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Swansea’s admission that they may be powerless to stop Wilfried Bony leaving the club this summer has come a week after Daniel Sturridge was forced to cut short his participation in Liverpool’s preseason tour of the US due to injury. Happy coincidence?

It’s no secret that Liverpool are in the market for another forward. Loic Remy was thought to be the perfect addition to the club: low-cost but with plenty of experience. But that deal fell through following complications with the player’s medical, and the club will now need to look to alternate targets.

But Liverpool aren’t the only club interested in the services of the Ivorian striker, with Tottenham sounding out their interest this summer, and Arsenal also said to be looking at the 25-year-old.

Of the three, Liverpool make the most sense. For starters, Arsenal have no great need for another forward; not that an additional attacker wouldn’t be welcomed at the Emirates, but simply that there are other areas in need of address first. And with Tottenham looking set to hang on to Roberto Soldado after his hugely disappointing first season in English football, as well as Emmanuel Adebayor, Liverpool stand out as the obvious suitors.

Brendan Rodgers also has the added bonus of tempting Bony to Anfield with the prospect of Champions League football this season, something which isn’t set to be in the calendar at White Hart Lane.

WANT MORE? >> Tottenham transfer news | Liverpool transfer news

Having performed as well as he did during his debut season in the Premier League – 16 goals in the league and 25 in total – Bony will want to test himself at the highest level of club football, with Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins citing interest from Champions League clubs.

It’s also hard to see where Bony would get regular game time at Spurs, provided they were looking to hold firm on their current options. Either Soldado makes way and the club have a near-£30 million striker sitting on the bench for prolonged spells, or Bony accepts an alternating role in the Tottenham attack, which he’s unlikely to do with other options available to him.

At Liverpool, Bony will certainly give Rodgers something different in attack. The club acquired the height and power of Rickie Lambert earlier in the window, but the 32-year-old can only really be thought of as a backup option and a reliever during congested spells in the campaign. Bony, on the other hand, at 25 is younger, quicker and will provide even more power to the team’s attack. There is more than enough pace on hand in Liverpool’s squad, and bringing in Bony will offer a positive balance.

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Swansea were initially unwilling to move on the Ivorian’s £19 million release clause, but are now said to be open to negotiating. With Liverpool close to landing Remy for a knockdown £8 million, the opportunity to negotiate with the Welsh club will prove to be something of a breakthrough. In addition, the player’s familiarity with the Premier League should ensure he hits the ground running.

Bony doesn’t have the star power as names like Luis Suarez and Marco Reus, but the club shouldn’t misconstrue his relatively minor status with a lack of quality. The club are also in need of adding further reinforcements to the defence, and while Swansea will push to get as much as they can for Bony, a transfer fee of around £12-15 million will prove to be a good piece of business for Liverpool.

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When Martin O’Neill was appointed Sunderland manager in the December of last year, the obvious remit was to try and steer the Black Cats away from the looming dangers that came with their precarious position in the Premier League.

Steve Bruce’s side may not have seemed like genuine relegation candidates, but they were certainly showing relegation form – two wins all season left them two points off the bottom three with only a few weeks left till Christmas. Yet almost as soon as O’Neill was ushered in, there was a palpable sense of relief.

The Ulsterman is a grafter, a manager in the mould of the old school with a résumé that demands respect. And almost predictably, O’Neill didn’t disappoint, either. His appointment paid almost instant dividends, with Sunderland winning four of his first six games, as the ex-Villa manager galvanized and rejuvenated a hugely under-performing side.

A 13th place finish eventually beckoned for the season and after successfully salvaging Sunderland’s fortunes in his half-season in charge, the focus shifted to the future and beyond. After successfully fulfilling the first part of the job, O’Neill’s task had evolved.

This was a man who had taken Aston Villa from a woeful 16th place Premier League finish in the wake of David O’Leary’s reign, to an eventual three consecutive sixth-placed finishes. Hopes were high and optimism was cautiously in bloom. Circumstances differed of course, but why couldn’t he try and repeat the trick at the Stadium of Light?

From what we’ve seen so far, progress however, certainly seems to be a mixed bag. Miracles don’t happen overnight, the evolution of a squad takes time and there is a hell of a lot of football still to be played this season. But if Sunderland are going to look to aim to achieve anything near resembling Europa League qualification in the near future, as O’Neill has carefully touted as a potential aim, they’re going to have to show an awful lot more than what we’ve seen so far.

The wild west nature of the Premier League’s mid table, makes it notoriously difficult to make any form of educated estimate of a side’s potential league placing come May – especially not after only nine games in.

Should O’Neill’s side win their game in hand, they will be only three points behind sixth placed Arsenal. Yet equally, they currently sit only three points ahead of 17th placed Aston Villa, who they play host to this Saturday. Finding a run of form at the right time is going to be crucial for the Black Cats. Equally, they can take solace in that they’ve picked up points without playing to the best of their capabilities.

But it’s finding out quite how well this side are capable of playing, which is where the fortunes to their season may lie. Because at the moment, it’s hard to establish quite where the extra level of performance they’ll need to make genuine strides up the table is.

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Martin O’Neill has looked to finally solve their abjectly poor output up front in the signing of Steven Fletcher. Unfortunately for O’Neill though, the rest of his side have stopped scoring. Fletcher has of course remarkably scored five of the Black Cats’ six Premier League goals. Newcastle United’s Demba Ba can proudly lay claim to being Sunderland’s second highest league goalscorer, with his own-goal in the recent Tyne-Wear derby.

It’s probably not too early to state that despite only being at the club for a matter of months, the men from Wearside have already come a little reliant on Fletcher. Because past the Scot’s performances, it’s hard to see where the goals may come from.

As Martin O’Neill stated after the miserable 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in the League Cup this week, that things simply aren’t clicking for his side at the moment:

“If the ball is not rolling for or we are finding it a bit difficult.

“Well, that is just football, you roll your sleeves up and go again.

“We have very talented players in the club and for one reason or another it just has not been happening for them.”

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O’Neill has to find a way to try to nurture a little more creativity into this Sunderland side, particularly in centre midfield, if he wants to push the club forward. The way he’s got the side set-up at the moment is fine in some respects – they look solid enough, with plenty of industry and they’re working hard if nothing else. They shouldn’t find themselves in any form of relegation trouble, put it that way.

Although they’re hardly going to float up the table playing that way either and the Ulsterman must be more proactive in trying to find that spark and, as he says, ‘make things happen’. The likes of Stephane Sessegnon and James McClean have looked like a shadow of the players they were last season but O’Neill can’t wait forever before they fire on all cylinders. Why not shake things up and try something different?

Louis Saha may be in his twilight years, but he showed enough during his very short time at Spurs to suggest he still has something to offer. How much less creative could Sunderland be, by dropping the ineffective Sessegnon for Saha or Fraizer Campbell, going with a traditional two up front? Jack Colback hasn’t done much wrong in centre midfield, but he’s not done much right, either. Why not give the more creative David Vaughan a run in the side?

At the very least, O’Neill should be looking to cultivate a bit of creativity in front of the home crowd. The Premier League is an unforgiving beast and given the consequences a badly taken risk can produce, it’s no wonder managers prefer to play it safe. But unless Martin O’Neill takes the brakes off Sunderland soon, it might not be long before his team’s sideways movement turns backwards.

What would you do to move things forward at Sunderland? Let me know on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and tell me how you’d shake things up at Wearside.

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2024Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the passing of our treasured son and brother, Phillip Joel Hughes.Phillip was a loving, humorous and an infectious person to be around. He always aimed to make those around him smile and enjoy the little things in life, where his beautiful smile would come to life. He shined bright even in the tough times, which is a testament to who he was as a person, and we loved everything about him. He was the light of our lives. Phillip had a profound love for his family and lived his life with respect to everyone around him.Phillip, the small-town country boy, became an Australian Test, One-Day and Twenty-20 cricketer, where he played on the toughest pitches around the globe, alongside the toughest of cricketers on the world stage, but never forgot where he came from and who helped along the way.He was a unique individual that took risky and adventurous strides to conquer the dreams he set for himself to become test baggy green number 408. He played cricket for all the right reasons and had the ability to take it all in his stride. He loved being a part of a team and representing Australia for the game he loved so deeply.The number of stories, laughs shared, phone calls and conversations wouldn’t be able to be told over a quick drink at the local pub, which leads us to having the opportunity 9 years ago to create the official biography of Phillip – ‘Phillip Hughes The Official Biography’ that gave us the pleasure of sharing more about who Phillip was. Those pages consisted of his journey from his childhood to his final legacy of 63 NOT OUT*.Ten years on, a documentary – ‘The Boy from Macksville’, will be shared alongside Cricket Australia, who we’d like to thank for supporting this endeavour and each person who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for creating a celebration of Phillip’s life. We hope we have been able to showcase that dreams really do come true and you will enjoy seeing his family, friends and teammates give more of an insight into his career from his baggy blue, baggy red, baggy green and many more moments in-between including unseen footage that can be watched for generations to come.We hope between the biography and documentary, young cricketers around the world and everyone that was with Phillip along the way, will see the hard working, dedicated, devoted and rare cricketer he was. His extraordinary talent is known by many but his lasting impression of who he was as a person will always be remembered, which makes us extremely proud of him. Phillip was always proud of the younger cricketing generation he met along the way and was always hoping he could be an inspiration, no matter where you were from and that is also our hope.Cricket gave Phillip the stepping stone to start a new adventure of Four O Eight Angus, named after his proud baggy green test cap number. Black Stud Angus Cattle farming back in our hometown of Macksville, where he loved the land and his animals and would tell anyone who would listen. The business was built on dedication and it’s a testimony to how high he climbed. He loved to symbolise his cricketing journey in his farming career as a tribute, which still stands proud today. Phillip loved Macksville and the local surrounding towns, where he was able to come back throughout his cricketing years and felt right back at home.We want to share our appreciation to everyone who has respected our privacy and wishes throughout the last decade and continuing to do so at this time. Thank you for being on this journey with Phillip, he loved taking everyone along with him on this ride, living out his childhood dreams.It is essential for us to express our heartfelt thanks, sincere gratitude and appreciation to our extended family and friends, our hometown of Macksville and surrounding towns, to the wider cricketing community in Australia and overseas and the farming community.Phillip, we love you, we miss you and we are forever proud of you. We think about you every day and we are so thankful you were ours. Thank you for being the most extraordinary son and loving brother.The Hughes Family – Gregory and Virginia | Jason, Danielle, Charlie and Billy | Megan and Curtis

Kusal Perera comes back after long absence from ODI cricket; Wanindu Hasaranga left out keeping in mind the World Cup

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Aug-2023Seamers Binura Fernando and Pramod Madushan have been named in Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup squad, replacing the more experienced quicks who are out with injuries. Legspin-bowling allrounder Dushan Hemantha has also made the squad, essentially as a like-for-like replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga.Kusal Perera is in the squad as well. It has been more than two years since he last played an ODI, but this has mostly been because of injury. He had been ill with Covid-19 in the past week, but is understood to be improving, and will join the squad when he makes a full recovery.Fernando and Madushan came in in the absence of the injured Dushmantha Chameera (pectoral tear), Dilshan Madushanka (oblique tear), and Lahiru Kumara (side strain), who have all been ruled out of the tournament. Chameera and Madushanka, in particular, are also battling to be fit in time for the World Cup, which starts on October 5.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Hasaranga, who has a thigh strain, could conceivably have played towards the end of the tournament, but with the World Cup so close, Sri Lanka have chosen not to risk aggravating the injury.Elsewhere in the squad, Matheesha Pathirana and Kasun Rajitha round out Sri Lanka’s pace contingent, left-arm-spinning allrounder Dunith Wellalage joins Hemantha and Maheesh Theekshana as part of the spin-bowling group, and wicketkeeper-batter Sadeera Samarawickrama also finds a place.There are no major surprises on the batting front. Avishka Fernando, who also had Covid-19 over the past week, was available but not selected.Sri Lanka play their first match on Thursday, against Bangladesh.Sri Lanka squad for the Asia Cup: Dasun Shanaka (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan

Allrounder wants Sri Lanka to fix the “weakness in the lower middle order and lower order” before the T20 World Cup

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Jun-2022Our bowling is alright, but the batting needs to catch up before the World Cup. Wanindu Hasaranga, easily the most high-profile cricketer in Sri Lanka’s T20 side now, took four wickets in the second match against Australia and brought his team back into the match. But in the end, the target was too meagre. Australia needed only 125 to win the match and seal the series.The previous night, they’d needed only 128. Both times, Sri Lanka’s middle and lower middle orders had failed to resist Australia’s fast bowling through the middle overs.”There’s a weakness in our lower middle order and lower order,” Hasaranga said after his team lost the second T20I. “Right now, they are a little bit out of form, and we have to accept that. Our target is the World Cup. If we can add 10% more on the batting side in the next match, and in the series coming up, we’ll be in a much better place. In these two games our batting had a few small mistakes.”Even on a slower track such as the one used on Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s total never seemed enough. But thanks largely to Hasaranga, who took 4 for 33, Sri Lanka had Australia at 99 for 7 at one point. The visitors would go on to win comfortably, but the bowlers’ fight had at least given Sri Lanka a chance.Sri Lanka had suffered a collapse to lose 9 for 28 after a strong start from the top order in the first T20I•AFP/Getty Images

“In the series to come, we have to bring our batting and bowling up to the same level,” Hasaranga said. “On the bowling front we’re doing pretty well. If we can make a close match out of a match like this when they were just chasing 125, that means our bowling is in good shape. I think by October [when the World Cup starts] we will get better as we play more and more matches.”Hasaranga’s returns on Wednesday had come after he’d been walloped in the first match, in the two overs he’d bowled. Australia’s top order seemed to have planned to attack him, although David Warner denied they’d set out to do that, when he spoke to the press after the first match. In the second game too, however, Aaron Finch had gone after Hasaranga early on. That is, until Hasaranga started taking wickets.”When I bowled yesterday, they hit 27 runs off my two overs,” Hasaranga said. “When you’re chasing a small total, any team has less pressure on them. The pressure is on us. So they attack. But then a team like this will anyway try to attack me in the first two overs, because if they push me out of the game early on they gain the high ground. That’s what I feel.”But then I like it when they attack me. Rather than batsmen closing up and defending, I can get wickets when they attack. I can put the team in a better position that way.”

Ish Sodhi bagged four wickets but it was the damage done by the new ball that decided the match

Daniel Brettig22-Feb-20211:41

Highlights – Devon Conway hits unbeaten 99

New Zealand utterly humiliated Australia’s BBL XI in the opening T20I on the 10th anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake, hammering the tourists by 53 runs at Hagley Oval, the biggest ever margin of victory for them over their rivals across the Tasman in the shortest format of the international game.Devon Conway was calmness and poise personified to maintain his outstanding start to representing New Zealand, compiling an unbeaten 99 to lift his side to 184 for 5 after the Australians had made the swifter start to claim three wickets inside the first four overs. Australia’s early success gave way to rather more pedestrian bowling and fielding during the back half of the innings.Chasing at least 20 runs more than they should have been, Aaron Finch’s team were never a chance after being left completely bereft by the swinging new ball in the hands of Tim Southee and Trent Boult. Together, they reduced the Australians to 19 for 4, leaving the wrist spinner Ish Sodhi with a mop-up operation that handed him his best figures in T20Is. The crowd of 9093 cannot have expected quite as much of a mis-match, as the gulf between the BBL and true international quality was underlined.Sams, Jhye Richardson nail the PowerplayFewer than 24 hours after emerging from two weeks of quarantine with limited training, the Australia pace attack might have been expected to start uncertainly and then build into their work. Instead, Daniel Sams and Jhye Richardson – in his first T20I since early 2019 – produced strong opening spells to put the hosts in early trouble. With Adam Zampa handed the second over of the innings to keep New Zealand from getting consistent pace on the ball, Sams coaxed Martin Guptill into slicing behind point in the opening over of the series.When Richardson angled and swung a yorker right into the base of Tim Seifert’s off stump, and then Kane Williamson was pouched behind the stumps when trying to pull a ball from Sam that was tight to his body, the tourists appeared to have put together the sort of Powerplay that would decide the contest. T20I history suggested that Australia almost never lose when claiming three wickets in the opening six overs, on this occasion the product of tight bowling that did well to jam the New Zealand top order bats with very little room to free their arms.Conway gem holds hosts togetherOut of a tally of 34 for 3 from the opening six overs, Conway had already looked a class apart in fashioning 16 from 12 balls with a boundary and a six. What followed as the early threat of the new ball wore off and the Australians’ early discipline was replaced by something not a million miles from complacency was the strongest indication yet that Conway would, like so many of his other relocated former South African countrymen, likely make a significant mark on the international game.In terms of shot production, selection and concentration he was more than a match for an attack that was at the top end of BBL standard, and with help from Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner, Conway built stands worth 74 (50 balls), 47 (27) and finally 44 from 19 balls at the death. New Zealand’s final 13 overs tallied 146, a superb recovery that Conway had helmed as though already a seasoned international performer. He resembled, among others, a latter-day Mike Hussey.The game was decided when New Zealand took four early wickets•Getty Images

Southee, Boult swing through AustraliaVery seldom in the BBL is the swinging ball a factor for any more than an over or two at most: Brisbane Heat’s Xavier Bartlett, one of the better exponents of the skill in Australian domestic ranks, was a specialist first-over bowler then subbed out for most of the tournament. So for a touring top order thinking mostly in terms of big hitting, the sight of Southee and Boult curling the ball around corners was about as foreign to their mindsets and techniques as Pete Sampras at Roland Garros.It was not entirely surprising, if no less galling for Australia’s planners, to see the touring top order fold with alarming speed. Finch, still out of sorts, sliced his first ball to gully; debutant Josh Philippe miscued a pull shot; Matthew Wade showed scant respect to Boult’s away swing with predictable consequences, and Glenn Maxwell’s flat feet left him virtually guaranteed to edge Southee into a well-stocked New Zealand slips cordon. Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis tried to remember how best to leave the ball outside off stump, but at 19 for 4, the remainder of the innings was more or less academic.Sodhi finishes the tourists offWhen Sodhi entered the attack, after Marsh and Stoinis had made some semblance of a recovery via some loose stuff from Kyle Jamieson, Mark Waugh suggested on the Fox Cricket commentary that now was a chance to accelerate. If Waugh’s attitude was anything like that of the Australians, then the outcome was the most likely of a team underestimating Sodhi, who has long proven his value to New Zealand’s T20I lineup.Gaining plenty of bounce and just enough turn with subtle variation, Sodhi was gifted his first wicket when Stoinis shovelled a short ball straight back to him. But the remainder of his spell was much too beguiling for an Australia lower order facing a required rate well above 11 per over and straining for the boundary: figures of 4 for 28 were a new international best, punctuated too by 13 dot balls. The final overs were those desultory passages of a contest long since decided in favour of New Zealand.

How ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary recorded Ben Stokes’ match-winning stand of 76 with Jack Leach

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2019115.2 – Pattinson to Broad, OUT, pitched up, Broad is hit on the boot – given! But he reviews, did he get some bat on it? Doesn’t look like it on the first replay, but we’ll need UltraEdge – no, that’s clear, and Hawk-Eye has it smashing the base of off stump! Pattinson’s yorker rips through Broad and Australia are on the brink
SCJ Broad lbw b Pattinson 0 (6m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00116.4 – Lyon to Stokes, SIX runs, shout of ‘catch!’ from Lyon… but Stokes has mowed it over long-off! There’s a man out there, but this was struck fine of him, lands it pretty much on the rope118.1 – Lyon to Stokes, SIX runs, goes down the ground again, clears long-off! Hazlewood leaps on the rope, but he can’t get near it… Six more!118.5 – Lyon to Stokes, SIX runs, Bloody Norah! He’s reverse-slog-swept this into the stands! Extraordinary from Stokes, smashing the cover off one over deep point! IncredibleBen Stokes reverse-pulls a six over cover•Getty Images

120.3 – Cummins to Stokes, SIX runs, he gets the ramp away this time, into the stands at fine leg! Still ambitious, but he’s got the chops to pull it off! Stokes into the 90s and the crowd are going like Billy-oh again!121.1 – Hazlewood to Stokes, FOUR runs, short outside off, smoked through wide long-on! Rocks back and this to the boundary – hundred for Stokes, but he’s not interested. Work still to do, he nods his head and then returns to his crease121.2 – Hazlewood to Stokes, SIX runs, full toss, scooped over the ropes at deep square! You’ve got to be kidding me! Sails away and England are getting ever closer121.3 – Hazlewood to Stokes, SIX runs, goes again, soaring into the Western Terrace! Length delivery, he rocks back and smashes it to smithereens between two men parked on the boundary122.1 – Lyon to Stokes, no run, darted flat outside off and Stokes goes for the reverse-sweep… Paine appeals for caught behind, but the umpire isn’t interested. Kiddology122.2 – Lyon to Stokes, no run, goes for a big mow over the leg side, this spins out of the rough to slip122.3 – Lyon to Stokes, no run, slower, Stokes aims a little reverse-prod at it and misses123.1 – Cummins to Stokes, no run, dropped! Sliced to third man, Marcus Harris can’t hold it… The ball carried, he got his hands there, couldn’t cling on! Very similar to Simon Jones in 2005…123.2 – Cummins to Stokes, FOUR runs, short ball, cracked on the pull, through Warner’s dive on the rope! Was it catchable chance? Hard to tell, but it was travelling!123.3 – Cummins to Stokes, FOUR runs, smashed down the ground, Stokes is on the rampage, the target now in single figures! Hazlewood threw himself full length but couldn’t cut it off123.6 – Cummins to Leach, no run, pitched up, skids into the pads, appeal for lbw but looked leg side. Australia review, but it’s a desperate one, pitching well outside leg124.3 – Lyon to Stokes, SIX runs, tossed up, and he goes down town… Hanging in the air… There’s a man on the rope… Gets it over his head for six! Stokes wasn’t sure, it wasn’t out of the middle, he crouched, he watched – and then the crowd erupted!124.5 – Lyon to Stokes, no run, missed run out! Leach is charging down, he’s miles out of his ground as the throw comes in… but Lyon drops it! Can you believe it? Stokes reverse-swept, picked out backward point, but Leach was headlong down the pitch looking for a non-existent singleNathan Lyon misses the chance to run out Jack Leach with England needing two to win•Getty Images

124.6 – Lyon to Stokes, no run, goes for the slog-sweep, hit on the pads, Wilson shakes his head! Lyon can’t believe it, Australia have no reviews! That looked a pretty good shout, pitching on middle and leg. Did it straighten enough?125.1 – Cummins to Leach, no run, slams down a bouncer, high over the batsman’s head125.2 – Cummins to Leach, no run, short and at the body, 85mph/137kph and Leach shovels it away, leg gully cleans up125.3 – Cummins to Leach, 1 run, round the wicket, banged into the ribs and Leach jabs it past short leg, they scamper through and SCORES ARE LEVEL! Leach’s first run, too125.4 – Cummins to Stokes, FOUR runs, there it is! Flayed through the covers, Stokes has completed the Miracle of Headingley Part II! Holy hand grenades, Stokes is a monster! He throws his arms wide and roars! England win by one wicket and the series is level in the most heart-stopping fashion imaginable!

Miles Hammond led the run chase with his maiden T20 fifty while Michael Klinger and Ian Cockbain also played their part

ECB Reporters Network05-Aug-2018
ScorecardMiles Hammond’s quickfire first T20 fifty and an unbeaten 32 from Ian Cockbain eased Gloucestershire to their sixth Vitality Blast victory of the season in a top-of-the-table clash with Kent at Canterbury.There was also a typically calm and responsible 43-ball 46 from their captain Michael Klinger as Gloucestershire chased down Kent 160 for 5, in which Joe Denly played an almost lone hand with a superb 99 not out from 63 balls, with five sixes and seven fours.Benny Howell, too, played his part by following up his 2 for 29 with 20 not out from 13 balls, including the winning four struck over mid-off from the second ball of the final over, bowled by Adam Milne, with the scores level.Left-hander Hammond had scored 51, with three sixes and five fours, when he hit the 31st ball he faced, the first of Calum Haggett’s second over, to wide deep midwicket to end an opening stand of 76 with Klinger.Hammond uppercut Haggett for a remarkable six over cover point in the third over, and then also clubbed leg spinner Denly and seamer Ivan Thomas for sixes.Klinger, content to play a supporting role, nevertheless seized on a high full toss from left-arm spinner Imran Qayyum at the start of the 11th over to smash a six over long leg. The over, which also contained five wides when Qayyum speared a ball down the leg side, ended up costing 18 runs and left Gloucestershire requiring just another 57 from the last nine overs.To their credit, Kent’s bowlers made the visitors work hard for the win, with Klinger departing in the 16th over when he tried to reverse-hit Qayyum but could only pick out Denly at backward point.Cockbain and Howell held their nerve, however, and the result was never in doubt once they had plundered 18 from the 18th over, bowled by Marcus Stoinis until he went off injured after bowling five balls, leaving Qayyum to finish it.A six by Cockbain over midwicket was followed by Howell driving a powerful four and then taking another four, through backward point, from Qayyum’s final ball.Kent reached 50 without loss in the six-over Powerplay, with Denly the initial aggressor with square cut and lofted off-side fours in the third over, bowled by Matt Taylor, and a six swung over wide midwicket against David Payne.Daniel Bell-Drummond, starved of much of the early strike, got going in the sixth over by pulling Taylor for six and then lofting the next ball over mid-off for four. On 19, however, he was perhaps unfortunate that a thigh-high full toss from Benny Howell was not called as a no ball as he mis-hit to deep midwicket.At halfway Kent were 84 for 1, with Denly hoisting Howell for six in his second over, and Heino Kuhn contributed a brisk 18 before being bowled sweeping at Graeme van Buuren’s left-arm spin in the 11th over.Successive sixes by Denly off van Buuren in the 13th over, the first straight and the second over the head of the long on fielder, provided Kent with some much-needed acceleration but Sam Billings found it hard to get going and it was no surprise when, on 7, he hit his 13th ball straight to long-on to give Howell his 100th T20 wicket.Stoinis offered one meaty blow, a lofted four off his fellow Australian AJ Tye, before hitting the same bowler to long off where Howell ran to his left to hold a good catch.Denly finished that same over by driving Tye wide of Howell for six but at the start of the next over Alex Blake was leg-before for a first ball duck trying to work David Payne to midwicket and the only boundary conceded by Payne and Tye in the last two overs came from the final ball of the innings, which Denly crashed through square cover to end up a frustrating one run short of a fifth T20 century.

Jonny Bairstow served further notice of his determination to force his way into the starting XI for the Champions Trophy as England saw off Ireland’s brave challenge at Lord’s

The Report by Andrew Miller07-May-2017England 328 for 6 (Morgan 76, Root 73, Bairstow 72*) beat Ireland 243 (Porterfield 82, Plunkett 3-15, Root 3-52) by 85 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:40

Should Ireland be playing Test cricket?

Jonny Bairstow served further notice of his determination to force his way into the starting XI for the Champions Trophy, as his violent 72 not out from 44 balls built on a third-wicket stand of 140 between Eoin Morgan and Joe Root to put England out of sight in an entertaining but ultimately one-sided second ODI against Ireland at Lord’s.Bairstow’s knock, which featured seven fours and a trio of mown sixes from his final five balls, proved the difference between a chaseable total and an unobtainable one for Ireland’s cricketers. Set a daunting 329 to square the series – 203 more runs than they had mustered in Friday’s seven-wicket defeat at Bristol – they started with impressive intent thanks to Paul Stirling’s 48 from 42 balls, but fell away in the middle overs, in spite of a fighting half-century from the captain Will Porterfield, to finish on 243.Regardless of the final margin of victory, it was a vastly improved showing from Ireland, who rose to the occasion of their first ODI appearance at Lord’s by keeping their focus with bat and ball, only to be outclassed at crucial junctures, most notably when Adil Rashid joined Bairstow for a slap-happy sixth-wicket stand of 88 in 7.4 overs that took the contest out of their reach.Fresh from their humiliation at Bristol, Ireland’s decision to bowl first on winning the toss had been greeted with ironic cheers by a sizeable Lord’s crowd, but under overcast skies, and armed with precisely the type of nibbly seamers who might be expected to thrive in such conditions, it was more than just a defensive decision from Porterfield.Sure enough, the Middlesex veteran, Tim Murtagh led the way with an exemplary first spell of County Championship-standard line and length. He conceded just two boundaries in his first six overs, a drive apiece to Jason Roy and Alex Hales, who were forced to make hay at the Pavilion End instead, in adding 49 for the first wicket in the first 11 overs.Hales, in particular, resumed his aggressive approach following his match-sealing fifty at Bristol, but he was comprehensively out-thought in the end by Murtagh, who nipped one back up the slope to bowl him through the gate for 32 from 35 balls. And, when Roy leaned a touch too eagerly into Barry McCarthy’s fourth delivery of the day, for Stirling to cling on to a sharp chance in front of his face at short cover, England were 60 for 2 in the 13th over – the sort of scoreline that could easily have unravelled with a few false strokes in such conditions.Morgan, however, quickly showed he was in no mood to second-guess himself, by dancing out of his crease to the fifth ball he received, from Kevin O’Brien, and slapping the first six of the innings towards the pavilion benches. Another six, this time off the left-arm spin of George Dockrell, kept Morgan ticking along, although he then had a major slice of luck when Stirling snaked an offbreak through the batsman’s legs and into the base of the stumps without dislodging a bail.At the other end, it was just another day at the office for Root, a batsman who has now scored 333 runs in his past four ODIs, following scores of 90 not out and 101 in the Caribbean in March. Once again, Root’s ability to keep the strike ticking over was a fundamental part of his success, but so too was his eye for a boundary in the middle overs of the innings, as he picked off eight in total, including a dinky reverse-dab off Dockrell that hopped straight over the wicketkeeper’s head.Root and Morgan brought up their fifties in the same Dockrell over – Root with a tickled single to midwicket from 57 balls, then Morgan dabbing to square leg from his 49th delivery – but shortly after the second drinks break, Root’s innings was curtailed as Peter Chase lured him into a loose drive to mid-off.He departed for a run-a-ball 73, with a rueful shake of the head perhaps betraying a sense that, once again, he’d been found ever-so-slightly wanting when the onus had moved from nurdling to slogging. Still, at 200 for 3 in the 36th over, he had helped to lay a substantial platform, and when Morgan fell in a similar fashion three overs later, the stage was set for Bairstow and Sam Billings – Champions Trophy understudies – to capitalise on the absence of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler and carry England through the death overs.Jonny Bairstow plundered 72 off 44 balls•Getty Images

However, it didn’t quite pan out as intended for Billings, who smoked one pleasing drive through the covers off Chase, but then holed out to long-on off Dockrell. Instead Rashid, with a carefree 39 from 25 balls, showed him what might have been, as Bairstow seized his chance to carry on the belligerent form that he had shown for Yorkshire against Durham earlier in the week.The power and timing of Bairstow’s final volley of boundaries was a particularly eloquent statement of intent, as he smashed 26 runs from the last seven balls that he faced, including a bottom-edged four to bring up his fifty from 38 balls, followed by the first of three hefty sixes over the leg-side to bring up England’s 300. Even Stokes and Buttler would have struggled to make more capital at the death.All the same, whatever Bairstow could do, Stirling was determined at least to match, as he came steaming out of the blocks in Ireland’s reply. After trading singles with Ed Joyce in Mark Wood’s opening over, he climbed into each of David Willey’s first three balls, crashing a trio of fours through the covers and midwicket. One single later, he was doing the same to Wood as well, showcasing his astounding eye with back-to-back cover drives to move to 22 from eight deliveries.Though he reined his aggression in a touch thereafter, Stirling’s solidity grew as a consequence, and it took a DRS intervention in the 14th over for England to finally weather the storm. Jake Ball found some extra lift outside off stump, and Stirling was lured into a nibble. Despite Tim Robinson’s initial not-out call, the spike on Ultra Edge brought an end to a thrilling cameo.That, to all intents and purposes, was the end of Ireland’s challenge too, although Porterfield epitomised a rediscovered sense of purpose, as bedded himself in to be the backbone of the innings. After a torturous innings of 13 from 45 balls at Bristol, his 82 from 83 balls was a far better indication of his enduring class.However, Porterfield’s stay did end in something of an aberration, as he dropped to one knee to scoop Wood over his shoulder and was instead bowled round his legs. Perhaps he felt it was his duty to keep pushing for the win, but at 223 for 6 in the 41st over, he would have known deep down that the contest was already out of reach. A century at Lord’s, however, had very much been at his mercy.The remainder of Ireland’s batsmen came and went in a parade of cameos – the O’Brien brothers, Gary Wilson, Barry McCarthy and Tim Murtagh were all caught in the outfield looking for something ambitious, before Dockrell was yorked by Wood to seal the contest with 3.5 overs remaining.Root and Liam Plunkett shared the bulk of the spoils for England with three wickets apiece. Ireland as a whole, however, had achieved the very least that they had hoped for before the tour, and emerged from an exacting contest with their pride intact.

Yorkshire’s sights are set on a hat-trick of Championship titles – and they look well equipped – but the challenge will be to reinvigorate their T20 fortunes

David Hopps07-Apr-2016Head coach: Jason Gillespie
Captain: Andrew Gale (Champ); Alex Lees (T20, 50)
Last season
In: David Willey (Northamptonshire)Out: Josh Shaw (Gloucestershire – loan), Rich Pyrah (retired), Moin Ashraf, Dan Hodgson, Jonny Tattersall (all released)Overseas: Kane Williamson (June-July), Travis Head (July onwards)2015 in a nutshell
Yorkshire strode to their second successive Championship, spearheaded by Jonny Bairstow’s runs and Jack Brooks’ wickets, but essentially Andrew Gale’s side had matchwinners wherever you looked. Their ability to win competitions and provide players for England (virtually everybody possessed international potential) told of a county reborn, but a semi-final defeat in the Royal London Cup and a shocking T20 season ensured that satisfaction was tempered.2016 prospects
Yorkshire incontestably have the strongest Championship squad in the country and are favourites to win a third successive title. Their weakness is a lack of spin bowling, which would be exposed if Adil Rashid gets regular England calls, leaving Karl Carver and Tom Craddock hoping for progress. New signing David Willey is just one of seven seam bowlers chasing four spots (one of them, Tim Bresnan, misses the opening six weeks with a torn calf) which leaves options for rotation in the last 16-match season. Bairstow’s summer is likely to be England heavy, perhaps Gary Ballance’s too, so Adam Lyth, Jack Leaning and Alex Lees need strong seasons. Yorkshire’s young T20 side last season was an impatient reaction to the failure of senior players; it will be interesting to see who Lees leads on to the field. Travis Head’s T20 arrival tells of strong links between Headingley and Adelaide fired by Jason Gillespie’s coaching role in both cities.Key player
Alex Lees, in charge in both limited-overs competitions, is Yorkshire’s youngest captain since Lord Hawke and his challenge is to encourage a more inventive approach in T20 – a challenge not helped by the late arrival of both overseas players. But he also has his batting form to look at after averaging only 33.12 in the Championship last year despite being regularly touted as another young Yorkshire batsman who can graduate to the England side.Bright young thing
With so many seam bowlers at Yorkshire’s disposal – many handy with the blade as well – it will be a challenge for Will Rhodes to force his way into the side, but he showed up well during Yorkshire’s defeat against MCC in Abu Dhabi and can mature this summer with bat and ball.ESPNcricinfo verdict
A hat-trick of titles is within range – Middlesex and Warwickshire look the main threats to that – but much attention will also be on Lees can invigorate Yorkshire’s T20 cricket in a way that pulls in full houses at Headingley for more than just the Roses match.Bet365 odds: Specsavers Championship, Div 1: 13/8F; NatWest Blast 7/1; Royal London Cup 5/1F