Rob Smyth's Blog, page 134

March 14, 2019

The Fiver | A hint of glory and our collective noggin has gone again

What a year it’s been for English football. The national team won last year’s World Cup and this summer’s Nations League, and now Big Cup has started the long journey home as well! Liverpool’s impressive victory away to Bayern Munich means England has four Big Cup quarter-finalists for the first time since the triumphant 2008-09 season, when Barcelona won the competition. Liverpool, Spurs and the two Manchester clubs will be joined in Friday’s draw by Barcelona, Juventus, Porto and Ajax. It’s an exciting time to be a lover of English football … and we can’t help ourselves, can we? A hint of glory, a soupçon of achievement, and our collective noggin has gone again. Big Cup has put a kiss on the end of a text message for the first time and we’ve called it straight back and asked it to marry us.

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Published on March 14, 2019 09:21

March 13, 2019

Barcelona 5-1 Lyon: Champions League last 16, second leg – as it happened

The majestic Lionel Messi scored two and made two as Barcelona swaggered into the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the 12th consecutive season

Messi masterclass leads Barcelona to victory

12.02am GMT

Sid Lowe’s match report has arrived, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company and emails. Bye!

10.08pm GMT

The eight Champions League quarter-finalists are Ajax, Barcelona, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Porto and Tottenham Hotspur.

10.03pm GMT

While we wait for Sid’s match report, why not read the great Danny Taylor on Liverpool’s impressive victory in Munich.

10.01pm GMT

That was compelling stuff from Barcelona, whose rat-a-tat tiki-taka was too much for Lyon. Lionel Messi scored two, each involving a delicious bit of deception, and made two more. Lyon were in the game for around 20 minutes after Lucas Tousart made it 2-1, but Messi picked them off on the counter-attack with contemptuous ease.

9.57pm GMT

Peep peep peep! Barcelona swagger into the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the 12th consecutive season.

9.54pm GMT

90 min Two minutes.

9.53pm GMT

89 min Liverpool have made it a full house of Premier League clubs in the last eight. It’s only bloody well coming home!

9.50pm GMT

Messi has made two and scored two. He leads another devastating counter-attack, running 40 yards before easing an angled pass to the left for Dembele, who sweeps a low right-footed shot through Gorgelin.

9.48pm GMT

85 min Apart from a ten-minute wobble after Tousart’s excellent goal made it 2-1, Barcelona have been in complete control.

9.47pm GMT

83 min Sergi Roberto is replaced by Nelson Semedo. Moments later, Fekir’s stinging free-kick is palmed around by the diving ter Stegen. Good save.

9.45pm GMT

82 min There’s been another goal in Munich. You will not believe the clickbait!

9.45pm GMT

It came on the counter-attack. Messi scurried 40 yards down the inside-right channel and clipped a low ball across the area with his right foot. It was missed by Busquets at the near post but ran perfectly for Pique, who backed up the play and slid the ball into the empty net.

9.44pm GMT

Yep.

9.44pm GMT

That was just brilliant. He received a sharp pass from Busquets 40 yards from goal, turned and hared into the area. Then he dummied to shoot, sending Denayer and Marcelo off to attend to the wrong fire in the process, and came back inside to hit a low right-footed shot that went through the right hand of Gorgelin and into the net. He should have saved it, but the trick from Messi to beat the two defenders was erotica itself.

9.41pm GMT

Another joke of a goal from Lionel Messi puts Barcelona into the last eight.

9.41pm GMT

77 min Lyon make their last change, with Maxwel Cornet replacing the injured Ferland Mendy.

9.40pm GMT

76 min The refere gets a warning from Busquets after giving a free-kick against him.

9.37pm GMT

73 min A substitution apiece. Lyon bring on Chelsea alumnus Bertrand Traore for the disappointing Memphis Depay, while Barcelona introduce Arturo Vidal for Arthur. Moments later, Dembele heads Fekir’s free-kick a few yards wide. Ter Stegen had it covered.

9.34pm GMT

70 min Barcelona have started to restore order after that ten-minute wobble. Messi combines with Jordi Alba and cracks a shot that is deflected over the bar. Before the corner is taken, Ousmane Dembele replaces Philippe Coutinho, who had a fairly poor game but may have scored the goal that puts Barcelona through.

9.32pm GMT

68 min After a sweet short-passing move from Barcelona, Coutinho zips around Gorgelin and hits the side netting with a shot on the turn from a tight angle. It wasn’t a particularly bad miss as the angle at which he received Suarez’s through pass meant he had no choice but to go around the keeper and further away from goal.

9.30pm GMT

67 min In other news, there’s been a third goal in Munich. Can you resist the clickbait?

9.29pm GMT

65 min Lyon are suddenly playing with a bit of a strut. Fekir dives in the area, but play goes on. Mendy crosses to Depay, whose mis-hit shot on the turn bobbles through to ter Stegen. He slipped as he tried to take the shot. Mendy, the left wing-back, is having a minor stormer in the second half.

9.26pm GMT

63 min This is Lyon’s best spell. Fekir, found by Depay, thrashes high and wide of the near post from the left side of the box.

9.26pm GMT

62 min Barcelona were in total control at 2-0. Now they are right on the edge, though you’d still fancy them to score at least one more on the break.

9.24pm GMT

61 min The goal is given, just 11 years after it was scored!

9.23pm GMT

60 min They are still checking this in VAR towers. It might be disallowed for offside in the build up.

9.22pm GMT

Oh my, Lyon are back in it! A left-wing corner led to a game of head tennis in the Barcelona box until the backpedalling Tousart took the ball down smartly on his chest and hit a precise volley past ter Stegen from 12 yards. That’s an excellent finish.

9.21pm GMT

57 min Mendy’s mis-hit cross is palmed over the bar by ter Stegen. I think that would have crept in.

9.20pm GMT

57 min After some nice build-up play from Lyon, Fekir swishes a long-range well wide.

9.20pm GMT

56 min Denayer, who gave away the penalty in the first half, makes a vital and almost entirely scabby tackle on Messi in the area. He missed with his attempted sliding tackle but his trailing left leg took the ball.

9.18pm GMT

55 min “The best La Masia graduate of the last decade doesn’t even come from La Masia,” writes Harri Palomäki. “Arthur has been a beast in the midfield. Head up, twists and turns, quick decisions, immaculate custody of the ball. Now he seems to have added forward passes to his repertoire. The fella is 22 years old.”

He’s great. He’s such a Barcelona player. He’s almost a parody of a Barcelona player.

9.16pm GMT

53 min Lyon are having an even share of the ball in this half. They don’t really look like scoring, however, whereas Barcelona literally ooze menace on the counter-attack.

9.14pm GMT

50 min “I agree up to a point with Matt Dony that ‘player culture has changed’,” says Duncan Edwards. “The culture of flopping is precisely what I’m moaning about. But even in 2129 they’re not all at it, are they? Suarez stamped on the defenders foot and then chucked himself to the turf. If Matt actually believes any of the players I named would have done that then, well, I give up. VAR should have been used and Suarez yellow carded.”

PELE WAS A DIVER AND HE WAS ALWAYS DOWN. HOW MANY TIMES!

9.13pm GMT

48 min Lenglet is booked for a foul on Fekir.

9.12pm GMT

47 min: Marcal clears off the line from Messi! It was more charming play from Barcelona. Suarez played a fine first-time pass from the left to Arthur, who surged past the last defender and pushed the ball across the area for Messi to score. He stabbed the ball softly over Gorgelin with the outside of his left foot, but Marcal charged back to hook it off the line.

9.10pm GMT

47 min “Hi Rob,” says Geoff Wignall. “I can remember seeing Best take a dive, just the once; but it was from a Francis Lee tackle and he was taking the piss. (For younger readers, Lee was the most notorious diver of his era.) I don’t recall Pele diving though, unless to head the ball.”

There was one fairly well-known dive by Pele against England in 1970, I think, although I wasn’t born at the time so it’s up for grabs now.

9.09pm GMT

46 min Peep peep! Barcelona begin the second half.

9.05pm GMT

Half time chit chat

“Is it wrong to say that pig-headedness has cost Lyon the game?” says Scott Bassett. “Their keeper clearly seemed unable to continue yet the medical staff did not insist that he come off, leaving the decision to the person least able to make that decision on the field.”

8.54pm GMT

Half-time reading

Twitter: follow us at @guardian_sport

8.53pm GMT

Peep peep! Barcelona are strolling into the quarter-finals. They have been quite superb and could easily lead by four or five. As it is, Lionel Messi’s super slomo Panenka and Philippe Coutinho’s open goal should be more than enough. Lyon haven’t been bad; it’s just that Barcelona haven’t really allowed them to be anything other than shadow-chasters.

8.51pm GMT

45+4 min Lyon have had more of the ball in the last 10 minutes, though they are still struggling to get anywhere near ter Stegen.

8.49pm GMT

45+3 min Dembele is booked for a robust tackle on Jordi Alba.

8.48pm GMT

45+2 min Mendy overhits a cross to Depay, who can’t be bothered to chase it.

8.47pm GMT

45 min There will be six minutes of added time because of the injury to the Lyon keeper Anthony Lopes.

8.45pm GMT

44 min A rare Lyon attack. Dembele’s snapshot from 15 yards is blocked. As you were.

8.44pm GMT

42 min “Playing culture has changed, and referees look for different things,” says Matt Dony. “If any of the players listed by Duncan Edwards played today, they would, at the very least, ‘make the most of contact’...”

I can see both sides!

8.43pm GMT

41 min A disgustingly good pass from Messi finds Coutinho in the area. His attempted backheel to Suarez is blocked by Denayer. But that pass from Messi, curled softly around the outside of the defence from the near the halfway line, was unreal.

8.41pm GMT

40 min Busquets plays Messi through on goal. He tries to pass the ball low across Gorgelin, who plunges to his right to make a smart save.

8.40pm GMT

39 min Barcelona have been majestic, slicing and dicing Lyon with their quick one-twos and sinuous movement.

8.38pm GMT

37 min Suarez, who still hasn’t scored in the Champions League this season, shoots just wide from 12 yards. He deserved a goal there, particularly as he started the move with a glorious dummy in his own half. He ran away from the ball as it was played towards him, nutmegging both himself and Marcelo in the process.

8.37pm GMT

35 min “Did anyone ever see such greats as Matthews, Best, Pele or Eusebio take a dive?” says Duncan Edwards. “Very poor last night from Juve and again from Suárez there. Sad, really. Yeah I know, I’m an old fart with nostalgia-tinted glasses.”

As am I. But Pele knew how to dive, didn’t he?

8.35pm GMT

34 min The keeper Anthony Lopes cannot continue, presumably because of concussion. He walks from the field in tears, applauded by both sets of fans, to be replaced by Mathieu Gorgelin.

8.34pm GMT

33 min Marcal is booked for a flailing arm on Messi.

8.34pm GMT

32 min That was beautiful play from Suarez. He received a crisp pass on the edge of the area, from Arthur I think. The first touch drew Marcal towards the ball, but before he could get there Suarez had dragged the ball into the area and was away.

8.33pm GMT

Barcelona are coasting into the quarter-finals. Suarez beats Marcal superbly on the edge of the area to move through on goal. He could score himself but instead slides the ball to the left for Coutinho, who walks it in from seven yards.

8.30pm GMT

29 min Lopes is called into action, leaping to his left to save a fierce curling shot from Suarez. He palms it into a dangerous area towars Rakitic, who slams the bouncing ball over the bar.

8.27pm GMT

26 min After almost five minutes of treatment, Lopes is helped to his feet. Gorgelin was ready to replace him but it looks like he’s going to continue. Hmm.

8.24pm GMT

24 min Lopes is conscious, but he’s still lying down and looks really groggy.

8.23pm GMT

23 min Lopes looks in a bad way, and the reserve keeper Mathieu Gorgelin is warming up.

8.23pm GMT

21 min Lopes makes a terrific save from Coutinho, and is booted in the face in the process. Suarez put the loose ball into the net but the referee had already blown for a foul by Coutinho. It wasn’t deliberate - he poked a shot that was superbly saved by the sprawling Lopez, and his momentum took him into the keeper.

8.21pm GMT

20 min: What a chance for Lyon! Dembele slides an angled pass to Debay, who moves into the area and then eases the ball back to Dembele on the edge of the box. He takes a touch and sweeps a shot that takes a slight deflection off the charging Lenglet and flashes just wide of the post. Ter Stegen was beaten.

8.18pm GMT

Messi dinks a slow-motion penalty straight down the middle. Lovely. That’s one of the slowest Panenka I’ve ever seen.

8.17pm GMT

16 min Suarez plays a one-two with Messi, feels contact from Denayer and goes down. It was a silly and needless challenge from Denayer, however much Suarez made of it, and a clear penalty.

8.16pm GMT

15 min Though Lyon are not without menace in attack - Fekir looks particularly good on the ball - it feels like a matter of time before Barcelona score.

8.15pm GMT

14 min Busquets clips a pass over the top to Messi, who tries to control it and go round the outrushing Lopes in the same movement. Lopes does very well to dive to his left and paw the ball away.

8.14pm GMT

13 min “Hello Rob,” says Kari Tulinius. “One of the pleasures of watching games from the Camp Nou is how high up the main camera is placed. It’s nice to see so much of the field of play, especially given how intricately Barcelona can play at their
best.”

I’ve always loved a Tactical Cam, ever since the days of John Beck’s Cambridge. Sometimes you could even see the ball.

8.10pm GMT

10 min Lyon’s first sustained attack. Eventually the ball is cleared to Ndombele, who belts a low shot wide from 25 yards.

8.09pm GMT

7 min Barcelona have started brilliantly. The ball ricochets around the Lyon area and falls for Coutinho, who tees up Rakitic on the edge of the area. His stinging first-time shot is blocked by Denayer, though replays show it was going wide.

8.05pm GMT

4 min Lovely play from Barcelona. Coutinho plays a one-two with Suarez and finds Messi, who cracks a curling half-volley from inside the D that is pushed acrobatically round the post by Lopes. Good save, that, if slightly cameraman-friendly.

8.04pm GMT

3 min Messi slithers away from Dubois and frees Coutinho down the left. He has Suarez in space at the far post but puts his low cross too close to Lopes, who scampers from his line to claim. That was a good chance for Barcelona, and a pretty poor pass from Coutinho.

8.02pm GMT

2 min “For me it’s ‘Thank a Weather Forecaster for actually getting it right’ day,” says Sarah Rothwell. “I’m following from my comfy home instead of stuck outside in raging blizzard. At least until the power goes out. Want to get out of Denver today? Good luck to you!!”

8.01pm GMT

1 min Peep peep! Lyon, in their orange third kit, kick off from right to left. Barcelona are in red and blue.

7.58pm GMT

The players emerge from the tunnel, all looking pretty relaxed. Let’s cook.

7.55pm GMT

“Rob,” writes Richard Arthur. “Is ‘Memphis Debay’ any relation to Memphis Depay of Lyon, who used to be the next best thing at Man U?”

No. But it’s an easy mistake to make so please don’t beat yourself up.

7.48pm GMT

An email

“I’m sure I read somewhere earlier that it’s ‘Thank a Journalist Day’,” says Matt Dony. “I’m sure I speak for the dozens of people following your MBM of Lyon teaching Barca a footballing lesson(!) when I say, ‘Thanks, Rob.’ Now, when is ‘Thank a QC & Compliance Manager’ day?”

7.41pm GMT

There’s another Champions League match tonight, and you’re already following that, aren’t you.

7.16pm GMT

Some pre-match reading from Our Sid

7.07pm GMT

Philippe Coutinho starts for Barcelona, despite the boos, while Lyon have switched to a back three.

Barcelona (4-3-3) ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Arthur; Messi, Suarez, Coutinho.
Substitutes: Cillessen, Semedo, Dembele, Malcom, Vidal, Umtiti, Alena.

5.56pm GMT

Hello and welcome to live coverage of Barcelona’s comfortable victory over Lyon at the Camp Nou. That’s the general expectation of tonight’s match, but the last 16 of this season’s Champions League has given such assumptions one hell of a beating.

The first leg in France was a low-key 0-0 draw, though Lyon were without their influential captain Nabil Fekir through suspension. He, Memphis Debay and Moussa Dembele will be a threat on the counter, and the lack of an away goal may yet come back to haunt Barcelona. Or Lionel Messi may see Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick last night and raise it. I’ll level with you, mate: I haven’t a clue what’s going to happen.

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Published on March 13, 2019 15:12

The Fiver | Seven concepts, a PowerPoint presentation and Alberto Moreno

The Fiver wouldn’t last five minutes if we had to hold a press conference. A gentle opener from Henry Winter – “Any injury updates, Fiver?” – and we’d be off, pointing out the window and demanding that we settle things on the slabs. It’s a stressful business, talking to the media, especially in a world where dishonesty has become the best policy. It can’t be easy juggling PR, team morale and your own stress levels, all the while knowing there is a special media-training device attached to your genitals that will snap, crackle and pop if you say what you genuinely think. We do, therefore, have a bit of sympathy for Jürgen Klopp, whose easy-going-cool-guy-did-you-know-my-middle-name’s-Norbert-ha-ha-ha mask has slipped a little in recent weeks. He again looked agitated in the buildup to Wednesday’s Big Cup second leg against Bayern Munich, specifically when asked about Gary Neville’s observation that a defeat might help Liverpool in their attempt to win their first title since the year 2BC.

Yep, this actually just happened at Brunton Park...#cufc pic.twitter.com/SPTw1fCMb3

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Published on March 13, 2019 09:06

March 10, 2019

England thrash West Indies in third T20 international – as it happened

David Willey and Mark Wood had combined figures of 7-16 as England completed a series whitewash after skittling West Indies for 71

Read our report from St Kitts

10.21pm GMT

That’s it for today’s blog, and indeed for England’s winter. Thanks for your company and emails throughout the tours of Sri Lanka and West Indies. See you in May for the biggest summer of cricket since 2005. Argh!

10.20pm GMT

The England captain Eoin Morgan speaks

“We’ve played extremely well over the last three games. It’s been outstanding to see guys like Sam Billings and Chris Jordan come in and take the limelight.”

10.15pm GMT

The West Indies captain Jason Holder speaks

“I don’t know there’s been a drop in our intensity, we just didn’t bat well in the last two games. We should give England credit as well for the way they bowled. We need to learn to adapt if the conditions aren’t true and the ball isn’t coming on to the bat. I think it’s been a good tour; I’m pretty pleased as a skipper. There’s all to play for in the future.”

10.05pm GMT

It’s a slightly flat end to a joyful, couple of months. In decades to come, any mention of England’s tour of West Indies in 2018-19 will evoke a warm, fuzzy feeling, unlike those Sunday nights before school back in the day. This is the story of the tour:

Tests West Indies 2-1 England

10.00pm GMT

10.3 overs: England 72-2 (Root 4, Morgan 10) Morgan gets off the mark with a six, lifting Bishoo down the ground, and sweeps the next ball for four to finish the match. For the second time in three days, England have battered West Indies.

9.58pm GMT

10th over: England 61-2 (Root 3, Morgan 0) John Campbell comes on to bowl some gentle offspin. Or not so gentle – Morgan is beaten by a big-spinning delivery that just misses the off stump. One run from the over, and suddenly it looks a good thing that England are only chasing 72.

9.54pm GMT

9th over: England 60-2 (Root 2, Morgan 0) A wicket maiden from Bishoo. West Indies are facing a hiding but they lead 2-0 on maidens.

“England really are very good at the short forms, eh?” sniffs Simon McMahon. “Maybe in 2047 I’ll be emailing the Guardian to say that Scotland are actually not bad at football, or rugby, or anything. That’s what keeps me going on a Monday morning. Well, that, and the after effects of having spiked my own drinks on Sunday evening. And the fact that it’ll be the weekend again in about five minutes, cos that’s how time works when you’re a certain age, right?”

9.51pm GMT

Devendra Bishoo strikes with his first ball. It was a really good delivery, a skiddy legspinner that beat Bairstow all ends up to end a good innings of 37 from 31 balls.

9.49pm GMT

8th over: England 60-1 (Bairstow 37, Root 2) Blam! Bairstow manhandles Allen over long on for six. I’d better hurry up with the emails because this game will be over very soon. England need 12 to win – from 12 overs.

“My alter-ego,” says Jo Beasley, “would kick Tyler Durden’s ass.”

9.46pm GMT

7th over: England 49-1 (Bairstow 26, Root 2) Bairstow pulls Holder flat and hard to deep midwicket, where Hetmyer drops a relatively straightforward running chance. He applies a bit of bleach to Hetmyer’s wound later in the over by pulling a big six, which also takes the required rate below two an over. What a strange game. As Rob Key says on Sky, it has had a noticeable end-of-term feel.

“Just catching up on your intro and was transported back fifty years or so to the dreaded Sunday evenings of yore,” says Brian Withington. “End of the much-anticipated weekend, school in the morning, bath time and hair wash accompanied by the truly execrable Sing Something Simple on Radio 2 in the background. Amazing to recall that a school week felt like an eternity at that age.”

9.41pm GMT

6th over: England 39-1 (Bairstow 18, Root 1) Bairstow hits Allen for two boundaries in three balls, a cuff to cow corner followed by an inside-out slap wide of mid-off.

“It’s Sunday night, which mean tomorrow is work for most of us,” says Jo Beasley. “So I’d like to thank both teams for ensuring a speedy conclusion - much appreciated. Let’s hope there’s no Tavare-style blocking in the England innings, as I’ve already got the kettle on for my rum-spiked cocoa.”

9.38pm GMT

5th over: England 30-1 (Bairstow 9, Root 1) Joe Root gets off the mark with a dodgy single to midwicket. He would have been out with a direct hit.

9.36pm GMT

Hales flogs Holder to deep backward square, where the debutant Joel Campbell leaps to take a fantastic two-handed catch. That was so well judged because he was right by the rope.

9.34pm GMT

4th over: England 28-0 (Hales 20, Bairstow 8) Allen bowls that rarest of things, the T20 maiden, to Bairstow.

“If you like stealthy typos, you might look into why both you and Cricinfo write ‘Cottrell’ while the man himself has ‘Cotterell’ on his shirt,” says Robbert. “(At least, he did in the previous match - haven’t seen anything live yet today.)”

9.31pm GMT

3rd over: England 28-0 (Hales 20, Bairstow 8) An otherwise good over from Holder is tarnished when his last delivery is pulled round the corner for four by Hales.

9.27pm GMT

2nd over: England 21-0 (Hales 15, Bairstow 6) The required rate is already below three an over. This is a T20 game! It’ll be below two an over soon enough, because England are on one. Bairstow smears the left-arm spinner Fabian Allen to long on for a one-bounce four.

“Hi again,” says Geoff Wignall. “As we’re always hearing about the need to take the positives, even when in defeat, I’d like to congratulate the WI team on their better than 50 per cent upturn in their scoring. And let’s not forget how close they came to England’s first Test total.”

9.24pm GMT

1st over: England 16-0 (Hales 15, Bairstow 1) This shouldn’t take long. Hales hits Cottrell for successive boundaries before chipping a stunning six down the ground. Sixteen from the over.

“Have the Windies decided that Test cricket is best?” says Vic Neale. “This is as shambolic as boy afraid reeling round a fountain, as the flames raise from the death of a disco dancer…’”

9.19pm GMT

That was too easy for England’s bowlers, though they’ll not complain after the punishment they suffered during the ODI series. David Willey took 4-7 and Mark Wood, who again bowled like the wind, finished with 3-9.

9.01pm GMT

That’s it. The last man McCoy is cleaned up by a Rashid googly, having survived a protracted stumping referral the previous delivery, and West Indies have followed Friday’s shocker with another fiasco of a batting performance. England need 72 to win and complete a 3-0 series victory.

8.55pm GMT

12th over: West Indies 60-9 (Bishoo 2, McCoy 0)

8.55pm GMT

Hahaha. That was an innings for the ages by Sheldon Cottrell. He backed away to lash his first ball ferociously over extra cover for four. He did the same to the second but missed it, and he made so much room to his third delivery that he was almost at square leg as a low full toss sent his off stump flying. Ah salut.

8.51pm GMT

Oh my, this is an outrageous one-handed catch from Jonny Bairstow! Brathwaite tried to steer Wood very fine, and Bairstow thrust out his right arm to take a spectacular, ligament-busting catch.

8.49pm GMT

11th over: West Indies 55-7 (Brathwaite 0, Bishoo 1) “Never been there Rob, but would love to be there right now,” says Reg Gorczynski. “Still snow and bloody damp in Toronto. Definitely not cricket weather. Only so much that alcohol can make you overlook!”

8.47pm GMT

That is majestic from Adil Rashid. His second ball was smacked out of the ground by Fabian Allen, but he followed up with a lovely googly that went straight Allen like a dose of salts.

8.45pm GMT

10th over: West Indies 48-6 (Allen 1, Brathwaite 0) “ ‘St Kitts is nice at this time of year as well’,” begins Paul Berkowitz, quoting my earlier entry. “And Nevis.”

And that’s why I failed my GCSE in smartarsery.

8.43pm GMT

Chris Jordan adds to his YouTube collection with another brilliant catch. Pooran pulls a slower ball from Wood flat and hard to deep midwicket, where Jordan swoops to his right to take a nonchalant two-handed catch.

8.40pm GMT

9th over: West Indies 46-5 (Pooran 10, Allen 0) “You mean you have staff to iron your dressing gown?” says Geoff Wignall. “That’s plain decadent.”

If you think that’s decadent, you should see our orgies.

8.39pm GMT

And another one goes by. Holder, having launched the previous delivery for a mighty straight six, tries to repeat the stroke and holes out to long on.

8.36pm GMT

8th over: West Indies 36-4 (Holder 4, Pooran 7) The new bowler Mark Wood has Holder dropped off his second ball, a relatively straightforward low chance to Root at midwicket. It’s a parsimonious start from Wood, with only two runs from the over. England are in complete control of this game, although so were West Indies at the same stage on Friday.

8.32pm GMT

7th over: West Indies 34-4 (Holder 3, Pooran 6) Joe Denly comes on to bowl his perky legspinners. West Indies cannot afford to lose any more wickets for a few overs, so they are dealing exclusively in singles for the time being.

“Spent a lot of time in Grenada…” says Reg Gorcynski. “How pleasant to spend a quiet Sunday evening with some drinks, a cool breeze, and some cricket. To die for!”

8.29pm GMT

6th over: West Indies 30-4 (Holder 1, Pooran 4) A quiet over from Jordan, full of low-risk singles.

“Hi Rob,” says Geoff Wignall. “Looks like you should be able to get on with ironing your Monday work clothes by about 9pm.”

8.25pm GMT

5th over: West Indies 25-4 (Holder 0, Pooran 1) David Willey has figures of 3-0-7-4. Yep.

“Evening Rob,” says Paul Turp. “Can anyone explain why the Sky Sports player stats has been spelling ‘Fifties’ as ‘Fifities’ in the last few T20s? Check it out when the Windies next lose a wicket. While undoubtedly fun to say out loud, am sat here bewildered.”

8.22pm GMT

Four for Willey! Bravo is squared up and edges to Bairstow, who takes an excellent low catch to his left.

8.20pm GMT

David Willey has his third wicket in as many overs! Campbell slogged him miles in the air - I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a ball go higher - and Denly ignored the vertigo to take a calm catch in the covers.

8.18pm GMT

4th over: West Indies 24-2 (Campbell 11, Bravo 4) Campbell pulls the new bowler Chris Jordan sweetly round the corner for four, a shot of such rewarding simplicity that he repeats it two balls later. I like John Campbell. There, I’ve said it.

8.14pm GMT

3rd over: West Indies 14-2 (Campbell 1, Bravo 4) The new batsman Darren Bravo clouts Willey up and over cover for four.

8.12pm GMT

Rob Key, commentating on Sky Sports, tells us to “forget about Hope”. He was discussing the scorecard, and you’ll have deducedthat anyway because of the capital letter in the word Hope, but for a beautiful split-second I thought he was going to do a Scott Murray live on air.

Keysie might not be losing it but West Indies are. Hetmyer has gone now, chipping a slower ball from Willey straight into the loving embrace of Chris Jordan at mid-off.

8.08pm GMT

2nd over: West Indies 9-1 (Campbell 1, Hetmyer 8) Hetmyer gets the first boundary of the innings, boffing Tom Curran in the air but safely wide of mid-off. He looks in a hyperactive mood, even more so than usual, and steals a couple of runs later in the over.

Mind if I plug this? Great, thanks.

8.04pm GMT

1st over: West Indies 1-1 (Campbell 0, Hetmyer 1) West Indies’ last 12 wickets have fallen for 45 runs, going back to their final delivery of the first ODI. The new batsman Shimron Hetmyer makes it 46 for 12 by getting off the mark, but that’s the only run from the over.

“I think there will be eight potential World Cup winners if you include England,” says Ian Copestake. “You see what I did there? Try the pork loin.”

8.00pm GMT

West Indies pick up where they left off on Friday night. Shai Hope has fallen to the first ball of the match, driving David Willey straight to cover. Next!

7.58pm GMT

This is so good

7.50pm GMT

Let me be your fantasy cricket provider

Now, the lovely folks below the line on our County Cricket blog have set up a load of fantasy leagues for this year’s championship. I did it last year and it was good fun, I think. If you’re interested, here are the details:

7.49pm GMT

An email! From Gary Naylor!

“I see Australia are back.”

7.38pm GMT

Chris Gayle and Liam Plunkett are rested, with John Campbell and Mark Wood replacing them.

West Indies Campbell, Hope (wk), Hetmyer, Bravo, Pooran, Holder (c), Brathwaite, Bishoo, Allen, Cottrell, McCoy.

7.36pm GMT

There’s been a bush fire in St Kitts, about half a mile from the ground, though play is still scheduled to start on time.

6.47pm GMT

Hello. Sunday evenings usually involve one thing: trying to ignore an irrational fear of Monday morning. Tonight, it’s different. Tonight, my beautiful friends, we have the rare treat of cricket on a Sunday evening. Caligula would have blushed at the decadence.

The cricket in question is the third and final T20 match between West Indies and England in St Kitts. And like many hedonistic pleasures, it’s almost entirely meaningless. The match is a dead rubber, with England clinching the series by bowling West Indies out for 45 on Friday.

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Published on March 10, 2019 15:21

March 8, 2019

India v Australia: third one-day international – live!

Updates from the match at JSCA Stadium in Ranchi
Any thoughts? Email or tweet @GeoffLemonSport

9.30am GMT

21st over: Australia 127-0 (Finch 66, Khawaja 54) Shami is back to attacking Finch with in-duckers, and he nearly gets his man again. The umpire gives a run, but the ball definitely beat Finch’s inside edge before striking him on the pad in front of middle. HawkEye shows it would have just gone over the bails.

But the way Finch’s luck has turned today, and with India’s problems including a burned DRS review in the second over, there is no surer thing in all of civilisation than that Finch will be given not out at some stage when he’s absolutely stone dead. Probably on about 96 before he lambasts 150.

9.27am GMT

20th over: Australia 124-0 (Finch 65, Khawaja 52) Even Jadeja is misfielding now! If not the best, at least in the top two in the world, he’s normally faultless at backward point. But as Finch chops Shankar away, he fumbles on the bounce and concedes a single. Three from the over.

Interesting email from Aditi Prabhudesai, re my comments earlier.

9.21am GMT

19th over: Australia 121-0 (Finch 64, Khawaja 50) When this partnership went past 101, it became Australia’s best opening stand in ODIs since Finch and Warner in Bengaluru in September 2017. They put on 231 that day to set a total beyond India. Today’s pair need to do the same. They’ve let the momentum pass back and forth between them nicely.

Shami is back, and immediately drawing a miscue from Finch that flies past cover but not close enough. Finch spooks him by driving another ball back at him, and Shami is ducking and putting his hands up to block it. A few singles follow and Khawaja raises his own fifty to match Finch.

9.16am GMT

18th over: Australia 116-0 (Finch 62, Khawaja 48) Tell you what, when your luck turns it turns. Kuldeep bowls a beautiful over, just a single from it as he pins down first Khawaja, then Finch. But Finch’s sweep from the last ball that should have betted him one run to deep square leg is instead fumbled by Rohit Sharma and scoots through for four.

9.13am GMT

17th over: Australia 111-0 (Finch 58, Khawaja 47) The Finch is up and flying! Jadhav again, first ball of the over again, and Finch again launches him high and wide of long-on and into the crowd for six! Next ball, he backs away and makes room to carve a cut shot for four! It teases the fieldsman into the fence but wins as he crashes into the boundary cushions and some tarpaulins. Then Finch goes again, and just makes it! He cried out in frustration, knowing he hadn’t middle that shot, but his lofted drive just clears long-on for six more. A couple more singles and the over goes for 19. Jadhav has conceded 32 from two overs.

That’s Australia’s first hundred partnership to start an ODI since Durham against England in June 2018. England chased down 310 in a canter that day. This is also Finch’s first 50+ score since that same day. Relief for the new skipper.

9.07am GMT

16th over: Australia 92-0 (Finch 41, Khawaja 45) Shankar continues. I wonder if both he and Jadhav will have to bowl their full allotment, or near enough, to compensate for Shami? Or will the frontline paceman be able to add to the three he’s bowled? India may just play it safe with one of their bowling trumps. Shami is back on the field now, walking the boundary line. He’s hobbling but still in playing kit. Shankar finishes another tidy over conceding four singles.

9.03am GMT

15th over: Australia 88-0 (Finch 39, Khawaja 43) Kedar Jadhav comes on, the dimunitive right-arm spinner, and Finch clobbers his first ball over wide long-on for six! Huge hit, but lifted it away with apparent ease. Mitchell Johnson on commentary says he was around the Australian team yesterday and they specifically discussed not letting Jadhav settle and get away with cheap overs. So the captain has led the way in that respect from ball one. They’re having to replace the ball too, as the original one hasn’t made its way back onto the ground. I think it’s in a water-filled moat around the boundary under the netting that covers it.

“Do they ever have any alligators in there?” asks Johnson. Jadhav then bowls a couple of wides, the second of which may have taken some glove from Finch into the ground and off the keeper’s pads. The batsmen run two extras as well, harsh for the bowler. A few singles and the over costs 13.

8.57am GMT

14th over: Australia 75-0 (Finch 31, Khawaja 42) Shankar! Another excellent over, he’s bowling accurately and full enough and giving nothing away. They only get three singles, one of which Finch edges past his stumps.

8.55am GMT

13th over: Australia 72-0 (Finch 29, Khawaja 41) The perfect picket fence! Jadeja bowls an over, the batsmen take six singles. One one one one one one, lovely symmetry, classic style. My own teammate Michael Olle will be full of admiration.

8.49am GMT

12th over: Australia 66-0 (Finch 26, Khawaja 38) What a shot! Vijay Shankar comes on, but he’s not bowling to a panicky tailender in the final over today! He’s bowling up front to an opener in bright sunlight, and Khawaja nails him through cover for four. Crisp as you like. Shankar comes back well with one that angles away a bit more, pulling the length back a bit, and beats the edge as Khawaja tries to repeat the dose. Then again! Refusing to be cannon fodder, is Shankar. Khawaja chills out a touch and eases a drive for a single, then Finch hits a crowd catch back to the bowler. Good over, good comeback.

8.45am GMT

11th over: Australia 61-0 (Finch 26, Khawaja 33) Conventional sweep this time from Khawaja gets him two more runs against Jadeja. There’s an LBW shout despite an inside edge for a single, then Jadeja drops short and Finch carves him away in the air through the gap fine of backward point. This opening partnership gaining momentum.

8.41am GMT

10th over: Australia 52-0 (Finch 21, Khawaja 29) Kuldeep Yadav will be the second spinner to come on during the Powerplay. Perhaps forced to by Shami’s leg problem? The left-arm wrist spinner has been a revelation since he emerged for India. But Finch doesn’t look too troubled. Starts the over by flicking a boundary off his legs, and ends it by clouting a flighted ball over the bowler’s head. The team’s 50 is up.

8.38am GMT

9th over: Australia 44-0 (Finch 13, Khawaja 29) Another reverse to the boundary for Khawaja! He plays that shot well, as a rule, despite that miscue in the previous over. Usually he hits it on a downward arc and can split the field behind square, as he did a lot against Yasir Shah in the Dubai Test last October. Nails Jadeja this time for another boundary. Finch is delighted just to take the odd single and let Khawaja bat today.

8.34am GMT

8th over: Australia 39-0 (Finch 12, Khawaja 25) Bumrah bowling with good pace, makes Khawaja mistime his pull shot and fail to get a run. But when Bumrah bowls fuller, Khawaja glances fine for four.

8.32am GMT

7th over: Australia 34-0 (Finch 11, Khawaja 21) Ravindra Jadeja comes on, left-arm darts in the seventh over, and he nearly gets Khawaja! The batsman nails a reverse sweep for four first ball, then cuts the next down into his own boot and sees it bounce away safely. There’s a slip but no bat-pad. He goes the reverse again third ball and he’s dropped! Jadeja normally fields backward point but even he isn’t fast enough to bowl and reach that position by the time the shot is played. Shikhar Dhawan is there instead, and puts down a regulation catch that came to him while he was down on one knee. Popped in and popped out. Khawaja adds salt to the burn by forcing the last ball of the over off the back foot through point for four.

Usman Khawaja doesn't have an ODI century.

Good pitch, good start, good chance today...#INDvAUS

8.28am GMT

6th over: Australia 25-0 (Finch 10, Khawaja 13) Finch’s third crisp straight drive returns nothing as well, as Bumrah is able to deflect it in his follow-through to a teammate. So Finch eventually skews a ball down to third man for a single, then Khawaja gets a genuine nick that flies through a vacant slip cordon and goes fine enough to get him four. The good shots get nothing, the false shots get boundaries. The universe laughs at fairness.

8.25am GMT

5th over: Australia 20-0 (Finch 9, Khawaja 9) Could have been a run out here! And Shami is in some trouble as well. Finch is pinned to the spot by several sharp in-duckers, then finally gets a powerful drive through a half volley. Sadly for him it crashes into Shami’s shin on the bounce, then deflects to Kohli at short midwicket. The Indian skipper immediately pings at the striker’s stumps, and Finch having taken a couple of strides down the wicket is scrambling to get back in. Not sure if he would have made it. But Kohli misses, and Shami has nothing to soothe the pain of a cricket ball onto the unprotected bone. Finch crushes a straight drive a couple of balls later but only gets a single thanks to Kuldeep making a brilliant diving save from mid-on. Finch could have eight runs from the over but ends up with one. Shami has to leave the field, and kicks the air in frustration as he goes off.

8.18am GMT

4th over: Australia 19-0 (Finch 8, Khawaja 9) We’re in Ranchi, so MS Dhoni is keeping wicket beneath the MS Dhoni Stand. A bit like Australia playing a Test at Perth Stadium which has a Justin Langer End while also having Justin Langer coaching the home team. Khawaja defends a couple of fuller balls, but pounces immediately when Bumrah drops too short, pulling through square for four. Bumrah goes full again and draws an airy drive with an angled bat that nearly gives up an edge. Then tries an airy cut with plenty of flourish that ends up nowhere near the ball either. Not handling the angle across him so far, the left-hander.

8.14am GMT

3rd over: Australia 15-0 (Finch 8, Khawaja 5) All inswingers, all the time. The story of bowling to Aaron Finch. Mohammad Shami gets one big shout for leg before, not given as it was angling down, and otherwise ties Finch down for five dot balls after Khawaja glanced a single to start the over.

8.08am GMT

2nd over: Australia 14-0 (Finch 8, Khawaja 4) That’s quality from Finch! Stands up as tall as he can and punches Bumrah off the back foot through cover. Four classy runs. He made 37 last match, which is the best score he’s managed in a long while. He has some luck later in the over as he tries to repeat the shot and instead edges fine of the backward point would-be catcher. Gets four more. Then Bumrah cuts a ball back in and hits the pad! Nearly out! Not given! They’ve eventually reviewed this one... and while it’s hitting his back pad in front of off stump, it’s hitting high and Finch was on his toes. He survives a torrid over. India lose their sole DRS review.

TV commentators are talking about how bowlers qualify to be called ‘fast’ rather than ‘fast medium.’ Matthew Hayden drops a classically Hayden truth bomb: “I think velocity is where your ‘fast’ comes in.” Thanks Matt.

8.04am GMT

1st over: Australia 6-0 (Finch 0, Khawaja 4) The captain Aaron Finch starts off facing, but gets a leg bye immediately to hand over the strike. Mohammad Shami bowls a couple of beauties probing outside Khawaja’s off stump. But when he strays too straight to the left-hander, the ball is clipped away for four. A wide adds another to the extras column.

7.55am GMT

“Afternoon Geoff!” emails Srihari Venugopalan. “What do you think of the decision of CA to not take along Smith and Warner for the UAE tour and instead hoping their IPL stints would act as good preparation for their entry back to cricket. Sounds a bit silly to me.”

I think it’s probably the right call, actually. With their bans ending on March 29, those two would only be able to play two matches at best. They’re both on the comeback from injury as well, so they haven’t been able to play at all in the last few weeks. So they would be thrown into international cricket, with all the focus and hype, in a tough foreign environment, without having had the preparation to succeed. It’s probably a more gradual re-entry to elite cricket by doing it through the IPL, where they won’t be the only story in town, and it will limit the impact a bit. Then they can make their Australian comebacks in England during the World Cup warm-ups in May.

7.44am GMT

As per usual, the email is geoff.lemon@theguardian.com, and the Twitter is @GeoffLemonSport. Get involved...

7.42am GMT

Australia
Aaron Finch *
Usman Khawaja
Shaun Marsh
Peter Handscomb
Glenn Maxwell
Marcus Stoinis
Alex Carey +
Pat Cummins
Jhye Richardson
Nathan Lyon
Adam Zampa

India
Rohit Sharma
Shikhar Dhawan
Virat Kohli *
Ambati Rayudu
Vijay Shankar
Kedar Jadhav
MS Dhoni
Ravindra Jadeja
Kuldeep Yadav
Mohammad Shami
Jasprit Bumrah

7.39am GMT

Aaron Finch loses his first toss of the series, which may be for the best given he lost both those previous matches. Kohli thinks the pitch will hold up well later, so he’d rather chase.

7.38am GMT

Anyone else feel weird about this? Seeing a lot of praise for the gesture but the conflation of patriotism and gestures of military praise is an uncomfortable area.

So the Indian team will wear army camouflage style caps today in tribute to, and in solidarity with, the armed forces. Maybe in future, one cricket day will be dedicated to the armed forces. No surprise this is a Dhoni initiative.

Special cap presentation taking place in the middle. Indian players will wear special 'Army' caps for this match #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/b0cr2jpnei

7.26am GMT

Welcome to Last Chance Saloon, at least as far as Australia’s hopes to win this series go. They’re 2-0 down against India with three to play, which isn’t a great surprise when you’re playing probably the classiest side in the world in their own home conditions. Of course this series is more about World Cup preparation for both sides, in terms of getting miles in the legs of some candidates, and allowing others to stage a late audition for some of the spots that aren’t yet filled.

Australia’s selectors are once again living on a different planet to everyone else: “The squad is making pleasing progress ahead of the World Cup,” said chairman Trevor Hohns today, and that his charges had “pushed the hosts in the opening two matches”. This is great if you’re, say, Kenya in 1999, but not so much if you’re a five-time Cup champion who has just lost four of its last five against India. In game one of this series, Australia made a middling total that India mowed down with ease. In game two, India made a middling total that Australia was well on track to run down with ease but instead choked and collapsed at the last minute. Pleasing progress indeed.

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Published on March 08, 2019 01:30

March 5, 2019

Japan 0-3 England: SheBelieves Cup – as it happened

Lucy Staniforth, Karen Carney and Beth Mead scored excellent first-half goals as England won the SheBelieves Cup for the first time

12.59am GMT

That’s it for tonight’s blog. Here’s Suzanne Wrack’s match report from Tampa on a great night for the Lionesses. Thanks for your company, goodnight.

12.25am GMT

Phil Neville speaks “The players that came in, that I trusted, were fantastic. We do have a philosophy, a certain style that we want to play, and part of that is that we’re not going to compromise on the fact that we have 23 players who are good enough to play for England. I thought we were sensational. The players who came in made an impact and they’re causing me problems.

“Before the tournament, I wasn’t worried whether we won or not. I wanted to see signs that we were on the right road, and we fly home tomorrow with no doubt in my mind that we’re on the road to where we want to be. You don’t get many moments in your life when you get your hands on a trophy. We’re gonna enjoy tonight - it’s a great reward for the staff and for the players, but I actually think we’ve got bigger things to aim for.”

12.16am GMT

Full time: Japan 0-3 England That’s it! England complete a superb week’s work by winning the SheBelieves Cup for the first time. The scoreline flatters them slightly, but about that they’ll care not a jot. They scored three first-half goals, all beautifully created, and stood firm in the second half when Japan upped their game.

12.14am GMT

90 min England are two minutes away from winning the SheBelieves Cup.

12.13am GMT

89 min It’s been a game of two distinct 45-minute segments. England were clinical in the first half, scoring three fine goals; Japan have been slick and impressive since the break without getting their just deserts.

12.11am GMT

88 min “I agree with the half-time comments but bear in mind this double header started in the afternoon on a school day and probably won’t finish until late tonight,” says Nick Palmer. “The target audience for women’s soccer is the younger soccer playing High School crowd. USA men v Colombia only drew 30,000 recently at Ray J. Also the second part of the double header (USA v Brazil) is not going to feature a meaningful result so walk-ups will be minimal. There are at least 20,000 young soccer players in affiliated clubs and high schools in the Tampa Bay area. I have suggested a bulk sale of tickets to those organizations would yield a better return than the sparse or non-existent advertising for these games.”

12.10am GMT

87 min England are desperate to keep a clean sheet, which would be their first of the tournament. A right-wing corner bounces through to Kobayashi at the far post, and her stinging half-volley is superbly blocked by Telford. That’s her best save of the match.

12.09am GMT

85 min Houghton is booked for a foul on Sugita, who had beaten her with a superb turn.

12.08am GMT

84 min Chioma Ubogagu has been impressive since coming on, with two or three eyecatching runs down the left.

12.05am GMT

81 min England make their final substitution, I think, with Fran Kirby replacing Lucy Staniforth.

12.03am GMT

79 min Kobayashi’s spectacular snapshot on the turn is touched over by Telford. Japan have played some impressive stuff since making those half-time changes.

12.01am GMT

78 min After lovely build-up play from Japan, Yokoyama stands up a cross from the right that skims off the head of Houghton. It comes to Sugita, whose curling header drifts a fraction wide of the far post.

11.59pm GMT

75 min Stanway whistles a shot over the bar from 25 yards. That was a decent effort from another player who has so much confidence.

11.57pm GMT

74 min Japan aren’t really familiar with the concept of giving up. They are still playing with the urgency and purpose of a team who are one goal down rather than three.

11.55pm GMT

71 min Now Ellen White misses a great chance, slicing wide from 15 yards after running onto a dreadful pass from Minami. I think she slipped as she took the shot.

11.54pm GMT

70 min At the other end, White bursts down the right and crosses deep for Ubogagu, who thumps a header over from six yards. It looked like a bad miss at first, but replays showed that the defender at the far post got the slightest touch on the ball to put Ubogagu off her header.

11.53pm GMT

69 min Kobayashi is tackled in the England area by Bonner, who unwittingly diverts the ball to Yokoyama. She misses a great chance, driving wide from 12 yards with her left foot.

11.51pm GMT

68 min England have calmed things down after a slightly fraught start to the second half. They should - should - win the SheBelieves Cup now,.

11.49pm GMT

65 min More England changes: Toni Duggan and Chioma Ubogagu replace two of the goalscorers, Beth Mead and Karen Carney.

11.48pm GMT

63 min In fact it was Matsubara who hit that shot, a belter with her left foot.

11.47pm GMT

62 min A beautifully struck shot from Hasegawa, 35 yards from goal, is comfortably held by Telford.

11.45pm GMT

61 min Yokoyama is getting in such dangerous positions between England’s defence and midfield. The centre-backs, Houghton and Williamson, don’t know whether to stick or twist when she drops off the front.

11.43pm GMT

60 min Another England change, with Gemma Bonner replacing Keira Walsh. She goes to right-back and Bronze moves into midfield.

11.42pm GMT

59 min Another good chance for Japan! Yokoyama plays a stunning disguised pass to Momiki, who clips a left-footed shot across the outrushing Telford and wide of goal.

11.41pm GMT

57 min Yokoyama shoots well wide from long range. England need to be careful, though, because if this goes to 3-1 things could get very nervous.

11.37pm GMT

53 min Japan’s best chance so far. Hasegawa plays a simple ball down the left to Sameshima, who cuts back inside onto her right foot and smashes a shot over the bar. England are hanging on a bit at the moment.

11.36pm GMT

52 min A long pass forward is controlled expertly by Mead, who waits for the ball to bounce and lashes a long-range wide of the far post. She has so much confidence at the moment.

11.34pm GMT

51 min England make their second change, with Ellen White replacing the brilliant Jodie Taylor.

11.33pm GMT

49 min This is a different game now. Japan look much sharper in possession after those changes - Momiki is on as well, in fact - and Hasegawa drags another shot wide from the edge of the area.

11.31pm GMT

48 min Lovely play from the two Japanese substitutes. Yokoyama plays a good pass to Kobayashi, who bursts forward and drives a low shot wide from the edge of the area.

11.31pm GMT

47 min Japan have made a couple of half-time substitutions, with Kobayashi replacing Ikejiri and Yokoyama on for Endo.

11.29pm GMT

46 min Peep peep! England begin the second half.

11.15pm GMT

Half-time chit chat “There have been so many nice and properly sized soccer-specific stadiums built across America over the past 20 years,” says Aram Gumusyan. “So it’s a mystery as to why SheBelieves Cup matches are being played in enormous NFL stadiums in Nashville and Tampa. The Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers struggle themselves to fill their own stadiums! It’s unfair for the players, and for the fans who came to make noise, to be amidst so many empty seats.”

I’m no expert in women’s football or stadium acoustics – who knew – but I agree with you on the principle. The stadium looks about 10 per cent full for this game.

11.14pm GMT

A perfect half for England, who scored three fine goals and are going to win the SheBelieves Cup unless something very strange happens in the second half. They have been brilliant.

Twitter: follow us at @guardian_sport

11.11pm GMT

45 min There will be two minutes of added time.

11.10pm GMT

42 min “Someone had to,” is the subject of Matt Dony’s email, and you’ll soon see why. “I still haven’t warmed to Phil Neville, but he has done a great job. This team have played some excellent football. It might be coming home...”

11.08pm GMT

41 min Taylor misses an excellent chance to get a deserved goal, shooting tamely across goal with her left foot. The chance came from a superb lobbed pass over the defence by the substitute Stanway. England’s creativity has been so impressive.

11.05pm GMT

39 min Stanway on, Christiansen off. Hopefully it’s an impact injury rather than ligament damage.

11.04pm GMT

38 min Christiansen is being helped from the field. Georgia Stanway is going to replace her.

11.03pm GMT

36 min Bronze’s low cross from the right is dummied ingeniously by Taylor, who spots Christiansen arriving late in the box behind her. She is just beaten to the ball by Shimizu, who makes a vital interception, and the two players collide painfully. Christiansen is still down and looks like she might be struggling to continue.

11.00pm GMT

35 min This is a weakened Japan side, but then it’s a weakened England side as well. We shouldn’t overreact to this scoreline; nor should we underreact.

10.59pm GMT

33 min All three goals have been beautifully made, two by Taylor and the third by Keira Walsh.

10.57pm GMT

England are going to win the SheBelieves Cup! They lead by three goals already. The goal was made superbly by Walsh, who beat Sugita in her own half and drove a majestic crossfield pass to Mead on the right. She danced into the area, considered setting up Taylor or Bronze and decided instead to belt it past Yamane with her left foot.

10.54pm GMT

29 min A sustained spell of possession from Japan ends with their first shot on target, a speculative long-range effort from Sakaguchi that is comfortably held by Telford.

10.52pm GMT

28 min “Impacted as my mind has been by the night’s other dramatic footer events I thought the Kiwi Withall had made an evacuation his last act at work,” says Ian Copestake. “Glad to know he has not trodden such a path.”

He hasn’t trodden it yet.

10.52pm GMT

26 min At the moment, England are in complete control of the match. They are defended deep, in numbers, and have been ruthless in attack. Taylor has been outstanding.

10.49pm GMT

England have doubled their lead! The goal was made superbly by Taylor once again. She allowed a throw-in down the right to run across her body, losing her marker in the process, and lobbed a first-time cross that was headed in emphatically from close range by Karen Carney.

10.46pm GMT

21 min Jodie Taylor, put clear down the left by Keira Walsh, is debatably flagged offside. Taylor looks really sharp tonight.

10.45pm GMT

20 min “Grey skies in Tampa,” says Jonathan Dawe, who also sends a picture from the ground that I would upload if it wasn’t such a faff and I also wasn’t entirely sure about company policy when it comes to reader photographs. The skies do look a little mardy, though, I can confirm that.

10.43pm GMT

17 min Japan have been neat in possession without really threatening. I’m not sure Carly Telford has touched the ball yet.

10.40pm GMT

15 min “Morning Rob,” says Phil Withall. “Lovely day here in Queensland. Unfortunately there’s been an evacuation at work so I’m out in the heat of the sun, following the football accompanied by endless jokes about me burning the breakfast. Life...”

I’m all for it.

10.38pm GMT

England are in front this time! Taylor plays a superb reverse pass to Staniforth, who surges from left to right before threading a precise low drive into the corner from 20 yards. Yamane got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out.

10.37pm GMT

11 min Taylor almost gives England the lead with a fine effort. She received Christiansen’s cross with her back to goal, turned smartly and hit a lofted shot just wide from 12 yards.

10.34pm GMT

9 min The pitch is really slow, which isn’t helping either team snap the ball around.

10.33pm GMT

8 min England have had the better of the game so far, even if it hasn’t quite been the flying start Phil Neville wanted.

10.32pm GMT

6 min Houghton wins the ball off Endo and drives a chip towards goal from 35 yards. It’s a comfortable save for Yamane but that was excellent pressing from Houghton.

10.30pm GMT

5 min Taylor is fouled down the England right. They try a training-ground free kick, with two short passes and then, as Japan push out, a driven ball over the top for Houghton. It was a nice idea, but Houghton was just offside.

10.28pm GMT

3 min Nothing to report so far. It’s very congested in the middle of the pitch.

10.25pm GMT

1 min Peep peep! Japan get the match under way, kicking from left to right. They are in blue; England are in red.

10.22pm GMT

Anyone out there? It’s nearly time for kick-off.

10.17pm GMT

Phil Neville speaks “I don’t feel it’s a gamble. I would have been letting myself and my players down if I hadn’t made changes. If I don’t trust the players in a game like this, then I can’t trust them in the World Cup. I’m really excited about this game because there’s a freshness to the side. It’s a great opportunity for them and I can’t wait to see them play. I want us to come out of the blocks flying and to enjoy the game. It’s the game I’ve been looking forward to the most.”

10.14pm GMT

There’s still no sign of the players, so it’s probably safe to assume the kick-off will be at twenty-five past the hour. In that case, I’m away for a coffee.

10.05pm GMT

There’s some confusion over the kick-off time. The official site says 5.15pm local time, a few other places say 5.25pm. I’m 4,195 miles away from the Raymond James Stadium, so I’m not in the best position to provide a definitive answer.

9.40pm GMT

Permutations

9.34pm GMT

Pre-match reading

9.33pm GMT

The England manager Phil Neville said he would rotate for this game, and he has made eight changes. The three players who started the 2-2 draw against the USA are Lucy Bronze, who returns to right-back, the captain Steph Houghton and Keira Walsh. Japan have made six changes from the team that Brazil 3-1.

Japan (4-4-2) Yamane; Shimizu, Minami, Oga, Sameshima; Sakaguchi, Matsubara, Sugita, Hasegawa; Ikejiri, Endo.
Substitutes: Takenaka, Utsugi, Ariyoshi, Kobayashi, Momiki, Miiura, Yokoyama, Miyagawa.

8.03pm GMT

Hello. If you’re going to take part in a World Cup warm-up, you might as well practice lifting a trophy. Japan and England go into tonight’s match in Florida knowing that a victory will ensure they get their hands on the SheBelieves Cup, regardless of what happens in the late fixture between the United States and Brazil.

Victory and confidence are a virtuous circle, and winning this trophy would give England so much, erm, belief going into this summer’s World Cup in France. They will play Japan there, too, in the group stage, a meeting that will bring back a few traumatic memories of the 2015 semi-final.

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Published on March 05, 2019 16:25

India v Australia: second one-day international – live!

Updates from the second match of the series in NagpurIt’s The Spin day. Sign up and get the email later onAny thoughts? Email or tweet @GeoffLemonSport

9.39am GMT

23rd over: India 107-3 (Kohli 47, Shankar 15) Coulter-Nile backing up Lyon with another accurate over, rolling his fingers once or twice to make use of any lack of pace in the pitch. Kohli happy to take his time, and setting an example to his batting partner that that’s alright.

9.38am GMT

22nd over: India 104-3 (Kohli 45, Shankar 14) Great over from Lyon, denying Kohli any room. Stops him in the field, beats his edge. When the single comes, Shankar gets the same treatment, the bowler even diving to make a stop off his own work. Just the one run from the over.

9.32am GMT

21st over: India 103-3 (Kohli 44, Shankar 14) Coulter-Nile comes on for Lyon, but starts with a loosener very wide of off stump. It would probably have been called wide but Shankar chased it with an angled bat, not hurling the bat but just placing it with an open face, and deflecting the cut shot for four. He then bunts a single away from a short ball, and Kohli tucks another. India’s hundred comes up, and the run rate is up to 4.9 now.

9.28am GMT

20th over: India 97-3 (Kohli 43, Shankar 9) What is going on with Adam Zampa today? Bowls a full toss to Shankar which is whacked straight for two. Another full toss that Shankar drives for a single. Kohli gives the strike back, then Zampa dishes up a third fully that Shankar drives for one. He’s lucky Kohli wasn’t the recipient of any of those, or they would have gone faster and further. Kohli instead finally gets a good ball, a leg-break that zips past his edge and past the keeper for a bye. Shankar finishes by tucking another run.

9.25am GMT

19th over: India 90-3 (Kohli 42, Shankar 4) This batting pair is going a little more smoothly than the last. Five singles from Lyon’s over, collected with minimal fuss.

9.21am GMT

18th over: India 85-3 (Kohli 40, Shankar 1) Interesting, this. Dhoni was due to come in next but Shankar will instead. Been playing as an all-rounder lately thanks to his little medium-pace swingers, but that’s a very recent development. He’s been a batsman through and through for most of his career. He gets off the mark with a single, then Zampa drags one down to Kohli who duly punishes it on the lap-sweep for four. Zampa flights the next one and shifts the line outside off stump, but overcorrects in both respects and Kohli is able to reach it as a low full toss. That one hits the cover boundary. Ten off the over and suddenly Kohli is within reach of yet another half century.

9.15am GMT

17th over: India 75-3 (Kohli 31) Now here’s Nathan Lyon. Such a good operator in the Test arena, but has never cracked it in ODI cricket. An off-spinner with lovely shape on his deliveries in the longer format, but he’s not doing that to start with here. Bowls a massive ugly dart, skewed down the leg side, and it’s only because Kohli misses a sweep that his pad clips the ball and diverts it for two leg byes. Lyon darts again, outside off, and Kohli opens the face and glides to third man for four. Then another ugly drag-down that zips through and is pushed straight by Kohli for a single.

But his last ball of the over is the one that draws the appeal against Rayudu. Lyon round the wicket, pitching in line, Rayudu goes across the line and misses, and he’s hit on the back thigh in front of middle and leg. India review in the hope that it had pitched outside leg, but the replay vindicates Umpire Joel Wilson. Lyon gets the breakthrough!

9.11am GMT

16th over: India 68-2 (Kohli 26, Rayudu 18) Oh, that’s not ideal. It’s hard to hit Zampa unless he dishes up a dishsoap full toss, floating down for Rayudu to lump away to the midwicket perimeter. A big appeal follows as a ball clips Rayudu’s pad on its way down for a leg bye. India starting to shift the momentum back.

9.07am GMT

15th over: India 61-2 (Kohli 24, Rayudu 14) I was thinking Maxwell had probably stayed on for an over too long, and there it is. Slips a ball too wide and Rayudu is able to cash in, playing a big square drive that hits the rope for four. Maxwell does well to pull the over back onto his terms, conceding three singles from the over five balls.

9.05am GMT

14th over: India 54-2 (Kohli 22, Rayudu 9) Zampa comes back for his second foray, replacing Cummins as they turn and turn about. Rayudu can’t get anything going, including a very risky pull shot to a ball that was’t short enough and was hurrying through. We’ve seen so many players hole out against Zampa trying that sort of shot; he can be very hard to tee off against. Two late singles are the only scores from the over.

9.02am GMT

13th over: India 52-2 (Kohli 21, Rayudu 8) Maxwell continues, bowling three times to Kohli before the ODI master can get a single to escape strike. Rayudu is able to force two runs through cover as Maxwell strays from his line on the pads. A couple of singles mean five from the over, more than acceptable to the bowler once again. He’s managed to sneak through four overs now, very useful for his side. Lyon might bowl ten in a row now if he can get settled.

8.56am GMT

12th over: India 47-2 (Kohli 20, Rayudu 4) Nine dot balls in a row from Cummins to Rayudu, who just keeps checking his shots into the off side. Cummins bowls a bouncer that is called wide, but follows up with a length ball that Rayudu can only drive back to the bowler. Ten scoreless balls, eleven counting the wide, then Rayudu gropes and gets a thick edge down to a fine third man for one run. He’s on 4 from 16. Kohli, with one ball to face, works it effortlessly behind square leg into a gap that lets him run back for a second.

8.52am GMT

11th over: India 43-2 (Kohli 18, Rayudu 3) Maxwell is loving life, as he races through another over for the cost of four singles. This is fun. And tell me this image below doesn’t look like some kind of giant yellow happy caterpillar.

Glenn Maxwell enjoyed that one! #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/LOjaMbkr7H

8.48am GMT

10th over: India 39-2 (Kohli 16, Rayudu 1) Cummins is back immediately to take advantage of the breakthrough, and he almost does. Pins Rayudu to an off-stump line and just draws defensive shots, hesitant. Bowls a ripper to beat the edge fourth ball, takes the inside edge into pad from the fifth, and rattles Rayudi sufficiently that the batsman charges the last and tries to wallop it into orbit. Makes no contact and is nearly bowled. “Are you trying to get out?” is I think what Cummins said to him. Rayudu smiles in very sheepish fashion, if sheep could smile. They’re not famous for it, are they? Cummins has bowled a maiden.

8.45am GMT

9th over: India 39-2 (Kohli 16, Rayudu 1) A single for Rayudu from the last ball is the only score from Maxwell’s wicket-taking over. He has 1 for 4 from two overs. Not bad for a part-timer in the Powerplay.

8.39am GMT

Don’t think this one is out... but it is! Dhawan misses a sweep-pull kind of shot. Ugly stroke, and he missed, and the ball hit pad. I reckoned it was going down leg. Maxwell didn’t. “I think that’s out,” I could lip-read him saying to Finch, and his captain went with him, and Hawk-Eye reckons that ball delivered from wide around the wicket had straightened enough to be hitting leg stump flush, not just clipping. Maxwell is elated in the huddle, and the gamble of bringing him on with the fielding restrictions in place has paid a rich and unexpected dividend, including franking credits.

8.38am GMT

8th over: India 38-1 (Dhawan 21, Kohli 16) Now it’s Adam Zampa as well: spin twins in the Powerplay overs. Very interesting. Nathan Lyon is yet to come, as well. Zampa drags one short that is pulled, then overpitches and is driven, but his two outfielders are in the right spot at deep midwicket and long-off. Three runs result from two bad balls. A few more singles as he tightens up. Six from the over in total.

8.33am GMT

7th over: India 32-1 (Dhawan 19, Kohli 12) This is interesting: Glenn Maxwell, Powerplay bowler. Steve Smith wouldn’t even give him an over when he was captain. Now that Aaron Finch is in charge, the Max is back. He does a fine job too, round the wicket against the left-hander, darting in and denying room, conceding three singles and drawing two shouts for leg-before.

8.31am GMT

6th over: India 29-1 (Dhawan 18, Kohli 10) Coulter-Nile continues to Kohli, who takes three balls to get a single to third man. Dhawan gets two good balls as well, but the one bad one comes, down leg side, and he crouches to swat it off his pad to fine leg for four.

An email in from Abhijato Sensarma. “Couldn’t India carry both Karthik and Pant in their World Cup squad? I know KL Rahul has regained classy LOI touch in the T20I series, but will selecting him in the squad really be the best option considering he will have to go back to England, the place where his troubles began, at a time even the white ball moves? If Pant is experimented with in the squad and comes off as an opener and a middle-order batsmen in this series, he could easily take up Rahul’s spot as a multi-functional reserve, with his exuberance of youth intact following a sensational season. This would allow Dinesh to remain as the stoic finishing factor in the squad, because his chasing numbers have been very good, and at this point of life he looks settled into the role.”

8.24am GMT

5th over: India 24-1 (Dhawan 14, Kohli 9) Well if Kohli has any concern about Cummins, Dhawan is happy to go after him. That’s batting in partnerships. Takes on the short ball to pull four, then hangs on the back foot to force a square drive away for another boundary. That last shot was pretty dicey, he’d lost his shape and was throwing his hands through the ball, which duly flew away in the air. But he’s willing to take a risk to help tilt the balance India’s way, and that’s commendable.

8.19am GMT

4th over: India 16-1 (Dhawan 6, Kohli 9) Rude, Virat! Coulter-Nile bowls a lovely delivery: perfect seam placement and the outswinger curves gently from his hand. But it’s just overpitched on the off stump, so instead of miscuing it Kohli leans onto his front food and caresses a drive through mid-on. Four runs, smooth as a fresh shave. Then Coulter-Nile gets a touch straighter, so Kohli uses his wrists to turn his drive through midwicket. Same result. Did I mention he’s quite good?

8.16am GMT

3rd over: India 8-1 (Dhawan 6, Kohli 1) Cummins has a great record in Tests against Kohli, generally getting him out off the big drive. Nearly gets him the same way here as Kohli slices through the gully, but hits a gap. Dhawan also miscues one in the air after the single, and duly defends the rest of the over.

8.11am GMT

2nd over: India 7-1 (Dhawan 6, Kohli 0) The greatest of the lot, Virat Kohli, comes to the middle in the format that he owns. An early entry for him, but he’s chilling out at the non-striker’s end as Dhawan faces Nathan Coulter-Nile, collects a leg-side wide, then a leg-side glance for four, then another two runs knocked to midwicket. NCN is bowling too straight to the left-hander.

Perhaps another reader can answer this question from Mick. I have a feeling the game is on UK television somewhere, but I’m in Australia so I can’t check this for myself.

8.05am GMT

1st over: India 0-1 (Dhawan 0) First wicket falls at the end of the first over. Rohit Sharma, the most destructive ODI batsman bar none when he gets going. Cummins bowled his first five deliveries with nice shape, trying to draw Rohit into a drive, but with a stacked field stopping any score. The last ball is slightly shorter and Rohit tries to uppercut, but third man is placed there for the shot. India lose their first wicket without a run on the board.

8.02am GMT

I just met you, and this is crazy, but here’s my number, so call me maybe.

geoff.lemon@theguardian.com

7.42am GMT

The close-ups of that pitch do look very clay-like indeed. Big cracked platelets, red dirt, barely any grass at all. Advantage India already. Can Australia bowl well enough?

7.39am GMT

An unchanged line-up for India, who are confident. For Australia, Shaun Marsh comes back after his various absences for babies and muscle strains, while Nathan Lyon comes in for a double spin attack. Seamer Jason Behrendorff makes way for the latter, while all-rounder Ashton Turner’s time in the team proves to have been as a gap-filler.

Australia
Aaron Finch *
Usman Khawaja
Shaun Marsh
Marcus Stoinis
Peter Handscomb
Glenn Maxwell
Alex Carey +
Nathan Coulter-Nile
Patrick Cummins
Nathan Lyon
Adam Zampa

7.34am GMT

A change in tack after Aaron Finch chose to bat first in Hyderabad. Today he’ll choose to chase after his team couldn’t assemble a compelling score batting first. But his counterpart Virat Kohli seems very happy with that choice. Kohli says that this pitch in Nagpur will become easily torn up by the spikes and will become harder and harder to bat on as the day goes on, and that there won’t be any dew to hamper the bowling side in the evening. He seems totally confident. Mind games, or truth bombs?

7.33am GMT

Here we go again. Game two of the five-match series as India and Australia each try to sort out World Cup preparations with the big dance looming only three months away. What even is time? India won the first match a couple of days ago by six wickets, fairly easily chasing down Australia’s subpar score of 236. The Australians did manage to get into the game for a while by knocking over four top-order wickets, but MS Dhoni did the thing he does, which is average 105 in winning run chases. Kedar Jadhav kept him company. The main problem for Australia in the last couple of years has been some underwhelming batting, never able to keep the foot down as the format requires. Can they find a solution today?

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Published on March 05, 2019 01:39

March 3, 2019

Everton 0-0 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened

Mo Salah missed two good chances as Liverpool continued their nervous form with a goalless draw in a frantic Merseyside derby

6.37pm GMT

And here’s Andy Hunter’s match report from Goodison Park:

6.36pm GMT

Jürgen Klopp: “It was a very very difficult game for different reasons: a wild opponent, and the wind came from all directions, which didn’t help any football. The ball was in the air a lot. But in a game which was difficult to control, we had three or four really big chances. It’s a nil-nil in a derby, we kept out unbeaten run against Everton. It’s not exactly what we wanted but it’s easy to accept because it was a difficult game.

“When you see [Salah’s first-half miss], he’s doing everything right. If you’re a millisecond late the defender can jump in. On another day he scores two or three. But our derbies are over now. We have to take the situation how it is. A few days ago [after the Watford win] we were spoke about the ‘free flowing Liverpool side’. It’s Burnley next, and it’s difficult. We have one point more now, and that’s still positive. Our fans appreciated how the players fought today. We fight together and in the end we’ll see where it leads. We have to win they [City] have to win, and in the end we’ll see who wins more often.”

6.25pm GMT

And here’s what Virgil van Dijk had to say: “Based on the chances we deserved three points. It says a lot that in the end they’re celebrating a nil-nil. We had the chances to finishes but, there it is. We go again. We came for the three points and didn’t get it – now it’s time to recover. Our next game is next week, and that’s the only thing we can focus on. The situation [staying second in the league] is what it is. The only thing we can change it is by winning games.”

6.22pm GMT

Jordan Henderson speaks: “We’re disappointed because we wanted to get three points but we knew it’d be tough today, and frantic at times. I felt as though we created enough chances to win the game, and the big man [Van Dijk] and Joel [Matip] defended well back there. Of course we’re disappointed but we need to be more clinical in the final third.

“Man United away, Everton away – these are tough games. You’re not going to come away having won [by] four or five. But we have to keep going, we’re still in the race. We’ve got a point in both games and there’s a lot of football to play. I’ve got a lot of belief in this group of players, so let’s see where it takes us.”

6.07pm GMT

“This shit,” says Ian Copestake, “does not even have a stick.”

6.06pm GMT

Peep peep! That’s four draws in six league games from Liverpool, who stay in second place, a point behind Manchester City. It was another nervy attacking performance, though they did create two clear chances that were missed by Mo Salah. Things are getting exceedingly tense.

6.04pm GMT

90+2 min Everton have been much better in the second half, and a draw wouldn’t flatter them.

6.03pm GMT

90 min There will be three minutes of added squeaky-bum time.

6.00pm GMT

89 min If Liverpool score now, Jurgen Klopp will never stop running.

6.00pm GMT

88 min But Digne takes it and hits a tame cross that drifts harmlessly out for a throw-in.

5.59pm GMT

87 min Alexander-Arnold miscontrols the ball and is robbed by Digne, who is brought down this far outside the area on the left by Alexander-Arnold. Sigurdsson is over the free-kick...

5.59pm GMT

86 min This is great stuff now, with both teams desperate for a winner.

5.58pm GMT

85 min A debatable free-kick for Liverpool leads to a desperate scramble in the area. Eventually Firmino’s shot ricochets off two defenders and is booted clear.

5.56pm GMT

84 min Lallana replaces Sadio Mane.

5.56pm GMT

84 min Alexander-Arnold’s dipping corner from the right is headed wide from eight yards by Matip. That was a good chance, although it was a very crowded penalty area.

5.55pm GMT

83 min Bernard slaloms dangerously into the area at the other end, and van Dijk calmly sticks out a leg to make another majestic interception. “What a player he is, by the way,” says Gary Neville.

5.55pm GMT

82 min Liverpool break through Mane, who overhits a simple through pass. “I cannot believe how poor Liverpool’s front three have been,” groans Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports.

5.54pm GMT

82 min Adam Lallana is preparing to come on for Liverpool.

5.51pm GMT

79 min Fabinho is booked for a cynical foul on Andre Gomes.

5.50pm GMT

79 min Liverpool again haven’t played well, though the upside of that is that they will feel a gazillion dollars if they steal a win. I’m really surprised Shaqiri hasn’t come on, because I’m not sure a draw is a great result. Surely it’s worth the risk.

5.49pm GMT

78 min “Liverpool at Old Trafford, with that weird succession of injuries, was an even more extreme version of this,” says Phil Podolsky. “The football was awful but you couldn’t look away.”

5.49pm GMT

77 min Andre Gomes replaces Morgan Schneiderlin for Everton.

5.48pm GMT

76 min Sigurdsson’s free-kick is mishit by Tosun, and it dribbles throughto Alisson. It was a difficult ball to hit first time, though he might have had time to take a touch.

5.48pm GMT

76 min “Today’s televised sports entertainment,” says Hubert O’Hearn, “is causing me more anxiety than pleasure.”

Isn’t that the function of televised sports entertainment?

5.47pm GMT

75 min Robertson is booked for lumping Richarlison, who is starting to cause a few problems.

5.47pm GMT

74 min Cenk Tosun replaces the admirable Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has worked like a beast.

5.46pm GMT

73 min A superb ball from Calvert-Lewin releases Richarlison, whose low cross flashes right across the face of goal. Bernard was this far away from getting to it on the six-yard line.

5.44pm GMT

72 min Salah breaks down the right, with Milner in so much space at the far post. Salah tries to find him and curls it straight into the hands of Pickford. Everton are hanging on.

5.43pm GMT

70 min Dictionary corner.

squeaky-bum time

noun

5.42pm GMT

69 min Another chance for Liverpool! When a corner is played short, Robertson lofts a straight pass into the area. Van Dijk heads it across goal to Fabinho, who takes it down on his thigh and is about to shoot from six yards when Digne appears from nowhere to make another desperate clearance. Fabinho might have hit on the volley.

5.39pm GMT

67 min A long cross from the left is headed straight at Alisson by Richarlison. It wasn’t really a chance - he was 15 yards out, there was no pace on the ball, and he had to head it.

5.39pm GMT

66 min “Given that there is no predominant goal scorer this season, I think Virgil should have a great shot at winning Player of the Year,” says Mike Mackenzie. “About time a defender is recognised!”

Yes, I’ll be pretty surprised if he doesn’t win it.

5.38pm GMT

65 min The MFS combine for the first time and almost give Liverpool the lead. Salah plays an angled pass to the right for Firmino, who stands a cross up to the far post. Mane leaps backwards but can only get enough height to head back across the face of goal, rather than at goal, and Everton clear.

5.35pm GMT

64 min “Isn’t calling Theo Walcott ineffective a bit redundant?” asks Joe Harvey, not entirely without reason.

5.35pm GMT

63 min A double change for Liverpool: James Milner and Roberto Firmino replace Gio Wijnaldum and Divock Origi.

5.33pm GMT

60 min This is a dog of a game, really, yet the tension makes it unmissable.

5.32pm GMT

59 min Everton make the first substitution, bringing on Richarlison for the ineffective Theo Walcott.

5.30pm GMT

57 min: Another great chance for Salah! Matip suddenly turned into Beckenbauer, swaggering past two players before stabbing a pass forward. It deflected off Zouma to put Salah through on goal, but his touch was heavy and that allowed Keane to make a brilliant tackle at the expense of a corner.

5.28pm GMT

55 min Origi cuts infield from the left and drags a shot wide of the near post. That wasn’t a great effort, especially as Robertson has made an excellent run on the inside.

5.27pm GMT

55 min Everton are playing with greater intensity, pressing Liverpool higher up the pitch. And Calvert-Lewin is in the game again after spending 20 minutes or so under van Dijk’s control.

5.26pm GMT

54 min “Liverpool do know they HAVE to win this yeah?” weeps Ian Copestake. “None of this an away point delusional positivity. We want statement results until the final statement. Sort it!”

5.26pm GMT

53 min Alexander-Arnold cracks a good free-kick over the wall, and Pickford moves across his line to make a comfortable save.

5.25pm GMT

52 min Digne’s inswinging corner is headed down by Calvert-Lewin, and as the ball bounces up Alisson springs to his right to make a comfortable save. He then launches a Liverpool counter, which leads to Gueye being penalised for a foul 30 yards from goal. He still hasn’t been booked, somehow.

5.24pm GMT

52 min This is better from Everton. Sigurdsson releases Coleman, whose first-time cross is put behind by van Dijk.

5.23pm GMT

50 min The second half has started with plenty of thud and blunder. Sigurdsson changes that with a superb, pacy cross from the right byline that is cleared by Alexander-Arnold at the far post.

5.22pm GMT

49 min “I was playing parks football recently and the ref stopped the match for me to re-tie my laces,” says Mark Judd. “Must be a rule somewhere I guess?”

5.20pm GMT

48 min As things stand, Liverpool are a point behind Manchester City. A win would put them a point clear. This is going to be a belting title race. I’d be pretty surprised if one of them don’t break the record for the most points by a team that doesn’t win the Premier League/old Division One.

5.18pm GMT

47 min “When I grow up,” says Matt Dony, “I want to be Virgil van Dijk.”

He’s great, isn’t he. He’s approaching a nerve-shredding title race with a resting heart rate. His bum doesn’t even squeak.

5.17pm GMT

46 min Peep peep! Liverpool begin the second half. Here we go, here we go, here we go, here we go, this is it.

5.04pm GMT

Half-time reading

5.03pm GMT

Peep peep! Nothing to see here. An endearingly frantic, old-fashioned start developed into a dull half of football. There was lots of Liverpool possession but only one clear chance for either side, when Mo Salah went clear and gave Jordan Pickford the chance to make a fine save. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

5.01pm GMT

45 min Liverpool are in complete control of the game. But, as in a few of their recent away games, they are struggling to create chances. Salah missed a sitter but that was about it. Jurgen Klopp has very good options on the bench: Shaqiri, Firmino, Lallana, Keita, Sturridge.

4.59pm GMT

44 min “Why did the referee stop the game for a Liverpool player to tie his shoelaces?” asks Mark Childs. “Obviously, I’m annoyed about that as a United fan, but am also genuinely interested.”

Did he really? I missed that. It’s health and safety gone mad!

4.57pm GMT

42 min Calvert-Lewin started brightly but van Dijk has since placed him in his pocket. With the wingers anonymous, it means Everton are really struggling to keep the ball.

4.57pm GMT

41 min Robertson crosses very deep towards Alexander-Arnold, who is shaping to volley when Digne appears from nowhere to make a vital interception.

4.55pm GMT

40 min Everton really need half-time.

4.54pm GMT

39 min Everton’s first shot on goal. Keane lumps a ball forward that falls nicely for Walcott, who gets the wrong side of Robertson but blazes over from the right edge of the area.

4.52pm GMT

36 min This is starting to look ominous for Everton. Liverpool are slowly imposing their superior will and skill on the match, and Marco Silva should think about introduction Richarlison as early as half-time.

4.51pm GMT

35 min “While everything else is going on - spare a thought for Theo Walcott, who might be pondering where he finds himself (which is mostly out of it),” says Charles Antaki. “He might reflect that, like Marlon Brando on the waterfront, he could have been a contender. The less sympathetic among the Arsenal supporters will note that he had been.”

He’s got as many England caps as Sir Trevor Brooking, you know.

4.48pm GMT

33 min Attempts at goal so far: Everton 0-3 Liverpool.

4.48pm GMT

32 min “Commentators on German DAZN puzzled by Everton not simply rolling over and handing LFC the title on a silver plate...” says Oliver.

Through neighbourly generosity or incompetence?

4.47pm GMT

31 min There hasn’t been much in the game, but Everton aren’t offering enough going forward. As Gary Neville says on Sky, the wide players Bernard and Walcott have been very timid.

4.44pm GMT

28 min: Big save from Pickford! When Everton lost the ball in midfield, Fabinho put Salah through on goal with a simple angled pass. Salah scooted into the area, opened his body up and tried to steer the ball into the far corner. Pickford made himself big and blocked the shot with his right arm. Salah should really have scored.

4.41pm GMT

25 min Walcott lofts a ball down the right towards Calvert-Lewin, and van Dijk sweeps up majestically. He is playing in his slippers.

4.38pm GMT

23 min A deft touch from Calvert-Lewin releases Bernard, whose low cross towards Walcott is kicked away by the covering Robertson. Good defending.

4.37pm GMT

22 min The first quarter has been one for the impurists, with intensity, spite and very little quality. It’s been great.

4.34pm GMT

20 min Liverpool are passing the ball with greater authority now. It wasn’t easy in the first 10 minutes, such was the pace of the game, but it has settled down.

4.33pm GMT

18 min “I don’t think Everton have enough to create something against a determined Liverpool,” says Phil Podolsky. “And I really want them to: Pep’s City is not my thing but nothing could top the spectacle of another Liverpool meltdown at the finishing line.”

4.32pm GMT

17 min Calvert-Lewin is putting himself about to good effect, and has forced both Matip and van Dijk to get their knees dirty.

4.31pm GMT

15 min Another fantastic ball from Henderson, this time an angled 60-yard drive over the top for Salah. He takes it superbly in his stride and is about to shoot when Coleman comes across to make a vital clearance. Moments later, Salah twists Digne one way and another on the edge of the area before whipping a curler too close to Pickford. He’s annoyed with himself because that was a chance.

4.28pm GMT

13 min A brilliant cross from the right by Henderson pinballs around the Everton box, almost falling for first Origi and then Wijnaldum before being grabbed by Pickford.

4.27pm GMT

11 min Just before he put in that low cross a couple of minutes ago, Sigurdsson was challenged a little recklessly by Robertson. He showed no inclination to go down, but had he done so it might have been a penalty.

4.25pm GMT

10 min Sigurdsson’s low cross is put just wide of his own goal by van Dijk! The resulting corner leads to another break from Liverpool, and Gueye is lucky not to be booked for a foul by Mane.

4.24pm GMT

9 min After a manic start, the game is slowly settling down. Everton look busy and purposeful, though I’m still not sure how they can really hurt Liverpool with this team.

4.23pm GMT

8 min “I am also following this in the old school style,” says Ian Copestake. “On local radio. Next to my dad (an Evertonian) who is actually asleep. He was always too nice to ever impose his own Toffee inclination on his sons.”

4.22pm GMT

7 min Bernard’s cross bounces across the Liverpool area and is miscontrolled by the stretching Walcott. Origi tries to break and is pulled down by Walcott, who is booked.

4.21pm GMT

5 min “Well, here we go,” says Hubert O’Hearn. “It feels like a horse race about to enter the final stretch. The title looms as large as an iceberg and as distant as a forgotten dream. But I’m calm, I’m good, I’m relaxed, I’m into the cabernet, I’m copacetic.”

Embrace the terror. Whatever happens in the next two months, it’ll be with you for the rest of your life.

4.19pm GMT

4 min The first bit of quality from Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold makes a 60-yard run infield and finds Wijnaldum. He moves it wide to Origi, who beats Coleman and hammers a low cross that is hoofed away by Keane.

4.18pm GMT

3 min It’s been a frantic start, with a number of yeasty tackles on both sides.

4.16pm GMT

2 min Sadio Mane is, as we expected, playing as a No9.

4.15pm GMT

1 min Peep peep! Everton kick off from right to left. I need not tell you what colours the teams are wearing.

4.13pm GMT

There’s a wonderfully hostile atmosphere at Goodison; football as nature intended. This is great - and they haven’t kicked a ball yet.

4.12pm GMT

The players on both sides look very serious as they emerge from the tunnel. I wonder how Jordan Pickford feels after that sorry mess at Anfield.

4.05pm GMT

Jurgen Klopp speaks “It’s a derby – I don’t want to make it smaller than it is but I cannot make it bigger than it is. It’s a very, very, very important game.”

4.04pm GMT

An email! “My prediction?” asks Gary Naylor. “1-1 goals; 1-1 red cards; 1-1 managers deflecting blame.”

3.36pm GMT

Part 1

3.22pm GMT

Premier League watch

3.21pm GMT

Richarlison is omitted by Marco Silva, with Bernard replacing him. Roberto Firmino returns for Liverpool - but only on the substitutes bench, which means Sadio Mane will continue at centre-forward. Jordan Henderson replaces James Milner in the only change from the side that hurt Watford 5-0 on Wednesday.

Everton (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Zouma, Digne; Schneiderlin, Gueye; Walcott, Sigurdsson, Bernard; Calvert-Lewin.
Substitutes: Stekelenburg, Jagielka, Kenny, Gomes, Davies, Tosun, Richarlison.

3.12pm GMT

Some pre-match reading

10.37am GMT

Hello. This Merseyside derby is all about droughts. Everton want to beat Liverpool for the first time in nine years; Liverpool need to win their first title for 29 years. The latter impacts the former, because Everton could redeem another nothing season by landing one on Liverpool’s title hopes.

A draw would be enough for Everton to ensure Liverpool no longer have their fate in their own hands, but the symbolic significance of a win would be enormous. And it would make up for that numbing defeat at Anfield in December, when Everton produced arguably their best performance of the season only to lose to Divock Origi’s tragifarcical goal in the 96th minute.

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Published on March 03, 2019 10:38

March 2, 2019

Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona: El Clásico – as it happened

Ivan Rakitic’s classy goal gave Barcelona their second win at the Bernabeu in four days - and ended Real’s title hopes for another year

9.56pm GMT

Sid Lowe’s match report has landed, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company, goodnight!

9.36pm GMT

Peep peep! Barcelona move 12 points clear of Madrid with a deserved victory in a relatively forgettable clasico. Ivan Rakitic scored the only goal in the first half, playing a give-and-go with Sergi Roberto before dinking the ball softly over the advancing Courtois. It was a lovely goal, scored in a manner which said, I am better than you, and we are better than you.

9.35pm GMT

90+3 min Oof! Messi, lurking inside the D, sweeps a superb shot this far wide of the angle of post and bar.

9.33pm GMT

90+2 min Semedo replaces Busquets for Barcelona.

9.32pm GMT

90+1 min Carvajal’s dinked cross finds Varane, who heads straight at ter Stegen from 10 yards. It wouldn’t have counted anyway, as a foul had been given against Ramos.

9.32pm GMT

90 min Three minutes of added time.

9.31pm GMT

89 min Pique is holding the back of his leg and may need to go off.

9.30pm GMT

88 min Asensio’s neat flick finds Carvajal, whose dangerous low cross is hoofed away by Pique. He has been immense.

9.29pm GMT

88 min Benzema zips infield and swishes a well-struck shot from 25 yards that is comfortably saved by ter Stegen as he falls to his right.

9.28pm GMT

87 min “You have to feel sorry for Coutinho,” says Charles Antaki. “His entire Barcelona career seems to have been a series of increasingly unconvincing auditions, destined for the don’t-call-us, we’ll-call-you finale.”

It’s just like when Micky Quinn went to PAOK Thessaloniki.

9.27pm GMT

85 min Real’s effort has been beyond reproach. But Barcelona have been in a different class.

9.25pm GMT

84 min “Rob,” says Mac Millings. “if I may join your highbrow, mes que un conversation about the relative merits of Real Madrid and Barcelona, I like Rakitić, because his name is fun to say. Go on. Say it out loud, with a flourish.. Rrrrakitiććć!!!”

9.25pm GMT

83 min Pique dispossesses Benzema in the area. But he is so loath to hoof the ball anywhere that he instead runs all the way across his own six-yard box under pressure from Benzema, who eventually forces Pique to concede a corner.

9.23pm GMT

82 min Asensio is booked for a desperate lunge at Busquets.

9.19pm GMT

78 min Coutinho replaces Dembele for Barcelona.

9.19pm GMT

77 min Asensio goes over in the area after a challenge from Pique. The referee ignores him. It looked like a dive, and a pathetic one at that.

9.18pm GMT

77 min Real are having a lot of possession now, though it’s all in front of Barcelona.

9.17pm GMT

76 min Real make their last substitution, with Isco replacing Casemiro.

9.14pm GMT

74 min “Matt Dony has every right & some justification for his dislike of Barcelona,” says Niall Mullen. “But he’s so very wrong about the Galacticos. They were so often absolutely tedious to watch, just lounging around like some ennui-filled French artist waiting for inspiration to strike. Like Thomas Gravesen, say.”

9.13pm GMT

72 min Vinicius fizzes a rising drive over the bar from 25 yards.

9.13pm GMT

72 min “I should possibly have prefaced my last email with; ‘I’ve just spent the afternoon at the Penderyn Distillery. Any subsequent points made have been suitably lubricated’,” says Matt Dony. “Ramos has never been ‘likeable’ as such, and his disciplinary record is hilarious, but I almost think that playing alongside the more obviously dirty Pepe for so long kind of masked his own gittishness. These last couple of seasons, though, he’s really shone as a bastion of all that is unpleasant about defending. Sergio Ramos. What a twonk.”

Really? He’s always been King Swine in my eyes.

9.12pm GMT

71 min Barcelona make their first change, with Arturo Vidal replacing Arthur.

9.12pm GMT

70 min: Great chance for Dembele! After a patient move, Messi slides a beautiful through pass down the inside-left channel for Dembele, who cracks a low shot just wide of the far post.

9.11pm GMT

69 min Messi plays a give-and-go with Suarez on the left of the box before larruping a cross that flashes through the six-yard box.

9.09pm GMT

68 min You can never be sure with “football”, but it feels like Barcelona have the match under control and will score a second on the break at some stage.

9.08pm GMT

67 min Barcelona break through Dembele, who is superbly tackled by the last defender Ramos.

9.05pm GMT

64 min “You know how Graeme Swann’s career got such a boost when DRS came in, and he suddenly started winning all those lbw appeals that had previously been turned down?” says Michael Patrick. “I wonder if (hope that) the opposite is about to happen to Sergio Ramos with VAR?”

Ha. I don’t think it will, you know. The thing with Ramos is that he is such a sophisticated snide that it’s hard to prove intent a lot of the time.

9.05pm GMT

63 min Lenglet is booked for an elbow on Ramos.

9.03pm GMT

62 min Marco Asensio replaces the sadly anonymous Gareth Bale.

9.02pm GMT

61 min Ramos is booked for a foul on Messi. Is that even news?

9.02pm GMT

59 min Rakitic loses the ball in his own area. It pinballs to Vinicius, who smashes a shot that is going in until it hts the chest of Lenglet.

8.59pm GMT

58 min Real are hanging on to their 1-0 deficit. Messi finds Jordi Alba, whose low cross deflects off Carvajal and flies just wide of the far post.

8.58pm GMT

57 min Messi plays an inviting pass to Dembele, who slams a low shot on the run from 20 yards that is comfortably held by the diving Courtois.

8.58pm GMT

56 min A long ball forward is taken down expertly by Vinicius, who moves the ball onto his right foot and sweeps a rising shot that is beaten away by ter Stegen. It was a fairly comfortable save as the shot was straight at him.

8.57pm GMT

55 min A Madrid change: Toni Kroos is replaced by Federico Valverde.

8.56pm GMT

54 min Requilon chips an angled cross towards Bale, but it’s brilliantly intercepted by the stretching Jordi Alba.

8.54pm GMT

52 min Carvajal’s desperate defensive header accidentally puts Suarez through on goal. He runs 40 yards into the area but Varane does superbly to make up the ground and ensure Suarez can’t get a shot at goal.

8.51pm GMT

49 min Benzema misses a rare old sitter from six yards, and is thus relieved to realise he was offside. Messi, meanwhile, is struggling with a groin problem.

8.48pm GMT

47 min “I don’t know, I seem to remember a season for Liverpool where Coutinho was pulling the strings behind the attacking trio of Sturridge, Sterling and Suarez,” says Phil Podolsky. “But Valverde seems to see him only as a wide forward, yes.”

He’s better than Dembele in that position as well, isn’t he?

8.46pm GMT

46 min Peep peep! Benzema gets the second half under way for Real Madrid.

8.46pm GMT

“A sly elbow by Ramos to ensure the half ends with all well with the world,” says Charles Antaki, “at least the world of known knowns.”

8.42pm GMT

Matt Dony has a conversation with himself

“I’ve followed Real off-and-on since McManaman moved there, and then the initial wave of Galacticos played some ridiculously entertaining football,” he writes. “If you’re not entertained by watching Roberto Carlos ping a cross into the box at insane speed, are you really a football fan? At the same time, I deeply despise Barca, Pep, and the whole Mes Que Un Club, sanctimonious, ‘this is the only way to play football’ schtick.

8.42pm GMT

Some half-time reading

8.33pm GMT

Messi goes down holding his face after a collision with the inevitable Sergio Ramos. He is absolutely furious! Ramos won the ball off Messi and smacked him in the face with his forearm at the same time. Had it been anyone else I would be 100 per cent sure it was an accident. In this case I’m 98 per cent sure Ramos knew what he was doing. When Messi eventually gets up, he squares up to Ramos, and the players on both sides have a full and frank exchange of views as they walk off at half-time. The second half should be fun, eh.

8.30pm GMT

45 min A half-chance for Madrid. Casemiro curls a long, high pass down the right to Carvajal, who heads the ball back across goal towards Modric. He gets in front of Pique and heads over 12 yards.

8.28pm GMT

44 min “Coutinho is a different type of player to Iniesta,” says Niall Mullen. “He’s best as a wide forward in a front three. I hope that Barca are not trying to replace their legendary players like for like because they may have a little trouble replacing their number 10 when he eventually goes.”

Quinn, Micky.

8.28pm GMT

43 min Vinicius Junior cuts infield from the left and has a pop at goal. Throw-in to Barcelona.

8.26pm GMT

41 min Messi is fouled by Ramos, a sly one that probably deserved a yellow card.

8.25pm GMT

39 min: Vital save from Courtois! The excellent Rakitic burst forward in the inside-right channel and played a square pass to Suarez just outside the D. He allowed it to run across his body, beating Varane in the process, before drilling a low left-footed shot that was excellently stopped by Courtois, diving low to his left. Courtois got straight to his feet to grab Messi’s follow-up as well.

8.23pm GMT

39 min “They used to chant ‘Sumo! Sumo!’ for Micky Quinn,” says Niall Mullen. “When they do it for Messi he responds ‘Si, naranja por favor’.”

8.22pm GMT

37 min Messi curls a free-kick a few yards wide from 20 yards. This is looking ominous for Real, with Barcelona starting to pick them off on the counter-attack.

8.21pm GMT

36 min Suarez appeals for a handball by Carvajal in the Real area. The ball did hit his outstretched hand but he was approximately 0.00004 yards away when Suarez lobbed the ball over his shoulder.

8.20pm GMT

35 min “Does anyone who watches Barcelona regularly have thoughts on why Valverde wouldn’t play Coutinho in the middle of the park in the Iniesta role as God and whoever is in charge of transfers at the club have clearly intended?” wonders Phil Podolsky. “Is the all-round contribution of Rakitic and the other one preferable to the attacking genius of the Brazilian? I typed all this before the goal, mind.”

I’d have Rakitic over Coutinho most days. I haven’t seen enough of Arthur to disparage him on the internet, though.

8.19pm GMT

33 min Rakitic plays a clever angled through ball that is just too far in front of Messi. He would have been through on goal.

8.18pm GMT

32 min A Real corner is half cleared by Barcelona to Reguilon, who hammers the bouncing ball just wide from 25 yards. Ter Stegen must have been unsighted because he didn’t move.

8.17pm GMT

31 min Modric wins the ball on the edge of the Barcelona with a storming tackle on Jordi Alba. He springs to his feet and drives a low cross that pinballs around the area before Barcelona clear.

8.16pm GMT

30 min Reguilon dives into the area after a tackle from Arthur. The referee doesn’t buy it.

8.15pm GMT

29 min Bale’s deep cross is put behind for a corner by Lenglet. Comes to nowt.

8.13pm GMT

Rakitic played a short pass out to Sergi Roberto on the right and ran onto the return pass, away from the last defender Ramos. Once he was into the area he sat Courtois down and dinked the ball gently, almost goadingly, over him and into the net.

8.11pm GMT

Barcelona take the lead with a delicious goal!

8.10pm GMT

24 min “If you watch Messi he actually just walks a lot during the game, as we have been told by stats already,” says Ruth Purdue. “But when he comes alive he 25 yards from goal he just bursts into life. A joy to watch. I guess age comes to us all, and he lets everyone else run for him. Genius.”

Micky Quinn did something similar at Coventry.

8.08pm GMT

22 min Vinicius Junior stabs the ball cockily over the sliding Pique and charges down the left. He gets into the area and cuts the ball back to Benzema, who moves it on to Modric. He dummies to pass and then hits a low shot from 15 yards that is kicked away on the six-yard line by Pique, who seconds earlier had been put on his backside on the left wing by Vinicius.

8.06pm GMT

19 min: Messi misses a good chance! Suarez lobbed a loose ball over the defence to Messi, who took it down with his chest, or maybe his right bicep, and moved into the area. As Courtois came out, Messi lobbed the ball over him with the outside of his left foot, but he got too much on it and it drifted past the far post.

8.03pm GMT

19 min This is a good spell from Barcelona, who are into their stride after a fairly slow start. Messi looks particularly dangerous.

8.02pm GMT

17 min Carvajal tries to kick Messi and ends up on his arse.

8.02pm GMT

16 min Vinicius beats a couple of defenders with ease but overhits his through pass to Bale. That was a chance for Real.

8.01pm GMT

15 min Courtois makes a brilliant save from Suarez’s vicious hit, although it wouldn’t have counted because of an offside in the build-up.

8.00pm GMT

14 min A ludicrous 60-yard pass from Messi releases Dembele, whose first-time cross is put behind for a corner.

7.58pm GMT

13 min Varane’s fierce shot on the turn is blocked by Lenglet and rebounds to Kroos, whose deflected long-range shot is well held by ter Stegen.

7.57pm GMT

11 min A good move from Barcelona. Messi combines with Jordi Alba and finds Dembele. He plays a cute reverse pass to release Jordi Alba, whose driven cross is put behind for a corner. It’s played short and eventually slid into the area towards Rakitic, who goes down hoping for a penalty. The referee isn’t interested.

7.55pm GMT

10 min Reguilon plays a sharp pass into Benzema, who wriggles away from Lenglet on the edge of the area before dragging a left-footed shot well wide of the far post.

7.54pm GMT

9 min Nothing to report in the last few minutes. Real look bright and busy in possession.

7.51pm GMT

5 min A lazy, ill-conceived flick from Casemiro is intercepted by Rakitic, who shovels the ball forward to Messi. He slides a through pass towards Suarez, and Varane comes between Suarez and Courtois to concede a corner.

7.49pm GMT

4 min It’s been a good start from Real, who are pressing with intent when they don’t have the ball.

7.48pm GMT

3 min Bale blooters the free-kick high over the bar.

7.47pm GMT

2 min Modric nicks the ball off Busquets near the halfway line and finds Kroos. He surges to within 20 yards of goal before being taken down by Busquets, who is booked.

7.45pm GMT

1 min Peep peep peep! Barcelona get the match under way, kicking from right to left if you like to picture these things.

7.44pm GMT

The Eleven Sports coverage is, erm, eccentric. They keep going to a break at random moments and flipping between commentary in English and Spanish.

7.42pm GMT

The players are in the tunnel. Luis Suarez is stting on the stairs, looking like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

7.34pm GMT

The bottom team Huesca have beaten Sevilla 2-1, with Ezequiel Avila scoring the winner in the eighth minute of injury time.

6.46pm GMT

Gareth Bale starts for Real Madrid, which is good news for this Barney Ronay article.

6.45pm GMT

Real Madrid (4-1-2-3) Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Reguilon; Casemiro; Modric, Kroos; Bale, Benzema, Vinicius.
Substitutes: Navas, Marcelo, Valverde, Vazquez, Asensio, Isco, Ceballos.

Barcelona (4-1-2-3) ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets; Arthur, Rakitic; Messi, Suarez, Dembele.
Substitutes: Cillessen, Umtiti, Semedo, Vidal, Alena, Coutinho, Malcom.

6.21pm GMT

Revenge is a dish best served cold. But let’s be honest, it tastes good at any temperature. Real Madrid certainly wouldn’t say no to a piping-hot dish tonight. This clasico is an instant chance to avenge that strange hammering in the Copa del Rey semi-final on Wednesday, when they played very well yet lost 3-0.

Luis Suarez, who has taken over from Lionel Messi as Madrid’s chief pain in the derriere, scored twice in that game to go with a hat-trick in the season’s first clasico, when Barcelona plugged Real 5-1 in October. Real’s defenders must be thrilled to be facing those two again so soon after Wednesday.

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Published on March 02, 2019 13:56

India beat Australia: first one-day international – as it happened

Kedar Jadhav made a sparkling unbeaten 81 to guide an impressive India to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Australia in Hyderabad

4.17pm GMT

4.07pm GMT

That’s it for today’s blog. Thanks very much for your company and emails. Bye!

3.57pm GMT

Australia will reflect that they didn’t get enough runs. A score of 260-270 would have been par. They gave everything with the ball and in the field but they were nearly always chasing the game.

3.53pm GMT

48.2 overs: India 240-4 (Dhoni 59, Jadhav 81) That’ll do! Dhoni smacks Stoinis for consecutive boundaries to complete a comfortable victory. His expert partnership of 137 with the brilliant Kedar Jadhav turned a tight game their way, and by the end they were cruising.

3.50pm GMT

48th over: India 232-4 (Dhoni 51, Jadhav 81) Dhoni drives Coulter-Nile for a single to reach yet another half-century, his 71st in ODIs. Even at 37, he is still a master finisher.

A weary misfield from Stoinis at mid-off gives Jadhav an extra run. It also means he retains the strike, which allows him to chip Coulter-Nile’s final delivery for a stunning six!

3.45pm GMT

47th over: India 221-4 (Dhoni 49, Jadhav 72) Australia were right back in the game when India were 99 for four, but Dhoni and Jadhav have quietly put them to sleep - no fuss, few frills, just a calm and intelligent chase. They need 16 from 18 balls.

3.41pm GMT

46th over: India 216-4 (Dhoni 47, Jadhav 70) Jadhav lashes Zampa over extra cover for another eyecatching boundary. He looks an extremely good player to have at No6.

3.35pm GMT

45th over: India 209-4 (Dhoni 47, Jadhav 63) Another imperious shot from Jadhav, who pulls Stoinis over square leg for four. India are racing to victory; they need 28 from 30 balls.

3.30pm GMT

44th over: India 200-4 (Dhoni 45, Jadhav 56) There’s a break in play while Dhoni receives treatment on his right calf. When play resumes, Jadhav waits for a slower delivery from Cummins and lifts it high over the keeper’s head for four. This has been such an impressive innings from Jadhav, particularly in its authority and the variety of his strokeplay.

3.24pm GMT

43rd over: India 194-4 (Dhoni 44, Jadhav 51) Kedar Jadhav works Stoinis for a couple to reach a high-class half-century from 67 balls. He now has the highest score of the match as well. India need 43 runs from 42 balls and are cruising to victory.

3.17pm GMT

42nd over: India 189-4 (Dhoni 42, Jadhav 48) An attempted yorker from Behrendorff is drilled superbly past mid-on for four by Jadhav, who is playing a gem of an innings. Behrendorff ends his day/night’s work with figures of 10-0-46-0.

Twitter: follow us at @guardian_sport

3.12pm GMT

41st over: India 182-4 (Dhoni 40, Jadhav 43) Only two runs come from Cummins’ first five balls, but then Jadhav massages the required rate by flashing a short ball over midwicket for four. That’s a cracking shot.

3.08pm GMT

40th over: India 176-4 (Dhoni 39, Jadhav 38) Zampa returns to bowl his penultimate over. Jadhav heaves a short ball for two, misses a risky, premeditated sweep and pushes a single down the ground off the last ball. Three from the over, so India need 61 from the last 60 balls.

3.04pm GMT

39th over: India 173-4 (Dhoni 39, Jadhav 35) A short ball from Cummins is steered deftly for four by Jadhav, with the diving Zampa unable to stop the boundary. This has been such a well-judged partnership from Dhoni and Jadhav, and it should be a match-winning one.

2.59pm GMT

38th over: India 168-4 (Dhoni 39, Jadhav 30) Dhoni smears Coulter-Nile down the ground for a massive six at the start of an eventful over. He then survives an appeal for a catch at mid-on - the decision went upstairs but replays showed the ball probably bounced a fraction in front of Stoinis - and adds to Coulter-Nile’s frustration with an edge for four.

2.54pm GMT

37th over: India 157-4 (Dhoni 29, Jadhav 30) A poor ball from Behrendorff is flicked to the fine-leg boundary by Dhoni, who is managing this run-chase expertly.

2.50pm GMT

36th over: India 153-4 (Dhoni 24, Jadhav 30) Coulter-Nile returns to the attack, and Jadhav scampers back for a second to bring up a controlled fifty partnership from 72 balls. India look comfortable and in control, though a wicket would change that.

2.45pm GMT

35th over: India 147-4 (Dhoni 22, Jadhav 26) Dhoni muscles a pull for four off Behrendorff, his first boundary in 10 overs. India need precisely 91 from 91 balls; Australia need a wicket quicksmart.

2.41pm GMT

34th over: India 139-4 (Dhoni 16, Jadhav 25) The required rate is above a run a ball for the first time. Jadhav attempted to address that with a thumping pull over midwicket for four off Stoinis.

2.33pm GMT

33rd over: India 133-4 (Dhoni 15, Jadhav 21) Behrendorff returns to the attack and gives Jadhav a mini-working over. One ball is fenced just short of the point; the next is angled past the edge; and the last ball of the over is drilled in the air and just short of Finch at mid-off. That’s drinks.

2.29pm GMT

32nd over: India 131-4 (Dhoni 14, Jadhav 20) A length ball from Stoinis explodes at Dhoni, hits the bat handle and loops up in the air. It falls just short of Stoinis, diving forward in his follow through. This is getting very tight.

2.25pm GMT

31st over: India 127-4 (Dhoni 12, Jadhav 18) It’s a reflection of this awkward pitch that a lot of players have got a start, yet nobody has scored more than Usman Khawaja’s 50. India have slowed up dramatically since the dismissal of Virat Kohli, with 47 runs coming from the last 15 overs.

2.21pm GMT

30th over: India 125-4 (Dhoni 11, Jadhav 17) Australia know they need Dhoni if they are to win this game. Dhoni’s average in successful runchases is even better than Virat Kohli’s, and he looks as calm as ever.

2.20pm GMT

In other news

2.18pm GMT

29th over: India 121-4 (Dhoni 9, Jadhav 15) Zampa changes ends, and a good over is ruined when Jadhav spanks the last delivery over extra cover for four. Pick that out!

2.13pm GMT

28th over: India 115-4 (Dhoni 8, Jadhav 11) Stoinis replaces the impressive Zampa. Dhoni is taking his time, as he usually does at the start of an innings, and both teams are waiting for the other to blink. Two from the over.

2.09pm GMT

27th over: India 113-4 (Dhoni 7, Jadhav 10) A deliciously nasty bouncer from Cummins is fended off unconvincingly by Jadhav, who clips the follow-up delivery off the pads for three. That was an excellent shot. India need 124 from 138 balls.

2.04pm GMT

26th over: India 110-4 (Dhoni 7, Jadhav 7) Jadhav survives an optimistic LBW appeal from Zampa, who knew deep down that it was missing leg stump. A long hop is then pulled savagely for four by Jadhav. This is getting very tense.

2.01pm GMT

25th over: India 105-4 (Dhoni 7, Jadhav 2) An aggressive move from Aaron Finch, who brings Pat Cummins back into the attack. One more wicket, particularly that of Dhoni, would leave India in the malodorous stuff - and he almost gets it when Dhoni top-edges a hook for four.

1.55pm GMT

24th over: India 100-4 (Dhoni 3, Jadhav 1) India need 137 from 156 balls.

1.53pm GMT

Lovely bowling from Adam Zampa! He draws Rayudu forward defensively and gets just enough turn to find the edge. Alex Carey does the rest. India have lost three for 18 in 6.4 overs.

1.50pm GMT

23rd over: India 98-3 (Rayudu 13, Dhoni 2) A flashing cover drive from Dhoni is brilliantly saved by Cummins, which means just one run from the over instead of five.

1.47pm GMT

22nd over: India 97-3 (Rayudu 13, Dhoni 1) Zampa returns to the attack and hurries through his fourth over. Two from it.

1.43pm GMT

21st over: India 95-3 (Rayudu 12, Dhoni 0) Australia have been pretty impressive with the ball, and there is just enough in the pitch, especially the uneven bounce, to give them hope of victory.

1.41pm GMT

This is getting interesting. Sharma tries to work Coulter-Nile to leg and gets a leading edge that falls gently into the hands of Finch at mid-off.

1.39pm GMT

20th over: India 95-2 (Sharma 37, Rayudu 12) Rayudu hooks Stoinis straight between two fielders for four. I can’t decide whether that was a flawless bit of placement or a big slice of luck, because for a long time it looked like there would be a chance of a catch. India need 142 from the last 30 overs.

1.33pm GMT

19th over: India 88-2 (Sharma 35, Rayudu 7) Coulter-Nile, on for Zampa, is driven emphatically for four by Rayudu. Shot!

1.29pm GMT

18th over: India 82-2 (Sharma 35, Rayudu 1) The new batsman Rayudu edges his first ball, from Stoinis, not far short of first slip. Australia are in still in this game, even though they only have 236 to defend.

1.25pm GMT

17th over: India 80-2 (Sharma 34, Rayudu 0) That was the last ball of the over, and time for drinks.

1.24pm GMT

Yes, Kohli has gone! That was such a smart bit of bowling from Zampa, especially as the previous two deliveries had gone for four. The umpire Joel Wilson gave it not out, presumably thinking there was an inside edge, but it was pad first and would have skidded on to hit middle and leg. Kohli made a swashbuckling 44 from 45 balls.

1.22pm GMT

It was a beautiful flipper from Zampa, and it definitely hit the pad first. I think this will be out.

1.22pm GMT

This looks really close, and Zampa reckons he’s got him.

1.19pm GMT

16th over: India 70-1 (Sharma 33, Kohli 35) Marcus Stoinis replaces Pat Cummins and is worked for five singles. The result feels like a foregone conclusion, especially with Kohli in such dominant mood.

1.15pm GMT

15th over: India 65-1 (Sharma 31, Kohli 32) Kohli rocks back to cuff Zampa through midwicket for four. He has 32 from 37 balls and looks set for the usual century.

1.11pm GMT

14th over: India 57-1 (Sharma 30, Kohli 25) Cummins beats Sharma with a gorgeous awayswinger. He has bowled brilliantly in this spell and deserves better than figures of 4-0-16-0.

1.07pm GMT

13th over: India 54-1 (Sharma 27, Kohli 25) Adam Zampa comes into the attack and is milked for four singles, the last of which brings up an increasingly authoritative fifty partnership. Despite the vagaries of the pitch, India are in control at the moment.

1.03pm GMT

12th over: India 50-1 (Sharma 25, Kohli 23) Dear me. A length ball from Cummins kicks viciously to thump Sharma on the right elbow. This pitch has been surprisingly uneven, especially when Cummins has been bowling.

12.58pm GMT

11th over: India 48-1 (Sharma 24, Kohli 22) Kohli charges Behrendorff and blazes another boundary down the ground. He could have been out for a duck, but since then he has looked in spectacular touch.

12.54pm GMT

10th over: India 42-1 (Sharma 24, Kohli 16) Sharma is beaten by some more extra bounce from Cummins. Kohli then decides to take on the Cummins short ball, swivel-pulling for six. That was several shades of magnificent.

12.49pm GMT

9th over: India 34-1 (Sharma 23, Kohli 9) Sharma ramps Behrendorff for four, an inelegant but very effective shot. India need a further 203 runs from 41 overs.

12.45pm GMT

8th over: India 29-1 (Sharma 18, Kohli 9) The great Pat Cummins comes on to replace Coulter-Nile, and draws a loose stroke from Kohli with his second delivery. Kohli fenced at a wide short ball that got very big and burst past the top edge. He was beaten again later in the over, this time on the inside. That’s a fine start from Cummins.

12.40pm GMT

7th over: India 26-1 (Sharma 17, Kohli 9) Sharma gets his fourth boundary, swiping Behrendorff high over mid-on. Australia have bowled impressively with the new ball, a point Behrendorff reinforces by going past the edge with the next three deliveries, but they have to dismiss at least one of these batsmen in the next few overs.

12.35pm GMT

6th over: India 22-1 (Sharma 13, Kohli 9) That’s a glorious shot from Kohli, who walks across his stumps to flip Coulter-Nile wide of midwicket for four. He gets another boundary later in the over with a disdainful pull round the corner.

12.32pm GMT

5th over: India 14-1 (Sharma 13, Kohli 1) Kohli almost falls for a duck! He tried to work Behrendorff to leg and got a leading edge that looped tantalisingly over Finch at mid-off. Behrendorff then slips consecutive deliveries past Sharma’s outside edge, but a fine over is compromised when Sharma squirts the last ball through backward point for four.

12.28pm GMT

4th over: India 9-1 (Sharma 9, Kohli 0) Sharma reaches a long way outside off stump to ping a half-volley from Coulter-Nile for four. Those are the only runs from the over. The asking rate isn’t an issue, so the batsmen are taking a bit of time to play themselves in.

12.24pm GMT

3rd over: India 5-1 (Sharma 5, Kohli 0) An accurate over from Behrendorff; just one from it. Australia will be desperate to get Kohli early, because his record in run-chases is sickeningly good. He has scored 21 centuries in successful chases. Only one other player - Sachin Tendulkar, with 14 - has half as many.

12.21pm GMT

2nd over: India 4-1 (Sharma 4, Kohli 0) There’s some movement for Australia, both in the air and off the pitch, and Kohli watches a series of deliveries go past his off stump. Interestingly, Coulter-Nile is bowling some deliveries, including the one that got Dhawan, from further back on the crease.

12.17pm GMT

Dhawan goes for a golden duck! He drove loosely at a full-length inswinger from Coulter-Nile and sliced it straight to Maxwell at point. Australia needed that, not least because it exposes Virat to the new ball.

12.15pm GMT

1st over: India 4-0 (Sharma 4, Dhawan 0) Jason Behrendorff steams in to bowl the first ball of the innings ... and Rohit Sharma clips it lazily through midwicket for four. Beautiful. Behrendorff tightens his line thereafter, with a bit of movement back in to the right-hander, and Sharma gets away with a couple of inside edges.

“Anyday, Mr Sensarma!” says Surendranath Halder. “I have provided this link as a taste of one of Abhijato’s finest hours, where he basically predicted the entirety of the sequence of events of one match in the PSL. How does he do it? I do not know, but maybe you, Mr Smyth, or fellow readers would be able to tell me going through the commentary feed.”

11.53am GMT

“That Indian bowling performance,” says Tom Hopkins, “had a World Cup-winning feel to it.”

They are intimidatingly good, but then so are England. That was such an impressive series win by England against India last year, especially as they were almost humiliated in the first ODI. Those two are the clear favourites, though there are some really dangerous teams in the competition, including Australia.

11.39am GMT

Thanks Geoff, hello everyone. That was a formidable performance from the world’s best ODI attack, and Australia need to make the new balls talk if they are to have any chance of victory.

“236 is essentially the new 150, isn’t it?” says Avitaj Mitra. “The 150 of twenty five years ago.”

11.35am GMT

Well, the tale of the day was that India’s bowlers swarmed and never really let up. Right from the start they were all over the openers, with Bumrah knocking over the struggling Finch and then he and Shami restricting Khawaja and Stoinis. Both started getting going eventually, on a wicket where shots seemed hard to time, but they were dismissed and the innings didn’t have much momentum. India’s spinners largely kept the brakes on through the middle, though Glenn Maxwell did his very best to hold the innings together through the middle. But then variation did the trick, with a burst from Shami dismissing Turner and Maxwell to all but ensure the team’s score would be below par.

Plenty of starts and no big score is the same issue this Australian team has had for a long while. But give the credit where it’s due. Jadeja was exceptional in racing through his overs for a scattered handful of singles, while Kuldeep grabbed a couple of wickets, and even a pretty unlucky day for Bumrah returned the far from disgraceful figures of 2 for 60 from 10 overs.

11.28am GMT

50th over: Australia 236-7 (Carey 36, Cummins 0) Pat Cummins heads to the non-striker’s end with one ball to play, and he’s only required to run through for a single as Carey chops into the ground behind his stumps. Carey wins the Lower Order Challenge and helps Australia to... something.

11.27am GMT

With six to go, Bumrah foxes Carey again. The batsman backs away, the bowler bowls an off-cutter that sticks in the pitch and bounces high enough to evade the shot. Second ball, Carey swings hard and again gets a top edge past short third man for four. If Bumrah wasn’t so calm he would be tearing his excellent hair out. He strays too straight and Carey is quick enough off his pads to whip a leg-side boundary, even though he’s only been thinking off-side. That’s where Carey goes for a single carved to backward point. Two balls left for Coulter-Nile to resume the scoring lead. It’s 28 plays 35 now.

But he won’t, and can’t. Big top edge that carries down the ground to long-on where Kohli has positioned himself.

11.23am GMT

49th over: Australia 226-6 (Carey 26, Coulter-Nile 28) Not much coming off for Australia. Shami drills into Carey’s thigh pad for a dot, then Carey can only dig to mid-off and sprint for a single. Ten balls to go. Good yorker to Coulter-Nile but he produces a gorgeous drive to not just squeeze it out but square of the long-off sweeper for a couple, and nearly four. That was timed perfectly for a high degree of difficulty. Another single, then Carey gets lucky as he beats short third man off a low full toss. Top edge, bouncing and spinning as it lands, and Bumrah falling across couldn’t stop it. Four runs, then Carey pinches the strike as his miscue just sneaks past Shami in the bowler’s follow-through. Can Carey beat Coulter-Nile’s score? That’s the question on everyone’s lips.

11.18am GMT

48th over: Australia 217-6 (Carey 20, Coulter-Nile 25) Bumrah is showing his skills at the death. Beats Carey, then as Carey backs away looking to make room, Bumrah chases him and sails the ball just over the stumps. The first three deliveries of the over go scoreless. Carey shovels one single, then Coulter-Nile can’t beat backward point trying to glide the last two. One run from the over!

11.14am GMT

47th over: Australia 216-6 (Carey 19, Coulter-Nile 25) Four overs to go. No slogging as yet. Get to 220 and hope? It looks like a huge crowd for this match today, the stands are packed with blue and this stadium apparently holds 60,000. Shami is maintaining his excellent seam position and maybe just getting the ball to tail a fraction back into the right-hander. To the left, though, Carey goes with that movement and drives it over mid-off for four. Classy shot. Less classy when NCN pulls out the agricultural mow that kisses low-lying cloud above midwicket before landing between two men out by the rope. Two runs, and four more when he backs away from Shami’s length ball to heave it over extra cover for four. This is outstanding late batting from Coulter-Nile, who is a fine cricketer in all aspects. Has shown up his top order mates plenty of times lately.

“I’m combining a Led Zeppelin Youtube spell with the OBO – quite a partnership,” emails the ever eclectic Andrew Benton. “Australia at the moment seem more like What Was and Will Never Be...”

11.09am GMT

46th over: Australia 203-6 (Carey 13, Coulter-Nile 18) Bumrah has been expensive by his standards today but very unlucky. Lots of edges. And again, as Coulter-Nile aims an expansive drive that winds up at the fine leg boundary, missing the leg stump. NCN is still outpacing his more accomplished colleague, and he raises the 200 for Australia.

11.06am GMT

45th over: Australia 196-6 (Carey 11, Coulter-Nile 13) Shami continues, and he’s still bowling tremendously. No width, no length to hit, and the best either batsman can do is squeeze out the odd single. Here’s an email from Harkarn Sumal, writing from hazy rural Warwickshire.

“Shami does seem to have been the unheralded understated hero of this side over the last ten months or so. When he came to England last summer, his mastery of the swinging ball was wonderful to watch. He was doing all sorts with it, and doing so at a constant 87-88mph. On another tour he could’ve bagged 30 wickets bowling like that - he was repeatedly heartbreakingly unlucky (fortunately for us - otherwise India might have done for us). He was my favourite bowler to watch last summer, even more so than Lord James of Burnley. And he has a broad-shouldered muscular bustle to him (with just a hint of a jaunty paunch) which, in the right light is redolent of Merv Hughes. That hint of a paunch only serves to make him more endearing to your average village cricketer. He’s a craftsman and a throwback. Easily my favourite Indian bowler. And in the era of the joyous Jasprit Bumrah, that’s high praise indeed.”

11.03am GMT

44th over: Australia 192-6 (Carey 9, Coulter-Nile 11) Kuldeep to finish his allotment. Starts with a wrong ‘un that is short and sits up, and while the turn foxes Coulter-Nile, his attempted cut shot still connects with a bottom edge into the ground past Dhoni for two. Three singles follow. Carey tries another reverse but gets tangled up, as so often happens with that shot. He’s hit on the pad but outside the line of off, and Kohli thinks about the review but doesn’t bother. Kuldeep finishes with 2 for 46 from his 10.

10.57am GMT

43rd over: Australia 187-6 (Carey 8, Coulter-Nile 7) The batsmen fare a little better against Jadhav, taking their singles early in the over before Carey produces a reverse-sweep for four. That’s one of his pet shots. Used it well in a T20 in the UAE last year. Bumrah’s over was a solitary experiment, and Kohli will save his last three for the very end of the innings.

10.55am GMT

42nd over: Australia 181-6 (Carey 3, Coulter-Nile 6) The luxury of having taken wickets. Inside the death overs, and Kuldeep can bowl an over of spin conceding two singles as two new batsmen try to work out what to do next.

10.50am GMT

41st over: Australia 179-6 (Carey 2, Coulter-Nile 5) We’re into the last 10 overs. Bumrah has four to go, Kuldeep has two, Jadhav has four with his low lobs. Bumrah will start things off as Kohli looks for one more wicket, every captain always striving and searching for one more. No dice from NCN though who essays a lovely straight push down the ground for four. Don’t overpitch to me, champion. Then a sensibly pushed single. It’s Carey who looks less convincing against Bumrah, half forward and half back to a ball that beats his edge from around the wicket.

10.47am GMT

40th over: Australia 173-6 (Carey 1, Coulter-Nile 0) Shami has now burnished his figures with two wickets, and has the simply exceptional string of 7 overs, 2 for 18. Nathan Coulter-Nile comes to the crease, a fast bowler who has had to do plenty of work with the bat for Australia’s white-ball teams in the last year or so.

Mohammad Shami's ODI bowling average in 2019 is 19.18, and his economy is 4.67rpo.

Both are the best he's ever recorded in a calendar year. #INDvAUS

10.45am GMT

Shami bowls on, and he is hauling this Australian innings to a halt. First an excellent delivery that Maxwell can only defend. A straighter ball that his field is set for perfectly, midwicket stopping the shot. Another ball just too short for the drive, so Maxwell finds mid-off. Then across the line to midwicket again. This will be playing on the batsman’s mind by now. Brace yourself. Something is coming. Even a wide doesn’t release much pressure because the batsman can’t get timber on it. Fifth ball of the over.

Bowled him! Gorgeous delivery. Just hanging back of a good length, haunting the line of the stumps. Then decking back in slightly as Maxwell tried to drive. You could feel that building all through the over, I was watching that delivery more avidly than any all day. And there it was. Classical fast bowling from Shami and he takes the off stump.

10.39am GMT

39th over: Australia 172-5 (Maxwell 40, Carey 1) The run rate is still under 4.5, and Maxwell has to tread the fine line between boosting the score and taking a risk that could sink his team. It’s almost impossible for a player to win approval in this situation. While trying to push the rate, a new partnership has to try to consolidate and rebuild. Maxwell taps Jadeja to point for a run, Carey sweeps another, but the bearded bowler with the fantastic hair once again sends down three dot balls in the over and concedes three runs.

He finishes his spell with 0-33 from his ten overs: exceptional at keeping the scoring down even without a number in the wickets column.

10.36am GMT

38th over: Australia 169-5 (Maxwell 38, Carey 0) The Aussie wicketkeeper comes to the crease now to try and negotiate Australia through these last dozen overs. One ball left in this one, and Shami produces an excellent yorker to the left-hander. Kept out.

10.34am GMT

Shami gets him, after Turner had looked pretty good. That ball wasn’t short but Turner played the pull shot anyway. In the end the delivery crept through stump high, under his shot, and trimmed the bails. Zings ahoy.

10.33am GMT

37th over: Australia 164-4 (Maxwell 36, Turner 18) Jadeja is back to his parsimonious best. Three singles from his over. On the pitch map, all of his deliveries are clustered on a good length and almost all of them are hitting the stumps.

10.27am GMT

36th over: Australia 161-4 (Maxwell 34, Turner 17) The second drinks break comes and goes in Hyderabad, and Mohammad Shami returns once the fluids are on board. Settles straight back into his line just outside off. Turner has been facing all spin so he’ll have to adjust. Instead he just swings through the line of a short ball and pulls it for six! That was a solid connection. Way in front of square, over midwicket in the end. Shami responds with a cutter that jags in and hits the back thigh pad in front of the stumps, but too high. Mid-on and mid-off are up in the circle, cover as well, backward point, midwicket. Trying to make sure Turner stays on strike to starve Maxwell. Turner swishes and misses outside off to close the over. The six, unusually, was the only score.

@GeoffLemonSport so the Australian selectors think they need a keeper for the extra 30 overs?

10.21am GMT

35th over: Australia 155-4 (Maxwell 34, Turner 11) Jadeja’s first bad ball for the day, just about. He drags one down to Turner who is able to spank it past midwicket for a boundary. Relief for the Australians as they get seven from the over and at least push their run rate towards 4.5. Who knows how hard it may be to bat on this surface later, so working their way to a competitive total is the first priority, before worrying about the really attacking shots.

10.18am GMT

34th over: Australia 148-4 (Maxwell 33, Turner 5) Another cover boundary for Maxwell, taking advantage of a short ball from Kuldeep, going back to punch that away on the off side. He’s played entirely orthodox shots so far, just trying to settle himself in, though he’s still cruising at a strike rate of 100 where everyone else has struggled at well below that.

10.16am GMT

33rd over: Australia 142-4 (Maxwell 28, Turner 4) Jadeja has more than done his job today. Seven overs for only 20 runs, as this latest effort goes for two singles. Two. Add in the boundaries he’s saved and you can knock another 8 off that total conceded.

10.14am GMT

32nd over: Australia 140-4 (Maxwell 27, Turner 3) Kuldeep with 2-33 from seven overs as he gets through another for four singles.

Here we are! We have an email in from the man, the myth, the legend. The much praised Abhijato Sensarma.

10.11am GMT

31st over: Australia 136-4 (Maxwell 25, Turner 1) Pressure on now, as Ashton Turner comes to the crease. Interesting, Carey will take the traditional keeper’s spot at No7 after spending some time as an opener. Three singles from Jadeja’s over as the pressure is maintained.

10.05am GMT

30th over: Australia 133-4 (Maxwell 23) Last ball of the over and Kuldeep has his second. Outstanding spin bowling. Lots of flight, lured Handscomb down, dipped on him sharply. But that’s only part one of the equation. After pitching it shredded off the pitch, turning sharply to beat Handscomb’s bat, sneak through the gate between bat and pad, and zip through into MS Dhoni’s gloves. Stranded like a fish on a jetty, Handscomb didn’t even bother looking back.

10.02am GMT

29th over: Australia 128-3 (Handscomb 19, Maxwell 18) Bumrah to Maxwell, who starts with sensible defensive intent, then turns that into a straight push-drive past the far stumps that nets him three runs. Bumrah then errs in width for once, and that is Handscomb’s bread, his jam, his cheese, his pesto, his jalapeño hommus. Carves away an angled-bat cut shot behind point for four, then plays a similar glide for one. They end up with 10 from Bumrah’s over, the second time today that has happened, though he has bowled outstandingly.

9.58am GMT

28th over: Australia 118-3 (Handscomb 13, Maxwell 14) Kuldeep nearly picks up Handscomb with a skewed push that lifts back towards the bowler, but doesn’t carry. It takes Handscomb four balls to get off strike, but Maxwell immediately responds with a gorgeous cover drive for four. Full stride forward, to the pitch, and picked the gap against the wrist spinner turning the ball back in.

9.56am GMT

27th over: Australia 113-3 (Handscomb 12, Maxwell 10) This is tasty. Jasprit Bumrah comes back to take on Maxwell. The form bowler versus the form batsman. Maxwell took 20 from 9 balls against Bumrah the other night, and said he attacked him deliberately.

Now they’re in a new format, and Bumrah takes the early honours with good bounce and pace outside off, beating Maxwell’s back-foot force. Maxwell hits back by striding across outside off to force through the covers for four! Lovely economical shot, not over-hitting it. Then Bumrah nearly gets his man, edged away by Maxwell for four! All luck there, he walked across again early but had his feet rooted to the spot by the time he reached for a fuller ball. Genuine nick, and there is a slip, but he’s standing wide of the keeper rather than at true first slip, and the lottery goes against Virat Kohli. Maxwell picks the narrowest and riskiest of gaps.

9.50am GMT

26th over: Australia 104-3 (Handscomb 11, Maxwell 2) Kuldeep has 1-16 as he starts his fourth over. Maxwell is batting in his cap in the afternoon sun against the two spinners, after going bareheaded in the night T20 while he made his century. Handscomb is wearing his helmet.

Amod Paranjape emails in. “I am not in favour of promoting Glen Maxwell at No 4. Except for a few games whenever he has been given responsibility he has shirked the same with absolute absurd shots.” Yeah, but this is the kind of thing you hear a lot without it having much foundation in fact. The potency of shared mythology, and the difficulty in dislodging it. If people who say this have to compile a list of instances, there aren’t too many. And blaming attacking batsmen for getting out playing attacking shots doesn’t make much sense.

9.46am GMT

25th over: Australia 101-3 (Handscomb 9, Maxwell 1) Three singles in the Jadhav over. Maxwell is off the mark. The team hundred comes up. The run rate is just above 4 an over. Lots to do.

9.45am GMT

24th over: Australia 98-3 (Handscomb 7, Maxwell 0) Glenn Maxwell has won a promotion to No5, folks, as he comes out to join Handscomb, who finishes the Kuldeep over with a single. Khawaja’s fifty was pretty slow, and Maxwell has an ODI strike rate above 120, one of the best in the history of the game. Perhaps he’s there to make up ground.

9.41am GMT

And he won’t get a hundred this time either. Tremendous catch in the deep! But not the best shot from Khawaja. Kuldeep is back, wrist spin for finger spin. His curls flop and bounce as he hops in. Khawaja wants to hop in as well. Just as he did earlier, he wants to attack the wrist spinner immediately. And as earlier, didn’t get to the pitch as he came down the wicket. Goes through with the shot, drags the attempted straight hit too far to the leg side, and running around in the deep from in front of square leg, Shankar takes a sliding catch at full tilt.

9.38am GMT

23rd over: Australia 96-2 (Khawaja 50, Handscomb 5) Khawaja is thirsting for that milestone but can’t get it. Finds the field once, twice, thrice. Finally works a straight ball to fine leg from Jadhav. The sixth time Khawaja has reached 50 in ODIs, though he’s never made a hundred.

9.36am GMT

22nd over: Australia 94-2 (Khawaja 49, Handscomb 4) The sound of Jadeja bowling an over is like the sound of playing cards pegged to a bike wheel. Handscomb drives a couple of runs through cover.

9.32am GMT

21st over: Australia 91-2 (Khawaja 48, Handscomb 2) Well then. Handscomb is the spin specialist, and should be able to rotate against the slow men more effectively than Stoinis could. He proves that immediately by driving singles from his first two balls.

9.28am GMT

There it is! The risk of the Stoinis approach. Start slow, soak up deliveries, but if you play a bad shot then you’ve sucked some momentum out of the team’s approach. And to get out like that: it was a rank ball. As close to a short ball as Jadhav can produce from his very low release point. Stoinis went back to pull, but had to dip his bat a bit to fetch that ball. Tried to go aerial when he could have slapped it downwards. Instead he just dragged it at mid-height to the Indian captain at midwicket. Looked almost like a thick bottom edge, maybe a bit of toe. The sound of the contact was clunky.

9.27am GMT

20th over: Australia 87-1 (Khawaja 46, Stoinis 37) Jadeja bowls a double blind date this time: four singles.

9.25am GMT

19th over: Australia 83-1 (Khawaja 44, Stoinis 35) Again Stoinis is getting blocked up, with Jadhav the bowler. There’s one bad ball down leg that the batsman can sweep for four, but he doesn’t seem to have much of a plan against the rest. He’s 35 from 50, which isn’t too bad, but considering the number of boundaries he’s hit it definitely tells you he’s facing a lot of dot balls.

9.23am GMT

18th over: Australia 77-1 (Khawaja 43, Stoinis 30) Jadeja playing this like the middle session of a Test match, racing through an over for a couple of singles.

9.17am GMT

17th over: Australia 75-1 (Khawaja 42, Stoinis 29) We have a drinks break, followed by a calm restart as Jadhav sends down an over worth three singles. Very chill.

9.12am GMT

16th over: Australia 72-1 (Khawaja 40, Stoinis 28) Now it’s Jadeja for some left-arm dart practice. Khawaja eases a single straight. He’s up and running smoothly now. The same can’t be said for Stoinis, who blocks out the next four balls.

9.11am GMT

15th over: Australia 71-1 (Khawaja 39, Stoinis 28) Kedar Jadhav comes on for some off-breaks but Khawaja is feeling himself against spin now. Sweeps away a couple, then sees width and slashes a cut for four. More top edge than full face but you can play that deliberately when there’s no slip in place and plenty of room towards third man. A rate misfield from Kohli at cover allows a single to complete the scoring.

9.08am GMT

14th over: Australia 64-1 (Khawaja 32, Stoinis 28) There’s the reverse sweep from Khawaha. He loves that shot, played it to perfection during his epic Test century in Dubai late last year. Totally threw off the bowling plans of leg-spinner Yasir Shah with the stroke. This time Kuldeep bowls a half-tracker, but Khawaja is already committed to the shot so he goes through with it and finds the gap at point for four.

9.03am GMT

13th over: Australia 59-1 (Khawaja 27, Stoinis 28) Marcus Stoinis doesn’t mind facing Shankar. A bit too short, and even though it’s still outside off, Stoinis swats the ball through midwicket for four. Then when Shankar gets too full for just about the first time today, Stoinis flays through the line for a toe-ended drive. Mid-off is up inside the circle, so it’s four. Shankar doesn’t look like he’s too sure what he’s doing.

8.59am GMT

12th over: Australia 49-1 (Khawaja 26, Stoinis 19) Kuldeep bounces back well, conceding four singles from his next over of spin. Nice and slow, plenty of loop. Takes more than a six to spook this operator.

8.57am GMT

11th over: Australia 45-1 (Khawaja 24, Stoinis 17) Righto, fielding restrictions are off. Dhoni has a long chat to Vijay Shankar. When the wicketkeeper takes his gloves off he looks a lot like he’s about to break into mime, with his clean white inners. Shankar follows the chat by bowling another swerving wide outside off. Stoinis goes after a couple of wide ones for a single and a boundary, though the latter is again airborne and close to catchable at point.

Here’s an email in from Surendranath Halder

8.51am GMT

10th over: Australia 38-1 (Khawaja 23, Stoinis 12) Here comes the wrist-spinner Kuldeep to close out the Powerplay. There’s the first easy single of the day as Khawaja skips down to a flighted delivery and drives it to long-off. Stoinis does the same to long-on, but in the air. And that’s all for sighters, as Khawaja repeats his initial movement but follows through with the shot. Doesn’t fully reach the pitch but reaches the ball and lifts it straight for six. Kuldeep has plenty of answers to that, and fizzes through a faster flatter one that beats Khawaja’s charge and flukily takes a thick inside edge, squirting past leg stump and averting two modes of dismissal while giving the batsman two runs. Suddenly an over worth 10 runs after all that pressure.

8.46am GMT

9th over: Australia 28-1 (Khawaja 14, Stoinis 11) A bowling change, as Vijay Shankar replaces Shami. He’s a part-time seamer who is being given an audition here. His first ball swings wildly, but starts wide and finishes even wider. His next attempt sneaks in just within the line of acceptability. His next creeps close to the stumps. Some shape in the air from all three. And some good bounce from the fourth as he pulls the length back. Stoinis has left them all alone. Finally he can’t resist a fifth wider one that doesn’t get up, and slaps the cut shot for four. In the air but finding the gap. Eyeballs the umpire as another ball flirts with the return crease, Shankar still finding swing.

8.42am GMT

8th over: Australia 23-1 (Khawaja 14, Stoinis 7) Outstanding from Bumrah. Around the wicket to the left-handed Khawaja, he gets another ball to seam off the pitch and leave Khawaja, beating the outside edge yet again. Khawaja answers it with equal quality as Bumrah gets too full, and the batsman can split cover and mid-off with a drive for four. Then it’s Bumrah’s turn again, a ball wider and angling in that beats the edge and the stump. Khawaja tries to rebut with a searing cut, and it looks certain to beat backward point for four. Indeed it looks like it already has beaten the despairing dive. Except Ravindra Jadeja comes up with the ball in hand, no run conceded. Incredible work to control that shot on the bounce. It’s him and Maxwell neck and neck for the best fielding in the world, for me. Khawaja has one more chance. There’s a tiny gap between Jadeja at backward point and the man in front of point. So Khawaja uses some width and threads that needle for four. This is a contest.

8.37am GMT

7th over: Australia 15-1 (Khawaja 6, Stoinis 7) Good bounce from this track! Not for the first time today a ball takes off from the surface. Indian pitches in recent years especially have been defying the stereotype of slow and spinning, especially in the shorter formats. Shami gets a couple to vault over Khawaja’s bat outside the off stump, then when a bad ball drifts straight, there’s a great bit of fielding in the circle at midwicket to stop what looked a certain boundary. Khawaja eventually rides the bounce of the fourth ball for another single.

Contrast this to the way that England’s batsmen open an innings, which by coincidence I’ll be covering for you in a few hours’ time when they take on the West Indies. Some outstanding bowling from India’s first pair notwithstanding. Stoinis defends and leaves Shami’s last two, maintaining that line outside off.

8.33am GMT

6th over: Australia 14-1 (Khawaja 5, Stoinis 7) That maiden over from Shami is followed by Bumrah conceding a single. There’s more action in this over though, as Khawaja finds the field with a couple of big drives before attempting a couple more that don’t make contact at all. Bumrah is producing a marvellous spell.

8.31am GMT

5th over: Australia 13-1 (Khawaja 4, Stoinis 7) The crawl-start continues, as Stoinis faces another quality over from Mohammad Shami. Accurate, giving him no width to attack, and one ball cuts in off the inside edge and whacks Stoinis in the box. No run from the set.

8.23am GMT

4th over: Australia 13-1 (Khawaja 4, Stoinis 7) Far from the idea of taking on the bowling in the Powerplay, Usman Khawaja has reached the fourth over without scoring. Nine balls without getting off the mark as Bumrah beats him outside off. But when Bumrah’s line errs, and the length drops short, Khawaja is there for it. That’s his shot. Pulls it away for four.

8.17am GMT

3rd over: Australia 8-1 (Khawaja 0, Stoinis 7) Happy to take his time, Stoinis, as he faces Shami. Leaves a couple, blocks a couple, ignores a wide. But eventually he gets a fuller length that he likes, and even though he doesn’t stride fully forward to it, and even though he only plays the most basic of straight-batted defensive drive, the hard new ball races down the ground for four.

8.14am GMT

2nd over: Australia 3-1 (Khawaja 0, Stoinis 3) Marcus Stoinis at first drop, interesting in itself. He gets off the mark immediately by pushing Bumrah through cover for three.

8.08am GMT

Finch’s horror run continues! He was strongly backed by his coach before this match but surely he can’t get too many more chances to sort this out. Bumrah’s quality is on show again. Finch has been done over so often by the ball coming into him lately, with bowlers taking out his stumps far too often. Instead this ball carves away off the surface, Bumrah getting that seam movement he’s so adept at. Finch is plodding forward heavy-footed and the length of the ball sees it strike near the shoulder of the bat, looping such an obvious edge to Dhoni behind the stumps that neither he nor the bowler really bothers to appeal.

8.07am GMT

1st over: Australia 0-0 (Khawaja 0, Finch 0) At least there’s no debate about whether to use the Australian or the global scoring style. Mohammad Shami starts off with the new ball and is getting just a hint of shape in the air. Holding the seam bolt upright as the ball comes down. Khawaja isn’t sure what to do with a perfect channel outside his off stump, aside from waft at one ball that was just back of a length and so beat his bat. Australia have tried a few options for openers in one-day cricket lately and none of them have worked out too well. Given that, it does seem as though they’re only keeping David Warner’s seat warm.

7.42am GMT

Australia
Aaron Finch *
Usman Khawaja
Marcus Stoinis
Peter Handscomb
Glenn Maxwell
Ashton Turner
Alex Carey +
Nathan Coulter-Nile
Pat Cummins
Adam Zampa
Jason Behrendorff

India
Rohit Sharma
Shikhar Dhawan
Virat Kohli *
Ambati Rayudu
MS Dhoni +
Kedar Jadhav
Vijay Shankar
Ravindra Jadeja
Kuldeep Yadav
Mohammed Shami
Jasprit Bumrah

7.37am GMT

So, who to watch out for today? First of course, Kohli, the superfreak of the 50-over format. He already has 39 centuries by just past 30 years of age, and they’ve been coming thick and fast lately. With a glut of ODIs to come in the next few months, he could be deep into the 40s by the end of the World Cup.

Second, his opposing captain Finch, who is going through an extremely lean run of form in the white-ball formats since being called into Australia’s Test side last October. Last July he set a record for the highest T20I score when he made 172 from 76 balls in Harare. Since then across T20Is and ODIs he’s made 224 runs from 276 balls with 19 dismissals.

7.34am GMT

India won’t mind, because they love chasing and have the two best exponents of that art in the game’s history: current captain Virat Kohli and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

7.22am GMT

Hello world. No, not the travel agency. It seems an age since we last fired up the famous Guardian over-by-over report from the world of Australian cricket. In reality it’s been three weeks, but that’s how quickly things move on our side of the planet.

Two mighty cricket foes, together at last. Nothing sums up the pain of this separation better than this piece titled ‘Australia and India to end marathon, 37-day break between fixtures.’ Or in fact they’ve already ended that break thanks to a couple of T20 matches that we weren’t able to cover, thus missing Glenn Maxwell’s glorious 360-degree century that included the most extraordinary reverse sweep for six you will ever see.

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Published on March 02, 2019 07:57

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