Ok everyone, what I have decided to do is to now GROUP formats together
EXAMPLE: All Test matches in specific tours together, ODI's & T20's
You will see DRAFTS of future test tours, ODI tours & T20 tours around the globe starting next month & going into January.
This is the new way I am going to cover the cricket around the world.
I hope you enjoy it!
The posts will be published after all the matches on that specific portion of the tour are over.
* the one exception is the 4th test between IND & SA starting on 3rd December*
I will put the results of that part of the tour in the title.
Comments are welcome, thanks for reading this blog, it is one of my most successful.
Monday 30 November 2015
PAK V ENG 4th ODI (series 3-1) & 3 T20's (ENG win series 3-0)
4th ODI ENG 355/5 bt PAK 271 by 84 runs
England have won their first one-day international series in Asia since 2010 by clinching the fourth and final match by 84 runs against Pakistan in Dubai. Jos Buttler was the hero of the day as he scored the fastest ever one-day century by an Englishman, making him the joint seventh fastest in history.
It was a steady start to the innings from England openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales, but the partnership was cut short at 54 runs when the latter was taken out by Mohammad Irfan. Trevor Bayliss's side managed to recover though, as Roy guided the attack to reach his maiden international century off 113 balls to help the team to 189-1. Joe Root also impressed as he brought up his 11th one-day half century from a six, but Yasir Shah and Azhar Ali took some control for Pakistan by dismissing the partnership. Shah called an end to Roy's innings as the batsman left the field on 102 off 117 balls, while Root (71) was undone by Ali after going for a reverse sweep.
The star of England's innings, though, was Buttler as he put his name in the history books by scoring 100 off just 46 balls, and eventually guided the team to 355-5 with an unbeaten knock of 116 off 52 balls. England also impressed with the ball in the early stages of Pakistan's innings as David Willey took two wickets in as many overs, dismissing Azhar Ali (44) and Ahmed Shehzad (13), and Moeen Ali would have added a third had Hales not dropped in the deep. Mohammad Hafeez, who was on 26 runs when Hales made the blunder, managed to reach 37 runs before getting run out by Buttler off Willey's delivery.
Pakistan's run rate was impressive as Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam scored half centuries, but England kept knocking them back as Adil Rashid, Reece Topley and Ali got themselves among the wickets. At 259-8, Pakistan needed 97 more runs to win, but Ali claimed his second wicket of the day to send Shah back to the pavilion on five runs, and wrapped up the contest by taking the wicket of Anwar Ali (24).
England 355/5
Pakistan have an almighty task on their hands if they are to avoid a 3-1 one-day international series defeat to England after the tourists set them a huge victory target of 356 in the fourth and final match in Dubai.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat, the tourists started well through openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales before Jos Buttler hit the fastest ODI century by an Englishman off just 46 balls as England posted their highest-ever overseas ODI score. Hales was the first man to go for 22 by chipping a Mohammad Irfan delivery to Shoaib Malik in the 12th over.
That brought Joe Root to the crease and he scored a run-a-ball 71 while building a 140-run second-wicket partnership with Roy. In 13 previous ODI innings, Roy had never reached three figures, but broke that duck today before falling for 102 shortly after in the 36th over.
England captain Eoin Morgan bumped Buttler up the order to come in at number four and although Root fell in the next over, Buttler took on the scoring mantle and played an array of shots on his way to an unbeaten 116 off just 52 balls. Morgan (14) and James Taylor (13) scored quickly before losing their wickets, but Buttler was able to retain the strike for the bulk of the final 10 overs as he posted the joint-seventh fastest ODI hundred ever.
Buttler also now holds the three fastest ODI centuries by an Englishman, but today's was far quicker than his two previous best that came in 61 and 66 balls.
1st T20I:
England 160/5 (20/20 ov)
Pakistan 146 (20/20 ov)
England won by 14 runs
England were vindicated in their decision to use an international match to experiment with team changes, after their fringe players powered them to a 14-run victory over Pakistan in Dubai.
England, mindful that they had only five T20I games to play before picking a squad for the World T20 in India, took the brave decision to omit Joe Root and Jos Buttler, both of whom can be considered automatic selections for that tournament, and instead give opportunities to James Vince, who made his T20I debut, and Sam Billings, who kept wicket for the first time in international cricket. There was also a recall for Liam Plunkett, who had not played a game on the tour and who played his only previous T20I in June 2006.
All three enjoyed fine games. And if Billings, who thrashed a 24-ball half-century, was probably the most impressive, Vince, with a classy 41 made in testing circumstances, and Plunkett, who bowled in excess of 90 mph in an impressively fiery spell, also did their chances of inclusion in that World T20 squad no harm at all.
This was an inexperienced England line-up. Only two men - Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan - had 10 or more T20I caps, so when they subsided to 19 for 3 after four overs, with all three wickets coming as the batsmen pushed at balls that may have gripped on a surface used for last week's ODI, it seemed the absence of Root and Buttler might prove crucial.
But Vince, who timed the ball sweetly and looked far from overawed by the occasion, helped his captain add 76 in 10 overs for the fourth wicket, before Billings pressed the accelerator as England plundered 93 from the last 10 overs and 59 in the last five.
Vince was impressively calm amid the chaos. While he has played one ODI, he did not bat in it - it was the rain-ruined game in Ireland in May - so the manner in which he helped England rebuild while still engineering run-scoring opportunities hinted at a maturity and confidence that can serve England well.
He times the ball unusually sweetly, too. Wahab Riaz, having been pulled for four, was then driven through extra cover as Vince, taking a step back to give himself room, unfurled a flowing drive that may well become familiar in international cricket. His sweep, played off seamers and spinners, is also productive as Imran Khan, powered for six over midwicket, and Shahid Afridi, who was placed for four through fine leg, discovered.
When Vince was beaten by a good slower ball from Wahab - the final ball in a marvellous over that cost only one run and saw Morgan beaten like a snare drum - England could have faltered, but instead they increased the tempo in a passage of play that effectively settled the game.
It took only six balls before Billings produced his first scoop - a perfect pick-up over fine leg for four off the unfortunate Sohail Tanvir - before he charged down the pitch and powered the resulting slower ball over midwicket for four more.
Imran Khan was punished for 14 in three balls as Billings, picking the slower ball, used his power and bat speed to engineer strokes over midwicket, square leg and through mid-on, before Wahab was scooped twice in succession over fine leg - once for four and once for six - despite bowling full deliveries well outside off stump. For the second game in a row, an England wicketkeeper-batsman - running swiftly, playing shots right around the wicket and manufacturing opportunities with his power, confidence and footwork - had made bowling look an almost-impossible business.
Pakistan's reply was given a sheen of respectability by an eighth-wicket stand of 25 and a ninth-wicket stand of 45. But brave though the hitting of Anwar Ali, Sohail and Wahab was, it never looked likely to compensate for the top-order failings.
Plunkett's spell of 3 for 21 was crucial. While Mohammad Hafeez may consider himself slightly unfortunate to pick out the only man in the deep on the leg side - he timed his pull perfectly - Rafatullah Mohmand was among the batsmen made to look uncomfortable by his sharp pace. Reece Topley again impressed with his control, while so effective were Moeen Ali and Stephen Parry that Adil Rashid was not even required to bowl.
England were helped by some more hapless cricket from Pakistan. As well as dropping two catches that, by the high standards of international cricket, were simple, they produced another comical run out.
The worst of the catches - Sohail's miss off Alex Hales when he had scored 1 - hardly cost Pakistan anything. But as Sohail stumbled having parried the ball up in the air only to see the rebound hit his shoulder and fall to the ground, it was a reminder that, in this facet of the game, Pakistan are a long, long way behind the rest of the world.
The other missed chance saw Morgan missed at 37. Splicing an attempted cut against a nice slower ball from Imran, Morgan was fortunate that Anwar Ali, at backward point, moved slowly to the ball and put down the chance.
But it was the run-out that really hurt Pakistan. Just as Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood were starting to build a threatening partnership - they added 32 in 21 balls - they found themselves at the same end as Akmal called for a single and Maqsood declined. The sight of them both straining to slide their bat in at the bowler's end before their colleague did not suggest the tightest-knit dressing room.
Defeat, like victory, should be kept in perspective. This was Pakistan's first defeat in seven T20Is and, while England have now won four in a row, it is only five T20I games since they were defeated by Holland. Pakistan were also without Ahmed Shehzad, who missed the game due to illness, and Shoaib Malik, who was unavailable due to injury. Partly as a result, Rafatullah became the oldest debutant in the history of T20I cricket at the age of 39 and 20 days.
Still, this was an encouraging performance from England and, after some impressive cricket in the ODI series, a reminder that, for all the embarrassment of the World Cup debacle earlier this year, there is some outstanding young talent developing in England.
2nd T20I:
England 172/8 (20/20 ov)
Pakistan 169/8 (20/20 ov)
England win by 3 runs
Chris Woakes held his nerve in the final over as England beat Pakistan by three runs to win a thrilling second Twenty20 international in Dubai. Defending 11 runs, Woakes finished the innings with a dot ball as England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
James Vince impressed with the bat once again by making 38, but he was Shahid Afridi's third victim of the innings as the veteran all-rounder took out England's top three. England continued to receive contributions, with Joe Root making 20 and Jos Buttler, who captained the side in the absence of Eoin Morgan, scoring 33 off 22 balls.
Woakes finished the innings 15 not out, but 172-8 looked a vulnerable total when Rafatullah Mohmand (23) and Ahmed Shehzad (28) scored 45 off the first five overs of the reply. The introduction of the spinners was key as Stephen Parry (1-33) dismissed Shehzad, before Adil Rashid (2-18) removed Mohmand as both openers were stumped by Buttler.
Shoaib Malik ensured Pakistan had a chance heading into the closing stages, but his exit was crucial as he picked out Sam Billings at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Liam Plunkett, who took 3-33. Afridi (24) came to the crease to hit three sixes off a Woakes over, before a thick edge sent the ball to Plunkett at short third-man with Pakistan still needing 25 runs from the final 12 balls.
Sarfraz Ahmed ensured Pakistan entered the final over needing 11 runs for victory with three wickets in hand, but Woakes returned to hit the stumps via a deflection off the sweeping batsman. Sohail Tanvir started his knock with a boundary to calm the nerves, and singles off the next three balls left with Pakistan requiring four from the final delivery but Anwar Ali was unable to make contact with a big swing as England secured the win.
England have won their first one-day international series in Asia since 2010 by clinching the fourth and final match by 84 runs against Pakistan in Dubai. Jos Buttler was the hero of the day as he scored the fastest ever one-day century by an Englishman, making him the joint seventh fastest in history.
It was a steady start to the innings from England openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales, but the partnership was cut short at 54 runs when the latter was taken out by Mohammad Irfan. Trevor Bayliss's side managed to recover though, as Roy guided the attack to reach his maiden international century off 113 balls to help the team to 189-1. Joe Root also impressed as he brought up his 11th one-day half century from a six, but Yasir Shah and Azhar Ali took some control for Pakistan by dismissing the partnership. Shah called an end to Roy's innings as the batsman left the field on 102 off 117 balls, while Root (71) was undone by Ali after going for a reverse sweep.
The star of England's innings, though, was Buttler as he put his name in the history books by scoring 100 off just 46 balls, and eventually guided the team to 355-5 with an unbeaten knock of 116 off 52 balls. England also impressed with the ball in the early stages of Pakistan's innings as David Willey took two wickets in as many overs, dismissing Azhar Ali (44) and Ahmed Shehzad (13), and Moeen Ali would have added a third had Hales not dropped in the deep. Mohammad Hafeez, who was on 26 runs when Hales made the blunder, managed to reach 37 runs before getting run out by Buttler off Willey's delivery.
Pakistan's run rate was impressive as Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam scored half centuries, but England kept knocking them back as Adil Rashid, Reece Topley and Ali got themselves among the wickets. At 259-8, Pakistan needed 97 more runs to win, but Ali claimed his second wicket of the day to send Shah back to the pavilion on five runs, and wrapped up the contest by taking the wicket of Anwar Ali (24).
England 355/5
Pakistan have an almighty task on their hands if they are to avoid a 3-1 one-day international series defeat to England after the tourists set them a huge victory target of 356 in the fourth and final match in Dubai.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat, the tourists started well through openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales before Jos Buttler hit the fastest ODI century by an Englishman off just 46 balls as England posted their highest-ever overseas ODI score. Hales was the first man to go for 22 by chipping a Mohammad Irfan delivery to Shoaib Malik in the 12th over.
That brought Joe Root to the crease and he scored a run-a-ball 71 while building a 140-run second-wicket partnership with Roy. In 13 previous ODI innings, Roy had never reached three figures, but broke that duck today before falling for 102 shortly after in the 36th over.
England captain Eoin Morgan bumped Buttler up the order to come in at number four and although Root fell in the next over, Buttler took on the scoring mantle and played an array of shots on his way to an unbeaten 116 off just 52 balls. Morgan (14) and James Taylor (13) scored quickly before losing their wickets, but Buttler was able to retain the strike for the bulk of the final 10 overs as he posted the joint-seventh fastest ODI hundred ever.
Buttler also now holds the three fastest ODI centuries by an Englishman, but today's was far quicker than his two previous best that came in 61 and 66 balls.
1st T20I:
England 160/5 (20/20 ov)
Pakistan 146 (20/20 ov)
England won by 14 runs
England were vindicated in their decision to use an international match to experiment with team changes, after their fringe players powered them to a 14-run victory over Pakistan in Dubai.
England, mindful that they had only five T20I games to play before picking a squad for the World T20 in India, took the brave decision to omit Joe Root and Jos Buttler, both of whom can be considered automatic selections for that tournament, and instead give opportunities to James Vince, who made his T20I debut, and Sam Billings, who kept wicket for the first time in international cricket. There was also a recall for Liam Plunkett, who had not played a game on the tour and who played his only previous T20I in June 2006.
All three enjoyed fine games. And if Billings, who thrashed a 24-ball half-century, was probably the most impressive, Vince, with a classy 41 made in testing circumstances, and Plunkett, who bowled in excess of 90 mph in an impressively fiery spell, also did their chances of inclusion in that World T20 squad no harm at all.
This was an inexperienced England line-up. Only two men - Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan - had 10 or more T20I caps, so when they subsided to 19 for 3 after four overs, with all three wickets coming as the batsmen pushed at balls that may have gripped on a surface used for last week's ODI, it seemed the absence of Root and Buttler might prove crucial.
But Vince, who timed the ball sweetly and looked far from overawed by the occasion, helped his captain add 76 in 10 overs for the fourth wicket, before Billings pressed the accelerator as England plundered 93 from the last 10 overs and 59 in the last five.
Vince was impressively calm amid the chaos. While he has played one ODI, he did not bat in it - it was the rain-ruined game in Ireland in May - so the manner in which he helped England rebuild while still engineering run-scoring opportunities hinted at a maturity and confidence that can serve England well.
He times the ball unusually sweetly, too. Wahab Riaz, having been pulled for four, was then driven through extra cover as Vince, taking a step back to give himself room, unfurled a flowing drive that may well become familiar in international cricket. His sweep, played off seamers and spinners, is also productive as Imran Khan, powered for six over midwicket, and Shahid Afridi, who was placed for four through fine leg, discovered.
When Vince was beaten by a good slower ball from Wahab - the final ball in a marvellous over that cost only one run and saw Morgan beaten like a snare drum - England could have faltered, but instead they increased the tempo in a passage of play that effectively settled the game.
It took only six balls before Billings produced his first scoop - a perfect pick-up over fine leg for four off the unfortunate Sohail Tanvir - before he charged down the pitch and powered the resulting slower ball over midwicket for four more.
Imran Khan was punished for 14 in three balls as Billings, picking the slower ball, used his power and bat speed to engineer strokes over midwicket, square leg and through mid-on, before Wahab was scooped twice in succession over fine leg - once for four and once for six - despite bowling full deliveries well outside off stump. For the second game in a row, an England wicketkeeper-batsman - running swiftly, playing shots right around the wicket and manufacturing opportunities with his power, confidence and footwork - had made bowling look an almost-impossible business.
Pakistan's reply was given a sheen of respectability by an eighth-wicket stand of 25 and a ninth-wicket stand of 45. But brave though the hitting of Anwar Ali, Sohail and Wahab was, it never looked likely to compensate for the top-order failings.
Plunkett's spell of 3 for 21 was crucial. While Mohammad Hafeez may consider himself slightly unfortunate to pick out the only man in the deep on the leg side - he timed his pull perfectly - Rafatullah Mohmand was among the batsmen made to look uncomfortable by his sharp pace. Reece Topley again impressed with his control, while so effective were Moeen Ali and Stephen Parry that Adil Rashid was not even required to bowl.
England were helped by some more hapless cricket from Pakistan. As well as dropping two catches that, by the high standards of international cricket, were simple, they produced another comical run out.
The worst of the catches - Sohail's miss off Alex Hales when he had scored 1 - hardly cost Pakistan anything. But as Sohail stumbled having parried the ball up in the air only to see the rebound hit his shoulder and fall to the ground, it was a reminder that, in this facet of the game, Pakistan are a long, long way behind the rest of the world.
The other missed chance saw Morgan missed at 37. Splicing an attempted cut against a nice slower ball from Imran, Morgan was fortunate that Anwar Ali, at backward point, moved slowly to the ball and put down the chance.
But it was the run-out that really hurt Pakistan. Just as Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood were starting to build a threatening partnership - they added 32 in 21 balls - they found themselves at the same end as Akmal called for a single and Maqsood declined. The sight of them both straining to slide their bat in at the bowler's end before their colleague did not suggest the tightest-knit dressing room.
Defeat, like victory, should be kept in perspective. This was Pakistan's first defeat in seven T20Is and, while England have now won four in a row, it is only five T20I games since they were defeated by Holland. Pakistan were also without Ahmed Shehzad, who missed the game due to illness, and Shoaib Malik, who was unavailable due to injury. Partly as a result, Rafatullah became the oldest debutant in the history of T20I cricket at the age of 39 and 20 days.
Still, this was an encouraging performance from England and, after some impressive cricket in the ODI series, a reminder that, for all the embarrassment of the World Cup debacle earlier this year, there is some outstanding young talent developing in England.
2nd T20I:
England 172/8 (20/20 ov)
Pakistan 169/8 (20/20 ov)
England win by 3 runs
Chris Woakes held his nerve in the final over as England beat Pakistan by three runs to win a thrilling second Twenty20 international in Dubai. Defending 11 runs, Woakes finished the innings with a dot ball as England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
James Vince impressed with the bat once again by making 38, but he was Shahid Afridi's third victim of the innings as the veteran all-rounder took out England's top three. England continued to receive contributions, with Joe Root making 20 and Jos Buttler, who captained the side in the absence of Eoin Morgan, scoring 33 off 22 balls.
Woakes finished the innings 15 not out, but 172-8 looked a vulnerable total when Rafatullah Mohmand (23) and Ahmed Shehzad (28) scored 45 off the first five overs of the reply. The introduction of the spinners was key as Stephen Parry (1-33) dismissed Shehzad, before Adil Rashid (2-18) removed Mohmand as both openers were stumped by Buttler.
Shoaib Malik ensured Pakistan had a chance heading into the closing stages, but his exit was crucial as he picked out Sam Billings at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Liam Plunkett, who took 3-33. Afridi (24) came to the crease to hit three sixes off a Woakes over, before a thick edge sent the ball to Plunkett at short third-man with Pakistan still needing 25 runs from the final 12 balls.
Sarfraz Ahmed ensured Pakistan entered the final over needing 11 runs for victory with three wickets in hand, but Woakes returned to hit the stumps via a deflection off the sweeping batsman. Sohail Tanvir started his knock with a boundary to calm the nerves, and singles off the next three balls left with Pakistan requiring four from the final delivery but Anwar Ali was unable to make contact with a big swing as England secured the win.
Sunday 29 November 2015
3rd Test Day 3 AUS V NZL
New Zealand 202 & 208
Australia 224 & 187/7 (target 187)
Australia won by 3 wickets
It lasted only three days, but Test cricket's first match with a pink ball provided an electric finish.
At 8.47pm on a Sunday night, under floodlights, in front of 33,923 spectators, Australia squeezed out a victory over New Zealand that was far tenser than the World Cup final between the same countries, eight months ago to the day.
Set 187 to win, Australia eked out their last two runs through Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc, who could barely jog, given the stress fracture in his foot.
The three-wicket win was confirmed as Siddle punched one past point off Tim Southee, Starc hobbling through to give Australia a 2-0 win in the series. By the end, New Zealand had six slips; it was all or nothing for Brendon McCullum's men, a five-wicket haul from Trent Boult having given them a chance. For a while Australia were doing it easier, but a couple of late wickets brought the Test back to life.
Shaun Marsh steered Australia to within 11 of their goal but when he edged to slip for 49 off Boult, New Zealand had a sniff. In Boult's next over he claimed Peter Nevill, whose inside edge was snapped up sharply by BJ Watling. Australia still needed two, and surprisingly Starc limped to the crease ahead of Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. A Siddle straight drive off Southee crashed into the stumps at the bowler's end, adding to the tension, before the winning runs came.
It was a breathless end to an experimental match, and there will certainly be more day-night Tests in future. The match crowd of 123,736 was an all-time Adelaide Oval record for a non-Ashes Test, despite the fact that the game lasted only three days. The low scores were more the result of batsmen failing to knuckle down than of the pink ball doing anything untoward; in all four innings the ball held its colour well, and there was appropriate swing and seam movement.
The longest individual innings of the Test was the 117-ball effort of Shaun Marsh in Australia's chase. He walked to the crease hoping the result of this match was in his hands, and certain that his own Test future was. At 32, on his sixth chance at Test cricket, and having been run out for 2 in the first innings, this was it. Australia's captain and vice-captain had just departed. New Zealand had the momentum. At 3 for 66, Australia needed 121 more runs.
New Zealand confidently appealed for an lbw from Marsh's first ball but he had managed an inside edge on to his pad off Boult. His start might have been nervy but he survived. Marsh began to find a few runs here and there, helped along by a short one from Mark Craig that was cut to the boundary. His confidence grew, as did his calm. A 49-run stand with Adam Voges steadied Australia, until Boult induced an edge to slip from Voges on 28.
The Marsh brothers then found themselves batting together for Australia for the first time in any format. What a time for it to happen. Mitchell Marsh survived some shaky moments and the brothers put on 46, pushing Australia to within sight of the win. For a while it looked as if they were going to be together to score the winning runs in a Test; Steve and Mark Waugh batted together 73 times in Test cricket but managed that achievement only once.
However, Mitchell became overconfident after lifting Mitchell Santner for a six, and next ball holed out to mid-on for 28 trying another lusty blow. It looked like Shaun would have to get Australia home on his own, but his edge off Boult sent palpitations through both camps. In the end, New Zealand just hadn't set Australia quite enough, despite the low-scoring nature of the match.
The bowlers at least made Australia work hard for it, Boult especially asking more questions of them than a TV quiz show host. Boult led the attack outstandingly, swinging the ball in to trap Joe Burns lbw for 11 and then adding Steven Smith in a similar manner for 14. Just before Smith fell, David Warner's streaky innings ended when he edged to slip off Doug Bracewell for 35. Australia lost their first three wickets for 66, but the rest of the order did just enough.
They could thank Hazlewood for ensuring the target was gettable. His career-best 6 for 70 - and nine wickets for the Test - made him Man of the Match, and he stepped up as leader of the attack in the absence of the injured Starc. New Zealand added 92 to their overnight total for the loss of their last five wickets, three of which were claimed by Hazlewood.
He started the day by having Watling caught at second slip without adding to his overnight score of 7, but Australia's hopes of a swift end to the innings were dashed by debutant Mitchell Santner. He top scored with 45 and looked confident throughout his innings, striking five fours and one six, and compiling useful partnerships with both Craig and Bracewell.
Craig managed 15 before he gave Hazlewood a five-for by edging behind and Santner looked set for a half-century when he lofted Lyon over long-on for a six that took him to 45. However, Lyon outfoxed him two deliveries later, dragging his length back to turn one past the advancing Santner, who was stumped. In spite of the rush of blood - and of a dropped catch later in the day when Smith skied one to midwicket - Santner's debut was impressive.
Southee holed out for 13 off Mitchell Marsh and Bracewell was left unbeaten on 27 when Hazlewood ended the innings by bowling Boult just before tea. It meant Australia faced a tricky chase and would have to bat in the swinging evening conditions but they were good enough - just. And a memorable end to Test cricket's first day-nighter was set to play out.
Australia 224 & 187/7 (target 187)
Australia won by 3 wickets
It lasted only three days, but Test cricket's first match with a pink ball provided an electric finish.
At 8.47pm on a Sunday night, under floodlights, in front of 33,923 spectators, Australia squeezed out a victory over New Zealand that was far tenser than the World Cup final between the same countries, eight months ago to the day.
Set 187 to win, Australia eked out their last two runs through Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc, who could barely jog, given the stress fracture in his foot.
The three-wicket win was confirmed as Siddle punched one past point off Tim Southee, Starc hobbling through to give Australia a 2-0 win in the series. By the end, New Zealand had six slips; it was all or nothing for Brendon McCullum's men, a five-wicket haul from Trent Boult having given them a chance. For a while Australia were doing it easier, but a couple of late wickets brought the Test back to life.
Shaun Marsh steered Australia to within 11 of their goal but when he edged to slip for 49 off Boult, New Zealand had a sniff. In Boult's next over he claimed Peter Nevill, whose inside edge was snapped up sharply by BJ Watling. Australia still needed two, and surprisingly Starc limped to the crease ahead of Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. A Siddle straight drive off Southee crashed into the stumps at the bowler's end, adding to the tension, before the winning runs came.
It was a breathless end to an experimental match, and there will certainly be more day-night Tests in future. The match crowd of 123,736 was an all-time Adelaide Oval record for a non-Ashes Test, despite the fact that the game lasted only three days. The low scores were more the result of batsmen failing to knuckle down than of the pink ball doing anything untoward; in all four innings the ball held its colour well, and there was appropriate swing and seam movement.
The longest individual innings of the Test was the 117-ball effort of Shaun Marsh in Australia's chase. He walked to the crease hoping the result of this match was in his hands, and certain that his own Test future was. At 32, on his sixth chance at Test cricket, and having been run out for 2 in the first innings, this was it. Australia's captain and vice-captain had just departed. New Zealand had the momentum. At 3 for 66, Australia needed 121 more runs.
New Zealand confidently appealed for an lbw from Marsh's first ball but he had managed an inside edge on to his pad off Boult. His start might have been nervy but he survived. Marsh began to find a few runs here and there, helped along by a short one from Mark Craig that was cut to the boundary. His confidence grew, as did his calm. A 49-run stand with Adam Voges steadied Australia, until Boult induced an edge to slip from Voges on 28.
The Marsh brothers then found themselves batting together for Australia for the first time in any format. What a time for it to happen. Mitchell Marsh survived some shaky moments and the brothers put on 46, pushing Australia to within sight of the win. For a while it looked as if they were going to be together to score the winning runs in a Test; Steve and Mark Waugh batted together 73 times in Test cricket but managed that achievement only once.
However, Mitchell became overconfident after lifting Mitchell Santner for a six, and next ball holed out to mid-on for 28 trying another lusty blow. It looked like Shaun would have to get Australia home on his own, but his edge off Boult sent palpitations through both camps. In the end, New Zealand just hadn't set Australia quite enough, despite the low-scoring nature of the match.
The bowlers at least made Australia work hard for it, Boult especially asking more questions of them than a TV quiz show host. Boult led the attack outstandingly, swinging the ball in to trap Joe Burns lbw for 11 and then adding Steven Smith in a similar manner for 14. Just before Smith fell, David Warner's streaky innings ended when he edged to slip off Doug Bracewell for 35. Australia lost their first three wickets for 66, but the rest of the order did just enough.
They could thank Hazlewood for ensuring the target was gettable. His career-best 6 for 70 - and nine wickets for the Test - made him Man of the Match, and he stepped up as leader of the attack in the absence of the injured Starc. New Zealand added 92 to their overnight total for the loss of their last five wickets, three of which were claimed by Hazlewood.
He started the day by having Watling caught at second slip without adding to his overnight score of 7, but Australia's hopes of a swift end to the innings were dashed by debutant Mitchell Santner. He top scored with 45 and looked confident throughout his innings, striking five fours and one six, and compiling useful partnerships with both Craig and Bracewell.
Craig managed 15 before he gave Hazlewood a five-for by edging behind and Santner looked set for a half-century when he lofted Lyon over long-on for a six that took him to 45. However, Lyon outfoxed him two deliveries later, dragging his length back to turn one past the advancing Santner, who was stumped. In spite of the rush of blood - and of a dropped catch later in the day when Smith skied one to midwicket - Santner's debut was impressive.
Southee holed out for 13 off Mitchell Marsh and Bracewell was left unbeaten on 27 when Hazlewood ended the innings by bowling Boult just before tea. It meant Australia faced a tricky chase and would have to bat in the swinging evening conditions but they were good enough - just. And a memorable end to Test cricket's first day-nighter was set to play out.
Saturday 28 November 2015
3rd Test Day 2 AUS V NZL
New Zealand 202 & 116/5 (37 ov)
Australia 224
New Zealand lead by 94 runs with 5 wickets remaining
The pink ball and green pitch have combined to produce a vivid brand of cricket over the first two days at Adelaide Oval, where a three-day Test now appears a near certainty. At stumps on the second evening, it was Australia who had the upper hand but in a match full of rapid momentum swings, New Zealand were well and truly still in the contest. Their lead of 94 runs with five wickets in hand could yet develop into a target that will challenge Australia.
That the third innings was already half over was an indication of how quickly this Test had progressed. Runs were at a premium, with only three players having so far reached half-centuries, and none having made hundreds. On the first day 12 wickets had fallen and on the second, 13 more tumbled, but it was a not-out decision that may yet have the greatest impact on the result of the match, a reprieve for Nathan Lyon, who usually bats at No.11 for Australia.
The scene was this: Australia were 8 for 118 in reply to New Zealand's 202, and Lyon top-edged an attempted sweep off Mitchell Santner into his shoulder and up to slip. New Zealand's appeal was denied on field by umpire S Ravi, and Brendon McCullum asked for a review, confident that Australia would soon be 9 for 118. But despite evidence that would have convinced most courts of law, the third umpire Nigel Llong was unswayed.
After five minutes of replays, Llong upheld Ravi's decision. There was a clear Hot Spot on the top edge of Lyon's bat, and he had walked halfway to the dressing room. There also seemed to be a deviation in the ball's course. But nothing showed up on Snicko, which appeared to create enough doubt in Llong's mind. To add to the farce, he checked also if it could have been lbw off Lyon's shoulder, but seemed not to notice that the Eagle Eye replay was of the previous delivery.
It was a costly call for New Zealand. Lyon and Peter Nevill went on to compile the highest partnership of the match, adding a further 72 runs after the review. Undeterred by his near miss, Lyon continued to sweep with the enthusiasm of an Olympic curler, and the shot brought him plenty of runs, including the second six of his Test career. At the other end, Nevill played the perfect innings for the moment, his 66 the top score of the match so far.
Eventually Lyon was caught at gully off Trent Boult for 34, but Mitchell Starc hobbled to the crease in spite of the stress fracture in his foot, and thumped 20 runs off one Mark Craig over and 24 in total. He was not out when Nevill holed out to deep cover off Doug Bracewell, and Australia had somehow turned what seemed a certain hefty deficit into a 22-run first-innings lead.
It also meant that New Zealand would face the challenging task of batting under lights, when the pink ball seems to swing most. And even without Starc, Australia's pace trio of Josh Hazlewood, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Marsh asked some serious questions of the New Zealand top order. Martin Guptill had no answers, caught at gully for 17 when he drove at a fullish outswinger from Hazlewood, completing a disappointing series with the bat.
Shaun Marsh's return to Test cricket ended in a run-out for 2 © Cricket Australia/Getty Images
His opening partner Tom Latham again survived the early overs but could not push on. In every innings of this series, Latham has reached double figures but never has he scored more than 50. This time, he too drove at Hazlewood and edged behind to Nevill for 10. Most importantly for New Zealand's hopes, Kane Williamson also fell cheaply, a faint tickle behind off Mitchell Marsh ending his innings on 9.
Australia are adamant they need an allrounder in case a fast man breaks down, so in the absence of Starc there were great expectations on Marsh to step up. Getting rid of Williamson was the perfect start; dismissing McCullum was a bonus. On 20, McCullum prodded forward and was struck on the pad by Marsh; McCullum challenged the umpire's out decision but it was an ambitious review, and he had to depart.
One more wicket was to come, Ross Taylor trapped right in front by Hazlewood for 32, and nobody was more relieved than Steven Smith, who had put down Taylor at slip off Hazlewood before he had scored. The pink ball was easy enough for the 42,372 spectators to see under the floodlights but Smith seemed to have trouble watching it into his hands, also putting down BJ Watling later in the night on 2, also at slip off Hazlewood.
By stumps, Watling was on 7 and Santner had 13, and with the score at 5 for 116, they and the tail needed to stick around for as long as possible on day three to set Australia a challenging target. Quite what such a target would be was unclear, for the Australians had collapsed to 8 for 116 themselves earlier in the day. Although the first session brought only 62 runs, the fewest of any session in the series, the match was moving at rapid pace.
New Zealand seemed to have taken control of the game in that first session, collecting six wickets and doing almost nothing wrong. The fast bowlers swung the ball and kept the runs tight, the spinners extracted turn and wickets, and the fielding was as outstanding as anything seen so far in the series. Especially memorable was McCullum's diving stop at mid-off, then his roll and throw to have Shaun Marsh run out for 2.
Marsh had nobody to blame but himself for his call and hesitation, and it was the second wicket of the day after Tim Southee hooped the ball brilliantly to have Adam Voges caught at slip for 13. Mitchell Marsh replaced his brother and prodded an edge behind for 4 off Doug Bracewell, and it was just reward for Bracewell's nagging lines and the pressure that he built.
Bracewell bowled with such impressive economy that he could have been AAA-rated by Standard & Poor's, his 12.1 overs bringing him 3 for 18 at less than 1.5 an over. Smith was the only Australian batsman to show the necessary patience and he reached his half-century from 108 balls, but he could not help going after the spin of Mark Craig, who turned the ball enough to catch Smith's inside edge as he danced down the pitch and Watling moved quickly to take a sharp catch.
Smith's 53 had given Australia a base, but Craig soon added Siddle, caught in close for a duck, and Santner bowled Hazlewood for 4 to bring Australia to their knees. Unfortunately for New Zealand, when Lyon went to his knees for a sweep and was reprieved in the third umpire's room, the momentum shifted back Australia's way.
Australia 224
New Zealand lead by 94 runs with 5 wickets remaining
The pink ball and green pitch have combined to produce a vivid brand of cricket over the first two days at Adelaide Oval, where a three-day Test now appears a near certainty. At stumps on the second evening, it was Australia who had the upper hand but in a match full of rapid momentum swings, New Zealand were well and truly still in the contest. Their lead of 94 runs with five wickets in hand could yet develop into a target that will challenge Australia.
That the third innings was already half over was an indication of how quickly this Test had progressed. Runs were at a premium, with only three players having so far reached half-centuries, and none having made hundreds. On the first day 12 wickets had fallen and on the second, 13 more tumbled, but it was a not-out decision that may yet have the greatest impact on the result of the match, a reprieve for Nathan Lyon, who usually bats at No.11 for Australia.
The scene was this: Australia were 8 for 118 in reply to New Zealand's 202, and Lyon top-edged an attempted sweep off Mitchell Santner into his shoulder and up to slip. New Zealand's appeal was denied on field by umpire S Ravi, and Brendon McCullum asked for a review, confident that Australia would soon be 9 for 118. But despite evidence that would have convinced most courts of law, the third umpire Nigel Llong was unswayed.
After five minutes of replays, Llong upheld Ravi's decision. There was a clear Hot Spot on the top edge of Lyon's bat, and he had walked halfway to the dressing room. There also seemed to be a deviation in the ball's course. But nothing showed up on Snicko, which appeared to create enough doubt in Llong's mind. To add to the farce, he checked also if it could have been lbw off Lyon's shoulder, but seemed not to notice that the Eagle Eye replay was of the previous delivery.
It was a costly call for New Zealand. Lyon and Peter Nevill went on to compile the highest partnership of the match, adding a further 72 runs after the review. Undeterred by his near miss, Lyon continued to sweep with the enthusiasm of an Olympic curler, and the shot brought him plenty of runs, including the second six of his Test career. At the other end, Nevill played the perfect innings for the moment, his 66 the top score of the match so far.
Eventually Lyon was caught at gully off Trent Boult for 34, but Mitchell Starc hobbled to the crease in spite of the stress fracture in his foot, and thumped 20 runs off one Mark Craig over and 24 in total. He was not out when Nevill holed out to deep cover off Doug Bracewell, and Australia had somehow turned what seemed a certain hefty deficit into a 22-run first-innings lead.
It also meant that New Zealand would face the challenging task of batting under lights, when the pink ball seems to swing most. And even without Starc, Australia's pace trio of Josh Hazlewood, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Marsh asked some serious questions of the New Zealand top order. Martin Guptill had no answers, caught at gully for 17 when he drove at a fullish outswinger from Hazlewood, completing a disappointing series with the bat.
Shaun Marsh's return to Test cricket ended in a run-out for 2 © Cricket Australia/Getty Images
His opening partner Tom Latham again survived the early overs but could not push on. In every innings of this series, Latham has reached double figures but never has he scored more than 50. This time, he too drove at Hazlewood and edged behind to Nevill for 10. Most importantly for New Zealand's hopes, Kane Williamson also fell cheaply, a faint tickle behind off Mitchell Marsh ending his innings on 9.
Australia are adamant they need an allrounder in case a fast man breaks down, so in the absence of Starc there were great expectations on Marsh to step up. Getting rid of Williamson was the perfect start; dismissing McCullum was a bonus. On 20, McCullum prodded forward and was struck on the pad by Marsh; McCullum challenged the umpire's out decision but it was an ambitious review, and he had to depart.
One more wicket was to come, Ross Taylor trapped right in front by Hazlewood for 32, and nobody was more relieved than Steven Smith, who had put down Taylor at slip off Hazlewood before he had scored. The pink ball was easy enough for the 42,372 spectators to see under the floodlights but Smith seemed to have trouble watching it into his hands, also putting down BJ Watling later in the night on 2, also at slip off Hazlewood.
By stumps, Watling was on 7 and Santner had 13, and with the score at 5 for 116, they and the tail needed to stick around for as long as possible on day three to set Australia a challenging target. Quite what such a target would be was unclear, for the Australians had collapsed to 8 for 116 themselves earlier in the day. Although the first session brought only 62 runs, the fewest of any session in the series, the match was moving at rapid pace.
New Zealand seemed to have taken control of the game in that first session, collecting six wickets and doing almost nothing wrong. The fast bowlers swung the ball and kept the runs tight, the spinners extracted turn and wickets, and the fielding was as outstanding as anything seen so far in the series. Especially memorable was McCullum's diving stop at mid-off, then his roll and throw to have Shaun Marsh run out for 2.
Marsh had nobody to blame but himself for his call and hesitation, and it was the second wicket of the day after Tim Southee hooped the ball brilliantly to have Adam Voges caught at slip for 13. Mitchell Marsh replaced his brother and prodded an edge behind for 4 off Doug Bracewell, and it was just reward for Bracewell's nagging lines and the pressure that he built.
Bracewell bowled with such impressive economy that he could have been AAA-rated by Standard & Poor's, his 12.1 overs bringing him 3 for 18 at less than 1.5 an over. Smith was the only Australian batsman to show the necessary patience and he reached his half-century from 108 balls, but he could not help going after the spin of Mark Craig, who turned the ball enough to catch Smith's inside edge as he danced down the pitch and Watling moved quickly to take a sharp catch.
Smith's 53 had given Australia a base, but Craig soon added Siddle, caught in close for a duck, and Santner bowled Hazlewood for 4 to bring Australia to their knees. Unfortunately for New Zealand, when Lyon went to his knees for a sweep and was reprieved in the third umpire's room, the momentum shifted back Australia's way.
Friday 27 November 2015
3rd Test Day 3 IND V SA, 3rd Test Day 1 AUS V NZ
New Zealand 202
Australia 54/2
Australia trail by 148 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
It was like Seinfeld's George Costanza was in charge of this day of Test cricket, during his "opposite" phase. The first of play at the Gabba and the WACA brought only two wickets each; at Adelaide Oval 12 wickets tumbled. At the Gabba and the WACA, Kane Williamson and David Warner both scored centuries in the first innings; at Adelaide Oval they were both out cheaply. At the Gabba and the WACA, crowds were small; at Adelaide Oval, the stands were packed.
And, of course, there was the small matter of a red ball and lunch versus a pink ball and dinner. Nothing worked out for George with tuna on toast, coleslaw and coffee, so he switched to chicken salad on rye, untoasted, with a cup of tea. It was a roaring success. So too the world's first experience of day-night Test cricket. At stumps, which came at 9.25pm, the match was evenly poised, which was no bad thing after the run-fests in Brisbane and Perth.
The evening finished with Australia at 2 for 54 in reply to New Zealand's 202. The final session had been challenging for the batsmen as 47,441 spectators watched Trent Boult and Tim Southee hoop the new ball around under lights. The openers both fell: Warner edged an outswinger to third slip off Boult for 1, and Joe Burns toiled valiantly for 14 off 41 balls before he chopped on off the bowling of Doug Bracewell. But Steven Smith and Adam Voges survived.
And they survived with the knowledge that batting might just get a little easier come the start of play at 2pm on the second afternoon. The curator had left extra grass on the pitch in an effort to help protect the pink ball but the surface played only a minor role in New Zealand's struggles with the bat. The Australians swung few deliveries. Some seamed, and Nathan Lyon extracted turn and bounce, but there were certainly no demons in the pitch.
Australia's bowlers for the most part plugged away at consistent lines and lengths, and built pressure the old-fashioned way. It helped that they had Peter Siddle back in the side for that purpose. He became the 15th Australian to the 200-wicket milestone in Tests, and he was miserly until the lower-order started to swing at him. Especially important was the way Siddle helped to build the pressure on Williamson.
For the first time in the series, Australia dismissed Williamson before he had reached a half-century. He moved briskly to 19 from 19 deliveries but the remaining 39 balls of his innings brought only three runs as the dots and maidens piled up. Williamson faced four maidens, including two from Siddle, and on 22 he walked across his stumps and was lbw to a straight yorker. The wicket went next to Mitchell Starc's name, but the attack as a unit had earned it.
That was one of three wickets for Starc, who finished with 3 for 24 from nine overs, his workload cut short when he was forced off the field due to ankle pain. It had the potential to be a significant blow for Australia, although they had little trouble running through the rest of the New Zealand order. Opener Tom Latham had been the only batsman to reach a half-century on the first day of Test cricket with a pink ball, and even he only just made it, out for 50.
The first run had been scored by his partner Martin Guptill, though he managed no more than that single. He was also the first man to fall to a pink ball in Test cricket, lbw to a Josh Hazlewood delivery that would have clipped the top of the bails, and it was a disappointing result for Guptill, who has scored heavily against the pink ball in the warm-up matches on this tour.
Guptill and Williamson were the only wickets to fall in the first session, but after the 20-minute tea break New Zealand wobbled. New Zealand's lost 3 for 4 in the space of 11 balls, starting with Latham, who was superbly taken on 50 by Peter Nevill; an attempted cut off Lyon was edged through and stuck in the tips of Nevill's gloves.
In the next over Siddle claimed his 199th Test wicket when he nipped one back and found the inside edge of Ross Taylor's bat - he was caught behind for 21. Then came a triumph of captaincy, Smith immediately recalling Starc to replace Lyon, who had just taken a wicket, so that Starc could have first chance at McCullum. Duly, McCullum slashed and top-edged behind on 4, Nevill taking another excellent catch.
Debutant Mitchell Santner showed some positive signs in his first Test innings and struck seven fours on his way to 31 before he was bowled by Starc. Lyon added another when he produced a perfect offbreak that gripped, turned and beat the bat of Mark Craig, who on 11 could only watch as the ball clipped the very top of his off stump.
After the 40-minute dinner break, as the post-workday crowd filed in to watch the first session of Test cricket completely under lights, they saw Australia clean up New Zealand's last three wickets cheaply. BJ Watling was taken at slip off Hazlewood for 29, Siddle claimed No.200 when Doug Bracewell chipped him to midwicket, and Tim Southee holed out to mid-off for 16 to give Hazlewood his third.
Then came the sight everyone had been waiting for: the new pink ball swinging around in the evening. The contest was gripping, even if the runs came slowly for Australia. Survival was the order of the day - or night - and 2 for 54 from 22 overs before stumps seemed a fair reflection of the battle. It was certainly more of a tussle than 2 for 389 at stumps on day one in Brisbane, or 2 for 416 in Perth. It was, in every way, the opposite of those matches, and no bad thing for it.
India 215 & 173
South Africa 79 & 185
India won by 124 runs
South Africa went more than nine years and 15 away trips without losing a series, but it took just seven days of cricket to end the streak. Only on the fourth and the seventh day of the series did we see a contest between bat and ball. On the seventh - the third and final day of this Test - the pitch became so slow that more edges fell short than the ones that carried. Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis provided resistance for 46.2 overs, South Africa's longest partnership of the series, South Africa even managed to get the second new ball out for the first time in the series, but they never managed to get into a threatening position after beginning the day needing 278 runs with eight wickets in hand.
R Ashwin waltzed away to his fourth 10-wicket match haul, but Amit Mishra - like he did in Mohali - broke the long partnership by getting Hashim Amla and then took Faf du Plessis out in the last exchanges before tea. The resumption of the chase was stillborn when Ashwin took out Dean Elgar and AB de Villiers in the first 10 overs of the day. Amla and du Plessis, assisted by some good fortune, fought long and hard, but unlike the South Africa spinners, India didn't provide them with bad balls on a pitch where timing half-volleys was also a challenge.
Surprisingly Ravindra Jadeja went wicketless in 25 overs, but it wasn't as if he didn't look getting one. At the height of the Amla-du Plessis partnership, Jadeja still kept beating the bat with his sharp turn. The turn otherwise was slow, which finally gave the batsmen some trust of their defence and the pitch. Balls began to die in front of the slips. It was evident in how both of them edged twice each without the ball carrying to the cordon. And when Amla nicked Mishra when driving hard, not with soft hands or by playing late.
Amla and du Plessis now began to play off the surface. If the ball would be tossed up, they would press forward to try to reach the pitch of it. When it was bowled flatter, they stayed back and worked with their hands, playing the line of the ball, not following the ones that turned sharply. Yet there were the frequent plays and misses. India knew they needed to stay patient and accurate, which they did. Not for one moment could the batsmen have thought there was an easy run around the corner. Only 72 runs came in that partnership, 25 runs in the first 25 overs of the middle session, and they went 25.1 overs without a boundary.
Eventually that special delivery arrived from Mishra. Amla had spent 72 balls scoring just seven runs and was on 39 when Mishra bowled one that reared up at his defensive shot. During the partnership the two had taken South Africa to their longest innings of the series, threatened to make the second new ball due for the first time in the series, but neither could cross 40, the highest individual score of this Test.
The curse of 40 continued after du Plessis punched Mishra through cover for the first boundary in more than 25 overs, but when he went to repeat the same - having read a wrong 'un - the long hop stayed low to hit his stumps. Like Amla, he, too, scored 39. Ashwin ran through the rest without much trouble, but it was his strikes in the morning - as it has been throughout the series - that set the tone for India's domination.
Ashwin's wickets had less to do with the pitch than Mishra's. This might not have been Johannesburg, but Elgar began by slog-sweeping him for a six in the early exchanges. Ashwin, though, remained naggingly accurate, and later in that over he bowled an offbreak that didn't turn, took the inside edge of the defensive bat on to the pad and popped up for an easy catch. It might have been given out lbw by the on-field umpire, but Elgar was out anyway, for the fourth time to Ashwin in the series.
Now was the time for the crucial partnership, between de Villiers and Amla, the two men who have looked South Africa's best bets in the series. De Villiers tried his best to put Ashwin off his length by jumping out of the crease as often as he could, but he kept failing to do so. In the end, perhaps what was happening off the pitch became so dominant that he didn't watch the ball closely enough out of the hand, and fell lbw to a carrom ball. He was gone for nine. Amla and du Plessis only delayed the last rites after that.
Australia 54/2
Australia trail by 148 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
It was like Seinfeld's George Costanza was in charge of this day of Test cricket, during his "opposite" phase. The first of play at the Gabba and the WACA brought only two wickets each; at Adelaide Oval 12 wickets tumbled. At the Gabba and the WACA, Kane Williamson and David Warner both scored centuries in the first innings; at Adelaide Oval they were both out cheaply. At the Gabba and the WACA, crowds were small; at Adelaide Oval, the stands were packed.
And, of course, there was the small matter of a red ball and lunch versus a pink ball and dinner. Nothing worked out for George with tuna on toast, coleslaw and coffee, so he switched to chicken salad on rye, untoasted, with a cup of tea. It was a roaring success. So too the world's first experience of day-night Test cricket. At stumps, which came at 9.25pm, the match was evenly poised, which was no bad thing after the run-fests in Brisbane and Perth.
The evening finished with Australia at 2 for 54 in reply to New Zealand's 202. The final session had been challenging for the batsmen as 47,441 spectators watched Trent Boult and Tim Southee hoop the new ball around under lights. The openers both fell: Warner edged an outswinger to third slip off Boult for 1, and Joe Burns toiled valiantly for 14 off 41 balls before he chopped on off the bowling of Doug Bracewell. But Steven Smith and Adam Voges survived.
And they survived with the knowledge that batting might just get a little easier come the start of play at 2pm on the second afternoon. The curator had left extra grass on the pitch in an effort to help protect the pink ball but the surface played only a minor role in New Zealand's struggles with the bat. The Australians swung few deliveries. Some seamed, and Nathan Lyon extracted turn and bounce, but there were certainly no demons in the pitch.
Australia's bowlers for the most part plugged away at consistent lines and lengths, and built pressure the old-fashioned way. It helped that they had Peter Siddle back in the side for that purpose. He became the 15th Australian to the 200-wicket milestone in Tests, and he was miserly until the lower-order started to swing at him. Especially important was the way Siddle helped to build the pressure on Williamson.
For the first time in the series, Australia dismissed Williamson before he had reached a half-century. He moved briskly to 19 from 19 deliveries but the remaining 39 balls of his innings brought only three runs as the dots and maidens piled up. Williamson faced four maidens, including two from Siddle, and on 22 he walked across his stumps and was lbw to a straight yorker. The wicket went next to Mitchell Starc's name, but the attack as a unit had earned it.
That was one of three wickets for Starc, who finished with 3 for 24 from nine overs, his workload cut short when he was forced off the field due to ankle pain. It had the potential to be a significant blow for Australia, although they had little trouble running through the rest of the New Zealand order. Opener Tom Latham had been the only batsman to reach a half-century on the first day of Test cricket with a pink ball, and even he only just made it, out for 50.
The first run had been scored by his partner Martin Guptill, though he managed no more than that single. He was also the first man to fall to a pink ball in Test cricket, lbw to a Josh Hazlewood delivery that would have clipped the top of the bails, and it was a disappointing result for Guptill, who has scored heavily against the pink ball in the warm-up matches on this tour.
Guptill and Williamson were the only wickets to fall in the first session, but after the 20-minute tea break New Zealand wobbled. New Zealand's lost 3 for 4 in the space of 11 balls, starting with Latham, who was superbly taken on 50 by Peter Nevill; an attempted cut off Lyon was edged through and stuck in the tips of Nevill's gloves.
In the next over Siddle claimed his 199th Test wicket when he nipped one back and found the inside edge of Ross Taylor's bat - he was caught behind for 21. Then came a triumph of captaincy, Smith immediately recalling Starc to replace Lyon, who had just taken a wicket, so that Starc could have first chance at McCullum. Duly, McCullum slashed and top-edged behind on 4, Nevill taking another excellent catch.
Debutant Mitchell Santner showed some positive signs in his first Test innings and struck seven fours on his way to 31 before he was bowled by Starc. Lyon added another when he produced a perfect offbreak that gripped, turned and beat the bat of Mark Craig, who on 11 could only watch as the ball clipped the very top of his off stump.
After the 40-minute dinner break, as the post-workday crowd filed in to watch the first session of Test cricket completely under lights, they saw Australia clean up New Zealand's last three wickets cheaply. BJ Watling was taken at slip off Hazlewood for 29, Siddle claimed No.200 when Doug Bracewell chipped him to midwicket, and Tim Southee holed out to mid-off for 16 to give Hazlewood his third.
Then came the sight everyone had been waiting for: the new pink ball swinging around in the evening. The contest was gripping, even if the runs came slowly for Australia. Survival was the order of the day - or night - and 2 for 54 from 22 overs before stumps seemed a fair reflection of the battle. It was certainly more of a tussle than 2 for 389 at stumps on day one in Brisbane, or 2 for 416 in Perth. It was, in every way, the opposite of those matches, and no bad thing for it.
India 215 & 173
South Africa 79 & 185
India won by 124 runs
South Africa went more than nine years and 15 away trips without losing a series, but it took just seven days of cricket to end the streak. Only on the fourth and the seventh day of the series did we see a contest between bat and ball. On the seventh - the third and final day of this Test - the pitch became so slow that more edges fell short than the ones that carried. Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis provided resistance for 46.2 overs, South Africa's longest partnership of the series, South Africa even managed to get the second new ball out for the first time in the series, but they never managed to get into a threatening position after beginning the day needing 278 runs with eight wickets in hand.
R Ashwin waltzed away to his fourth 10-wicket match haul, but Amit Mishra - like he did in Mohali - broke the long partnership by getting Hashim Amla and then took Faf du Plessis out in the last exchanges before tea. The resumption of the chase was stillborn when Ashwin took out Dean Elgar and AB de Villiers in the first 10 overs of the day. Amla and du Plessis, assisted by some good fortune, fought long and hard, but unlike the South Africa spinners, India didn't provide them with bad balls on a pitch where timing half-volleys was also a challenge.
Surprisingly Ravindra Jadeja went wicketless in 25 overs, but it wasn't as if he didn't look getting one. At the height of the Amla-du Plessis partnership, Jadeja still kept beating the bat with his sharp turn. The turn otherwise was slow, which finally gave the batsmen some trust of their defence and the pitch. Balls began to die in front of the slips. It was evident in how both of them edged twice each without the ball carrying to the cordon. And when Amla nicked Mishra when driving hard, not with soft hands or by playing late.
Amla and du Plessis now began to play off the surface. If the ball would be tossed up, they would press forward to try to reach the pitch of it. When it was bowled flatter, they stayed back and worked with their hands, playing the line of the ball, not following the ones that turned sharply. Yet there were the frequent plays and misses. India knew they needed to stay patient and accurate, which they did. Not for one moment could the batsmen have thought there was an easy run around the corner. Only 72 runs came in that partnership, 25 runs in the first 25 overs of the middle session, and they went 25.1 overs without a boundary.
Eventually that special delivery arrived from Mishra. Amla had spent 72 balls scoring just seven runs and was on 39 when Mishra bowled one that reared up at his defensive shot. During the partnership the two had taken South Africa to their longest innings of the series, threatened to make the second new ball due for the first time in the series, but neither could cross 40, the highest individual score of this Test.
The curse of 40 continued after du Plessis punched Mishra through cover for the first boundary in more than 25 overs, but when he went to repeat the same - having read a wrong 'un - the long hop stayed low to hit his stumps. Like Amla, he, too, scored 39. Ashwin ran through the rest without much trouble, but it was his strikes in the morning - as it has been throughout the series - that set the tone for India's domination.
Ashwin's wickets had less to do with the pitch than Mishra's. This might not have been Johannesburg, but Elgar began by slog-sweeping him for a six in the early exchanges. Ashwin, though, remained naggingly accurate, and later in that over he bowled an offbreak that didn't turn, took the inside edge of the defensive bat on to the pad and popped up for an easy catch. It might have been given out lbw by the on-field umpire, but Elgar was out anyway, for the fourth time to Ashwin in the series.
Now was the time for the crucial partnership, between de Villiers and Amla, the two men who have looked South Africa's best bets in the series. De Villiers tried his best to put Ashwin off his length by jumping out of the crease as often as he could, but he kept failing to do so. In the end, perhaps what was happening off the pitch became so dominant that he didn't watch the ball closely enough out of the hand, and fell lbw to a carrom ball. He was gone for nine. Amla and du Plessis only delayed the last rites after that.
Thursday 26 November 2015
3rd Test Day 2 IND V SA
India 215 & 173
South Africa 79 & 32/2 (14 ov, target 310)
South Africa require another 278 runs with 8 wickets remaining
On a pitch that turned batting into a lottery, South Africa failed to buy their ticket. It might read odd, but their bowlers bowled poorly to let India score 173 after they let the hosts get away to 215 in the first innings. In between, South Africa's batsmen were brought face to face with the true horror of batting on this pitch, and were bowled out for 79 in the face of relentless accuracy from R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the lowest Test total against India. The visitors were left needing 278 runs with eight wickets in hand to preserve their nine-year-old unbeaten streak in away series.
Bowlers from both sides bowled many unplayable deliveries on a pitch that you needed a lot of luck to survive, but South Africa bowled far too many of those outside the operational areas, taking the pitch out of the equation. Ashwin and Jadeja kept pegging away in those zones, and the pitch did the rest. South Africa's first innings lasted 33.1 overs, the longest wait for a wicket was 5.2 overs, and the highest score was JP Duniny's 35, and that included dollops of luck and application.
Modern batsmen draw a lot of flak for their lack of survival skills, but this might just have been a case of a crooked floor. Literally. Or even an out-of-shape ball. This pitch did not have mere turn: it had variable turn, variable bounce and variable pace. It is easy to say the batsmen did not get to the pitch of the ball often enough, but the batsmen were not reacting to balls coming across 22 yards, but to ones whose behaviour was impossible to predict until after they had pitched four or five yards from them. Just that knowledge was enough to mire feet in cement and minds in panic.
AB de Villiers' dismissal summed the pitch up. Jadeja absolutely fired one into the middle of the track around leg-stump line, but this hard cricket ball almost turned into a balloon upon pitching, took some of the surface with it, and turned and stayed slow to take the leading edge for an easy return catch. This was after one had skidded through after pitching in a similar area. The de Villiers' duck left South Africa 12 for 5, their lowest score at the fall of their fifth wicket. They had begun the day at 11 for 5.
It is quite possible that such a pitch and such a situation left India's fielders complacent too: had Virat Kohli, at gully, not dropped a sitter off JP Duminy in the 18th over, South Africa would have been reduced to 35 for 7, and would have been a fair shot to beat the lowest totals in India - 75 and 76 by India against West Indies and South Africa. Duminy went on to miraculously score 35, but he needed all the luck to go with his excellent batting. He danced down and hit Jadeja for two sixes, he swept, he defended like his life depended on it, but there were almost an equal number of edges falling safe. The one that reached a fielder was dropped.
India players react bemusedly when asked of the pitches, wondering what the fuss is all about, but really they should know why the pitch and not the cricket was the talking point. Ashwin, who is bowling beautifully, drifting the ball late, bowling a seam-up topspinner that swings back in to the left-hand batsmen, will have to contend with his 14th Test five-for being reduced to a footnote. He got Dean Elgar in the first over of the day with that seam-up delivery, drawing an inside edge from the cut. His other wickets were Hashim Amla (back of the bat on the sweep as the ball bounced, turned and came on slowly), Simon Harmer (not padding up properly to a carrom ball pitched well outside leg), and Morne Morkel (a return catch off a leading edge).
Jadeja was near unplayable given his pace, accuracy and flatter trajectory. Apart from de Villiers, he got Faf du Plessis (bowled when playing for turn) and Dane Vilas (bowled by a ball that turned past the outside edge) on the second morning. He was certain to get a five-for until Kohli took him off after 12 straight overs for 33 runs and four wickets. Amit Mishra, brought on to replace Jadeja, took Duminy out.
On a pitch where no batsman had passed 40, on a pitch that all a spinner needed to do was bowl fast and relatively accurately, the South Africa spinners bowled a lot of bad balls. Keeping with their strategy of using Imran Tahir for the tail, South Africa bowled Harmer and Duminy before the legspinner. They sent down long hops and overpitched deliveries, which Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara took full toll of. Then, after a 44-run partnership between them, the pitch played up again. Pujara read an offbreak from Duminy, played for the turn, but the pitch took it straight on. This was just the one good ball in a four-over spell of 36 runs.
Tahir was brought on just before tea, and he responded with three wickets in three overs. Two of those were half-volleys that still had time to misbehave. Rohit Sharma scored an important 23, added 21 with Amit Mishra, and before they inevitably got out, took the target beyond the realm of one freak innings. South Africa were left needing at least two freak innings to win this.
The freak innings was not coming from Stiaan van Zyl, who fell to Ashwin for the fifth time in five innings. This one would have been the most disappointing of the lot: he and Elgar had put together South Africa's longest partnership of this match and their best opening stand of the series, but van Zyl drove an offbreak straight down the lap of short cover. The pitch had nothing to do with this dismissal. Just before stumps, nightwatchman Imran Tahir fell to an AMit Mishra legbreak that didn't turn, becoming the 20th man to be dismissed on the day, equal highest in a day's play in India.
South Africa 79 & 32/2 (14 ov, target 310)
South Africa require another 278 runs with 8 wickets remaining
On a pitch that turned batting into a lottery, South Africa failed to buy their ticket. It might read odd, but their bowlers bowled poorly to let India score 173 after they let the hosts get away to 215 in the first innings. In between, South Africa's batsmen were brought face to face with the true horror of batting on this pitch, and were bowled out for 79 in the face of relentless accuracy from R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the lowest Test total against India. The visitors were left needing 278 runs with eight wickets in hand to preserve their nine-year-old unbeaten streak in away series.
Bowlers from both sides bowled many unplayable deliveries on a pitch that you needed a lot of luck to survive, but South Africa bowled far too many of those outside the operational areas, taking the pitch out of the equation. Ashwin and Jadeja kept pegging away in those zones, and the pitch did the rest. South Africa's first innings lasted 33.1 overs, the longest wait for a wicket was 5.2 overs, and the highest score was JP Duniny's 35, and that included dollops of luck and application.
Modern batsmen draw a lot of flak for their lack of survival skills, but this might just have been a case of a crooked floor. Literally. Or even an out-of-shape ball. This pitch did not have mere turn: it had variable turn, variable bounce and variable pace. It is easy to say the batsmen did not get to the pitch of the ball often enough, but the batsmen were not reacting to balls coming across 22 yards, but to ones whose behaviour was impossible to predict until after they had pitched four or five yards from them. Just that knowledge was enough to mire feet in cement and minds in panic.
AB de Villiers' dismissal summed the pitch up. Jadeja absolutely fired one into the middle of the track around leg-stump line, but this hard cricket ball almost turned into a balloon upon pitching, took some of the surface with it, and turned and stayed slow to take the leading edge for an easy return catch. This was after one had skidded through after pitching in a similar area. The de Villiers' duck left South Africa 12 for 5, their lowest score at the fall of their fifth wicket. They had begun the day at 11 for 5.
It is quite possible that such a pitch and such a situation left India's fielders complacent too: had Virat Kohli, at gully, not dropped a sitter off JP Duminy in the 18th over, South Africa would have been reduced to 35 for 7, and would have been a fair shot to beat the lowest totals in India - 75 and 76 by India against West Indies and South Africa. Duminy went on to miraculously score 35, but he needed all the luck to go with his excellent batting. He danced down and hit Jadeja for two sixes, he swept, he defended like his life depended on it, but there were almost an equal number of edges falling safe. The one that reached a fielder was dropped.
India players react bemusedly when asked of the pitches, wondering what the fuss is all about, but really they should know why the pitch and not the cricket was the talking point. Ashwin, who is bowling beautifully, drifting the ball late, bowling a seam-up topspinner that swings back in to the left-hand batsmen, will have to contend with his 14th Test five-for being reduced to a footnote. He got Dean Elgar in the first over of the day with that seam-up delivery, drawing an inside edge from the cut. His other wickets were Hashim Amla (back of the bat on the sweep as the ball bounced, turned and came on slowly), Simon Harmer (not padding up properly to a carrom ball pitched well outside leg), and Morne Morkel (a return catch off a leading edge).
Jadeja was near unplayable given his pace, accuracy and flatter trajectory. Apart from de Villiers, he got Faf du Plessis (bowled when playing for turn) and Dane Vilas (bowled by a ball that turned past the outside edge) on the second morning. He was certain to get a five-for until Kohli took him off after 12 straight overs for 33 runs and four wickets. Amit Mishra, brought on to replace Jadeja, took Duminy out.
On a pitch where no batsman had passed 40, on a pitch that all a spinner needed to do was bowl fast and relatively accurately, the South Africa spinners bowled a lot of bad balls. Keeping with their strategy of using Imran Tahir for the tail, South Africa bowled Harmer and Duminy before the legspinner. They sent down long hops and overpitched deliveries, which Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara took full toll of. Then, after a 44-run partnership between them, the pitch played up again. Pujara read an offbreak from Duminy, played for the turn, but the pitch took it straight on. This was just the one good ball in a four-over spell of 36 runs.
Tahir was brought on just before tea, and he responded with three wickets in three overs. Two of those were half-volleys that still had time to misbehave. Rohit Sharma scored an important 23, added 21 with Amit Mishra, and before they inevitably got out, took the target beyond the realm of one freak innings. South Africa were left needing at least two freak innings to win this.
The freak innings was not coming from Stiaan van Zyl, who fell to Ashwin for the fifth time in five innings. This one would have been the most disappointing of the lot: he and Elgar had put together South Africa's longest partnership of this match and their best opening stand of the series, but van Zyl drove an offbreak straight down the lap of short cover. The pitch had nothing to do with this dismissal. Just before stumps, nightwatchman Imran Tahir fell to an AMit Mishra legbreak that didn't turn, becoming the 20th man to be dismissed on the day, equal highest in a day's play in India.
Wednesday 25 November 2015
3rd Test Day 1 IND V SA
IND 215
SA 11/2
South Africa trail by 204 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Not long into the first hour of the third Test, the Nagpur pitch looked like it had been played on for days. The dry surface, spider-webbed like a cracked windshield, had already developed significant rough patches because of the bowlers' follow-throughs and once Morne Morkel found the right length for the conditions, and offspinner Simon Harmer the ideal pace, survival was an ordeal for the batsmen. India did not make it through the day, lasting only 78.2 overs.
In the nine overs South Africa faced before stumps, they glimpsed the severity of the challenge ahead, having lost a crucial toss. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja spun the ball plenty and got it to bounce too. Stiaan van Zyl fell to Ashwin's drift and turn, prodding an offbreak to slip, and the nightwatchman Imran Tahir was bowled by Jadeja's accurate left-arm spin. They ended the day on 11 for 2, the deficit of 204 acquiring formidable proportions.
India did not look like they would get as far as 215 - the highest total of this spinner-dominant series - at one stage. Had there been more bounce to go with the prodigious turn, the pitch would have been near unplayable, but South Africa took a while to figure out the best method of attack. During that time India progressed to 50 for 0: M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan bringing up their second consecutive half-century stand. They then lost six wickets for 75 runs.
Morkel and Kagiso Rabada had pitched too short in their first spells. While they were quick through the air, their 140kph-plus deliveries deflated after pitching, and the batsmen enjoyed the luxury of time. One short delivery from Morkel took so long to arrive that Vijay simply hung back and swatted it to the wide mid-on boundary, and even the short stuff from Kagiso Rabada, who had harried the Indian batsmen in the limited-overs games, was easily dealt with by Dhawan. There was just no carry.
India were 33 for 0 in eight overs when Harmer, playing ahead of Kyle Abbott, and left-arm spinner Dean Elgar began their tandem act. There were bursts of dust from the surface, and balls spun sharply to beat the bat or hit the pad, but Elgar's pace was a bit too slow for the surface, while Harmer's line from round the wicket to the right-handers was too straight for the lbw to come into play.
Vijay was lucky when he charged Harmer and missed, the ball grazing his inside edge and beating the wicketkeeper Dane Vilas by a long way, but he attempted the shot again two deliveries later and cleared long-on. It was the start of a tough day for Vilas, who conceded 15 runs in byes. The 50 partnership came up in 13.4 overs, but success came two balls later for South Africa.
Dhawan stepped out of his crease and pushed too hard at a slow one from Elgar, the turning delivery lobbing back off the inside edge to the bowler, who dived across the stumps to take a sharp catch. While Elgar and Harmer were economical, Imran Tahir's first two overs were a disappointment - a full toss and long hop allowed Cheteshwar Pujara to flick and cut to the boundary - and he did not bowl again until after tea.
When Morkel returned for his second spell, he bowled fuller lengths and was immediately a greater threat than he had been with the new ball. Hanging back in the crease was dangerous now and Vijay fell - hit on the knee roll by the fullest delivery Morkel had bowled until then, one that straightened and kept so low, rendering it unplayable.
Pujara and Kohli took India to 85 for 2 at lunch, but South Africa were accurate after the break and struck regularly. While Rabada kept it tight - ending with 1 for 30 in 17 overs - Harmer got the ball to spit viciously. One such delivery from round the wicket spun past Kohli's leg stump for byes - Vilas barely moved - and another beat Pujara's inside edge to trap him plumb in front.
Ajinkya Rahane was jittery, charging to loft Harmer over long-on off his sixth delivery, and eventually lost his off stump to Morkel, the full ball swinging in sharply through the gap between bat and pad as he played a loose drive. Despite the pitch offering so much turn, South Africa attacked Kohli's vulnerability outside off stump persistently with pace and it paid off. Morkel produced another full ball, swinging away this time, and Kohli chased and edged to Vilas.
Morkel was now hooping reverse-swing yorkers to the right-handers, but Rohit Sharma managed to keep them out. He could not keep out a sharp offbreak from Harmer, though, and was caught at bat-pad, leaving India 125 for 6. Having bowled 20 overs in the day, however, Harmer began to tire and dropped short frequently to Jadeja, who capitalised with three quick boundaries before tea.
The early part of the final session was good for India, as South Africa's spinners bowled ordinary lengths, and Morkel went off the field because of a niggle after bowling the first ball of his 17th over. Jadeja had lofted Morkel straight and slashed him to third man, before he inside-edged Rabada on to his stumps. He had added 48 with Wriddhiman Saha for the seventh wicket, the second-highest partnership of the innings. Saha was the only Indian batsman to play more than 100 deliveries, and after he was athletically caught by Duminy at short midwicket with the score on 201, India's last two wickets managed only 14 more.
SA 11/2
South Africa trail by 204 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Not long into the first hour of the third Test, the Nagpur pitch looked like it had been played on for days. The dry surface, spider-webbed like a cracked windshield, had already developed significant rough patches because of the bowlers' follow-throughs and once Morne Morkel found the right length for the conditions, and offspinner Simon Harmer the ideal pace, survival was an ordeal for the batsmen. India did not make it through the day, lasting only 78.2 overs.
In the nine overs South Africa faced before stumps, they glimpsed the severity of the challenge ahead, having lost a crucial toss. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja spun the ball plenty and got it to bounce too. Stiaan van Zyl fell to Ashwin's drift and turn, prodding an offbreak to slip, and the nightwatchman Imran Tahir was bowled by Jadeja's accurate left-arm spin. They ended the day on 11 for 2, the deficit of 204 acquiring formidable proportions.
India did not look like they would get as far as 215 - the highest total of this spinner-dominant series - at one stage. Had there been more bounce to go with the prodigious turn, the pitch would have been near unplayable, but South Africa took a while to figure out the best method of attack. During that time India progressed to 50 for 0: M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan bringing up their second consecutive half-century stand. They then lost six wickets for 75 runs.
Morkel and Kagiso Rabada had pitched too short in their first spells. While they were quick through the air, their 140kph-plus deliveries deflated after pitching, and the batsmen enjoyed the luxury of time. One short delivery from Morkel took so long to arrive that Vijay simply hung back and swatted it to the wide mid-on boundary, and even the short stuff from Kagiso Rabada, who had harried the Indian batsmen in the limited-overs games, was easily dealt with by Dhawan. There was just no carry.
India were 33 for 0 in eight overs when Harmer, playing ahead of Kyle Abbott, and left-arm spinner Dean Elgar began their tandem act. There were bursts of dust from the surface, and balls spun sharply to beat the bat or hit the pad, but Elgar's pace was a bit too slow for the surface, while Harmer's line from round the wicket to the right-handers was too straight for the lbw to come into play.
Vijay was lucky when he charged Harmer and missed, the ball grazing his inside edge and beating the wicketkeeper Dane Vilas by a long way, but he attempted the shot again two deliveries later and cleared long-on. It was the start of a tough day for Vilas, who conceded 15 runs in byes. The 50 partnership came up in 13.4 overs, but success came two balls later for South Africa.
Dhawan stepped out of his crease and pushed too hard at a slow one from Elgar, the turning delivery lobbing back off the inside edge to the bowler, who dived across the stumps to take a sharp catch. While Elgar and Harmer were economical, Imran Tahir's first two overs were a disappointment - a full toss and long hop allowed Cheteshwar Pujara to flick and cut to the boundary - and he did not bowl again until after tea.
When Morkel returned for his second spell, he bowled fuller lengths and was immediately a greater threat than he had been with the new ball. Hanging back in the crease was dangerous now and Vijay fell - hit on the knee roll by the fullest delivery Morkel had bowled until then, one that straightened and kept so low, rendering it unplayable.
Pujara and Kohli took India to 85 for 2 at lunch, but South Africa were accurate after the break and struck regularly. While Rabada kept it tight - ending with 1 for 30 in 17 overs - Harmer got the ball to spit viciously. One such delivery from round the wicket spun past Kohli's leg stump for byes - Vilas barely moved - and another beat Pujara's inside edge to trap him plumb in front.
Ajinkya Rahane was jittery, charging to loft Harmer over long-on off his sixth delivery, and eventually lost his off stump to Morkel, the full ball swinging in sharply through the gap between bat and pad as he played a loose drive. Despite the pitch offering so much turn, South Africa attacked Kohli's vulnerability outside off stump persistently with pace and it paid off. Morkel produced another full ball, swinging away this time, and Kohli chased and edged to Vilas.
Morkel was now hooping reverse-swing yorkers to the right-handers, but Rohit Sharma managed to keep them out. He could not keep out a sharp offbreak from Harmer, though, and was caught at bat-pad, leaving India 125 for 6. Having bowled 20 overs in the day, however, Harmer began to tire and dropped short frequently to Jadeja, who capitalised with three quick boundaries before tea.
The early part of the final session was good for India, as South Africa's spinners bowled ordinary lengths, and Morkel went off the field because of a niggle after bowling the first ball of his 17th over. Jadeja had lofted Morkel straight and slashed him to third man, before he inside-edged Rabada on to his stumps. He had added 48 with Wriddhiman Saha for the seventh wicket, the second-highest partnership of the innings. Saha was the only Indian batsman to play more than 100 deliveries, and after he was athletically caught by Duminy at short midwicket with the score on 201, India's last two wickets managed only 14 more.
Monday 23 November 2015
Tour Match ENG XI V UAE
England XI 174 for 6 (Roy 59, Hales 40) beat UAE XI 95 for 9 (Moeen 4-11) by 79 runs
England warmed up for their three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan later this week with a comfortable, if occasionally rusty, 79-run victory over a United Arab Emirates XI that ended up being an XVII.
The gulf between the sides was Persian in its magnitude, as a UAE squad featuring six uncapped players out of the 17 who took part at various stages of the game was restricted to 95 for 9 in reply to England's 174 for 6. The margin might well have been wider had it not been for a determined 23 from 22 balls from Fahad Tariq, who rescued his side from 61 for 8 before becoming Moeen Ali's fourth wicket of the innings in the final over of the match.
Despite their dominance, it was a lopsided display from England, in particular with the bat, as a new-look middle-order struggled to match the hectic tempo set by Jason Roy and Alex Hales, two of England's batting stars from last week's ODI series win.
The value of prior match experience in these conditions was amply demonstrated in the opening overs of the contest. With form and confidence to fall back on, Roy's innings started out as a homage to Jos Buttler's bruising exploits at Dubai on Friday, as he clobbered nine fours and two sixes to race to 59 from 29 balls, adding 92 for the first wicket with Hales inside the first seven overs.
But then, after bringing up his fifty with the second of his two sixes over long-on, Roy charged down the wicket to the left-arm spin of Ahmed Raza and would have been stumped by half the length of the pitch had he not instead been bowled.
His departure brought a shuddering halt to England's momentum. One over later, a disconsolate James Vince was trooping back to the dressing-room. He had run himself out going for an unwise second run and must fear that his four-ball 2 will represent the sum total of his time at the crease on this trip.
Hales was next to fall for 40, excellently caught at long-off off the legspin of Zaheer Maqsood, who had earlier had the same batsman dropped at deep midwicket on 12 and at 122 for 3 in the 13th over, England's designs on a 200-plus score were starting to be reassessed.
Moeen's 20 from 16 balls, with one four and one six, was a typically serene performance with a familiarly unfulfilling ending, as he was beaten in flight by Imran Haider and bowled by a hint of turn, whereupon the urge to dominate from the outset started to overwhelm the rest of the batting line-up.
Sam Billings was caught behind in Haider's next over, which ended up as a wicket maiden as a frantic Chris Jordan aimed air-shot after air-shot in his first innings since Sussex's County Championship relegation in September.
At the other end, Eoin Morgan, deprived of the strike, kept England ticking with two fours before bunting a full-toss from Mohammad Ayaz to midwicket, as England mustered 174 for 6 in their 20 overs, a decent total when taken as a whole, but an innings of two distinct halves - 92 for 0 in 39 balls, and 82 for 6 in the remaining 81.
It was never likely to be close, however. Jordan quickly made amends for his batting mishaps with two early breakthroughs, plucking out Syed Maqsood's leg stump in his first over before having Mohammed Kaleem caught by Reece Topley at mid-on in his second.
Topley himself bowled Abdul Shakoor for a duck and when Morgan removed Rameez Shahzad with a fine back-pedalling catch off Liam Plunkett, UAE were 31 for 4 and sinking fast.
England's spinners then took up the attack, not least Moeen, who finished with 4 for 11 off three overs. He had at one stage been on a hat-trick, but with the UAE captain Ahmed Raza in his sights, he diffused the tension with an easily negotiated full-toss. It was that sort of a game.
England warmed up for their three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan later this week with a comfortable, if occasionally rusty, 79-run victory over a United Arab Emirates XI that ended up being an XVII.
The gulf between the sides was Persian in its magnitude, as a UAE squad featuring six uncapped players out of the 17 who took part at various stages of the game was restricted to 95 for 9 in reply to England's 174 for 6. The margin might well have been wider had it not been for a determined 23 from 22 balls from Fahad Tariq, who rescued his side from 61 for 8 before becoming Moeen Ali's fourth wicket of the innings in the final over of the match.
Despite their dominance, it was a lopsided display from England, in particular with the bat, as a new-look middle-order struggled to match the hectic tempo set by Jason Roy and Alex Hales, two of England's batting stars from last week's ODI series win.
The value of prior match experience in these conditions was amply demonstrated in the opening overs of the contest. With form and confidence to fall back on, Roy's innings started out as a homage to Jos Buttler's bruising exploits at Dubai on Friday, as he clobbered nine fours and two sixes to race to 59 from 29 balls, adding 92 for the first wicket with Hales inside the first seven overs.
But then, after bringing up his fifty with the second of his two sixes over long-on, Roy charged down the wicket to the left-arm spin of Ahmed Raza and would have been stumped by half the length of the pitch had he not instead been bowled.
His departure brought a shuddering halt to England's momentum. One over later, a disconsolate James Vince was trooping back to the dressing-room. He had run himself out going for an unwise second run and must fear that his four-ball 2 will represent the sum total of his time at the crease on this trip.
Hales was next to fall for 40, excellently caught at long-off off the legspin of Zaheer Maqsood, who had earlier had the same batsman dropped at deep midwicket on 12 and at 122 for 3 in the 13th over, England's designs on a 200-plus score were starting to be reassessed.
Moeen's 20 from 16 balls, with one four and one six, was a typically serene performance with a familiarly unfulfilling ending, as he was beaten in flight by Imran Haider and bowled by a hint of turn, whereupon the urge to dominate from the outset started to overwhelm the rest of the batting line-up.
Sam Billings was caught behind in Haider's next over, which ended up as a wicket maiden as a frantic Chris Jordan aimed air-shot after air-shot in his first innings since Sussex's County Championship relegation in September.
At the other end, Eoin Morgan, deprived of the strike, kept England ticking with two fours before bunting a full-toss from Mohammad Ayaz to midwicket, as England mustered 174 for 6 in their 20 overs, a decent total when taken as a whole, but an innings of two distinct halves - 92 for 0 in 39 balls, and 82 for 6 in the remaining 81.
It was never likely to be close, however. Jordan quickly made amends for his batting mishaps with two early breakthroughs, plucking out Syed Maqsood's leg stump in his first over before having Mohammed Kaleem caught by Reece Topley at mid-on in his second.
Topley himself bowled Abdul Shakoor for a duck and when Morgan removed Rameez Shahzad with a fine back-pedalling catch off Liam Plunkett, UAE were 31 for 4 and sinking fast.
England's spinners then took up the attack, not least Moeen, who finished with 4 for 11 off three overs. He had at one stage been on a hat-trick, but with the UAE captain Ahmed Raza in his sights, he diffused the tension with an easily negotiated full-toss. It was that sort of a game.
Wednesday 18 November 2015
2nd Test Day 5 IND V SA (washout, match drawn)
The ninth-shortest, non-abandoned Test ended just before noon on the fifth day, with wet conditions and intermittent drizzle washing out a fourth day in a row. Only one Test in India has had fewer overs bowled than the 81 here.
In that time, India put South Africa in, and their spinners bowled the visitors out for 214 before Shikhar Dhawan followed up his pair in Mohali with 45 not out. Playing his 100th Test, AB de Villiers scored 85, showing to his team-mates how to play spin in India.
India led the series 1-0. The third Test is to begin in Nagpur on November 25.
In that time, India put South Africa in, and their spinners bowled the visitors out for 214 before Shikhar Dhawan followed up his pair in Mohali with 45 not out. Playing his 100th Test, AB de Villiers scored 85, showing to his team-mates how to play spin in India.
India led the series 1-0. The third Test is to begin in Nagpur on November 25.
Tuesday 17 November 2015
3rd ODI PAK V ENG
England 210/4 beat Pakistan 208 by 6 wickets
England have taken a 2-1 lead in the four-match one-day international series against Pakistan thanks to a six-wicket victory in the penultimate match in Sharjah. It was an impressive display from England's bowlers as David Willey, Reece Topley and Moeen Ali all took a wicket apiece after Pakistan opened the batting.
However, the glory went to Chris Woakes, who finished on figures of 4-40, taking out Babar Azam (22), Iftikhar Ahmed (3), Zafar Gohar (15) and Mohammad Irfan for a duck. Pakistan struggled on the attack as Mohammad Hafeez top-scored with 45, contributing to a total of 208 as the team were bowled out in the final over the innings. Despite a positive display on the field, England's chase started poorly as opening batsman Jason Roy was dismissed by Irfan for just seven inside the third over.
Joe Root was the next to fall on just 11 runs, but it was not all doom and gloom for the Yorkshireman as he has now reached an impressive 2,000 runs in 2015 in all formats of the game. With England on just 27 runs, Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan were given the task of leading the attack, but the former, who claimed his first ever one-day international century on Friday, mustered 30 runs before he was taken out by Gohar.
Shoaib Malik bowled out Morgan for 35, giving Pakistan some momentum, but James Taylor and Jos Buttler managed to put England back on top. Taylor brought up his seventh ODI half century with a second six of the innings, leaving England requiring 29 runs to win the contest. An unbeaten 117-run partnership between Taylor (67) and Buttler (49) resulted in England reaching that 209 total with 54 balls to spare.
Pakistan 208 all out (49.5 overs)
England need only 209 to take a 2-1 series lead against Pakistan after bowling the hosts out in the final over of the third one-day international in Sharjah. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Pakistan openers Azhar Ali and Babar Azam started strongly, nudging the new-ball swing of David Willey and Reece Topley around the ground to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
The duo put on 45 for the first wicket before Azam (22) went in the 11th over with a top-edge to Adil Rashid in the deep off the bowling of Chris Woakes. Three of Pakistan's wickets were run-outs and the first of those saw the end of Ali for 36 after he and Mohammad Hafeez had put on 47 for the second wicket. Pakistan danger-man Hafeez hit two sixes on his way to 45 before he pulled a Willey delivery to Root in the deep, leaving Pakistan on 132-3 in the 30th over.
The top-order had put the hosts in a solid position, but the middle-order failed to build the innings as more confusion led to their demise. Both Shoaib Malik (16) and Mohammad Rizwan (1) lost their wickets cheaply to run-outs and England were soon into the tail-end. Debutant Zafar Gohar played eccentrically for his 15 off 15 balls and the unbeaten Wahab Riaz helped Pakistan past the 200-mark in the closing overs with a quickfire 33.
In a dramatic last over, Woakes collected his fourth wicket by bowling out Mohammad Irfan with the final delivery after twice having lbw dismissals against Wahab overturned.
England have taken a 2-1 lead in the four-match one-day international series against Pakistan thanks to a six-wicket victory in the penultimate match in Sharjah. It was an impressive display from England's bowlers as David Willey, Reece Topley and Moeen Ali all took a wicket apiece after Pakistan opened the batting.
However, the glory went to Chris Woakes, who finished on figures of 4-40, taking out Babar Azam (22), Iftikhar Ahmed (3), Zafar Gohar (15) and Mohammad Irfan for a duck. Pakistan struggled on the attack as Mohammad Hafeez top-scored with 45, contributing to a total of 208 as the team were bowled out in the final over the innings. Despite a positive display on the field, England's chase started poorly as opening batsman Jason Roy was dismissed by Irfan for just seven inside the third over.
Joe Root was the next to fall on just 11 runs, but it was not all doom and gloom for the Yorkshireman as he has now reached an impressive 2,000 runs in 2015 in all formats of the game. With England on just 27 runs, Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan were given the task of leading the attack, but the former, who claimed his first ever one-day international century on Friday, mustered 30 runs before he was taken out by Gohar.
Shoaib Malik bowled out Morgan for 35, giving Pakistan some momentum, but James Taylor and Jos Buttler managed to put England back on top. Taylor brought up his seventh ODI half century with a second six of the innings, leaving England requiring 29 runs to win the contest. An unbeaten 117-run partnership between Taylor (67) and Buttler (49) resulted in England reaching that 209 total with 54 balls to spare.
Pakistan 208 all out (49.5 overs)
England need only 209 to take a 2-1 series lead against Pakistan after bowling the hosts out in the final over of the third one-day international in Sharjah. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Pakistan openers Azhar Ali and Babar Azam started strongly, nudging the new-ball swing of David Willey and Reece Topley around the ground to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
The duo put on 45 for the first wicket before Azam (22) went in the 11th over with a top-edge to Adil Rashid in the deep off the bowling of Chris Woakes. Three of Pakistan's wickets were run-outs and the first of those saw the end of Ali for 36 after he and Mohammad Hafeez had put on 47 for the second wicket. Pakistan danger-man Hafeez hit two sixes on his way to 45 before he pulled a Willey delivery to Root in the deep, leaving Pakistan on 132-3 in the 30th over.
The top-order had put the hosts in a solid position, but the middle-order failed to build the innings as more confusion led to their demise. Both Shoaib Malik (16) and Mohammad Rizwan (1) lost their wickets cheaply to run-outs and England were soon into the tail-end. Debutant Zafar Gohar played eccentrically for his 15 off 15 balls and the unbeaten Wahab Riaz helped Pakistan past the 200-mark in the closing overs with a quickfire 33.
In a dramatic last over, Woakes collected his fourth wicket by bowling out Mohammad Irfan with the final delivery after twice having lbw dismissals against Wahab overturned.
2nd Test Day 5 AUS V NZ, 2nd Test Day 4 IND V SA (washout)
Australia 559/9d & 385/7d
New Zealand 624 & 104/2
Match drawn
There was no fairytale finish for Mitchell Johnson, but it was satisfying all the same. Johnson's final acts in Test cricket were to take two wickets in the last session as New Zealand's batsmen played out a draw, but it was a result that meant Australia retained the Trans-Tasman Trophy after their win in the first Test in Brisbane. Johnson departed from Test cricket to the cheers of his adopted home crowd, with 313 Test victims to his name.
The WACA is a venue where Johnson has previously taken clumps of wickets quickly, sometimes late in the day, but New Zealand began the final session with all ten wickets in hand. Not even Johnson at his peak could have run through them in just one session, especially when bad light forced an early end to proceedings. Set an unlikely 321 to win from a minimum 48 overs, New Zealand finished at 2 for 104 from just 28.
Their first-innings centurions, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, were at the crease to prevent the kind of ridiculous collapse that would have been required to precipitate a result in this, the fourth-highest scoring of the 400 Tests that have ever been played in Australia. Taylor finished unbeaten on 36 and Williamson was on 32, having come together after Johnson turned back the years with two wickets from short balls that stirred the crowd.
First, Johnson dug one in to Tom Latham at 147.1kph; it wasn't a genuine bouncer, but it was short enough to tempt Latham into a hook, which he top-edged and saw caught by Josh Hazlewood at fine-leg. That wicket took Johnson past Zaheer Khan and into third position on the all-time list of Test wicket takers among left-arm fast bowlers, with only Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas ahead.
The second wicket was even more reminiscent of Johnson in his pomp. Martin Guptill had no answer to the accurate bouncer, he could not evade, he could not play it cleanly, all he could do was fend, and the ball lobbed off his gloves to short leg, where Joe Burns took a good catch low to the ground moving forward. It would be Johnson's last in Test cricket; he finished with 2 for 20 from his six overs, a cameo, but a memorable one.
The result was the first drawn WACA Test in ten years, the high-scoring match entertaining enough but not the kind of contest the ground has been famous for providing. Steven Smith also continued to show himself to be a more conservative captain than his predecessor; it was only his fifth Test as captain of Australia but he has already led Australia to more draws at home - three - than Michael Clarke did in his entire captaincy career.
Smith was in no mood to provide New Zealand with a generous target, saving his declaration until he was certain Australia could not be beaten. Had New Zealand been able to face their full allotment of 48 overs, they would have needed to score at more than a run a ball to win the Test; on a wearing fifth-day pitch and with no field restrictions in place, that was as likely as Johnson changing his mind and playing on in the day-night Test in Adelaide.
A draw had been the most likely scenario all day, but Australia began the morning with centurions Smith and Adam Voges at the crease and had they scored their runs quickly they might have been able to declare sooner and make more of a game of it. New Zealand, of course, knew that their best chance of victory was to run through the Australians and take the declaration decision out of Smith's hands.
As it happened, neither of those things happened. New Zealand bowled well, perhaps better than they had at any time in the series, but they had to settle for just three wickets before lunch. That Australia lost both Smith and Voges while still wanting another hundred-odd runs to set New Zealand a target meant that the innings petered out, and with it the chances of a result.
New Zealand had managed only one maiden on the first day of this match but on the fifth day so many dots started to accrue that the scorecard looked like a piece of pointillist art. Australia faced 175 dot balls on the final day before Smith finaly declared with just an hour left until tea. Australia were 7 for 385 when he called in his batsmen, Mitchell Starc on 28 and Josh Hazlewood on 2, with the injured Usman Khawaja not having been required to bat.
Australia added 73 runs during a slow-moving first session and then 54 in the second. Trent Boult struck the first blow when he nipped one away from Smith, who edged behind for 138, having added only seven to his overnight score. Mitchell Marsh failed to take the opportunity for some time in the middle when he was lbw for 1 to a ball moving in from Doug Bracewell, who was the best of New Zealand's bowlers but managed just the one wicket.
Tim Southee claimed the other when he had Voges trapped lbw for 119, umpire Nigel Llong's decision upheld after Voges asked half-heartedly for a review. That brought Johnson to the crease through a guard of honour formed by the New Zealand players, a poignant moment, on an emotional day for Johnson and his family. As he did with the ball, Johnson provided a cameo with the bat, striking five fours in his 29 from 45 balls.
Johnson's innings ended when he edged behind trying to pull Southee, and Peter Nevill was the last man to fall when he too edged behind off Southee for 35. From there, Australia knew they could not realistically lose, but Johnson ensured there were at least a couple more moments to cherish in the final session.
South Africa 214
India 80/0 (22.0 ov)
India trail by 134 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Any hopes India had of forcing an unlikely result were blown away after another day's play was washed out in Bangalore. We have now had only one day's play in this Test. The last time three days were washed out in a Test in India was 10 years ago, in Chennai against Sri Lanka. This timer, too, all the wet weather is coming Bangalore's way from India's east coast.
The rain did finally relent, though, on day four. It did not rain till 1.45pm, but the ground was considered fit only for a 2pm start. Before 2pm could arrive, though, the rain did.
New Zealand 624 & 104/2
Match drawn
There was no fairytale finish for Mitchell Johnson, but it was satisfying all the same. Johnson's final acts in Test cricket were to take two wickets in the last session as New Zealand's batsmen played out a draw, but it was a result that meant Australia retained the Trans-Tasman Trophy after their win in the first Test in Brisbane. Johnson departed from Test cricket to the cheers of his adopted home crowd, with 313 Test victims to his name.
The WACA is a venue where Johnson has previously taken clumps of wickets quickly, sometimes late in the day, but New Zealand began the final session with all ten wickets in hand. Not even Johnson at his peak could have run through them in just one session, especially when bad light forced an early end to proceedings. Set an unlikely 321 to win from a minimum 48 overs, New Zealand finished at 2 for 104 from just 28.
Their first-innings centurions, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, were at the crease to prevent the kind of ridiculous collapse that would have been required to precipitate a result in this, the fourth-highest scoring of the 400 Tests that have ever been played in Australia. Taylor finished unbeaten on 36 and Williamson was on 32, having come together after Johnson turned back the years with two wickets from short balls that stirred the crowd.
First, Johnson dug one in to Tom Latham at 147.1kph; it wasn't a genuine bouncer, but it was short enough to tempt Latham into a hook, which he top-edged and saw caught by Josh Hazlewood at fine-leg. That wicket took Johnson past Zaheer Khan and into third position on the all-time list of Test wicket takers among left-arm fast bowlers, with only Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas ahead.
The second wicket was even more reminiscent of Johnson in his pomp. Martin Guptill had no answer to the accurate bouncer, he could not evade, he could not play it cleanly, all he could do was fend, and the ball lobbed off his gloves to short leg, where Joe Burns took a good catch low to the ground moving forward. It would be Johnson's last in Test cricket; he finished with 2 for 20 from his six overs, a cameo, but a memorable one.
The result was the first drawn WACA Test in ten years, the high-scoring match entertaining enough but not the kind of contest the ground has been famous for providing. Steven Smith also continued to show himself to be a more conservative captain than his predecessor; it was only his fifth Test as captain of Australia but he has already led Australia to more draws at home - three - than Michael Clarke did in his entire captaincy career.
Smith was in no mood to provide New Zealand with a generous target, saving his declaration until he was certain Australia could not be beaten. Had New Zealand been able to face their full allotment of 48 overs, they would have needed to score at more than a run a ball to win the Test; on a wearing fifth-day pitch and with no field restrictions in place, that was as likely as Johnson changing his mind and playing on in the day-night Test in Adelaide.
A draw had been the most likely scenario all day, but Australia began the morning with centurions Smith and Adam Voges at the crease and had they scored their runs quickly they might have been able to declare sooner and make more of a game of it. New Zealand, of course, knew that their best chance of victory was to run through the Australians and take the declaration decision out of Smith's hands.
As it happened, neither of those things happened. New Zealand bowled well, perhaps better than they had at any time in the series, but they had to settle for just three wickets before lunch. That Australia lost both Smith and Voges while still wanting another hundred-odd runs to set New Zealand a target meant that the innings petered out, and with it the chances of a result.
New Zealand had managed only one maiden on the first day of this match but on the fifth day so many dots started to accrue that the scorecard looked like a piece of pointillist art. Australia faced 175 dot balls on the final day before Smith finaly declared with just an hour left until tea. Australia were 7 for 385 when he called in his batsmen, Mitchell Starc on 28 and Josh Hazlewood on 2, with the injured Usman Khawaja not having been required to bat.
Australia added 73 runs during a slow-moving first session and then 54 in the second. Trent Boult struck the first blow when he nipped one away from Smith, who edged behind for 138, having added only seven to his overnight score. Mitchell Marsh failed to take the opportunity for some time in the middle when he was lbw for 1 to a ball moving in from Doug Bracewell, who was the best of New Zealand's bowlers but managed just the one wicket.
Tim Southee claimed the other when he had Voges trapped lbw for 119, umpire Nigel Llong's decision upheld after Voges asked half-heartedly for a review. That brought Johnson to the crease through a guard of honour formed by the New Zealand players, a poignant moment, on an emotional day for Johnson and his family. As he did with the ball, Johnson provided a cameo with the bat, striking five fours in his 29 from 45 balls.
Johnson's innings ended when he edged behind trying to pull Southee, and Peter Nevill was the last man to fall when he too edged behind off Southee for 35. From there, Australia knew they could not realistically lose, but Johnson ensured there were at least a couple more moments to cherish in the final session.
South Africa 214
India 80/0 (22.0 ov)
India trail by 134 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Any hopes India had of forcing an unlikely result were blown away after another day's play was washed out in Bangalore. We have now had only one day's play in this Test. The last time three days were washed out in a Test in India was 10 years ago, in Chennai against Sri Lanka. This timer, too, all the wet weather is coming Bangalore's way from India's east coast.
The rain did finally relent, though, on day four. It did not rain till 1.45pm, but the ground was considered fit only for a 2pm start. Before 2pm could arrive, though, the rain did.
Monday 16 November 2015
2nd Test Day 4 AUS V NZ, 2nd Test Day 3 IND V SA (washout)
Australia 559/9d & 258/2 (63.0 ov)
New Zealand 624
Australia lead by 193 runs with 8 wickets remaining
The fourth day at the WACA was a day of contrasts. Ross Taylor fell short of a one-year-old record but broke a 111-year-old one. The captains shared a laugh on the pitch before play but no Australian shook Taylor's hand after his 290. And though a draw remained the most likely result throughout, New Zealand spent the first half of it with the best chance of winning, but by stumps Australia were in the better position.
The one thing that stayed constant was the amount of runs in the pitch. Two batsmen scored centuries in the first innings, two did in the second and by stumps, two more had joined them in the third. Steven Smith and Adam Voges, two batsmen who were hardly required for anything but late hitting at the Gabba, both reached triple figures late on the third day as Australia built their lead back up to 193 runs, setting up a fascinating day five.
Smith was the man who would likely decide the fate of the match, for unless New Zealand's bowlers found a way to skittle Australia quickly, the declaration was in his hands. Australia hold the Trans-Tasman Trophy and a draw would be enough to retain it, and last summer against India Smith at times showed himself to be more conservative than his predecessor Michael Clarke in playing for draws. And he will know that New Zealand can score very quickly.
They had done so throughout their first innings at the WACA, rattling along at more than four an over. Taylor finished with 290 at a strike-rate of 77.54; only Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Matthew Hayden have Test scores of 250-plus at a quicker tempo. And Taylor did it with nothing but classic batting, picking gaps and striking the ball along the ground. He scored 43 fours but not a single six.
With a single pushed down the ground off Nathan Lyon, Taylor moved to 288 and past a record that had stood since 1903. The previous highest score by a visiting Test batsman in Australia was Tip Foster's 287, compiled at the SCG at a time when Alfred Deakin was Australia's prime minister, the WACA had hosted just one first-class match, and only three nations played Test cricket.
It was a remarkable record for Taylor to break, yet he fell 12 runs short of New Zealand's all-time highest Test score, the 302 that Brendon McCullum struck against India in Wellington only last year. When he holed out to deep midwicket, caught by the substitute Jon Wells off Lyon's bowling, Taylor had to settle for being third on New Zealand's list, behind McCullum and the 299 scored by Taylor's mentor Martin Crowe against Sri Lanka in Wellington.
New Zealand had added 114 to their overnight total for the loss of their final four wickets: Mark Craig was caught at midwicket off Lyon for 15, Matt Henry had his stumps rattled by Mitchell Starc's inswinger on 6, Tim Southee was caught and bowled by Starc for 23 after clubbing Mitchell Johnson for a monstrous six over midwicket, and Taylor was the final man to depart. When he walked off with New Zealand having scored 624, a lack of handshakes from the Australians was notable.
New Zealand had done enough to secure a 65-run lead on the first innings, and when Southee's outswinger had Joe Burns caught at slip for a duck and then David Warner drove a catch on the up to cover off Boult for 24, they were dreaming of a stunning victory. But then came the partnership between Smith and Voges, which by stumps had reached 212 runs. That it was only the third biggest stand of the match told a story.
Back in the No.3 position due to Usman Khawaja's hamstring injury, Smith looked in sublime touch from the beginning of his innings. He was especially strong through the off side, cover-driving, off-driving and using the pace of the ball to deflect to third man. Of his 18 boundaries, 15 came through the off side. He was dropped down leg side by BJ Watling on 96, and went on to raise his hundred from his 140th delivery with a cover-driven four off Boult.
It was the 11th Test hundred Smith had scored in his career and, remarkably, the first he had ever made in the second innings of a Test. He had barely been needed in Brisbane and in the first innings at the WACA, but this time there was clearly a job to do. Smith had strong support from Voges, who was playing his first Test in front of his home crowd in Perth and managed to avoid a nervous night in the nineties when he reached his century in the penultimate over.
Voges brought up his second Test hundred from his 180th ball with a pull for four through midwicket off Kane Williamson's part-time offspin, and it turned out to be the last ball Voges faced in the day's play. The benefit of Voges' WACA experience was obvious as he used the pace of the wicket to help deliveries on their way, scoring two-thirds of his runs behind the wicket. He also reverse-swept effectively when given the chance.
There were concerns for Australia late in the day when Smith was struck on the helmet by a bouncer from Boult and appeared momentarily shaken, and later received a nasty blow to the elbow off Matt Henry. But Smith batted on after both incidents and what he decides regarding Australia's declaration will go a long way to determining the result of this Test.
South Africa 214
India 80/0 (22 ov)
India trail by 134 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
South Africa were a day closer to saving the Test after play on third day was called off at 11.30am. For a second day in a row not a single ball was bowled as the wet weather coming into Bangalore from India's east coast kept players indoors. It was just a steady drizzle that has hardly stopped since it began early on the second morning. Forecast for Tuesday wasn't much better either, which all but guarantees less than a full day's play on the fourth day.
After bowling South Africa out for 214 on the first day, India were 80 for 0 at stumps, the last bit of action this Test saw.
New Zealand 624
Australia lead by 193 runs with 8 wickets remaining
The fourth day at the WACA was a day of contrasts. Ross Taylor fell short of a one-year-old record but broke a 111-year-old one. The captains shared a laugh on the pitch before play but no Australian shook Taylor's hand after his 290. And though a draw remained the most likely result throughout, New Zealand spent the first half of it with the best chance of winning, but by stumps Australia were in the better position.
The one thing that stayed constant was the amount of runs in the pitch. Two batsmen scored centuries in the first innings, two did in the second and by stumps, two more had joined them in the third. Steven Smith and Adam Voges, two batsmen who were hardly required for anything but late hitting at the Gabba, both reached triple figures late on the third day as Australia built their lead back up to 193 runs, setting up a fascinating day five.
Smith was the man who would likely decide the fate of the match, for unless New Zealand's bowlers found a way to skittle Australia quickly, the declaration was in his hands. Australia hold the Trans-Tasman Trophy and a draw would be enough to retain it, and last summer against India Smith at times showed himself to be more conservative than his predecessor Michael Clarke in playing for draws. And he will know that New Zealand can score very quickly.
They had done so throughout their first innings at the WACA, rattling along at more than four an over. Taylor finished with 290 at a strike-rate of 77.54; only Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Matthew Hayden have Test scores of 250-plus at a quicker tempo. And Taylor did it with nothing but classic batting, picking gaps and striking the ball along the ground. He scored 43 fours but not a single six.
With a single pushed down the ground off Nathan Lyon, Taylor moved to 288 and past a record that had stood since 1903. The previous highest score by a visiting Test batsman in Australia was Tip Foster's 287, compiled at the SCG at a time when Alfred Deakin was Australia's prime minister, the WACA had hosted just one first-class match, and only three nations played Test cricket.
It was a remarkable record for Taylor to break, yet he fell 12 runs short of New Zealand's all-time highest Test score, the 302 that Brendon McCullum struck against India in Wellington only last year. When he holed out to deep midwicket, caught by the substitute Jon Wells off Lyon's bowling, Taylor had to settle for being third on New Zealand's list, behind McCullum and the 299 scored by Taylor's mentor Martin Crowe against Sri Lanka in Wellington.
New Zealand had added 114 to their overnight total for the loss of their final four wickets: Mark Craig was caught at midwicket off Lyon for 15, Matt Henry had his stumps rattled by Mitchell Starc's inswinger on 6, Tim Southee was caught and bowled by Starc for 23 after clubbing Mitchell Johnson for a monstrous six over midwicket, and Taylor was the final man to depart. When he walked off with New Zealand having scored 624, a lack of handshakes from the Australians was notable.
New Zealand had done enough to secure a 65-run lead on the first innings, and when Southee's outswinger had Joe Burns caught at slip for a duck and then David Warner drove a catch on the up to cover off Boult for 24, they were dreaming of a stunning victory. But then came the partnership between Smith and Voges, which by stumps had reached 212 runs. That it was only the third biggest stand of the match told a story.
Back in the No.3 position due to Usman Khawaja's hamstring injury, Smith looked in sublime touch from the beginning of his innings. He was especially strong through the off side, cover-driving, off-driving and using the pace of the ball to deflect to third man. Of his 18 boundaries, 15 came through the off side. He was dropped down leg side by BJ Watling on 96, and went on to raise his hundred from his 140th delivery with a cover-driven four off Boult.
It was the 11th Test hundred Smith had scored in his career and, remarkably, the first he had ever made in the second innings of a Test. He had barely been needed in Brisbane and in the first innings at the WACA, but this time there was clearly a job to do. Smith had strong support from Voges, who was playing his first Test in front of his home crowd in Perth and managed to avoid a nervous night in the nineties when he reached his century in the penultimate over.
Voges brought up his second Test hundred from his 180th ball with a pull for four through midwicket off Kane Williamson's part-time offspin, and it turned out to be the last ball Voges faced in the day's play. The benefit of Voges' WACA experience was obvious as he used the pace of the wicket to help deliveries on their way, scoring two-thirds of his runs behind the wicket. He also reverse-swept effectively when given the chance.
There were concerns for Australia late in the day when Smith was struck on the helmet by a bouncer from Boult and appeared momentarily shaken, and later received a nasty blow to the elbow off Matt Henry. But Smith batted on after both incidents and what he decides regarding Australia's declaration will go a long way to determining the result of this Test.
South Africa 214
India 80/0 (22 ov)
India trail by 134 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
South Africa were a day closer to saving the Test after play on third day was called off at 11.30am. For a second day in a row not a single ball was bowled as the wet weather coming into Bangalore from India's east coast kept players indoors. It was just a steady drizzle that has hardly stopped since it began early on the second morning. Forecast for Tuesday wasn't much better either, which all but guarantees less than a full day's play on the fourth day.
After bowling South Africa out for 214 on the first day, India were 80 for 0 at stumps, the last bit of action this Test saw.
Sunday 15 November 2015
2nd T20 BAN V ZIM
Bangladesh 135/9 (20/20 ov)
Zimbabwe 136/7 (19.5/20 ov)
Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
Zimbabwe chased down Bangladesh's lowly 135 for 9 in what was a cracking finish to the second T20 in Mirpur: they won by three wickets, with a six, with one ball to spare, registering their first victory against the hosts on this tour. Once again it was Malcolm Waller who led Zimbabwe's counterattack, before the crowd was silenced when Neville Madziva swung hard at fifth ball of the final over, sending it flying over the long-on boundary to get the visitors the six more they needed.
With 18 needed off the last over, Nasir Hossain struck with his offspin, getting rid of the dangerous Waller, who holed out to long-on for 40 off 26 balls. The next ball, Madziva - who had already got his eye in having played 15 balls - struck a six over cover, before taking two down the ground and swinging wildly at a full, wide delivery to get the ball past backward point for another four. So six was needed off the last two, one more ball than Madziva required. His winning hit went so high that the crowd held its breath, even as Madziva started celebrating. He had made 28 off 19 balls, singlehandedly producing all 18 needed in the last over. How Bangladesh must have rued the moment in the previous over, then, when he had edged through to Mushfiqur Rahim only for the umpires to find on the replay that Mustafizur Rahman had overstepped - an extremely tight but just call.
Zimbabwe had made a poor start with the bat, like they did in the first T20 and all three ODIs on this tour. Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams got out to the first two deliveries sent down by Al-Amin Hossain. Raza was well caught by Mushfiqur after the ball took the inside edge. Williams was done in by an inswinger, which sent the crowd into frenzy.
In the fifth over Regis Chakabva skied Mustafizur's second ball after nearly popping a return-catch off the first one (which also broke his bat). Zimbabwe further slipped in the eighth over when Craig Ervine was run out after a mix-up with Luke Jongwe. Soon after, captain Elton Chigumbura was out for a duck and it seemed Bangladesh were well on top.
But the Waller-Jongwe partnership changed the momentum for Zimbabwe. They added 55 runs quickly with Waller once again being the enforcer, hitting three sixes in the arc between wide long-on and midwicket. Zimbabwe needed 84 off the last 10 overs and the sixth-wicket pair picked up 41 runs in the next five overs to keep them in the hunt.
Jongwe was dismissed when he couldn't get Al-Amin away in the 16th over, getting caught at square leg for 34 off 38 balls. Mustafizur then bowled a telling third over, the 17th of the innings, getting five dot balls and conceding just three runs.
It left Zimbabwe needing 34 runs off the last three overs, and finally Madziva connected properly. He struck fours over short fine-leg and backward point. Ten runs came from this over and the 19th over started with Waller flapping Mustafizur over fine leg for a boundary, all building up to a tense final over.
Earlier, Mashrafe Mortaza chose to bat, Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes got Bangladesh off to a fast start, hitting three fours and two sixes between them in the first 3.1 overs. Tamim struck the sixes off Madziva, but fell to the same bowler, caught at long-on by Chigumbura. Next over it was Kayes' turn to head to the pavilion after he was brilliantly caught at point by Williams, who dived full length to his left to pluck the low square-drive. And Bangladesh's run rate quickly slowed.
Mushfiqur tried to put the pressure back at the Zimbabwe but he fell to a catch at long-leg while slog sweeping, and Sabbir Rahman and Anamul Haque added 39 runs but used up over six overs before Sabbir was given leg-before. Most of the rest were out trying to get the big shots away, with the Bangladesh innings becoming even more sluggish.
Anamul batted till the final over to get 47 off 51 balls with three boundaries, two of which came in the 16th over through inside-out shots over cover. Otherwise it was an innings that had hardly any fluency - he played out 18 dot balls.
Tinashe Panyangara was, for the umpteenth time, the best bowler on show taking 3 for 30 in his four overs, while there were two each for Madziva and legspinner Graeme Cremer. Zimbabwe allowed the home batsmen only only 33 runs in the last five overs, taking five wickets. Eventually, that made the difference.
Zimbabwe 136/7 (19.5/20 ov)
Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
Zimbabwe chased down Bangladesh's lowly 135 for 9 in what was a cracking finish to the second T20 in Mirpur: they won by three wickets, with a six, with one ball to spare, registering their first victory against the hosts on this tour. Once again it was Malcolm Waller who led Zimbabwe's counterattack, before the crowd was silenced when Neville Madziva swung hard at fifth ball of the final over, sending it flying over the long-on boundary to get the visitors the six more they needed.
With 18 needed off the last over, Nasir Hossain struck with his offspin, getting rid of the dangerous Waller, who holed out to long-on for 40 off 26 balls. The next ball, Madziva - who had already got his eye in having played 15 balls - struck a six over cover, before taking two down the ground and swinging wildly at a full, wide delivery to get the ball past backward point for another four. So six was needed off the last two, one more ball than Madziva required. His winning hit went so high that the crowd held its breath, even as Madziva started celebrating. He had made 28 off 19 balls, singlehandedly producing all 18 needed in the last over. How Bangladesh must have rued the moment in the previous over, then, when he had edged through to Mushfiqur Rahim only for the umpires to find on the replay that Mustafizur Rahman had overstepped - an extremely tight but just call.
Zimbabwe had made a poor start with the bat, like they did in the first T20 and all three ODIs on this tour. Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams got out to the first two deliveries sent down by Al-Amin Hossain. Raza was well caught by Mushfiqur after the ball took the inside edge. Williams was done in by an inswinger, which sent the crowd into frenzy.
In the fifth over Regis Chakabva skied Mustafizur's second ball after nearly popping a return-catch off the first one (which also broke his bat). Zimbabwe further slipped in the eighth over when Craig Ervine was run out after a mix-up with Luke Jongwe. Soon after, captain Elton Chigumbura was out for a duck and it seemed Bangladesh were well on top.
But the Waller-Jongwe partnership changed the momentum for Zimbabwe. They added 55 runs quickly with Waller once again being the enforcer, hitting three sixes in the arc between wide long-on and midwicket. Zimbabwe needed 84 off the last 10 overs and the sixth-wicket pair picked up 41 runs in the next five overs to keep them in the hunt.
Jongwe was dismissed when he couldn't get Al-Amin away in the 16th over, getting caught at square leg for 34 off 38 balls. Mustafizur then bowled a telling third over, the 17th of the innings, getting five dot balls and conceding just three runs.
It left Zimbabwe needing 34 runs off the last three overs, and finally Madziva connected properly. He struck fours over short fine-leg and backward point. Ten runs came from this over and the 19th over started with Waller flapping Mustafizur over fine leg for a boundary, all building up to a tense final over.
Earlier, Mashrafe Mortaza chose to bat, Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes got Bangladesh off to a fast start, hitting three fours and two sixes between them in the first 3.1 overs. Tamim struck the sixes off Madziva, but fell to the same bowler, caught at long-on by Chigumbura. Next over it was Kayes' turn to head to the pavilion after he was brilliantly caught at point by Williams, who dived full length to his left to pluck the low square-drive. And Bangladesh's run rate quickly slowed.
Mushfiqur tried to put the pressure back at the Zimbabwe but he fell to a catch at long-leg while slog sweeping, and Sabbir Rahman and Anamul Haque added 39 runs but used up over six overs before Sabbir was given leg-before. Most of the rest were out trying to get the big shots away, with the Bangladesh innings becoming even more sluggish.
Anamul batted till the final over to get 47 off 51 balls with three boundaries, two of which came in the 16th over through inside-out shots over cover. Otherwise it was an innings that had hardly any fluency - he played out 18 dot balls.
Tinashe Panyangara was, for the umpteenth time, the best bowler on show taking 3 for 30 in his four overs, while there were two each for Madziva and legspinner Graeme Cremer. Zimbabwe allowed the home batsmen only only 33 runs in the last five overs, taking five wickets. Eventually, that made the difference.
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