ICC World Cup 2019: South Africa defeat Australia by 10 runs

Agencies
July 7, 2019

Manchester, Jul 7: South Africa wrapped up their World Cup campaign with a consolatory 10 runs win over Australia, here on Saturday.

South Africa scored 325/6 runs in 50 overs before bowling Australia out for 315 in 49.5 overs.

For the Proteas, skipper Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen scored 100 and 95 runs, respectively. In bowling, right-arm pacer Kagiso Rabada took three wickets, while Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo also got two wickets each.

For Australia, David Warner scored 122 runs, while wicket-keeper Alex Care also chipped in with the bat as he hit 85 runs. In bowling department, left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc and spinner Nathan Lyon took two wickets each while Jason Behrendorff and Pat Cummins claimed one wicket apiece.

Faf du Plessis was declared Man of the Match. With the virtue of this win, South Africa finished seventh in the league standing with three wins in nine matches.

Now, Australia, who finished second in the 10 teams World Cup, will meet England in the second semi-final at Edgbaston on Thursday, while New Zealand will play India in the first semi-final at Old Trafford on Tuesday. The final match of the tournament will be played at Lord's on July 14. 

Chasing a mammoth target of 326 runs, defending champion Australia got off to a worst possible start as they lost their captain Aaron finch for three runs in third over of their innings. The right-handed batsman caught by Aiden Markram off leg-break bowler Imran Tahir, who was playing his last ODI.

Then, Steven Smith was trapped lbw by Dwaine Pretorius for seven, reducing the Aussies to 33-2 in 6.3 overs. Earlier, Usman Khawaja, who came at No three, was retired hurt for six runs.

Marcus Stoinis and David Warner added a crucial 62 runs for the third wicket, taking the Aussies tally to 95 runs. In the 19th over, Stoinis was run out for 22 runs off 34 ball. The all-rounder hit four boundaries.

In the 25th over, Kagiso Rabada bowled a short delivery to Glenn Maxwell and he tried a pull short but ball took an edge and went to wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock who took a brilliant one-handed catch, ending Maxwell's 12 runs innings off 20 ball in which he hit one boundary. 

Then, Warner and Alex Carey stitched together a partnership of 108 runs for the fifth wicket, keeping the five-time World Champion in the hunt. Meanwhile, Warner completed his third century in the tournament. In the 40th over, Faf du Plessis brought Pretorius back to the attack and he did not disappoint his captain. Warner was caught by Chris Morris off Pretorius for 118 runs off 116 balls. This was a big blow to Australia.

After the dismissal of Warner, Pat Cummins held one end while Carey kept hitting the ball to keep Australia's hope alive in the match. In the 45 over, Cummins was caught by Jean-Paul Duminy off Phehlukwayo for nine off 15 balls. He was dismissed in the form of sixth wicket.

In the very next over, Carey's fighting-innings ended as Aiden Markram took his catch off Morris. The keeper scored 85 runs off 69 balls, hitting 11 fours and one six.
Khawaja came back to replace Carey. In the last three overs, Australia needed 48 runs and they had three wickets in hand.

Khawaja was dismissed in the 49th over by Rabada for 18 runs. 

Mitchel Stark was clean bowled by Rabada for 16 runs. Nathan Lyon (3) was dismissed in the form of last Australian wicket in the final over of the match.

Earlier, after opting to bat, openers Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram gave South Africa an explosive start.

The duo of de Kock and Markram scored 73 runs in the first powerplay and dominated the Aussie attack. In the 12th over, Nathan Lyon got rid of Aiden Markram to give Australia their first wicket.

After de Kock's wicket, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis joined Quinton de Kock who looked in fine touch. Quinton played some great shots and took Proteas to 102/1 in 15 overs.

Meanwhile, Quinton de Kock completed his 24th ODI fifty. However, he couldn't continue his innings longer and got out to Nathan Lyon after scoring 52 runs off 51 balls.
Then, Skipper Faf du Plessis took the charge and kept his team on track for a big total. He got the most able support from the other end from Rassie van der Dussen.

In the meantime, Faf du Plessis completed his third successive fifty in this World Cup and took his team to 172/2 in 30.3 overs.

Moving ahead, both the batsmen kept on thrashing the Aussie bowlers and were set for the strong finish. Rassie van der Dussen also got his 7th ODI fifty leaving South Africa at 251/2 in 41 overs.

Eyeing for a big total, Faf du Plessis played some lusty shots and completed his 12th ODI century in just 93 balls taking Africa to 260/2 in 42.2 overs.

However, Faf du Plessis walked to the pavilion on Jason Behrendorffs's ball. du Plessis and van der Dussen stitched a partnership of 151 runs for the third wicket.

JP Duminy joined van der Dussen on the crease after du Plessis wicket. Playing his final ODI for South Africa, Duminy could only score 14 runs and got out to Starc.

In the end, Rassie van der Dussen played a crucial knock of 95 off 97 balls, leading South Africa to a total of 325/6 in 50 overs.

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News Network
May 1,2020

Melbourne, May 1: Reclaiming the top spot in Test cricket has brought smiles back on their faces but Australia coach Justin Langer says beating India in their own den remains the ultimate test and their numero uno status will be put to test when they clash with the Virat Kohli-led team.

After a tumultuous transition phase post the ball-tampering scandal, Australia on Friday displaced India as number one side in Test format but Langer is aware that it does not take long for the situation to change.

"We recognise how fluid these rankings are, but at this time it was certainly nice to put a smile on our faces," Langer told Cricket Australia website. "We've got lots of work to do to get to be the team that we want to be, but hopefully over the last couple of years not only have we performed well on the field, but also off the field," Langer added.

The former left-handed opener underlined what he felt will be the ultimate test of character.

"Certainly a goal for us has been the World Test Championship ... but ultimately, we have to beat India in India and we've got to beat them when they come back (to Australia).

"You can only judge yourself as being the best if you beat the best and we've got some really tough opposition to come," Langer put his priorities in place. The team he insists needs to get better as now others will come gunning for them.

"Getting to No.1 is a great thing, but when you're No.1, you're always the hunted," Langer said. "We've been the hunters for a while, now we're the hunted and we need to get better and better."

Langer also hoped that white ball team under Aaron Finch will win the World Cup. "I know how hard it is to win World Cups ... everything has to go right. One day, I'd love to see Aaron Finch with all his mates lift that T20 World Cup above his head."

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March 7,2020

Melbourne, Mar 7: He will be supporting Australia for sure but former pacer Brett Lee feels an Indian victory in Sunday's T20 Word Cup final could be a "start of a major breakthrough" for the women's game in the cricket-mad country.

India and Australia will lock horns in what is expected to be a blockbuster title clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"As an Australian, I'd love nothing more than for (Meg) Lanning's team to do the job. But if India were to win the World Cup for the first time, victory would do so much for women's cricket in a country that already adores the sport," Lee wrote in an ICC column.

"This could be the start of a major breakthrough, particularly with the amount of talent that is coming through."

The former speedster said Australia will have to look for ways to counter the in-form 16-year-old Shafali Verma.

"In Shafali Verma, India boast one of the most talented players in the world and you feel that for Australia to win the game, dismissing her will likely be their first job.

"I've been so impressed with the opener - it's staggering to believe she's only 16 with the confidence she has in her own ability and the way she strikes the ball so cleanly.

"She's such good fun to watch and I'm not sure the women's game has seen anyone like her for such a long time."

Shafali has been the star of the tournament, having amassed 161 runs at a strike rate of 161, consistently providing India solid starts, and that was not lost on Lee.

"To be the world's best T20 batter already shows just how far she has progressed in such a short space of time and the experience in this tournament will hold her in good stead for years to come.

"Even with the way she's played in Australia and her fearless brand of cricket, you still get the feeling she has more to come as well."

He reckoned Shafali may have another big score awaiting her.

"She's got a big score in her locker and there's probably no better place to do that than the MCG. Shafali is already a record breaker but if she can steer her side to their first Women's T20 World Cup title at just 16, then the sky really is the limit for her career."

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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