England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley yesterday ensured the hosts made a sound if cautious start to the second and final Test against a much-changed New Zealand, reaching 67-0 at lunch at Edgbaston.
Burns, fresh from his hundred in last week’s drawn first Test at Lord’s, was 32 not out, with Sibley 31 not out on his Warwickshire home ground.
England captain Joe Root won the toss and batted despite the overcast conditions that appeared to favor his attack, once again without a specialist spinner.
Photo: AP
New Zealand made an exceptional six changes from Lord’s, with the Black Caps clearly conscious of wanting to field their strongest team for next week’s inaugural World Test Championship final against India in Southampton.
Three were injury-enforced, but, with captain and star batsman Kane Williamson (elbow), spinner Mitchell Santner (cut finger) and B.J. Watling, whose withdrawal due to a back problem was only announced shortly before the toss, all missing.
Their places were taken by Will Young, Ajaz Patel and Tom Blundell respectively.
Spearhead quick Tim Southee, all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme and towering paceman Kyle Jamieson were all apparently rested ahead of the showpiece match with India.
Experienced left-arm seamer Trent Boult, back in the team after family leave, and Matt Henry took the new ball in place of Southee and Jamieson, with Daryl Mitchell replacing De Grandhomme.
Tom Latham led New Zealand in Williamson’s absence.
James Anderson’s 162nd appearance saw him become England’s most-capped Test player, breaking the record he had shared with retired former captain Alastair Cook.
England made one change, with fast bowler Olly Stone replacing Ollie Robinson who, following a successful on-field Test debut at Lord’s, was suspended from international cricket after the emergence of historic racist and sexist Twitter posts.
Despite the furor over Robinson’s tweets, both teams again stood for a “moment of unity” before play designed to show their opposition to discrimination within cricket.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early on Tuesday struck out 11 in five shutout innings to match a franchise record during his MLB debut against the Oakland Athletics. “Pretty sick performance,” teammate Romy Gonzalez said. “It was fun to watch.” The only other Red Sox starter to rack up 11 strikeouts in his first career game was Don Aase versus the Milwaukee Brewers on July 26, 1977. “It was amazing, just to go out there and have that first opportunity,” Early said after getting the win in a 6-0 victory. “A long day of travel yesterday and just getting to the field, seeing
Mikel Merino on Sunday scored a hat-trick as a majestic Spain thumped Turkey 6-0 away in World Cup qualifying, while a brilliant Florian Wirtz free-kick helped Germany beat Northern Ireland 3-1 to get their bid up and running. European champions Spain were in unstoppable form in the central Turkish city of Konya, claiming their second biggest-ever away win in World Cup qualifying as Arsenal midfielder Merino scored his first professional hat-trick. Barcelona playmaker Pedri Gonzalez opened the scoring inside six minutes and later completed the scoring, with Ferran Torres netting the visitors’ other goal. The quality of Merino’s strikes was remarkable, with his
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
RSS