies 38-1 (Gayle 25, Bravo 0) The new batsman Darren Bravo sets off for a quick single, notices Chris Gayle hasn’t moved a muscle and scampers back.

1.11pm BST

Pakistan have Hope with a capital H, but only with a capital H. Shai Hope drives Amir high over extra cover, and Hafeez charges round from mid-on to take a good running catch.

1.08pm BST

4th over: West Indies 32-0 (Gayle 24, Hope 7) Kapow! Gayle launches Hassan Ali miles over mid-on for six. Blam! Gayle smears the next ball back over the bowler’s head for six more. Sixteen runs from the over. I wouldn’t like to be Hassan Ali’s blood pressure right now.

1.04pm BST

3rd over: West Indies 16-0 (Gayle 9, Hope 6) The only time Pakistan won the World Cup, in 1992, they started with a 10-wicket defeat to West Indies. Hope clumps a pull over midwicket for a couple, with Chris Gayle reluctantly turning for a second, and then pops a leading edge just short of mid-on. An excellent over from Amir ends with Hope being beaten outside off stump.

“Pakistan’s batting performance reminds of a club cricket dilemma that occurs when a side is bowled out early in the day - whether to take an early tea, or to start the 2nd innings and take tea halfway through it,” says Phil Russell. “Most batting captains would prefer to have an unbroken innings, although you do find the occasional player who would like to tick ‘not out at tea’ off their cricket bucket list. Likewise the side that has collapsed often think that a short and focused session before the interval is a good way to try and get back into the game. In theory the umpires are the sole arbiters of this. In practice of course the decision is made by the tea lady (tea gentlemen are also available), as if the tea is ready now no umpire in the land can withstand the stare of disapproval that comes with saying ‘we’re going to go back out for 20 overs, thanks anyway’.”

12.59pm BST

2nd over: West Indies 10-0 (Gayle 9, Hope 2) Hassan Ali, who looks throughly radged off at the crap he has been given to defend, bowls the second over. His mood doesn’t improve any when Gayle top-edges a stiff hook stroke over the keeper for four. Gayle played that stroke in instalments. The next ball is edged for four more, this time a lumbering drive that flew high over the slips, and then Gayle survives a desperate LBW appeal. It clearly pitched outside leg stump.

“Chris Gayle always reminds me of a pet rabbit that we built into the rules of cricket in our particular backyard,” says Danielle Tolson. “We did the standard ones (hits the side of the house: out; back fence: six; over next-door’s fence: six but you’re out). Pet fielding rules were determined by which dog was playing & if the cat deigned to be involved, but playing with Peter the rabbit was a different story.

12.54pm BST

1st over: West Indies 2-0 (Gayle 1, Hope 1) This shouldn’t take long. Mohammad Amir opens the bowling to Chris Gayle, who wheezes through for a single to get off the mark. Shai Hope does likewise, minus the wheezing, off the final delivery.

“Afternoon Rob,” says Kim Thonger. “I need OBO readers’ help. I’ve started a petition to name storms after England bowlers in this World Cup year. It will only go live if five people add their email addresses at this link.”

12.54pm BST

12.45pm BST

“Gee gosh I love stick ball,” says Henry Demaria. “Following in pret whilst writing my annual work performance self assessment. Turns out I’m doing less well than Pakistan. Idiot question I can’t find the answer to on Cricinfo - what’s the system on who goes through to the next round? Is it wins, points, some confusing algorithm or karmic law? Have a lovely afternoon.”

I will now. If Chris Gayle gets going I could be having a bonus nap by 3pm. As for the league positions, they will be decided by: points, obvs, then wins, net run rate, head-to-head results, pre-tournament seeding and a Sopranos-themed quiz.

12.40pm BST

An early theme of this World Cup has been the discovery of old tweets. Not in the those-views-do-not-reflect-the-person-I-am-in-2019 sense, thankfully. Yesterday we had Jofra Archer’s the helmet salesman; today we have Kagiso Rabada the fanboy.

@finnysteve. A very big fan of yours , retweet ? :)

12.34pm BST

More interval reading, which has in no way posted here solely because I wrote a third of it

12.33pm BST

Thanks Simon, hello everyone. That was a serious statement of intent from Pakistan, whose four victories in global tournaments have all come after effigy-inspiring defeats in the opening game. They put down a marker with an immaculate collapse at Trent Bridge, where they were bounced out in just 21.4 overs.

But seriously folks – because sometimes the banter has to stop – West Indies are genuine contenders to win the World Cup for the first time since 1996, and the world is thus a better place.

12.29pm BST

And with that I’m going to hand over to Rob, who will cover the anticipated Gayle-related carnage. Everybody knew that the West Indies boast a fine batting line-up, but their bowlers have just made a hell of a statement. All emails to him here, please. I leave you with a bit of interval-shaped reading. Bye!

12.25pm BST

“God, thanks for this, the Windies bringing it makes me absolutely euphoric,” writes Robert Wilson. “It doesn’t just make me feel young again, it makes the sun shine and the birds sing. It brings back mass literacy and political hope. It reorients the poles and the Van Allen Belt. Old people’s homes are in tumult today, as crumbling grandfathers dance insanely around the car park in their Viv Richards pyjamas. Holder is quite simply the best captain in world Cricket. And a total mensch to boot.”

12.24pm BST

21.4 overs: Pakistan 105 all out In other interesting news from that two-thirds-of-an-over, Thomas gave away another no-ball, which wasn’t actually a no-ball at all but at that stage Pakistan really needed some freebies. Mohammad Amir only gets a single from the free hit. Russell stoops to pick up the ball, and somehow manages to injure himself doing so. As the innings comes to an end, the bowler whose two early wickets set Pakistan on the road to ruin is off the pitch receiving treatment to a jarred knee.

12.22pm BST

And that wraps it up! Wahab Riaz shuffles backwards to give himself some room to clout the ball, doesn’t clout the ball, and is cleaned out!

12.18pm BST

21st over: Pakistan 103-9 (Wahab 18, Amir 2) Six! Six runs! Holder bowls short to Wahab and he nails this one, hoisting it over midwicket! And then four over cover, followed by another massive six over square leg! Pakistan finally reach triple figures, and in quite some style!

What Pakistan need now is the sort of rain that saved them in Adelaide 1992 when CWC was same format. Bowled out for 74, England 24-1 after 8 overs, down comes the rain. Pakistan squeeze into SFs by one point (for that NR) and beat England in final.

12.12pm BST

20th over: Pakistan 86-9 (Wahab 2, Amir 1) Thomas bowls the noest of no balls, overstepping by a massive margin, but the free hit, a slower short ball, goes unhit. “This is a bit of a sorry shambles,” says Guy Hornsby. “I do have a real soft spot for Pakistan, but you have to wonder how damaging the series against us was for their confidence. Their bowlers are quality, but they’ll have nothing to defend if they give it away like this.”

12.09pm BST

Another short ball, another wicket! Hafeez gets his body out of the way but forgets about his bat, and accidentally lifts the ball to deep fine leg!

12.07pm BST

19th over: Pakistan 83-8 (Hafeez 16, Wahab 1) Time for a cornered tigers speech, I would have thought.

12.04pm BST

And another one! Short of a length again, and it’s top-edged straight to mid off!

12.02pm BST

18th over: Pakistan 80-7 (Hafeez 14, Hasan 1) This is carnage. Thomas bowls into Hasan Ali’s body, and he desperately fends it into the air. Short leg would have had the easiest of catches, had he existed.

11.59am BST

A rare full delivery and Shadab is caught by surprise, gets nothing on it and is totally plum!

11.58am BST

17th over: Pakistan 77-6 (Hafeez 12, Shadab 0) Two runs and two wickets from the over as West Indies’ diet of bounce continues to pay dividends.

11.56am BST

Another short ball, another wicket! This loops into the air off Imad’s glove as the batsman mistimes a pull, and Gayle runs backwards and to his right to take a simple catch!

11.52am BST

... And they were right to do so! There was certainly a little tickle, off either the top of the bat or a glove, and another one’s gone!

11.50am BST

The umpire didn’t think he got anything on it, but the fielding team disagrees ...

11.49am BST

16th over: Pakistan 75-4 (Sarfaraz 11, Hafeez 8) Wild cheers as Thomas bowls a bouncer that could Hafeez could only have reached had he been standing on Sarfaraz’s shoulders and the umpire signals a wide. After that he reins it in a bit, and the last is an overpitched yorker-cum-full-toss that the batsman hits straight to a fielder.

11.41am BST

15th over: Pakistan 72-4 (Sarfaraz 9, Hafeez 8) The crowd has started to boo every time a batsman is forced to duck away from a bouncer, and even more so when the bouncers are so bouncy they don’t even have to duck. The umpires seem unbothered, however. At the over’s end, the players pause for drinks.

11.37am BST

14th over: Pakistan 70-4 (Sarfaraz 7, Hafeez 8) Pakistan’s batting has been, as Mickey Arthur might say, extremely charismatic this morning, and they find themselves excavating a fairly deep hole. Mohammad Hafeez seems unbothered: he strolls in and after a single dot ball he dismisses a short, wide delivery for four, and clips the next off his ankles and through midwicket for four more.

11.34am BST

Thomas bowls vaguely shortish, and really quite wide-ish. Babar goes after it, and feathers an edge that Shai Hope takes in superlative, acrobatic style, diving full-length, high to his right!

11.30am BST

13th over: Pakistan 62-3 (Babar 22, Sarfaraz 7) Brathwaite continues. Three dots, three singles.

11.28am BST

12th over: Pakistan 58-3 (Babar 20, Sarfaraz 5) More pace but a new face for West Indies, Oshane Thomas doing some bowling. He pitches one short but Babar’s onto this one, pulling it through midwicket for four. Russell’s spell thus lasted three overs, cost four runs and brought two wickets.

11.24am BST

11th over: Pakistan 50-3 (Babar 13, Sarfaraz 4) Dropped! Brathwaite bowls, Babar pushes it straight to Hetmyer at backward point, and the ball goes down! There’s an excellent slow-motion replay that shows Hetmyer setting himself as if the ball was coming straight to him, and then at the final moment having to fling his hands a foot to the left. Sarfaraz then gets off the mark, tickling the final ball fine for four.

Every one of Andre Russell's first 16 balls were pitched short, that is to say pitching further than 8m from the batsman's stumps. Fast, nasty, and wicket-taking. #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/hUf0IxBLdQ

11.19am BST

10th over: Pakistan 45-3 (Babar 12, Sarfaraz 0) Pakistan are in a spot of bother here. After all those short balls Russell welcomes Sarfaraz with a yorker, which he just about deals with. Excellent, hostile bowling. 400 is looking a long way away at the moment.

11.17am BST

Another short ball, another wicket for Andre Russell! It’s just too fast for Haris, who waves his bat at it and gets a faint top edge that sends the ball looping to the keeper!

11.13am BST

9th over: Pakistan 45-2 (Babar 12, Haris 8) Carlos Brathwaite enters the fray, and keeps the pacey pressure on.

11.10am BST

8th over: Pakistan 42-2 (Babar 12, Haris 5) Russell continues, and continues to serve up a diet of short balls: he has bowled 12 of them so far, and nothing else. The batsmen concentrate on getting out of the way.

11.07am BST

7th over: Pakistan 40-2 (Babar 11, Haris 4) The West Indies pacemen have the wind in their sails now, and Cottrell slams in an opening delivery that rises into Babar’s belly. It’s a fine over, at least until the final delivery, which Haris Sohail clips, without much control, over point for four.

11.02am BST

6th over: Pakistan 35-2 (Babar 10, Haris 0) After a couple of singles Fakhar leans back to work the ball to third man for a single, then Babar leans back to work the ball to third man too. And then the wicket. Fakhar had looked in fine nick, and though the delivery was fine and fast that is a infuriating way to go.

11.01am BST

Fakhar tries to pull a bouncer but is too slow, and the ball hits the handle of his bat, rebounds into his helmet, dribbles off his shoulder and flops onto the stumps!

10.56am BST

5th over: Pakistan 33-1 (Fakhar 21, Babar 9) Cottrell’s wide full toss is hammered to the rope by Babar, a filthy start to the over. It improves from there.

10.52am BST

4th over: Pakistan 27-1 (Fakhar 21, Babar 3) West Indies set a very one-sided field, forcing Holder (well, as captain he forces himself) to bowl wide of off stump to the left-handed Fakhar. Fakhar enjoys this predictability, slaps one past point for four and then pushes through the covers for three. Babar Azam gets off the mark with three of his own off the last, flicked off his pads and through midwicket.

10.48am BST

3rd over: Pakistan 17-1 (Fakhar 14) A word for the crowd, who seem in a mood of wild anticipation, with wild noise exploding from the stands whenever bat meets ball like popcorn from a lidless pan. Fakhar gets them popping with a lofted drive over extra cover for four, before Cottrell gets the wicket, and gets saluting, from his final delivery.

10.46am BST

A shortish ball is on its way just down the leg side but Imam tries to pull and gloves it through to the keeper!

10.41am BST

2nd over: Pakistan 11-0 (Imam-ul-Haq 1, Fakhar 9) Fakhar Zaman drives Jason Holder’s first delivery down the ground for three, and after an Imam single Fakhar lifts the ball over square leg to the shortest boundary in the ground for six! A sweet shot that, lovely timing.

10.38am BST

1st over: Pakistan 1-0 (Imam-ul-Haq 0, Zaman 0) Sheldon Cottrell gets the game started ... with a rank, wild wide! From there he gets closer and closer to the wicket, ending with a lovely yorker that would have taken out middle stump. Before then he got a couple to whistle past the bat, with one confusingly loud appeal for caught behind, even though the ball missed the bat by at least six inches.

10.30am BST

Anthems sung, giant-cricket-balls-on-sticks removed from the pitch, it’s time for action!

10.26am BST

The squads are out ahead of the anthems. There are so many mascots that Shaheen Afridi has to have two.

10.22am BST

“West Indies and Pakistan would have been the B-sides to the tournament favourites if they were discs (West Indies goes gung-ho like England; Pakistan is pragmatic like India),” suggests Abhijato Sensarma. “Unlike the favourites, however, their bowling is mediocre most of the time.Yesterday, we saw the ‘Catch Of The Tournament’. Today on this pitch which is made for strokeplay and punishment of mediocre bowling, we might see the ‘Highest Aggregate Score of the Tournament’ as well!”

10.21am BST

Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel are the big names left out of the West Indies side. Gabriel has only played four ODIs in the last 12 months, all in Dublin this month, so his absence is not a massive shock.

v
Who's out from the playing XI?
Evin Lewis; Fabian Allen; Kemar Roach; Shannon Gabriel#WIvPAK #MenInMaroon #ItsOurGame pic.twitter.com/VyzH1R7zM5

10.16am BST

Some pre-match reading:

10.15am BST

“Instead of unpredictable I’d prefer to use the word charismatic, because I think that sums us up,” says the Pakistan coach, Mickey Arthur, of his side. Sure, we can go with that. Their performances have certainly been a bit, er, charismatic of late. Let’s see what today holds.

10.08am BST

The teams, then:

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk/c), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir.
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Andre Russell, Jason Holder (c), Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas.

10.03am BST

Sarfaraz Ahmed says he too would have chosen to bowl first, but thinks it’s a good batting pitch so chin up.

10.03am BST

“I don’t think the conditions will change much as the day goes on,” says Jason Holder, who thinks there might be a little bit of early movement, hence his decision.

8.49am BST

Day two, and the carnival moves to Nottingham, home of the high score: of the top five ODI totals made in England, three were made at Trent Bridge. It is England’s self-styled capital of ball-thwacking, the place where Pakistan made their (runs finger down list, counting) 16th-highest ODI total just a couple of weeks back (while still losing) and will also play their next World Cup game, against England on Monday. This is what the former England spinner Gareth Batty had to say about Trent Bridge in his excellent guide to the World Cup venues:

The changing rooms are relatively small but somehow, because of the history of the ground, you can put logistics to the back of your mind. The dimensions have changed drastically with the new stands, so you can get some very small pockets to target – generally over extra cover or backward square-leg, on the left‑hand side when you are looking out from the pavilion. Bowlers have to be smart to defend those areas. As for the surface, you can forget about it zipping around – they generally make it as flat as your hat. Nottinghamshire as a club pride themselves on being a high-scoring domestic team, and Trent Bridge is probably the highest-scoring ground in the country.

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Published on May 31, 2019 06:40

The Joy of Six: calamitous Cricket World Cup campaigns

From Australia and South Africa choking at home to India’s 2007 shock and England’s woes, half a dozen CWC nightmares

The year 2007 changed cricket, a transformation that pivoted on India’s performance in its two international tournaments – their early exit from the 50-over shindig and their triumph in the inaugural Twenty20 one. In a Caribbean World Cup that opened with four groups of four from which only two teams progressed, the competition’s defining day was not its concluding one – when Australia emphatically beat Sri Lanka to secure a third successive crown – but its fifth, on which Pakistan and India crashed to cataclysmic defeats, against Ireland and Bangladesh respectively. Pakistan’s tournament was then engulfed by tragedy with the death of their coach, Bob Woolmer, while India’s was a strictly cricketing calamity – but one that reverberated throughout the game.

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Published on May 31, 2019 02:00

West Indies v Pakistan: Cricket World Cup 2019 – live!

Live updates from Trent Bridge, 10.30am (BST) start Pakistan World Cup guide | West Indies guide Cricket World Cup – the latest standingsFeel free to email Simon or tweet @Simon_Burnton

8.49am BST

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Published on May 31, 2019 01:30

May 30, 2019

England v South Africa: Cricket World Cup 2019 opener – live!

Cricket World Cup updates from the opening game at the OvalListen and subscribe to our new podcast … The SpinAnd feel free to email rob.smyth@theguardian.com

9.25am BST

World Cup historians might describe this opening game as chokers vs jokers. But just as England have a new identity, so South Africa come into this tournament with nobody really talking about them. They have quietly won their last five ODI series and the spine of their team – de Kock, du Plessis, Rabada, Tahir – is extremely strong. They will be dangerous opponents for England.

9.18am BST

Breakfast reading

There’s all kinds of content on our dedicated World Cup site: team guides predictions, history, news, all the old favourites. I shan’t go through every article, as it would take around 45 days, but here’s a peedie selection of our coverage.

9.11am BST

England, then. They are aiming to boldly go where no Englishmen have been before, and they could not be in better shape going into the tournament. They are a never-ending statgasm. Since the last World Cup, they have won the most games and have the best win percentage. They’ve scored the most runs and hit the most sixes, an absurd 508.

There’s more. They’ve been the fastest scorers in the world, scoring at an even more absurd 6.29 per over. Their win percentage since the last World Cup is 65; their win percentage since the Champions Trophy is 78. What we’re dealing with here is a total lack of respect for the history and traditions of English cricket.

3.24pm BST

Hello everyone. Or, to put it another way, aaaaaaahhhh! Yep, after four years of ever-increasing excitement, the World Cup is finally about to begin. As any tournament veteran knows, you don’t watch World Cups so much as live them, so for the next 45 days we will be in cricket mode. Meal times, household chores, professional productivity, twitter frequency, liver compromise: all will be determined by what’s going on in the crickYOU’VE MISSED THE BLOODY RUBBISH COLLECTION, HAVEN’T YOU?! I GIVE YOU ONE JOB FOR THE DAY AND YOU SIT WATCHING BLOODY CRICKET AGAIN! I WOULDN’T MIND IF IT WAS THE WORLD CUP FINAL BUT THIS IS BANGLADESH V AFGHANISTAN! AND IT WAS RAINED OFF THREE HOURS AGO!et

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been this excited about a World Cup since the last time I tried to remember when I was so excited about a World Cup. But seriously, this does feel different. The main reason for that, certainly if you are English, is the joyful cognitive dissonance of a superb England ODI team. They begin the tournament against South Africa at the Oval today, and we’ll discuss their unnerving excellence anon. But there’s a reason God provides two eyes per person, and that reason is cricket. One for loving your team, one for loving everything about this sport. You’ll need both in this tournament.

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Published on May 30, 2019 01:31

May 27, 2019

Rampant England beat Afghanistan by nine wickets: Cricket World Cup warmup – as it happened

Jason Roy smashed 89 not out as England thrashed Afghanistan with more than 30 overs to spare in the final World Cup warm-up match

3.18pm BST

That’s it for today’s blog. I’ll leave you with a match report from the Oval. Thanks for your company and emails, and please join us on Thursday morning - for the World Cup!

3.09pm BST

Eoin Morgan speaks “The guys put in a really strong performance today. Obviously Bangladesh are very dangerous in differen- sorry, Afghanistan! Bangladesh are dangerous as well! For a long time now, competition for places has been extremely strong and selecting the final XI for the first World Cup game is not going to be easy. Everyone is really hungry to get a game and that has strengthened our bench. We always look to be as aggressive as we can with the bat. The surface and the opposition might determine that we need to play smarter cricket at times. But we encourage guys to go out and play free-flowing cricket.”

3.06pm BST

Gulbadin Naib speaks “We didn’t take the opportunity as a batting side, although England bowled really well. We need to give our spinners more to work with – maybe 200+ or something. Jason Roy played really well. We saw some tremendous cricket today and we can learn from that.”

2.59pm BST

Jason Roy speaks “Yeah, feeling really good. It was nice to get some practice against their spinners, although Mujeeb wasn’t playing today. I’ve done a lot of work on playing spin; you have to do that or you’ll come undone. We really want the tournament to start now. We’re champing at the bit.”

2.57pm BST

That was more of a lukewarm-up - honk - but the good news is: that’s it. The next time England play cricket will be on Thursday, in the 2019 World Cup. I cannot wait. Whatever happens, it’s going to be seriously very.

2.54pm BST

17.3 overs: England 161-1 (Roy 89, Root 29) Roy clouts Gulbadin over midwicket for six to complete a brutal performance from England. Roy struck 89 from 46 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes, and it felt almost routine.

2.52pm BST

17th over: England 154-1 (Roy 83, Root 28)

2.49pm BST

16th over: England 151-1 (Roy 82, Root 26) England will have to work exceptionally hard to lose from here, although Surrey managed something similar on this ground in 1993. Roy takes England closer to victory with a ferocious pull stroke for four. England need 10 to win, from 204 balls.

“Dear Mr Smyth,” writes Brian Withington. “We would like to point out that your uncredited reference to T10 in over 3 of today’s OBO constitutes a clear breach of the copyright held by Withington Brothers Holdings Inc. The 10 over format has been developed, play tested and launched via the inaugural Sheffield Road Shield tournament, of which you have recently been acquainted. As with the 1930s Escalado, our rights have been patented and trademarked ‘In all Important Countries’. Please cease and desist any such further references on pain of legal proceedings.”

2.44pm BST

15th over: England 143-1 (Roy 78, Root 21) Madon! Jason Roy plays another spectacular shot, slog-sweeping Rashid Khan almost out of the ground, and follows up with a drag through midwicket for four more. He has 78 from 41 balls. He has 78 from 41 balls. Keep telling yourself this is normal.

“This is savage beauty, Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “What would it be if it were a building? Something from the brutalist era? A powerful, unstoppable concrete monolith, crushing all before it? But with a known structural fault that means it may collapse under extreme stress? Is that better than the 90s crumbling but gilded and beautiful edifice, expected to tumble into dust? Or perhaps I need a stiff drink.”

2.41pm BST

14th over: England 132-1 (Roy 68, Root 21) England will be back at the Oval in three days’ time for the first match of the World Cup against South Africa. Afghanistan play Australia in Bristol on Saturday. Oh, and Jason Roy has just ramped Gulbadin for six. It’s not even news anymore.

2.36pm BST

13th over: England 121-1 (Roy 60, Root 20) Root late cuts Rashid for four, a high-class stroke. England have played him well so far, albeit under precisely no pressure.

2.33pm BST

12th over: England 115-1 (Roy 59, Root 15) Gulbadin Nair has the misfortune of being asked to bowl. His second and third balls are carved for four by Roy, who is playing ludicrously well and has 59 from 31 balls. It’s like he’s invented the no-risk boundary.

“With the early finish, is there time for a 100-balls-per-side beer match?” says Gary Naylor. “It could lead to something...”

2.29pm BST

11th over: England 102-1 (Roy 50, Root 12) I’ve never been sure about Jason Roy in the Test team, certainly not in the top three, but increasingly I think England need to take a look. Although it might not work, you can’t die wondering with somebody as talented as Roy. He pushes Rashid Khan down the ground to reach a swaggering 28-ball fifty. He is a beautiful player to watch.

2.27pm BST

10th over: England 100-1 (Roy 49, Root 11) Root pulls Nabi for four. He’s started his innings relatively slowly; he’s scoring at a run a ball. Roy, meanwhile, hurries England to three figures by spanking consecutive boundaries off Nabi. I can’t keep with this. England are 100-1 after 10 overs. After 10 overs, they are 100-1. England. 100-1 after 10 overs. What is this we’re watching?

2.24pm BST

9th over: England 82-1 (Roy 37, Root 5) “Seeing M Nabi is always a good thing, as he’s a true trooper of the ODI world, but it was made even better by hearing a stat from Andy Zaltzman on the most recent episode of the ever-excellent Cricket Sadist Hour,” says Mike Wood. “Zaltz claimed that Nabi has played official ODIs against 46 countries, a result of him predating the Afghanistan “golden age”, and thus having played against the likes of Iran, Bhutan etc.”

That’s great if true. Sounds like one for Ask Steven on Cricinfo.

2.18pm BST

8th over: England 78-1 (Roy 37, Root 1) Root almost falls second ball. He tried a reverse lap at Nabi and thin-edged the ball onto the pads of the keeper Rahmat, whose reactions lacked the superhumanism required to take the catch.

2.15pm BST

Bairstow’s savage cameo comes to an end. He was beaten outside off stump by Nabi, and his back foot was not quite grounded when the keeper Rahmat Shah iron-gloved take rebounded onto the stumps. Bairstow pasted 39 from 22 balls.

2.13pm BST

7th over: England 76-0 (Roy 36, Bairstow 39) Aftab Alam comes into the attack, wishes he hadn’t: Bairstow smacks him for 10 off the first two balls, breaking his bat in the process of pulling a huge six.

The substitute Liam Dawson brings out the wrong bat, and Bairstow looks thoroughly affronted as he has to endure the humiliation of two consecutive dot balls with his new bat. He sweeps the next ball for four, though, making it 14 from the over. Time for Bairstow to change his bat again. England need 85 from 43.

2.07pm BST

6th over: England 62-0 (Roy 36, Bairstow 25) The offspinner Mohammad Nabi replaces Rashid Khan - and he should have had a wicket with his first ball. Roy clattered it flat and hard to mid-off, where Dawlat put down a pretty straightforward chance. Bairstow pulls the next ball round the corner for four to bring up the fifty partnership in 5.2 overs, and Roy adds another later in the over. We’ve had 10 fours already. And now we’ve had the first six, with Roy driving sweetly over long-off. This is stunning batting.

“Hi from the Vauxhall End,” writes our own James Walsh. “Re: the ‘purpose’ of the warm-ups, maybe it’s the [relatively] cheap ticket prices and lovely atmosphere? The pockets of Afghanistan fans have been very enthusiastic despite the run outs, and where I’m sat I’m surrounded by British Asian cricket fans, kids chatting about Buttler and Moeen and patents snarking on Dhoni.”

2.02pm BST

5th over: England 46-0 (Roy 25, Bairstow 20) Nabi saves a boundary with a good diving stop at mid-on, but there’s nothing he can do when Bairstow pings the next ball wide of him for four.

1.58pm BST

4th over: England 41-0 (Roy 24, Bairstow 16) The great Rashid Khan, who usually never bowls in the first Powerplay, comes into the attack after only three overs. Roy skids back in his crease to cut his first ball for four. That’s a brilliant stroke because he took it from middle-and-leg and still manage to steer it behind square. A handful of ones and twos make it another good over for England, whose openers are in beast mode.

“Good afternoon Rob,” says Kim Thonger. “I should like to propose that we rename the DRS. It’s a bit acronymmy for my taste. I favour, ‘Confirmatory Howzat’. What say you?”

1.54pm BST

3rd over: England 32-0 (Roy 18, Bairstow 13) England are treating this runchase like it’s a T20 game. Maybe even a T10 game. Hamid’s second over has disappeared for 11. Bairstow, flashing ferociously outside off stump, edges him for four; then Roy, on the charge, drags a short ball through midwicket for four more.

1.52pm BST

2nd over: England 21-0 (Roy 12, Bairstow 8) Roy does to Dawlat Zadran as he did unto Hassan, spanking his first ball through the covers for four. That’s the first of three boundaries in a 16-run over. Bairstow, who really should be known as Beastow on current form, gets off the mark with a contemptuous thump down the ground for four. He follows that with a whip to leg for another boundary, because he can.

“Afternoon Rob,” says Brian Withington. “In case you were wondering, the keenly awaited Withington Brothers Festival of Sport weekend was a rip-roaring success. Vintage 1930s Escalado was hilarious, and Subbuteo produced dramatic cricket after a keenly contested franchise draft stage.
“In the inaugural Sheffield Road Shield final, the Boldmere Bengals’ (conquerors of the Hackney Hackers in the semis) score of 168-3 was just too good for the Dorridge Dodgers (fresh from spanking the Brum Bandits), who subsided to 122-9 under intense scoreboard pressure.
“The key turning point was Allan Donald’s castling of the great Don Bradman, ending a very promising second wicket stand with Kevin Pietersen. Chris Gayle’s final-ball hat-trick dismissal of Michael Holding just rubbed salt into the wound.
I can’t wait for the stumpcam YouTube uploads from the victorious Bengals manager ...”

1.46pm BST

1st over: England 5-0 (Roy 5, Bairstow 0) Hamid Hassan’s first ball of the innings is short, wide and pummelled through point for four by Jason Roy. And that’s your lot for the time being.

Word from CA is that Khawaja is ok and should be able to bat. #CWC19

1.33pm BST

This doesn’t look good

Another injury scare for Usman Khawaja ahead of #CWC19: https://t.co/0wSIOblPWG pic.twitter.com/p8FYkzip8J

1.33pm BST

“Confused of Tooting writes...” begins Gary Naylor. “Are warm-up matches (in all sports) a bit of a

zero
-1 sum game Rob? There’s potential for injury, a confidence-damaging shellacking, a dressing-room spat but, perversely, they do seem to be necessary to avoid ‘undercookedness’. Yet has anyone ever said the words, ‘It was the warm-up matches wot won it’?”

Not as far as I know. But plenty have said, ‘It was the lack of warm-up matches wot lost it.’ It’s a tricky one, isn’t it. I wonder if these games were more useful before they were televised/OBOed to within an inch of their life.

1.24pm BST

1.19pm BST

Thanks Will, hello everyone; it’s the great Rob Smyth (!) here. That was just what the doctor ordered for England in more ways than one. No injuries, no alarms or surprises, and a useful bowling spell from Joe Root in particular. The best is yet to come - a chance to have a net against Afghanistan’s magical mystery spinners.

1.14pm BST

Anyway ... a slightly shorter first innings than expected there. On the upside, you don’t have to put up with me any longer, as the great Rob Smyth is primed to take the reins.

1.13pm BST

England might have got it done far quicker if Archer or another seamer came on sooner but they really wanted to test the spinners against players used to the turning ball, especially Rashid who has had a minor shoulder issue recently. Root will be pleased, too, as his variations looked more than competent, even if Stokes has just joked that it’s the best he’s seen them bowl. Surely England should knock these off easily.

1.11pm BST

Well ... it’s all over for Afghanistan inside 39 overs. It was not a great effort from them, to be honest. The top order did not get used to the conditions, leaving their other batsmen with plenty to do and, frankly, they made some poor decisions at crucial times.

1.10pm BST

Nabi flashes a top edge down to third man where Bairstow is waiting on the boundary, he is just inside the rope, taking the catch cleanly and then throwing it up to claim for a second time as he nips over the rope to regain his balance. Clever stuff from Bairstow.

1.05pm BST

38th over: Afghanistan 156-9 (Dawlat 20, Nabi 40) Against the odds, Afghanistan have made it to 150! Nabi is trusting Dawlat with more of the strike following his lusty blows. He repays the faith with a chip straight down the ground which looks like it’s going for four until Stokes pulls it in.There’s no mistake a couple of balls later with a smash that forces the umpire to do a star jump to get out of the way.

1.02pm BST

37th over: Afghanistan 149-9 (Dawlat 14, Nabi 39) Nabi steps down the track but Rashid sees him coming, dropping it shot and the batsman cannot get it away. He looks to send the ball out of the ground, only to bottom edge it for a single that does not make it off the square. Dawlat sends one deep into the stands over long-on while the batsman was on one knee. A cracking shot from supposedly the worst batsman in this team. It’s gone 90m!

1.00pm BST

36th over: Afghanistan 142-9 (Dawlat 8, Nabi 38) Will we see any seam before the end of the innings? Moeen continues, giving away a run after Nabi hits one straight to him, with the spinner eyeing a chance to run out the non-striker, he chucks the ball over the stumps, allowing them to go through for a single. He tosses one up to Dawlat who does not look like a No 11 as he plays a lofted drive over cover for four.

12.56pm BST

35th over: Afghanistan 136-9 (Dawlat 3, Nabi 37) Still a trial by spin here with Rashid going into his fifth over. Nabi fails to pick the wrong ‘un but gets away with it as his bat is just about in the right place. Then he fails to really connect when trying to sweep, with the ball clanging into his Adam’s Apple off his wrist. Due to the injury they decide to take drinks while he is treated with four ball still remaining in the over. He is able to continue, clipping the ball to fine leg for a couple. Dawlat takes the strike with a single off the back ball.

12.53pm BST

A bit of a sudden drinks break, so here’s Brian Withington: “No usurping intended! On another topic, I believe that the mighty Geoff Lemon has sold his immortal soul to the TMS team in order to commentate on the Aus v Afghanistan game at Bristol. I am almost tempted to break the habit of recent times and actually follow their coverage with the volume up (eyes still glued to OBO of course).”

It doesn’t take much to usurp me, do not worry. I am also happy to sellout to anyone who will pay me more (or an office with a decent coffee machine).

12.49pm BST

34th over: Afghanistan 132-9 (Dawlat 2, Nabi 34) Nabi is looking to get some big runs here but it takes him to the fourth ball to get a single. Dawlat then nudges one for himself but Nabi then gets another off the last ball to get himself back on strike.

Ian Forth asks: “What have you chosen to binge watch this week that your girlfriend doesn’t mind missing, Will? Please be more imaginative than the 2005 Ashes.”

12.46pm BST

33rd over: Afghanistan 129-9 (Dawlat 1, Nabi 31) That’s nice, Stokes has just done up Aftab’s laces. That sort of thing at school which would result in me tying them together. Very mature from Stokes. Aftab eases a point down to point to get Nabi on strike. Root is back into the attack, losing a little accuracy with a wayward one down legside for a wide. He makes up for it by getting Aftab out. If Dawlat is worse than Aftab there is not much hope here but he does manage to get off strike.

12.44pm BST

Not really what Aftab was supposed to do as he tries to carve Root through cover, instead edging the ball to Rashid at short third man. He just needed to stay in to help Nabi.

12.40pm BST

32nd over: Afghanistan 124-8 (Aftab 5, Nabi 30) Aftab gets Nabi back onto strike with a clip down legside. That will be his job for the remainder of his innings. Nabi proves his is the right tactic by whacking Rashid over extra for a big, flat six. Aftab takes a run off the final ball of the over for some reason.

12.38pm BST

31st over: Afghanistan 115-8 (Aftab 3, Nabi 23) CRASH! BANG! WALLOP! WHAT A SHOT! Nabi gets the Afghans on their feet by stepping down the track to Moeen and smashing him straight over long off for a big six. He then gets in a massive stride and slog sweeps for another maximum over midwicket. Moeen is not happy with the ball and a new one is brought out by an additional match official. After a slow period for Afghanistan this was much needed. Things have gone so well for Nabi he has decided he should keep the strike regardless. Saying that, he hits one down to the boundary for an easy two, taking them rather than keeping the strike for the next over.

Brian Withington has usurped me: “I was just thinking that Aftab was looking pleasingly agricultural but then saw you had beaten me to it. Can I up my game and offer ‘bucolic’ instead. Proper tailender.”

12.33pm BST

30th over: Afghanistan 101-8 (Aftab 3, Nabi 9) Block, nudge, push, sweep; no runs from the first four. Nabi gets a single from the fifth but it’s all pretty flat out there for Afghanistan.

12.30pm BST

29th over: Afghanistan 100-8 (Aftab 3, Nabi 8) Aftab does not lack confidence and fancies taking on Moeen but just doesn’t have the armoury to do so. The six balls go for nothing, despite his backlift getting increasingly higher.

12.29pm BST

28th over: Afghanistan 100-8 (Aftab 3, Nabi 8) Rashid beats Aftab first up, Buttler takes off the bails but there is no chance he has lifted his foot. Aftab gets off strike with a push through cover. Nabi is Afghanistan’s only hope to get this score up to something respectable but he is happy to rotate the strike still despite Aftab’s agricultural tendencies. He does manage to bring the hundred up for by attempting to smash the ball to the boundary, only succeeding in sending it 10 yards but gives them time to scamper for one.

12.26pm BST

27th over: Afghanistan 97-8 (Aftab 1, Nabi 7) The first decent shot from an Afghan for a while, as Nabi gets down on one need to caress a sweep to fine leg for two. Aftab gets on strike and tries to whack the ball out of the ground without the use of any technique, just a classic heave-ho instead. Gets one for it.

12.23pm BST

26th over: Afghanistan 93-8 (Aftab 0, Nabi 4) I knew Afghanistan’s batting was frail but this is has been pretty poor from them, plenty of bad shots and woeful decisions. On the upside, Adil Rashid is on. Nabi strokes a single to long-off, leaving five balls for Aftab who does not look like a batsman. He just about picks a googly but then complete misses a half tracker, as it hits him in the midriff.

Dean Kinsella emails to say: “If your girlfriend has left any humble pie in the fridge, I might pop round for a slice this evening. On Saturday’s OBO I opined these Afghani’s will take some beating after thrashing Pakistan. I’ll bring some custard.”

12.20pm BST

25th over: Afghanistan 92-8 (Aftab 0, Nabi 3) Root is really being given a full spell here. Maybe they should try out Roy or Vince to see if they can do a job with the ball. Afghanistan nudge a couple of singles around as taking risks is pretty pointless at this stage. Oh ... then they lose two wickets in two balls. Ignore me. It was a cracking reaction catch from Stokes, it must be said. Aftab takes an age to come out, one assumes as he wasn’t ready. He jogs down the steps with his helmet and gloves in hand.

12.17pm BST

Khan edges Root to Stokes at slip for a golden duck. This is going woefully.

12.16pm BST

Nabi cuts the ball down to the boundary at third man, forcing Bairstow to run round and cut off. It’s an easy two but for some reason they decide to go for a third, which doesn’t materialise as it’s a good throw from Bairstow, allowing Buttler to whip the bails off.

12.12pm BST

24th over: Afghanistan 88-6 (Najib 0, Nabi 0) After missing out on a few loose deliveries, Gulbadin makes no mistake with a wide one from Moeen, smashing him for four beyond point for four. That shot was ruined by a silly run out and the captain giving his wicket away, leaving Afghanistan with two players on nought in. Will this innings last 50 overs? Probably not.

12.11pm BST

Not great from the skipper after just losing a wicket, as he lofts Moeen down the throat of Stokes at long-on. The England man had to make up a bit of ground but that was really easy. This is going terribly for Afghanistan.

12.09pm BST

Poor running costs Afghanistan as they try to take a second to Plunkett who rockets in a throw to the non-striker’s end where Moeen does the rest. It goes up to the third umpire who quickly sees Hashmat has failed to make his ground, as he departs for 19 from 53 balls.

12.06pm BST

23rd over: Afghanistan 83-4 (Gulbadin 9, Hashmat 19) Root opens with a leggy which fails to land, allowing Gulbadin to flick for one through midwicket. Was that a flipper from Root? Looked like he almost nailed it. He is rushing through his overs, is this a plan for the World Cup to unsettle opponents? Root offers a freebie to Hashmat who slashes it to the cover boundary but it is stopped in time, allowing only one. The spinner then drops one short but Gulbadin can only find deep midwicket.

12.03pm BST

22nd over: Afghanistan 78-4 (Gulbadin 6, Hashmat 17) There’s a half-hearted appeal for an LBW to Hashmat but no one is very interested in it. The left-hander then decides to use his feet, coming down the ground to lift a drive to long-off for a single. At least he is showing some intent.

John Starbuck has some advice: “While your girlfriend is away you’ll need to guard against takeaways, pork pies or bacon sandwich tendencies. Self-discipline matters; this applies to cricket too, of course.”

12.00pm BST

21st over: Afghanistan 75-4 (Gulbadin 5, Hashmat 16) How’s the cricket going? Well ... the broadcaster has decided the best idea is to show shots of Tower Bridge and the London Eye. Root is looking good and keeping things tight, so much so Hashmat sets off for a single that isn’t there in an attempt to rotate strike but is turned back to avoid disaster. Just two from the over.

11.58am BST

20th over: Afghanistan 74-4 (Gulbadin 4, Hashmat 15) Moeen is into the attack. He offers plenty of width to Gulbadin but he whacks it straight at Woakes at cover. Gulbadin takes his anger out on the stumps at the other end by smashing the ball straight at them. He picks up the over’s only run off the final ball.

11.55am BST

19th over: Afghanistan 73-4 (Gulbadin 3, Hashmat 15) Root is using his cameo bowling appearance to test his full repertoire of deliveries from the casual off-spinner to leggies. They look decent to be fair. Afghanistan are happy to take singles off him but they can’t get too much more from him.

Andrew Benton emails in: “Can we do a TMS and add diminutive Suffixes to the OBO team’s names this summer? How’s (the) Willster for you? Or Willo, Wills, Willsie, Willings, Willini? Will the Conqueror? Will the Great OBOlogist?

11.52am BST

18th over: Afghanistan 69-4 (Gulbadin 1, Hashmat 13) Gulbadin is also being tested with some bouncers, arching back to avoid a whack in the chops. He looks solid in defence, but so have all his teammates. He misses out, as Stokes bowls a full toss well outside off-stump but he smacks it straight at cover.

Anthony Pease feels this text commentary is not supplying all he needs, but it’s not gone too well for him: “On TMS, there’s currently a discussion featuring the words “Stormzy” and “dubstep”. I’m not a religious man, but this is one of the harbingers of the apocalypse, isn’t it?”

11.48am BST

17th over: Afghanistan 68-4 (Gulbadin 1, Hashmat 12) What a drinks break! I managed four sips of water. If anyone can bring me some coffee that would be great as the machine stuff here does not provide the required caffeine fix. Eoin Morgan is the man handing out the sugary water on the outfield to his England players, which is nice.

Root is getting a bowl and picks up his wicket second ball. Gulbadin gets off the mark first up, nudging a leg spinner for one to the legside. England have a slip in to Hashmat but he happily drives for one down the ground.

11.46am BST

Root comes on for a chuck, loops up a full toss first up to lure Afghan into a false sense of security, as he than charges him to smash one out of the ground, only succeeding in finding Roy at long-on.

11.41am BST

16th over: Afghanistan 66-3 (Afghan 10, Hashmat 11) The crowd comes alive as Afghan flashes a cut past point down to the boundary. A cracking shot from the right-hander, which will hopefully get his innings going. Hashmat sees a bit of width and aims to lift it down to third man but gets nowhere near the ball. DRINKS!

Romeo emails in to say: “I think you should refer to Asghar Afghan as Asghar. It’s what most people do, and also did before he changed his name.”

11.36am BST

15th over: Afghanistan 61-3 (Afghan 5, Hashmat 11) England are mixing it up here, getting in quite a few short balls to rough up the batsmen, as they don’t seem to fancy bouncers, forcing them to get out of the way rather than take them on. The first run of the over comes from the fifth ball as Hashmat pushes one through cover for an ambled single.

11.33am BST

14th over: Afghanistan 59-3 (Afghan 4, Hashmat 10) Stokes loves to dig one in and delivers the perfect bouncer, forcing Hashmat to take evasive action to avoid a bump on the noggin’. There are plenty of Afghanistan supporters in the crowd who are letting it known every time they pick up a single. They are almost silenced by Stokes who beats Afghan’s outside edge while looking to drive.

11.29am BST

13th over: Afghanistan 57-3 (Afghan 3, Hashmat 9) Afghan looks happy to nudge the ball around. Hashmat finally shows what he is capable of, flashing a full ball through cover for a delicious four, his first boundary of the day. Curran is yet to find his rhythm here, sliding one for Afghan to work down to fine leg.

11.25am BST

12th over: Afghanistan 50-3 (Afghan 1, Hashmat 4) Woakes is replaced by Stokes, with the first ball being angled down to third man for a single for Hashmat. The second is hooked to the fine leg boundary by Noor Ali as Stokes fails to threaten with his bouncer but gains revenge by bowling him next ball. Afghan (name as well as nationality) comes to the crease to continue the right hand/left hand partnership.

11.23am BST

Having just hooked a four, Noor Ali is caught on his crease, as Stokes gets him to play onto his stumps.

11.19am BST

All you need to know about South Africa going into the World Cup ...

11.19am BST

11th over: Afghanistan 44-2 (Noor Ali 26, Hashmat 3) Tom Curran comes into the attack and is nudged for a single to square leg first up to bring Hashmat onto strike. The left-hander gets just his third run from 19 balls with a block which goes through cover for a simple single. Noor Ali lifts a very full ball over midwicket to the boundary for four. Poor from Curran.

11.14am BST

10th over: Afghanistan 38-2 (Noor Ali 21, Hashmat 2) Afghanistan’s No 4, Hashmat, is showing Afghanistan’s potential as a Test match side by blocking out Woakes for four balls before hitting a drive straight to cover. A maiden over.

11.11am BST

9th over: Afghanistan 38-2 (Noor Ali 21, Hashmat 2) A flash for four from Noor Ali goes over slips for four down to third man, which will be a brief relief for Afghanistan but they do not look happy against Archer’s pace. Buttler does well to grab a bouncer from Archer which Noor Ali gets under, leaving the wicketkeeper to leap in order to stop it going for four byes. Eventually there is another boundary, as Noor Ali clips it to the rope at square leg.

Elsewhere ... we have the county cricket live blog if you like more sedate cricket.

11.07am BST

8th over: Afghanistan 30-2 (Noor Ali 13, Hashmat 2) Things have really slowed down in this Afghanistan innings as they look to rebuild and bat the 50 overs. Woakes keeps things tight to the left-hander, not giving him any width to play with, giving them just a single off the over.

11.04am BST

7th over: Afghanistan 29-2 (Noor Ali 12, Hashmat 2) Archer is going round to the left-hander Hashmat, looking to cramp his style. The result is to clean out the batsman with a ball which smashes into his ermmm ... gentleman’s area. The physio sprints onto the pitch to provide urgent medical attention. He is, luckily, up and about as we all feel his pain. After the delay, Archer beats Hashmat’s outside edge with a cracking delivery that moved a little. Hashmat finally gets Archer off the square with a clip through midwicket which is an easy two but they consider a third with Hashmat legging it halfway down the pitch before he is sent back. Conveniently for Hashmat, the throw is a little wild from Stokes and he can make up the lost ground. Just two from the over.

I called Plunkett as being the sub when he caught Rahmat but I am not completely sure that is right with this free jazz-style team selection.

10.57am BST

6th over: Afghanistan 27-2 (Noor Ali 12, Hashmat 0) Noor Ali takes on Woakes on the third ball, coming down the track to lift him over mid-on but the ball just plugs in the outfield, allowing them to run two. Noor Ali really needs to bat for a long time now and help his side through this tough period, so he is avoiding risks with plenty of defensive shots off the back foot.

10.54am BST

5th over: Afghanistan 25-2 (Noor Ali 10, Hashmat 0) Noor Ali flashes a cut through point, which is chased down inside the boundary, costing England just two runs in the end. It does not help that Noor Ali thinks it is definitely going for four, so gives up after jogging the first single and just makes it back for the second. He does get three a couple of balls later with backfoot drive through cover, taking the ball on the up. There is no mistake with the running this time. Alas, the over ends badly for Afghanistan with Rahmat getting out.

10.53am BST

Archer gets a ball to rise a little on Rahmat who lofts a poor shot straight to Plunkett at mid-on, who gleefully accepts the chance. Afghanistan really need to be smarter here with the ball moving.

10.48am BST

4th over: Afghanistan 20-1 (Noor Ali 5, Rahmat 3) Woakes finds a bit of movement outside off stick but Rahmat calmly leaves it. He will be pleased there is something in the pitch, though. Rahmat clips Woakes through midwicket to pick up a simple two. More movement on the fifth ball goes just past Rahmat’s edge, much to the batsman’s relief.

10.44am BST

3rd over: Afghanistan 18-1 (Noor Ali 5, Rahmat 1) Not sure why Hazaratullah felt the need to smash everything, this is not T20. Maybe he was surprised by Archer moving round the wicket but it was a silly shot. Rahmat comes in and nudges one to get his innings going. Archer steams through a bouncer, forcing Noor Ali to duck out of the way. A vicious ball to the opener.

A relatively sparse crowd at The Oval but it might pick up throughout the day seeing as the weather is improving, too.

10.42am BST

The left-hander goes big again but only achieves to smash Archer high but without any form of distance, allowing Mooen to come in from mid-on to take a simple catch.

10.40am BST

2nd over: Afghanistan 17-0 (Noor Ali 5, Hazratullah 11) Woakes finds Noor Ali’s edge with his first ball but it falls short of second slip. The batsmen seem to be playing the pitch rather than the ball, concerned by the amount of grass, perhaps. Nearly a run out after Noor Ali angles a shot to point, Roy dives, collects the ball and fires at the stumps with the batsman out of shot but the throw misses the stumps. Woakes thinks he gets Noor Ali the next ball caught behind but following a review the third umpire adjudges that the ball has hit his elbow and reverses the decision. To make things worse for England he drives the next ball for four.

10.34am BST

1st over: Afghanistan 11-0 (Noor Ali 1, Hazratullah 10) Archer gets the opening over with the first ball being nudged for a single through gully. A harsher critic would say that was an edge. A similar shot is played by Noor Ali next up to also get him off the mark. Hazratullah does not look very comfortable against the pace of Archer, stepping back to each ball. He manages to hook a bouncer for four to a very fine leg after taking his eye off the ball and then he slashes one over point for another boundary, which is more like it. Good start for Afghanistan.

10.28am BST

Wasim Akram points out there is a good amount of grass on the wicket, which is good news for bowlers. The clouds have cleared, though, and there is bright sunshine at The Oval now.

10.27am BST

Dawson, Wood and Plunkett are the players who will not feature for England today. Dawson has a finger injury, Wood an ankle issue but there is no word on the reason for Plunkett’s absence.

10.25am BST

Morgan is captain but will not field to protect his finger. He will be used as a batsman only, which seems slightly odd for a captain.

10.23am BST

Morgan explains he has elected to bowl to replicate losing the toss against them when they face each other at Old Trafford in the actual World Cup.

10.11am BST

We certainly want no half measures today ...

@Will_Unwin Re the 'bold prediction', having followed Afghanistan a lot, I'd say wither they'll sneak a narrow win or be beaten out of the park, but no half measures.

10.10am BST

The news from the middle is that Morgan has won the toss and England will bowl first on this overcast morning in London.

10.09am BST

Good news for England as Morgan returns to a side of 12 players, as plans for The Hundred are tested out on the public.

England: Roy, Bairstow, Root, Morgan, Stokes, Buttler, Moeen, Vince, Woakes, T Curran, Rashid, Archer

10.06am BST

Abhijato Sensarma provides an update: “A correction to my earlier email: these two sides have met before, but it was a match in the 2015 World Cup which couldn’t be completed because of the bad weather, robbing them of a victory they deserved to end their disastrous campaign. If someone had told me then that four years down the line England would be the best team of the world and leading an ODI revolution, I would have called it a very bold prediction indeed!”

Obviously, if you want to catch me out if with erroneous facts, you can get in touch to ask me whatever you want via the details above.

9.59am BST

Our first contribution of the day comes from Abhijato Sensarma, who is not here to please the home supporters, he says: “I think the English players would be cautious enough to prevent any physical injuries. When it comes to possible injury to their self-confidence, however, it’s a different case against Afghanistan.

“This is the first time these two international sides are meeting. Considering England’s tendency to fail to go off against quality spinners and Afghanistan’s tendency to be at their best against the best, the proverbial underdogs might send out an iconic warning today!”

9.54am BST

There were plenty of England fans wandering through King’s Cross this morning, heading down to The Oval ahead of their feast of cricket. It’s quite overcast in London but the sun is creeping through.

9.47am BST

England fast bowler Mark Wood has been passed fit for the World Cup opener against South Africa. The seamer was withdrawn from the warmup match against Australia on Saturday due to complaint in his left ankle. Wood underwent a scan at hospital which has cleared him to feature on Thursday but he will not play against Afghanistan.

8.33am BST

After Saturday’s defeat to Australia England will be aiming to go into the World Cup on a high. There were a few issues against the Aussies, mainly people getting injured so Trevor Bayliss will want to ensure no more niggles or split fingers in today’s outing.

This England side are not used to losing and a further defeat against Afghanistan would be a pretty huge blow to a side expecting to make it all the way to the final in a home tournament. Obviously, these games where 15-a-side can be selected and Ronnie Irani or a mascot are allowed to field when the latest players trips over the rope, mean very little in the grand scheme of things but momentum is never a bad concept to have.

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Published on May 27, 2019 07:18

May 26, 2019

Charlton Athletic 2-1 Sunderland: League One play-off final – as it happened

Patrick Bauer’s late, late winner shattered Sunderland and secure promotion for Charlton, who fought back in style after a hideous start at Wembley

5.20pm BST

Ben Fisher has filed his match report from Wembley, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company on another day of ludicrous drama in the play-offs. Goodnight!

5.19pm BST

“Great for a club that always seems to get a bad deal,” says Peter Harding,. “Now we need to find an owner who will appreciate what a good club we are and what a good manager Lee Bowyer is. Give him a contract before someone else comes along.”

5.18pm BST

Here’s Dillon Phillips “I’ve just seen the Sunderland goal for the first time. It was a lack of concentration. It kicked on quicker than I expected and maybe the occasion has played a part. I can’t thank the boys enough for getting us back in the game. As soon as you make a mistake you just want to put things right so I was glad I made that save from Grant Leadbitter. And now we’re in the Championship – I can’t believe it, really. No better feeling, mate, no better feeling.”

5.06pm BST

Charlton’s players walk up to collect the play-off trophy, as high on life as it’s possible to be. The sheer happiness is really heartwarming. There’s so much to admire about this team and their manager. That said, the same is true of Sunderland, and I feel desperately sorry for them.

5.03pm BST

Sunderland may regret not swarming all over Charlton after that opening goal, because for 10 minutes Charlton’s heads were all over place.

5.02pm BST

“If you’d asked me in, say, 2002 to pick out a few players from the Premier League who might turn out to be decent managers, I think it’s fair to say Lee Bowyer would have been a long, long, LONG way down my list,” says Matt Dony. “But he’s managed to a ridiculously good job considering the circumstances. Charlton were (are) a heroic mess, but they’re on their way to the Championship. Good on them, and good on Lee.”

5.01pm BST

Here’s Lee Bowyer

“I’m so proud of my players – they just give me everything. And this crowd … to bring this all back together, it’s been some season. The goal was one of those freak things that happens in the game, but it shows our character to come from behind. This is probably the proudest moment of my whole career, and I’m delighted for this football club.”

5.00pm BST

Post-match reaction

Patrick Bauer “I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing. We worked so hard all season – now we’ve done it, and it’s unbelievable. The boys were excellent all season; big respect to Lee Bowyer for getting such a squad together. We are so happy.”

4.57pm BST

Patrick Bauer’s goal was almost the last kick of the game. The Sunderland players are devastated, and their fans aren’t exactly full of the joys of the play-offs either. That was extraordinary. It’s a glorious day for Charlton and their manager Lee Bowyer - and the keeper Dillon Phillips, whose awful early error no longer matters one iota.

4.55pm BST

Charlton have done it!

4.55pm BST

90+5 min Oh my days.

4.54pm BST

What a savage late twist! The four minutes of added time were almost up when Charlton took a quick free-kick on the left. They had a man over at the far post, where Cullen’s deep cross was headed towards goal by Bauer. It was blocked by Flanagan but came straight back to Bauer, who slid it gleefully into the net from four yards.

4.52pm BST

Charlton are going into the Championship!

4.52pm BST

90+3 min Cullen hangs the free-kick up beyond the far post, where Bauer loops a header into the six-yard box. McLaughlin comes through a crowd of players to catch confidently. Excellent goalkeeping, that.

4.50pm BST

90+2 min Charlton are finishing very strongly. Taylor is bundled over on the right wing by Flanagan, who is booked.

4.50pm BST

90+1 min Williams crosses low towards the near post, where Parker flicks a volley behind his standing leg that is blocked by Flanagan.

4.49pm BST

90+1 min Four minutes of added time.

4.48pm BST

90 min This, we can say without fear of contradiction, would be a reasonable time to score.

4.47pm BST

89 min Charlton’s attackers, the substitute Williams aside, look shattered.

4.45pm BST

87 min Charlton are hanging on a bit now. After a fine run from Morgan, O’Nien’s dangerous cross is superbly headed away by Pearce (I think) at the near post.

4.43pm BST

84 min McGeady tries his luck from the edge of the area, and wishes he hadn’t as the ball flies miles over the bar.

4.41pm BST

83 min Leadbitter again fouls Williams; this time he is booked. Williams has been excellent since coming on.

4.40pm BST

82 min A long cross from the left is headed back across goal by Grigg and headed away by Bielik. Grigg might have gone for goal there, though it wasn’t an easy chance.

4.40pm BST

81 min A whole season, almost 50 matches, comes down to this. Sunderland are having a decent spell, though both sides look weary.

4.37pm BST

78 min This has been a poor game in terms of chances, but the tension has made it compelling stuff.

4.36pm BST

77 min Williams, who looks really lively, is flattened by Leadbitter. That might have been a yellow card as well.

4.33pm BST

74 min Cullen’s deep free-kick is headed down into the six-yard box by Bielik and headed away by Leadbitter. At first that looked like a great chance for Bielik, but he had to climb over O’Nien to get to the ball, which is why he couldn’t control the header.

4.31pm BST

73 min Williams surges down the left and is taken out by O’Nien, who is rightly booked.

4.30pm BST

72 min Sunderland make their third change: Aiden McGeady is on for Charlie Wyke.

4.29pm BST

71 min A Charlton change: the disappointing Darren Pratley is replaced by Jonny Williams.

4.29pm BST

70 min This is Sunderland’s best spell of the half. Neither side has really created anything since the Charlton equaliser, though, such is the tension.

4.27pm BST

69 min This is so tense. Both teams look more intent on avoiding defeat than winning the game.

4.26pm BST

67 min Grigg wins a corner for Sunderland. Leadbitter’s ball flashes past a posse of bodies at the near post, hits the unsighted Flanagan and dribbles well wide.

4.23pm BST

65 min Grigg is booked for a foul on Purrington. I’m not sure that was a free-kick, never mind a booking.

4.22pm BST

64 min This match is increasingly cagey, with few opportunities for either side. O’Nien is back on the field with a black bandage around his head.

4.20pm BST

61 min O’Nien is also bleeding, and runs off to the Sunderland dressing-room to have stitches put in. It looks like he’s going to try to continue. Pratley is back on the field for Charlton.

4.18pm BST

60 min O’Nien tries to get to his feet, staggers around and is helped back to the ground. I doubt he’ll be able to continue.

4.18pm BST

59 min There’s a break in play after a nasty clash of heads between O’Nien and Pratley.

4.15pm BST

57 min Sunderland make their second change, with Will Grigg replacing Chris Maguire.

4.14pm BST

56 min Charlton are having a strong spell, despite that half chance for Morgan, and look the likelier scorers at the moment.

4.13pm BST

55 min A half chance for Sunderland. Maguire’s low cross from the right is volleyed wide at the near post by Morgan. He saw it very late and ended up knocking it onto his standing leg and wide of goal.

4.10pm BST

51 min Taylor turns smartly away from Cattermole, who brings him down and is lucky not to be booked, as much for repeat offending as anything.

4.08pm BST

50 min “There are some delightful-sounding names on the teamsheets today,” says Peter Oh. “Dijksteel & Power could be the name of a Dutch-English engineering company specialising in hydroelectric dams, or a ruthless law firm. (I hope Max Power is ok, by the way.)”

He’s called Max Power. Of course he’s okay.

4.08pm BST

49 min Nothing much to report in the second half. It wouldn’t be remotely surprising if this went to penalties.

4.05pm BST

47 min “Seeing this fixture again evokes brilliant memories from the first such encounter,” says Nick Veale. “Although not an Addick, it was insisted that I came along by my best mate and Charlton season-ticket holding fanatic, as I had boasted a record of never seeing them lose when I attended the Valley when his Dad couldn’t go. My record was under threat in the semi against the Tractor Boys but saw that one out. So, wearing a bright yellow Fenerbahce shirt [I don’t do red in my part of London], I happily took my place in the stands. All was good. At half-time, we said, ‘Forty-five minutes to go, and then we’ll sink some fine Young’s Special’. 115 minutes later, we were gibbering emotionally drained wrecks! Happy days. Big shout for Matt McGinty as I’m sure he is in the crowd today. Sorry, I can’t be…”

I miss the late 1990s. Nobody had a clue how miserable life could be.

4.04pm BST

46 min Charlton get the second half under way. It looks like they have changed from 3-4-1-2 to a diamond midfield, hence the substitution.

4.03pm BST

Charlton have made a half-time change, with Jason Pearce replacing poor old Naby Sarr.

4.01pm BST

St Mirren v Dundee United “1-1 HT at Paisley too, Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “I thought torture was outlawed.”

3.50pm BST

Half-time reading

3.50pm BST

Peep peep! That was an emotional 45 minutes. Dillon Phillips’ gruesome error gave Sunderland an early lead, and for 20 minutes Charlton weren’t at the races. They came into the match after that, however, and few would begrudge them Ben Purrington’s excellent equaliser. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

3.45pm BST

45+1 min There will be three minutes of added time.

3.45pm BST

45 min The free-kick is on the right edge of the area. Morgan will take it ... and he thwacks it over the bar with his left foot.

3.44pm BST

44 min Sunderland have had more of the ball since the equaliser. Honeyman is fouled just outside the area by Sarr, who is booked.

3.40pm BST

41 min Leadbitter’s deep corner is punched away by Phillips, who has recovered well from that hideous early mistake.

3.40pm BST

40 min Oviedo slips Taylor on the left, cuts into the area and hammers a low cross that is headed behind for a corner by Bielik.

3.39pm BST

38 min Kevin De Bruyne would have been proud of that cross from Lyle Taylor for the equaliser.

3.37pm BST

36 min “Re the match - fun fact: Charlton Athletic were so named to differentiate themselves from the near neighbours Charlton Lethargic,” says Bill Hargreaves. “I mentioned this to Michael Caine last night and he told me not a lot of people knew this.”

3.37pm BST

That really was a fine team goal. Aribo, just outside the area on the right, played a short forward pass to Dijksteel. He flicked the ball behind him to Taylor, who guided a devastating low cross into the space between goalkeeper and defenders. It ran beyond the far post to Purrington, who sidefooted it into an open net from three yards.

3.35pm BST

They won’t be getting a clean sheet - Charlton have equalised with a lovely goal!

3.34pm BST

34 min Charlton have dominated the game in the last 10 minutes, albeit without creating much. Sunderland, as Don Goodman notes on Sky, have gone into clean-sheet mode.

3.32pm BST

32 min Taylor tries to turn Oviedo, who recovers to concede a corner. Cullen overhits it and it drifts away for a Sunderland throw-in.

3.30pm BST

29 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Today’s also the play-off final second leg between Dundee United and St. Mirren to see who plays in the Scottish Premiership next season. Still 0-0 in Paisley after a goalless draw at Tannadice on Thursday. Everybody stay calm. Stay calm. Stay F@*#ING calm.”

3.29pm BST

27 min: Chance for Taylor! A long ball forward from Purrington cleared Parker on the edge of the D and came to Taylor on the right side of the area. He waited for it to drop and cut across a fierce, swirling shot that beat McLaughlin and flashed a couple of yards over the crossbar. That was almost a spectacular equaliser.

3.27pm BST

27 min “Perhaps Charlton’s best bet is to make fake news work for them and believe that that own goal did not happen,” says Ian Copestake.

Yes, and if it ends 1-0 they should brazen it out and get in position for extra-time.

3.26pm BST

26 min Charlton are having their best spell by some distance. Taylor looks dangerous, especially when he pulls to the right wing.

3.24pm BST

24 min Taylor wins a corner for Charlton. Cullen clips it towards the penalty spot, from where Bauer heads tamely wide. That was half a chance.

3.23pm BST

23 min Daniel has found the Claesen goal. Great stuff.

3.22pm BST

23 min This is a much more even game now. I wonder if Sunderland might come to regret not putting Charlton away in those 10 minutes after the goal.

3.21pm BST

22 min “Mind when ITV were late to a game, the replay system was screwed and Nico Claesen scored the first goal in a London derby while they were still talking us through the teams?” asks Daniel Harris.

I don’t mind, although that might have been before my football-watching time. Does anyone remember BBC going to a flight simulator in the middle of a Mark Bright ramble, possibly in an FA Cup match around 2007? Or did I imagine that.

3.21pm BST

21 min Charlton try a training ground free-kick, with a couple of dummies and a flat cross to the far post, but Bielik is rightly flagged offside.

3.20pm BST

20 min Charlton have started to stir. The classy Aribo slips Cattermole 25 yards from goal and is fouled. It’s a fair way to the right of centre.

3.16pm BST

17 min “Can we all appreciate from that video how perfect every one of Mendonca’s touches was?” says Elliot Carr-Barnsley.

It was such an accomplished hat-trick, almost as good as Dirk Kuyt’s against Man Utd in 2011.

3.16pm BST

16 min Charlton started quite well but their morale has been flattened by that goal. Pratley takes out his frustration on O’Nien and is lucky not to be booked.

3.14pm BST

14 min “Afternoon Rob,” says David Crowther. “I love your work. But why isn’t Barry Glendinning doing the MBM of this game? Or perhaps more pertinently, why isn’t he doing an MBM of your MBM of this game? You’re welcome.”

I’d imagine he’s at the game, or in the drinker. An MBM from the drinker would be fun.

3.12pm BST

11 min Charlton are all over the place. A loose ball comes to Leadbitter, whose swerving low shot from 20 yards is beautifully pushed round the post by Phillips, diving low to his left. He’ll feel slightly less miserable after that.

3.09pm BST

10 min “Hi Rob,” says Matt Burtz. “When I was a young baseball fan growing up in the US of A, there was a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds named Norm Charlton. He was a member of the so-called “Nasty Boys” bullpen who helped the Reds win their most recent World Series in 1990. Until I started following the beautiful game he was the only person or entity I associated with the word Charlton. I’m an Everton fan now and Ademola Lookman came from Charlton. However, Jordan Pickford came from Sunderland, and the Black Cats also have Everton flame-out Aiden McGeady, he of one league goal for the Toffees (at Leicester in their first game following promotion). So I need assistance in determining who to root for!”

I just want football to be the winner.

3.09pm BST

9 min Max Power can’t continue after that early injury - he is replaced by Lewis Morgan.

3.08pm BST

8 min I don’t think Sarr’s backpass took a bobble; it looked like a simple loss of concentration from Phillips. Sky Sports were still showing a replay when they suddenly cut to a live shot of the ball dribbling over the line.

3.07pm BST

7 min Charlton look stunned, not surprisingly, and Sunderland appeal unsuccessfully for a penalty when Wyke’s snapshot hits the outstretched arm of Bauer in the area. He was very close to Wyke, which is probably why he got away with it.

3.06pm BST

Sarr played a routine backpass to the keeper Phillips, whose attempt to control it went so badly that it rolled past him and straight into the net. I cannot believe that.

3.05pm BST

Sunderland take the lead with a farcical goal!

3.02pm BST

3 min Power is receiving treatment after being flattened on the halfway line by Sarr. It looks like he’s okay.

3.01pm BST

2 min “One of the joys of the original Charlton v Sunderland play-off game is watching Clive Mendonca’s reaction to scoring against the team he had supported as a boy,” says Ian Burch. “None of that feigned, regretful look for him, but then again who wouldn’t run the length of Wembley after scoring a hat trick. Not long after he was forced to retire from the game I saw him and his family at Charing Cross station, all of them including Clive were wearing Sunderland shirts. Bless him.”

3.00pm BST

1 min Peep peep! Sunderland, in their black away trip, kick off from right to left. Charlton are in red.

2.57pm BST

There’s a sensational atmosphere at Wembley. The players on both sides look surprisingly relaxed as they emerge from the tunnel.

2.56pm BST

To the wise, a word If you haven’t seen this, you really should. It gives football documentaries a good name.

2.32pm BST

‘Remember when’ is the lowest form of conversation’, unless you love sport

2.29pm BST

An email! “Emotional day,” says Martin Maloney, and the match hasn’t even started yet. “I’m a Northampton Town man through thick and thin, mainly thin. My other half Jenny is a Mackem, but being of the less confident type, she’d never been to see them. She’s come to a couple of Cobblers games this year and then went to watch them at Cov on her own. I would normally play baseball for Northants today, but couldn’t miss this with her. Luckily we could rearrange the game as both teams were short. Loved every minute of the day so far.... come on the Mackems.”

2.14pm BST

Pre-match reading

2.01pm BST

Darren Pratley replaces the talented teenager Albie Morgan in Charlton’s midfield; Morgan isn’t even on the bench. Sunderland are unchanged from the team that drew 0-0 at Portsmouth in the semi-final second leg, but they do have Aiden McGeady back on the bench.

Charlton Athletic (3-4-1-2) Phillips; Bielik, Bauer, Sarr; Dijksteel, Cullen, Pratley, Purrington; Aribo; Taylor, Parker.
Substitutes: Maxwell, Solly, Pearce, Lapslie, Forster-Caskey, Reeves, Williams.

1.26pm BST

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the League One play-off final between Charlton and Sunderland. All play-off finals are huge – like, duh – yet this feels even bigger than normal. That’s mainly down to the size of both clubs, Sunderland in particular, but also because of that astounding final 21 years ago. Indeed, Charlton and Sunderland will become the first teams to meet in the play-off final of two different divisions.

Since you asked, I’ve no idea who’s going to win. You’re welcome! Charlton were in brilliant form at the back end of the league season, but then staggered past Doncaster in a nerve-mangling semi-final. Sunderland finished the regular season poorly but had a good win over Portsmouth in the semis. They’ve been to Wembley already this season, when they lost to Portsmouth on penalties in the Football League trophy final. They have some big names, including Lee Cattermole and perhaps Aiden McGeady, who has travelled with the squad and could return from injury.

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Published on May 26, 2019 09:20

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