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Australia sees off late threat from the West Indies’ swashbuckling lower-order pair of Roston Chase & Alzarri Joseph with the opening Test match victory in Perth

by Sports Benches

West Indies resumed on 193-2 with 306 runs left to win following a magnificent knock yesterday from the main man Kraigg Braithwaite while Australia just need eight wickets to go 1-0 up & retain the series trophy, with just a full day’s play left to go on Day 5 of the opening Test match here at Optus Stadium in Perth. 

Australia got away with early wickets on the board spearheaded by Nathan Lyon when not only he clean bowled the dangerous K. Braithwaite through the stumps on 110 – but a good restart also helped them dismantle the Windies middle order – with credit from Steve Smith who’s excellent with catching & diving up close using these soft hands at the slips area.

Then the West Indies still has plenty to offer following the lunch break on 258-7 – when the lower order pair of Roston Chase  (spinning all-rounder) & Alzarri Joseph (seamer) began to smack a couple of incredible shots immediately downtown that added more runs on the board between them while shaving off their team’s huge run trail at the same time. Sadly, they couldn’t hold on for much longer with time running out against them when there’s only two more players left to bat from the tail end.

Roston may have got his quickfire 50, but Alzarri didn’t get past 43 when that unreal partnership was stopped by Travis Head through the gate – before Lyon came back once more to finish off the damage – including Chase on 55 & a first-ball duck from Kemar Roach – that sealed both his six-wicket haul & the win for Australia by 164 runs. The home side will now head to Adelaide Oval alongside the series win at 1-0 with one Test match to spare v WI, before South Africa fly here for three more Tests later this month.

Wow!! Five days of Test Cricket where we saw so much competition from both teams with the bat. However, Australia’s all-round performance – such as Marnus Labuschagne’s back-to-back hundreds, as well as Steve Smith, Travis Head & Spinner Nathan Lyon – have put themselves further ahead in which was enough to finish off first with some energy left in the tank. Can’t wait for the Day-Night test starting on Thursday.

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Australia still have plenty of energy left in the tank but Kraigg Braithwaite’s stunning ton means that West Indies aren’t done just yet going into Day 5

by Sports Benches

Australia resumed Day 4 on 29-1 alongside a 344 run advantage as they continued to shine with the bat. It was good to see Dave Warner collect some much-needed runs this time. Although he couldn’t get past 50 when he was caught by Sharmahr Brooks off Rostov Chase’s leg spin on 48, but sure he’ll get another opportunity to prove himself & score big during the next Test – which is going to be a day-nighter under the pink ball starting on Thursday afternoon at Adelaide Oval. 

Once again though, hats off to Marnus Labuschagne who scored another stellar ton on 104 not out after a few dropped catches have gone his way – including a no-ball wicket catch when Alzarri Joseph overstepped the white line. Australia have declared on 182-2 alongside a 497 run lead – that sets up a huge 498 run chase from the West Indies to win.

Going through past the other half of session No.2, as well as tea & stumps time, West Indies have continued to stick to simple basics right from the very beginning which helped them paid off with runs on the board. Not only Tagenarine Chanderpaul continued to make a consistent impact into the 40s before he was bowled out by Mitchell Starc on 46, but Kraigg Braithwaite also did very well as the main man for the Windies where he converted his 50 into a terrific Test Match hundred to savour. Now he will resume on 101 not out alongside Kyle Mayers on 0* off three balls – as WI are on 192-3 with 306 runs left to win in 92 overs – following the dismissals of Shamrahr Brooks (11) & Jermaine Blackwood (24) at the hands of Australia main spinner – Nathan Lyon.

So the Windies need K. Braithwaite to stay right through the very end & hopefully shock the Aussies out of nowhere – with back-up from Mayers or else Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva & Roston Chase later on – who can all bat a bit – while Kraigg does the hard work for WI. And Australia still needs to get the job done ASAP once they come back refreshed from overnight with just a full day’s play left to finish this 1st Test on a high at 1-0 in this two-match series.

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Test Cricket: West Indies batted as long as they can but Australia’s well-earned rest from overnight paid off with the ball after they restricted them to 283 on Day 3 yesterday 

by Sports Benches


We fire off Day 3 with half-centuries from the West Indies opening pair of both Tagenarine Chanderpaul & later Kraigg Braithwaite. However, Australia came back refreshed following a wicket-less 3rd session from Day 2 overnight; Josh Hazlewood got the breakthrough shortly after Tagenarine’s 50 when he knicked it straight to Dave Warner at first slip – followed by Pat Cummins who bowled K.Braithwaite out through the gate on 64.

There may be some slip-ups along the way as the Windies kept batting as long as possible for most of yesterday – with Jermaine Blackwood thriving as a sub -batter on 36 after Nkrumah Bonner’s concussion off a short ball bounce into his helmet from Hazlewood – that forced him to retire hurt. So does the Jason Holder & Shamarh Brooks where they both scored 27 & 33 down at No.6 & No.7 respectively. 

It‘s still a long shot though when trying to get past Australia’s huge 1st innings total of 598 when Mitchell Starc cleared their top & middle order – including two stunning scalps of Jermaine Blackwood (LBW) & Joshua Da Silva (clean-bowled) – with the help of Nathan Lyon & Cameron Green, before Lyon & Cummins wrapped the Windies 1st innings batting total of 283.

And fast forward towards stumps time, The Windies captured Usman Khawaja early when he tried to cut it but then was caught behind Da Silva’s gloves off Kemar Roach for just 6 off 13 balls. So there you have it, Australia will pick up Day 4 for on 29-1 as they still hold a huge lead of 344 runs. The home side will need to add another 100-150 or maybe 200 with the bat for at least the first half of the day, then declare and bring the bowlers again to wrap up this 1st Test. Meanwhile, WI would love to get this entire Australian XI card out ASAP with a huge batting collapse; That way, they can come from behind & possibly shock the Aussies with the win on the 5th & final day tomorrow.

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Test Cricket News: Marnus Labuschagne’s stellar knock accompanied by Steve Smith puts Australia closer to 300 on Day 1 of the 1st Test v West Indies

by Sports Benches

What a way to wrap the first day back of the new Australian Test Cricket season here at Optus Stadium in Perth, as Australia will pick up on Day 2 at 293-2 v West Indies.

Yes, the start has been been shaky having won the toss & chose to bat first when Dave Warner was clean-bowled early by Jayden Seales, while Usman Khawaja wasn’t bad as the other left-hand opener that helped Australia get the ball rolling until he was caught behind on 65 by Joshua Da Silva off Kyle Mayers. 

However, Marnus Labuschagne – who is our main man right now – has been exceptional all along since he came in after Warner’s early dismissal at No.3. 

Not only he got away with a half-century but also converted into a century before he’s still standing right now, having just got past the 150 mark on 154* runs not out off 270 balls. So much class there from a player who continues to make the first-drop role on his own – which has been happening for the last three years since he was thrown at the deep end after Steve Smith’s concussion at the time v England (away).

Speaking of Smith, he too played a supportive role of Labuschagne & also Australia’s turnaround during the second half of Day 1 with a 50 for himself. He will look to try and convert into another Test 100 on 59* not out off 107 balls. 

So staying a bit longer in the middle to see both Smith & Labuschagne a 100 & 200 respectively would be nice to declare Australia’s first-innings spell, before they delcare at some point on Day 2 & bring the bowlers in to do damage so they’re a few steps ahead towards wrapping up this Test match 1-0.

Meanwhile, West Indies have been stuck in a rut ever since they got away with Warner earlier yesterday. Splitting the Labuschagne-Smith stand would brighten up the start of Day 2 after a much-needed rest overnight, but then they will need to dig deeper when WI look to bowl them all out first ASAP before they will get tested with the bat where is the jury is on them to match & better Australia’s 1st innings scorecard.

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Rashid Khan’s illustrious show with the bat almost crushed Australia after a narrow loss for Afghanistan but Australia’s semi-final hopes rely on Sri Lanka beating England

by Admin

Today, we are describing fantastic news about the post-game match Report between Australia v Afghanistan that will prove very informative. Let’s start reading now! Glenn Maxwell made outstanding efforts in a half-century to reach Australia’s semifinal. However, Afghanistan’s outstanding performance makes Australia’s success hopes to an end. Rashid Khan at Adelaide Oval was afraid to host the team from his magic performance.

Reigning champions Australia must get their rivals to 106 runs or less to surpass England’s net run rate. Before England’s performance, Sri Lanka is in their final team play on Saturday.

The hosts reach 168 for eight from their 20 overs on the behind off Maxwell’s innings. Later, Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi got five wickets between them to control their rivals. It appeared challenging for the match.

The Black Caps’ 89-run triumph in their first encounter proved so expensive to Australia’s championship campaign that New Zealand had already secured a spot in the semifinals. Australia was required to defeat Afghanistan by over 185 runs to surpass their NRR. 

Currently, Sri Lanka must defeat England in a shock result for Australia to advance. If England triumphs, they will meet New Zealand in the following round.

While scoring 169, Gulbadin Naib and Ibrahim Zadran put up a third-wicket partnership of 59 runs. However, Australia regained the initiative with four wickets in nine deliveries, two of which fell to Adam Zampa in his final over. 

Rashid scored an undefeated 48 off 23 balls at the end of the game. As he terrifying the packed house. While cheering his followers at the place he refers to as his “second home.” Still, Australia was capable of staying on and triumphing by four runs.

Controversial call

 A very harsh puzzle occurs as Mitchell Starc declares to away from their line-up. Aaron Finch and Tim David were changed from Cameron Green and Steve Smith less contentiously as both could not recover sufficiently from spasticity problems.

Afghanistan’s opening batsman was at the center of controversy in the first over. 

The bowler Josh Hazlewood struck with his first delivery. He was taking out the batsman with a sharp bouncer that caught him on the head. He was replaced by Pat Cummins and reportedly hurt his shoulder when he collided with Gurbaz in the running after hitting the ball.

Maxwell, Marsh Outstanding Performance

Mitchell Marsh had been on the receiving end of a barrage from Cameron Green and David Warner in the third over. But he was back at the crease in the fourth. He appears to bat with his team trailing by 20 runs and is determined to make a difference.

He starts slowly, carving Gulbadin at slip for four before catches at mid-on by Najibullah Zadran off Gulbadin with 19 runs on board. However, he soon found himself in trouble again. He dismisses Gurbaz with a top-edge straight over his head for a catch by Mujeeb Ur Rahman at cover point.

Afghani wrecking ball touch

With three wickets in four balls, Naveen Chandra’s performance was pivotal in putting a lid on an Australian side needing as big a total as possible to help their troubled title ambitions.  Then, Gurbaz Ahmed’s bright start and Gulbadin Naib’s determined innings before an excellent Maxwell throw from midwicket ran him out.

Afghanistan is within touching distance of the magical 106-run total that would have helped Australia’s NRR comparison with England considerably. When Afghanistan went from 98 for 2 to 99 for 5 and 103 for 6, they were still shy of the mark.

It’s a good week to be a T20I fan. First, the Adelaide Strikers’ Rashid Khan smashed his career-best T20I score, smashing four sixes in two balls off Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Starc over deep midwicket and long-off. It was that kind of T20 Cricket World Cup: explosive, high-scoring, and full of star power. Afghanistan’s bowling attack appears to have been swapped out for another set of explosive attacks.

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Australia win v Ireland last night at The Gabba in Brisbane that kept their World Championship defense hopes alive on home soil

by Admin

Australia vs Ireland was played on 31 October 2022, at the Stadium Brisbane, Australia. Australia was captained by Aaron Finch, and Ireland was captained by Andrew Balbirnie.

Before the start of the match, the toss was held between the two teams and Ireland won the toss and decided to field. It is very important to win this match for both teams to maintain their reputation till the semi-finals. David Warner and Aaron Finch came to play first for Australia while Joshua little bowled the first ball for Ireland.

Australia

In the first over, the Australian batsmen scored 6 runs and the second over of the match was played by Mark Adair in which Australia scored 8 runs without any loss. B. McCarthy bowled in the third over for the Ireland team and got the win for his team by dismissing David Warner on the first ball.

Australia scored 14 runs in 3 overs for the loss of one wicket. At the end of 3 overs, the predictor predicted 171 runs for the Australian team. And thus, in the ongoing match against Ireland, Australia scored 34 runs for the loss of one wicket in 5 overs.

B. McCarthy dismissed Marsh on the first ball of his second over to give his team the second wicket. Joshua little got the third wicket by dismissing Glenn Maxwell and Australia scored 84 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 11 overs.

The Australian team scored 179 runs against Ireland in 20 overs for the loss of 5 wickets, in which Aussie captain Aaron Finch scored 63 runs off 44 balls and Marcus Stoinis scored 35 runs off 25 balls for his team. And 20 overs Ireland needs 180 runs to win.

Ireland

Shortly after the end of Australia’s batting, Ireland’s players entered the field, which were P. Stirling and A. Balbirnie. But A. Balbirnie could not play well for his team and got out for 18 runs but after some time P. Stirling also got out for 18 runs in 2.2 overs. After that, the responsibility of the team L.Tucker and H. Tector took over. But H. Tector could not stay in the field for long and got out after scoring 6 runs.

After the departure of H. Tector, C. Campher and G. Dockrell came and they too could not play a good role for their team and got out without taking any runs.

After five of Ireland’s players were dismissed, G. Delaney came in at number seven, scoring fourteen runs off ten balls.

As the match wore on, the competition became tougher for Ireland. On the other hand, the Australian bowlers tried to get Ireland out early and thus the Ireland team scored 136 runs for the loss of eight wickets in seventeen overs. Ireland needed 44 runs off eighteen balls to win.

Ireland had just 18 balls to complete their target. But they could not complete his target in front of the Australian bowler and the whole team was out by scoring 137 runs in 18.1 overs. Ireland suffered a defeat and Australia won by forty-two runs.

Summary

Australia’s Aaron Finch (63/44), Marcus Stoinis (35/25), and Mitchell Marsh (28/22) take turns playing for your team.

Ireland’s Lorcan Tucker (71/48), Gareth Delany (14/10), and Paul Stirling (11/7) take turns playing for your team.

After winning the match against Ireland, the Australian team got 5 points and placed second in its Super 12 group, while Ireland is fourth in its group with 3 points after facing defeat.

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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

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.

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STOINIS HEROICS GETS AUSSIES UP AND RUNNING

by Admin

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.

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New Zealand surprise World Champions Australia with a Devon Conway special

by Admin

By Shenol. M Wilson

Hopes were high with Aussie fans earlier in the evening, going on to the first match of the world cup with their arch rivals New Zealand on their home soil. Kiwis had other ideas as they were able to get a thumping win over the World Champs and completely disarrayed every prediction going on into the match.

Aussie captain Aaron Finch won the important toss and decided to bowl first in a beautiful batting surface on the Sydney cricket ground as he thought it would get better with the match going on. Going on into the power play, New Zealand openers did not waste a second as they stormed in by throwing out their bats to world class Aussie pace attack. Finn Allen and Devon Conway were able to build up a 56 run opeing partnership before Allen got out for well-made 42 by using just 16 balls.

Ever reliable captain Kane Williamson steadied the ship as he was able to get a partnership with Conway before he got out to Adam Zampa when the score board was 125. Glenn Philips and Jimmy Neesham finished up the job with their cameos of 12 runs and 26 runs without wasting many balls as score board showed exactly 200 runs for just 3 wickets at the end of 20 overs. It was all about the anchor of the inning, Conway who was able to get 92 runs of just 58 balls, which was able to make him player of the match at the end of the game.

On the other hand, replying to this classy performance, Australian Batsmen never got going as they were bundled out for just 111 runs as Kiwis were able to win by 89 runs, which gave them the ability to get a huge advantage by having a such a good net run rate which might be crucial in this highly competitive group A.

Other than the sweep shots of Glenn Maxwell which were able to make him the highest scorer for the Aussies by getting 28 runs, there were nothing much to talk on individual scores in the Australian line up. Highly experienced pace duo Tim Southee and Trent Boult were able to share 3 wickets and 2 wickets respectively as Spinning all-rounder Mitchell Santner made his presence felt with 3 wickets in his bag.

This was completely a surprise for many around the world as Aussie were coming up to the tournament as one of the tournament favorites. Funny things do happen in cricket and this might be an awakening for the Aussies who can still be a force to reckon in coming up fixtures.

Aussies will meet the Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka on Tuesday and it will be a good chance for them to bounce back after what happened already. However ,they should not underestimate any opponent in the group A as they need not only to win, they will have to win big to stay in the competition.

Talking about Kiwis, they should be grateful with this win but still there is a huge mountain to climb as they move towards their first ever world cup hopes. New Zealand will meet Afghan blue tigers on Wednesday, which will be a good opportunity for them to steady their position on top.

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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

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.

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