Australia pulled off a monster chase against England in the Champions Trophy on Saturday after Josh Inglis’ incendiary hundred helped them to prevail in a high-scoring Group B thriller by five wickets.
Opener Ben Duckett smashed 165 to propel England to 351-8, a record total in the tournament’s history until Australia overwhelmed it, after they were put into bat.
Inglis, born in Leeds, England, to English parents, hammered 120 not out off 86 balls while Alex Carey (69) and Matthew Short (63) chipped in with half-centuries as Australia reached the target with 15 balls to spare.
Photo: AFP
“We thought around 350 was going to be chaseable for a moment,” Australia captain Steve Smith said.
“For a moment, it looked like they were probably going to get over 400, so we’re pleased by that [bowling] effort,” he said. “And yeah, we were confident we could chase this down.”
The way Australia completed the highest chase in a men’s event in an International Cricket Council tournament was in stark contrast to their wobbly start.
Jofra Archer took a return catch to dismiss the dangerous Travis Head and Mark Wood removed Steve Smith with an 150-kph rocket.
Short and Marnus Labuschagne (47) propped up Australia before England struck back with their spin duo of Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone.
Inglis raised 146 runs with Carey, who was dropped on 49 by Archer, as Australia reclaimed control of the see-saw contest and never let it go.
Brydon Carse removed Carey in the 42nd over, but Inglis raced to a 77-ball hundred reaching the mark with a six off Archer.
Glenn Maxwell produced an unbeaten cameo of 32 off 15 balls to ease any pressure on Inglis, who sealed Australia’s victory with his sixth six.
Australia had arrived with a second-string pace attack, and their missing frontline quicks included skipper Pat Cummins.
Stand-in skipper Smith elected to field, and they did not have to wait long for a breakthrough thanks to Carey’s spectacular athleticism at mid-on.
Phil Salt had flicked a Ben Dwarshuis (3-66) delivery and Carey moved to his right, leapt and plucked a one-handed stunner on the edge of the 30-yard circle.
The bowler-fielder duo combined again to remove Jamie Smith, whose promotion to number three did not pay off.
Duckett combined in a stand of 158 with Joe Root (68) to lay the foundation for England’s big total.
Adam Zampa dismissed Root and Jos Buttler fell for 23, but Duckett went on to eclipse New Zealander Nathan Astle’s record for the highest individual score in the Champions Trophy.
Duckett struck 17 fours and three sixes before falling lbw to Labuschagne after a 143-ball knock.
England had put up a “pretty good score,” Buttler said.
“It’s a little bit wet, and there was always the worry, if the dew does come in, it may play a bit better and skid on,” he said. “However, all being said, whatever happens with the conditions, to chase down 350 is a fantastic effort.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
Inter’s defense of their Italian Serie A title was hit with a setback on Sunday as they lost 1-0 at home to AS Roma, while Scott McTominay netted a brace as SSC Napoli beat Torino 2-0 to go top of the table. No fixtures were played on Friday or Saturday because of the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, meaning the full round of Serie A matches took place on Sunday and yesterday. Matias Soule’s first-half strike for Roma knocked Inter off top spot earlier in the day before new Napoli opened up a three-point buffer with victory in Sunday’s
FOCUS: ‘We came out here with a goal in mind ... to keep our foot on their throat and on their neck, and continue to play 48 minutes of basketball,’ Donovan Mitchell said The Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday thrashed the Miami Heat to cruise into the next round of the NBA playoffs as the Golden State Warriors battled past the Houston Rockets 109-106 to move to the brink of a series victory. After pounding Miami 124-87 in game three on Saturday, No.1 Eastern Conference seeds Cleveland once again piled on the misery for their outclassed opponents with a crushing 138-83 victory to complete a 4-0 series win. The 55-point drubbing was the largest series-clinching victory in NBA playoff history and sets up a series against either the Indiana Pacers or Milwaukee Bucks in
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa yesterday set a women’s only world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 50 seconds as she won the London Marathon, while Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe put a star-studded men’s field to the sword. For 28-year-old Assefa it was ample compensation for finishing runner-up in London and the Paris Olympics last year — especially as bitter Dutch rival, the Ethiopia-born Sifan Hassan, finished third. Assefa dropped Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei as the race, played out in blazing sunshine and with thousands lining the route, entered its business end. She came home almost three minutes clear of the Kenyan. Hassan, who beat her in
RSS