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2022 T20 World Cup: Persistent rain abandoned Australia v England game tonight at the Melbourne Cricket Ground without a ball being bowled

by Sports Benches October 28, 2022

Well, we were hoping to have at least some play tonight between Australia v England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but again Mother Nature ultimately won this game ahead of the two teams without a ball being bowled.

With that being said, Australia should not have to face any issues beating Ireland and Afghanistan to complete their Super 12 campaign. However, like Mother Nature, Australia will need some luck & pray that England lose to the Black Caps (New Zealand) on Tuesday.

That way, not only Australia can end up in the Top 2 Group 1 ladder, but they can advance into the semi-finals v India or South Africa in order to continue their World Championship defence on home soil.

For now, the Australian Opening and Top-Order will need to be at their best by scoring big, so they can come to a semi-final fully prepared to upset a giant like India as if their 2nd place finish in Group 1 was confirmed.

Meanwhile, their bowling has been okay on the other hand but again they will need to be up and running right & nail down early wickets from the very start. If not, they will have a hard time overcoming India in the semi-final and potentially throw away another Trans-Tasman showdown v the Blackcaps (New Zealand) for the big T20 World Cup Final at the MCG come Sunday November 13.

We love seeing some underdog teams upset the big nation Test sides so far in this tournament, as we can’t wait to see how the business end of the Super 12 group stages unfold going into this weekend as well as the entirety of next week.

October 28, 2022 0 comment

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STOINIS HEROICS GETS AUSSIES UP AND RUNNING

by Admin October 25, 2022

By Shenol M.Wilson

It was an exciting day for the Aussies at Perth stadium as they were up for the challenge, not only to beat Asian Champions but also to recover their Net run rate after a huge loss with Kiwis. The pitch and conditions looked perfect for their pace attack.

Aussie captain won the toss and asked the Sri Lankan team to bat first. Unlike the New Zealanders, Sri Lankan top order came up with steady and slow start and they were able to get only 60 odd runs in first 10 overs. They were trying to up their gears but the consistent loss of wickets shorten their way to the par score as they were only able to get 157 runs for the loss of 6 wickets at the end of 20 overs.

Ever reliable Pathum Nissanka was the highest scorer for Lankan Lions and Charith Asalanka made them get to a responsible score with his knock of 38 runs of just 25 balls. Five bowlers of Aussie line up chipped in with 1 wicket and economical Michelle Starc just gave 23 runs off his 4 overs by taking a wicket.

Coming up for the chase, Australians were trying to get there as soon as possible in order to up their Net run rate. It was not that easy with the quality of Sri Lankan bowling attack in the first few overs as David Warner was dismissed just for 11 runs by Maheesh Theekshana. Mitchell Marsh and Aaron Finch were also finding it difficult to time as Sri Lankans were doing their bowling and fielding well.Maxwell tried his best to get them out of trouble with 23 off just 12 balls before he was dismissed with a superb catch by Ashen Bandara. Aussies were struggling a bit again when Maxwell was dismissed when the score was 89 in 13th over.

After all Marcus Stoinis arrived to the crease and he had other ideas as he just threw his bat around to deliver an amazing knock of 59 runs off just 18 balls. He was hitting it to all the parts of the grounds as they were able to get it all done in just 16.3 overs which helped them to recover their Net run rate after what happened on Saturday night. Highest scorer for the Aussies was Stoinis as he showed again why he is one of the best power hitters in the world. Aaron Finch who was struggling all through the inning was able to be there at the end being not out and he was able to be the real backbone of the run chase irrespective of all the chaos.

This run chase was able to get the Aussie run rate improved up to -1.555 and it is very important for them to keep up with this momentum.Aussies will meet their Ashes opponent England on Friday and it will be a huge challenge again for them with the kind of performance English players were able to deliver recently. On the other hand, Sri Lankans will meet New Zealanders on Saturday evening where they will have to up their game and deliver.

October 25, 2022 0 comment

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A rundown of Nine Network’s coverage of the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup ahead of Australia v New Zealand tonight at the SCG

by Sports Benches October 21, 2022

Well, it has been a while when watching white-ball International Cricket on Free TV, but Australia’s 2022 T20 World Cup campaign defense kicks off tonight at the Sydney Cricket Ground v New Zealand aka Black Caps.

And the Nine Network is onboard once again alongside Fox Cricket as the ICC’s Australian Free TV partner to bring you all the action with Australian games, a couple of other Super 12 games, two semi finals and the final to round off such a great next few weeks ahead of T20 World Cup on show.

I’m glad that Roz Kelly is onboard as the host who knows cricket so well, thanks to her husband who was also really good back in the his day with his fast bowling for South Africa in Morne Morkel. She also hosted Network 10’s Big Bash League coverage in the past before the rights were taken away by the Seven Network in 2018. But again, great to see Roz get the opportunity to present cricket on Nine after she came back here at the start of last year to host Rugby Union, Tennis, reading the sports news for Nine News Sydney (Fridays & Saturdays) and Sports Sunday.

It’s also good to see former Opening Batsman Mark “Tubby” Taylor provide his insights on the game once again as Nine’s primary cricket expert, even though they no longer hold the home summer matches anymore. But he’s still well liked here for over two decades since his retirement from the game, especially when he pops up on Sports Sunday for most of the year with Roz.

Although there isn’t any ex-Nine cricket faces currently hired on Seven and Fox Cricket these days following the tragic death of Shane Warne (Fox Cricket) earlier this year – as well as Michael Slater (Seven) whose life gone has upside down not long after Seven dismissed him over the past year due to budget constraints – but Nine will have two new analysts for this tournament in former spinner Steve O’Keefe and former batsman Callum Ferguson.

And oh, Michael Clarke may not have been picked up by Seven or Fox at all since Nine no longer airs the summer of cricket four years ago, but he will be on the world feed commentary nonetheless alongside Fox Cricket regulars in Mark Howard, Mel Jones and Adam Gilchrist.

It will be interesting to see what the cricketing community here will say about this commentary team in the next few weeks. I’m sure they will enjoy having a female presenting the coverage in Roz including Tubby and two fresh faces, before Nine will be back on the crease next year with The Ashes in England (Mid June-August) & the next Men’s 50-Over World Cup in India (October-November).

Then we’ll wait and see if Nine will get some help from Network 10 once the current domestic deal expires in 2024, so Nine can hopefully get Test Cricket back & 10 picks up the rest with the Big Bash & white-ball International Cricket – while keeping the Australian Open Tennis which has been working for them so well since they shocked Seven and the Australian sporting community in 2018/2019.

For now, enjoy the next few weeks of T20 World Cup Cricket. Plus, shout out to Ian Chappell who recently announced his retirement from commentary at age 78, after a illustrious spell for over a few decades following the end of his playing career with Nine and other International TV/Radio outlets.

October 21, 2022 0 comment

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Nick Kyrgios’ unreal Wimbledon journey this year fell short as 2nd best to Novak Djokovic in the Gentlemen’s Singles Final

by Sports Benches July 10, 2022

Well, it’s been a fairytale run from our Aussie Nick Kyrgios but it all has to come to an end when you can’t underestimate the champion of grass right now from Novak Djokovic with the win. Nick fired off well when he narrowly shut down Novak for the opening set lead. However, he just couldn’t find a way kick on ever since, even though he was so close to take out the 3rd or 4th set in order to stay in this fight. In the end, it’s Novak who now won his fourth straight title here apart from the 2020 cancellation due to COVID – 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 via 7-3 tiebreaker.

He may not have taken home that precious gentlemen’s singles trophy but what an unreal journey nonetheless for Nick Kyrgios. It was a great start with the opening set lead to hold off Novak Djokovic all along before he was tied at 1-1 apiece. He never gave up as this final goes on where he was so close from converting a set that would’ve seen him re-gain the lead while edging closer towards C’ship Point himself, but he just couldn’t find the finishing touches needed to get ahead of Novak. As said earlier, he will have to settle 2nd best after his first ever grand slam singles final appearance at 27. However, let’s hope he continues to build on his fairytale Wimbledon campaign & be a regular Top 8 performer in future grand slams.

And congrats to Novak on his 21st grand slam title as he continues to conquer on the grass with title No.7 at SW19. He was on the same page as Kyrgios at the beginning where Novak fell short in the opening set run. He did turn around however, when Novak responded easily at 1-1 before he overcame his opponent through the very end, in which was enough to deny Kyrgios a 5th set decider & wrap it up in three sets as the champ once again. It’s been a while when Novak was runner-up last year to Daniil Medvedev at the US Open, before he was unable to play earlier this year in Melbourne & also being taken out in the Quarter-Finals last month at the French Open by Rafa Nadal. While he can go & celebrate Wimbledon right now, it remains to be seen if his exemption will allow him to play at the next Australian Open in January since he won’t be able to play at the US Open next month.

July 10, 2022 0 comment

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Nick Kyrgios is now one win away from taking home the Gentlemen’s Singles title at Wimbledon after Rafa Nadal’s exit due to injury yesterday

by Sports Benches July 8, 2022

Earlier this morning here in Australia, we woke up to the news that 22 x grand slam champion from Spain Rafa Nadal made a difficult decision to exit in this year’s running at Wimbledon ahead of tonight’s semi-final due to injury. That paves the way for our own Nick Kyrgios – who is now one step away from winning his first grand slam championship on Sunday – thanks to Rafa’s withdrawal via walkover. For now, he will watch the other semi final in a few hours time & see who will be his next challenger – either Britain’s Cameron Norrie or Novak Djokovic from Serbia.

Yes, it’s been heartbreaking not to see him continue if you’re a Rafa fan, but recovery comes first before getting back up to speed with fitness on the tennis court. We would’ve liked to see him win his third straight grand slam title this year, as well as make it title No.23 & go one better to complete the clean sweep at the US Open.

Although he can take home the fourth & grand slam tournament of the year in mid-September, but he will be approaching age 37 now going into mid-2023. So there will be plenty of decisions made if Rafa is gonna bounce back or else retire next year. If he still chooses to play, then he will try and be the third player to win all four grand slams in a single year before retiring from the sport for good – after Rod Laver back in 1962 & 1969 & Don Budge in 1938.

Meanwhile, what a moment to savour from our Aussie own Nick Kyrgios in his first grand slam final appearance – with the Wimbledon Men’s Singles trophy now on his sights. This is the moment he has been waiting for a long time after he took the world by storm out of nowhere – especially when he shocked 4th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece in the 3rd Round a few days ago.

Yes, there’s going to be talk about his off-court life over the next few weeks but now it’s not the time to talk about it. Instead, Australia is right behind him on the cusp of making history at Wimbledon – which would mean another golden moment in Australian tennis and sport in general – alongside the now retired Ash Barty earlier this year at the Australian Open.

July 8, 2022 0 comment

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Nick Kyrgios continues his fairytale 2022 Wimbledon campaign with another victory in the Quarter-Final v Cristian Garin

by Sports Benches July 7, 2022

Once again, Nick Kyrgios has made Australia proud as our last man standing in the last eight on Day 10 yesterday at Wimbledon, despite the off-court drama surrounding him over the last 24 hours.

Speaking of being the last man standing, he never gave up battling so hard patiently against a difficult opponent – like Chilean wildcard Cristian Garin. Not only he overcame his opponent in straight sets, but he also became the first Australian to play in a Wimbledon Final 4 since Lleyton Hewitt back in 2005. He will no doubt be ready for another uphill battle for tomorrow’s semi-final against Spaniard Rafa Nadal – in the hope of going one better towards Sunday’s big final v either Novak Djokovic from Serbia or Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The final score; 4-6, 3-6, 6-7 via 5-7 tiebreaker.

It’s been a unreal run from the 26-year-old in Garin but his time at SW19 has now came to an end from the last 8. He never gave Kyrgios a free run when Garin fired off well ahead of him with an excellent 1st-half momentum. However, he just didn’t have the other half consistency to pile more pressure back to his opponent. It would’ve mean a lifeline or two in order to stay alive in this tie but that became a missed opportunity when Kyrgios swooped in all three sets instead. Well played though, as he hopes to build on his fairytale Wimbledon campaign at the US Open late next month.

Meanwhile, hats off to Kyrgios on another breakthrough win en route to his first-ever grand slam singles semi-final at 27. He responded really well to Garin’s opening half momentum that gave himself some time to close in on his opponent with patience. Then they were both tested at the very end through every set where Kyrgios provided the better execution to shut down Garin. He just never rushes to look through the body language of Garin on-court before he went on to unpack & action it in his best ability. These are the traits Kyrgios will be tested once again in another make or break moment as the

July 7, 2022 0 comment

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Elena Rybakina cancelled Ajla Tomljanovic’s strong start with an amazing two-set comeback that sealed a spot for tonight’s semi v Simona Halep at Wimbledon

by Sports Benches July 7, 2022

We’re all gutted for our Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic – who may not have held off Elena Rybakina following a brilliant opening set spell – but she has bowed out with her head held high after back-to-back Ladies’ Singles Quarter-Finals here at Wimbledon. At the end of the day though, what a performance from Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina with the win from the opening set down to just being too good in the end. Her next opponent now for tonight’s semi-final will be 16th seed Simona Halep from Romania, as the final score was 6-4, 2-6, 3-6.

As said just above, Tomljanovic fought off a competitive battle at the start that earned her the opening set lead, where she was just one set away from advancing through to tonight’s semis. Unfortunately, she just couldn’t find the execution needed to cross the finish line first when Rybakina held her back at 1-1 apiece- before it was too late when Tomljanovic was eventually overtaken that confirmed elimination on the run home. It doesn’t mean the hard work is well and truly done, having mastered over the last two years on the grass court. Now let’s see if she can replicate the same thing on the hard surface. Her best result over in that surface was the 3rd Round at the US Open last year; So hopefully, that would give her some confidence going into next year’s Australian Open in Melbourne.

And congratulations to Rybakina who is set to play in her first ever grand slam semi final v Halep. She may have narrowly lost the first set but it doesn’t mean this tie was over just yet. The response she made to hold back Tomljanovic going into the final set decider before firing away home first with the execution & patience shows that she has no reason to be scared of her next opponent. She’s young with so much potential at age 23 alongside a really tall stature at just six foot to knock any opponent out of the park. There could be two first timers for Saturday’s final with either Ons Jabeur or Tatjana Maria, but it only depends on Rybakina‘s ability to get the job done against someone – who is very experienced with two grand slam championships to Halep’s name.

July 7, 2022 0 comment

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Wimbledon 2022: Two Aussies Ajla Tomljanovic and Nick Kyrgios on the hunt towards their potential semi-final singles’ berth on Day 10 today

by Sports Benches July 6, 2022

We still have two Aussies standing in the last eight at Wimbledon that will begin in a few hours’ time – Nick Kyrgios and Ajla Tomljanovic. Yes, we’ve heard the unexpected news from off-court yesterday that Nick Kyrgios has been hit with a domestic violence assault charge over his ex-girlfriend from December last year. Nevertheless, he will still be playing v Cristian Garin from Chile in a bid to advance through to Friday’s Semis against – either American Taylor Fritz or Spaniard Rafa Nadal, as his next trial will take place next month at a court in Canberra.

We would’ve love to see an all-Australian QF with Kyrgios & Alex De Minaur that would guarantee an Aussie going into the semis but De Minaur’s great start after the first two sets was eventually hijacked by his upcoming opponent. Neither does Jason Kubler when he also advanced through to the last 16 before he was easily beaten by Fritz but then it would’ve been another hard next match anyway v one of the world’s best in Rafa.

While we won’t make any further comments about his off-court situation – especially when Kyrgios has such a big reputation there of being famous- but right now he will want to focus on the game if he still wants to be the last man standing going into the last four for Australia.

Meanwhile, we have Ajla Tomljanovic as our other female Aussie in the ladies’ singles last eight v 17th seed from Kazakhstan – Elena Rybakina. She has demonstrated brilliant fightback from the opening set down in her last two rounds v Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) & Alize Cornet (France) respectively. Now she’s ready to unpack these strengths in order to eliminate Ryabakina, and hopefully advance into the semis tomorrow for a shot towards Saturday’s big final against – either Simona Halep from Romania or USA’s Amanda Anisimova.

Here we come as these two Aussies look set to make history on Day 10 at Wimbledon!

July 6, 2022 0 comment

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Ajla Tomljanovic – the only Aussie left standing in the Wimbledon Ladies Singles’ 4th Round after she went from the 1st set to a comeback win v Barbora Krejcikova

by Sports Benches July 2, 2022

Apart from the three Aussies being confirmed in the men’s singles fourth round with Alex De Minaur, Jason Kubler & Nick Kyrgios; We do only have one player left over at the women’s singles side – also in the fourth round – in none other than Ajla Tomljanovic. She too came from behind to eliminate the 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova from Czech Republic – 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 at Court No.12.

It’s not the exit the Czech wanted following a great start to this tie with an easy first set spell. She just couldn’t build on to bring herself home first ever since with two missed opportunities being taken away. She struggled to bridge that 2nd half consistency before Tomljanovic stepped in to tie at 1-1 apiece, brought it to a 3rd set decider where she later lost the lead & now it’s too late. She also hasn’t had a great grand slam record lately following her 1st round elimination recently at the French Open. But she’s 26 having made the Quarter-Finals earlier this year at the Australian Open, as it’s still possible for her to end her 2022 grand slam season on a high just like it was last year in the Final 8 at the US Open.

Meanwhile, Congratulations to Tomljanovic with the win she deserves against one of the past grand slam champions on-display. She may be disappointed with the poor start there by Krejcikova. However, she never gave up when Tomljanovic began to make up lost time as this tie goes on. Not only she was better than her opponent when it comes to the 2nd half pull, but also the persistence & fightback that helped gave herself another lifeline going into the 3rd set decider. From there, it allowed her a bit more time to read about Krejcikova’s on-court approach/body language before Tomljanovic smashed her way past the finish line first for the win.

It will be interesting to see if she can get past Alize Cornet from France on Monday – who just eliminated World No.1 Iga Swiatek from Poland – also in the third round tie – 4-6, 2-6. Should she win once again, it will be back-to-back Final 8s for another year here at Wimbledon.

July 2, 2022 0 comment

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Wimbledon 2022: Nick Kyrgios shocks 4th Seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with the upset win going into the 4th Round v Brandon Nakashima on Monday

by Sports Benches July 2, 2022

What an upset it has been from our Aussie own Nick Kyrgios who just knocked 4th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the third round at Wimbledon. Both players played really well where Tsitsipas just narrowly beat Kyrgios for the first set lead via the tiebreak. However, Kyrgios had the better fightback than Tsitsipas that saw him win over the next three consecutive sets that sealed his upset. The final score at Court No.1 is 6-2 via 2-7 tiebreaker, 6-4, 6-3 & 7-6 via 9-7 tiebreaker.

Gutted for Tsitsipas with the shock elimination there, even though he fought hard all the way until the very end. The fire off was there when he just shut down Kyrgios with the opening set lead after a series of competitive duels going into the tiebreak. Although he had the opportunity to bring it towards the 5th & final set decider via another tiebreak; unfortunately, he just didn’t have the consistency needed to stay ahead & execute it his way. It’s the one big weakness where he was exposed as this tie goes on by Kyrgios.

And congratulations to Krygios with the win as he advances into the fourth round on Monday v American Brandon Nakashima. If he wins that next round tie, then this will be the third Quarter-Final appearance; first since the 2015 Australian Open and second here at Wimbledon back in 2014. He may have fell short in the opening set spell but he proved to be the better player than Tsitsipas when it comes to the 2nd half pull ever since. We love his fightback when he went from the opening set down to winning the next three straight sets. It tested his persistence to respond back to Tsitsipas under pressure before he upsurged his opponent in the process; first with the lead after the 3rd set, then the victory he deserved in front of these delightful and excited spectators.

July 2, 2022 0 comment