Report
Superman Stokes puts England in command but Rahul, Gill keep India in the fight
India were 0 for 2 after England piled on 669, but KL Rahul and Shubman Gill batted out two sessions to give India hope of survival
Alagappan Muthu
26-Jul-2025
Stumps India 358 and 174 for 2 (Rahul 87*, Gill 78*, Woakes 2-48) trail England 699 (Root 150, Stokes 141, Duckett 94, Crawley 84, Pope 71, Carse 47, Jadeja 4-143, Washington 2-107, Bumrah 2-112) by 137 runs
Music echoed around Old Trafford this morning. The trumpeter had chosen well. The things Ben Stokes was doing out there was beyond the realms of normal men. So they picked up their instrument, put it against their lips, and belted out the Superman theme. Paaaa-pa-pa-pa-paaaaaa...
England ended day four with 137 runs and two Indian wickets in the bank and it's largely because of their captain's exertions. A century and a five-for in the same Test match. Leading his team to their fifth-highest total in the format ever. Gatecrashing a club of only two. The big two. The ultimate two. Before Saturday, only Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis could puff their chests out and say they had 7000 runs and 200 wickets in Tests. Now they have to scooch over. Cricket's rosy old past and its complicated present have clashed a lot over the past 48 hours thanks to Joe Root and his successor.
Full postHenry the hero as NZ win last-ball thriller to clinch tri-series title
SA were cruising on 92 without loss in pursuit of 181, but eventually couldn't get seven runs in the final over
Firdose Moonda
26-Jul-2025
New Zealand 180 for 5 (Ravindra 47, Conway 47, Ngidi 2-24) beat South Africa 177 for 6 (Pretorius 51, Hendricks 37, Brevis 31, Henry 2-19) by three runs
Matt Henry defended six runs in the last over against South Africa as New Zealand claimed the Harare tri-series trophy, and remained the only side to successfully defend a total at this venue. In a thrilling contest, South Africa were cruising on 92 without loss in the tenth over in pursuit of 181, but lost 4 for 39 after that.
That left them needing 50 runs to win off the last 29 balls. A 43-run stand off 25 deliveries between Dewald Brevis and George Linde put South Africa on the doorstep of victory, but both holed out in the final over as the pressure told, and New Zealand held on.
Full postDavid smashes fastest T20I century for Australia to make it 3-0
David's breathtaking performance eclipsed that of Shai Hope, who also struck an unbeaten 102
Andrew McGlashan
25-Jul-2025
Australia 215 for 4 (David 102*) beat West Indies 214 for 4 (Hope 102*, King 62) by six wickets
Shai Hope's maiden T20I century, in which he formed an opening stand of 125 with Brandon King, helped West Indies post 214 for 4 and when Australia wobbled on 87 for 4 in the ninth over, the target was a considerable distance off.
Full postRecord-breaking Root arms England with control of Manchester Test
Root's 150, Pope and Stokes' fifties leave India playing catch-up
Vithushan Ehantharajah
25-Jul-2025
England 544 for 7 (Root 150, Stokes 77*, Washington 2-57, Jadeja 2-117) lead India 358 by 186 runs
This is the way Joe Root would have wanted to ascend to No. 2 on the Test run-scoring charts. With an immaculate 150, his 38th century, which did not just certify England's command of this fourth Test - and, thus, the series - but took it out of India's reach. They closed day three on 544 for 7, leading by 186 on a deteriorating surface. An innings victory for an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the series is not out of the question.
At Old Trafford, a sellout crowd hung on every tuck, flick, dab and drive as England's greatest batter confirmed, statistically, he was the second greatest of all time. Illuminated by Manchester's generous Friday sun, Root moved past the greats Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting to sidle up next to Sachin Tendulkar. And though Tendulkar still commands an imposing lead at the summit, England's own little master is coming for him.
Full postLancashire beat clock as Hartley finishes off Gloucestershire with 11-wicket haul
Spinner completes memorable match after first-innings hundred as visitors continue upturn in form
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
25-Jul-2025
Lancashire 557 (Green1 60, Hartley 130, Hurst 106) and 110 for 1 (Jennings 57*) beat Gloucestershire 381 (Charlesworth 160, Phillips 64, Hartley 6-116) and 285 (Charlesworth 71, Phillips 56, Hartley 5-99) by nine wickets
Man-of-the-match Tom Hartley produced another career-best performance to propel Lancashire to a hard-earned nine-wicket victory over Gloucestershire at Cheltenham and keep alive their hopes of winning promotion back to Division One of the Rothesay County Championship.
Having previously staged his highest score of 130 and taken 6 for 116 to put his team in control, the England slow left-armer claimed 5 for 99 on the final day of an entertaining match at the famous old College Ground as the red rose county made it two wins out of three in the red-ball format under the new leadership team of interim head coach Steve Croft and captain James Anderson.
Full postZaib, Keogh battle in vain as Middlesex close out innings win
Northamptonshire rearguard finally falls during final session as hosts reignite promotion challenge
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
25-Jul-2025
Middlesex 625 for 8 dec (Holden 151, Williamson 114, du Plooy 104) beat Northamptonshire 261 (Zaib 82, Higgins 4-51) and 257 (Keogh 61*, Higgins 3-54) by an innings and 107 runs
Middlesex's bowlers wore down heroic Northamptonshire resistance to close out an emphatic victory by an innings and 107 runs deep into the final session of day four at Merchant Taylors' School.
Full postMalik, Webster steer stunning chase as Warwickshire turn the tables
Brace of centuries hunt down hefty 393-run target as Worcestershire are left facing relegation
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
25-Jul-2025
Warwickshire 184 (Smith 68, Webster 57, Shahzad 6-42) and 396 for 5 (Malik 142, Webster 100*, Mousley 69) beat Worcestershire 333 (Brookes 140, D'Oliveira 57) and 243 (Brookes 87, Roderick 50) by five wickets
Warwickshire pulled off the third biggest run-chase in their history to record a sensational five-wicket Rothesay County Championship victory over Worcestershire at Edgbaston.
Second best for the first three days, on the fourth, Warwickshire chased down a target of 393, reaching 396 for five thanks to Zen Malik (142 from 222 balls), Beau Webster (100 not out, 166), Dan Mousley (69, 107) and Kai Smith (48 not out, 40). As the sun came out for the first time in the match and batting conditions eased, they delivered a remarkable recovery from 12 for two the previous evening.
Full postBess takes seven as Surrey, Yorkshire play out Scarborough stalemate
Spinner takes season's best but no result had long been inevitable
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
25-Jul-2025
Surrey 537 (Patel 92, Burns 78, Lawrence 78, Blake 72, Sibley 52, Bess 7-162) drew with Yorkshire 517 for 6 dec (Revis 110) and 120 for 5
Surrey maintained their one-point lead over Nottinghamshire at the top of the Division One table but Yorkshire are back in the bottom two after both counties dotted the i's and crossed the t's on a high-scoring Rothesay County Championship draw at Scarborough today.
Unbeaten champions Surrey's seventh draw in 10 games yielded 14 bonus points and gives them a slender advantage with four rounds remaining having replied to a first-innings 517 for six declared with 537 all out shortly after lunch.
Full postFelix Organ hundred averts drama but Hampshire remain in trouble
Allrounder staves off threat of follow-on as title-chasing Notts settle for draw
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
25-Jul-2025
Nottinghamshire 578 for 8 dec (James 203*, Haynes 103, McCann 79, Hutton 71) and 108 for 1 dec (McCann 52*, Hameed 50*) drew with Hampshire 454 (Organ 122*, Varma 112, Weatherley 52, Middleton 52)
Hampshire's Felix Organ scored his fourth Rothesay County Championship century to dash any final-day excitement for title-chasing Nottinghamshire at Utilita Bowl.
Organ patiently collected his highest first-class score of 122 not out to make sure Hampshire avoided the follow-on to turn the day into a wait for the inevitable 4.50pm draw.
Full postRehan Ahmed takes 13 in the match to strengthen Foxes promotion hunt
Derbyshire resist on final day but England legspinner's seven-for confirms inevitable
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
25-Jul-2025
Leicestershire 398 (Hill 151, Rehan 115, Handscomb 101, Reece 6-56) and 236 for 9 dec (Holland 90, Reece 5-64, Thomson 4-81) beat Derbyshire 189 (Came 56, Jewell 54, Rehan 6-51) and 256 (Thomson 55, Chappell 50, Rehan 7-93) by 189 runs
Leicestershire took another big stride towards promotion when they finally overcame stubborn Derbyshire by 189 runs in the Rothesay County Championship Division Two match at the Central Co-op County Ground Derby.
Once again England allrounder Rehan Ahmed enjoyed another memorable day, taking three wickets to end with 7 for 93 and match figures of 13 for 144 to become the first Leicestershire player to take more than 12 wickets and score a century in the same game since Fred Geeson in 1901 at Glossop.
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