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Mark Wood
England pace bowler Mark Wood on Friday said opener Ben Duckett forced India to constantly change the field placement as he played a "skilful innings against a good attack" here on the second day of the third Test. Duckett cracked 21 fours and two sixes, scoring an unbeaten 133 off 118 balls that helped England make a strong start in reply to India's first-innings total of 445. England finished the day at a strong 207/2, having erased almost half of India's total and now trail by 238 runs. "He played with real bravery. To be that far behind in the game and go out and play like that showed real bravery and skill," Wood told the media after the day's play when asked about Duckett's third Test century. "The way India changed the field and then he'd hit it somewhere else, it was such a skilful innings against a good attack. He's a nightmare to bowl (to) at the nets; we try to get him to leave one but he never leaves any," he said. "Maybe, he hasn't gotten the accolades that he would l
West Indies pace sensation Shamar Joseph, who single-handedly won a Test against Australia last month, was on Saturday roped in by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for the upcoming IPL season as replacement for England's Mark Wood. The 24-year-old Joseph destroyed the star-studded Australian batting line-up in their second innings with amazing figures of 7 for 68 to help West Indies notch up a famous win at Gabba, Brisbane, last month to emerge as one of the most sought-after fast bowlers in the world. He will join LSG for RS 3 crore and this will be Joseph's first stint in the IPL. "Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) named Shamar Joseph as replacement for pacer Mark Wood for the upcoming edition of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024," the IPL said in a statement. "Joseph will join LSG for INR 3 Crore. The speedster was recently at the forefront during West Indies' Test win at the Gabba. He picked 7 wickets in the 2nd innings to script a historic win in Australia for West Indies." The ..
England captain Ben Stokes on Tuesday rated Mark Wood as an "impact builder" with high pace after they decided to enter the first Test against India, starting here from Thursday, with a solitary fast bowler and three spinners. Wood was preferred over veteran James Anderson for this match, and Stokes said the Durham man's ability to touch 150 clicks tilted the scales in his favour. "Obviously, what he brings with his high pacehe is a real impact builder. Bowling the 90 mile an hour with a reversing ball is obviously going to be very difficult to play against. He's another weapon which you can use out here with short, sharp spells, wanting him to be bowling as fast as he can and short periods. There're no worries about these long spells because that's how we're going to use him this week, said Stokes during his pre-match press meet here. So, how did the team management handle the situation of looking over a highly-experienced bowler like Anderson? Stokes said Anderson has taken the
India's unalloyed dominance at home over the last 12 years will be put through its most unique examination till date when Rohit Sharma's side faces a trend-defying England in the first match of what promises to be a stirring five-Test series from Thursday. No team has been as invincible as India at home since their 1-2 defeat against the Three Lions led by Alastair Cook in 2012, stitching together a bull run of 16 successive series wins, including seven series sweeps. If one further breaks down the stats, India have lost just three Tests out of 44 they played in their own backyard in this phase, and this is a power walk even beyond the all-conquering West Indies in the '80s or Australia of the turn of the century. Several factors have contributed to this astonishing run over the last decade, including favourable pitches, bowlers who knew how to exploit those tracks and batters who churned out runs like popcorn from a vending machine. But two players have stood head and shoulders ab
Rohit Sharma produced a special effort on a challenging pitch where the majority of Indian batters struggled, as the hosts were restricted to 229 for nine by England in their World Cup game here on Sunday. With India getting to bat first for the first time in the tournament, the batters got a good opportunity to set the target. It was, however, only Rohit (87 off 101) and Suryakumar Yadav (49 off 47) who found a way to bat on a two-paced wicket while the others perished trying to force the pace. The 91-run partnership between Rohit and K L Rahul (39 off 58) stabilised the innings after India found themselves at 40 for three in the 12th over. Rohit also added 33 valuable runs with Suryakumar but the skipper's fall led to a clutch of wickets. In his second game of the competition, Suryakumar then batted around the tail to get some much needed runs in the death overs. England were finally able to put together an effort worthy of defending champions, excelling both with the ball and in