International cricket thread

India beat Afghanistan by a record innings and 300 run victory this morning. I didn't recognise many names on the Afghan line-up and it seems their test team is quite different than their ODI and T20 sides, but that is a savage beating.

I see Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were involved in some sort of incident last night in a nightclub after the game. Details are still unknown about what exactly happened but after all the publicity of the Noosa drunken incidents in the winter, it's not a good look for them. Quite possible that both will be dropped for the second test at the very least and ironically Harry Brook who was fined and reprimaned for his part in incidents over the winter, could well become captain.

Hopefully takes Key with him.

Unless it's criminal or in something in really poor taste, I can't bring myself to care what they do off the field. Grown men, a lot of them married with children shouldn't have a curfew for a start. Going out drinking and getting in bits of altercations shouldn't be making the news.

Australia about to lose 1st ODI v Bangladesh..need 138 to win with 2 wickets remaining. They just lost the ODI series to Pakistan...

Rumoured that Stokes will step down. More will come about what exactly happened but Rob Key and England made a big deal about going through a review of the winter and if the captain can't lead by example by doing something fairly simple (i.e. not breaking curfew), then his position has to be in doubt. By the by, I totally agree that the whole thing about curfews is fairly childish, but they do somehow always find themselves in trouble.

how many times now have this team and players from this setup ended up in the headlines for the wrong reasons ? It’s getting a little ridiculous now.

Do Stokes and Key not realise that the concept of ‘leadership’ goes way beyond when the players have their cricket whites on ?

Still no confirmation on Stokes' status going forward, but England have named their 15-man squad for the second test next week without him and Atkinson.

Instead of Harry Brook stepping up to captaincy, Joe Root will lead the team as interim captain. Archer is back and Jordan Cox is added to the squad.

England squad: Root (c), Ahmed, Archer, Baker, Bashir, Bethell, Brook, Cox, Duckett, Fisher, Gay, J Rew, Robinson, Smith, Tongue.

" The curfew was only brought back by England, with the strong support of Stokes, after it emerged at the end of a boozy Ashes tour that Brook had been punched by a bouncer in the early hours before captaining the ODI side in Wellington in November. " (Telegraph)

Talk the talk and you've gotta walk the walk.

"Five months since a shameful tour of New Zealand and Australia concluded with vice-captain Harry Brook apologising after being punched by a bouncer, English cricket finds itself battling yet another alcohol-related scandal. Saracens, the Prem rugby club, have also been caught up in the controversy after both sets of players spent the afternoon and evening drinking across several haunts in west London.

Saracens academy player, Totoa Auvaa, was understood to have aimed a punch at Stokes’ team-mate Gus Atkinson, but connected with an England and Wales Cricket Board security official who required stitches.

A melee followed, the details of which remain uncertain, but now Stokes and Atkinson find themselves subject of an investigation from the England and Wales Cricket Board."

https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/ben-stokes-nightclub-fight-meet-the-6ft-5in-125kg-rugby-player-who-confronted-england-captain-11612685

Ah would of been too much unneeded pressure from media after what happened with Brook in NZ

Bangladesh won their first ever ODI series against Australia today with a 5 wicket win with 6 overs to spare to give them a 2-0 lead in the 3 game series.

We have seen for the past few years how many much older the Australia side has been getting and when you take out the players that have kept it all together like Smith, Cummins, Starc and Head etc for years, then suddenly the depth begins to look very shallow.

Why not finish the series? Would have got a nice send off at Trent Bridge as I don't think there's anyone anywhere that doesn't like him as a player and a person.

Only two left standing of the Fab Four now.

Often you will hear cricketers say they wake up one morning and they know that's it, they are done. It is such a Kane Williamson way of doing things though as he has always prefered to be in the background and never comfortable being centre stage. He would have hated to have had a final test match and it all being about him. Exiting stage left and quitely departing was always going to be line of thinking.

Some career, a test average of 54, 33 hundreds. 15 ODI hundreds. 19,346 international runs. Player of the Tournament for the 2019 ODI World Cup in England and he showed the height of class in accepting defeat in such an agonising way. It's lovely that he did get the moment of winning a tournament with New Zealand in 2021 with the first World Test Championship as it was the least such a career deserved.

Conway played at Lord's and got a few in the second innings. He went home inbetween games for the birth of his child. That's what the confirmation was about.

Henry Nicholls could come in for Williamson. Will Young was the hero in India and found himself out of the team when Williamson returned, he isn't in this squad.

Very one sided game to start the women's T20 world cup. England will have harder games but have looked strong in the build up beating India and the holders New Zealand in three match series.

Ireland vs Scotland tomorrow morning at Old Trafford at half past ten. Australia vs South Africa follows it. That should be a decent game.

In reply, Ireland were bowled out on 121.