After his magnificent 243 against West Indies, Alastair Cook‘s highest score read 37 in his next 10 innings. And thus began the talks of Cook’s armour wearing off and that he should hang his boots. Cook, however, is often unaffected by criticisms thrown at him. All that matters to him is accumulating runs without hogging any limelight. He did so and how during the fourth Ashes Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground: he scored his fifth double-hundred and the highest by an Englishman at the venue.

The previous best score by an overseas batsman was Viv Richard’s 208 in 1984. Last year Azhar Ali came agonisingly close to surpassing Richards, as Pakistan declared when they lost 9 wickets: he remained unbeaten on 205. Otherwise, the highest score at the venue is Bob Cowper’s 307 against England in 1966; he is the only one to have a triple-hundred here.

This is Cook’s second hundred in The Ashes. He had scored 235* at Brisbane in 2010. His highest is 294 against India at Birmingham.

Cook is also the first to score hundreds in five grounds in two overseas nations — India and Australia.

Vidarbha, in a bet to create history, will play their maiden Ranji Trophy 2017-18 while Delhi will aim for their eighth title as the teams face each other at the Holkar Stadium, Indore starting Friday. The live telecast of the final match will be on Star Sports. The live cricket streaming of the match will be available on Hotstar. Delhi have reached the final for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Vidarbha defeated heavyweights Karnataka in a close semi-final. Rajneesh Gurbani put up brilliant bowling performance, bagging 12 wickets that restricted Karnataka at 301 and 313 respectively to snatch a 5-run victory. Among the batsmen, Ganesh Satish, Apoorv Wankhade and Aditya Sarvate have been performing consistently and will be interesting to watch.

In the other semi-final, Delhi thrashed Bengal. Delhi took the first innings lead, putting up 398 in reply to Bengal’s 286. Bengal crumbled in their next innings for 86 as Nitin Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya bagged 4 wickets each. Delhi posted a victory by an innings and 26 runs to qualify for the final.

“We are not focusing on opposition. Our bowlers and batsmen are doing well, that’s it. It is a big opportunity to play any final. This is my second season as the captain, and I will try my level best,” a confident pant said ahead of the final to The Hindu.

“The discipline in the team, the way the routines and preparations we had before coming into the Ranji Trophy. Except the nets, the match simulations we did, and one more thing is that we are a really happy unit. We all are really happy and we are enjoying our cricket very much. We always used to enjoy but I don’t know why we all believe that this season the trophy is ours. As I mentioned earlier, after quarter-final or the semi-final, that I want to have the feel of the trophy in my hands. I want to have that bite of success so let’s see,” Faiz Fazal, Vidarbha skipper, told EspnCricinfo.

England Women, under the leadership of Heather Knight, had a monumental time in 2017. They grabbed their fourth World Cup title and managed to beat Australia in Australia. England’s journey towards World Cup triumph was a remarkable one. Their victory in the final was nothing short of a Hollywood movie — packed full of emotions, drama and suspense.

England’s campaign received a huge boost after Sarah Taylor announced her return to international cricket. Their squad had the likes of Heather, Anya Shrubsole, Katherine Brunt and Tammy Beaumont sync in well with new comers such as Natalie Sciver, Jenny Gunn and Alex Heartly.

ICC Women’s World Cup 2017

England breezed past Sri Lanka and New Zealand women in warm-up ties to be labelled as tournament favourites.

Opening tie against India

England faced off against India in their opening game of the World Cup. Fresh from a warm-up win, England bowling came under heavy fire by India’s top-order. The likes of Katherine, Natalie and Anya displayed lack of match practice as well.

In reply, Heather and Fran Wilson kept the hosts in hunt but eventually collapsed. They went on to lose the game by 35 runs.

Unbeaten 8-match run 

Fuelled by the loss, England thumped past Pakistan by a margin of 107 runs (DLS method). It was all hunky dory after that. They went past Sri Lanka and South Africa quite comfortably.

Marquee clash against Australia 

In what will be remembered as one of the most thrilling ties from 2017, England managed to outrun Australia by 3 runs. An all-round show by Katherine helped her side come out from a tight spot unscathed.

England came up with another clinical performance against New Zealand, beating them by 75 runs to qualify for the semi-finals. England’s win had largely to do with a scintillating hundred from Natalie Sciver.

A collective effort from England saw them ease past West Indies by 92 runs to set up a semi-final clash with South Africa

Thriller at Bristol 

England crawled past a last-over thriller at Bristol to reach the final at Lord’s. Sarah, Jenny and Fran Wilson helped England sneak past South Africa’s bowling led by Marizanne and Ayabonga.

Anya and England’s moment of conquest 

It was Anya who smashed nails in India’s coffin en route England’s fourth World Cup win. Setting 229 to win, India’s middle-order failed miserably from a position of strength to gift the hosts a 9-run win.

Anya picked up a career best 6 for 46 to make her childhood dream come true at Lord’s.

The Ashes low

England, in their last assignment in 2017, challenged Australia in Australia for the coveted Ashes trophy.

The 3-ODI series was tightly fought series beginning with first match at Brisbane. It went right down to the final over, where Alex Blackwell tipped Australia by 3 wickets. The second match was rain-truncated that saw an inspired show by Rachel Haynes who guided Australia to a 2-0 series victory.

With The Ashes on the line, England came back strongly in the final ODI of the series and kept their hopes alive. Alex Heartly and Natalie Sciver broke hosts’ middle-order apart.

 Historic day-night women’s Test

England and Australia clashed in women’s first pink-ball Test. Tammy and Heather stuck fifties during England’s 280 runs in the first innings. The bowling came under a lot of pressure: Ellyse Perry smote a 374-ball 213*.

Chasing a deficit of 168 runs, England survived Australia’s bowling thanks to sturdy knocks by Heather and Georgia Elwiss.

The Ashes loss

With still a shot at the retaining the urn, both sides clashed in T20I series. England were overwhelmed by Australia in the first T20I. A loss here helped Australia regain the urn. England went on to register wins in the second and third T20Is to bag the series.

Team Statistics:

England women in 2017 reached the unprecedented heights and attained world-dominating levels. Their squad is full of experience and young blood that holds good news for them heading to 2018.

Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of Ranji Trophy 2017-18 Final. I am Vishal Mehra, your host for the day. The attention shifts to the Holkar Stadium, Indore where Delhi and Vidarbha will battle for India’s supreme domestic shield.

Both the sides will be without their premier pacers who are on national duty. Delhi’s regular skipper Ishant Sharma is expected to start for India at Cape Town while Umesh Yadav may make the cut as the third pacer. However, both the sides have in-form pacers in their camp. It will be a clash between Delhi’s Navdeep Saini (29 wickets this season) against Rajneesh Gurbani (31 wickets).

Vidarbha’s road to final has been a fairytale. This is the first time they have made it to the tournament final and a chunk of the success goes to Gurbani’s form. They clinched a 5-run victory over the strong Karnataka side that was undefeated in the competition. Will the fairytale continue for Faiz Fazal’s men?

Delhi have the star power. They are eyeing their eighth title win. The last one came a decade back and Gautam Gambhir led them to it. The southpaw still has enough steam left and Bengal got a dose of it in the semi-final. Gambhir slammed his 42nd First-Class hundred to bury Bengal deep. Rishabh Pant, the man who has captained the side in Ishant’s absence, has not produced results like he did last season. Pant’s bat will be itching to join the party. Delhi has an upper hand in head-to-head contests. The sides have met five times and Vidarbha have managed a win only once.

It is going to be pleasant in Indore with temperatures in the early to mid-20s. Though the conditions remain good for batting, early on pacers may get help out of the conditions. It is the one last hurdle. Who will cross?

Squads:

Delhi: Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Aditya Kaushik, Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand, Nitish Rana, Dhruv Shorey, Milind Kumar, Himmat Singh, Manan Sharma, Vikas Mishra, Pulkit Narang, Navdeep Saini, Vikas Tokas, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kunal Chandela, Anuj Rawat, Lalit Yadav, Akash Sudan

Vidarbha: Faiz Fazal (c), Ganesh Satish, Ravi Jangid, Rajneesh Gurbani, Wasim Jaffer, Akshay Karnewar, Lalit M Yadav, Siddesh Neral, Sanjay Ramaswamy, Aditya Sarwate, Jitesh Sharma, Ravikumar Thakur, Akshay Wakhare, Apoorv Wankhade, Siddhesh Wath, Karn Sharma, Shrikant Wagh, Shalabh Shrivastava, Shubham Kapse, Akshay Wadkar (wk)

Australia made a nervous start, losing two wickets, as they reduced England’s lead to 94 runs on the fourth day of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne on Friday. The tourists, with all the momentum after Alastair Cook’s record-breaking innings of 244 not out, snared the wickets of Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja to send the jitters through the home side.

At lunch, the Australians were 70 for two with David Warner on 28 and Steve Smith not out four. Bancroft hit four fours before he chopped Chris Woakes on to his stumps on 27, while Khawaja was caught behind off James Anderson for 11. England, pressing for their first victory in the already-decided Ashes series, were all out on their overnight total of 491 on the first ball of the day.

Anderson was caught by Bancroft at bat-pad off Pat Cummins for a duck to end the innings. Cummins finished with four for 117. It meant that Cook achieved the highest score of anyone carrying his bat — the rare feat of batting throughout the innings — in Test cricket, bettering New Zealand’s Glenn Turner’s 223 not out against the West Indies in Kingston in 1972.

The last Englishman to carry his bat through a Test innings was Mike Atherton’s 94 in New Zealand in 1997, while Geoff Boycott last carried his bat through an Ashes innings with an unbeaten 99 in Perth in 1979.

Cook set a number of records on Thursday’s third day, when he surpassed the highest score by a visiting batsman in a Melbourne Test, bettering the 208 by West Indian great Viv Richards in 1984.

Cook’s fifth double-century also catapulted him above West Indian Brian Lara to become the sixth highest run-getter in Test cricket with 11,956.

England have the two remaining days of the Melbourne Test to get a result and win their first Test of the series after relinquishing the Ashes in the first three losing Tests.

Brief scores:

Australia 327 (David Warner 103, Steven Smith 76, Shaun Marsh 61; Stuart Broad 4 for 51, James Anderson 3 for 61) & 70 for 2 (David Warner 28, Steven Smith 4) trail England 491 (Alastair Cook 244*, Joe Root 61; Josh Hazlewood 3 for 95, Nathan Lyon for 3 for 109, Path Cummins 4 for 117) by 94 runs.

Full scorecard

October 18, 1805. A single-wicket cricket match in Hertfordshire witnessed an unusual death. Abhishek Mukherjee retells the story.

It is not known whether cricket has a place reserved for those who are felled during matches. Perhaps there is a cricketing equivalent of the Hindu heaven or the Norse Valhalla, where those fallen in combat are granted entry.

The list is short but definitely known to most. Jasper Vinall succumbed to a blow from a bat during a match as early as in 1624. Henry Brand died in 1647. The deaths of George Summers, Abdul Aziz, Wasim Raja, Wilf Slack, Raman Lamba, and Phillip Hughes are more remembered.

However, none of them died on the ground — except Andy Ducat, that is, who “dropped like a stone and was dead as he hit the ground” at the non-striker’s end.

Single-wicket cricket was in vogue in the 1700s and first half of 1800s. Lack of infrastructure meant that it was not easy to find two teams of eleven men. Single-wicket matches gained popularity, attracting gamblers willing to stake huge amounts of money.

The match in question was played between two men called Gregg and Corderoy at Hertfordshire, near the village of Totteridge. Mind you, single-wicket cricket could be demanding, since you almost always had to run for everything while batting or bowling.

Gregg batted first and scored 43. Corderoy secured a slender 2-run lead. Gregg got another 32, which left Corderoy 31 to chase.

Corderoy got off to a decent start. Then, as Gregg bowled, Corderoy hit and set off for his eighth run. He made the run but collapsed immediately. He did not get up again. “On arriving at the wicket he fell down and expired,” reported The Times.

The coroner probably had a look, for the headline of the report runs “Fatal instance of over-exertion.”

We will never get to know whether Gregg was ruthless enough to claim his victory. The official result will remain shrouded in mystery, for the match was too obscure to find a mention beyond obscure corners in newspapers.

We will also never get to know whether Gregg recovered emotionally. Perhaps he did not. Or perhaps life went on for him.

Brief scores:

Gregg 43 and 32 beat Corderoy 45 and 7 (retired dead) by 23 runs under the assumption that Gregg had claimed the result.

Alastair Cook became the ninth English batsmen to carry his bat, also registering the highest score while doing so. Cook’s 244* is also the highest score by an overseas batsman at Melbourne Cricket Ground, surpassing Viv Richards’ 208 in 1984.

Here’s a full list of the players who carried their bats.

This is Cook’s second hundred in The Ashes. He had scored 235* at Brisbane in 2010. His highest is 294 against India at Birmingham.

Cook is also the first to score double hundreds in five grounds in two overseas nations — India and Australia.

Although the political relations between India and Pakistan might be strained, both the nations share great camaraderie off the cricket field. There have been times when Mohammad Aamer has heaped praise on Virat Kohli or vice-versa. Shahid Afridi was gifted a phenomenal farewell gift from the Indian team earlier this year. During the 2017 Champions Trophy final a moment where Shoaib Malik was seen laughing with Kohli and co. during the presentation ceremony was termed as Spirit of Cricket 2017 moment by ICC.

This time Yuvraj Singh and Shoaib Akhtar were seen indulging in Twitter banter. Shoaib is always expressive about his views and opinions on his Twitter account. This time he posted a motivational message by Dwayne ‘Rock’ Johnson. What caught Yuvraj’s attention was the helmet and welding gun that Akhtar was holding in the image alongside the quote.

Only hard work can lead you to your dreams.#Shoaibakhtar #quoteoftheday #hardwork #dreams #nevergiveup #Rawalpindiexpress pic.twitter.com/bmtiom3WCY

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) December 27, 2017

Oh ta theek hai payan tusi welding karan kithe chale ho

— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) December 27, 2017

Yuvraj, who is known for his sense of humour on Twitter, took a dig at Akhtar asking him if he is heading for welding. Yuvraj might be having time of his life off the field; he is struggling to make the cut in the Indian squad.

After failing to clear the Yo Yo Test on several occasions, Yuvraj finally managed to clear the same on December 5 and is hopeful to be part of 2019 World Cup squad.

Ahead of his first South Africa tour, KL Rahul has opened about his approach and preparation going ahead. Rahul lit up the skies in the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka, has said that he is keenly working on, converting his fifties into hundreds.

Speaking to IndianExpress Rahul said: “On Indian wickets, especially since we’re going from having played the shorter formats, pitches don’t do much, so you can stand and play a lot of shots. Once you go there, there will be a lot of seam movement. You will have to leave a lot of balls, especially against the new ball, and be selective in your strokes. You have to give yourself some time to get set.”

He also talked about batting with Murali Vijay and KL Rahul. He said: “There is a calmness in how Vijay goes about his innings. The way he takes his time and the way he leaves balls around off-stump. He controls that phase of the game and gives a lot of confidence, as a result, to the man at the other end. Shikhar is more attacking. The right-left combination also makes the bowler constantly readjust his line and length. It gives an opportunity to get more bad balls.”

He also praised Ravi Shastri‘s work ethics.

Rahul explained, “He hasn’t said this to me in as many words, but he’s somebody who has helped me a lot. He has helped me mentally and given me confidence as a coach and is like a mentor to all of us. He is constantly asking us to be fearless and back our game. He is someone with whom I can talk about anything.”

As the final of Ranji Trophy 2017-18 began at Indore, it set an unprecedented record. This became the first instance in the history of Ranji Trophy, that two finals have been played in the same year. The final for 2016-17 season was held on January 10, 2017, while the final of the 2017-18 season commenced on December 29, 2017.  Quite surprisingly , both games are being played at Indore’s Holkar Stadium.

The Delhi versus Vidarbha final also became the earliest Ranji Final to ever start, eclipsing the previous record set by a good 11 days (10 Jan 2017). The current final is being played between seven-time winners, Delhi and first-timers, Vidarbha. Delhi were off to a poor start losing Gautam Gambhir and Kunal Chandela. Nitish Rana and Dhruv Shorey have carried the innings forward.

For the first time in the history of the #RanjiTrophy, the year 2017 has seen the start of two finals and that too both at the same venue – Holkar Stadium, Indore!
10 Jan 2017 (2016/17)
29 Dec 2017 (2017/18)

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) December 29, 2017

Vidarbha handed a maiden First-Class cap to Aditya Thakare. He so far has impressed one-and-all with his pace. Delhi have won the title seven times, the last being the 2007-08 season when they defeated Uttar Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Delhi’s Rishabh Pant went to achieve a unique record during the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 final against Vidarbha. He broke Sachin Tendulkar’s 22-year-old record when he stepped out for the toss. Aged  20 years 86 days, Pant is the youngest-ever to lead a side in a Ranji Final. Tendulkar achieved this feat aged 21 years 337 days. Tendulkar led Mumbai in the 1994-95 final, which was played on March 27, almost a month before his 22nd birthday.

In that particular season, Tendulkar had scored 856 runs at 122.28. He had 5 hundreds and 1 fifty; his best Ranji season ever. He scored 140 and 139 in the final against Punjab at Wankhede Stadium. Pant would like to emulate the same playing for Delhi at Indore. He is currently batting in the middle with Delhi in a spot of bother.

Pant so far has played 20 First-Class games for Delhi. He has so far scored 1,502 runs at an impressive of 55.62.

2017 was an amalgamation of historic victories and emotional retirements. There was also the return of international cricket to a cricket-crazy nation. And then, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh took us down memory lane, stitching a remarkable partnership against England.

Let us relive some of the iconic moments that entertained us in 2017.

MIS-YOU forever!

It was the third and final Test against West Indies. The series was levelled 1-1. For a change, the focus was not on the result of the series. It was rather an emotional moment, for an era was coming to an end. Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan were seen together at the crease for the final time.

Younis embraced Misbah, leaving cricket fans with heavy hearts and memories to cherish. While Pakistan were bidding adieu to their ‘kaptaan’ Misbah and Younis, Twitter had its own trend running — #MisYou: it ran all day and the next as well.

Welcome back, cricket!

There was some excitement, some anxiety. People queued for long hours outside Gaddafi Stadium. International cricket returned to Pakistan after 8 years and their team won the three-T20I series against World XI.

‘Miss You MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli’

The World XI squad had players participating from Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and New Zealand. However, not a single Indian player was included in the XI, disappointing the Pakistan fans. Since the Sri Lankan team were attacked by 12 gunmen in Lahore in 2009, none of the international team had visited the country. Yet, the fans ensured Dhoni and Kohli were not missed on this historic day.

Dreams turn into reality

Despite being downed by terrorism, Afghanistan have been doing their best. After gaining an ODI status in 2009, Afghanistan’s growth has been in an upward surge. Things got sweeter in 2017: along with Ireland, ICC gifted them Test status.

The enormity of the news overwhelmed both teams. Ireland will play their maiden Test against Pakistan in May, while India are likely to host Afghanistan.

Rewind the clock

Dhoni and Yuvraj rolled back the years when the duo put up 256 runs together, smashing scintillating centuries against England early this year. While records were broken, Cuttack was thoroughly entertained as they relived the partnership that had been rescuing India on several occasions, be it the unbeaten 54-run stand during 2011 World Cup final or the 148-run stand against Australia in the third ODI in 2009 and many more.

A prolonged drought ends

It was in 2001 when Zimbabwe won an away ODI bilateral series against a Full Member in Bangladesh. After 16 years, Zimbabwe defeated Sri Lanka 3-2 in ODIs in Sri Lanka. The results, however, forced Angelo Mathews to resign as captain of Sri Lanka from all formats. This was Sri Lanka’s third winless ODI series at home (after Australia and Bangladesh).

Hope triumphs in England

West Indies took 17 years to earn Test victory in England (the last one had come in 2000 at Edgbaston). Shai Hope’s twin centuries stole the show and became the first batsman to score centuries in both innings of a First-Class match in Headingley. He handed West Indies a 5-wicket win over England in the second Test. Chasing 322, Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite joined hands to level the three-match Test series. Around the same time, Bangladesh had stunned Australia with their maiden Test win against tourists.

Islanders calm the desert

Since the 2009 Lahore attack, Pakistan had won five Test series and drawn four in UAE, their home away from home. Sri Lanka, however, changed the equation with a historic series win in October. Being their first day-night Test, Sri Lanka whitewashed Pakistan 2-0 and became the first team to win a Test series in UAE. Dimuth Karunarathne’s career-best 196 and Dilruwan Perera’s 8 for 170 were the highlights from Sri Lanka’s 68-run win.

Nehra-ji bowls from ‘Ashish Nehra end’…

Am era came to an end when Nehra-ji called it quits. Nehra had decided that he wanted to hang his boots at his home ground Feroz Shah Kotla. The stadium was packed. To add more the extravaganza, Kohli decided to give the last over to Nehra, against New Zealand. Kohli persuaded the crowd to cheer for Nehra for one last time. Nehra, of course, bowled from the ‘Ashish Nehra end.’

He went wicketless, but the ceremonious farewell saw the Indian team taking a farewell lap. Kohli and Dhawan carried him on their shoulders.

‘Always a pleasure playing against you’

Thank you to you and the entire Indian team for a wonderful farewell gift @imVkohli. Respect superstar, hope to see you soon pic.twitter.com/DGz8aMs1Xv

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) April 21, 2017

These were the exact words Kohli had tweeted while bidding farewell to Shahid Afridi. On Afridi’s retirement, the Indian team gave ‘Lala’ a memorable gift. 1’s jersey No. 18 had signatures and farewell messages from the entire Indian team. Afridi was overwhelmed in return.

Take a bow, Harmanpreet Kaur!

Women’s cricket soared to new level after the India Women reached the final of 2017 World Cup. Several Indian players emerged as match-winners during the tournament. However, there was one who redefined women’s cricket altogether. Harmanpreet had left Adam Gilchrist in awe during her first WBBL stint with a stunning six. Her skills were tested under pressure against South Africa Women in 2017 World Cup Qualifiers. On July 20, 2017, she broke all odds. Harmanpreet ripped apart Australia Women bowlers in the World Cup semi-final. Her 115-ball 171 had the world under feet.

‘Captain Cool’

While Smriti Mandhana was busy weaving a terrific innings, Mithali was nonchalantly reading ‘The Essential Rumi’ sitting at the boundary line. Once Mandhana was dismissed, Mithali came and conquered. She scored a 73-ball 71 taking India’s score to 281 against England during 2017 Women’s World Cup.

England hit back with two key wickets as they chased victory in the fourth Ashes Test on the final day in Melbourne on Saturday. After two painstaking hours of slow scoring, the tourists grabbed the wickets of David Warner and Shaun Marsh in the final half-hour to dramatically improve their chances of pulling off their first win in an already-decided series. At lunch, Australia were 178 for four and leading by just 14 runs with skipper Steve Smith unbeaten on 50 after Marsh was out in the final over of the morning session.

Warner had looked set for his 22nd Test hundred and second century of the Test match before he attempted to slog the second ball of Joe Root’s first over. The ball, pitched into the foot marks, skewed into the air and James Vince took a comfortable catch in the covers to give Root the perfect gift on his 27th birthday.

Warner dropped his head realising he had botched a golden chance to claim his Test twin centuries for a fourth time in his career. The normally adventurous opener had played with great circumspection to keep England at bay, 301 minutes and 227 balls in his slowest Test innings.

It also ended a 107-run stand with Smith, which helped Australia wipe out the innings deficit. More drama came in the final over when Marsh edged Stuart Broad to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, who took a splendid catch for four. It was painful going early on with Warner and Smith adding just 35 runs in the 75 minutes to drinks as the Australians dug in to save the Test on the final day.

But the momentum swung back to England with the double breakthrough nearing lunch. Groundstaff rushed to cover the wicket when rain fell during the luncheon interval.

Brief scores:

Australia 327 (David Warner 103, Steven Smith 76, Shaun Marsh 61; Stuart Broad 4 for 51, James Anderson 3 for 61) & 175 for 4 (David Warner 86, Steven Smith 50*) lead England 491 (Alastair Cook 244*, Joe Root 61; Josh Hazlewood 3 for 95, Nathan Lyon for 3 for 109, Path Cummins 4 for 117) by 14 runs.

Full scorecard

Having pocketed The Ashes, Australia are looking forward to more spinners in the fifth and final Test. Keeping in view the conditions at Sydney, Ashton Agar has been brought into the squad. Agar was picked ahead of Steve O’Keefe and Jon Holland. Agar made his debut for Australia in the 2013 Ashes series in England.  Agar’s best performance came in Australia’s 14-run loss at Trent Bridge, where he made a valiant 98. Agar is likely to play in place of Pat Cummins.

He played his last Test against Bangladesh in September 2017. Australia currently lead The Ashes 3-0, having won the Gabba, Perth and WACA Test.

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird

It was Dhruv Shorey, who led Delhi’s resurgence in the final of the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 against Vidarbha. Tottering at 99 for 4, Dhruv along with Himmat Singh added 104 runs to help Delhi end the day on a good note.

Dhruv, who scored his first hundred this season, was quite elated. Speaking to the press, Dhruv said : “It’s a very, very big thing. In the Ranji Trophy final, getting your hundred… I was batting really well in the initial part of the Ranji Trophy but I wasn’t getting a hundred. But I’m happy that it paid off.”

Dhruv also spoke about his partnership with Himmat.

He said: “He’s [Himmat Singh] a strokemaker, a natural strokemaker. So one has to be on the defensive side. Not exactly a defensive side but one has to hold one end. I know my role. I have to be standing at one end.”

Talking about Day 2, he added: “Bat, bat, bat. It’s a very simple target. We have to bat as long as possible and score as much as we can.”

He elaborated about his batting on the first day as well. ”It’s all about staying in there. It’s all about taking my time. In these wickets it is very important to take your time. Because if you don’t take your time and go for your shots, you’ll most probably get out. So, I took my time, gave respect to the bowlers,” he said.

Australia went into tea at 225 for 4 on Day Five of the fourth Ashes Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground, leading England by 61. Steven Smith remained unbeaten 87 and is en route to his 23rd hundred in the format. The session, however, produced a mere 47 runs for no loss of wicket.

There’s not much to narrate about the tea session. Smith, as has been the case (forever), continued to get under England’s skin. If he reaches the three-figure mark, it will be his 21st hundred in 5 years, meaning he had a mere 2 hundreds from 2010 to 2014.

England lost the plot. Or, with Smith batting, they never had control over the game. On a Day-Five, dusty track, England missed a spinner who could catch the Australians in the crease. Joe Root dismissing David Warner (86) off the very ball is evidence to the fact. The ball hit a rough patch, and the puff of dust did the rest. England gave Moeen Ali a chance, but he continued to be rusty. For that matter, David Malan, a part-time leg-spinner, did well to keep Smith at bay.

For England to win the match, Australia will have to dramatically and uncharacteristically collapse.

Brief scores:

Australia 327 (David Warner 103, Steven Smith 76, Shaun Marsh 61; Stuart Broad 4 for 51, James Anderson 3 for 61) & 225 for 4 (David Warner 86, Steven Smith 87*) lead England 491 (Alastair Cook 244*, Joe Root 61; Josh Hazlewood 3 for 95, Nathan Lyon for 3 for 109, Path Cummins 4 for 117) by 61 runs.

Full scorecard

Steven Smith needed just 14 runs to surpass Cheteshwar Pujara’s tally of most runs in Tests in 2017. Given Smith’s form it was only a matter to overs, and the Australian captain achieved it in the first innings of the fourth Ashes Test. Smith is currently on 1,289* runs ahead of Pujara (1,140) and Dean Elgar (1,128).

Before the third Ashes Test, Smith had 888 runs in 9 Tests. Smith is currently batting on 87, in the second innings of the Boxing Day Test. He look on course to reach his 23rd Test ton.  It might also be noted, that Smith has now faced 1,200 deliveries in the ongoing series.

This, however, is the fourth consecutive time Smith has scored over 1,000 runs in a calendar year. Only Matthew Hayden (5 times) is ahead of Smith.

Rajneesh Gurbani is having a memorable season for Vidarbha in Ranji Trophy 2017-18. After destroying Karnataka in the semi-final, Gurbani set his eyes on Delhi. He claimed his first hat-trick to down Delhi’s hope of a big score. Overall, he became the 76th player to achieve this feat in Ranji Trophy — the previous player to do so was Karnataka’s Vinay Kumar.

Gurbani’s last 4 wickets came in 7 balls, including the hat-trick. It should also be noted that all his hat-trick victims were bowled comprising Vikas Mishra, Navdeep Saini and Dhruv Shorey. Gurbani finished with 6 for 59 to close Delhi’s first innings on 295. Kulwant Khejroliya, Rishabh Pant and Himmat Singh were Gurbani’s other wickets.

With this, Gurbani also became the second bowler to claim a hat-trick in a Ranji Trophy final. First player to achieve this feat was Tamil Nadu’s B Kalyanasundaram who had claimed it against Bombay in 1972-73 final.

This was also his third fifth-wicket haul in a row and fifth in seven innings. The previous Vidarbha player to pick a hat-trick in Ranji Trophy was Umesh Yadav, against Rajasthan in the 2015-16 edition.

Vidarbha‘s Rajneesh Gurbani‘s dream run in Ranji Trophy 2017-18 continued as he claimed a 6-for to bowl out Delhi in the tournament final at Holkar Stadium, Indore. Gurbani picked his third consecutive 5-wicket haul and fifth in last seven innings. Gurbani reached to the 5-wicket haul landmark with a hat-trick and all 3 batsmen were dismissed bowled. READ MORE: Rajneesh Gurbani takes hat-trick, 6 wickets in Ranji Trophy 2017-18 final

Gurbani dismissed Vikas Mishra and Navdeep Saini off consecutive deliveries before his over ended. In the first ball of his 25th over, he cleaned up centurion Dhruv Shorey for 145 to bowl out Delhi for 295. This is the second hat-trick of Ranji Trophy this season. Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar bagged the first one in the quarter-final against Mumbai.

List of Ranji Trophy hat-tricks

Baqa Jilani, in 1935-35 season, became the first bowler to register a hat-trick in Ranji Trophy. He achieved the feat for Northern India against Southern India at Amritsar. Gurbani became only the second bowler to claim a hat-trick in a Ranji Trophy final after Tamil Nadu’s B Kalyanasundaram.  The medium-pacer achieved the feat against Bombay (now Mumbai) in the 1972-73 final.

Steven Smith scored his 21st hundred in 5 years to quash England’s hopes of victory in The Ashes 2017-18. The fourth Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground ended in a draw as Australia batted throughout the final day, never letting England off the hook. Alastair Cook was adjudged Player of the Match for his magnificent 244*.

David Warner surpassed Virat Kohli’s tally of 20 hundreds on the opening day. Despite losing Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja for ordinary scores, Warner fired on all cylinders and brought up his hundred in 130 balls. He, however, was lucky once. Tom Curran had him caught, on 99, at mid-on, but before he could celebrate his maiden Test wicket, the umpire called it a no-ball. Warner reached the three-figure mark off the next delivery.

If not Warner, Curran got the better of Smith. He bowled away from Smith’s body and induced an inside edge onto the stumps. However, Smith had already done the damage by accumulating 76 runs. His 100-run stand with Shaun Marsh (61) put Australia in command. But, that was that. England scripted a dramatic collapse, sniping up the last 7 wickets for 67 runs. Stuart Broad, who had take a mere 3 wickets thus far, finished with 4 for 51. Amidst this, James Anderson attained a new high, surpassing Courtney Walsh’s 519 wickets and becoming the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests.

England’s first innings was cooked with Alastair’s flavour. He quashed the critics by scoring his fifth double-hundred, achieving three feats in the pursuit: he registered the highest score (244*) by a visiting batsman at Melbourne Cricket Ground, the highest by a batsman to carry his bat, and surpassed Brian Lara’s tally of 11,953 runs and became the sixth-highest run-scorer in Tests.

Smith finally put a foot wrong, proving he is only human. He dropped Cook twice during his herculean efforts: first at slip and then at deep square-leg. England took a lead of 164 runs in the first innings, thanks to Broad’s late blitz of 56 runs that helped Cook further frustrate Australia.

England had the hopes of emerging victorious. With over 2 days remaining, they had ample time to throttle England for a low score. That, or anything remote, did not happen: rain dampened England’s dreams on Day Four and then deputy Warner (86) and his captain Steven Smith added 107 runs for the third wicket on the final day to keep the hapless visitors at bay.

Brief scores:

Australia 327 (David Warner 103, Steven Smith 76, Shaun Marsh 61; Stuart Broad 4 for 51, James Anderson 3 for 61) & 263 for 4 (David Warner 86, Steven Smith 102*; James Anderson 1 for 46) drew with England 491 (Alastair Cook 244*, Joe Root 61; Josh Hazlewood 3 for 95, Nathan Lyon for 3 for 109, Path Cummins 4 for 117).

Player of the Match: Alastair Cook

Full scorecard