England paceman Chris Woakes on Sunday claimed five wickets, while batsmen Joe Root and Eoin Morgan hit half-centuries to help the hosts defeat Pakistan by 54 runs in the fifth and final one-day international at Headingley in Leeds.
Root made 84 and Morgan scored 76 as England made 351-9 before Woakes ensured a 4-0 whitewash in the rain-hit series, taking three wickets in the opening three overs to dent Pakistan’s chances.
The tourists fought bravely after the setback, but were eventually dismissed for 297 in 46.5 overs for their 10th consecutive defeat in one-day international matches where a result was achieved.
Photo: AFP
“The series win is as good as we could have hoped for,” Morgan said in the post-match presentation ceremony. “Pakistan are a strong side and played some competitive cricket. We’ve chopped and changed, but the performance has never been compromised. It emphasizes how strong the squad is.”
Pakistan found themselves in trouble at 6-3 after Woakes’ blistering opening spell, but Babar Azam (80) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (97) stitched together a superb 146-run stand for the fourth wicket to give them a fighting chance.
However, another late collapse meant that Pakistan ended the series empty-handed in their final preparation ahead of the World Cup beginning on Thursday next week.
“It’s not ideal for the World Cup, but I’m confident my batsman are ready. The bowling and fielding has not been up to the mark. We have been positive about scoring, but have to sort out the fielding,” skipper Ahmed said.
Man-of-the-match Woakes was the pick of the England bowlers, finishing with figures of 5-54 in his 10 overs.
“Great few weeks, but some really important cricket coming up as well,” Woakes said. “Confidence is high, competition for places is there and everyone pushes each other. We never settle, always trying to improve, and that’s a great place to be.”
‘SU-PENKO’: Hsieh and Ostapenko face a rematch against their Australian Open final opponents, the same duo Hsieh played in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday survived a near upset to the unseeded duo of Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, setting up a semi-final showdown against last year’s winners. Despite losing a hard-fought opening set 7-6 (7/4) on a tiebreak, the fourth seeds turned up the heat, losing just five games in the final two sets to handily put down Cirstea and Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2. Nicknamed “Su-Penko,” the pair are next to face top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in a reversal of last
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) and her Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko finished runners-up in the Wimbledon women's doubles final yesterday, losing 6-3, 2-6, 4-6. The three-set match against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens of Belgium lasted two hours and 23 minutes. The loss denied 39-year-old Hsieh a chance to claim her 10th Grand Slam title. Although the Taiwanese-Latvian duo trailed 1-3 in the opening set, they rallied with two service breaks to take it 6-3. In the second set, Mertens and Kudermetova raced to a 5-1 lead and wrapped it up 6-2 to even the match. In the final set, Hsieh and
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei and her Latvian partner, Jelena Ostapenko, advanced to the Wimbledon women’s doubles final on Friday, defeating top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in straight sets. The fourth-seeded duo bounced back quickly after losing their opening service game, capitalizing on frequent unforced errors by their opponents to take the first set 7-5. Maintaining their momentum in the second set, Hsieh and Ostapenko broke serve early and held their lead to close out the match 6-4. They are set to face the eighth-seeded pair of Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens
Outside Anfield, the red sea of tributes to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, has continued to grow this week, along with questions over whether Liverpool could play at Preston today, their first game since the brothers’ tragic loss. Inside Anfield, and specifically a grieving Liverpool dressing room, there was no major debate over the pre-season friendly. The English Premier League champions intend to honor their teammate in the best way they know how. It would be only 10 days since the deaths of Jota and Silva when Liverpool appear at Deepdale Stadium for what is certain to be a hugely
RSS