England beat Australia by 15 runs at Lord's

June 30, 2012
England

London, June 30: A swashbuckling 89 not out from Eoin Morgan proved crucial as England beat Australia by 15 runs in the first one-day international at Lord's on Friday.

Steven Finn and Stuart Broad both took 2-47 as England produced a stifling fielding display to dismiss Australia for 257-9 and take a 1-0 lead in the five-game series.

Australia captain Michael Clarke hit 61 from 67 balls with a six and six fours, while David Warner made 56 from 61 balls, also with one six and six fours, but after crusing to 96-1 the tourists lost wickets at regular intervals and fell too far behind the run rate.

Earlier, England posted 272-5, with Morgan's innings, which included four sixes and five fours, ultimately proving the difference between the sides.

Jonathan Trott hit 54, with three fours from 70 balls, while Clint McKay was the pick of Australia's bowlers with figures of 1-43, after the tourists won the toss and chose to field in overcast and damp conditions.

England captain Alastair Cook admitted he would have bowled given the choice and the openers found life difficult early on.

Ian Bell was on 3 when he was given out caught behind off McKay, but the batsman successfully referred umpire Richard Kettleborough's decision. Replays showed the ball brushed Bell's trousers.

After three separate rain delays, which kept the players off the field for exactly an hour in total, conditions improved, allowing Bell and Cook to put on 74 for the first wicket, before the former was lbw to Brett Lee for 41 at the end of the 17th over.

Bell didn't realise he'd got the faintest inside edge on the ball and walked without asking for a referral.

Cook was dropped by wicketkeeper Matthew Wade from the very next delivery from Shane Watson, but he fell for 40, caught behind off Pat Cummins to the final ball of the 21st over.

Ravi Bopara made just 15 when he edged McKay to Clarke at first slip in the 29th over.

Australia then wasted its referral when Trott was given not out either stumped or caught behind to Xavier Doherty in the 32nd over.

Cummins dropped a difficult return catch off Trott and Morgan hit the first six of the innings with the final ball of the same over, the 38th, by smashing Cummins back over his head.

Trott brought up his 50, from 65 balls, by glancing Lee to backward point for two, but he was bowled by Doherty with the first ball of the 41st.

Morgan reached his 50, from 45 balls, when he nudged Cummins to square leg, then hit Lee for successive sixes from the last two balls of the 47th over as England tried to accelerate.

The next ball that Morgan faced, from Watson, also went for six, but Watson did well to limit England to eight off the final over and had Craig Kieswetter caught for 25 by Warner off the final ball of the innings.

Australia's chase got off to a bad start when Watson was given out caught behind to Steven Finn after a referral but Warner pulled Stuart Broad for six in the 15th over and he reached his 50, from 57 balls, with a single in Broad's next over.

Australia was coasting until James Anderson bowled George Bailey (29), who played on to the final ball of the 19th over.

Anderson had Warner caught by a diving Kieswetter in his next over and with the scoring rate dropping Clarke called for the batting powerplay after 29 overs.

The move backfired when David Hussey played the first ball, from Finn, onto his stumps and was bowled for 13.

Clarke was on 13 when Tim Bresnan dropped a return catch, but Bresnan then had a fidgety Steve Smith caught behind for 8.

By the end of the powerplay Australia had added just 17 runs for the loss of two wickets.

Australia went 10 overs without a boundary until Clarke edged Broad through the vacant slip area for four.

Matthew Wade pulled Anderson for six at the start of the 41st over and Clarke brought up his 50 by smacking Swann for six in the next over, but two balls later when Clarke tore down the wicket for an unlikely single, Wade was run out by the substitute fielder Jason Roy.

In the 43rd, Bresnan traped Clarke lbw with a full toss and McKay perished in the 46th when he holed out to Broad and Kieswetter took a steepling catch.

Cummins unsuccessfully referred a Broad lbw and was out for 4, and despite a battling 29 not out from Lee, England clinched the win when Australia failed to hit the 21 runs needed from the final over.

The second match is on Sunday.



Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: India is not at risk of losing hosting rights for next year's Twenty20 World Cup despite its cricket board's failure to secure a tax exemption for the event, a key BCCI official has told Reuters.

Tax exemptions for International Cricket Council (ICC) events are listed as a requirement in host agreements and the BCCI was supposed to confirm they had secured one by May 18.

ESPNcricinfo, citing correspondence between the two bodies, has reported that the ICC has threatened to shift the tournament away from India over the issue.

However, BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal told Reuters that would not happen and that negotiations were continuing.

"There is no risk to the tournament," he said by telephone.

"That is a work in progress. We are discussing it with the ICC and we'll resolve it."

The BCCI encountered a similar problem when it hosted the event in 2016 when the government refused to provide a tax exemption, and there has been no change in New Delhi's stance despite the board's appeals.

Failure to secure that exemption in 2016 saw the ICC withhold an equivalent sum from India's share of revenue from the governing body's grants and it appears to be taking an even harder line this time around.

"There are certain timelines within the agreements that we collectively work towards to ensure we can deliver successful world class events and continue to invest in the sport of cricket," an ICC spokesperson told Reuters.

"In addition to this the ICC Board agreed clear timelines for the resolution of the tax issues which we are guided by."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 6,2020

Sydney, Jan 6: Nathan Lyon captured five for 50 and 10 match wickets as Australia crushed New Zealand by 279 runs on Monday, capping a golden domestic summer as they swept the three-Test series.

The off-spinner led the powerful Australian bowling attack to dismiss the Kiwis for 136 and seal another heavy win over the Black Caps after similar victories in Perth and Melbourne.

Australia have been unbeatable this season, winning all five Tests at home -- two against Pakistan and three against New Zealand -- after retaining the Ashes by drawing the series 2-2 in England.

"It's been a great summer for the Australian Test side," Lyon said.

"It's pretty special to be part of it, we have been impressive, pretty clinical, the batters have done well and given us bowlers plenty of time."

Australia declared their second innings at 217 for two with David Warner scoring an unbeaten century, leaving the Black Caps with a revised 416-run target in the fourth innings on a wearing Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.

But the Kiwis buckled under the pressure of Australia's superior bowling attack with Mitchell Starc taking three for 25 to support the wiles of spinner Lyon.

"They were clinical in all areas and after the first match they put us under pressure session after session," said skipper Kane Williamson, who missed the Test with a virus.

New Zealand were reeling early at 27-4 and never recovered after Starc and Lyon took two wickets each in the middle session to put the skids under the tourists.

Starc removed both openers, Tom Latham and Tom Blundell, in the first five overs. Blundell fell to a stunning catch by a diving Lyon at point for two and stand-in skipper Latham lost a review for leg before wicket.

Jeet Raval was out in a review to the faintest of edges on 'Snicko' in Lyon's first over for 12.

First-innings top-scorer Glenn Phillips went for a duck after technology detected a faint outside edge to wicketkeeper Paine off Lyon.

Taylor's Kiwi record

Ross Taylor became the leading all-time Kiwi batsman, going past Stephen Fleming (7,172) before he was bowled by Pat Cummins for 22 to take his Test aggregate to 7,174.

Big-hitting Colin de Grandhomme smacked Lyon for six to bring up his fifty but went next ball hoicking to Joe Burns at deep mid-wicket for 52.

Todd Astle was out to a superb diving catch by James Pattinson in the outfield for 17.

Starc yorked William Somerville's middle stump for seven and BJ Watling was the last to fall, caught at backward square leg by Pat Cummins for 19.

Earlier, Warner completed his 24th Test century and remained unbeaten when skipper Paine declared upon the dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne.

"You know you're capable of doing so," Warner said, when asked about how he had bounced back from his disastrous Ashes campaign in England last year.

"I was in the nets hitting the ball well and had the skipper backing me. To be able to play with freedom helped me. It's all paying off."

Labuschagne, who was dropped on four in a regulation caught-and-bowled chance by leg-spinner Astle, was caught at long on off Matt Henry for 59 -- his seventh score over 50 in eight innings this domestic summer.

Labuschagne finished the home five-Test season with a stunning aggregate of 896 runs, made up of his 215 in the first innings, three other centuries and three half-centuries in eight innings.

There was drama late in the Australian innings when Warner was given an official warning by umpire Aleem Dar for running down the middle of the pitch in scampering a single.

It resulted in five penalty runs being added to New Zealand's first innings total meaning their target was revised down from 421 to 416.

The Test was played against the backdrop of one of Australia's most devastating bushfire seasons with at least 24 people losing their lives in blazes raging across the country, including on the outskirts of Sydney.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.