Looking on the bright side of a wet evening When rain affects a cricket match, it’s hard to find anything positive to say about it. But here’s an effort from the second T20 at Hove. The groundstaff worked wonders to provide any play at all. In the end they had to admit defeat, but not
The term ‘Super Saturday’ won’t quite work here; the third and last round takes place on Sunday 14 July. Fixtures: Ireland v Scotland, KO 09.00 Italy v Wales, KO 17.30 France v England, KO 20.00 BST times I’ll restrict my comments to the latest version of the crunch. It doesn’t enhance England’s chances of gaining
As we approach mid-July, clubs are announcing large numbers of signings. You may be aware of my underlying hope – that the weaker clubs should be strengthened. But that means the stronger clubs must be weakened, and won’t happen, no matter which government is in power. With only nine clubs involved again, each weekend is
Game One: Ireland v Italy Despite a 9am start it was hot. Remember that word? Italy offered us the second dramatically tight game of the series. It started unpromisingly with a series of minor errors. Then, after the Azzurre had dominated possession for a while, Niamh Gallagher spoiled a good break on the counter by
Round One This important and imaginative series got under way in Parma with three matches. Your puzzle for today: the Red Roses win every game against France they play. Why do France’s Under 20s win every game they play – against absolutely everyone? Then, the curious timings of the three daily matches: one early morning,
Lewis shows his hand Jon Lewis chose his team with the Bangladesh World Cup as his first priority. Hence he opted for four (4!) spinners, and that excludes Alice Capsey. He added Linsey Smith to the established trio. That left Nat Sciver-Brunt and a recovering Freya Kemp as the captain’s only seam alternatives. Danni Wyatt
England v New Zealand – Third ODI Rain delayed the start at Bristol till 14.35, the game reduced to 42 overs each. England decided to bowl; you might well ask why. Both sides made changes: Jon Lewis added Lauren Bell and Sophia Dunkley in favour of Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Filer; Ben Sawyer replaced Fran
Northern Diamonds played a rare 50-over friendly against the Netherlands. The scores: ND: 413-9 (Burns 113*, Marlow 97, Armitage 55) NL: 224-9 Diamonds won by 189 runs (DLS at work) This was a thoroughly enterprising arrangement, but goes to show the chasms set between the different strata of cricket. The one centurion wasn’t even a
A reminder that a very important initiative starts on 4 July. A new offspring of the Six Nations sees the equivalent U20 squads meet in Parma, to dispute three rounds of matches. The second round plays on 9 July, the third on the 14th. That means it will not take the same format as its
Olympics, here we come! 1 June Hong Kong China 22 Kazakhstan 0 1 June Elisa Riffonneau (Stade Rennais and France) leaves Trailfinders at the end of her course at Brunel University 1 June Madrid 7s: Canada 26 New Zealand 16 2 June Madrid 7s; Australia beat France 26-7 to claim HSBC Championship trophy 2 June
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