ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 ongoing games results & news diary 3rd edition
Thursday 6th June
Australia shook off the effects of an atrocious start to overcome the West Indies by 15 runs ending a wonderfully entertaining World Cup battle at Trent Bridge.
In a match when fortunes wheeled back and forth throughout the day it might have been over before it had begun, as a lethal West Indies pace attack bristling with hostility had the defending champions reeling on 38 for 4 and then 79 for 5.
Warner, Finch and Khawaja were gone in a puff of 22-run smoke, with Cottrell, Oshane Thomas and Andre Russell all possessed of the skill to send down aggressive yet accurate bouncers that generally stay inside the short bowling rules of one-day cricket.
Now it was down to the ever phlegmatic Steve Smith to pull Australia back together, working his way steadily to 73 in 103 balls. Smith only fell to Sheldon Cottrell’s simply sensational boundary catch; that might well eclipse Ben Stokes’ snatch from thin air in the opening game of the tournament between England and South Africa.
But Smith had done a first-rate job of stabilising the innings and by the time he was walking off the pitch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, in to bat at number eight, was already playing power- cricket, skilfully slamming everything that the West Indies could dish up, to reach 92 in 60 balls. Coulter-Nile dragged Australia to 288 all out, ably supported by wicketkeeper Alex Carey with a lively 45 containing 7 fours.
Now 288 did not present a particularly tough run race and Chris Gayle began with usual swashbuckling style, striking 4 fours in his 21 until Mitchell Starc had him lbw. Then Evin Lewis fell for just 1, leaving Shai Hope to anchor the West Indies innings with 68. Hope was aided in this endeavour by a sizzling 40 from Pooran, 26 coming from boundaries. Hetmyer was then beginning to make waves until a run out brought his charge to a premature halt on 21.
Responsibility for the chase ultimately landed on the shoulders of Windies captain Jason Holder, who managed 51 but both he and Carlos Brathwaite (16) fell in the 46th over to Mitchell Starc making it 252 for 8. Ashley Nurse produced a fighting knock of 19 not out in 22 balls, but the necessary boundaries eluded him. Starc then removed Sheldon Cottrell for 1 and it was his controlling 5 for 46 that helped restrict the West Indies to 273 for 9 as they lost by 15 runs.
Undoubtedly a nail-biting encounter for both sets of supporters, as Australia joined New Zealand on two wins from two matches by narrow margins.
Friday 7th June
Pakistan’s match against Sri Lanka at the County Ground in Bristol became the first casualty to rain of this year’s World Cup, abandoned without a ball being bowled after a persistent downpour.
The game, scheduled to start at 10:30 was called off at 15:45 (BST).
Both teams were awarded a point from what was only the third washout in World Cup history. As a result both sides had gained five points from their three opening three matches.
Saturday 8th June 1st game
Jason Roy hit 153 as England amassed their highest World Cup total to beat Bangladesh in Cardiff, Wales by 106 runs. It was an altogether decisive win which brought their campaign to bring the trophy home for the first time, firmly back on track.
England put on 386 for 6 in Cardiff, anchored by Roy’s splendid 153, a total that included boundaries galore (14 fours & 5 sixes) and the second-best score by any England batsman in the tournament.
Jonny Bairstow hit 51 reaching the boundary rope six times. Jos Buttler produced a high octane 64 in 44 balls, but sustained a hip injury in the process that prevented him from discharging his Wicketkeeping duties.
The defeat by Pakistan seemed to have elicited a strong repost, but if there were any minor residual negatives they lurked in England’s bowling attack, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid both below their best.
While Mark Wood and Jofra Archer had removed Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal (19) and Soumya Sarkar (2) by the 12th over, but Shakib Al Hasan proceeded to make hay off mixed bowling. His gritty innings of 121, made him the tournament’s leading run scorer.
Nonetheless, despite a crisp 44 from wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim and Mosaddek’s rapid-fire 26, the Tigers were rarely in touch with the required run rate, and Bangladesh were bowled out for 280, 106 runs short, with Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes each taking three wickets.
England on two wins from three matches so far, into second place above Australia but stay behind table-toppers New Zealand.
Saturday 8th June 2nd game
New Zealand clocked up 3 wins from three as they completed a seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan at the County Ground in Taunton, Somerset.
On form Black Caps bowlers, Jimmy Neesham with 5 for 31 and Lockie Ferguson 4 for 37 worked their way steadily through Afghanistan’s top and middle order bowling them out for 172.
While this was Afghanistan’s third defeat in three games, and despite continuing to fall short with the bat, it will take at least one if not two individual high double-digit scores to sufficiently boost their run-chase target, they delivered some entertaining knocks. Openers Hazratullah Zazai (34 with 26 in boundaries) and Noor Ali Zadran (31 including 5 fours) were in decent nick and a plucky 59 from top order batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi had the fans on their feet. However, with 7 of the players that followed, out for either a duck or on single figures there was little left in the locker and Afghanistan were all out for 172.
New Zealand in to bat and seamer Aftab Alam had Martin Guptill caught first ball, followed by opener Colin Munro out cheaply pouched for 22. Alam later also clean bowled Ross Taylor on 48 breaking a burgeoning partnership with Williamson.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh were making mistakes in the field as well as suffering from the absence of leg-spinner Rashid Khan who was forced to retire at the mid-point in the match with a head injury, incurred as a result of being struck on the helmet by a short ball from Ferguson.
Skipper Kane Williamson batting at 3 led the way with a captain’s innings unbeaten on 79 from 99 balls. He and Taylor had added 89 for the third wicket before Alam clattered the latter’s stumps, ensuring the Black Caps were well on the road to another win before the new floodlights at Taunton had even reached full beam. The only complaint perhaps, being the fact they might have enriched their net run-rate had it not taken until the 25th over for Taylor to hit the first six of the innings!
New Zealand reached their target of 173 for 3 in 32.1 overs for a convincing win to top the table on six points.
