Tag: australia

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mitchell Starc took a hat-trick against the Netherlands on Saturday before rain abandoned the ICC World Cup 2023 warm-up fixture.

Set to chase 167 in 23 overs, the Netherlands found themselves in heaps of trouble as left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc ran through their top order with a hat-trick.

Starc’s hat-trick left the Netherlands reeling at 12/3 before Mitchell Marsh made it 15/4 by castling Vikramjit Singh in the fourth over.

Sybrand Engelbrecht and Colin Ackermann then put on a brief 31-run partnership to settle things before Sean Abbott and Marnus Labuschagne hit back for Australia.

Engelbrecht could score a mere nine before falling victim to Abbott while Dutch captain Scott Edwards scored 14.

Ackermann remained the top-scorer for the Netherlands — who could score 84/6 in 14.2 overs — with an unbeaten 31 in 37 balls with the help of three boundaries.

Mitchell Starc led the bowling attack for Australia with 3/18 while Marsh, Abbott and Labushchagne struck out a batter each.

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Opting to bat first in Saturday’s second warm-up fixture, which was reduced to 23 over a side due to persistent rain here, Australia racked up a commendable total at the back of Steven Smith’s half-century.

The five-time champions, however, got off to a contrasting start as Josh Inglis, who was promoted to open the innings alongside Smith, fell for a three-ball duck.

Smith was then joined by wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey and the pair anchored Australia to 59 in eight overs before Roelof van der Merwe castled the latter.

Carey scored 28 off 25 deliveries, hitting three boundaries and a six.

Australia then endured another setback in the next over when Shariz Ahmad dismissed Glenn Maxwell, who could score a mere five.

Smith then joined forces with Cameron Green and took Australia past the 100-run mark, also amassing his half-century in the process, before finally perishing in the 15th over.

He top-scored for Australia with a 42-ball 55 which featured four boundaries and three sixes.

Following his departure, Green and Mitchell Starc scored vital runs for Australia at the backend, propelling their side to put a decent total on the board.

Green scored 34 in 26 balls, laced up with four boundaries and a six, while Starc played an unbeaten 24-run knock in 22 deliveries with the help of one boundary and a six.

Logan van Beek, Bas de Leede and Roelof van der Merwe bagged two wickets each while Shariz Ahmed made one scalp.

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.

Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (c), Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.

READ: Rain abandons India-England ICC World Cup 2023 warm-up

Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill hit attacking centuries to help India thrash Australia by 99 runs in a rain-hit ODI on Sunday to clinch the series 2-0.

Iyer (105) and Gill (104) put on a dominant second-wicket stand of 200 to lay the foundations for India’s 399-5 after being invited to bat in Indore.

Stand-in-skipper KL Rahul’s 52 and an unbeaten 72 by T20 sensation Suryakumar Yadav contributed to the mammoth total and the bowlers then combined to hand India an unbeatable lead in the three-match series.

The matches are a tune-up for the World Cup in India starting October 5.

Captain Rohit Sharma and star batsman Virat Kohli will return for the final ODI in Rajkot on Wednesday and the team will have to make some tough calls in picking the starting XI.

“It (selection) is the headache of the coach and Rohit…whoever gets picked has a job to do,” said stand-in skipper Rahul.

“Sitting out can be hard after scoring a lot of runs but everyone has been through that.”

Chasing a DLS revised target of 317 in 33 overs after rain interrupted play in the chase, Australia were bowled out for 217 in 28.2 overs.

Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets each.

Australia have lost five ODI matches in a row but skipper Steve Smith remained hopeful of a quick turnaround.

“We have lost quite a few (matches) in a row, in South Africa and here. We need to sort out a few things,” said Smith.

“We have a few days now, we are working towards the World Cup, both the teams are. Hopefully, we’ll turn it around in the last game.”

Indian batsmen set up victory after a flying start and Iyer, 28, put doubts over his fitness to rest, hitting his third one-day century before being caught.

Iyer hit 11 fours and three sixes in his 90-ball knock and was named man of the match.

The 24-year-old Gill, who hit 74 off 63 balls at Mohali in the first game, raced to his sixth ODI century and fifth this year with a single off Sean Abbott.

Gill’s knock ended when he was caught by wicketkeeper Alex Carey off Cameron Green. He hit six fours and four sixes in his 97-ball innings.

Ishan Kishan was dismissed for 31 before Rahul and Yadav propped up the innings with fluent knocks.

Green took two wickets but gave away 103 runs off his 10 overs.

In reply, Australia lost two wickets for just nine runs and were 56-2 when rain interrupted play for over an hour and the tourists resumed with a new target.

David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne attempted to rebuild in their stand of 80 but the wheels came off the chase after their departure.

Ashwin broke the stand and then struck twice in one over to send back the left-handed Warner and Josh Inglis.

Green attempted to hit back but was run out before Abbott led an unexpected charge with his 36-ball 54.

Number eight Abbott put on a ninth-wicket stand of 77 with Josh Hazlewood, who made 23.

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SYDNEY: Australian batters will have to wear neck guards on their helmets when facing fast or medium-pace bowlers for the 2023/24 season, Cricket Australia announced Thursday.

The governing body has recommended neck guards be used since Australian batsman Phillip Hughes’ death after a bouncer hit him in the neck during a game in Sydney in 2014.

Stars such as Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and David Warner had resisted wearing them but neck guards will be mandatory in men’s and women’s matches when the new season starts in early October, Cricket Australia said.

“Protecting the head and neck is extremely important in our sport,” Cricket Australia’s head of operations Peter Roach said in a statement.

He said the decision was based on “a lot of advice and consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders”.

The decision comes a week after Australian all-rounder Cameron Green had to leave the field with a concussion after a bouncer hit the side of his helmet during his team’s win over South Africa in a one-day international match.

Other changes announced included the scrapping of six runs being awarded automatically during Big Bash League matches to batters who hit the roof of Melbourne’s Docklands Stadium.

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SYDNEY: The first Aboriginal woman to represent Australia in sport was hailed on Monday for her “groundbreaking contribution” to cricket after dying aged 90.

Faith Thomas padded up against England in 1958 in Melbourne to become the first Indigenous woman to play a Test match for Australia and in the process the first to feature for any Australian sports team, Cricket Australia said.

A fearsome fast bowler, she trained as a nurse before learning that women played organised cricket, with her career beginning when she was invited by a colleague to participate in a club game in Adelaide.

After just three games, Thomas was selected to represent South Australia and the following year played her first Test.

She was chosen to tour England and New Zealand, but deterred by the prospect of a long sea voyage, Thomas instead dedicated herself to nursing, becoming one of the first employed Aboriginal nurses.

She passed away on Saturday with Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley hailing her “wonderful and groundbreaking contribution to cricket and the community”.

“This is a very sad day for all those fortunate to have known her or who were touched by her many accomplishments,” he added.

“As the first Aboriginal woman to represent Australia in Test cricket, Faith was an inspiration to those who have followed and she leaves an indelible mark on the game.”

Only a handful of Aboriginal cricketers have ever played Test cricket with Jason Gillespie the most successful. Others include Scott Boland and Ashleigh Gardner.

Thomas was awarded the Order of Australia, for outstanding service or achievement, in 2009.

The Adelaide Strikers honour her by playing for the Faith Thomas Trophy every year in the Women’s Big Bash League.

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MELBOURNE: Australia’s women cricketers secured a huge pay increase Monday, with the top contracted player on course to earn more than Aus$1 million (US$666,000) a year.

Payments for professional women will rise 66 percent under a new five-year deal between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association.

They will share in a pool worth Aus$133 million, up from Aus$80 million in the previous agreement, rewarding not only members of Australia’s world champion team but significantly increasing the value of Big Bash League and state contracts.

According to the deal, the top CA contract holder who also has a WBBL contract — believed to be national captain Meg Lanning — could now earn more than Aus$800,000 a year.

That could break the Aus$1 million mark with further earnings in India’s Women’s Premier League and The Hundred in England.

The next six contracted players will earn an average Aus$500,000.

Those who do not play for Australia, but compete in the Women’s National Cricket League and WBBL, will be paid more than Aus$151,000 annually.

“I am particularly pleased this MOU (memorandum of understanding) represents another major step forward in the rise of women’s cricket,” said CA chief Nick Hockley.

“(There are) significant increases in remuneration for the inspirational role models of the world champion Australian women’s team and the WBBL who are driving substantial growth in female participation.

“Cricket now clearly offers the best earning opportunities of any team sport for elite female sportspeople.”

The deal will also see the number of CA men’s contracts increase from 17-20 to 20-24, recognising the number of players now selected across various formats.

The value of those contracts will increase 7.5 percent in the first year and two percent thereafter to an average Aus$951,000 plus match payments in 2023-24.

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DUBAI: Australia Men’s Cricket Team climbed to the top of the ODI Team Rankings following their 2-1 away triumph over India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Wednesday.

Spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar turned the series decider to hand Australia a series-winning 21-run victory over India after the hosts bundled out for 248 in response to Australia’s 269.

The 21-run victory puts Australia slightly ahead of India at the top, with the visitors earning 113.286 rating points to the Men in Blue’s 112.638. Prior to the start of the last ODI, India had 114 rating points against Australia’s 112.

We have a new World No.1 🎉

Australia climb to the top of the @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings after the series victory against India 👏

🗒: https://t.co/CXyR2x0PJJ pic.twitter.com/Ujz1xrWpw0

— ICC (@ICC) March 22, 2023

 

The visitors had to fight hard for the series triumph and they eventually managed to edge past the dominant hosts to take the series 2-1. The series defeat marked India’s first at home in ODIs since 2019.

Opting to bat first, Australia could accumulate 269 before bundling out in 49 overs with their stand-in opener Mitchell Marsh leading the way with a run-a-ball 47.

Wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey (38) and opening batter Travis Head (33) remained the other notable run-getters while the rest of the batters also contributed significantly except skipper Steven Smith, who bagged a three-ball duck.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav led the bowling charge for India as they struck thrice apiece. Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel, however, bagged two wickets each.

The hosts were cruising in the first 10 overs of their chase before skipper Rohit Sharma fell after a brisk 17-ball 30 with the team at 65/1.

His in-form opening partner Shubman Gill soon followed him as he fell victim to Zampa. He could score a gritty 37 off 29 deliveries.

India’s star batter Virat Kohli and KL Rahul then stitched a crucial 69-run partnership for the third wicket and kept their side in the hunt.

However, Zampa struck again to break the threatening partnership as he removed Rahul on 32 in the 28th over. Axar Patel’s stay at the crease also remained brief as the all-rounder could score two runs in four balls before getting run out in the next over.

Agar then further dented India’s march in the run chase as he removed in-form Kohli (54) and top-ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav for his third consecutive golden duck in the first two balls of the 36th over to leave the hosts reeling at 185/6.

India’s lower-middle order then offered minor resistance before all-rounders Hardik Pandya (40) and Ravindra Jadeja (18) both fell to Zampa, who finished with 4/45 in his quota of 10 overs.

Zampa’s spin partner Agar, however, returned with 2/41 while pacers Sean Abbott and Marcus Stoinis made one scalp each.

READ: Yadav fails again as Australia stun India to win ODI series

INDORE: Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne held their nerve on a viciously turning Indore pitch to guide Australia to a nine-wicket victory Friday and only their second Test win in India since 2004.

After Australia were thrashed in the first two Tests inside three days, the series now stands at 2-1 to the hosts with one match remaining.

Labuschagne finished on 28 not out and Head on 49, having lost opener Usman Khawaja to only the second ball of the day.

The dogged victory secured Australia a berth in the ICC World Test Championship final in June at The Oval. India will be sure of their place in the final if they win the fourth Test in Ahmedabad.

“I just tried to take it one step a time,” said Head.

“We have seen it throughout the series that with the wickets, the quality of bowling, anything can happen.

“So we were just trying to take it one ball at a time. It’s just nice to contribute.”

In a low-scoring and frenetic encounter, Australia skittled India for 109 on day one with spinner Matthew Kuhnemann giving the hosts a taste of their own medicine with five wickets.

In reply Australia made a solid start before collapsing to 197 all out before lunch on day two, their last six wickets tumbling for just 11 runs.

Eight wickets for spinner Nathan Lyon saw India bundled out for 163 in their second innings, setting up a victory target of 76.

Australia made the worst of starts with Khawaja, the hero of the first innings, out second ball of the day.

The opening batsman edged Ravichandran Ashwin to keeper Srikar Bharat for a duck.

A stunned Khawaja, who had looked supremely assured in the first innings, reviewed the decision but the dismissal was upheld — to jubilation from the noisy Indore crowd.

Virat Kohli was convinced he had caught gum-chewing Labuschagne, the world number one Test batsman, at slip off Ashwin in the seventh over but India’s review was unsuccessful.

After 45 minutes, Labuschagne and Head changed gears.

Head launched Ashwin for a six over mid-on and the next over drilled Ravindra Jadeja down the ground for a four as the shackles came off.

Labuschagne too got in the act, hitting Jadeja for a four and dismissing a short Ashwin delivery on a half-volley for four more to bring a rare Australia win in India in view.

A flurry of more boundaries quickly reduced the deficit, calmed nerves in the Australian dressing room and silenced the home crowd.

It is only the third time that India — who have won their last 15 home series – have lost a game at home in the last decade.

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SYDNEY: Australia wrapped up the three-match one-day international series with a comprehensive 72-run win over England at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

Chasing 281 to level the series after Australia won the first match in Adelaide on Thursday, England appeared well on track as Sam Billings and James Vince shared a 122-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

But once Vince was trapped lbw by stand-in Australian captain Josh Hazlewood for 60, the English imploded, losing 4-13 to virtually hand the Australians the match.

On a tricky wicket at the SCG, Steve Smith continued the form he showed in Australia’s six-wicket win in Adelaide with a hard-fought 94 to help Australia to 280-8.

The target always looked difficult on a surface that was playing slow with the occasional bad bounce.

And England got the worst possible start to the run chase when Jason Roy tickled Mitchell Starc’s second delivery down the leg side to keeper Alex Carey.

Three balls later Starc got the key wicket of Dawid Malan with an almost unplayable ball that pitched on leg stump then swung back to take the top of off, leaving England staggering at two wickets for no runs.

Phil Salt and Vince kept playing with the aggression that the England white-ball teams are renowned for, and took the score to 34 after five overs.

But Salt tried one big shot too many, stepping away to try and smash Hazlewood over cover only to miss the ball and see it cannon into his stumps.

Any hopes Australia may have had of crashing through the England batting lineup were dashed by Vince and Billings.

The two mixed caution with aggression as they took the score to 156 before Vince was trapped by Hazlewood as he tried to hoist the Australian skipper over the square leg boundary.

England captain Moeen Ali came in and smashed leg spinner Adam Zampa for a four and a six, then missed a top spinner and was bowled.

At 168-5 after 28.3 overs, Australia were back in control and they tightened their grip one run later when Zampa bowled Billings for 71.

England wickets kept tumbling as Starc (4-47), Hazlewood (2-33) and Zampa (4-45) wrapped up the English tail.

Earlier, Smith’s 94 from 114 balls anchored the Australian innings after Hazlewood won the toss and decided to bat.

Hazlewood was brought into the side for captain Pat Cummins, who was rested with an eye to the upcoming Test series against the West Indies.

The pitch initially offered little help for the seamers but it deteriorated as the innings progressed.

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TOWNSVILLE: Zimbabwe stunned a nearly full-strength Australia by three wickets on Saturday to claim a historic victory in the third one-day international in Townsville. 

After leg-spinner Ryan Burl (5-10) played a starring role in dismissing the hosts for a lowly 141, Zimbabwe overcame a wobbly chase to beat the cricket powerhouse for the first time in Australia when they hauled in the target in the 39th over, triggering scenes of celebration.

It was a consolation victory for Zimbabwe to conclude the three-match series.

“We showed a whole lot of fight… it was a testament to the work the boys put in,” said Zimbabwe skipper Regis Chakabva, who top-scored with a composed 37 not out.

The tourists started the chase impressively, with Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Tadiwanashe Marumani posting a 38-run opening stand.

But Australia quick Josh Hazlewood turned the game on its head with the wicket of Kaitano (19) in the ninth over, and soon after dismissed Wessly Madhevere and Sean Williams on consecutive deliveries.

A nervous Zimbabwe, seeking just their third victory against Australia from 32 ODIs, batted defensively and slumped to 77-5 after Murumani (35) fell to towering all-rounder Cameron Green.

Chakabva calmed the nerves and was joined by an inspired Burl, who hit a six off player-of-the-series Adam Zampa to get Zimbabwe within sight of a famous victory.

He fell with five runs needed but there was no late twist.

“You turn up to international sport and you can get beaten on any day, and we saw that today,” said Australia captain Aaron Finch.

“They were relentless with the ball early on.”

In their first series in Australia since 2004, Zimbabwe struggled to be competitive in the opening two matches at the same venue and were routed for just 96 on Wednesday.

In a confidence boost, Chakabva won the toss for the first time in the series and his accurate attack claimed regular wickets against Australia’s misfiring batting order.

Only two batters reached double figures, with star opener David Warner (94) playing a lone hand in Australia’s innings lasting just 31 overs.

After Zimbabwe’s probing seamers tore through Australia’s top-order, an inspired Burl claimed five wickets in a whirlwind 18 balls starting with the key scalp of Glenn Maxwell, who helped rebuild the innings with a half-century partnership alongside Warner.

The dangerous Maxwell holed out for 19 in the 27th over and Burl got on a roll in his career-best performance, including dismissing Warner, who fell just short of his 19th ODI century.

Zimbabwe bowled out Australia for the first time in ODIs and the eventual triumph fuelled their bid to climb the ODI Super League ladder, which goes towards qualification for next year’s 50-over World Cup in India.

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BIRMINGHAM: Hot favourites Australia held their nerve to beat India by nine runs in a Twenty20 thriller at Edgbaston on Sunday as they won the first women’s cricket gold medal in Commonwealth Games history.

Opener Beth Mooney top-scored with 61 as Australia made 161-8 in their 20 overs in the warm Birmingham sunshine.

India appeared on course for a shock win as they cruised to 118-2 in the 15th over, but a clatter of wickets slowed their charge.

They still found boundaries to stay in the hunt and reached the final over with 11 runs needed and two wickets in hand.

But Meghna Singh was run out off the second ball and Yastika Bhatia was trapped lbw the following ball by left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen.

“It’s absolutely huge,” said Jonassen.

“We are blessed enough to be part of some winning World Cup teams but to win the first gold medal for women’s cricket in the Commonwealth Games, you’re only ever going to do that once.”

Victory underlined the dominance of Australia’s women, who are also the reigning world champions in the 20-over and 50-over formats.

Meg Lanning’s side had earlier looked set for a bigger total after they had rattled along to 83-1 off 10 overs.

But Lanning was dismissed for 36 courtesy of a brilliant piece of fielding by bowler Radha Yadav, who back-flicked the ball onto the stumps to run the Australia captain out at the non-striker’s end.

Tahlia McGrath, allowed to play despite testing positive for coronavirus, was next to go, caught brilliantly by Yadav at backward point.

Australia’s run-scoring was checked by an impressive India fielding display that led to the fall of several wickets.

Mooney was dismissed in the 18th over thanks to a stunning catch by Deepti Sharma, who clung onto the ball one-handed as she backtracked.

India were in deep trouble at the start of their innings, losing in-form opener Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma early on.

Jemimah Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur rebuilt the innings at a packed and raucous ground, where most of the support was for India.

But just when India appeared to be on their way to victory, Rodrigues was bowled by Megan Schutt for 33 in the 15th over, ending a stand of 96.

The following over India suffered a huge double blow when Pooja Vastrakar was caught in the deep off the bowling of Ash Gardner and Kaur was caught by wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy off the next ball for 65, leaving them 121-5.

India still took the match to the last over but the target was just beyond them and they were bowled out for 152 with three balls remaining in their innings.

Off-spinner Gardner, who returned miserly figures of 3-16 in three overs, described the situation with McGrath as “unusual”.

“We have our doctor on tour and we were just listening to whatever she said and she said it was safe for her to play,” she said.

“Obviously we didn’t mingle with her so we all felt we were safe enough out there.”

In the bronze medal match earlier on Sunday, New Zealand coasted to an eight-wicket win over hosts England, who could only muster 110-9.

New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine top-scored with 51 not out as her side romped home with more than eight overs to spare.

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