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Eng Vs Nz 1St Test Joe Root Defends Not Going For Unrealistic Win On Final Day

ENG vs NZ | 1st Test: Joe Root defends not going for unrealistic win on final day

England skipper Joe Root defended the approach of not going after the target of 272 runs set by New Zealand, to chase in the last two sessions of the first Test. He said that going over three runs per over from the start of an innings was not as ‘straightforward’ as it would appear for the outside world on a pitch not playing at its ‘absolute best.’

"Having played on that wicket for a few days, we knew it wasn't going to be as straightforward as it looked. If you look at the run rate throughout the game, it was hard to score above three an over even when the pitch was at its absolute best,” Root said.

Root said that England were keen to lay down a strong foundation but by the time they got through safely from the new ball spells of Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson, the chance of them going for the win became unrealistic. He lamented the lack of discipline while batting in the first innings. However, the skipper went on to say that the resilient efforts in the second innings can give England a lot of confidence going into the second Test.

"We wanted to lay ourselves a foundation, but, once we got through the initial phase, it just didn't feel like there was a realistic opportunity for us to win the game. So it was about using it as an opportunity to be a bit more disciplined as a batting group. At times in the first innings, we showed a little bit of ill-discipline. This was a chance to put that right and take a bit of confidence going into the rest of the series,” Root added.

Root added that England were ‘hammered’ in the first Test of the last two series against New Zealand and hence going into the Edgbaston Test will give his side a lot of confidence as the chance of series win is still on the cards.

"The last two times we've played in New Zealand we've been hammered in the first game and pretty much out the series. But going to Edgbaston, this series is very much alive. We've got a chance to win it and we can take confidence from some very good individual performances in this game,” Root concluded.

Opener Dominic Sibley started the Lord’s Test at the worst possible note, getting out for a duck against Jamieson. He was under enormous pressure coming into the first Test after having not passed a double-digit score in the last six innings. However, in the second innings, he showed firm resistance amid stern examination from New Zealand pacers on the final day that earned a high amount of praise from captain Root, who commended his mental capacity and ability to stand up in tough situations.

"He showed great resilience and character out there. He really did trust his defence and show that he has the mental capacity for Test cricket. Sometimes you learn a lot about players in those situations. On a surface like that, where the ball was going up and down, when guys respond in that manner, it tells you a lot about them. I'm really pleased for him and it will give him a lot of confidence,” Root added.

England would walk away from the Test being the number two side and if not for the openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley, the situation could have been a lot worse than what it turned out to be. Root recognised the fragile middle-order and said that England batting unit is far too good to not learn quickly and not respond well to it.

"I think there were a number of dismissals that weren't good enough for Test cricket in the first innings," he said. "We are better than that as a side. They're going to have to learn very quickly in this environment. But you know they have the right attitude and the right temperament. When they have made mistakes in the past, they have responded well,” Root reasoned.

"Today was an opportunity to show that we can be a little bit more resilient and harder to get out. The guys fronted up and I think they did it very well."

England will play New Zealand in the second Test of the series starting June 10 in Birmingham and Root has already declared that his side will be out to win the game and series having won some confidence from a draw at Lord’s.

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Trent Boult out of isolation, in line to play 2nd Test against England

New Zealand pacer Trent Boult may well play the second Test of the series against England scheduled to start on June 10 at Edgbaston. The United Kingdom government has relaxed its isolation norms that allowed the left-arm bowler to get out of quarantine four days prior to the pre-decided schedule. New Zealand coach Gary Stead confirmed that Trent Boult is in the reckoning for the second Test but the team has not taken a decision yet as they want to make sure that he is prepared for an all-important World Test Championship final. "There's a chance, there are a few things that have changed. The British government has relaxed their quarantine stipulations so Trent is out of isolation three or four days earlier than expected,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said after the conclusion of the Lord’s Test. "The original plan we had in place with all the information we had at the time was we weren't going to play him in the second Test, but coming out of that isolation probably three days earlier than what we originally anticipated does put a slightly different spin on it. So we'll weigh up the pros and cons and work out with Trent what we think is the best course forward to make sure he is fit and raring to go for that final. "Trent is keener than he was a week ago and that's because he's over here now, he's part of the environment. Probably right now it's a bit early to make that call, he's only been here 48 hours and probably still suffering a little bit of jet lag." Trent Boult did not travel to the UK and chose to travel back to New Zealand to see his family before coming on the tour. He was all but ruled out of the series against England but for the relaxed isolation norms that have put him back in the reckoning for the second Test.

Ollie Robinson suspended from international cricket after ECB launches investigation

England new pace sensation Ollie Robinson has been banned from all forms of international cricket pending a disciplinary investigation into his tweets from 2012 and 2013. Robinson has already apologised for what he called ‘thoughtless’ tweets after those went viral on the first day of the first Test against New Zealand. Following the suspension, Robinson will not be available for the second Test of the series against New Zealand starting June 10 at Edgbaston and the ECB media release said that the Sussex pacer will leave the England camp immediately to join his county side. The extent of the suspension and the duration of the investigation has not been stipulated by the ECB and if it takes a long time, Robinson might have to sit out the series against India starting the first week of August as well. Robinson was at the top of his mark in the first Test and picked up seven wickets across two innings that included the big wickets of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. He was the pick of England bowlers at Lord’s and helped England in stopping New Zealand from running away with the game on the fourth and fifth day of the Test.

Gritty Dom Sibley help England secure draw at Lord's as New Zealand pay for lapses in field

Opener Dominic Sibley held one end strongly together behind his strong defence and secured a draw for England in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s. New Zealand set a tempting target of 273 runs for England to chase in the last two sessions of the fifth and final day, but the hosts shut their shops right from the start. The pair of Sibley and Rory Burns was gritty in their batting to survive the new ball examination by Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson. It took New Zealand more than an hour to get the prized wicket of Rory Burns, who received some of the unplayable deliveries but luck did not turn its face on him before he finally edged one off Neil Wagner low to Tim Southee at the second slip. Tim Southee’s classical Test match bowling of enticing drive through the off side paid a dividend with the wicket of Zak Crawley for the second time in the game. Crawley did not learn hard lessons from his downfall in the first innings and Southee was ecstatic to see him walking back to the pavilion after Henry Nicholls caught him neatly at gully. The Blackcaps opened one end up but Sibley was resolute in his defence and stamped his class on the proceedings to establish why he is rated so highly in the England camp. He never sucked into driving at one away from the stump while the incoming deliveries were met with a dead bat. He reached his fifty in 161 balls in an attritional innings that did not finish until Kane Williamson and he did not shake hands to end the game in a draw. Sibley was well supported by Joe Root but the English skipper was gutted at losing out on a big score for twice in the game. He was undone by a jaffa from Wagner as the left-hander brought one back sharply after taking it across for a long time. The day began on a mixed note as New Zealand adopted a cautious aggressive approach at the start but all hell broke loose when an out of form Ross Taylor decided to give it a whack to set up the game and bring himself back to some sort of rhythm before the second Test and the WTC final against India. New Zealand did not change their batting order in pursuit of quick runs and instead, the batsmen took the onus on themselves to get the Blackcaps near to a score they could not have lost from. The tourists declared their second innings at the lunch break and asked England to show their appetite for risk on the final day against the bowling attack of Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson. Devon Conway was adjudged Man of the Match for his imperious double hundred in the first innings of the debut Test at Lord’s. The second Test of the series will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from June 10.

PSL 2021: Top five wicket-takers from the Karachi leg

The Pakistan Super League, after a lot of drama, drudgery and negotiations, is set to start its second leg in Abu Dhabi from June 9. The first leg of the tournament (although it wasn’t supposed to be leg wise), held in Karachi was a fantastic affair until Covid-19 breached the tournament and franchise bubbles, leading to its postponement on March 4. The Karachi leg saw a lot of brilliant fast bowling spells and the fact that out of the top five wicket-takers in the tournament so far are all fast bowlers is a testament to it. The pitch definitely bunce and carry and even when there was dew, the raw pace of the bowlers did the magic. In fact Zahid Mahmood, the Quetta Gladiators leggie is the only bowler in the top 10 who is a spinner. Waqas Maqsood, Arshad Iqbal, Dan Christiana and Mohammad Amir among them picked 19 wickets and were one of the reasons why Karachi Kings sits at the top of the table with three wins from five games. Although none of the features in the top five, Iqbal is at the sixth position in the most wickets table. However, Peshawar Zalmi, sitting at the second position with an equal number of wins and losses has two bowlers in the top three and among them, Saqib Mahmood and skipper Wahab Riaz have 20 wickets. On that note, let’s recap the PSL 6’s Karachi leg in terms of the top five wicket-takers. Saqib Mahmood- Peshawar Zalmi Topping the list is the pacer from England who plied his trade in the league for Peshawar Zalmi. Saqib Mahmood took 12 wickets in five innings to make sure that Zalmi remained in the hunt in almost all games. While in the first few games, Mahmood was just another bowler picking two wickets, sometimes stopping the flow of runs, sometimes going for a lot of runs. In fact, it was the game against Quetta Gladiators that made 24-year-old come to the reckoning. In his last over, which was also the last over of the Quetta innings, the Lancashire man picked three wickets, removing the likes of Azam Khan, Ben Cutting and Mohammad Nawaz all in a single over. And he just gave away five runs, three of which were extras. Against Islamabad United in his next game, Wahab Riaz was on fire, but that didn’t stop Mahmood from weaving his own web around the United batters, picking three wickets to dismantle the team from the capitals to a paltry 118 in the 18th over itself. In the last game of that leg against Karachi, Mahmodd was not at his very best, in fact, he was wayward than he had ever been, going for 29 runs in his last two overs as the Kings chased down 189 with three balls to spare. Mahmood though would not be available for the Abu Dhabi leg due to his T20 Blast and Couty Championship duties with Lancashire. Wahab Riaz, the Zalmi skipper would not only miss out on a great bowling partner but also probably their biggest asset. Though the Abu Dhani pitch might not have as much bounce or carry as Karachi did, especially during this time of the year, yet his death bowling abilities are always desirable. Shaheen Afridi- Lahore Qalandars The left-arm Pakistani quick is second on the list with 10 scalps from four innings. He was sensational with his yorkers at the death and swing at the start of the innings, a deadly combination that is getting him the recognition that he truly deserves now. Afridi hit the bullseye in his first-ever attempt only, picking 3014 against the Zalmi team. While he got Imam-ul-Haq off the very first ball of the game, the 21-year-old came back to dismiss the dangerous-looking pair of Ravi Bopara and Sherfane Rutherford, forcing Zalmi to reach only up to 140 in their allotted overs. He was selected Man of the Match for his efforts in that game. In the game against Karachi Kings, Shaheen was once again at the money, conceding just 27 runs in his four overs and picking up three scalps. In the game when the entire bowling attack was going over eight, the Pathan from Pakhtunkhwa remained economical, going under seven. He was once again chosen Man of the match. The only bad game that Shaheen had this season was against Quetta when he was taken for 43 runs in four overs and managed to pick just one wicket. He conceded 38 runs in his last three overs in that game. And in the game against Multan Sultans, Afridi once again took two wickets to get his tally to 10 wickets from four games. Sitting at the fourth position, currently, Shaheen Afridi along with Rashid Khan will hold the key to Lahore’s eventual destiny in Abu Dhabi. Shahnawaz Dhani- Multan Sultans Dhani burst onto the scene of the PSL like a breath of fresh year, always smiling, fun-loving guy celebrating his as well as his teammates’ wickets with the same ecstasy. He is super quick and bows heavy ball, his bouncers were accurate and all this meant that the wickets column of the 22-year-old boy from Larkana in Sindh. Dhani has picked up nine wickets in four innings that he has bowled with his best coming in a game against Quetta Gladiators where he conceded 44 runs but to get the wickets of Azam Khan, Ben Cutting and Mohammad Nawaz. Mostly impressive, Dhani was expensive as well. Sultans have been wriggling in at the bottom two of the table and to get themselves ahead in the league, winning is the only way out. To win, Dhani will be crucial, only this time will have the likes of Blessing Muzarabani, the tall Zimbabwean for company in UAE. Wahab Riaz- Peshawar Zalmi If it wasn’t for the last game that he played against Islamabad United, getting four wickets for just 17 runs and most importantly bamboozling the middle order of the red brigade, Wahab Riaz was going through a lean patch in the tournament. Prior to this game, the figures of Riaz read 2/54, 0/51 and 2/30 in the previous three games. Having taken just four wickets and being expensive before this ultimate game, Riaza, also the skipper of the side was under the pump and he delivered, just when it was required. The 35-year-old picked the wickets of Paul Stirling, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali and Hasan Ali. More than just being a premier wicket-taking option, Wahab would also have to lead the side thus leading by example would be a preferred option and his big-hitting abilities would also come into the offering. Hasan Ali- Islamabad United Coming back from a long injury, PSL was Hasan Ali’s testing ground to see if he fits into the competitive circle and how it is going. He might not have been that great but was good enough to pick wickets in every game and contribute to his team’s victory, three of them in total from the four games that they played. The 26-year-old picked six wickets and gave away just 89 runs in 16 overs, which is less than six runs an over. Thus, Hasan Ali did not exactly play the main wicket-taker but was good at building pressure which got the other bowlers to try and take advantage of that and get the wickets. The experience of PSL did pay dividends for Ali as he has been able to pick 26 wickets in his last 10 innings. The United bowler will be coming on the back of that form and will be supported by the likes of Mohammad Wasim Junior and Ali Khan in the fast bowling department. The United will be up against Lahore Qalanadras in the very first game of the Abu Dhabi leg at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium from 09.30 pm IST.