The last time these two sides met in a T20, Carlos Brathwaite wrote himself a place in West Indies cricket history

Preview by Andrew McGlashan15-Sep-2017

Big Picture

“Remember the name,” was the immortal line from Ian Bishop when these two sides last met in a T20 as Carlos Brathwaite smoked four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes to steal the World T20 crown from under England’s noses. It’s doubtful they have forgotten.England have been reunited with Brathwaite since then – in the one-day series earlier this year – but this is the format that gave him a place in West Indies cricket history. Sadly, the controversial decision to rest Stokes for his home ground game has robbed the match of its strongest themes; a chance to take on Brathwaite and the latest chapter against Marlon Samuels.Samuels is one of the senior players back in the mix following the thawing of tensions between the players and the board. He, Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor played against India earlier this year and the potential power in West Indies’ batting line-up is eye-watering when Kieron Pollard and Evin Lewis are also considered. None of the 13-man squad for the one-off T20 were involved in the Test series.Tom Curran and Dawid Malan were England’s biggest gains from their 2-1 series win over South Africa earlier this season. Malan made 78 off 44 balls on his debut, an innings that played a key part in his move to the Test side even though the formats are polar opposite, but whether he retains his spot will depend on how the batting is shuffled with Joe Root available again.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLWLL
West Indies WWWWL

In the spotlight

Adil Rashid has been overtaken in England’s Test legspin pecking order by Mason Crane (despite Crane still being uncapped) but returns to the T20 line-up having missed the South Africa series where Crane made his international debut. He had an impressive T20 Blast campaign with 15 wickets in 12 matches and an economy rate of 7.10, but will need to show a strong nerve if any of West Indies’ hitters get going.Chris Gayle’s previous two T20 innings against England have been from opposite ends of the spectrum. At the start of the World T20 in Mumbai he smashed an unbeaten 100 off 48 balls, then in the final in Kolkata he fell second ball for 4 against Joe Root. His international comeback innings was a relatively sedate 18 off 20 balls against India but he is entering this tour on the back of being the third-highest-scorer in the CPL with 376 runs at a strike-rate of 127.02.

Teams news

England will need to decide how many spin options they require for a mid-September evening match. Curran made a good impression against South Africa so could retain his place. Jake Ball and David Willey are also in the squad.England 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Dawid Malan, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Liam Dawson, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Tom Curran, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 Liam PlunkettAshley Nurse was recalled to the T20 squad after a gap of more than two years and could take Samuel Badree’s place in the side as a second spinner. Alternatively, Ronsford Beaton could earn his first cap if an extra pace option is preferred.West Indies 1 Chris Gayle 2 Evan Lewis, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Chadwick Walton (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Jerome Taylor, 10 Keswick Williams

Pitch and conditions

Scores in the T20 Blast were less daunting at Chester-le-Street than at most venues during a high-scoring tournament. Late in the season, there could be some assistance for the seamers especially with it being an evening game. The start time also means that spectators may want to take an extra layer with them. The forecast says the odd shower is possible but the game should get through.

Stats and trivia

• Three players have scored two hundreds in T20Is and two of them will be playing in this match: Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis. The other is Brendon McCullum
• Jos Buttler needs 16 runs for 1000 in T20Is – he would be the fourth England batsman to that mark behind Kevin Pietersen, Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan

Quotes

“We’re a very young side and we have a long way to go in T20 cricket. Our consistency levels have been up and down so it’s all to play for tomorrow.”
“It isn’t something that will be forgotten for a little while but I know it probably will never happen again so it’s about me being as consistent as I can now.”

South Africa’s new-look bowling attack have had a slightly gentle easing-in against Bangladesh and as their leader Kagiso Rabada is aware of both the potential they have and the challenges they will face in the future

Firdose Moonda in Bloemfontein07-Oct-2017Given the complete lack of a contest in this clash between South Africa and Bangladesh, there is very little that can be read into the result. It tells us only what we already know, that South Africa are a stronger team than Bangladesh, but maybe, it also tells us something more.This South African side has just about a full-strength batting line-up (AB de Villiers is the only notable absentee) but an almost entirely new-look attack. Kagiso Rabada, with 22 caps, is the most experienced member of the pack in the current XI and is now properly establishing himself as its leader. Wayne Parnell is making his umpteenth comeback, having never become a regular. Duanne Olivier and Andile Phehlukwayo are trying to make cases for more permanent places.

Bavuma has a knack of never giving up – Rabada

Temba Bavuma was the only batsman in South Africa’s top five who did not cash in on a good surface against a toothless attack but he made up for it in a milli-second in the field.
Bavuma was at gully when Mushfiqur Rahim prodded at a back-of-a-length delivery from Duanne Olivier that flew off the face and forced Bavuma into immediate action. He dived one-handed to his right and pouched the ball when it was nearly past him to dismiss the Bangladesh captain and create another moment of fielding magic, which his team-mates more than appreciated.
“It wasn’t a nice situation for Temba – you get out at times. He is the only one who didn’t score a hundred. It happens to the best. But every time when he doesn’t score with the bat, he does something in the field,” Rabada said. “He’s got that knack of never giving up. He always contributes to the team. They depend on Mushfiqur so it was an important moment in the game

Without disrespecting Bangladesh, Rabada indicated that all of them have been given a gentle easing-in, and South Africa have been allowed a glimpse into what lies ahead without much to block their view. “We were sitting down and I was speaking to Quinny saying that all the guys we played with and against at school are all in the team now and are coming up. South Africa is in good hands in the future,” Rabada, who become Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker in 2017, said. “It gets much tougher than Bangladesh, of course. You can play them in their conditions and it’s a different story. It gets harder from here. This is not it.”That South African cricket is in safe hands is a bold statement to make, not least because there are many arguments against it. The most obvious is the domestic system, which has been ravaged by Kolpaks and has not thrown up any stand-out names to compete with the current crop.Aiden Markram was the most recent one and though he has made the step-up seamlessly, there are not too many candidates who look like they will be able to do the same. In seasons to come that may change, but for now, the pressure is on the incumbents to do the job, none more so than Rabada.When South Africans think of their next “it” cricketer, they think of him. Though he went through a quiet period in England, the signs from him this summer suggest he is in good rhythm. He didn’t go as far as to confirm that, but hinted he is maturing enough to have learnt to work through setbacks.”There is expectation and there will be pressure. No-one is a Rambo, we are all human beings. You have to find ways to cope with it,” Rabada said. “The best players and the guys who have been in the longest have found ways to cope with it. Sometimes it can get bigger and you have to find a new way to deal with it. You grow as a person when things are not going your way.”Having a new coach will help. Not because the previous one – Russell Domingo, who Rabada was a supporter of – did anything wrong but because his replacement, Ottis Gibson brings fresh ideas. “He is a very stern character but at the same time he is lenient. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He cracks jokes with the guys,” the also-stern Rabada said. “He brings in his own dynamic, something as South Africans we are not particularly used to, but the guys are enjoying what he brings to the table. When we do the warm-ups, we do things in a different style and the guys enjoy it.”Like the team, Gibson’s performance also cannot be properly assessed on this series but the early signs are good. Gibson has managed to impress on his men that this assignment should be taken seriously and apart from some dropped catches in Potchefstroom, South Africa have been clinical.They’ve even been hard on themselves when it hasn’t quite gone according to plan, like when Liton Das enjoyed a period of run-scoring in the afternoon. Rabada would not like to see that repeated.”Liton Das came in at a time where the ball got a bit soft and it wasn’t doing much. He is a good player and I thought he was nice and patient and aggressive. I thought we missed our mark with him at times, giving him freebies so that’s something we have to talk about and execute tomorrow so it doesn’t happen again,” he said.Ultimately, South Africa know that if “we just stuck to our plans and at the end of the day the batsmen got themselves out”. Bangladesh’s capitulation means interest in this series will sink even lower and discussions around the standard of Test cricket between top-tier and lower-tier countries may be sparked again.For Rabada, it’s not about the gap but how South Africa have filled it. “I don’t think you can compare a first-class game to an international game, but it feels like one because there isn’t a crowd. It’s very peaceful. We didn’t take them lightly. We prepared very well and we executed our plans well. They’ve got some good players so we made sure we didn’t give them any space.”

Stephen Murdoch waltzed to his 13th first-class ton while Hamish Bennett bagged a match haul of seven wickets as Wellington prevailed by an innings and 43 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2017A century from Stephen Murdoch, coupled with Hamish Bennett’s seven-wicket match haul, propelled Wellington to an innings-and-43-run win over Otago inside three days of the Plunket Shield game at Basin Reserve. Wellington’s win amounted to Otago’s second consecutive loss this year, having finished at the bottom of the table last season.Wellington’s offensive with the ball helped them snipe out 15 wickets on the second day, bowling the opposition out for 184. A formidable lead of 185 meant Wellington could enforce follow-on and have an early shot at bringing up their second victory in as many games. The Otago line-up’s first-innings struggle – in which six of their batsman got starts but none could notch up a half-century – aggravated further in the second as only two players – captain Rob Nicol and Jimmy Neesham – went past the 30-run mark. Having been reduced to 107 for 6 at stumps on day two, it was only a matter of time before the remaining four batsmen were undone for only 142 runs inside the 20.3 overs bowled on the third day.Leading the charge for the Wellington attack in both innings was right-arm pacer Bennett who bettered his first-innings three-for with figures of 4 for 30 in the second. Bennett, who took his Shield tally to 12 scalps from two games, found ample support in fellow seamers Ian McPeake and Logan van Beek, who finished with a five-wicket match haul of his own.Wellington’s dominance in the match was, however, established early via Murdoch who waltzed to his 13thfirst-class century after his side lost the toss. The No. 3 batsman countered the loss of the two openers which had Wellington tottering at 33 for 2 in the 11th over. Murdoch put on 113 runs for the third wicket with captain Michael Bracewell, who struck an 83-ball 43. After Bracewell’s dismissal, Murdoch added another 66 runs with wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, before holing out to Jacob Duffy off Anaru Kitchen in the 66th over. Two fifty-plus partnerships – anchored by Jeetan Patel’s 64 – for the seventh and the eighth wickets subsequently took Wellington to 369, before being bowled by Neil Wagner, allowing him to complete his four-for. Kitchen and Michael Rae finished with three wickets each.

Mayank Agarwal’s maiden triple-century drove Karnataka to 628 for 5 and a first-innings lead of 383 on the third day against Maharashtra at the MCA Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2017Mayank Agarwal’s maiden triple-century drove Karnataka to 628 for 5 and a first-innings lead of 383 against Maharashtra at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Agarwal, who came into this match on the back of a pair, notched up an unbeaten 304 off 494 balls that included 28 fours and four sixes. Agarwal had put on 259 for the opening wicket with R Samarth (129) on the second day and resumed on 219. He stretched his third-wicket partnership with Karun Nair to 279. Nair, who was not out on 56 overnight, struck a century of his own, finishing with 116. Karnataka declared shortly after the pair was broken up. Thereafter, medium-pacer Abhimanyu Mithun took Karnataka closer to an innings win by dismissing Maharashtra’s openers cheaply and leaving them at 135 for 4 at stumps.T Ravi Teja continued to have a memorable debut, following his 63-ball 70, with 5 for 49 that helped Hyderabad limit Railways to 246 and enforce the follow on in Delhi. Railways’ openers survived three overs in their second innings and went to stumps unscathed.Resuming their first innings on 35 for 1, Railways began the day well with opener Shivkant Shukla and Nitin Bhille stretching their overnight stand to 78 before legspinner Akash Bhandari pinned Bhille in front for 43. Ravi Teja then had Shukla lbw and went onto slice through the middle order. From 93 for 1, Railways tumbled to 135 for 7. Anureet Singh (60) and Manish Rao (33) then put on 85 for the eighth wicket to haul the score beyond 200. Left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan pitched in with two wickets as Hyderabad claimed a 228-run first-innings lead. Anureet’s maiden first-class fifty contained nine fours.

On a day when he paired with Tim Southee to ensure New Zealand’s domination, Trent Boult said better pitches would help solve the problem of making Test cricket appealing

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-20170:37

‘Take a lot of pride in my batting’ – Boult

New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult is of the opinion that the introduction of four-day Test cricket is not necessary to make the format more appealing. Instead, Boult asked for better pitches that would create a more even contest between bat and ball and make the games more attractive to watch.The inaugural four-day Test will be played between South Africa and Zimbabwe on Boxing Day, with the ICC approving its trial to run through until the 2019 World Cup. At the time of approving the trial, in October, ICC chief executive David Richardson had pointed out that four-day Tests would be helpful for lower-ranked Test nations and the new teams, Ireland and Afghanistan. Cricket Australia chairman David Peever had said the trial was “very sensible” with fans eager to see results in the format.Getty Images

“I love Test cricket, so I’d love to see it stay as it always has,” Boult was quoted as saying by . “In terms of shortening it to let it become more aggressive, I don’t think there’s any need. There’s other formats for that sort of thing. You want to have an even competition or contest between bat and ball. There’s some good wickets going around at the moment and the balls aren’t moving, so that’s what I’d love to see [a contest] – I wouldn’t want it any shorter to encourage aggression.”Boult was speaking after a day of “good fun” against West Indies in Hamilton. Boult and his new-ball partner Tim Southee, added 61 crucial runs for the last wicket, and then combined to take four wickets between them, with each also executing a spectacular catch. Boult’s stunner came when he dived to his left to hold on to a return catch offered by Shimron Hetmyer. By stumps, West Indies were still trailing by 158 runs with only two wickets in hand, having already conceded a 0-1 lead in the two-Test series.When asked if West Indies had not shown enough application with the bat, as they slumped to 215 for 8, Boult said it had not been easy to take wickets.”I can’t talk on behalf of their batsmen but I can tell you for free that they are probably not very happy with being eight down. That’s Test cricket – you can put pressure on the best players in the world and they can fail. From our point of view, we are just trying to be as accurate as we can, build enough pressure.”Boult’s 61-run partnership with Southee came at a brisk clip, with the pair scoring close to 7.5 an over. Boult was particularly aggressive, hitting five fours and two sixes in his 37 not out off 27 balls.”Believe it or not, I take a lot of pride in my batting. Any contribution, not just from myself but the lower order, is very pivotal,” Boult said. “In terms of the game the first innings is the one where we want to go big and get as many on the board as we can. A combination of runs as well as keeping their bowlers and fielders out there. As a bowler you know when the tail comes out and gets a few away, hits a few boundaries, it can become very frustrating.”

The fast bowling duo was added after Dale Steyn picked up a heel injury that ruled him out of the series

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jan-2018South Africa have added the fast bowling duo of Duanne Olivier and uncapped 21-year-old Lungi Ngidi to their squad for the second Test against India later this week. The changes came into place after Dale Steyn picked up a heel injury in the Cape Town Test that ruled him out of the series.Olivier has played five Tests – all of them in 2017 – and Ngidi made his international debut in a T20I against Sri Lanka last year but is yet to play the other two formats at the international stage.Olivier last played Tests in September-October against Bangladesh when he took five wickets in four innings before representing Knights in T20 and one-day cricket. He had made his Test debut against Sri Lanka a year ago in Johannesburg where he took five wickets in the match but has not been able to establish himself as a regular member of the side against strong competition. He also struggled with a knee injury this season, which kept him out of some domestic games.Ngidi, on the other hand, has played three T20Is in which he has collected six wickets with an impressive economy rate of 5.50. He played all those matches against Sri Lanka last year in January, and took 4 for 19 in Johannesburg. He was part of the ODI squad but withdrew with an abdominal muscle injury. He was then part of the South African A side that toured England where he suffered a back injury. It took Ngidi four months to recover and he has only played one first-class match since comeback and took nine wickets for 83 in the game, signaling his readiness for more game-time.Since then he has featured in domestic matches for Titans that featured his best T20 figures of 4 for 14 against Warriors in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge.Both Olivier and Ngidi are currently playing in the domestic one-day cup and will
compete with allrounders Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo for one spot in the final XI, with conditions on the Highveld set to suit an attack of four seamers. However, with India’s bowlers challenging South Africa, they may opt to include a seventh specialist batsman in the XI and all of Olivier, Ngidi, Morris or Phehlukwayo could be benched.The second Test starts on January 13 in Centurion.Squad for second Test: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi

Nick Winter, who showed an ability to swing the Dukes ball, impressed for South Australia with three wickets as Victoria ended the second day still 131 runs behind

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2018
Getty Images

Cameron White led Victoria’s reply but the young left-arm paceman Nick Winter impressed for South Australia on day two of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval. Peter Handscomb, in Australia’s squad for the tour to South Africa, was dismissed for a duck.Victoria made a strong start against the South Australia bowlers as Marcus Harris and Travis Dean added 114 for the first wicket in response to SA’s total of 379 either side of the lunch interval.However Winter, who showed an ability to swing the Dukes ball, persisted and was rewarded with the first three wickets of the innings. These included Handscomb, dragging a full delivery onto his stumps after it swung back just enough to beat the middle of the bat.Eamonn Vines helped White steady the innings before he was pinned lbw by Tom Cooper’s part-time offspin, and Matthew Short fell to Joe Mennie before stumps were taken, with Victoria still 131 runs in deficit.

Nepal nearly claimed a fourth final-over win, but excellent death bowling by UAE gave them a seven-run win and a Group A spot in the World Cup Qualifiers

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Windhoek15-Feb-20182:13

Delighted to get across the finish line – Dougie Brown

The Cardiac Kids from Nepal nearly claimed a fourth final-over win, driven by captain Paras Khadka’s second List A ton, but Ashfaq Ahmed’s first-innings 114 proved decisive as UAE held on for a seven-run win to claim the WCL Division Two title at the Wanderers Sports Club.For Ashfaq, it was his maiden List A ton, following in the footsteps of Rameez Shahzad who achieved the same feat last month against Scotland, as UAE continue to lessen their dependency on Shaiman Anwar for match-winning totals.Ashfaq and Rohan Mustafa dominated the opening passage of play, after UAE chose to bat first, putting on a 109-run stand in 24 overs that set up a commanding total. Ashfaq eventually fell to Sandeep Lamichhane in the 43rd over, before Rameez made an unbeaten 41 off 46 balls, and Shaiman offered a quick burst with 40 off 24, including an exquisite extra cover drive for six.Nepal got off to their best start of the tournament in reply, as Gyanendra Malla and Dilip Nath put on 38 for the first wicket, before Nath was bowled by Rohan Mustafa, attempting an ungainly slog. Two balls later, Malla fell to a carbon copy of his dismissal from a day earlier, caught lacing a pull to short midwicket off the medium pacer Amir Hayat, who ended with four wickets.1:58

We showed a lot of character – Khadka

Khadka and Dipendra Airee added 73 for the third wicket, though it was aided by some sloppy keeping from Ghulam Shabber, who dropped Airee twice and also fluffed a regulation stumping chance off Khadka on 22, when the Nepal captain charged at legspinner Imran Haider and was beaten by a googly.Haider eventually claimed Airee for 35, and for a while, it appeared as though the missed chance of Khadka would result in another final-over finish. Even though he continued to lose partners, Khadka chanced his hand with some streaky shots, as the ball continued to evade fielders. However, Khadka made plenty of sweet contact as well, cracking eight sixes in his innings.With 34 needed off three overs, and Khadka on 89, UAE’s bowlers rose to the occasion with spectacular death bowling. Whether it was Mohammad Naveed’s medium pace in the 48th, or Mustafa’s offspin in the 49th, UAE’s bowlers restricted Khadka with pinpoint accuracy on a yorker length, as Nepal entered the final over needing 28. Two singles off the first two balls clinched victory mathematically for UAE, before Khadka struck a six off the fourth ball to bring up his ton off 100 balls. He clattered two more, over extra cover and long-off, to eclipse Ashfaq by four runs as the tournament’s leading scorer with 241 runs.Ashfaq was named Man of the Match for his century. The Player-of-the-Tournament award was claimed by Lamichhane, whose 17 scalps tied him with Oman’s Bilal Khan for most wickets, although Lamichhane’s tailend contributions with the bat, holding up one end in a pair of match-winning last-wicket stands, were arguably just as valuable. Mustafa was his nearest competitor for the award, finishing third with 13 wickets while also scoring 183 runs – eighth in the aggregate.The win for UAE means they join Group A at the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, where they’ll be alongside West Indies, Ireland, Netherlands and Papua New Guinea. As the WCL Division Two runner-up, Nepal go into Group B with Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Scotland and Hong Kong.

The England fast bowler will be playing in the IPL for the first time

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Apr-2018England fast bowler Liam Plunkett will replace the injured Kagiso Rabada in the Delhi Daredevils squad for the 2018 season of the IPL. Plunkett entry takes the number of England players in the IPL to 11, with Jofra Archer – who is qualifying to play for England – the 12th.Rabada, who was Player of the Test series against Australia for taking 23 wickets, was sidelined by a back-stress reaction and was expected to be out of action for three months. He is expected to make a comeback for South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka in July.Plunkett, 33, had a base price of INR 2 crore (USD 308,000 approx) at the 2018 player auction in January, where he went unsold. Daredevils bought him at that price, having paid INR 4.2 crore (USD 647,000 approx) for Rabada at the auction.This will be Plunkett’s first appearance at the IPL, with England players increasingly attractive after the ECB changed its stance towards the competition, despite the overlap with the county season. Plunkett is unlikely to be involved in England’s Test squad against Pakistan next month, so could theoretically stay with Daredevils for the whole of the tournament.His absence might raise an eyebrow or two in Yorkshire, however. Plunkett injured a hamstring while on duty for England in Australia and New Zealand over the winter and was not expected to be fit for Yorkshire’s Championship opener next week – although the demands of bowling four T20 overs are different to spending four days on the field.Plunkett recently indicated that he wanted to continue playing first-class cricket – rather than pursue a white-ball contract like Yorkshire and England team-mate Adil Rashid – but a spell in the IPL is likely to be both financially and professionally rewarding for a bowler who has become a key part of England’s limited-overs sides.Yorkshire were happy for Plunkett to appear in the Bangladesh Premier League last year and will benefit from a slice of his IPL deal, but the situation for counties is far from ideal. The club’s director of cricket of cricket, Martyn Moxon, is set to chair a meeting between county coaches next week to discuss the issue of players’ involvement in global T20 leagues.”It’s another example of us being between a rock and a hard place,” Moxon told the . “Surrey have had the same thing with Tom Curran [signed this week by Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement for Mitchell Starc].”What do you do, stop a player going and earning a shed-load of money and have him disappointed around the dressing room for not allowing him to go, etc? It’s a lose-lose really for the counties, and it’s one of the items that we’ll be discussing on Tuesday because, as counties, we feel powerless at the moment.”

Ireland were made to follow on in Malahide, Mohammad Abbas and Shadab Khan sharing seven wickets, before reaching 64 without loss second time around

The Report by Alan Gardner13-May-20185:07

#PoliteEnquiries: Is Abbas the new Asif?

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThere had been pleasantries aplenty, as well as much good will for Ireland as they joined Test cricket’s exclusive club. Now came the hard reality. Responding to Pakistan’s declaration shortly before lunch on the third day, Ireland stuttered and stumbled to 7 for 4, the dream of their Test debut threatening to become a nightmare.From there, they arguably recovered pretty well, but a first-innings score of 130 was still penurious enough for Pakistan to enforce the follow on for the first time in 16 years and seven opportunities. Having waited until the age of 39 to make his Test debut, Ed Joyce might not have minded the chance to bat again. He received a marginal lbw call to be first man out in Ireland’s initial effort but played with greater freedom second time around in an unbroken opening stand.

‘Drugged up’ Wilson plays through pain

Gary Wilson batted with the aid of a painkilling injection after suffering a possible broken arm in the nets before play on the third day of Ireland’s maiden Test. Wilson did not field during the morning and instead went to hospital for an X-ray.
Then, with Ireland in trouble in their first innings, he came out at at 61 for 7 and helped add another 69 runs for the last three wickets.
“I went for an X-ray and there might be a little crack in it. It’s unconfirmed at the minute,” he said afterwards. “It was pretty sore. The adrenalin kicked in and I didn’t want to miss the chance to bat in a Test match. They just drugged me up and I got out there.”
Despite being bowled out 180 runs behind, Wilson said the second-innings response was encouraging for Ireland. “We can take a huge amount of confidence. Whenever you’re asked to follow on and you go 60 for none at the close, that shows big balls.”

Joyce and his partner William Porterfield benefited from dropped catches, Mohammad Amir the bowler on both occasions. Joyce was reprieved on 0, from Amir’s third ball, when Sarfraz Ahmed could only get half a glove on a low edge, while Porterfield had 2 to his name when a much simpler chance popped out of Azhar Ali’s grasp at third slip.Amir promptly left the field at the end of that over, seemingly in some discomfort rather than out of pique. He then pulled up after bowling two balls of a fourth over – having sent down 10 in the first innings – shortly before the close, leaving Pakistan with a couple of unforeseen issues to contemplate overnight.Pakistan’s total of 310 for 9 declared covered up more than it revealed. Faheem Ashraf took his maiden Test innings to within sight of a century but was dropped three times along the way, hinting at Irish frustration. Following the loss of the first day to rain, and the subsequent lowering of the follow-on target to 150, Sarfraz Ahmed then spied an opportunity to see how the Pakistan bowlers could exploit a seaming, albeit slow-ish, surface.The answer was emphatic, as the Mohammads Abbas and Amir removed Ireland’s top three in the space of 37 balls before lunch. It took a sturdy knock of 40 from Kevin O’Brien and an even gutsier display from Gary Wilson, batting at No. 9 after suffering a blow to his right elbow before the start of play, to lift Ireland from ignominy and, eventually, to three figures in their first Test innings.While Ireland had unquestionably done a decent job with the new ball on Saturday, Pakistan’s opening pair tore in with added subcontinental sizzle. Abbas was fortunate that Richard Illingworth raised his finger after pitching the ball just outside leg before hitting Joyce on the pads, but there was no issue about the decisions to send back Andy Balbirnie and Niall O’Brien. With Porterfield losing his off stump to Amir, Irish eyes were wincing.Paul Stirling was the first to take up his cudgel in response, although his attempt to smear Ashraf back down the ground in the bowler’s first over in Tests was ill-conceived. He added 29 with Kevin O’Brien, who took the score on to 61 – still 100 from avoiding the follow on – in the company of Stuart Thompson, before Shadab Khan’s legspin accounted for two in an over.Ed Joyce helped Ireland make a solid start to their second innings•AFP

It was 73 for 8 when Kevin O’Brien slapped the returning Amir to cover but Wilson, grimacing throughout but refusing to give his wicket away, was then joined by the willing Boyd Rankin as the ninth-wicket pair compiled the highest stand of the innings. Abbas returned to claim his fourth and Shadab finished things off but Wilson’s unbeaten 33 was symbolic of Irish resolve – a foundation which Joyce and Porterfield built on doughtily during the evening sunshine.Pakistan had resumed their innings in a more comfortable position than looked likely after being reduced to 159 for 6, but Ireland did not take long to break through with the second new ball – though Shadab was perhaps unlucky to be given out lbw to a delivery from Tim Murtagh that looked to be missing leg stump.Ireland then saw a third chance to dismiss Ashraf go begging: Andy McBrine, on as a substitute for Wilson and fielding in the slips, could not hold a thick edge when the allrounder had 72. He helped push Pakistan past 300 but there was to be no debut hundred as an excellent ball from Thompson, kicking and curving across the left-hander, took Ashraf on the glove and gave Niall O’Brien a chance he could not put down.Sarfraz called his men in soon after, denying Murtagh the chance of his five-for. The Malahide Test has not wanted for milestones but Ireland’s batsmen must produce something significant if they are to deprive Pakistan of the thing that matters most: victory.