Winter Watch (w/e 10 Mar): Chris Jordan named Player of the Series in England whitewash
Chris Jordan enjoyed an incredible week with England, as the tourists secured a whitewash series win over West Indies.
Jordan was excellent in all three T20Is, taking two wickets, pulling off an absolute screamer of a catch and finishing as the most economical bowler on either side in the first encounter on Tuesday.
With his final delivery of his opening over, Jordan dismissed Chris Gayle to get England off to the perfect start. The Sussex man then returned to the attack in the 14th over, and pulled off one of the most incredible return catches you will ever see when his third delivery – a beautifully disguised slower ball – got the better of Darren Bravo.
🤯 That is absolutely outrageous, @CJordan! 👏 pic.twitter.com/fGNZsP1iCH
— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) March 5, 2019
Jordan eventually finished with figures of 2-16 from his three overs, and was then not required to bat as England reached their target of 161 with seven balls to spare to secure a five-wicket win.
In the second T20I of the series, in St Kitts on Friday night, CJ was again scintillating with the ball as the Windies crumbled in the face of England's formidable bowling attack.
After Joe Root and Sam Billings led England to 182-6 from their 20 overs, David Willey, Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett all bowled well as Jason Holder's side were skittled for just 45 - the second-lowest IT20 total of all time.
However, it was Jordan who was once again the pick of the bowlers, with 4-6 from his two overs demolishing the hosts and helping England romp to victory.
CJ claimed the wickets of Darren Bravo and Jason Holder with consecutive balls in his first over, and then dismissed Nicholas Pooran and Fabian Allen in his second.
🤯 This is *absolutely* crazy. @CJordan is on fire! He took two wickets in two balls in his first over, before dismissing Holder and now Allen in his second over!
— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) March 8, 2019
Two overs. Six runs. Four wickets. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JoxNWTFj7C
Jordan's rampage had completely dismantled the Windies chase, and England went 2-0 up in the series inside 12 overs with Rashid and Plunkett cleaning up the tail.
On Sunday in the final T20I, West Indies won the toss and opted to bat, but were once again ripped apart by an England bowling attack full of confidence.
David Willey took an impressive 4-7 from his three overs, but Jordan stole the headlines with a sublime diving catch to dismiss Nicholas Pooran off the bowling of Mark Wood.
Jordan finished the final match with figures of 0-14 from his two overs, and was deservedly named Player of the Series as England reached their target of 72 with nine overs remaining.
Like Jordan, Sussex Women's Danni Wyatt was named Player of the Series as England outclassed India in the women's T20I series to claim a whitewash win.
In the opening match, Wyatt opened the batting alongside Tammy Beaumont after India elected to bowl first, and scored 35 off 34 balls as Heather Knight's side set their opponents 161 to win.
India could never get going in their chase, as England's attack restricted them brilliantly. Sussex's Linsey Smith, playing in only her second international, finished with figures of 2-22 and helped her side win by 41 runs.
Wyatt was at her best in the second T20I clash of the series, hitting an unbeaten 64 to lead England to a five-wicket win.
After being set 112 to win, Wyatt once again opened alongside Beaumont and the pair got England off to a confident start - until they slipped from 45-1 to 56-4.
But, while her teammates struggled, Wyatt played patiently and with composure to score her sixth T20I half-century and clinch the tourists an impressive victory in Assam.
Smith also bowled very well again, and was the most economical bowler on either side, finishing with figures of 2-11 from her three overs. However, Wyatt was the star of the show, and hit the winning runs to give England an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
In the final match of the series, England secured a thrilling, one-run win, with Wyatt scoring 24 off 22 balls and Smith adding another wicket to her series total.
India captain Smriti Mandhana smashed 58 off 39 after England scored 119 from their 20 overs, but it wasn't enough - despite her side only needing three off the last over with six wickets in hand.
Knight trusted Kate Cross to bowl the final over, and she conceded just one run and picked up two wickets to secure a memorable win.
Rashid Khan was also on international duty, and helped Afghanistan draw their ODI series with Ireland 2-2 at Dehra Dun in India.
On Tuesday, our Vitality Blast star finished with figures of 1-44 from his nine overs and was his side's most economical bowler, but an unbeaten 145 from Andy Balbirnie saw William Porterfield's side win by four wickets, with just one over remaining.
Khan shone with the bat in the fourth ODI on Friday, hitting 52 from 58 balls as Afghanistan rose from being 81-6 in the 18th over to win by 109 runs. It was a superb win, with Afganistan looking set for defeat when Noor Ali Zadran, Ikram Ali Khil and Gulbadin Naib were all dismissed for single figures.
However, Khan helped steady the ship alongside Mohammad Nabi, and then finished with figures of 2-22 from his six overs as Afghanistan secured a commanding victory.
Khan also bowled well in the final ODI on Sunday, and brought up a huge milestone - 200 international wickets, at just 20 years of age - when he dismissed Paul Stirling.
Ireland batted well, however, and levelled the series ahead of the only Test match of the tour, which starts on Friday.
Phil Salt was part of the Islamabad United side which reached the Pakistan Super League play-offs on Friday night, with an excellent diving catch helping his side beat David Wiese's Lahore Qalandars.
Batting at three, Salt scored 10, and then took the catch which dismissed Qalandars' captain, Fakhar Zaman.
Wiese took the wicket of Chadwick Walton, but could only watch on as Salt's teammate, Cameron Delport, smashed 117 off just 60 balls - the fastest century in PSL history - to lead Islamabad to a comfortable 49-run win.
OUT! Huge wicket for Islamabad United as @iFaheemAshraf removes @FakharZamanLive (38) and Lahore Qalandars are 65/2 now
— Cricingif (@_cricingif) March 9, 2019
Ball-by-ball scorecard 👉 https://t.co/YtGW6X5svO #LQvIU #PSL2019 #KhelDeewanoKa #CricketForAll pic.twitter.com/QBmDhTT18L
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