Wednesday, 26 August 2020

Anderson and Broad reach landmark totals in rainy summer


LEGENDARY bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad reached major wicket landmarks as England won both of their rain-hit Test series this summer.

Anderson - who already held the status of England's all-time leading wicket taker - became the first ever fast bowler in history to reach 600 scalps on the final day of the last Test of the summer.

Earlier in the season, Broad - on the last day of the third Test against the West Indies - became only the seventh bowler to take 500 wickets in Test cricket by dismissing Kraigg Brathwaite.

Coincidentally, Anderson had also reached the milestone of 500 wickets against Braithwaite in 2017.

For the most part, though, this summer has been an exercise in frustration with all six Test matches affected by the weather at some point.

Renowned slow series starters England were at it again in the first Test against the West Indies, falling to 87-5 on their way to 204 all out.

West Indies replied with a score of 318, despite Ben Stokes's 4-49 before England gave themselves some hope by compiling 313 in the second innings. 

Chasing 200 exactly, the men from the Caribbean struggled against the pace of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, and were reduced to 100-4 with opener John Campbell also going off injured.

However, Jermaine Blackwood hit an assured 95 and the Windies eased to their target with four wickets to spare for a 1-0 lead.

The result meant England had lost the opening Test in each of their previous five series - and, with only two more matches to be played in this particular series, Joe Root's men were already up against it. 

In the second Test, the hosts responded well - and opener Dom Sibley (120) and Stokes (176) both hit centuries to set up a declaration on 469-9.

West Indies looked solid enough in reply at 242-4 - but Broad came up with one of those spells seen so many times before to take the wickets of Blackwood, Shane Dowrich, and Shamarh Brooks. 

Young spinner Dom Bess then joined in and suddenly the Windies were all out for 287.

To their credit, the tourists had beaten the follow-on target - but, with a big lead, England had another route to victory: quick runs and 10 wickets.

In pursuit of the first of those aims, England promoted World Cup winners Jos Buttler and Stokes - however, it did not exactly go to plan.

Buttler was out for a duck and number three Zak Crawley (11) followed shortly afterwards, both being undone by Kemar Roach.

Stokes was still there though - and, dominating the scoring in partnerships with Root and Ollie Pope, the Durham all-rounder made 78 not out as England went at more than six-per-over to declare on 129-3.

For the first time in the series, England had the West Indies right where they wanted them - and the tourists quickly collapsed to 37-4.

A recovery of sorts was staged by Blackwood and Brooks - but, from the last ball before tea, the former was caught behind off Stokes. 

Dowrich was then out in the first full over following the interval - and, once Sam Curran trapped Brooks lbw, even the Windies' hopes of a draw were up in smoke. 

The third Test performance was probably the most dominant by England this summer, despite the loss of a whole day of play for the second match in a row. 

Pope made 91, Buttler 67 and Broad (62) even returned to form with the bat as England made a competitive 369 to start off the decider. 

That proved more than enough as Broad, in inspired form, took 6-31 to bowl the West Indies out for just 198.

Again, the visitors had at made it past the follow on target - but, in contrast to the need for speed in the second Test, there was still enough time for England to strangle the life out of their opponents with slow and steady accumulation.

Rory Burns made 90 off 163 balls and Sibley 56 off 132 as England produced their first century opening stand in Tests since a match against India in December 2016. 

The scoring rate increased when Root replaced Sibley, who was lbw to Jason Holder, and England declared on 226-2 on the fall of Burns's wicket. 

Holder's men required 399 to win - but, with the score on 10-2 at the end of the third day, they never looked like pulling it off. 

The fourth day was a washout but the Windies were beaten before tea on the fifth, bowled out for 129 as Chris Woakes took 5-50 and Broad collected match figures of 10-67.

England had regained the Wisden Trophy for one last time with the honour now retired and replaced by the Richards-Botham Trophy, named after Sir Viv Richards and Sir Ian Botham. 

For the record, the West Indies won 14 of the 28 series and 48 of the 120 Tests in the Wisden Trophy. England won 10 series and 36 Tests while four series and 36 Tests were drawn. 

Nevertheless, the result this summer means the West Indies have still not won a Test series in England since 1988.

Pakistan were next up and arrived defending a 10-year unbeaten record against England.

Effectively, though, their chance of achieving this came and went within the four days of the first Test, such was the weather towards the end of the series.

Yet it could have very easily been Pakistan who walked away from the campaign with a 1-0 win, considering they dominated for long periods of the opening match.

Shan Masood made 156 to steer the Pakistanis to 326 in the first innings of the series - and England, once again, started badly with the bat.

Root's men were reduced to 12-3 and had middle and lower order players such as Pope (62), Buttler (38), and Broad (29 not out) to thank for dragging the side to a total of 219.

That was still in excess off 100 runs short of Pakistan - but it was almost then at that point as if the tourists could not believe the position which they were in, and they failed badly to push on in their second innings.

By the close of day three, Pakistan were 137-8 - and, while that was still a seemingly handy lead of 244, England sensed they had found their way back into the game.

Within three overs of the start of day four, the match had moved into its final chapter with Pakistan dismissed for 169, a lead of 276.

Time, therefore, was not an issue for England - but, unfortunately, batting under pressure appeared to be, and - at 117-5 - the target suddenly looked a long way off. 

Enter Buttler (75) and Chris Woakes, with the latter making 84 not out in a sixth-wicket partnership of 139 to put England on the brink.

Still, there threatened to be a final twist when Yasir Shah trapped both Buttler and Broad lbw in quick succession. 

But player of the match Woakes, whose many fine contributions with the ball is so often overshadowed by Anderson and Broad - looked assured with the bat and he guided England safely home.

Without any crowd in attendance, it was not quite the same as that chase at Headingley last year - but the same sort of relief was palpable.

It is important, though, that Root's side are aware that successful chases after the concession of a big deficit will always be special, simply because they are uncommon. Certainly, they should not be relied upon too regularly.

Nevertheless, the chase demonstrated an encouraging determination not to give in - and ended up effectively being enough to win the series.

After all, the second Test became a collosal farce and, altogether, an absolute waste of time. 

True, the weather made it unlikely there was ever going to be a result - but the umpires' overly-cautious bad light reading on the first day caused problems for them for the rest of the match.

Worse still, the early abandonment on day four made no sense whatsoever with photographs from reporters on Twitter presenting a completely empty cricket ground bathed in sunlight.

At least there had actually been some play on that fourth day as Pakistan finally completed their first innings with wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan scoring 72 out of a total of 236.

However, the overhead cloud and humid conditions were like something out of a dream for bowlers and a nightmare for the batsmen. 

Opener Rory Burns, who struggled across the summer, was dismissed for an entirely forgivable duck in the first over of the England reply - and only four more overs followed before the rain returned. 

The weather cleared up towards the end of the afternoon but there appeared to be little desire to get the game restarted - and the delay continued beyond lunch on the fifth day. 

At that point, there was a certain sense of wonderment as to why the players bothered to come out play at all for the short period in which they eventually did. The match had, long before that point, become utterly pointless.

For the record, there were 45.4 overs on day one, 40.2 overs on day two, a complete washout on day three, 10.2 overs on day four, and 38.1 overs on day five.

Altogether, the total of 134.3 overs corresponds to just under one-and-a-half days worth of play - and, in worse news still, the forecast for the third Test was not looking overly clever either.

Thankfully, there was a full day of play on the first day - and it featured the first half of a partnership between Crawley (267) and Buttler (152) which, at 359 runs, ended up becoming an all-time England record for the fifth wicket.

Oddly, despite the poor forecast for the second half of the match, England continued to bat even once both centurions were out, before belatedly declaring on the fall of Broad's wicket with the score on 583-8. 

Under-pressure Pakistan captain Azhar Ali responded to his critics in excellent manner with 141 not out - but it still was not enough to prevent his team from falling short of the follow on target as Anderson picked up 5-56 to move his career total onto 598.

The Lancashire bowler probably should have made it to 600 quicker than he did but two dropped catches in the slip cordon in the same over by Burns and Sibley left him fuming. 

Anderson's mood became worse again in his next over when Broad dropped an absolute dolly at mid-on, although he did immediately make amends with a superb, instinctive throw to run out Abbas with a direct hit.

To the great relief of everyone, Sibley took the next chance to come from Anderson's bowling - with Naseem Shah out for a duck - and Pakistan were all out for 273.

England duly enforced the follow on as gloomy skies enveloped the Ageas Bowl - far darker than those which had caused the abandonment of play in the second Test. 

Perhaps, the umpires were overcompensating for their timidity in the previous week - and spinner Bess certainly thought this was the case.

The poor conditions will also likely provide some explanation for the dropped catches, especially considering the cherry-red colour of the new ball.

Remarkably, though, Anderson suffered a fourth drop off his bowling at the start of the fourth day as Buttler - who was otherwise in impeccable form with the gloves - put down a simple chance.

Anderson later took the field out of the equation altogether by trapping Abid Ali lbw for wicket number 599 - but he was made to wait overnight again for his landmark moment. 

It eventually came in the final session of an otherwise unremarkable fifth day in another match which was rapidly heading towards a draw. 

Skipper Azhar became the famous victim of the Burnley Express, caught at slip by the opposing captain Root off a ball which found a bit of extra bounce.

Sadly, of course, there was no crowd to see this historical achievement in the flesh due to coronavirus - but, even at the age of 38, Anderson shows no sign of stopping or, indeed, of decline. 

Looking ahead, the England Test team have a fascinating 18 months in front of them with tours in the notoriously difficult sub-continent region of Sri Lanka and India at the start of 2021.

Next summer, India are scheduled to play a return series of five Tests in England before the next Ashes series, away in Australia, follows at the end of next year. 

For now, England remain a promising team - Sibley, Crawley and Pope have contributed to a more settled batting line-up alongside Root and Stokes, and one which has shown it can perform under pressure. 

Burns, despite scoring just 20 runs in his last four innings, retains some credit from earlier successes - and, in any case, his lack of runs against Pakistan was offset by the welcome return to form with the bat by Buttler in red-ball cricket.

In the bowling ranks, there is healthy competition for places with Woakes the most impressive outside of Anderson and Broad, leaving Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Sam Curran all battling it out for just a single place.

Young Bess continues to show some good signs but, at 22, there is still much for him to learn and better sides might expose his inexperience. 

In general against the stronger sides, England cannot afford to start as slowly as they have been, and they desperately need to improve their catching which remains mediocre. 

Simply put, India and Australia - the two best sides in the world - will not allow England to wiggle off the hook especially on their own patch. 

Root's side are already now playing catch-up in the World Test Championship following the defeat to the West Indies and the draws against Pakistan, having now also played a series more than Australia. 

Nevertheless, Australia and India are due to play each other before the end of this godforsaken year and then, as mentioned, England play the Indians twice in 2021.

The chance remains for England to barge their way into the top two and the one-off Test Championship match at Lord's - but can they step it up when it matters in a massive 2021 for the team? 

You never know - if England can pull it off and win the Ashes back Down Under, Anderson might finally be able to retire in the satisfaction that he can achieve nothing more.

WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP ▪️ ENGLAND WON THE SERIES 2-1
WISDEN TROPHY

08-12 Jul
(1) West Indies 318 & 200-6 beat England 204 & 313 by four wickets
Southampton
16-20 Jul
(2) England 469-9d & 129-3d beat West Indies 287 & 198 by 113 runs
Old Trafford
24-28 Jul
(3) England 369 & 226-2d beat West Indies 197 & 129 by 269 runs
Old Trafford

WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP ▪️ ENGLAND WON THE SERIES 1-0
05-08 Aug
(1) England 219 & 277-7 beat Pakistan 326 & 169 by three wickets
Old Trafford
13-17 Aug
(2) England 110-4 drew with Pakistan 236
Southampton
21-25 Aug(3) Pakistan 273 & 187-4 drew with England 583-8d
Southampton

ICC WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP ▪️ LATEST STANDINGS
Pos
Series
Won
Tests
Won
Tests
Drawn
Tests
Lost
PointsRuns Per
Wicket
Remain
(1)INDIA37023602.011240
(2)AUSTRALIA27122961.604360
(3)ENGLAND38342921.223240
(4)NEW ZEALAND
13041800.883360
(5)PAKISTAN12331660.853300
(6)SRI LANKA
0112800.589480
(7)WEST INDIES
0104400.527480
(8)SOUTH AFRICA
0106240.521480
(9)BANGLADESH000300.351540

Monday, 24 August 2020

The longest season

BAYERN MUNICH brought the curtain down on the protracted 2019-20 season with a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Lisbon.

Former PSG forward Kingsley Coman scored the winner with a header just before the hour-mark in a match which never lacked in quality but which never fully came alight either.

The Parisiens had the best of the early chances - decent efforts by Kylian Mbappe were blocked by Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich before Neymar was foiled by a sprawling Manuel Neuer.

However, Bayern Munich - who dominated possession throughout - took over proceedings towards the end of the first half with Robert Lewandowski having hit the post.

Nonetheless, Mbappe had a glorious chance on the stroke of half time following a mesmerising exchange of passes in the box with Angel Di Maria, only for him to shoot tamely straight at Neuer. 

But, in the second half, the German side reasserted their dominance - and, on 59 minutes, they took the lead when Coman, little more than six yards out, converted Kimmich's neatly flighted cross. 

Barely a minute later, Lewandowski could have put the result beyond doubt but he was denied by a brilliant last-second interception by Presnel Kimpembe. 

For the last half hour, though, the match became increasingly disrupted by a series of fouls as both sides had valid claims for a penalty. 

PSG - despite their ownership by the Qatari royal family and a team costing £540m in transfer fees - badly ran out of steam, with Neymar particularly frustrating to watch as the clock wound down. 

As a result, Bayern Munich held out with relative ease for a sixth European Cup after previous wins in the competition in 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001 and 2013.

So ended the longest season in football history - one which in Britain especially has been pockmarked throughout the divisions by a series of asterisks. 

Even without taking into account the devastating effects of the coronavirus on teams in the lower reaches, this had been a tough campaign for many of those sides.

Bury became the first club since Maidstone United in August 1992 to be expelled from the Football League - while Wigan Athletic, Bolton Wanderers, and Macclesfield Town - also all from the North West of England - suffered severe financial difficulties in 2019-20.

All of them received points deductions during the course of the season and all of them were eventually relegated, with Macclesfield losing their Football League status.

Elsewhere, further down the pyramid in England, all promotion and relegation below National League level was cancelled, meaning a lot of effort by many teams simply went to waste. 

The Scottish League playoffs and the Welsh Cup Final were also ditched - although the Scottish Football Association still harbour hopes of hosting its FA Cup Final at Hampden Park on 20 December. 

Now, at least, the coronavirus restrictions have been eased somewhat - and clubs in England below the National League divisions can admit supporters while following strict social distancing measures.

Of course, there is a valid argument to suggest that - with the bars and beaches so busy in any case - the guidelines could also quite safely be applied by most, if not all, of the National League clubs, as well as those in the lower Scottish divisions and Welsh leagues. 

But, for now, the only matches in the United Kingdom which fans can attend are those in the seventh tier and below in England. 

Importantly, though, it is exactly these community-based clubs who are most in need of the financial support right now. 

So, while the 2019-20 season may have felt like it lasted forever, perhaps it is already worth seeking out a non-league match with which to kick-start the 2020-21 campaign.

ROLL OF HONOUR 2019-20

ENGLAND
Premier League
ChampionsLiverpool
Runners-upManchester City
Champions LeagueManchester United (third place), Chelsea (fourth place)
Europa LeagueArsenal (FA Cup winners), Leicester City (fifth place), Tottenham Hotspur
(sixth place)
RelegationAFC Bournemouth, Watford, Norwich City

Championship
ChampionsLeeds United
Runners-upWest Bromwich Albion
Playoff winnersFulham (won 2-1 aet v Brentford)
RelegationCharlton Athletic, Wigan Athletic*, Hull City
* Wigan Athletic were deducted 12 points for entering administration.

League One
On 9 June, a majority of clubs voted to curtail the season due to coronavirus. The final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with play-off matches played behind closed doors.
ChampionsCoventry City
Runners-upRotherham United
Playoff winnersWycombe Wanderers (won 2-1 v Oxford United)
RelegationTranmere Rovers, Southend United, Bolton Wanderers*
ExpelledBury**
* Bolton Wanderers were deducted 12 points for entering administration.
** Bury were expelled from the EFL on 27 August 2019. At the time of their expulsion, they had played no matches.


League Two
On 15 May, a majority of clubs voted to curtail the season due to coronavirus. The final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with play-off matches played behind closed doors.
ChampionsSwindon Town
Runners-upCrewe Alexandra
Also promotedPlymouth Argyle
Playoff winnersNorthampton Town (won 4-0 v Exeter City)
RelegationMacclesfield Town*
* Macclesfield Town were deducted four points on 19 December and seven points on 7 May for failing both to pay their players' wages and to fulfil their fixtures. On 11 August, a further six-point deduction was given for breaches of regulations over non-payment of wages, making a total of 17 points deducted.

National League Premier
On 22 April, clubs voted to curtail the season due to coronavirus. On 17 June, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with play-off matches played behind closed doors.
ChampionsBarrow
Playoff winnersHarrogate Town (won 3-1 v Notts County)
RelegationEbbsfleet United, AFC Fylde, Chorley

National League North
On 22 April, clubs voted to curtail the season due to coronavirus. On 17 June, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with play-offs matches played behind closed doors.
ChampionsKing's Lynn Town
Playoff winnersAltrincham (won 1-0 v Boston United)
RelegationNone

National League South
On 22 April, clubs voted to curtail the season due to coronavirus. On 17 June, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with play-offs matches played behind closed doors.
ChampionsWealdstone
Playoff winnersWeymouth (won 3-0 on pens v Dartford, after 0-0 draw)
RelegationNone

Domestic Cup Finals
FA Cup FinalArsenal 2-1 Chelsea
League Cup FinalManchester City 2-1 Aston Villa.
FA Community ShieldManchester City 1-1 Liverpool. Manchester City won 5-4 on penalties.
EFL TrophyPortsmouth v Salford City: not yet played due to coronavirus
FA TrophyNot yet played due to coronavirus
FA VaseNot yet played due to coronavirus

SCOTLAND
Premiership
On 13 March, the Scottish season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 18 May, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with all play-offs matches cancelled.
ChampionsCeltic
Runners-upRangers
Europa LeagueRangers (runners-up), Motherwell (third place), Aberdeen (fourth place)
RelegationHeart of Midlothian

Championship
On 13 March, the Scottish season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 15 April, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with all play-offs matches cancelled.
ChampionsDundee United
Runners-upInverness Caledonian Thistle (not promoted)
RelegationPartick Thistle

League One
On 13 March, the Scottish season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 15 April, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with all play-offs matches cancelled.
ChampionsRaith Rovers
Runners-upFalkirk (not promoted)
RelegationStranraer

League Two
On 13 March, the Scottish season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 15 April, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with all play-offs matches cancelled.
ChampionsCove Rangers
Runners-upEdinburgh City (not promoted)
RelegationNone

Domestic Cup Finals
FA Cup FinalTo be played on 20 December
League Cup FinalCeltic 1-0 Rangers
Challenge Cup FinalInverness Caledonian Thistle v Raith Rovers: not yet played due to coronavirus

WALES
Welsh Premier League
On 13 March, the season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 19 May, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method.
ChampionsConnah's Quay Nomads
Europa LgThe New Saints (runners-up), Bala Town (third place), Barry Town United (fourth place)
RelegationCarmarthen Town, Airbus UK Broughton

Welsh Cup Finals
FA Cup FinalCancelled due to coronavirus
League Cup FinalConnah's Quay Nomads 3-0 STM Sports

NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Premiership
On 13 March, the season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 23 June, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method.
ChampionsLinfield
Europa LgColeraine (runners-up), Glentoran (cup winners)
RelegationInstitute

Irish Cup Finals

IFA Cup FinalGlentoran 2-1 Ballymena United
League Cup FinalColeraine 2-1 Crusaders

EUROPE
UEFA Finals
Champions LeagueBayern Munich (Ger) 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain (Fra)
Europa LeagueSevilla (Spa) 3-2 Inter Milan (Ita)
Super CupLiverpool (Eng) 2-2 Chelsea (Eng), after extra time. Liverpool won 5-4
on penalties.

Major European league champions
SpainReal Madrid
ItalyJuventus
GermanyBayern Munich
France Paris Saint-Germain*
PortugalFC Porto
NetherlandsNone**
BelgiumClub Brugge
GreeceOlympiacos
Turkeyİstanbul Başakşehir
* Paris Saint-Germain were declared champions on 30 April following the indefinite suspension of Ligue 1 on 13 March due to coronavirus.
** No title was awarded due to coronavirus.

Sunday, 16 August 2020

Rocket races to sixth world title

WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

CRUCIBLE THEATRE, SHEFFIELD

[8]Kyren Wilson
8-18Ronnie O'Sullivan
[6]
1 2-6 0-81 (56), 62-55, 0-80 (80), 23-75 (75), 67-13 (63), 9-69, 17-106 (106), 49-60
2 5-4 53-61 (KW 53), 19-77 (51), 92-0 (92), 79-53 (KW 50), 82-25, 86-0 (58), 17-82, 101-0 (100), 60-68
3 1-7 74-0 (73), 15-113 (53), 33-109 (61), 17-88 (57), 12-65 (60), 28-71 (71), 15-72 (72), 7-69
4 0-1 1-104 (96)

RONNIE O'SULLIVAN ran away with the final of the World Snooker Championships to seal a sixth title - and he now stands just one short of all-time Crucible leader Stephen Hendry.

The Rocket won 18-8 against Kyren Wilson to go level in the record books on six alongside Steve Davis and his former coach Ray Reardon. 

For his part, Wilson was making his first appearance in this showpiece final - but, in fairness to him, far more experienced players would have similarly wilted in the face of O'Sullivan's onslaught in the third session. 

Oddly, the second day of the final began with high hopes of a close match - and Wilson took the opening frame of the third session with a break of 73 to close the gap to 10-8.

That was quite some achievement for the Warrior, considering he had trailed 8-2 early on - and, at 10-8, O'Sullivan could have been forgiven for being consumed by self-doubt, despite his lead. 

After all, the Rocket had complained about the struggles with his cue action throughout the tournament and he fidgeted regularly with his cue during the second session while Wilson was chipping away at the lead.

Certainly, there would have been long odds offered at 10-8 on the 28-year-old from Kettering failing to win another frame in the match - but, incredibly, that is exactly what transpired. 

O'Sullivan was still not in top gear by his own ridiculous standards but - in the third session - six consecutive half centuries extended his advantage to an impregnable 16-8.

Wilson was a goner - and, at the end of the 24th frame, he picked up his extension and asked match referee Marcus Eckardt if it was the end of the session. 

Unfortunately for Wilson, there was still another frame of pain to go in the afternoon - and, inevitably, O'Sullivan took it to make it 17-8.

The final session of the tournament therefore began without any semblance of tension and in fact lasted just 11 minutes as O'Sullivan confirmed his complete dominance with a closing break of 98, only narrowly missing out on a century.

Wilson was left to rue several missed opportunities on the first day when O'Sullivan stole some unlikely frames despite feeling unsure of himself.

Both the last frame of the first session and the first frame of the second session were won by the Rocket on the black - while Wilson also had the chance to close to 9-8 overnight but missed a straightforward red.

So, it easily could have been 10-7 in reverse if Wilson had taken those chances - and, if that had been the case, it seems unlikely that O'Sullivan would have dominated the second day in the way he did.

But competitions are not played on a hypothetical basis, something to which the Warrior can attest following his incredible semi final against Anthony McGill.

Wilson trailed 6-2, led 14-11, and trailed again 16-15 in the first-to-17 encounter - but forced a decider which went on to become perhaps the craziest frame ever played.

McGill got in first and was extremely unfortunate to make just 39 after smashing into the pack of reds and being left with a tough shot to the right-centre.

Wilson responded with 47 before missing a far easier red to the left-centre - but was saved by the final red which was tight to the left cushion. 

And so, the madness began. 

The Warrior controlled the early safety exchanges with McGill in-off twice before a beauty of a shot from Wilson left his Scottish opponent in all sorts of bother. 

McGill was left behind a full-ball snooker with the cue ball between the left-centre jaw and the yellow which was off its spot. The last remaining red ball was positioned towards the right-corner pocket, which itself had been blocked by the black.

Ultimately, the qualifier - playing off two cushions - missed the red on seven occasions and potted the black with another attempt to concede 35 points in fouls and leave himself needing a snooker.

However, McGill got the snooker straightaway when Wilson - in trying to put his opponent back in the same position - instead went in-off in the left-centre pocket.

Bizarrely, Wilson then went in-off in the right-centre pocket with his very next shot to gift another four points to McGill. 

Yet still, the next big chance fell to the Warrior with the red now precariously close to the right-centre. 

Unfortunately for Wilson, though, it was not close enough to knock in from the baulk cushion and the obstinate ball was merely left even nearer to the jaw of the pocket following his attempt. 

The two players then played almost identical shots off the baulk rail but both missed the red altogether to trade fouls and leave the frame score standing at 94-64 to Wilson. 

McGill eventually got the shot right and potted the black over the pocket as well as the yellow - but then snookered himself behind the pink when on the green.

The Scotsman escaped but, having accrued so many points through fouls, Wilson needed just the green to leave his opponent once again needing a snooker. 

Wilson duly potted the green following another high-quality prolonged exchange of safety - and only then through an outrageous fluke.

Intending to play another safety shot, Wilson instead knocked the ball off three cushions around baulk and up the table into the top-left pocket. 

Unsurprisingly, it had all got too much - and a clearly emotional Wilson had to compose himself in his seat before taking on his next shot, another safety on the brown.

McGill - needing a snooker - potted brown and blue before making several reasonable attempts with only pink and black remaining.

It was, quite frankly, a hopeless pursuit - but the frame had been so mind-boggling, it was surely worth a go.

Eventually, though, Wilson sank the pink to close out the longest frame of the 2020 World Championships and, more importantly, put an end to the most incredible decider ever seen to make it into the final.
 
The final frame score stood at 103-83 - an aggregate of 186 points which, unsurprisingly, is a Crucible record.

As if that was not enough drama, O'Sullivan's semi final match against three-time champion Mark Selby - later in the same day - also went into a deciding frame. 

The Rocket had done well to get that far having been 13-9 and 16-14 down - and was reduced simply to smacking the cue ball on occasions, most notably when trying to hit a pink nestled behind the black in the 30th frame. 

But a brilliant 138 break from O'Sullivan in the next prompted a run of three straight frames to which Selby had no reply - except, that is, for a severe case of sour grapes.

“I just felt like it was obviously a bit disrespectful to me and the game,” Selby said afterwards.

“Obviously if you are playing anybody else, there’s not many players who will get down and just hit them 100 miles per hour when you put them in a snooker.

“Sometimes they will try and work it out, try and play safe or try and get you in trouble back but I just felt he was doing that throughout the match really."
 
As usual, that was not the only time the Rocket ruffled some feathers in the 17 days in Sheffield.

Earlier, in his post-match interview after beating Ding Junhui in the second round, O'Sullivan claimed he would need to "lose an arm and a leg" to fall out of the top 50.
 
The comments were condemned by some former and current players including Mark Williams who O'Sullivan went on to beat 13-10 in the quarter finals after trailing 6-2.
 
But O'Sullivan would have felt justified in his view if he had seen much of a dreadful contest between McGill and Welsh debutant Jamie Clarke.

At one stage, a boxing match seemed more likely to break out than a snooker match with the pair coming close to blows over an accusation by McGill that Clarke was standing in his eyeline.

Clarke, at the time, was 7-2 up and went 8-2 ahead in the frame immediately following the stand-off.

Inadvisably, though, the Llanelli youngster appeared to pile undue pressure on himself by taking to Twitter at the mid-session interval and at the end of the second session, and - coincidentally - he went on to lose to McGill in a decider.

Of course, it would be harsh to judge the quality of these Championships on the basis of a single second round match - and, elsewhere, there was plenty of quality stuff on the baize.
 
John Higgins completed a 147 for his first maximum in Sheffield - and the first by anyone in eight years - but still then lost 13-11 in his second round the match to qualifier Kurt Maflin.

Meanwhile, defending champion Judd Trump fell victim to the Crucible Curse which, for the past 43 years, has dictated that no first-time winner at the venue has gone on to retain the title.

More annoyingly still for him, the Bristolian went out in the quarter finals against eventual runner-up and sworn enemy Wilson.
 
Perhaps the final thought in this piece should go out to the legion of snooker fans, of which a limited number eventually got to watch the action live at the venue itself.
 
Supporters had also been allowed to attend the opening day - a move which led to the withdrawal of asthmatic Anthony Hamilton and met with criticism from O'Sullivan.

But, while that was quickly ended in any case by a change in government guidance, the decision to allow the public back into the Crucible for the final appeared to be managed well and felt justified.

Sadly, it was not a classic - but O'Sullivan will not care a jot - and nor, indeed, will Wilson eventually, if he learns the lessons from his incredible last few days on the baize.
 
THE PANTHEON OF CHAMPIONS
OPEN ERA (1969-PRESENT)

7
Stephen HENDRY - 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999
6 Ray REARDON - 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978
6 Steve DAVIS - 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989
6 Ronnie O'SULLIVAN - 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020
4 John HIGGINS - 1998, 2007, 2009, 2011
3 Mark J WILLIAMS - 2000, 2003, 2018
3 Mark SELBY - 2014, 2016, 2017
3 John SPENCER - 1969, 1971, 1977
2 Alex HIGGINS - 1972, 1982

WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP 2020
THE FULL RESULTS

FIRST ROUND

Seed

(19)



[1]
Judd Trump
10-8
Tom Ford


[16]
Yan Bingtao
10-7Elliot Slessor

[9]
Stephen Maguire
3-10Martin Gould


[8]
Kyren Wilson
w/o
Anthony Hamilton








[5]
John Higgins
10-5
Matthew Stevens


[12]
David Gilbert
8-10
Kurt Maflin


[13]
Jack Lisowski
9-10Anthony McGill


[4]
Mark Allen
8-10
Jamie Clarke


 



 
 [3]Mark Williams
10-5Alan McManus


[14]
Stuart Bingham
10-7
Ashley Carty
 
 
[11]
Ding Junhui
10-9
Mark King
 
 
[6]
Ronnie O'Sullivan
10-1
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
 
      
[7]
Mark Selby10-6Jordan Brown
 

[10]Shaun Murphy
4-10Noppon Saengkham
  
[15]
Barry Hawkins
10-2
Alexander Ursenbacher
  
[2]
Neil Robertson
10-5Liang Wenbo
 
 

SECOND ROUND
Seed

(25)



[1]
Judd Trump
13-11Yan Bingtao
[16]


Martin Gould
9-13Kyren Wilson
[8]

[5]
John Higgins
11-13Kurt Maflin



Anthony McGill
13-12Jamie Clarke








[3]
Mark Williams
13-11Stuart Bingham
[14]

[11]
Ding Junhui10-13Ronnie O'Sullivan
[6]

[7]
Mark Selby13-12Noppon Saengkham

[15]
Barry Hawkins
9-13Neil Robertson
[2]


QUARTER FINALS
Seed

(25)



[1]
Judd Trump
9-13Kyren Wilson
[8]

Kurt Maflin10-13Anthony McGill

[3]
Mark Williams
10-13Ronnie O'Sullivan
[6]

[7]
Mark Selby
13-7Neil Robertson
[2]

SEMI FINALS
Seed

(33)



[8]
Kyren Wilson
17-16Anthony McGill


[6] Ronnie O'Sullivan
17-16Mark Selby
[7]

CENTURIES (79)
147 JOHN HIGGINS
140
Tom Ford, Neil Robertson
138 Matthew Stevens, Ronnie O'Sullivan
136 Jamie Clarke, Mark Allen, Anthony McGill
133 Yan Bingtao, Ronnie O'Sullivan
132 Neil Robertson
131 Judd Trump, David Gilbert
130 Yan Bingtao, Mark Williams
129 Martin Gould
127 Judd Trump
125 Ding Junhui
124 Kurt Maflin, Mark Selby
123 Elliot Slessor
122 Neil Robertson, Mark Allen, Noppon Saengkham, Anthony McGill
120 Mark Selby
119 Ding Junhui, Yan Bingtao, Mark Selby
118 Ashley Carty, Ding Junhui
117 Barry Hawkins, Ronnie O'Sullivan
116 Kyren Wilson (2)
115 Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stuart Bingham
114 Ronnie O'Sullivan
113 Liang Wenbo, Kyren Wilson
112 Ronnie O'Sullivan
111 Mark King, Barry Hawkins
109 Stuart Bingham, Kyren Wilson
107 Jack Lisowski
106 Ronnie O'Sullivan
105 Alan McManus, Kurt Maflin, Mark Allen (2), Noppon Saengkham, Neil Robertson, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Kyren Wilson
104 Judd Trump, Ding Junhui, Mark Allen, Barry Hawkins, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Kyren Wilson
103 Martin Gould (3)
102 David Gilbert, Jack Lisowski, Kurt Maflin, Mark Selby
101 Kurt Maflin, Ronnie O'Sullivan (3), Shaun Murphy, John Higgins, Ding Junhui
100 Martin Gould, Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson (2)