Broad hat-trick revives England

By Sam Sheringham
BBC Sport at Trent Bridge

Second Test, Trent Bridge (day two):

England 221 & 24-1 v India 288 - England trail by 43 runs

Broad's place in the team was in doubt heading into this series Stuart Broad took a sensational hat-trick to fire England back into contention in the second Test against India at Trent Bridge.

The tourists were in total control of the match, leading by 46 on 267-4, when Broad dismissed Yuvraj Singh for 62 to break his partnership of 128 with centurion Rahul Dravid.

Then in his next over Broad had Mahendra Dhoni caught in the slips, Harbhajan Singh trapped leg before wicket and Praveen Kumar clean bowled in successive balls to send the crowd at his home ground into delirium.

Broad was the 12th Englishman to take a hat-trick in Test cricket and the first since Ryan Sidebottom in Hamilton in 2008.

Dravid was caught soon afterwards for 116, before Broad removed Ishant Sharma to wrap up the India innings for 288.

That wicket gave Broad Test-best figures of 6-46 and completed an astonishing 16-ball spell of five wickets for no runs.

It was a breathless period of play, and all the more remarkable for the fact that Broad was once again the instigator of England's comeback - the Nottinghamshire all-rounder having struck a rapid 64 to rescue England from 124-8 to 221 all out in their first innings on Friday.

Continue reading the main story Phil Tufnell,
Former England spinner and BBC summariser

Absolutely riveting day's cricket. This series is getting better and better, a great effort by Stuart Broad really dragged England back into the match. It looked like India would bat us out of the game but England will be thinking if they bat well and get a lead of 250-260 they will have a great chance. I can't wait to come back tomorrow

India's collapse left England 11 overs at the end of the day and they finished up 24-1, 43 runs behind, after Alastair Cook was caught off a leading edge.

Up until Broad's dramatic intervention the day had been entirely India's, with Dravid and VVS Laxman scoring 69 in the first hour - 56 of those runs coming in boundaries.

Laxman advanced untroubled to his 54th Test fifty before the return of Tim Bresnan from the Pavilion End brought about his downfall. One away swinger beat the bat, but the following ball caught the outside edge and was snaffled by a jubilant Matt Prior.

Sachin Tendulkar received a standing ovation as he set out once more in search of his 100th international century. But the Little Master's poor run of form continued as he was caught in the slips off Broad for 16 before Suresh Raina glided a catch straight to Eoin Morgan at point.

With the seamers bowling well, England were on top, and they should have reduced India to 144-5 when Yuvraj - on four - was dropped by Kevin Pietersen in the gully.

The error proved costly as Yuvraj and Dravid batted India well beyond England's total, with Dravid reaching three figures for the second successive Test and the 34th time overall.

The duo scored at almost four runs per over but just when they seemed to be taking the game away from England, the second new ball provided the catalyst for Broad to unleash an unforgettable spell.

Continue reading the main story Malcolm Ashton,
Test Match Special scorer Broad is the 12th Englishman to take a Test hat-trick and the 39th in Test historyRyan Sidebottom was the last Englishman to achieve the feat - against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2008Broad was the final victim of the last Test hat-trick - Peter Siddle v England in Brisbane in November 2010England are first side to take a Test hat-trick against India

It started when a ball angled across Yuvraj drew an edge and the catch was taken by Prior.

With the baying crowd roaring him to the crease, Broad produced a quicker ball that Dhoni slashed to second slip and a straight one that trapped Harbhajan on his crease, although replays revealed the ball took an inside edge on his pads.

The hat-trick ball was superb, moving in off the seam and slamming into Kumar's middle stump.

England's reply got off to an inauspicious start when Cook was removed cheaply, but Strauss and Ian Bell survived a testing period at the end.

Bell was forced to bat at number three after Jonathan Trott suffered a shoulder injury in the field, although a scan revealed no bone damage and he will be assessed again on Sunday morning.

Listen to Jonathan Agnew and Geoff Boycott's review of the day's play on the TMS podcast.

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England can be great - Anderson

Venue: Trent BridgeDate: 29 July - 2 AugustStart time: 1100 BSTCoverage: Live ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave & BBC Sport website; live video scorecard on Red Button (not Freeview); live text commentary on BBC Sport website & mobile; watch live on Sky Sports (subscription required); highlights on Channel 5Broad aiming to keep pressure on India

Pace bowler James Anderson says England can achieve "great things" as they move nearer to topping the world Test rankings for the first time.

England, 1-0 up in the four-Test series with India, will take the number one spot with victory by two Tests or more.

"Everyone's chipping in. If we need someone to step up, generally someone is doing that," said Anderson.

"We're trying to improve each day, as individuals and as a team. If we can do that, we know we can do great things."

Anderson, 28, took seven wickets in the first Test at Lord's, including 5-65 in the second innings, to help England record a 196-run win over the tourists.

"Lord's has gone now," he added. "We enjoyed that last day, enjoyed winning.

"Becoming the number one team in the world is an overriding goal, but it's not something we go into each game thinking about."

Anderson's call for England to consign the first Test to history was backed by Stuart Broad, who enjoyed a return to form in the first Test, taking seven wickets and scoring 74 second-innings runs.

"We're delighted with the win but it means nothing unless we play well at Trent Bridge," he said.

Anderson tells England to 'hit reset button'

"India will come back hard at us and it will be a very exciting Test. The great thing about Trent Bridge is that you always know you're in at as a bowler with the wicket and that creates interesting cricket."

While England are prepared for India to up their game, the tourists are set to line up on Friday without left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan, who limped out of the attack at Lord's with a hamstring injury.

"I am not 100% sure if we will play Zaheer or not," said captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"We don't want to risk anyone if that only increases the chances of him getting injured further. It is very important to get the guys fully fit."

If Zaheer is ruled out, his place will be taken by either Munaf Patel or Sreesanth, with the latter more likely to get the nod.

The tourists were also hampered at Lord's by an illness to batsman Sachin Tendulkar and an elbow injury sustained fielding by opener Gautam Gambhir, meaning that their batting order had to be rejigged in the second innings.

"It was tough for some of our batsmen because most of them were batting in different slots from their original number," added Dhoni.

"Sachin was much better [on Monday] but I wouldn't say he was 100%.

"Rahul Dravid opened, Sachin had to bat at a different number, Gautam batted at a different number. That also added pressure.

"Most of the things that could have gone wrong in the game really went wrong. It was tough for both the bowlers and the batsmen."

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Magnificent England level series

By Jonathan Stevenson
BBC Sport

Fourth one-day international, Trent Bridge

England 171-0 (23.5 overs) beat Sri Lanka 174 all out (43.4 overs) by 10 wickets (Target adjusted to 171 from 48 overs)

Cook played another majestic innings to ease England home in Nottingham England produced a classy all-round display to demolish Sri Lanka by 10 wickets, levelling the one-day series.

After a short rain delay England put Sri Lanka in and reduced them to 20-4, with James Anderson (3-24) impressing.

Kumar Sangakkara struck a battling 75 before being last man out as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 174 in 43.4 overs.

Captain Alastair Cook hit a wonderful unbeaten 95 and Craig Kieswetter 72 as England - who were delayed briefly by rain - cantered home after 23.5 overs.

It was a performance of staggering dominance from Cook's England, who had been thoroughly outplayed in the previous two matches having won the opener. Wednesday's result means the series - tied at 2-2 - will be decided at Old Trafford on Saturday.

England made the most of the seamer-friendly conditions and, having skittled Sri Lanka for 174, Cook and Kieswetter simply blew the tourists away.

Cook batted like a man possessed, taking 12 off the first over from Nuwan Kulasekara and playing some majestic drives through the off-side as he comfortably outscored the more naturally aggressive Kieswetter.

Another brief rain delay meant England needed a reduced 171 from 48 overs and it was never in doubt, Cook mercilessly feasting on any width as the Sri Lanka attack toiled in vain.

Continue reading the main story

England have absolutely thrashed Sri Lanka, that is a truly colossal win - they had almost half their overs left. If Cook hasn't answered his critics by now, he might as well give up

BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew

Cook brought up his fifty from only 37 balls in the 11th over and Kieswetter, who had fortuitously garnered two boundaries from thick edges, went to his half-century eight overs later, magnificently smearing Suraj Randiv into the crowd over mid-wicket for six.

The difference between the sides in such seamer-friendly conditions was stark and England cruised to victory in the 24th over when Kieswetter clubbed Kulasekara for six and then stole the match-winning single.

At the toss, under gloomy Nottingham skies, Cook had had no hesitation in bowling first, and England soon made Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan's comments that he would have batted seem a touch bizarre.

Anderson swung the ball beautifully, seducing a nick behind from Dilshan in the first over and then, after Tim Bresnan had Mahela Jayawardene caught at slip for nine, Anderson trapped Dinesh Chandimal lbw and had Thilina Kandamby snaffled in the slips.

At 20-4, Sri Lanka's hopes of getting anywhere near a respectable total depended much on the venerable Sangakkara and he was surprisingly joined by Randiv, batting up the order at six.

He helped Sangakkara put on 37, clubbing Stuart Broad over cover with one wonderfully aggressive stroke before being gloved down the legside by the same bowler.

Sangakkara was toughing it out in difficult conditions and Angelo Mathews brought him more fine support play with a stand of 72 in 15 overs, the all-rounder producing the shot of the series so far with a picture-perfect lofted straight drive for six off Jade Dernbach.

Bresnan took revenge for his team-mate with a stunning caught and bowled to get rid of Mathews for 39, before Sangakkara nicked Bresnan past Kieswetter for four to bring up his 64th ODI fifty.

It was Dernbach who came back well to wrap the innings up as he accounted for Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga in the same over, before Sangakkara lofted him to Eoin Morgan at point to be last out for 75.

No sooner had England's reply begun than it was immediately obvious Sri Lanka's total was nowhere near enough.

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Sangakkara denies England victory

By Stephan Shemilt
BBC Sport

Third Test, The Rose Bowl (day five):

England 377-8 dec drew with Sri Lanka 184 & 334-5

Sangakkara's 25th Test century was his first in England Kumar Sangakkara's maiden Test century in England denied Andrew Strauss's side victory on the final day of the third Test at the Rose Bowl.

After Sri Lanka had resumed on 112-3, 81 behind, Sangakkara (119) shared 65 with nightwatchman Rangana Herath (35).

Herath eventually fell lbw to Graeme Swann before Thilan Samaraweera (87 not out) added 141 more with his captain.

Sri Lanka were 334-5, 141 ahead, when rain arrived at tea, leaving England to settle for a draw and a 1-0 series win.

England will rue the early chances they missed to dismiss Herath, with Strauss dropping a chance at slip off James Anderson and the Lancashire paceman missing with a shy at the stumps when the batsman was well short of his ground.

At the other end, Sangakkara took advantage of some below-par England seam bowling by punctuating some careful leaves with elegant drives through the covers and down the ground.

When pace gave way to spin, Herath was again lucky to survive as replays of an unsuccessful lbw appeal from Graeme Swann showed that the decision would have been overturned on review.

Herath eventually played a needless swipe across the line at Swann and was given out leg before.

But any hope that England had of picking up further wickets before lunch were snuffed out by Sangakkara and Samaraweera, who had moved Sri Lanka into the lead by the interval.

Continue reading the main story Alec Stewart,
Former England captain and 5 live summariser

I've been very impressed with Sri Lanka's application, but until today they haven't played anything like what we expected from them. Sangakkara showed us why he is one of the greatest players in the modern game, he's too good a player to have kept failing in England and that was a match-saving hundred

The arrival of the second new ball one over after the break presented England with their biggest chance of forcing a result, but Sangakkara's edge over the slips off Anderson was the closest the home side came to a breakthrough.

Samaraweera counter-attacked on his way to a half-century, while Sangakkara notched his 25th Test century to stretch the Sri Lankan lead past 100.

England captain Strauss juggled his bowlers in search of a wicket, but was hampered by a heel injury afflicting Stuart Broad.

Finally, with the bad weather closing in, Sangakkara was deceived by a slightly slower delivery from Anderson which he sliced to sub fielder Adam Rouse at point.

By the time the rain arrived as forecast at tea, England were already too far behind to harbour realistic hopes of forcing a positive result.

The Rose Bowl draw means England earn their fifth consecutive series victory by virtue of Sri Lanka's second-innings collapse in the first Test at Cardiff.

The home side will feel that bad weather - both at Lord's and in Hampshire - prevented them from a wider winning margin, while the tourists could argue that, but for one batting collapse, the series could have been drawn.

Sri Lanka's players were subsequently fined 20% of their match fees by the International Cricket Council for maintaining a slow over-rate, after match referee Alan Hurst ruled that they were two overs short of their target by the end of the game.

Stand-in skipper Sangakkara was fined 40% of his fee, while Sri Lanka accepted the penalty without contest.

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