Tom Latham celebrated his appointment as RL50 captain with a match-winning contribution – but it was Ben Stokes’ turn three days later as the Durham duo went head-to-head in ODI action.
In pursuit of 285 for victory & struggling on 27/3, Latham teamed up with centurion Ross Taylor in an 178-run stand to set the base for a late Mitchell Santner blast which won a thriller.
Latham made 79 off 84 balls before being removed by Stokes, who returned to international cricket with figures of 2/43 off eight overs after making 12 in England’s innings.
Stokes was to be the matchwinner in the second ODI, though, seeing England to victory to level an intriguing series at 1-1.
The man-of-the-match! @benstokes38 ?
Scorecard: https://t.co/iyFZfhpcU9 pic.twitter.com/5VYBGhMT34
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 28, 2018
The left-hander anchored his side to a target of 224, top-scoring with an unbeaten 63 following an 88-run stand with captain Eoin Morgan as his side cantered home.
He also returned almost identical bowling figures, this time taking the wickets of Lockie Ferguson & Henry Nicholls for figures of 2/42 off eight.
Elsewhere internationally, Barry McCarthy is busy preparing for the Cricket World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe & featured in their close warm-up win over Scotland.
McCarthy added another two wickets to his ever-growing winter haul, taking 2/54 & making four in the chase as the Irishmen squeezed home from the final ball. Michael Jones did not play for the Scots.
Ireland’s campaign kicks off against the Netherlands on Sunday, while Scotland face one of the pre-tournament favourites in Afghanistan on the same day.
Over in Australia, Cameron Steel is preparing to grace the WACA as his side, Claremont-Nedlands, face Willetton in the Western Australia First Grade 50-over final on Sunday.
Liam Trevaskis has signed off his stint with North-Canberra Gungahlin to return to Durham ahead of the new season.
Trevaskis made 11 against top side Eastlake before making his way back to prepare for Durham’s 2018 fixtures.
Finally, Nathan Rimmington’s Sandgate-Redcliffe are set to face South Brisbane in the final round of Queensland First Grade two-day fixtures before advancing to the semi-finals, for which Rimmington’s side have already secured their spot.