Tag:

Australia

Credit to Nathan Lyon who finally ended the partnership of Dawid Malan & Joe Root this morning with his 400th Test wicket on Malan (82) + 4 wicket haul, it’s also great to see Australia’s fielding improve with a few successful catches as well as some support to their frontline bowling options from Cameron Green where he got rid of Root for 89.

It gave time for Australia’s frontline quicks (Pat Cummins & Josh Hazlewood) to get back up to speed & made good use of that 2nd new ball where they cleared the remaining England batting card with Green & Lyon for 299 & a 19 run trail before Australia finished the game easily with winning runs by 9 wickets, well done to the Aussies as they lead the five-match Ashes series 1-0.

England have kept it simple during their 2nd innings resurgence yesterday afternoon with Root & Malan despite the openers still being sub-par after a poor first two days, but they just couldn’t keep that momentum going when they returned this AM with potential hundreds & a bigger run stand stolen by Australia before a small lead wasn’t enough to stay in contention.

What Australia will focus now is continue their strong start going into Adelaide & hope that David Warner recovers in time for Thursday’s next test, England needs to at least revisit their opening options if they are to fight back as these guys like Rory Burns who weren’t up to the challenge while they would greatly benefit from James Anderson’s return & maybe Stuart Broad with the ball.

#AUSvENG #Ashes #Australia #England #Cricket #InternationalCricket #TestCricket #NathanLyon #JoeRoot #DawidMalan #CameronGreen

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Hats off to Travis Head who produced a test quality knock of 152 for Australia which a little more than what England scored in the 1st innings (147), although Australia left an acceptable lead of 278 when they were all out for 425 but they haven’t found it much ever since after their strong start off England’s openers especially with the partnership of David Malan & Joe Root that halted their progress.

Meanwhile, Mark Wood did a great finishing up with the ball earlier on Day 3 for England, now these openers (Rory Burns & Haseeb Hameed) were slapped again with respective sub-par scores after lunch but gotta say the top-order partnership of Joe Root & David Malan have rescued their day going into Day 4 where they both batted simply down the ground, hung in there & earned their own 50s off the bat while building a big partnership at the same time.

What Australia has to do is make the most of that new ball tomorrow with flawless fielding by their side after a exhausted 2nd half run today as they still have a 58 run lead at 220-2 if not there’s still another easy way to go 1-0 up in this Ashes series, while England need Root (86*) & Malan (80*) to keep their head up by converting these centuries, climb out of the run trail & stay there for longer that will at least turn into a draw or an outside shot of winning the 1st Test.

#AUSvENG #Australia #England #TheAshes #Cricket #TestCricket #TheGabba #InternationalCricket #MarkWood #TravisHead #JoeRoot #DawidMalan

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

That partnership with David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne was one of Australia’s best moments earlier on Day 2, who both remained calm and collective in the middle before they flied plenty of decent shots out of the park that sealed their half-tons. 

Warner & Labuschagne may not have converted into a century going into tea when Australia just overtook England for the lead but Travis Head kept them alive in the middle at No.5 when he proved doubters wrong about his inconsistency & earned his way to a nice ton himself which is a wonderful way Australia’s end Day 2 progress in style.

They lead by 196 runs at 343-7 so Australia should stay at the crease for a little longer with Head still out there & Mitchell Starc can bat a handy amount of runs before we bring out their bowling strikeforce & try to finish that 1st Test with a win.

Meanwhile, England took an early advantage off the inexperienced Marcus Harris thanks to Ollie Robinson, who also blocked Warner towards escaping his nervous 90s on 94 before he launched a free run & clean bowled Cameron Green for a duck.

Although England were unlucky to dismiss Warner earlier on through that no ball from Ben Stokes, who just overstepped the line on his front foot but England looked very lost during the 1st half of today while wiping Steve Smith for 12 &  Australia’s middle-order card wasn’t enough to reserve their slump thanks to the last man standing in Travis Head.

What England has to do now is wrap up this bowling spell ASAP in the AM session tomorrow before they can use most of Day 3 through lunch & tea to catch up with the bat, then they can use Day 4 to set Australia a difficult run total to chase but only if one or two of their decent batsmen can survive long enough.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

What a day to kickstart their Ashes campaign at The Gabba in Brisbane for the Aussies on Day 1 where they found a way to knock down England’s tail end up early with four wickets (59-4) in the AM session ahead of lunch, then continued that momentum after they bowled them all out for 147.

Nice early tea break for the home side as Pat Cummins bowled beautifully that earned his five-wicket haul alongside Josh Hazlewood who robbed England’s key players with the bat, but the rain has held back for the rest of the afternoon, so Australia will come out to bat tomorrow during the start of Day 2 & use that time to build a big partnership.

England on the other hand gave themselves a lift after lunch thanks to the middle-order partnership of Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler who each made 30+ runs, the damage was already done, however, when the England top-order were exposed by the opposition fast bowling earlier on before it was too late that gave Buttler & Pope a lot of pressure to survive at least after Day 1 which wasn’t successful.

What England can do now is smash the Australian top-order out early & overtake them for the lead but they only have one dedicated fast bowler in Mark Wood and spinner (Jack Leach) plus two fast bowling all-rounders to that job with no Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson.

We’ll wait and see if this England bowling group is going to surprise us tomorrow on Day 2 but if you look at Australia’s decent batting arsenal then Australia continue to build that strong Day 1 momentum with a huge total before they think about finishing that 1st test match on a high.

#AUSvENG #Ashes #PatCummins #Australia #JoshHazlewood #OlliePope #JosButtler #England #BaggyGreen #BarmyArmy #TheGabba #Cricket #TestCricket

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Such a competitive 2nd game between Australian Alex De Minaur & Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics where De Minaur had a great start even in the toughest of rallies that was enough to pull off in the 1st set at 7-5, But Fucsovics bounced back with a 1-1 lead at 2-6 having been too good after the break while De Minaur have struggled to keep the momentum on his end.

And these two players never stopped fighting for top spot until the every end via the tiebreaker as De Minaur wrapped this gruelling three-hour encounter with the win v Fucsovics for Australia, who secured their first win of this year’s Davis Cup finals in Group D.

Final Score: 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 in 7-2 tiebreaker.

Then we wrap up Australia’s day in the office (Alex Bolt & John Peers) v Hungary (Fabian Marozsan & Zsombor Piros) with the doubles as Australia have the upper hand at the beginning in a nice 1st set lead at 6-3, although they couldn’t hold off at the first attempt in straight sets via an extremely competitive tiebreaker 11-13 after the break (6-7) but found their way home first that secured a 2-1 series win for Australia.

Final Score: 6-3, 6-7 via 11-13 tiebreaker & 6-3.

All Australia can do now is pray for the other results to go their way & take the last two remaining Quarter-Final spots as the 1st & 2nd best runner up later today.

#Tennis #DavisCup #DavisCupFinals #Australia #Hungary #AlexBolt #JohnPeers #AlexDeMinaur #MartonFucsovics #PalaAlpitour #FabianMarozsan #ZsomborPiros

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

What a turnaround from John Millman when he fell behind at the beginning, began to catch up for Australia & held back Hungarian Zsombor Piros 6-4 for the first set lead.

However, he wasn’t able to hold off the first attempt towards victory in straight sets after Piros managed to rebound in the 2nd set 4-6 that leads to a 3rd set decider showdown at Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy.

Although Millman has shown brilliance of fightback as he never giving up but just couldn’t find the execution where Piros went from the opening set down to a fantastic turnaround that found his way towards victory, Final Score: 6-4, 4-6 & 3-6.

Next up is Alex De Minaur v Marton Fucsovics as Australia still yet to register a win in Group D of the 2021 Davis Cup Finals.

#DavisCup #DavisCupFinals #Tennis #Australia #Hungary #JohnMillman #ZsomborPiros #PalaAlpitour

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

It’s not been a great day in the office for Australia today in the 2021 Davis Cup Finals when they were clean swept by Croatia 3-0 during their first of two Group D encounters at Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy.

Yes, that first game between Croatian Borna Gojo and Aussie Alexei Popyrin was really intense with really great battles from both players that gone down to the very end but it’s always Gojo who nailed Popyrin down first in straight sets (Final Score: 7-6 via 7-5 tiebreaker & 7-5).

Then we turn our attention to Marin Cilic & Alex De Minaur where De Minaur redeemed himself in the second set after a poor start earlier on, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hold off the win De Minaur wanted for Australia despite that early lead in the third set (Final Score: 6-1, 5-7, & 6-4).

And last but not least the doubles tie with Croatia (Nikola Mektic & Mate Pavic) being too good along the way here to wrap up a 3-0 whitewash v Australia (Alex De Minaur & John Peers), Australia might have the early fire off but just wasn’t able to produce the goods needed to hold Croatia back (Final Score: 6-3, 6-1).

With that being said Australia’s next encounter in Group D is Hungary on 8pm Saturday Night AEDT as they needed to smash something big & win all three ties via both singles & a doubles game
if an unlikely Quarter-Finals berth comes their way.

#DavisCup #Croatia #Australia #Tennis #PapaAlpitour #DavisCupFinals #BornaGojo #AlexeiPopyrin #MarinCilic #AlexDeMinaur #JohnPeers #NikolaMektic #MatePavic

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Australia won their first ever T20 world cup, after a commanding run chase over New Zealand.

The Aussies won the toss and decided to bowl, a decision that has become pretty common in this world cup due to the dew effect and how the pitch matures. It seemed to be a pretty smart decision early on, with Josh Hazelwood taking the wicket of semi final hero Darrell Mitchell, in the third over. The other opener Martin Guptill scored a slow 28 runs off of 35 balls, before he chipped one to Marcus Stoinis.

But from there on it was the Kiwi captain who took control of the innings. After a slow start, Kane Williamson exploded through the middle overs, hitting thirteen boundaries including three sixes in a spectacular innings. Williamson was able to score his 85 off of just 48 deliveries. It was a spectacular innings, that led New Zealand to finish on 172-4, after Jimmy Neesham smacked a six towards the close of play.

It meant Australia had the difficult task of chasing 173 on a slow pitch. Their run chase was made a lot more difficult when they lost captain Aaron Finch for just five runs in the third over. But from there, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh put on the match winning partnership of 92, before Warner was bowled out by Trent Boult.

While Australia came into the tournament with some incredible batsmen like David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch, it was ten year veteran Mitchell Marsh who provided the match winning performance. Coming in with Australia down 15-1 after a slow start, Marsh provided a controlled but impressive innings which led his side to victory.

Marsh had been dropped in the run up to the tournament, but was reinstated into the team as the tournament began, and provided the most important innings of his career in the final. Marsh hit some beautiful shots before Glenn Maxwell took Australia past 173, with seven balls to spare.

Top 3 Performances

3. Kane Williamson produced what was thought to be a match winning performance. His T20 ability is often overlooked, but the captain did everything to try to lead his team to victory today, narrowly falling short of defending their total.

2. While Williamson batted excellently, Josh Hazlewood showed why he is one of th best t20 bowlers in the world once again, taking 3 wickets for just 16 runs, including the wicket of Williamson. It was a bowling performance that meant no other New Zealand batter could properly help their captain

1. Mitch Marsh produced his greatest ever performance. Australia’s batting had been a worry coming into the tournament, with questions all across their line-up. But Marsh put to bed any questions about him being in the team. Marsh never looked worried as he hit a match winning 77 which included four big sixes. It was a performance no one expected, but came at exactly the right time for Australia.

This is the Aussies first ever t20 world cup victory, despite winning five world cups in ODI cricket. Australia lost in 2010 to England, but took care of things today. It means they go into the 2022 world cup which is hosted in Australia as holders, looking to defend their crown at home.

New Zealand need to regroup after a difficult loss in the final, but they will go into the world cup next year with a good squad that should have some crucial additions like Lochie Ferguson and Finn Allen come back into the squad to give them a good shot at the world cup in 2022.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Sam Whitelock stood out on his own All Blacks territory who exposed the Wallabies’ poor executions both as a leader where he guided the Crusaders to many Super Rugby titles & a brilliant contributor in defense.

He read it well when the opposition lacked support numbers going forward that saw so many gaps before Sam filled it up with the Wallabies lost opportunities via the turnover/penalty.

It sums up his side’s attacking dominance in return with some help when building the attack which saved him so much workload & uses his natural game that puts off the Wallabies at Eden Park.

Codie Taylor comes in next who helped stabilize the All Blacks’ extended lead after the HT break at hooker; he has so much to offer when it comes to the line-outs/throw-in as well as the physicality on all fronts.

He credits the direct passage of play where Dane communicated very well that helped ease their workload, especially to his team-mates at the backline who built the groundwork before he processed two tries off his own.

Brilliant run tonight alongside an early mark to the bench so he can rest up towards the All Blacks’ upcoming Rugby Championship campaign later this month.

And Andrew Kellaway is the last of the Top 3 bunch when his Wallabies side looked really sore once again, but he did well individually on the wide right backline position.

He has the finishing instincts to explode any opposing half even though it’s his 2nd game at International level, you got to credit some winning penalty restarts that helped the Wallabies were organised for a couple of occasions.

Unfortunately, his side lacked patience when it comes to executing through open play with no talk up & direct attacking structure which frustrated him as Andrew needs help next time in order to earn the tries his side desperately need that is match-winning quality.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

Really exceptional play in the first 40 from the All Blacks who demonstrated so much patience and support play that got them well ahead on the scoresheet, while the Wallabies benefitted from some winning penalties & used the resets well to stay in contention but needs time to execute better if they are to keep the Bledisloe Cup series alive.

HALF-TIME: All Blacks 21-15 Wallabies

Unfortunately, Wallabies didn’t change/learn much after the break especially with the passage of play being too wide that sums up their poor processing, while the All Blacks have taken advantage when given the ball & they bossed the game in return.

You see the forwards and backline working together alongside the quick & narrow passes before the home side racked up a few big scores that is too easy for them to win games.

FULL-TIME: All Blacks 57-22 Wallabies

Such an entertainment of attacking football to watch from the Men in Black who retained the Bledisloe Cup for the 19th consecutive season as the Wallabies turn their attention to the Rugby Championship now for a fresh start & go from there.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail