Tag: australia

Lyon, Head storm Sri Lanka as Australia clinch first Test within three days

Posted on by A Sports

GALLE: Nathan Lyon and Travis Head wreaked havoc on the Sri Lankan batting line to wrap up the rain-hit first Test within the three days as Australia crushed the hosts by 10 wickets, here on Friday.

Sri Lanka showcased a dismal batting performance in the second inning after trailing by a deficit of 109 runs. The hosts hardly managed to avoid an innings defeat, amid the complete collapse of the batting order.

Australian bowlers completely dismantled the Sri Lankan batting as the team was bowled out on 113 with the last six wickets falling in quick succession and added just 18 runs to the total. Only four Sri Lankan batters managed to step into double figures with skipper Dimuth Karunaratne topping the scorecard with 23 runs.

Lyon and Head starred with the bowl to force this Sri Lankan collapse by bagging four wickets each. Meanwhile leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson also grabbed two wickets.

After being put to bat the second time for chasing a meager target of 5 runs, the tourists utilized only four balls with Usman Khuwaja hitting a six and a four to culminate the Australian dominance in style.

Earlier, Australia started the processing of Day 3 by resuming their first inning with an overnight score of 313/8 and managed to add only 8 runs before being bowled out on 321. Left-handed opener Usman Khawaja and all-rounder Cameron Green scored half-centuries on the rain-hit second day to tighten the grip of their side on the first Test.

Australia have now secured a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka with the second Test scheduled from July 8 to 12 at the same venue.

READ: India announces squads for T20I and ODI series against England

Big Bash League introduces draft system to attract overseas T20 stars

Posted on by A Sports

MELBOURNE: Cricket Australia (CA) has announced the introduction of a draft system for the upcoming Big Bash League, permitting the franchises to select up to three overseas players.

The BBL confirmed the introduction of a four-tier draft structure after facing two years delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic in order to attract T20’s megastars to Australia for the 2022-23 edition.

CA has stated that the draft will take place in the coming months while the nominations have opened worldwide, promising global competitive rates for the nominated players.

Explaining the working of the newly introduced draft system, BBL announced via its official Twitter handle that players will nominate themselves online for either part or the entire tournament. They can nominate for three salary categories: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The BBL will then elevate the biggest names to Platinum status.

Clubs will choose players in an order decided via a weighted lottery. The first weighted lottery to determine selections one, two, and three will include the three clubs that did not advance to the KFC BBL|11 Finals. The five finalists from the previous season will then be chosen for choices four through eight.

There will be four rounds in the draft, with one pick for each Club, which are permitted to skip some rounds, but by the end of round four, each club must choose a minimum of two and a maximum of three participants.

Each team is allowed one Retention Pick, which can be used in any round of the Draft. If a player has been part of the Club the previous season, they are eligible for retention.

Each Club’s BBL squad will consist of 18 players, with two or three overseas players selected from the Draft while the rest must be domestic players. Clubs will be able to sign up to five replacement overseas players after the conclusion of the Draft. To be an eligible replacement overseas, a player must have been nominated for the Draft, unless approved by the League.

READ: ‘Instead of Twitter, focus on performing’ Smith advises Rahul Tewatia

Bowlers propel Sri Lanka blunt Australia in rain-affected second ODI

Posted on by A Sports

PALLAKELE: Pacer Chamika Karunaratne led the offense while Sri Lankan bowlers stunned Australia to clinch a 26-run victory in the rain-affected second ODI, here on Thursday.

Sri Lanka rebounded from their initial setback in the five-match ODI series, as Australia were bowled out for 189 in 37.1 overs while chasing a rain-revised target of 216 runs in 43 overs.

Right-arm bowler Karunatne was awarded Man of the Match as he sent three Aussie batters to the pavilion including Steve Smith, for 28, and the dangerous Glenn Maxwell for 30. Dunith Wellalage and Dushmantha Chameera, on the other hand, took two wickets each.

All-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva also contributed with crucial two wickets as he was able to get rid of both the opening batters, Aaron Finch and David Warner. He also minted 34 with the bat and put on 61 runs for the third wicket with Kusal Mendis.

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka played a humble knock of 34 followed by Wellalage’s 20 to guide Sri Lanka to 220 for nine when rain forced play to stop and later end the innings.

Australian fast bowler Pat cummin impressed with his figures of 4-35 but his efforts went in vain.

Australia, on the other hand, failed to impress with the bat and lost wickets at regular intervals. Smith and Maxwell tried to unsettle the Sri Lankan bowlers during their brief knocks before both fell prey to Karunaratne.

READ: Pakistan climb to third in the latest ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings

Tim Paine steps down as Australia’s Test captain

Posted on by A Sports

HOBART: Tim Paine has resigned from Australi’s Test captaincy following an investigation by Cricket Australia (CA) for sending explicit messages to a female co-worker four years ago. 

Paine, who resigned just before the Ashes, apologized to his teammates and Australian fans after the chats went out in public.

“Today, I’m announcing my decision to stand down as the captain of the Australian men’s test team. It’s an incredibly difficult decision, but the right one for me, my family, and cricket,” Paine said as he read out a statement in front of media here on Friday.

“As background on my decision, nearly four years ago, I was involved in a text exchange with a then-colleague. At the time, the exchange was the subject of a thorough CA Integrity Unit investigation, throughout which I fully participated in and openly participated in,

“That investigation and a Cricket Tasmania HR investigation at the same time found that there had been no breach of the Cricket Australia Code of Conduct. Although exonerated, I deeply regretted this incident at the time, and still do today. I spoke to my wife and family at the time and am enormously grateful for their forgiveness and support. We thought this incident was behind us and that I could focus entirely on the team, as I have done for the last three or four years,

“However, I recently became aware that this private text exchange was going to become public. On reflection, my actions in 2017 do not meet the standard of an Australian cricket captain, or the wider community. I’m deeply sorry for the hurt and pain that I have caused to my wife, my family, and to the other party. I’m sorry for any damage that this does to the reputation of our sport,” he added in a detailed statement.

READ: AB De Villiers retires from cricket

T20 World Cup: Australia crush West Indies by 8 wickets to close in on semi-final spot

Posted on by Muzamil Asif

ABU DHABI: Australia hammered already eliminated West Indies by eight wickets to edge closer to the semi-finals in the Twenty20 World Cup.

David Warner hit an unbeaten 89 off 56 balls and Mitch Marsh 53 as Australia chased 158 with 22 deliveries to spare.

Earlier, West Indies posted 157-7, captain Kieron Pollard scoring 44 and Josh Hazlewood taking 4-39.

The West Indies enjoyed a couple of handy partnerships in the middle overs, even as Australia kept chipping away.

Bravo and Kieron Pollard set themselves up to launch at the death. The duo added 35 in 28 balls, with the skipper leading the scoring.

Andre Russell finished off the innings with two sixes off Mitchell Starc in his unbeaten 18 off seven balls.

Defending champions West Indies failed to give a winning farewell to Dwayne Bravo, who played his last international.

Australia gave Bravo and Gayle a guard of honour after Warner hit the winning runs.

Teams

Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch (capt), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

West Indies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard (capt), Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Dwayne Bravo, Hayden Walsh, Akeal Hosein.

T20 World Cup: Jos Buttler stars as England thrash Australia

Posted on by Muzamil Asif

Jos Buttler scored an unbeaten match-winning fifty as England thrashed Australia by eight wickets in their T20 World Cup group stage match in Dubai on Saturday.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out at 71 from 32 deliveries after hitting five boundaries and as many sixes as England reached the 126-run target in 11.4 overs.

Jos Buttler put on a 66-run opening partnership with Jason Roy (22 from 20) as well.

England won the toss and chose to bowl. The decision proved to be the right one as their bowlers ran riot over the Australian batting lineup.

Aaron Finch-led side were dismissed for just 125 in their 20 overs. The skipper top-scored with 49-ball 44 with four boundaries to his name. However, it was not enough for the side to post a competitive total.

Chris Jordan was the pick of the bowlers with his three-wicket haul. Chris Woakes and Tymal Mills bagged two wickets each as well.