Catches Win Matches
THE WEEK IN SPORT | 23 - 29 JUNE
A cricket heavy week, with plenty to unpack. Looking back over the result of the England v India Test and the catching, or lack of it, in the West Indies v Australia game. Meanwhile, the race in Austria delivered action worth a closer look.
Five centuries but no win.
Cricket - England v India first Test (Men)
There was a time, not long ago, when the idea of England chasing anything north of 300 in a Test match would have sent fans scrambling to their nearest weather app and praying for a day of solid rain.
But not anymore.
At Headingley, England pulled off the 10th highest successful run chase in Test history, hunting down 371 against an Indian side that saw five of its batters score centuries.
England started the day needing 351 runs and under pressure, they did not panic.
Ben Duckett top scored with 149, playing with intent but also discipline.
Zak Crawley, often criticised for being reckless, played the slowest half-century of his career, making 65 off 126 balls to form a 188 run opening partnership.
Crawley and Ollie Pope fell in quick succession after lunch and India threatened with a double strike from Shardul Thakur, removing Duckett and Harry Brook.
Joe Root and Jamie Smith saw them home, calmly knocking off the final 70 runs.
Michael Vaughan called it “Bazball with brains,” and it is hard to argue. England still played with freedom, but this time there was a sense of control and maturity.
Even Stokes, the only batter in the top six not to pass 40, made key contributions with the ball in his second Test back from injury.
The most encouraging sign? Everyone in the top six looked capable. This is a batting lineup with real depth, variety, and belief.
If the first Test is anything to go by, England could be setting the tone for a genuinely exciting summer, not just in terms of results, but in how they play.
With four more Tests to come and an Ashes series on the horizon, England’s batting has gone from a point of worry to a reason to tune in.
Turn Three.
F1 - Austria GP
This weekend, Formula 1 left the glitz from the red carpet and returned, mercilessly, to the race track.
The Austrian Grand Prix was always going to be a title-defining moment, but few expected it to be all but decided before the end of lap one.
As the field thundered into the first Turn Three, the season turned with it.
Rookie Kimi Antonelli, tagged Max Verstappen in what looked like a youthful misjudgement.
The reigning world champion spun into the runoff, race done, dreams dashed. A “black day”, as broadcasters put it, for the Red Bull man’s title hopes.
To his credit, Verstappen took the blow like a champion in defeat.
Christian Horner was more blunt, conceding the title was now a “two-horse race”. And with Verstappen now 61 points adrift of Oscar Piastri, it is hard to challenge that view.
Piastri and Lando Norris put on a show of precision and pace out front, locking in a McLaren 1-2 that now feels like a pattern.
Norris converted pole into victory, but not without pressure. Piastri kept him honest throughout, even attempting an ambitious move that saw him lock up into Turn Four.
“Not comfortable,” came David Croft’s sharp call from the commentary box. A line that instantly conjured flashbacks to the collision between the pair in the last race.
McLaren’s response was swift over team radio: “The manoeuvre in Turn Four with the front lock-up was too marginal. We cannot do that again.”
Elsewhere, Carlos Sainz never took the lights - “game over” was the update over commentary.
Austria was ruthless and with the title now slipping through Red Bull's fingers, the stage is set for a McLaren shootout. Norris and Piastri have the car, the pace and now the championship in their sights - provided they do not trip over each other on the way.
The small margins.
Cricket - Australia v West Indies first Test (Men)
In Test cricket, the old adage: “catches win matches,” is often wheeled out.
At Kensington Oval this week, it could not have been more true. And in the end it resulted in favour of Australia, who stormed to a 159 run victory over a West Indies side that dropped not just chances, but the match itself.
What began as a tightly poised contest by stumps on day two, unravelled in just under three days of cricket, as Australia’s superior discipline, and critically their catching, laid bare the fault lines in the West Indies team.
The hosts had looked to have their noses slightly in front at one stage, leading by 10 runs during day two after bowling Australia for 180 on the opening day surface.
But by late afternoon on day three, they were slumping off the field 159 runs short, undone as much by dropped chances as by Josh Hazlewood’s masterful spell.
Hazlewood, the 34 year old pillar of Australia’s pace attack, was predictably tricky to face. His second innings spell of 12 overs saw him earn his 13th Test 5-wicket haul and was the decisive punctuation mark in a game that swung dramatically from balance to blowout.
And yet, for all Hazlewood’s wizardry, the turning point of this match came not with the ball, but in the field. More accurately, from the West Indies’ inability to hold their catches.
The defining moments came early on day three. Australia were 107-4, leading by just 97 runs. Travis Head, on 21, edged Alzarri Joseph straight to second slip. Justin Greaves had it for a moment. Then he dropped it. Head survived.
That drop proved ruinous. Head went on to make 61, adding 102 for the fifth wicket with Beau Webster in a partnership that broke the back of the West Indies’ resistance.
This was not an isolated blip. It was just the most expensive in a comedy of errors that spanned all three days.
ESPN’s broadcast team highlighted the issue bluntly: since the start of 2023, the West Indies have the worst catching percentage in slip and gully across all Test nations, at 65.6%. In this match they held on to a dire 36% of catches in that area.
Brandon King, on debut had three drops to his name on day one alone. Cameron Green for a duck, Usman Khawaja on 45 and Nathan Lyon on 3. While those specific misses only cost 11 runs, the tone was set.
Captain Roston Chase’s drop of Khawaja on six was more damaging as he went on to score 47.
Then came the twin drops of Sam Konstas by Greaves and John Campbell in a single Shamar Joseph over. The youngster added just five more, but again, it was symptomatic of a team that looked ragged around the edges.
The disparity between the teams was not simply in runs or wickets. It was in the margins, the small, sharp moments where elite teams distinguish themselves from those still chasing consistency.
If you enjoy reading the Pavilion End you can show some appreciation below 🍸
Discover more from the Pavilion End: Instagram | TikTok
For enquiries contact: harriet@north-view.com