Rob Smyth's Blog

Updates from the start of the ODI series at Optus Stadium

Any thoughts? Get in touch with an email

2nd over: India 6-0 (Rohit 1, Gill 5) Josh Hazlewood takes the new ball and immediately goes to work on his familiar line and length. But when the Australia quick overpitches, Gill opens up and times a straight drive to the rope. A first boundary for India.

1st over: India 2-0 (Rohit 1, Gill 1) Mitchell Starc is right on the money from the get-go but is unable to find an opening-over breakthrough. A fitter-looking Rohit nudges a quick single from the first ball and Gill adds another to mid-off. Rohit ends the over with a rush of blood and the former skipper’s swing and a miss is one to forget.

Ange Postecoglou was sacked less than half an hour after Chelsea inflicted another defeat on Forest

1 min After the players take a knee, Morgan Gibbs-White gets the match under way on a dank, drizzly afternoon in Nottingham.

A bit of news from elsewhere. Crystal Palace have confirmed their captain Marc Guehi will leave the club in the summer after rejecting the offer of a new contract.

Beth Mead and Alessia Russo scored to give Arsenal a hard-fought victory in Lisbon

4 min No chances to speak of but Arsenal have started really well. Smith’s cross is turned behind for the first corner of the game…

1 min Peep peep! We’re under way in Lisbon and Arsenal are already zipping the ball around with confidence.

Pakistan outplayed England and were on course for an historic victory when the weather intervened in Colombo

A bold leave by Beaumont, who flourishes bat aloft but hears the death rattle as the ball nips in beautifully and clocks the top of off stump.

1st over: England 8-0 (Jones 8, Beaumont 0) Captain Fatima Sana with the new ball – her second delivery is turned by Jones off her ankles for four, and her last driven past a couple of stationary fielders for four more. Sana is not impressed. The palm trees peak through the gaps in the stands, not too many watching yet

Scotland were well below their best but picked up another win thanks to Che Adams and Scott McTominay

1 min Peep peep! Belarus, in their mint green change strip, kick off from right to left as we watch.

[On managing Scotland for a record 72nd game] It feels like any other game. We’re well prepared and hopefully the team go on the field, do what they can do and get the result. There aren’t many thoughts about me to be honest.

We want another win, three points. As I said after the last game: you don’t qualify on performances, you qualify on results.

England made it three wins from three, thanks largely to the brilliance of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone

Sri Lanka sprint onto the field led by Athapaththu; Beaumont and Jones stride behind. The ground does not look hugely full to be honest, but I know in India more spectators have come in for the second innings.

Here come the teams, hand in hand with their mascots. Sri Lanka’s anthem first, a long, lyrical number, before an upbeat verse of God Save the King, with a handful of the English women struggling to contain a fit of giggles.

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

Not a lot of people know this, but Brian Clough never managed the England football team. Despite winning two Bigger Cups, two league titles and a few Milk Cups, Clough was overlooked for Big Job, largely because the prevailing blazers were terrified of his unyielding attitude regarding the administration of home truths. Clough as England manager is one of football’s great what-ifs. We’ll never know, no matter how many times it comes up on the Stick to Football podcast, but Thomas Tuchel is starting to give us a glimpse into what it might have been like.

I demand a stewards’ review of the decision on yesterday’s letter winner. Mr Davies’s ‘tale’ is ‘interesting’ but fails to stand up under scrutiny. The match in question attracted a crowd of only 18,629. The capacity of The Hawthorns in 1985 was just under double that figure. There was never a need to plan an ‘unauthorised entry’ for this game. Attendances were in steep decline in this decade. West Brom’s average gate in 1985-86 was 12,164; Villa’s was 15,237. The lock out one hour before kick off was never going to happen. Surely therefore a case of ‘false memory syndrome’ on the part of Mr Davies? Yours in the spirit of Noble Francis” – Richard Worrall.

If Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe has never been given a free lunch in 50 years in the corporate world (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs – full email edition) then he must be even more unpopular there than he is in football” – Ian Casson.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

Heather Knight rode her luck to make 79 not out and help England avoid a shock defeat to Bangladesh

Bell bounces back. Jhelik tries to force things against the quick after a couple of dots, coming down the pitch, but her loft down the ground is miscued to Sophia Dunkley at mid-off. England are up and running.

4th over: Bangladesh 23-0 (Jhelik 4, Supta 17) Smith gets a closer look at Jhelik, who hasn’t had much of the strike. The left-armer sends down another over with little drama, conceding a couple.

Jack Grealish’s injury-time goal ended Palace’s unbeaten run while Nottm Forest were beaten at St James’ Park

Newcastle v Nottm Forest

“Just quietly, mate, I don’t think Forest have been bad under Ange,” writes Chris Paraskevas. “The results are a little misleading: having watched a few of their games, they’ve either been genuinely unlucky, finished poorly or had every outfield player (including their goalkeeper), along with substitutes, all the backroom staff, the team bus driver, the mascot and the tea lady all pushed up for a (short) corner in the dying embers of a match.

Estevao’s injury-time goal gave injury-hit Chelsea a memorable win over the champions, who lost their third game in a row

Arsenal beat West Ham 2-0 at the Emirates to move above Liverpool, at least for a couple of hours. This is how the Premier League table looks right here, right now.

And Enzo Maresca’s

It’s nice [to play Liverpool]. It’s a chance to learn and we’ve prepared as best we can.

[On Chelsea’s injuries] Nine players are unfortunately out, plus we have two or three players [who are carrying injuries*] We will try to find solutions and hopefully we can have a good day – for us and for the fans.