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Moises Henriques and Ollie Davies hit half-centuries in tricky batting conditions

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2023Some middle-order resistance helped New South Wales fight back on a rain-interrupted opening day of their Sheffield Shield clash with ladder-leaders Tasmania.Ollie Davies’ unbeaten 58 pushed the Blues to 178 for 7 at stumps at the SCG on Tuesday. While nowhere near a defendable total, NSW will be happy with the response after they were left reeling at 26 for 3 in tricky batting conditions under grey skies.Tasmania quick Lawrence Neil-Smith snared his second first-class five-wicket haul, vindicating the decision to bowl first after winning the toss.Following an innings loss to Tasmania in the last round, NSW decided to blood teenage talent Sam Konstas for his first-class debut.The 18-year-old was presented with his NSW cap by former Australia allrounder Shane Watson before coming in to bat at No. 3. Konstas made 10 in tough conditions before falling to Tasmanian allrounder Beau Webster.NSW captain Moises Henriques helped steer the Blues out of trouble, combining with Davies for a vital 81-run stand for the fifth wicket.Neil-Smith returned to break the stand when Henriques was caught behind and two balls later had Matthew Gilkes caught in the slips.Test spinner Nathan Lyon was back in the NSW team after being rested for the Blues’ thumping defeat in Hobart last week. Lyon is working his way back to full fitness after tearing his calf during the Ashes.NSW will be determined to put on a stack of runs when play resumes on Wednesday morning, with Tasmania’s batting line-up having been in scintillating touch to start the season.

A NSW statement said she would aim to return for pre-season training later this year

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2024Australia left-arm seamer Lauren Cheatle has been ruled out of the rest of the domestic season and the WPL after undergoing a medical procedure for skin cancer on her neck.Cheatle underwent the procedure on Wednesday. She had previously undergone treatment for skin cancer in 2021.She had been signed by Gujarat Giants for this season’s WPL which begins on February 23 but will now miss the tournament as well as the rest of the WNCL season for New South Wales. She took 3 for 18 in her last outing against ACT and has taken 11 wickets at 15.45 for the season.In the WBBL for Sydney Sixers she claimed 21 wickets at 17.23″Cheatle is aiming to return to training with NSW following the players’ scheduled off-season break,” a Cricket New South Wales statement said.Cheatle made her Test debut for Australia late last year against India which marked her first international appearance since 2019 following a run of shoulder injuries. She might have been in the frame for the Test against South Africa in Perth this month.

Rassie van der Dussen’s unbeaten 41-ball 71 wasn’t enough to put up a total that United couldn’t chase down

Danyal Rasool18-Feb-2024An unbeaten 138-run partnership between Shadab Khan and Agha Salman helped Islamabad United secure a statement win over defending champions Lahore Qalandars on the opening night of PSL 2024. Electing to field, against the historical data, United made short work of the steep target of 196, getting there with 10 balls to spare.They were helped by a sloppy fielding performance from Qalandars, who put Shadab down twice and missed several run-out opportunities. But ultimately, no Qalandars bowler found a way of restricting United’s runs. From the very outset, Alex Hales set the tone with a breezy cameo, and when Salman Fayyaz got rid of him with a sharp return catch, it was the last success Qalandars would enjoy.What followed was Shadab at his very best with the bat, timing and placing both pace and spin to perfection. He would finish with an unbeaten 74 off 41, ably supported by an even more explosive knock by Salman, who ended the contest with an undefeated 64 off 31. It was perhaps appropriate that the game ended with the United captain tonking Fayyaz straight over his head for a huge six, one that also brought up United’s 200.Once the PSL got underway following a flashy opening ceremony, Qalandars looked to have made a bright start, too. Sahibzada Farhan took just 29 balls to bring up his half-century, but the nature of scoring for Qalandars wasn’t as uniform. Fakhar Zaman struggled at the other end before Shadab removed him off the first ball he faced off the spinner. It was to be the start of a very productive day for Shadab, while Qalandars spent several overs trying to regain their momentum. When Farhan top-edged off Tymal Mills, the slowdown became even more pronounced, and United assumed the ascendancy.It required the ability of Rassie van der Dussen to get the ship back on trick, with a brilliant late-overs knock. His unbeaten 41-ball 71 tried to make up for the time Qalandars had lost through the middle overs, and a few fireworks from David Wiese lower down helped bring the two-time defending champions close to 200. However, with United in the kind of mood they were in, it wasn’t nearly enough in the end.

Middle-order batter Irfan Khan Niazi has also been ruled out of the series with a hamstring injury

Danyal Rasool24-Apr-2024Mohammad Rizwan and Irfan Khan Niazi have been ruled out of the remainder of Pakistan’s T20I series against New Zealand. The PCB, in a statement, said they had received radiology reports for the pair and decided to pull them out of the series.Rizwan is thought to have pulled a hamstring while batting in the third T20I. He received extensive on-field attention before going off retired hurt. The PCB has downplayed the extent of his injury, saying he is expected to be out for no more than a week to ten days, and that the injury does not imperil any future tours as things stand. While there was no sign of discomfort for Niazi during that game, he is also believed to have picked up a hamstring niggle, resulting in the PCB pulling him out of the series.The pair’s absences follow Azam Khan’s unavailability for the tour with injury, though an official statement said he only needed 10 days of rest, suggesting there is no long-term availability issue. While Haseebullah, who made his sole international appearance in a T20 against New Zealand earlier this year, was called up as cover for Azam, no further replacements have been announced.Pakistan do have wicketkeeping options in Rizwan’s absence. While Haseebullah has not featured yet, he is a wicketkeeper-batter. Usman Khan also kept wicket for two games for the Multan Sultans earlier this year in the PSL.The injuries come at an inopportune time for Pakistan with the series on the line in Lahore. New Zealand bounced back from a crushing defeat in the second T20I with a dominant performance to level the series in Pindi, with the final two games in Lahore.

Centuries from Division Two’s leading runscorers drag Middlesex out of the mire and into a healthy 143-run lead

ECB Reporters Network28-Apr-2024Middlesex 203 and 262 for 3 (Holden 105*, Higgins 102*) lead Gloucestershire 322 (Hammond 81, van Buuren 75, Brooks 3-55) by 143 runsCenturies from Max Holden and Ryan Higgins dug Middlesex out of a hole on the third day of the Vitality County Championship Second Division match with Gloucestershire at Bristol.Having conceded a first innings lead of 119 by bowling out their opponents for 322 from an overnight 271 for 6, the visitors slipped to nine for two in their second innings before Holden, Leus du Plooy (30) and Higgins launched a powerful fightback.By the close, Middlesex had posted 262 for 3, Holden and Higgins sharing an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 183, and had a lead of 143, leaving all three results possible on the final day. Holden had faced 157 balls, hitting 14 fours and a six, while Higgins smashed 13 fours and three sixes in facing 120 deliveries against his former club.Middlesex needed to make good use of the second new ball, available when play began an hour late due because of overnight rain, to restrict Gloucestershire’s first innings lead on the hybrid pitch offering more bounce than usual at the Seat Unique Stadium. Ben Charlesworth, batting with Ollie Price as runner because of an ankle injury sustained on day one, produced two textbook straight drives off Tom Helm, while Zaman Akhter exploited the cover region.The pair had extended their seventh-wicket stand to 71 when Akhter, on 27, tried one drive too many and was bowled by Helm failing to get to the pitch of a good length delivery. It proved Middlesex’s only success in the hour before lunch, which was reached with Gloucestershire 314 for 7, 111 runs in front.The hosts were unable to build at the start of the afternoon session as Henry Brookes struck three times in an over. Charlesworth started the slide attempting a big hit and only skying to mid-off where Holden took a fine tumbling catch.Marchant de Lange swung in trademark fashion and also skied a catch off his third ball, wicketkeeper Jack Davies taking the catch, before Dom Goodman edged a catch to third slip to end the inningsSoon Gloucestershire’s seamers were making inroads on a much livelier pitch than they have been used to operating on in home games. Nathan Fernandes had made only five when caught at mid-wicket pulling a short ball from Goodman.It was 9 for 2 when Mark Stoneman departed for a duck, caught behind driving at a wide delivery from Ajeet Singh Dale and du Plooy came in to face a testing examination, edging his first ball from Singh Dale just short of the slip cordon.In one over from Akhter, the Middlesex skipper needed treatment after being hit on a hand and was then struck again by the first delivery after resuming his innings. Another over from the same bowler saw him survive three confident lbw appeals.Holden defiantly pulled de Lange for four then six as he and du Plooy gradually doused the Gloucestershire fire. But having helped take the total to 66 for 2 at tea, they added only 13 more before du Plooy, who had drawn applause from the bowler when hitting de Lange back over his head for a huge six, was brilliantly caught by Chris Dent at backward point to give Goodman a second wicket.Holden moved to a priceless half-century off 83 balls and, together with Higgins, took Middlesex into the lead with seven wickets still in hand. Momentum was now with the batting side and when spin was introduced the pair first milked singles off Graeme van Buuren to increase the scoring rate and then went on the attack, Higgins hitting Price for a six and a four in the same over.The sun was out and all venom had gone out of the bowling as Higgins marked his return to a former stamping ground by bringing up a chanceless fifty off 73 balls. On 62, he was dropped by van Buuren at mid-wicket off PriceHolden reached his ton off 151 balls, with 13 fours and a six and Higgins followed to three figures with a pulled six off Singh Dale. Now Middlesex will fancy their chances of a last-day declaration and an improbable victory.

A fifth successive win lifted RCB to fifth on the points table

S Sudarshanan12-May-20243:43

Aaron: ‘Patidar has a free-flowing bat swing’

A fifth successive win not only kept Royal Challengers Bengaluru in contention for a playoffs spot but also lifted them to fifth spot on the points table, just above Delhi Capitals who have the same points as RCB but an inferior net run rate.The M Chinnaswamy had gone all quiet when RCB lost Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli inside four overs. It seemed their batting troubles from the start of the season had come back to haunt them. Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar put to rest any such worries with a counter-attacking partnership, but the DC bowlers struck back with a near-perfect death-overs show to restrict RCB to 187 for 9.With the Bengaluru crowd firmly behind them, the RCB bowlers had their tails up. They reduced DC to 30 for 4, which included the massive wicket of Jake Fraser-McGurk, who was run out at the non-striker’s end after a straight drive from Shai Hope deflected off Yash Dayal’s fingers onto the stumps.

The Kohli-Ishant duel lights up the start

In his 250th IPL outing, Kohli had a relatively easy opponent first up: Ishant Sharma, against whom he had scored 93 off 67 balls without being dismissed. He kept out a sharp inswinger on the first ball of the match and then pulled one over square leg for a six on the last ball of the opening over.Ishant Sharma had the last laugh in his duel against Virat Kohli•BCCI

In Ishant’s next over, he hit a four – via an outside edge – and a crisply-timed no-look shot over wide long-on for a six off successive balls before nicking one behind to the wicketkeeper. With a 13-ball 27, Kohli made his intent clear but failed to do justice to the Midas touch he seemed to be in.

Patidar and Jacks make DC pay

Before Sunday, Patidar had been dismissed by pace in eight of his 11 outings in IPL 2024. But here, he raced to 15 off eight balls with the help of three fours in a Mukesh Kumar over. When Axar Patel, the stand-in captain for DC, brought himself on in the sixth over, Patidar duly slogged him over deep midwicket. He also tore into Kuldeep Yadav, bashing him straight over his head.At the other end, Jacks also hit Kuldeep for a six in each of his first two overs as RCB put the dismissals of their openers behind them. Thanks to the assault from Patidar and Jacks, RCB scored 49 in the four overs after the powerplay. In the process, Patidar brought up his fourth half-century in his last five innings, and his first in Bengaluru this season. That the fielders missed four chances in 11 balls, including two dropped catches in a Kuldeep over, did not help DC.

DC fight back through Khaleel, Salam

DC brought Rasikh Salam on in the 11th over and he could have dismissed Patidar first ball but Axar failed to hang on at cover. But Salam exacted revenge in his next over with a hard-length ball. Patidar looked to force it over the off side off the front foot but ended up miscuing it towards cover, where Axar moved to his right to pouch that. That brought curtains to his 88-run stand with Jacks, who fell soon after to Kuldeep.Khaleel Ahmed came away with 4-0-31-2•BCCI

But Mahipal Lomror and Cameron Green combined to take 22 off Kuldeep’s final over, the 17th of the innings, to raise RCB’s hopes. Khaleel Ahmed, who was taken for 23 in his first two overs, struck twice in three balls in the 18th over to dismiss Lomror and Dinesh Karthik. He finished with figures of 2 for 31 from his four overs. Salam got rid of Swapnil Singh and returned 2 for 23 from his three. DC conceded only 40 in the last four overs, and picked up five wickets, to keep RCB under 200 on a surface where the ball was gripping.

Axar fights a lone battle

Fraser-McGurk played true to his form and struck left-arm spinner Swapnil for a massive six over wide long-off to get going. Among those who have faced at least 30 balls of spin in IPL 2024, no batter strikes it higher than Fraser-McGurk’s 262.85. But a lucky break for RCB meant the DC opener walked back cheaply.This was after David Warner, back in the side after missing four matches, was out for 1 off two. Dayal had bounced out Abishek Porel cheaply. It was only the second time this season that RCB picked up four wickets inside the powerplay – earlier, they had done so against Sunrisers Hyderabad.In the middle overs, RCB seamers had a clear plan of hitting the good length and denying the batters room to free their arms. Between overs eight and 11, they bowled 16 deliveries on either good length or just short of it, and gave away just 15 runs off them.Only Axar, leading for the first time in the IPL, managed to offer some resistance with his second half-century of the season. He bookended Jacks’ only over with sixes to bring up his fifty off 30 balls. But long before he top-edged Dayal over backward point, where du Plessis back-tracked and took a tumbling catch, the result was a foregone conclusion.

The trend of low scores continued in New York as India’s attack defended a total of 119 against Pakistan

Alagappan Muthu09-Jun-20241:18

Kumble: Bumrah creates pressure on any surface

One team had Jasprit Bumrah. The other didn’t. And that was that. That was the difference. His legend is littered with incredible displays. But this will feel sweeter, not merely for the fact that it came in a T20 World Cup match against Pakistan, but for the fact that without his intervention this game would have almost certainly had a different ending. India defended 119. Pakistan lost after being 80 for 3. The finalists of the 2022 tournament are in serious danger of an early exit.

Boom in Blue

Pakistan need 40 runs off the last 36 balls with seven wickets in hand. ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster gave them a 93% chance of victory then. Poor thing. It’s been left on the fritz. Bumrah’s discipline, his calmness under pressure, his extraordinary skill, not just in delivering the right ball but in understanding what the right ball is, confounded man and machine alike In New York.Ironically, all this happened because Bumrah refused to go searching for wickets. He just bowled what he thought would be unhittable – which was the back of a length delivery – and by doing it consistently he made Pakistan desperate. He forced them into a corner, which to be fair is their happy place in World Cups, but that wasn’t the case here. Here, there was only panic.Related

• Kirsten's warning to Pakistan's senior pros: evolve or get left behind

• Rohit, Bumrah and the art of defending

• Old debate, simple answer: Pakistan's batting just not very good

• Rohit on Bumrah: 'He's a genius with the ball'

• Babar: 'We were not up to the mark'

Mohammad Rizwan was made to believe that a full length ball was there to play a cross-bat shot. His stumps paid the price. Soon after knocking it back, Bumrah spread his arms wide and broke into a smile. That’s his usual celebration. But he didn’t stop there. He roared. And over 30,000 people at the ground roared with him. He punched the air. Millions joined him. This was the opening that India could build on. This was the crack that would cause the collapse. Rizwan, the set batter, fell for 31 off 44. Bumrah, who had accounted for Babar Azam earlier, also took out Pakistan’s final hope, Iftikhar Ahmed, in the 19th over. Of his 24 balls, 15 were dots. Somehow, even his full tosses proved game-changing.Bumrah’s mastery carved out a piece of history: 119 is the joint-lowest total ever defended in men’s T20 World Cups.

The support act

India waited until the third over to deploy their super weapon. Then they had to wait until the 15th to bring him back. In between, they relied on others to keep the pressure up and two people in particular did that with aplomb. Hardik Pandya and his short-of-a-length offerings were always going to be a threat on this New York pitch with uneven bounce. He stopped Fakhar Zaman before he could play the kind of cameo that would kill chases like these. And then he took out Shadab Khan. Both times the batters were surprised by how high the ball was when they made contact with it. Hardik wasn’t. He just shrugged, as if to say, yeah, I do that. No big deal.Axar Patel was the other unsung hero, bowling the first of the death overs and somehow keeping it to just two runs even though he was up against a left-hand batter with the short boundary on the leg side. Imad Wasim was never allowed to win the match-up as he was fed a diet of non-spinning deliveries that were angled across him and kept bouncing over his cut shots. Bumrah produced the biggest swing in momentum towards India according to Forecaster, 44% at the end of the 19th over. Axar produced the second-biggest swing, his defensive skills earning a 13% bump.Rishabh Pant used his luck and played some creative shots•Getty Images

Pant doing Pant things

This was the best pitch to bat on in New York so far. But even that had its perils. Largely in the form of the ball not coming on, and occasionally with uneven bounce. Rizwan and Arshdeep Singh took blows to the hand.A bit of luck is required in these conditions. Pant got that when he survived three catching opportunities in three balls and later survived an inside edge that could have gone onto the stumps. A bit of bravery helps. Pant showed that when he smashed Haris Rauf over extra cover. A bit of imagination doesn’t go amiss either. Pant epitomised that with a flick shot that he played while falling to the floor because that was the only way he knew how to get under a good length ball and put in the gap at fine leg. Later, to Imad’s highly accurate left-arm spin, he brought out the standing reverse sweep.It was tough to bat out there. Pant’s unorthodox methods made him successful; made him stand out. He made 42 off 31 at a strike rate of 135. The rest of India made 70 off 84 at a strike rate of 83.It’s all blue in New York•Getty Images

The footnotes

In the game against USA, Mohammad Amir was all over the place. In this one, he was spot on. Eight of the first 12 deliveries he bowled produced false shots. Early on with the new ball, he beat the bat three times in a row. Later on, with the old one, he was on a hat-trick. Pakistan demoted him to first-change and by the time he came on, India had already lost their two best batters, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli caught off balls that stuck in the pitch, a theme that would continue for the rest of the innings. Amir had a soft entry but he made the absolute most of it. His best work coincided with the best phase of the game for Pakistan, when they strung four overs together between the 12th and the 15th where only eight runs were scored and four wickets were taken. India went from 89 for 3 to 96 for 7. At the halfway stage, Pakistan were ahead. Twenty overs later, they were facing elimination, in part because they weren’t the team with Jasprit Bumrah.

The pair smashed LPL records and Galle Marvels in front of a full house at Khettarama

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Jul-2024Rilee Rossouw bludgeoned 106 off 53 balls, Kusal Mendis crashed 72 off 40 of his own, and together sent Jaffna Kings soaring to a target of 185, inside 16 overs. It was a record-breaking chase on at least two fronts. Their unbroken stand of 185 (Pathum Nissanka had been out first ball), was the highest for any wicket, across all LPL seasons. Kings’ chase was the highest in any LPL tournament.And their victory means that a Jaffna franchise has won four out of the five LPL tournaments staged, having only missed out in 2023.Rossouw and Mendis’ sublime hitting will rightly be admired as perhaps the greatest partnership this tournament has produced, given it came in a final in front of a full house at Khettarama. But Jaffna had dominated another key passage of the game. Through excellent bowling from Jason Behrendorff, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Fabian Allen, they had had Galle Marvels by the collar at 23 for 3 after seven overs.
They recovered through an outstanding innings by Bhanuka Rajapaksa, but clearly their 184 for 6 was not sufficient to deny Mendis and Rossouw in such form.

Rossouw’s monster hitting

Late in the chase, it felt like there were no ball Galle Marvels could produce that Rossouw could not thump into or over the boundary. But he was also the first batter to shake Kings into motion. He hit the first boundaries, one of them intentional, in the second over. But then really got into his work in the fourth, pummeling Isuru Udana over deep extra cover, then crashing him over deep midwicket.But it was in the middle overs, against spin, that he really hit his stride. He bashed Prabath Jayasuriya for a six and two fours in the seventh over and bullied Theekshana over long-on boundary to get to his fifty off 29 balls.Later he’d go back to smashing Udana, and then later reaped three fours and a six off Janith Liyanage’s seam bowling, which put him five runs short of a second century in this year’s tournament. By this stage, Kings were so utterly ascendant (they needed 21 off 42 balls, with nine wickets left), the only question was whether Mendis would run down the target before Rossouw had the chance to get to triple figures.But Rossouw got there with ease, rocked his bazooka celebration, and also hit the winning run and raised his bat towards the dugout.Earlier, while fielding, Rossouw had been involved with an aggressive altercation with umpire Kumar Dharmasena over an overthrow. Clearly he came to this game pumped up.

Mendis shines again

Mendis had cracked 105 not out off 54 balls in the semi-final, and was very quickly in wonderful touch again in this game, racing to 32 off 13 balls inside the powerplay. Nineteen of those runs came against the offspin of Sahan Arachchige, in the last over of the powerplay.But as Rossouw exploded, Mendis thrived too, finding boundaries square of the wicket while Rossouw slammed most of his in the arc between deep cover and dep midwicket. Between these two batters, there was no relent for Marvels. Mendis was dropped on 67 in the 14th over, but by this stage Jaffna’s victory was almost certain.Bhanuka Rajapaksa hit a boundary-laden 82 off 34 balls for Galle Marvels•SLC

Rajapaksa’s spectacular show

Rossouw and Mendis put him in the shade, but that Marvels set a target that seemed daunting was down to Rajapaksa, who showcased both his touch and power in his 82 off 34. Through the course of that innings he played some delightful late cuts, fine glances, and flicks off his toes, but also pinged balls down the ground, over midwicket, and over cover. He’d had some support from Tim Seifert, who hit 47 off 37 balls, and was part of a 62-run stand with Rajapaksa.But even Seifert had only raised his scoring thanks to crashing three leg-side sixes and a four off four consecutive V Viyaskanth balls. Many of the other Marvels batters struggled to find their timing on this pitch.

Kings bowlers tie up the top order

Teams have generally done well in the back end of the innings this season thanks to the power blast (two late overs in which only four boundary riders are allowed). But Kings had dominated the early overs, and this too was a key portion of the game. Behrendorff was the top performer here finding swing and conceding only five runs from his three powerplay overs, while removing both the Marvels openers.But the spinners were also good. Allen bowled two overs for 10 runs, and de Silva conceded six in the opening over. They largely bowled slow on a pitch that had some turn in it.

West Indies star struck 66* to move Superchargers into top three after England Test captain retired hurt

ECB Media11-Aug-2024Nicholas Pooran smashed 66 from just 33 balls, including eight sixes, to inspire a memorable comeback victory for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred. But it was a suspected hamstring injury to England men’s Test captain Ben Stokes that brought his arrival to the crease.Stokes is now a doubt for the series with Sri Lanka which begins on August 21 in Manchester. He will have scans on Monday to determine the extent of the damage.Pooran – who is enjoying a stellar competition – came in at 29 for 2 with over 100 required and everything to do after Phil Salt drove his Manchester team to an intimidating 156 for 3, and walked off Emirates Old Trafford 62 balls later having kept his team in the competition.The game looked to be going the way of the hosts on more than one occasion, firstly when Salt took Originals to the biggest-ever powerplay, and latterly in Superchargers’ chase when they required 124 from 60, but Superchargers’ spinners dragged Originals back to keep the chase manageable, and Pooran, Brook and Adam Hose performed heroics with the bat to carry the day.The Superchargers’ charge continued a theme of top-class batting throughout the day, ably supported by a belter of a pitch at Emirates Old Trafford.After a similar story in the women’s game, Phil Salt and Max Holden enjoyed the early exchanges – the score at 86 for 2 when Holden was dismissed on the 34th ball – but Superchargers didn’t allow Originals to maintain their lightning scoring rate andm at the interval, they were in the game, albeit with a lot to do.For Andrew Flintoff’s team, Pooran then did as he has been doing throughout this competition to dispatch bowlers left, right and centre and make the improbable look routine, with support from Brook and Hose – and with it he kept the Superchargers’ hopes alive.The only bad news for Superchargers – who now need to beat London Spirit at Headingley on Tuesday to progress to the knock-out stages – was Stokes’ injury, which he sustained after running a quick single off the 12th delivery of the second innings.Meerkat Match Hero Pooran said: “It’s definitely one of my better innings, knowing the situation of the game. Walking into bat with 100+ runs to get, and this format it creeps up on you very fast but I was really happy that I could contribute and be there to the end.”I knew he struck it well [Adam Hose], but I was just really happy that he is finding some form as well. You don’t win tournaments with just one person contributing. It’s really good when your teammates can contribute and hopefully we can go to our game on Tuesday and fight.”If we lost the game today we’d be out of the tournament, I’m happy that I can be there to the end, contribute, get the win for the team and hopefully the result will be the same again on Tuesday as well.”

Australia survived a collapse of 7 for 28 that saw them bowled out for 142, with Kerr bagging four wickets

Alex Malcolm22-Sep-2024Ashleigh Gardner made a successful return from a concussion scare to claim three wickets and help Australia claim an untidy and unconvincing series win over New Zealand after a stunning collapse with the bat in the second T20I in Mackay.Australia lost 7 for 28 to be bowled out for 142 having won the toss and elected to bat. New Zealand legspinner Amelia Kerr put the world champions in a spin, claiming a career-best 4 for 20 as the home side relinquished a commanding position that had been set up by captain Alyssa Healy to be bowled out for just the second time in their last 55 T20Is.Healy made 38 off 25, which was the standout innings of the match on a surface that batters found difficult despite it looking like it would offer plenty of runs. Ellyse Perry compiled a scratchy 34 from 33 that would prove important but her dismissal to a bizarre run-out started Australia’s slide.New Zealand’s chase began cautiously and they paid the price as Australia’s bowlers squeezed. Suzie Bates made another start, scoring a run-a-ball 34, but could not kick on after guiding her side to 34 without loss in the powerplay. Gardner and Annabel Sutherland went to work taking 4 for 34 between them off eight overs in the middle and death phases to close out the game despite some shoddy fielding from Australia.Amelia Kerr returned her T20I best figures of 4 for 20•Getty Images

Healy’s hot start

On a surface where only five batters managed to strike at a rate of above 120, Healy stood head and shoulders above the pack. Molly Penfold had been the biggest threat in the first T20I and Healy took her out of the game in the first over. She thumped her down the ground on the up and then unfurled a stunning front-foot pull shot over midwicket off the next ball as Australia took 12 from the first over. She then carved Lea Tahuhu over point before lap-sweeping Eden Carson fine.She saved her best for Kerr, reverse-sweeping her from middle stump through cover point as Australia reached 48 for 1 in the powerplay. But while Healy was running hot, Perry was ice-cold. After the early loss off Beth Mooney – playing her 100th T20I – bowled by Fran Jonas trying to pull, Perry struggled for timing. She faced eight dot balls in her first 16 and was 13 off 18 at one point. She struggled to even feed Healy the strike. Healy fell trying to keep the foot down against Carson, holing out for 38 from 25. But it would prove an invaluable contribution.

Kerr puts Australia in a spin cycle

Just as Perry started to find some rhythm, her dismissal started Australia’s downfall and was emblematic of what was to follow. She tried to sweep Kerr and was hit on the pad. The ball bounced off her pad high above her head. Perry was confused as to where it had gone and oddly took off for a run. By the time she realised it had landed behind her, wicketkeeper Izzy Gaze had whipped off the bails to run her out for 34 off 33. Shortly after, Australia suffered a cataclysmic collapse, the likes of which has never happened to this all-conquering team.They were bowled out inside 20 overs for just the second time since the T20 World Cup 2020. It started with Phoebe Litchfield charging at Brooke Halliday’s wrong-footed medium pacers and losing her leg stump. Then Kerr whirled her way through the order. Two superb wrong’uns undid Gardner and Tahlia McGrath through the gate. Sophie Molineux was beaten in flight and stumped by a mile before Megan Schutt was done all ends up by a quicker delivery. Kerr finished with 4 for 20 from four overs. Australia looked vulnerable defending just 143.Darcie Brown and Phoebe Litchfield combined to dismiss Suzie Bates•Getty Images

Australia’s bowlers squeeze

Early wickets are always the desired way to put pressure on when defending a small total. The next best thing is to apply run-rate pressure. And that’s exactly what Australia did in the powerplay. They did not concede a boundary in the first four overs with Bates and Georgia Plimmer struggling for rhythm. Bates finally broke free against Schutt and Darcie Brown, finding the rope three times. But New Zealand only managed to score 34 runs in the powerplay despite not losing a wicket. When Plimmer dragged an attempted sweep onto her stumps off Georgia Wareham, the required rate had climbed above eight per over. It soon went over nine when Gardner got her revenge on Kerr, pinning her lbw with a subtle change of pace when she tried to sweep. Litchfield then clung onto an athletic catch at cover to remove the well-set Bates for a run-a-ball 34.Sophie Devine fell two overs later for a tortured 4 off 10 balls, which included being dropped by Brown at short third. Australia were able to close the game out from there despite more untidy fielding. New Zealand’s equation reached 54 off 18 before Maddy Green and Gaze briefly threatened to pull off a miracle. But that was only possible because of some sloppy fielding. Schutt dropped a sitter off Green at cover-point and then watched three of the next five balls reach the rope. Green then should have been run-out by Gardner attempting to steal a second but Healy fumbled the throw, which was a little wider than it could have been. But Sutherland held her nerve in the deep at long-on off Gardner to finally end Green’s rearguard.