BBL08 Match 20: Stoinis and Maxwell Show Aussie Colours in Thunder Domination

The Stars gamble to take a home game to Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast paid dividends as they dismantled one of the favourites the Sydney Thunder in emphatic fashion, losing only two wickets in their chase and perhaps proving in the process what a tough job the Thunder will have once their English exports head off in a week’s time.

The question had been asked of the Thunder team as whether or not they could produce a winning total without a big contribution from Jos Buttler who has been excellent this competition, and conversely opposition teams knew that if they could get him early they could pressure the rest of the Thunder batting line up. That was achieved today when both Buttler (18) and Ferguson (0) were dismissed in consecutive deliveries by Scott Boland, and when Watson (14) went not long after the Thunder suddenly found themselves in uncharted waters. Joe Root (26 from 28) again struggled in this format of the game, and it wasn’t until the livewire Daniel Sams came to the crease that the Thunder made some forward progress. Sams scored 42 runs from 25 balls at the back end of their innings which saved his team from a score that looked as though it would struggle to get too many over 100. The final total of 8/135 never looked enough but it was at least something to bowl at.

It is difficult to work out just what kind of captaincy string Watson tried to pull by bowling his young leg spinner Jono Cook in the powerplay six overs – not for one over but two! So much pressure on the inexperienced shoulders, and the 22 runs that came from those two overs gave the Stars the kick along they needed at that point to make the chase a comfortable one. It a decision that cost his team any real chance of victory.

Dunk and Stoinis got the Stars off to that fast start, before Maxwell and Larkin calmly and methodically chased down the Thunder score. They negated the danger of Fawad Ahmed and simply went at a run a ball. Larkin has been a revelation for the Stars since coming in as a replacement for the injured Nic Maddinson and his 41 not out off 41 deliveries again continued his breakout season at the domestic level. At the other end Maxwell showed the kind of batting maturity that he has always been capable of but at times does not show, his 41 not out coming off 31 deliveries and leading his team to victory with almost three overs to spare.

As can be expected, the competition is beginning to tighten up again with each team showing they are capable of winning if they do all the simple thing right. The Thunder will be mulling over how they will score runs once Buttler moves on, while the Stars now lose both Maxwell and Stoinis for almost two weeks of their season – or perhaps even longer if either or both gain selection in the Test team, which isn’t such a long shot.

4th Test Day 3: Careless Australia Again Sell Themselves Off Cheaply

Back in 2010/11, when England did a number on the Australian cricket team and Ricky Ponting presided over his third failed Ashes series, there came a time when it was impossible to keep saying the same things about what was happening. Describing poor bowling plans, asking for more penetration from the bowlers, imploring the batsmen to stand up and make a stand and build an innings under pressure like past Australian teams had been able to do. Eventually it just became too much asking and looking for the same things day after day, and nothing more could be said. 

We have now reached that same stage in this series against India, who are now without a doubt about to win their first ever Test series in Australia.

On a perfect wicket for batting, against bowling that was persistent without being brilliantly penetrative, four of Australia’s six dismissed batsmen once again found a way to get themselves out rather than be taken out, in the most disappointing way imaginable. At 1/128 early in the second session Australia had finally shown some initiative and solid batting, setting a platform that should have been the perfect way to get through to stumps with a good total behind them and few wickets lost so that there was still something to play for on days four and five. Instead what we saw was another collapse, one that tore the heart out of the watching public while being joyously celebrated every step of the way by India and their supporters.

The two positives on the day were Marcus Harris and Marnus Labuschagne. Harris was superb, looking to be proactive immediately and not be dominated by the Indian bowlers. He almost holed out to the first ball he faced from Jadeja on the day but from there looked as though he belonged in Test cricket. He brought up his second Test half century and at lunch looked as though it was only a matter of time before he passed the century mark. After lunch though he got into a bad habit of just trying to dab the ball on the off side rather than playing a definitive cut shot, and it brought about his down fall when he dabbed one off the inside edge onto his leg stump. It was a deflating way for his innings to end, and it was the start of a bad period of play for the Aussies. 

Labuschagne had come to the crease at the fall of Khawaja’s wicket under the shadow blanket of criticism over his selection and played a circumspect and solid innings. He watched the ball carefully, he played straight and waited for the ball to be in his scoring areas. He looked assured against both pace and spin, and still found a way to smile at the end of each over. He played some lovely drives to the boundary and didn’t look overawed at the situation. Even the shot he played on his dismissal was not a poor shot, it was played with authority and barely off the ground, only to be snared by a brilliant catch at short mid-wicket. It was an unfortunate way for a promising innings to end, and his disappointment at having made such a good start and not gone on with it was obvious for all to see. 

On top of this was the major disappointments of the day, perhaps of the summer. Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh came into this series needing to take on the role and responsibility of senior batsmen and be the ones to score the big runs and lead the inexperienced batting line up. If Australia was to succeed, they both needed to perform. The fact that they have not, and both got out to poor shots again today, leaves their immediate futures up in the air and under a microscope. Khawaja and Harris had put on 71 for the opening partnership and looked to be doing it easy, until Khawaja went down the wicket and scooped Kuldeep straight to mid-wicket for a particularly ordinary dismissal, handing his wicket to India when they hadn’t earned it for just 27. He sold his wicket cheaply again when Australia needed him to stand up, and it was a bitter pill to swallow. His Test average is close to dipping below 40, and there can be no guarantee of his spot for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. Shaun Marsh too just keeps on not producing, making only 8 today before he meekly edged Jadeja to first slip. Khawaja has 194 runs at 27.74 in this series, and Marsh has 183 runs at 26.14. Khawaja has Australia’s only Test century in its last nine Test matches, while Marsh in his last 11 Tests over three series has scored 344 runs at an average of 18.11. Those are seriously awful numbers for a Test batsman. He cannot be – CANNOT BE – selected any longer. It would be a travesty to every batsman who has only received one chance in the Test team if he is retained any longer. 

Australia finished the day early when rain moved in to curtail play. At 6/236 they have now no chance of forcing a victory but perhaps more importantly avoided the chance of being bowled out on a road in less than a day. Travis Head will still be cursing himself after once again throwing his own wicket away for just 20, while Peter Handscomb on 28 not out still has the opportunity to make a career saving innings tomorrow. With him stands Australia’s most consistent batsman Pat Cummins, who with 25 not out looked the most comfortable of all the batsmen on the day. The bowlers toiled long and hard, and will have the second new ball available tomorrow in order to hasten the end of Australia’s first innings. The only question remaining now with two days to play is will India force a victory to win this series 3-1, or will they be happy to draw this without any qualms and take the series 2-1. Tomorrow could be the final day of this series unless Australia can fight again, something that it feels as though only their tail can do.

Is It Time to Replace Australia's Selection Panel?

Australia’s cricket is in its greatest peril since 1986, and everyone has their own opinion on what is the root cause of our problems, and who is to blame, and what should be done to turn it all around. I’m no different from anyone else, and for me there are a number of things that need to change or be revamped if we are to start turning things around. There have been changes at board level of Cricket Australia, but one wonders if there have been enough. The coaching staff has had some change, but one can only assume that there needs to be more of a revamp there. More than anything else though, the one place where change has not occurred at this point is in the way our teams are selected and those that are in charge of selecting them, and more than any other piece of the puzzle this appears to be the one that needs to be reassessed and revamped. 

At the start of the season we were informed that form in the Sheffield Shield was going to be the parameter used for selection in the Test team. That was refreshing to hear, even if given recent times it was difficult to believe. But looking at that first Test team you couldn’t argue too much with what the selection panel went with. Shaun Marsh had had a poor tour of the UAE but had scored plenty of runs in the Shield on his return so he had to be given another chance. Marcus Harris on form was the best opener in Australia and deservedly received his chance. Aaron Finch had done a good job in the UAE and deserved a chance to consolidate. Peter Handscomb had scored a Shield century and had made his case. Both Khawaja and Head were selections after being solid in the UAE. Cases could have been made for players like Joe Burns and Glen Maxwell and perhaps even Mitch Marsh to be in the team but those chosen could use form as a selection option. 

So what has happened since that first team was chosen. Handscomb was dropped for Mitch Marsh for the 3rd Test, then came back in at his expense after one Test performance, essentially on the strength of one slogging 70 in a BBL match in which he was dropped a couple of times and enjoyed some good fortune. An extra bowling option was felt to be required in Melbourne, and though it was also seen to be necessary in Sydney it was decided that a different option from Marsh was needed, so Marnus Labuschagne was drafted in. This could not possibly have been on form, given he averaged 28 with the bat and 60 with the ball in the Shield after his return from the UAE, which was why he didn’t make the first Test squad – because of a lack of form. Finch was seen to be a liability at the top of the order but could perhaps still be an option in the middle order, but the selectors took him out of the team completely to fit in Handscomb. It all looks a bit muddled, and more than anything else sends mixed messages not only to the players but to the public as well. 

All we ever ask of umpiring is consistency. All we ask of our players is consistency. And all we can ask of our selectors is consistency. They have had over the last nine months, and will continue to have over the course of the next nine months, a very testing time. They have had to balance a Test and ODI team that lost its captain, both openers and by far the best two batsmen in the country. In doing so they have had to play an away Test series against Pakistan and then face India at home who possess their best-balanced attack ever. They also have to somehow cobble together a squad to defend their World Cup crown and then a squad to immediately after that defend the Ashes in England. There was a lot of public pressure bearing on all of those series – two of which are now lost – and choosing the right players is paramount to any success coming their way. 

Up to this point you can assume that the National Selection Panel (NSP) has been all about finding replacements for those players who were suspended, and hoping that these replacement players would do the job successfully enough that there would be a great battle for places on their return. It is fair to say that, in all formats of the game, that hasn’t occurred. Players have been tried – Finch (278 runs at 27.80) and Labuschagne (81 at 20.25) in Tests, Short (83 at 27.66) and Lynn (75 at 18.75) in ODI’s and McDermott (72 at 14.40) in T20I’s – and have not done enough to be considered first choice players. We would all have loved those guys to succeed, but the figures show that they have not. 

So now we have a point where the scales have started to fall the other way. Bancroft is back playing, and it is now only a matter of weeks before both Warner and Smith will be able to play at international level again. With that in mind, you can assume that now the NSP is suddenly changing tack. Instead of finding replacements, they are now beginning to try and find players who will complement their return to the ODI team initially, and eventually the Test team. Australia has only the two Test series against Sri Lanka ahead of them before they have to defend the Ashes. They also have very few ODI matches ahead of them before they must be ready for the World Cup. These things will have come into the minds of the NSP as they chose the ODI team for the Indian series and will no doubt also be in their minds when they announce the squad for the Sri Lankan Tests. 

Justin Langer had come out after the loss in Melbourne saying it was tough to select teams at the moment because no one was knocking down the door with runs or wickets in the Shield. Given the comment at the start of the season that they would be picking on form, this then appeared to be a dodge on what then happened with the team selected for Sydney. It has been well documented about just how that statement would have gone across to players such as Joe Burns (472 at 47.20), Matthew Wade (571 at 63.44) and Kurtis Patterson (428 at 47.55) in particular. 

Burns was the best performed opening batsmen in the Shield last season as well (725 runs at 55.76) and played the 4th Test in South Africa after the three players were sent home, scoring 4 and 42 in a devastating loss. He was then passed over for the UAE tour as the selectors preferred Finch and his white ball form over his red ball form, which certainly seemed unfair at the time. Then Harris made a compelling case for selection and was rewarded while Burns again missed out to Finch. Now Finch has gone, and Khawaja moved up to replace him, and Burns has seen his Queensland teammate Labuschagne chosen in front of him with a batting average almost 20 runs less than his own. Any fair minded person would see this tale and make an assumed guess that the selectors are looking for any way possible not to pick Joe Burns as Australia’s opening batsman. 

Wade had an accomplished season with the bat for Tasmania last season as well (654 runs at 43.60) and while he would not have been expecting a Test recall as a batsman at the end of last season, circumstances last March meant that opportunities were available come the start of this season. With one century and five half centuries he is the form batsman in the competition, and he surely had to be in conversations to bat at number six in the Test team. Apparently though, one can only suspect again that the selectors are looking for any excuse not to pick him, despite the fact he also started off the BBL season with good runs as well. 

Patterson has been on the fringe of international selection for four years, and indeed was expected to get the call two years ago when Nic Maddinson instead got his call up in Adelaide. His 2017/18 was only average (672 at 37.33) but having improved that this season and again shown he is willing to bat time as well as runs he would look like the perfect foil for the Test team. Once again though, his card appears marked as not to be selected by the panel. 

An argument was also made for players such as Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell to be chosen as an all-round option rather than Marsh or Labuschagne. Both had had limited red ball exposure due to their international white ball commitments which no doubt the selectors would have used in their favour not to choose them. Maxwell (126 runs at 42.00 and four over only) and Stoinis (298 runs at 42.57 and 10 wickets at 25.20) both had reasonable form compared to Marsh (264 runs at 37.71 and 6 wickets at 62.16) and Labuschagne (254 runs at 28.22 and 5 wickets at 59.60), but for reasons only known to the selectors it was the latter two who have received Test call ups this summer. On top of this, last season Maxwell was told to go away and make big runs to gain a recall after being ignored for the Ashes. His next innings was 278 and he eventually scored 707 runs at 50.50 for the season. Once again, here is another player who appears to have done everything asked of them in trying to gain national selection but is being ignored by the selection panel, and in an age where Australia just isn’t capable of putting together a defendable total it seems unbelievable that this is the case. 

The announcement of the ODI squad to play three games against India caused more rumblings. In particular, the omission of power players D’Arcy Short and Chris Lynn was universally panned given that they had received little opportunity to establish themselves in the team, while long term middle order player Travis Head has been dropped. Instead, Usman Khawaja has been given the chance to make his way into the ODI squad as a solid presence at the top of the order, while Peter Handscomb also returns to the squad. Handscomb appears a surprising choice on the surface, but he did finish fifth on the aggregates of this season’s JLT Cup ODD competition with 361 runs at 51.57 with four half-centuries in seven innings. Reasonable form to be selected on. The top three though? They were Chris Lynn (452 at 75.33), Ben McDermott (427 at 71.00) and D’Arcy Short (404 at 80.80, including a top score of 257). Given that both Lynn and Short have only been given four matches each in 2018 in which to establish their credentials in the top team, it seems a harsh assessment to leave them out on those figures. 

One of the biggest problems with the ODI squad is the ‘resting’ once again of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins after their Test bowling load, and with two Tests still to come against Sri Lanka. Why is it a problem? Well, if all three are considered our number one bowlers with a view to the World Cup, then when are they going to show us they are up to bowling in 50 over cricket? They all played all three ODI’s against South Africa in November but have played no others since January 2018. Missing these means they will only get an opportunity against Pakistan in March to show they deserve to be chosen. If they are our best then they should be playing, and if they are not then it should be explained why they are not. Is Siddle the answer at his age, despite his excellent winter in England in County cricket? Is Stanlake a realistic chance of touring? Is Jhye Richardson? If we are going into a ODI series against India with our second string bowling attack, how do we expect to win it? And if we aren’t picking our strongest team at all times in order to try and win every match, then what exactly are we doing? 

Our current selection panel consists of chairman Trevor Hohns, Greg Chappell and Justin Langer. Hohns and Chappell have been on the panel numerous times over the past thirty years. They are knowledgeable cricket watchers and both fine players in their own right. In Chappell’s case he is a legend of the game. Langer is a selector by being the Australian head coach, something that still grates with me. If you are the coach of the national team you should be allowed to have an input into the selection process by expressing your views on the merits of the players in contention for selection, but you should not be one of those who is actually selecting the team. It is a conflict of interest, given that players should feel comfortable in going to the coach to discuss problems they may be having with their game without the coach being able to then decide on the validity of whether or not that person plays in the next match. 

As much respect as I have for these three gentlemen, it is time for them to move on and allow the next generation to come in and help Australia move forward. New selectors will not make our players any better. It will not make them score more runs or take more wickets. But it really feels like we need some new eyes and new minds and new ideas in the selection of our national teams, and return to a method of selecting players through performance first and mixed with an eye for rising talent through the junior ranks. Hohns and Chappell have been selectors through different ages of Australian cricket and perhaps their ideas are now outdated. We should also immediately remove the national coach from the NSP, allowing both the coach and captain to have their say without being able to exert any further influence on selection than that. 

Who should we have as our selectors? I can offer some ideas. Firstly, not Shane Warne. If Warne was in charge then we would have five different players every match as his own ideas change. Certainly people who come to mind who are ex-players with good cricketing minds who watch a lot of cricket as it is who would be excellent in the role would be Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich, as well Tom Moody who has coached all around the world and knows cricket in all forms. Of course they would have to be approached, but it is people such as these three who I believe would offer a fresh insight into what needs to be done, and how teams need to be selected, to help Australia regain their way in the cricket world. 

Or, better yet, pick me as selector. I’m ready, willing and able to put my hand up and do the job.

BBL08 Match 19: Hurricanes Hold On as Short Gives Selectors a Reminder

The Hurricanes have set themselves up as the benchmark of BBL08 through their excellent home form and chasing ability, led by their top five batsmen who have done the job on every occasion so far in the tournament. Though it might have gotten a lot tighter than they would have liked in their match against the Sixers, they again finished victorious and retained their unbeaten record so far this season. 

The Sixers are having a mixed season, but seem to be getting closer to the outfit they want and the best order they can manage with their squad. They needed to score big when asked to bat first and probably left a few runs in the shed by the end. Daniel Hughes (61 off 40) and Moises Henriques (31 from 24) both batted well again, but the Sixers needed one of them to go on to make a really big score if they were to get the total they needed. Other small contributions along the way allowed the Sixers to reach a par score of 8/161, though it has been found at Blundstone that a score of closer to 180 is needed if you are to really challenge the Hurricanes batting. Johan Botha made his first real contribution to the Hurricanes season, taking 3/22 from his four overs against his former teammates. 

The Hurricanes would have spent some time deciding what they were going to do when D’Arcy Short was called into the ODI squad, and probably had contingency plans in place. With the news yesterday that he had been left out, it now leaves the Hurricanes with a bigger headache, in how to fit all of their players into an XI. If Short was disappointed with the selectors decision he certainly gave them food for thought, once again being the mainstay of the Hurricane chase scoring 64 from 42 balls. He has failed to do the same job at international level to this point, though one wonders if given the form he is in whether or not he should have been given the chance to convert that to the international stage. Australia’s loss is most definitely the Hurricanes gain. 

George Bailey scored 30 off 17 deliveries, but the Sixers probably should have won except for nine deliveries, with firstly Joe Denly bowling the 16th over and conceding 16 runs which gave the Hurricanes the momentum they needed, and then the first three deliveries of Sean Abbott’s final over and the 19th of the innings when the Hurricanes needed 19 off 12 balls, and they went 6, 1, 6 to cut it down to just six required off nine deliveries. One wicket and only two runs from the next five deliveries revived some hope but in the end the Hurricanes snuck home with one delivery to spare. 

The Hurricanes play their next five games on the road which will give everyone a better indication of how good a team they have this season. Not losing Short, and squeezing Tim Paine in for a couple of games, will mean they will remain at full strength through this period which makes them favourites. The Sixers will be disappointed to have gotten so close but still losing the game, but their season appears to be stabilising after some initial problems. Whether they can make the finals is still up in the air but they at least have a better idea of their strengths and weaknesses than they did two weeks ago.

4th Test Day 2: India Drives Home Advantage on Sydney Road

To anyone who has been watching this Test series unfold, Day 2 at the S.C.G pretty much followed the well-worn script of the way the cricket has gone. Only the most optimistic Australian supporter saw anything occurring on the second day different from India batting the day at their own pace before declaring late in the day with a massive lead and then taking some Australian batting wickets with them into stumps. It didn’t quite follow the script to its conclusion, but most of it was predictable, and was joyful for India and morose for Australia. 

As was brought up in commentary today, India did an Australia on Australia today. Their foot was on their throat and they didn’t let up. Australia spent two decades playing this kind of cricket, no mercy batting until teams are out on their feet before declaring and wiping them out as their tired batsmen were unable to hold back the tide of fast and spin bowling. Now, the shoe is well and truly on the other foot. Being in the ascendancy and only needing to draw this Test to win their first series in Australia, the Indian batsmen took advantage of a completely lifeless pitch and an exhausted, beaten and out-of-ideas Australian bowling attack and just relentlessly ground out run after run in perfect style. Vihari was eventually out-thought by Lyon for his second wicket, but Rishabh Pant came in and played the perfect foil for Pujara. He showed he can play the patient game and push singles and twos without having to obliterate everything that comes his way. He played perfectly while Pujara was at the crease, allowing his senior partner to dictate the way he wanted the innings to go. When Pujara was finally dismissed for a magnificent 193, it allowed Pant to take on the senior role while he in turn was supported by Ravi Jadeja. Once he reached his second Test century, both batsmen they began to open up and put the foot down. Jadeja put Cummins 20 metres over the fence when the third new ball was taken, as good an indication of the lack of any peril in the wicket. When he finally fell for 81, he and Pant had put on a record 204 runs for the seventh wicket. Pant remained not out on 159 and could probably have reeled in Brian Lara’s 400 if he had been allowed to bat out the innings. It was at this point that Kohli decided enough was enough, and declared the innings closed at 7/622. 

Like yesterday there were a few chances that fell just out of reach of fieldsmen or short of fieldsmen which was as frustrating for the fans watching as it was for the players. The bowlers tried hard but they lacked penetration, they lacked consistency, they lacked aggression and they lacked purpose. Australia’s four bowlers have had an enormous workload in the last week, and you can completely understand why they looked tired and sore and running out of petrol on the field. Their lack of wickets is a combination of excellent batting, unresponsive pitches and a touch of misfortune that is not helped by wayward lines and lengths too often to keep pressure on the batsmen. If questions are to be asked about the bowling attack, and they have been by several commentators in the last few days, then it should be as a whole rather than individually, and it should also take into account these other factors. 

With ten overs to bat, Usman Khawaja and Marcus Harris had differing periods. Harris looked assured and found the gaps in racing to 19 not out, while Khawaja was more nervous and less intent, and also gained himself a life when Pant dropped a fairly simple chance off Shami in the fourth over. Perhaps he could be forgiven after his lengthy batting display but he needs to take those. Khawaja was still there on 5 not out at stumps with the score at 0/24. 

What do the final three days of this series hold in store for us? Australia trails by 598 runs needing to win to square the series. It can’t be done. It’s impossible. Right? Anyone remember Adelaide in 2006? At the end of day two, Australia was 523 runs behind with nine wickets in hand against England. Australia won that Test by six wickets. That Australian team is a country mile ahead of this Australian team, but it just shows that it has happened before, and could always happen again. 

There is nothing in this wicket for the bowlers, and it looks like this surface should still be perfect for batting on tomorrow. There will be a lot of spin bowling tomorrow but there is little rough to speak of so it should not be impossible to defuse. Australia’s under pressure top six will not have a better chance to show their wares than tomorrow on the third day in Sydney. Whether the game can be won or not, Australia’s batsmen need to go out and bat the day out and put on a good score. 4/320 should be an aim and an achievable score, given Bumrah and Shami do not have the pace support of Ishant in this Test. They need to be positive and back their abilities. If they achieve this, then a winning result, no matter how unlikely, is still on the table. It’s a big day for their own Test futures as well as the team’s future. If they fall over again, then the immediate future of Australia’s Test side in really in the balance.

BBL08 Match 18: Renegades Batting Woes Exposed by Second Gear Strikers

Two teams that looked to be a mismatch played each other some days ago, and the unfashionable Renegades got home thanks to Christian and Nabi over the reigning champion Strikers. It just seemed so unlikely, so much so that when they met again this evening it still seemed like a dream, and that the Strikers had all the firepower to make this game a forgone conclusion. The end result validated that feeling, which made the result in their first clash this season even more difficult to believe.

It was a massive error to win the toss and not bat first. Like the pitch at Spotless Stadium last night, this was low and slow and always looked as though any total of 140 plus was going to be difficult to run down. But the obsession with teams wanting to chase totals continued, and with the average batting line up that the Renegades currently possess it just wasn’t smart cricket.
However, they certainly shouldn’t have been chasing as many as they did. After a great start to take 60 runs off the first seven overs by the Strikers, they kept finding ways to get themselves out. The two run outs for the Strikers were not only a waste and harmful to the run rate that had been occurring, but both showed the importance of checking just how you are holding your bat in the diving process. Both Short and especially Weatherald had to dive to make the crease, and both had their bat beyond the crease line, but in the process of the slide the bat had bounced in the air. Weatherald especially had the back of his bat on the ground, which left the end of the bat beyond the ‘hills’ section above the line. Weatherald had been the star of the first innings, scoring 71 from 44 balls and his dismissal along with Ingram robbed the innings of its momentum. At 6/127 with two overs remaining it looked as though 140 was as many as they were going to get, but again Rashid Khan came in and played a gem with 21 not out off seven deliveries, and with Jono Wells 22 not out got the total up to 6/158 with 31 from those final two overs. It was a massive game changer.

The Renegades reply was stagnant from the start, with the batsmen unable to get the ball away from the good length bowling and the unresponsive wicket. The initial foray of Stanlake and Neser both picked up an early wicket, and from that point the spinners took control on the sluggish surface. Liam O’Connor (2/21) and Colin Ingram (1/20) both benefitted from the average batting picking up wickets and being able to bowl many more overs than they should have been allowed to, which put the late order under enormous pressure to score runs and score them quickly. Rashid Khan (1/18) then tied them in knots to ensure the result of the game long before its conclusion, and was a bit stiff not to have at least two more wickets. The Strikers didn’t get out of second gear through the whole innings as the Renegades just fell apart, allowing skipper Ingram to not even bowl most of his front liners to completion.

While there is still so long to go in this BBL season, the Renegades are in real danger of slipping out of the contest. They will have Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris back to strengthen the batting for a time, something they desperately need as the current line up is just not up to this standard. For the Strikers, they continue their charge after a couple of hiccups and still look likely to be one of the teams to beat when the finals come around, especially as they are likely to be able to keep their team intact for most of the rest of the BBL.

4th Test Day 1: Pujara Brilliance All But Wins Series for India

There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the media and in cricket commentary over the past 48 hours over the selected squad and eventual playing XI for the Australian team that took the field for the 4th Test of the series against India in Sydney. Plenty have decried that the two who were dropped, Aaron Finch and Mitch Marsh, deserved another chance and perhaps in different positions which would improve their chance of success. Others thought that the wrong people were chosen, especially given their own form leading into the match. Others still put forward their own solutions, many from far left field in order to change Australia’s fortunes. A couple of the few sensible and thoughtful thinkers and writers on cricket felt that the selectors have simply ignored form (which they claim to be using as their selection guide) and are just choosing the people they want to believe in. At the end of the day, yet another that India has dominated throughout this series, the only thing that matters is that Australia is at long odds of saving this series against a team that man-for-man is far better than they are.

It is fair to say that the rub of the green ran with India again today. Kohli called correctly at the toss again and once again got first use of a wicket that looked fairly docile from the outset and can only deteriorate as the match progresses. Of course most thought the same about the Melbourne wicket until both teams had batted on it, and much the same may well be seen to be the case here. There was no swing again after ten overs, and little turn to speak of for Lyon when he bowled. There were also a number of inside edges that somehow missed the stumps on their way to fine leg, and three or four popped balls off gloves that fell safely away from fielders. When you are winning, those things go for you, and India took full advantage.

In the long run, India’s batsmen looked confident and wanted to bat long, and Australia’s bowling at times looked lethargic and uninterested. Apart from Rahul’s early departure the Indians batted like they wanted to win a Test match. Agarwal continued on from where he left off in Melbourne, and fought through a concerted short pitched barrage from the Australian pacemen in amongst it. He had some luck but stuck to his guns until he was eventually outfoxed by Nathan Lyon and holed out to long off. Kohli went in with an attitude of batting Australia out of the game, but was found out just after tea caught off his gloves down the leg side. Australia has done a pretty fair job of restricting Kohli in this series. He has 282 runs at 40.28, something that Australia would have taken if offered at the start of the summer. Rahane too looked comfortable but was undone by a Starc ripper that climbed off a good length, while Vihari benefitted from some tired wayward bowling at the end of the day.

All of the batsmen above walked in support of Cheteshwar Pujara who again played the Australian bowlers like he was facing the Albion Park Under 13 attack. He left deliveries that other batsmen played at, he patted back 140kph deliveries like they were medium pace, and he pounced on anything short or wide and hit them to the boundary. At 130 not out at stumps off 250 deliveries, he has just ground Australia into the dust. It is his sixth century against Australia, the most he has scored against any one nation. Though Australia must have had plans to bowl against him, they have appeared clueless. He had some fortune today, twice inside edging past his stumps, but there is little going on that looks even close to finding a way to dismiss him. In an age of T20 cricket techniques and batting styles, Pujara is a Test match batting template that shows it can still be done in the old fashioned way.

It would be easy to blame the pitches this season for Australia’s difficulty in bowling India out, and there is a certain amount of disappointment that must go into that. However, Australia decided against playing a Test against India at the ground where they have had the most success, the ‘Gabba, and instead played on grounds with the three most docile pitches in the country. That hasn’t helped. But that still doesn’t excuse the fact that the four pronged bowling attack has not been lethal at all this summer. It has been rare to see any real passion from our bowlers in their spells, or even when they have taken wickets. 12 months is a long time in cricket, and last season there were wide smiles most of the time. The lack of success has obviously grated on the four and it shows on their faces and in their body language. We still won’t know just what the wicket is like until Australia bat on it, but certainly our bowlers looked down and beaten today.

At 4/303 at stumps, India now own how this game progresses. As much as they would like to win this match, they only have to draw this Test to win the series and that will be at the forefront of their minds. If they could bat for the majority of tomorrow they would likely have established a lead of 500, from which it would be almost impossible for Australia to secure a victory. As much as it would be great to play entertaining cricket, surely India will continue on as they did today and ensure they are in the drivers position come stumps on day two.

BBL08 Match 17: Turner's Heroics in Vain as Thunder Fall Over the Line

There was little doubt that batting first was going to be the key in this match at Spotless Stadium. The WBBL match beforehand was plagued by low, slow bounce that did for most of the Sixers top order, most of whom are also in Australia’s top order. It showed that you had to bat forward of the crease and play forward to succeed on the night, and that any total set above 140 was going to be extremely difficult to chase down.

Jos Buttler once again did the job, batting through to 18th over and ensured a decent total could be reached. He has not only become a terrific T20 cricketer but has been a terrific pick up for the Thunder over the past two seasons. His 55 off 54 balls was terrific under the conditions. So too was Cal Ferguson (42 off 30) once again until he copped the mully grubber from Agar. Chris Green finished it off well with 18 not out off 9 deliveries to get the total to 6/142, which looked too many.

Jhye Richardson has this season begun to show why the selectors have shown interest in him. He destroyed NSW in the Shield game in Perth in November, and he was awesome in the defeat of the Strikers in the BBL game there as well. Here on this low slow wicket he was fast. Swift. He followed Jason Sangha with a bouncer that smashed into his grille. It was frightening. The ball was clocked at 143kph but it looked much faster than that. He has some work still to do but his improvement over the last 12 months is impressive, and his raw pace looks to be increasing.

I still cannot believe Fawad Ahmed is not in Australian calculations, in every form of the game. He continues to bowl brilliantly and do the job every single game. Australia play a Test on a traditionally spin favoured wicket in Sydney tomorrow, and Fawad showed once again that he can do the job by taking 2/22 off 4 overs, just a few kilometres away at Homebush. He was not the only spin bowler to do well on the day, with Jono Cook bowling terrifically to finish with 1/13 off 4 and Chris Green with 1/32 from 4, but Fawad is the class wrist spinner that continues to do the job. He has no contract with Victoria this year, but still starred in their JLT Cup victory and has played most of the Shield games for the state as well and continues to star for the Thunder. For goodness sakes, sometimes you have to wonder just what the selectors are looking for.

The Scorchers were snuffed out by the spin attack on the dead wicket, falling to 5/54 in the 12th over and the match was practically finished. Ash Turner and Will Bosisto stuck to their task though, and with one over to go were still an outside chance to steal the match needing 20 runs. Turner took the strike and, aided by two boundaries and two wides from Daniel Sams, got the equation down to four required off the final delivery. He could only manage two, and the Thunder limped to a one run victory. Turner was terrific with 60 not out off 36 deliveries, and Bosisto finished on 23 not out off 21, and their unbeaten partnership being 87 from 53 deliveries.

The Scorchers now fall to one win and four losses, their worst ever start to a BBL competition. The fight is still there but their batting is under real pressure. The Thunder move to three wins and two losses, and their biggest problem is working out how they will replace Jos Buttler when he leaves to go back to international duties.

BBL08 Match 16: Stoinis Excites Test Allrounder Talk to Destroy Renegades

With the current state of problems with our national team, I guess it was always inevitable that the solutions to those problems would start coming from the performances in the BBL competition, even though it is a completely different form of the game than our Test match situation. That two men dominated the talk in this match was not unusual – that one of them came from Nepal again shows the growing influence of cricket in other nations that are beginning to show up Australia.

The Melbourne New Year Derby has become a tradition of the BBL season, and while a big crowd was again in attendance it was obvious that it was not as big as many were predicting, once again showing the drop off of crowds numbers that has come with this edition. Is it that there are so many matches this season that fans will pick and choose rather than rushing in to get to a game before they all conclude? Or has the events in South Africa and the poor form of our national team since just turned spectators away? To be honest, a downturn was always inevitable because growth can only occur to a certain point. As long as the games can be exciting they will draw people to the matches. Perhaps that is beginning to be the problem.

The Renegades will be wondering long and hard how they lost this game, having raced away to the perfect start, with Harper (30 from 16) and Harvey (21 from 15) scoring 52 from the first five overs to lay the platform for a huge total. The loss of both within three deliveries changed the course of the innings, and from here consistent wickets falling as batsmen tried to up the ante from their own sluggish starts then compromised any ability to launch towards the 180-200 that they probably should have been looking at. Their chances of even reaching the par of 160 fell when Dan Christian was dismissed, his 32 from 28 deliveries the only worthwhile contribution in a final score of 9/148. While the twin spin attack of Zampa (1/24) and Lamichhane (1/31) was again important it was the all round seam bowling Bravo (3/27) and Stoinis (2/26) that caused the real headaches.

Like the Sixers earlier in the day, the Stars made a perfect chase, getting the platform they needed from their openers before the middle order played sensibly by getting plenty of singles while finding the boundary to the poor deliveries. Dunk (32 off 27) and Stoinis put on 67 from 8 overs to start the innings, and despite the loss of Larkin continued to be proactive as Stoinis and Maxwell (33 from 22) added 65 for the third wicket. Cam Boyce for the Renegades was easily their best, bowling four excellent overs of leg spin to pick up the only two wickets to fall to a bowler, both stumped through perfect flight and turn and bounce. I still wonder at what could have been if he had been given the same opportunities and encouragement that other spinners have received that never made it.

Marcus Stoinis, as he has done for Victoria and Australia, played an almost perfect innings from the opening position. He stood straight and tall and drove hard down the ground and pulled and cut with authority. He hit four boundaries and four sixes in his 78 not out from just 49 deliveries, and while his stroke play was excellent it was his solidity at the crease that gave the chase an air of confidence. Added to his bowling, and a brilliant catch he took in the outfield, it was just about the perfect individual game in a T20 match, leading the Stars home with 7 wickets and two overs to spare.

During the match and afterwards there was plenty of talk directed as to Stoinis’s credentials to be playing Test cricket for Australia, as always lead by the commentary of Shane Warne, who backs a different player in every match that should be playing for Australia. That’s not to say that he, along with everyone else in his corner, doesn’t have a case. His performances for Australia with the bat especially in ODI cricket has far outshone any other candidate for an ‘all rounders’ position in the Test team. The problem I still forsee is that these performances are in white ball cricket, and not red ball cricket. The danger still comes from runs scored on roads against bowlers who have to bowl in a certain channel every ball, compared to the differences of Test wickets where bowlers have much more freedom to bowl different lines widths and lengths. Granted, there is no red ball cricket in a two month window for him to show his wares, and he looks a better candidate than most to be spoken of for that position. One wonders just how far up in the selectors view Stoinis currently is, and whether performances in a 20 over slugfest are seriously considered as being good enough to be selected in the toughest format of the game.

After opposing starts for these two teams, their fortunes appear to be reversing quickly, with the Renegades coming back to the pack and the Stars back on the rise. The Stars though have problems on the horizon, as Sandeep Lamichhane has now left to play in Bangladesh, and they will soon lose both Maxwell and Stoinis to the ODI team. This will test their depth over the coming two weeks.

BBL08 Match 15: Lynn Explodes But Sixers Team Performance Takes the Points

At the start of this competition the Heat were fancied by many to be one of the teams to beat while the Sixers looked to be short of what was required to make an impact. That made this game at that time look like an easy one to pick. Circumstances and results since more or less made it a 50/50 proposition, and it was going to need someone to stand up to make a difference. The one everyone has been waiting for to explode this season is Chris Lynn. Still, a team effort will almost always beat one man’s effort, and that was mostly proven once again this afternoon

After the Heat was sent in, Max Bryant played the first two overs of spin perfectly, waiting on the length and hitting through the line either straight or through point to hit boundary after boundary. The first two overs brought 32 runs and had the Heat off to the kind of start they have been looking for. Impetuous youth eventually brought about his downfall for 34 off 18 which was such a shame after the start he made. When he gets it all together he is going to make some big scores in this format of the game.

The Sixers bowling brought them back into the game as they hit the pitch and change the speed of the ball coming through, which did for most of the middle order. Heazlett, McCullum, Burns and Cutting could only contribute 14 runs from 28 deliveries through this period, and all four continue to underperform for the Heat. Steve O’Keefe went for 18 off his first over but only went for 1/12 off his next three. Joe Denly bowled two invaluable overs for 1/8. Dwarshuis (1/30) and Curran (3/25) both were excellent. At 5/101 off 14 overs it all fell at the feet of Chris Lynn, who with the help of being dropped on three occasions was able to cut loose. With the help of the vastly underrated Jimmy Peirson the two fashioned a partnership of 72 from 43 deliveries. Lynn was dismissed for a belligerent 84 off 55 balls with three fours and five sixes, while Peirson finished with 23 off 16. This got the Heat up to a competitive 7/164, but after their start the Sixers would have been happy with the effort.

The Sixers batting line up played the best tempo chase of the summer, willing to take their time in setting up the innings and taking the boundaries when they became available. Joe Denly missed out again, but North Sydney grade captain Justin Avendano had a terrific debut with 30 off 24 balls before he forgot to slide his bat and was run out when he was well in the crease. Hopefully he will get another chance to shine as he played extremely well.

Skipper Moises Henriques played a terrific hand, picking his bowlers and balls to dispatch to the boundary as well as running hard and getting a single almost every other ball. He scored 57 off 37 deliveries before holing out with four overs to go, leaving his team needing 44 off four overs for victory. From here it was the Sixers most consistent bat this season Jordan Silk to take over, and he along with Josh Philippe played superbly, hitting boundaries and stealing two’s against the hapless Heat bowling. Silk eventually fell for 46 off 25 balls, but Philippe (14 not out off 7) and Tom Curran (5 not out of 2) got the Sixers home with three balls to spare. 

The Heat still have trouble with their finishing bowling. Having bowled out both James Pattinson and Mujeeb Ur Raman, the Heat left Lalor and Swepson an over each for the end, and two overs for Ben Cutting, who once again showed he just isn’t suited to such a position. Because the Sixers had played their chase so well and kept wickets in hand as well as retaining momentum, it meant they were perfectly placed to go at 11 an over that they required for the final four overs. It means the Sixers are 3-2 compared to the Heat’s 0-3, and any pre-season hopes for the Heat are quickly evaporating in the Queensland humidity.