Australia regain Ashes with 150-run win over England in 3rd Test at Perth

December 17, 2013

Australia_regain

Perth, Dec 17: Australia regained the Ashes with a thumping 150-run victory over England in the third Test at Perth. Ben Stokes who stood in between the victory scored his maiden Test ton but it was not enough to save the visitors. Australia have gained an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match Test series.

Needing five wickets going into Day Five, Australia were made to wait after a fighting 77-run partnership between Matt Prior and Stokes. 22-year-old Stokes hit his maiden Test ton under pressure to keep England alive. He was finally snared by the low bounce off a Nathan Lyon delivery and Australia walked through with the remaining wickets to seal the match.

Three matches and target of over 500 set for England to chase in all the three speaks volumes of the domination from Australia. Perhaps the only difference visible in the Perth Test from the other two was a determination from England to fight it out. But that wasn’t going to make much of a difference as Australia were fuelled by confidence while England still appeared tentative while batting.

The best time of the match for England was on Day One, when they had Australia five down for 143. There was a belief lingering that they could turn this Test around. From that moment onwards the game kept drifting away and by the end of Day Three, England awaited a knockout punch from Australia.

The dominance by the Aussies started towards the end of second session on Day One when Brad Haddin 55 and Steve Smith (111) shared a crucial 124-run partnership. The total had crept beyond 300 and by the time, Smith completed a well-deserved ton, they were past the average fist innings score at Perth. The Australian tail end who have been reliable in this series hung around and took the team to 385. The determination was there, but so was the worry of yet another collapse. Alastair Cook and Michael Carberry started off well and fought hard to build a solid 85-run stand, before it was back to square one as England batsmen fell to some poor shots.

It was the loss of Kevin Pietersen’s wicket in both the innings that signalled England’s slide. The pacers had their tail up removing him late on the second day.

Yet there was a lot of hope that Stokes and Ian Bell could help them get closer to the target. But the bowlers were in no mood to let things slip away as they ripped through the batting to take a match-winning lead of 134. The game kept drifting away from the visitors as David Warner and Chris Rogers tormented the opposition with a 157-run opening stand. England will have to blame themselves for some sloppy fielding, especially Matt Prior. Warner galloped to a ton as Australia by the end of the third day looked all set pile on another baggage of a 500+ target. Yet skipper Michael Clarke wouldn’t have thought it would come all that easy.

Shane Watson clobbered the bowlers sprinting to his fourth Test ton. And George Bailey continued the humiliation with a record 28-run over off James Anderson before Australia declared at 369 for six setting a 504-run target.

With the poor form that England batsmen were in, it was all about wait and watch until the bowlers bowl them out once again. There were talks of South Africa’s chase of 414 in 2008 being replicated for a brief moment but the reality struck when Cook was bowled on the first ball of the chase. All through the fourth day, England fought and fought hard defending as much as possible. Yet again the pacers bowled relentlessly and earned their wickets at regular intervals until Bell and Stokes gave them some headache. While the hosts managed to get Bell’s wicket for 60, but England had managed a little task of taking the match into the fifth day.

Stokes and Prior added to the frustration of Clarke and co. seeing out the first hour of play and looked comfortable even after the new ball was taken. Australia finally managed to get the breakthrough when Prior tried to drive a wide delivery off Mitchell Johnson and edged it to the wicketkeeper. Clarke was elated but Stokes continued to fight it out and reached to his ton. This is now the first Test ton by an England batsman at No 6 since Ian Bell hit one against Sri Lanka in 2011.

Australia went in to lunch knowing that they were close. Stokes’s wicket finally set off the celebrations as a distant fightback too went out of the window for England. The bowlers cleaned up the tail to register a comprehensive win.

The last Ashes win for Australia came in 2006-07 when the whitewashed England 5-0. The aggressive brand of cricket has finally paid off for Clarke.

Brief scores:

Australia 385 (David Warner 60, Steve Smith 111, Brad Haddin 55; Stuart Broad 3 for 100, James Anderson 2 for 60) and 369 for 6 decl. (David Warner 112, Shane Watson 103; Tim Breesnan 2 for 53) beat England 251 (Alastair Cook 72, Michael Carberry 43; Ryan Harris 3 for 48, Peter Siddle 3 for 46) and 353 (Ian Bell 60, Ben Stokes 117; Mitchell Johnson 4 for 78, Nathan Lyon 3 for 70 by 150 runs.

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News Network
May 4,2020

May 4: Yuzvendra Chahal is among the best leg-spinners in international cricket right now but he can be more effective with better use of the crease, says former Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed.

Ahmed picked Chahal, Australia's Adam Zampa and Pakistan's Shadab Khan among the top leg-spinners in white-ball cricket.

"Chahal as been impressive. He is definitely among the top leg-spinners of the world. And I feel he would be more effective if he uses the crease a lot more," Ahmed said.

Ahmed, who has coached all around the world and is currently a consultant for his native team, said India's ability to take wickets in the middle-overs in the limited overs format through Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav has been a game-changer for them.

Both the wrist-spinners were brought into India's limited overs set-up following the 2017 Champions Trophy. Though, of late, both Chahal and Kuldeep havn't been playing together.

"He (Chahal) can go wide of the crease at times. You got to be smart enough to understand pitches. If it is a flat pitch, you can bowl stump to stump," said Ahmed, one of the best leg-spinners Pakistan has produced.

"If the ball is gripping, you can go wide of the crease because you can trouble even the best of batsmen with that angle. That way your googly also doesn't turn as much as the batsman expects and you end up taking a wicket."

Chahal has taken 91 wickets in 52 ODIs at 25.83 and 55 wickets in 42 T20s at 24.34. He is not a huge turner of the ball but uses his variations very effectively.

Ahmed also feels the likes of Chahal and Kuldeep have benefitted immensely from former captain M S Dhoni's advice from behind the stumps.

"You have got to be one step ahead of the batsman. You should know your field position as per the batsman's strength. I always say attack with fielders not with the ball. If you understand that theory, you will always be successful," the 49-year-old, who played 52 Tests and 144 ODIs, said.

"India has become a force to reckon with in all three formats as it uses its bowlers really well. Dhoni was a master at getting the best out of his bowlers in limited overs cricket and now you have Virat Kohli."

He also said the art of leg-spin remains relevant more than ever.

"You need leg-spinners and mystery spinners in your team as they have the ability to take wickets at any stage of the game. I see a lot of them coming through in the next 10-15 years.

"Most batsmen now like playing express pace but with a good leg-spinner in the team, you are always in the game," added member of the 1992 World Cup-winning squad.

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News Network
June 22,2020

Zadar (Croatia), Jun 22: Grigor Dimitrov took to Instagram to announce that he has tested positive for coronavirus. The tennis star was one of the players who took part in the Adria Tour with the likes Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem among others.

Taking to Instagram, the player wrote: "Hi Everyone-I want to reach out and let my fans and friends know that I tested positive back in Monaco for Covid-19. I want to make sure anyone who has been in contact with me during these past days gets tested and takes the necessary precautions. I am so sorry for any harm I might have caused. I am back home now and recovering. Thanks for your support and please stay safe and healthy."

He also urged those who had come in contact with him over the last few days in Monaco should also get tested for the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, World no.1 Djokovic reached the final of his exhibition tournament in Zadar, Croatia, after easing through the round-robin group stage on the first day. This is the second stage of the Adria Tour with Austrian Dominic Thiem winning the first leg in Belgrade, Serbia.

Djokovic started by saving three set points in his 4-3, 4-1 win over fellow Serb Pedja Krstin. He then beat home favourite Borna Coric 4-1, 4-3 in front of several thousand fans at the Visnjik tennis complex.

The tournament in Zadar is being played on red clay over two days. In the other group, Russian Andrey Rublev is in pole position to advance into the final after wins over 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic and Serb Danilo Petrovic. He faces German star Alexander Zverev in the final round robin match on Sunday who stayed in contention after beating Cilic 4-3, 0-4, 4-3.

Djokovic''s own inconsequential final group match is against Croatian Dino Serdarusic who replaced Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian pulled out of the tournament with sickness following his opening 4-1, 4-1 loss to Coric.

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News Network
June 25,2020

Jun 25: After asserting that the 2011 World Cup final was "sold" by "certain parties" in Sri Lanka to India, the island nation's former sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has now called his claim a "suspicion" that he wants investigated.

The Lankan government has ordered an enquiry into the matter and a special Police investigation unit recorded Aluthgamage's statement on Wednesday. He told the team that he was only suspicious of fixing.

"I want my suspicion investigated," Aluthgamage told reporters.

"I gave to the Police, a copy of the complaint I lodged with the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 30 October 2011 regarding the said allegation as then Sports Minister," he said.

Aluthgamage has alleged that his country "sold" the game to India, a claim that was ridiculed by former captains Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who demanded evidence from him.

Set a target of 275, India clinched the trophy thanks to the brilliance of Gautam Gambhir (97) and then skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (91).

"Today I am telling you that we sold the 2011 world cup, I said this when I was the sports minister," Aluthgamage, who was the sports minister at the time, had stated.

Sangakkara, the captain of Sri Lanka at that time, asked him to produce evidence for an anti-corruption probe.

"He needs to take his 'evidence' to the ICC and the Anti corruption and Security Unit so the claims can be investigated thoroughly," he tweeted.

Jayawardene, also a former captain who scored a hundred in that game, ridiculed the charge.

"Is the elections around the corner...like the circus has started...names and evidence?" he asked in a tweet.

Aluthgamage said that in his opinion no players were involved in fixing the result, "but certain parties were."

Both Aluthgamage and the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa were among the invitees at the final played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Following his allegations, Aravinda de Silva, the former great who was the then chairman of selectors, has urged the BCCI to conduct its own investigation.

De Silva has said he is willing to travel to India to take part in such an investigation despite the current COVID-19 threat.

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