Lord’s, July 11 (IANS) England pacer Gus Atkinson wreaked havoc in his Test debut against West Indies at Lord’s as he returned with the figures of 7-45 to bowl out visitors for 121 on the opening day of the match.

On James Anderson’s farewell international match, Atkinson displayed commendable skills in his bowling and kept the Windies batters at bay. The 26-year-old pacer was amazed with his performance and said it was beyond what he could dream of.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I was looking up at the board seeing my figures and just thinking, ‘Wow.’ A very special day,” Atkinson reflected after the day’s play. “I was a bit nervous this morning. I woke up and all I could think about was the day ahead. I was a bit emotional this morning and then having my family there for my cap presentation – if you could have asked me what I wanted from my day that was pretty close to the top. It was pretty cool. Just to take a five-for is amazing, more than I could have dreamed of.

On a sluggish Day 1 pitch, Atkinson was called into the assault after the West Indies appeared to have sailed beyond the early turbulent waters, reaching 34 for no loss. Visiting captain Kraigg Brathwaite inside-edged Atkinson’s second delivery to the leg-stump. He had bowled three overs and grabbed two wickets before conceding his first run.

Atkinson admitted to being nervous during his first over and recalled his father’s advice to “relax”.

“I was trying to keep as level as possible. My dad was saying, ‘It’s the biggest day of your life.’ I was like ‘Relax! Relax – try not to think like that.’ I was a bit nervous to start with but once the first few overs were bowled I was pretty calm,” he reflected.

Atkinson relied on his ability to bowl fast cross-seam deliveries. He combined this by exploiting the Lord’s slope to good effect, as seen by left-handers Kirk McKenzie and Alick Athanaze getting thick edges to the slip cordon.

“My stock ball is that scrambled seam, it felt like today, bowling with the slope, bowling from the Pavilion End, that was my most dangerous ball,” Atkinson said.

“I was targeting fourth stump and trying to run it down the hill and with the left-handers, I was trying to push it across them with the odd in-swinger. I felt like that was the best way I could get the wickets. The seam was probably a bit more scrambled than I’d like but that is something I can work on. I feel like I can bowl quicker and hit the pitch harder when I bowl scrambled seam and it’s worked pretty well for me in the past.”

Antinkon’s second spell produced more fireworks as he took three wickets on fours balls in his ninth over, dismantling West Indies’ middle order. During the process, he also joined the growing list of England players including Tom Hartley, Josh Tongue, Rehan Ahmed, and Will Jacks, who have taken a five-for on their Test debut under Ben Stokes’ captaincy.

Atkinson continued his stunning run by taking two more wickets in his 11th over to wrap up his debut Test performance with seven scalps.

“The focus was on Jimmy so it was nice to go under the radar a bit and just focus on performing as best as I could,” Atkinson said. “To be out there alongside Jimmy in his final test was incredible, being in the Long Room, Jimmy leading us on the pitch was a pretty surreal moment.

“I’ve played a few white ball games here. It was special, I’ve always felt like I would bowl quite well here with the red ball so to be able to come out and get the opportunity in the first Test of the summer is great, and thankfully it went well,” the pacer added.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Team India is unlikely to travel to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy as the BCCI will propose a hybrid model to International Cricket Council (ICC), the sources told IANS.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has proposed that the ICC Champions Trophy will be scheduled from February 19 to March 9, 2025 with all the matches to take place across three major cities — Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore — refusing to opt for a hybrid model for India’s matches.

PCB has also proposed Lahore as base for Team India for the tournament including India vs Pakistan match to be played in the city due to the security reasons.

Last year, Pakistan had the hosting rights for the Asia Cup 2023 but the Indian government did not give approval to the team to travel and their matches were shifted to Sri Lanka.

The Indian cricket team has not played in Pakistan since the Asia Cup in 2008 and the two sides play each other only at ICC or ACC events.

In their last meeting in the T20 World Cup 2024 last month, India defeated Pakistan by six runs in the group stage and went on to lift their second title.

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be the first major international cricket tournament hosted solely by Pakistan. Previously, Pakistan had co-hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup with India and Sri Lanka and before that co-hosted the Reliance Cup with India in 1987.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) Monsoon Pickleball Championship second editon is set to be held from the August 20-25 here with 800 participants are expected to compete in a total of 47 categories.

The Championship offers a total of USD 100,000 (close to Rs 1 crore) prize money that will be up for grabs for all participants in the 47 categories ranging from Open PRO, 19+ intermediate, 30+ Open, 40+ Open, 50+ Open, 18+ Open, 60+ Open, Split Age 35+.

Former World No. 2 on the PPA Tour, Jocelyn ‘Jay’ Devilliers, often referred as the Flying Frenchman, has shot to the top of the sport in all three divisions. He has proven himself to be one of the most fiery and exciting players to watch and is one of the most popular professional pickleball players on tour and will bring flair and talent to the Monsoon Pickleball Championship 2.0.

Other international pickleball stars namely Meghan Fudge, Ryler Dheart, Rob Nunnery and Thaddea Lock will also feature at this championship.

“We are extremely happy to announce the second edition of the Monsoon Pickleball Championship. Global Sports’ main aim is the absolute commitment towards growing the sport of pickleball in India and this edition will be bigger than the last tournaments we have conducted. Having Jay DeVilliers playing this tournament will inspire younger talent and give them a road map into playing professional pickleball,” said, Niraj Jain, Tournament Director, Monsoon Pickleball Championship 2.0 & Partner, Global Sports.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) The newly appointed India head coach Gautam Gambhir is reportedly pushing for the inclusion of former Dutch cricketer Ryan ten Doeschate into the team’s coaching staff.

Ryan ten Doeschate recently collaborated with Gambhir at the Kolkata Knight Riders, where he contributed as the team’s fielding coach during their victorious 2024 campaign.

Beyond his role with KKR, Ten Doeschate holds multiple positions within the franchise’s subsidiaries, including in the Caribbean Premier League, Major League Cricket, and ILT20.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, Gambhir, who has requested a free hand in managing the team, wants the 44-year-old Dutch as one of his key associates. However, the final decision rests with the BCCI, which has recently favoured hiring only Indian personnel for coaching roles.

Earlier, reports claimed that Abhishek Nayar, a former India all-rounder and integral part of the KKR backroom team, is likely to join Gambhir’s team as an assistant coach.

The ongoing deliberation revolves around the role Ryan ten Doeschate could potentially take up if selected but the BCCI wants to retain T Dilip, a member of Rahul Dravid’s existing coaching team, for the position of fielding coach, the report added.

–IANS

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Northampton, July 11 (IANS) South Africa Champions defeated India Champions while Australia Champions prevailed over West Indies Champions in the last two league games of the World Championship of Legends 2024 here at County Ground.

With that, the league stage came to an end and the four semi-finalists have been locked in.

Pakistan Champions will take on West Indies Champions in the first semifinal while the second will be played between Australia and India on Friday. The winners of the respective games will play the summit clash on Saturday.

In the first match of the day, led by an explosive century from Ben Dunk and a near-century from Daniel Christian, Australia Champions set a commanding total of 274 for 7 in their 20 overs after they were put in to bat first.

Dunk’s 100 off 35 balls, featuring 10 fours and 7 sixes, set the tone for a high-scoring innings. Christian followed with a rapid 99 off 35 balls, which included 11 fours and 8 sixes, ensuring the Australia Champions posted a formidable total. Rayad Emrit was the pick of the West Indies bowlers, taking 4 wickets for 56 runs.

In response, the West Indies Champions started their chase with a early setback, losing Kirk Edwards for just 5 runs. Dwayne Smith led a spirited effort, smashing 64 off 40 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes. His aggressive approach gave the West Indies hope, but wickets continued to fall at regular intervals.

They were struggling at 81 for 4 at one stage before a middle-order resilience was showcased by Ashley Nurse, who played a remarkable innings, scoring an unbeaten 70 off 36 balls with 7 fours and 4 sixes. His late partnership with captain Daren Sammy, who contributed 33 off 18 balls, added some respectability to the score.

However, the required run rate kept climbing, and despite Nurse’s valiant efforts, the West Indies Champions fell short of the target, finishing their innings at 219 for 6 in 20 overs.

Brett Lee and Peter Siddle were instrumental in controlling the run chase, taking 2 wickets each as Australians secured a comfortable victory by 55 runs.

In another action, riding upon blistering half-centuries from opener Jacques Synman and wicketkeeper Richard Levi, the South Africa Champions posted a total of 210/8 in 20 overs, and the bowlers restricted India to 156/6 in the allotted 20 overs to end their campaign on a winning note.

Synman, who scored an unbeaten 82 against Pakistan in the previous game, once again showcased his batting prowess and blasted 73 off 43 balls (10x4s, 3x6s) to lay a solid foundation for his team.

Later, Levi smashed a 25-ball 60, with 5 sixes and as many boundaries, and helped his team dominate the middle overs. While the Indian bowlers did make a strong comeback in the death overs, they couldn’t prevent the Proteas from posting a big total.

Harbhajan Singh (4/25) was the pick of the bowlers for India as the Turbanator rolled back the clock with his off-spin bowling.

Indian openers failed to give their team a good start in the run chase and their top five were back in the dugout with just 77 runs on the board in 11.3 overs. Yusuf Pathan (54* off 44) and Irfan Pathan (35 off 21) shared a vital stand but couldn’t help their side cross the finish line as the asking rate kept getting higher. India lost the game by 54 runs eventually.

Brief Scores:

Australia Champions Vs West Indies Champions

Australia 274/7 in 20 overs (Ben Dunk: 100 off 35 balls & Daniel Christian: 99 off 35 balls; R Emrit: 4-0-56-4) beat West Indies Champions 219/6 in 20 overs (Dwayne Smith: 64 off 40 balls & Ashley Nurse: 70* off 36 balls; Brett Lee: 3-0-30-2, Peter Siddle: 4-0-32-2) by 55 runs.

South Africa Champions Vs India Champions

South Africa 210/8 in 20 overs (Jacques Synman 73 off 43 & Richard Levi 60 off 25; Harbhajan Singh 4/25) beat India 156/6 in 20 overs (Yusuf Pathan 54* off 44, Irfan Pathan 35 off 21; Vernon Philander 2/17) by 54 runs

–IANS

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