No team had made 300 against Surrey this season, and that record threatened to stretch into a seventh consecutive innings at Chelmsford. Essex were coasting towards uncharted territory at tea on the first day, 204 for 3 and with Tom Westley, the captain, and Matt Critchley ensconced in an unbroken hundred stand, only for a clatter of wickets to leave the scoreboard reading 245 for 8, and cries of “C’mon the ‘rey” drifting across the county ground.In the end, the home side pocketed their second batting point fairly comfortably, thanks to an enterprising partnership of 62 in 12 overs between Simon Harmer and Sam Cook. Both benefited from misses in the field – Harmer put down by Rory Burns at slip on 5, while Kemar Roach at fine leg completely failed to pick up a top-edged hook when Cook had 8 – and Surrey were left to repent at leisure before Gus Atkinson returned to cap a fine display with his maiden first-class five-wicket haul.By then Essex had carved out a position from which they could hope to remain competitive. Alastair Cook has endured a lean start to the season but produced a first half-century, and his efforts were matched by Westley and Critchley; but after toiling through the afternoon Surrey girded themselves in the manner of champions. Their response, on what looks a dry surface, against Harmer, who had men crowding the bat in his one over before stumps, could determine whether they maintain their position at the top of Division One after the conclusion of this round.These two counties have won four of the last five Championship titles, and this fixture featured 13 players with international experience. There might not have the attendant fanfare of Steven Smith’s debut for Sussex at New Road, but Sean Abbott bowling to Dan Lawrence offered up a proto-Ashes duel (even if both are some way off being selected at this stage) while Ben Foakes produced a reminder of what England would miss were he overlooked behind the stumps – even as Jonny Bairstow was doing his best a few hundred miles to the north to state a convincing case for why the selectors should do just that.Surrey, whose motto might be “never knowingly under-resourced”, were able to leave out their leading wicket-taker, Dan Worrall, and still produce the sort of concerted bowling performance that eventually found a way through the cracks in Essex’s batting. And despite the presence of Abbott and Roach, their most-impressive performer was Atkinson, the 25-year-old playing his first match of the season.His best figures in any format for Surrey included the prize wicket of Cook, that venerable warhorse of Ashes summers past, as well as both Essex tail-end miscreants to finish with fine figures of 6 for 68. There was also an important contribution from the returning Will Jacks, whose flighted offbreak was responsible for ending Essex’s fourth-wicket stand at 114, Critchley’s outside edge snapped up one-handed by a flying Burns in one of the better moments of Surrey fielding. Foakes, immaculate as ever, claimed five catches behind the stumps.The morning began with Essex opting to bat, the home XI bolstered by returns for Lawrence and Sam Cook after injury. Surrey omitted Worrall as part of the planned rotation of their seamers, while Jacks made his first appearance since suffering a hip injury while on England duty that scuppered his chances of playing in a maiden IPL.Essex’s openers negotiated the early exchanges without too many alarms, although Cook did enjoy an early let off – Jamie Smith failing to latch on to a sliced drive off Abbott that looped tantalisingly towards backward point when he had made 13. Cook’s front foot was soon lunging forward, Hungry Hippos-style, to clump the ball through cover as he went past 50 for the 193rd time in this, his 21st season as a first-class cricketer. He was dropped again shortly after, Ollie Pope only able to get a hand on a diving chance at second slip.Atkinson had been the bowler to end a 62-run opening stand, finding lift and movement from back of a length with just his second ball to have Nick Browne taken at third slip, and he produced an even better one-two combination to see off Cook. Having switched to round the wicket, Atkinson jagged one past the outside edge, missing the top of off stump by a whisker, then brought his next ball back to graze the inside edge – Foakes completing the dismissal with an athletic leg-side take.A third wicket went down straight after lunch, Abbott curving one past Lawrence’s outside edge for another Foakes catch – although whether the ball came off bat or thigh pad was less clear. Essex’s fourth-wicket pair then settled into a steady rhythm as the pendulum swung back towards the hosts. There was even the chance for fans of the home side to enjoy the glovework of Foakes, an Essex boy who has gone on to greater things with Surrey, who acrobatically held on to an in-dipping Roach yorker that beat Westley all ends up only to miss leg stump.The grumbles began after Critchley and Westley departed in consecutive overs, and may have increased a notch when Michael Pepper was caught behind attempting to reverse-sweep Jacks, having made 6 off six balls with one scoring shot. A collapse of 5 for 27 undid some of the hard work but few teams will tangle with Surrey this season and emerge completely unscathed.

The home side have confirmed one change to their XI but Australia are still pondering their final call

Andrew McGlashan27-Jun-2023Big Picture
Are you ready for round two? The opening of this Ashes delivered everything it had promised. Four more matches of that level of exhilaration will be a test for everyone involved.Given all the talk of the past week, where both teams have had some downtime, it would be easy to think England are the side 1-0 up. But courtesy of the partnership between Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, a stand that will go down in Ashes folklore, it is Australia who hold that advantage and, for now, are quite happy for England to say what they like.However, they also know the result could easily have been different. It probably would have been if England had held their chances, or even if Stuart Broad had not bowled Usman Khawaja with a no-ball. No one is getting carried away that Bazball has been shut down but the opening Test of an Ashes generally shows the way (albeit comparisons with 2005 abound).Related

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Cummins and Australia will stay true to their approach

So to Lord’s, and five days that will likely decide if Australia can take a vice-like grip – and put themselves on course for a series win in England since 2001 – or whether the home side can draw level and set up a potentially great series.England, for all their talk, and perhaps that’s why they are doing it, have more questions to answer than Australia. Is it right to go without a frontline spinner? Is there enough point-of-difference in the attack? How much can Ben Stokes’ knee go through? Is Ben Duckett a sitting duck to Australia’s quicks outside off stump? Is attack the only way to go?One thing we know, if the players are to be taken at their word, is that they will respond to defeat by trying to be even more aggressive. It was a similar message put forward after the loss to South Africa last year which, ironically, was then followed by (relatively speaking) one of their more restrained batting performances, led by a captain’s innings from Stokes at Old Trafford.Australia believe they have considerable room for improvement. England may rue not winning a Test where Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith made just 35 runs between them. At Lord’s they are also going in with a base of knowledge they did not have before Edgbaston, although their camp is content with how the tactics played out under pressure.The marker for this series has been laid down. What happens next is really anyone’s guess. And that’s a tantalising prospect.Form guide(last five matches, most recent first)
England LWLWW
Australia WWDWLIn the spotlight
England’s response to defeat. What has been put together under Stokes and Brendon McCullum has clearly worked wonders, but it can’t be unquestionable. Last summer they bounced back against South Africa but the tourists had a poor batting line-up. Their only other defeat since then was the one-run loss to New Zealand in Wellington. Hitting back after going 1-0 down at the start of a home Ashes is something entirely different and the biggest test of the ethos (or cult?) that Bazball has created.Labuschagne was twice done by Broad’s new outswinger at Edgbaston, collecting his first golden duck in Test cricket in the process. In his last 17 innings he has made just two fifties at an average of 33 which is considerably below the extraordinary high standards he has set. Should he find his groove at Lord’s it would come at the ground where his Test career took off four years ago after he was parachuted into the team as Smith’s concussion sub.Team news
England have changed the balance of their side by calling up pace bowler Josh Tongue to replace Moeen Ali. Tongue took a five-wicket haul on his debut against Ireland at Lord’s earlier this season. They have backed James Anderson and Stuart Broad to get through another Test.England 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jonny Bairstow, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 Josh Tongue, 11 James AndersonAustralia have narrowed down a 12 with the final decision likely to be between Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. England took Boland at nearly six-an-over at Edgbaston but the grass on the surface at Lord’s could keep him in the frame.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Scott Boland/Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh HazlewoodPitch and conditionsThere was a significant green tinge on the surface ahead of the game, but that is pretty normal for Lord’s. There is the expectation of more pace and bounce than Edgbaston provided. The forecast is fine for the opening day but there is a chance of some interruptions after that.Jonny Bairstow and Brendon McCullum stop for a break at England training•PA Images via Getty Images

Stats and trivia Nathan Lyon, who becomes the eighth player to put together 100 consecutive Tests, needs five wickets to reach 500 Stokes needs five wickets to reach 200 in Tests In the last five Tests at Lord’s, since the year-long gap due to Covid, spinners have taken 15 wickets at 50.60 Conversely, in the last five years the ground provides the lowest average for England’s quicksQuotes”Cricket’s a fickle game sometimes. He was the No.1 batter in the world then Broady nicks him off twice. Players like that don’t miss out too often. Broady produced two unbelievable deliveries and it’s always great to see the back of Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith early but quality players always find a way to bounce back. We won’t be reading too much into it but it’s nice knowing there might be something there for Marnus.”
“My phone went crazy for a couple of days. These Ashes series, like World Cup finals, you realise how many people love cricket and how much it means to them. Hearing everyone’s stories about where they were when they found out what happened, or watching at all hours of the day is pretty cool.”

Pakistan A rode on Tayyab’s century to post 352 before Muqeem’s three-wicket burst broke India A’s back in Colombo

Shashank Kishore23-Jul-2023Tayyab Tahir, a seasoned 29-year-old batter, and Sufiyan Muqeem, a rookie left-arm wristspinner, combined to help Pakistan A beat India A and defend their ACC Men’s Emerging Cup crown in Colombo.Tayyab, for whom it has already been a dream year, added another chapter to his 2023 fairytale. He started with a dazzling half-century on PSL debut for Karachi Kings in February and made his T20I debut against Afghanistan in March. Four months on, he struck an aggressive 71-ball 108 to power Pakistan A to 352 for 8 after they were sent in to bat by Yash Dhull, on what he felt was a dry surface.Then, with India A’s chase in the balance, Muqeem, who made his List A debut earlier in the tournament, made a telling contribution with his ripping wrong’uns from the over-the-wicket angle. That he mixed it up with sharp legbreaks added to India A’s challenge and they folded for 224 in 40 overs.That the game fizzled out towards the end was because Muqeem prised out the massive scalps of Abhishek Sharma, India’s top scorer with 61, and Dhull, for 39, to crack open the game in Pakistan’s favour. Muqeem finished with figures of 3 for 66 in his ten overs, thriving on support from fellow spinners Mubasir Khan and Mehran Mumtaz.The Pakistan team management did not play Muqeem in the league game against India, possibly to shield him from the batters’ view. In the grand finale, they were caught unawares by a supremely talented spinner who made heads turn with his control and guile, seldom taking the defensive route, not even when he was under attack early on by Abhishek.Pakistan A players celebrate after winning the Emerging Cup•SLC

India’s lower order hung around to try and defy the bowlers in a late effort to take the game deep, but at 194 for 8, they were merely delaying the inevitable. Mohammad Wasim fittingly finished the game off with a searing yorker to send Yuvrajsinh Dodiya’s stumps.The win would be all the more satisfying for Pakistan, not least because they were handed a pounding by India A in the league fixture. Tayyab, who like Muqeem did not play in that game, walked in at 146 for 2 in the 22nd over after openers Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub put together an aggressive century stand to lay down the marker.But he soon saw Omair Yousuf and Qasim Akram fall off successive deliveries to Riyan Parag’s right-arm everything in the 28th over. Then in the 29th, when Mohammad Haris, the captain, was trapped lbw by Nishant Sindhu’s left-arm spin, Pakistan A had lost 3 for 4 in ten deliveries.At 187 for 5, India A had just found their footing and were beginning to tighten the screws courtesy their spinners. This is when Tayyab decided he wasn’t going to let the game drift. At the first sign of the Indians switching off, he cashed in. What began as a burst of aggression turned into a full-blown counterattack.Tayyab had a slice of luck when he was dropped on 51 in the 37th over when Rajvardhan Hangargekar circled around a ball he misjudged at the long-on boundary. That was the only blemish in a knock where he showcased oodles of maturity in manipulating the fields, milking runs, throwing bowlers off their lengths and also playing some cheeky reverse paddles, all without making it look like he was taking risks.He was superbly supported by Mubasir, who occupied the crease to help the lower order rally. Without their 126-run seventh-wicket stand, Pakistan A may have been bundled out for a much smaller score.Abhishek Sharma’s 51-ball 61 was not enough to get India A close•Asian Cricket Council

India A’s chase began on a sprightly note as Abhishek and Sai Sudharsan played authentic shots and matched each other stroke for stroke in an enterprising first ten overs. Sudharsan’s wristwork was particularly impressive as he whipped and worked the ball to different parts of the leg side with ease, but his undoing was an Arshad Iqbal short ball that he couldn’t quite get out of the way of, top-edging a pull to the wicketkeeper to break a 64-run opening stand.Nikin Jose was a tad unfortunate to be given out caught behind when replays confirmed the ball had brushed his right hip on the way through to the wicketkeeper. Dhull steadied the innings but found no support once Abhishek was out playing an uppish cut to Muqeem.Pakistan A profited from having the crafty Mubasir operate from the other end and he struck with the big wicket of Sindhu, who was promoted up the order. Mubasir got the ball to dip on Sindhu, who popped a return catch. When Dhruv Jurel and Parag followed suit, the end was nigh.

MatériaMais Notícias

da leao： Na manhã deste sábado, o Palmeiras finalizou as atividades da temporada pensando na última rodada do Brasileirão, neste domingo, contra o Internacional, às 16h, no Beira-Rio. O treino contou com a presença de 200 sócios Avanti e associados do clube. Ao final, crianças presentes tiveram a oportunidade de interagir com o elenco comandado por Abel.

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da bet vitoria： >Fluminense e Palmeiras dominam: veja seleção do Brasileirão montada por programa de TV

Com Raphael Veiga de volta aos trabalhos com o grupo, iniciando o processo de transição física após se recuperar de uma lesão no tornozelo esquerdo, o técnico Abel Ferreira e sua comissão comandaram uma atividade técnica em campo reduzido.

Piquerez teve constatado um trauma no joelho esquerdo e não deve atuar contra o Inter. Além do uruguaio, Weverton, convocado pela Seleção Brasileira, e Gustavo Gómez, suspenso, serão desfalques do time campeão.

> Clique e simule os resultados da última rodada do Brasileirão!

Este foi o último treino do elenco na temporada, marcada pelo título brasileiro e pelas conquistas da Recopa Sul-Americana e do Paulistão no início do ano.

Com tranquilidade e pensamento nas férias, é possível que um provável Palmeiras neste domingo conte com: Marcelo Lomba; Marcos Rocha, Murilo, Luan e Vanderlan; Danilo, Zé Rafael e Scarpa; Dudu, Rony e Endrick (Mayke).

O Palmeiras pode se tornar o primeiro clube a terminar uma edição dos pontos corridos sem derrota como visitante e ainda registrar a melhor campanha fora de casa desde a implantação do atual formato do Brasileirão, em 2006.

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Paris Saint-German fans put up banners at Parc des Princes targeting Arsenal ahead of their Champions League semi-final clash.

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• PSG fans unfurled anti-Arsenal banners
• Lost 3-1 against Nice in Ligue 1
• Will next Gunners in UCL semi-final tie

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Just days before facing the Gunners in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final fixture, newly crowned Ligue 1 champions PSG suffered their first defeat of the 2024-25 league campaign as they went down 3-1 against Nice at home. During the match, banners were unfurled at Parc des Princes by the home fans as they wanted to send out a fiery message to the Premier League giants. The PSG fans' banner read: "Eliminate Arsenal, bring us to the final."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Arsenal are gearing up for their first Champions League semi-final appearance since the 2008-09 season, when they reached the last-four but eventually lost to English rivals Manchester United over two legs. Mikel Arteta's side reached the semis after they beat reigning champions Real Madrid 5-1 in a two-legged quarter-final tie.

• WHAT LUIS ENRIQUE SAID

  The defeat against Nice left manager Luis Enrique frustrated as he said after the game: "Based on what I saw, I’m signing up straight away for Tuesday in London and the return leg. Not for the result, obviously, but I saw a team that had 30 chances to score. I’m not worried at all. We attacked, didn’t calculate, and we came up against a goalkeeper who made some incredible saves. We are the best team in France, by far. We proved it. We have to be brave now and think about winning the Champions League. Right now, the players are clearly affected. We deserved to win, no doubt about it. But if the opponent is 100 per cent efficient and you’re not as efficient as usual, things turn around. It’s as simple as that."

  The Spanish coach also explained his decision to field a full-strength squad in the league clash ahead of a crucial European game as he added: "Draw whatever conclusions you want from that. I’m not going to give any clues to Arteta."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

  After facing the French giants on April 29, Arsenal will be back in action in the Premier League on May 3 as they face Bournemouth at home.

RB Leipzig ace Benjamin Sesko has a "performance-based release clause" in his current contract which means the better he plays, the more he will cost.

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Sesko has enjoyed prolific season with RB LeipzigWanted by Premier League clubsClause in his contract means price has gone upFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Sesko has enjoyed a prolific campaign in the Bundesliga which has led to speculation he could move on in the summer. According to Sky Germany, Sesko's performance-related release clause means that he is currently valued at over €80 million (£68m/$90m). However, an exit is also possible without the release clause being activated. If that were to happens, Leipzig would likely demand a higher fee and a different payment structure. The report suggests clubs could be asked for €75m (£64m/$85m) up front and an additional €15m (£13m/$17m in add-ons, making a total cost of €90m (£76m/$101m)

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Premier League sides Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle have all been credited with an interest in Sesko as the clubs seek to bolster their attacking options before the start of the 2025-26 season. Sesko has scored 21 times and contributed six assists in all competitions this season for Leipzig, an impressive record in what's been an underwhelming season for the Bundesliga side. The striker is also still only 21, meaning there is likely to be much more still to come from the Slovenia international.

DID YOU KNOW?

Champions Bayern Munich have conceded just two goals in the first 15 minutes of this Bundesliga season – both were scored by Sesko for RB Leipzig.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR SESKO

Sesko and Leipzig will wrap up their season with Bundesliga games against Werder Bremen and Stuttgart. An interesting summer then awaits, with Leipzig expected to receive plenty of interest in their young hotshot.

Aryansh’s 60 off 43 kept UAE in the hunt before they lost five wickets for 21 runs and fell short

Deivarayan Muthu17-Aug-2023

Tim Seifert’s explosive fifty and Tim Southee’s crafty five-wicket haul helped New Zealand scrap to victory in the T20I series opener against UAE in Dubai. Cameos from Rachin Ravindra and Cole McConchie were also vital to New Zealand’s win on a tricky, two-paced track.Returning to the scene of the T20 World Cup final in 2021, when Seifert filled in for the injured Devon Conway, Seifert staked his claim for regular selection with a 30-ball half-century. UAE’s offspin-bowling allrounders Basil Hameed and Mohammed Faraazuddin then triggered a middle-overs meltdown, but late blows from Ravindra and McConchie hauled New Zealand past 150.Eighteen-year-old Aryansh Sharma marked his T20I debut with a sparkling half-century and kept UAE in the hunt until Jimmy Neesham had him holing out in the 15th over. His dismissal left UAE needing 41 off 30 balls with four wickets in hand. But Southee and co put it beyond their reach and bowled them out for 136.Seifert goes bamSeifert’s ability to club the ball had earned him a nickname – Bam Bam – inspired, of all things, . Seifert has drifted away from New Zealand’s first-choice XI in the recent past, but he has now put himself back in the spotlight with runs around the world.Last month, he finished the Zim Afro T10 league as the tournament’s second-highest scorer. He then hit three fifties in the LPL and added another to his CV in Dubai on Thursday. He was responsible for 47 of the 51 runs New Zealand had scored in the powerplay on a challenging pitch.He pumped Junaid Siddique and Aayan Khan over mid-off and then whipped Ali Naseer over square leg. UAE’s bowlers kept bowling slower balls into the pitch, but Seifert kept manufacturing enough pace for himself. Hameed cut his innings short at 55 when he had him splicing a reverse-sweep to point. He then cleaned up Mitchell Santner in the same over to drag UAE back into the game.McConchie, Ravindra put NZ back on trackAfter the powerplay, New Zealand went seven overs without a boundary. Neesham then struck back-to-back fours against Hameed and when he went for another one against Siddique, he was caught at deep square leg.McConchie and Ravindra then forged an unbroken 46-run seven-wicket partnership off just 28 balls to give the innings a leg-up. Ravindra lined up Zahoor, taking him for 11 off six balls, including a drilled four down the ground. Hitting across the line was particularly difficult on this track, so the pair focussed on finding boundaries in the ‘V’.Aryansh Sharma score 60 off 43 balls•Emirates Cricket Board

Aryansh shows promiseThat UAE made a decent fist of the chase was down to Aryansh’s knock. He scored ten boundaries during his 60 off 43 balls. Overall, New Zealand had scored only ten boundaries during their entire innings, but they still found a way to win.Until recently Aryansh was only Vriitya Aravind’s understudy, but in the first T20I against New Zealand, he was their main man, punching and driving with panache. He smashed left-arm quick Ben Lister for three successive fours before treating Kyle Jamieson in similar fashion. Neesham then snagged him to wrestle back the momentum for New Zealand.Santner and Southee stifle UAESantner had given up ten runs in his first over in the powerplay, but he bounced back to concede only 12 from his remaining three while also picking up the wickets of Asif Khan and Ali Naseer.When Asif lobbed one in the air, it seemed destined to fall safely until Santner threw himself to his right and pulled off a stunning one-handed catch, in front of the non-striker. Then, in the 17th over, he trapped Naseer in front to hasten New Zealand’s victory.After making early inroads with the new ball, Southee was just as effective with the old, regularly digging cutters into the pitch. He took care of the UAE lower order along with Santner and Jamieson. Southee is now just two wickets away from surpassing Shakib Al Hasan as the highest wicket-taker in T20Is.