Aussie run chase down to the wire

Updated April 12, 2012 08:45:08

Australia needs 131 runs in the final session to claim victory in the first Test against the West Indies in Barbados.

Set 192 to win, Australia is 1 for 61 at the tea break on day five with Shane Watson (23 not out) and Ed Cowan (11no) at the crease.

A draw looks the most likely result, with it unlikely the full 41 overs left in the day will be bowled after rain delayed the resumption of play after the lunch break by 40 minutes.

David Warner is the sole man dismissed for Australia so far, caught behind off the bowling of Darren Sammy (1 for 10) for 23 when the score was 31.

Watson has lived dangerously at times, twice surviving LBW reviews after being rapped on the pads by fast bowler Kemar Roach (0 for 30) while Sammy also dropped the number three at gully off the Windies' quick.

Cowan, who has taken 61 balls to reach his 11, has also had a life, dropped on six when wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh was unable to hold onto a tough chance standing up to medium-pacer Sammy.

Earlier, Australia claimed the five Windies' second innings wickets in the morning session to dismiss the hosts for 148 despite Michael Clarke, Watson and Nathan Lyon all dropping catches in the session.

Ben Hilfenhaus finished the pick of Australia's bowlers with 4 for 27 while Ryan Harris took the final wicket to end up with 3 for 31 when he bowled Roach after the tail-ender had made a defiant 25.

AAP

Tags: sport, cricket, barbados

First posted April 12, 2012 06:07:31

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Bulls bowlers have Tigers reeling

Updated March 18, 2012 20:05:00

The sterling efforts of veterans James Hopes and Chris Hartley on Sunday put Queensland in the box seat to win the Sheffield Shield final against defending champion Tasmania at the Gabba.

But Test opener Ed Cowan stands in the way of a Bulls victory after the hosts dominated day three of the decider before bad light ended play early.

At stumps, the Tigers were 6 for 136 - a lead of 101 runs - with Cowan unbeaten on 59 and all-rounder Luke Butterworth 11 not out.

The decision by umpires Bruce Oxenford and Simon Fry to suspend play clearly irked Bulls coach Darren Lehmann, who vented his frustration to the officials as the players left the field under a grey sky in Brisbane.

"I don't think it's that bad. It wasn't at this time of the afternoon yesterday when we were out there and it was raining," Bulls quick Ryan Harris told Grandstand.

"It's pretty frustrating not to be out there, especially to bowl two balls in an over and all of a sudden it's not good enough.

"The judgement of the umpires isn't going too well I would have thought," added Harris, who was disgruntled with a few lbw shouts being turned away, including one against Cowan.

The Tasmanian and Test opener hit back at Harris' comments, saying the Bulls bowlers need to let the umpires do their job.

"Four-day cricket is not meant to be played in the dark under lights," said Cowan, who rated the Shield final as intense as any of the four Test matches he had played in.

Cowan believed the Bulls could crumble under pressure if they were forced to chase any total over 150 on Monday.

"To chase runs in a Sheffield Shield final, as we found out last year, is nerve-racking - it's gut-wrenching," he said.

"Anything above 150 we can really make challenging with early wickets, 200 starts playing on the mind.

"If we get the right conditions overhead, anything can happen, we saw Queensland lose 9 for 60 against WA not long ago."

But the Bulls have time on their side, needing only a draw to claim their first Shield title since 2005-06.

Hartley and Hopes are the only surviving members from that triumph and they, along with Test quick Ryan Harris, played key roles on Sunday as the Tigers slumped to 5 for 87.

Bulls captain Hopes bowled with venom and guile in claiming two wickets, including the prized scalp of former Test captain Ricky Ponting (6), while Hartley rescued the hosts with a gutsy century in the first session.

In the first ball of his spell, Hopes (2 for 47) clean-bowled Ponting as the Tigers skipper played across the line and missed an inswinger.

The medium-pacer also dismissed James Faulkner (3) while Harris (2 for 35) captured his first wickets of the match in a sizzling spell after being unlucky to miss out in the first innings.

Cowan and Tom Triffitt compiled a 51-run partnership before Harris went around the wicket to have Triffitt (35) caught in the slips by Andrew Robinson, his third catch of the innings.

Regular first-drop Alex Doolan (15) batted at number seven after experiencing back spasms on Sunday but he never looked comfortable, eventually caught hooking in the deep off the bowling of first innings hero Alister McDermott.

It does not take a brain surgeon to realise that Cowan is the only real stumbling block to the Bulls winning their seventh Shield title.

"I guarantee our bowlers will be gunning to get them for less than 150 tomorrow and I think if we can knock Cowan over, we're a big shot of doing that," Hartley said.

Earlier on Sunday, Hartley sparked the hosts' stunning revival with a superb knock of 111 in difficult batting conditions to guide the Bulls to a first-innings total of 276 - a handy lead of 35 runs.

It was Hartley's first Shield century in more than two years and it could not have come at a better time for the Bulls, who were reeling at 5 for 55 in the second session on Saturday.

"I was really glad that on a pretty tricky wicket and in a tough situation, I played the game I wanted to play," said Hartley, who has been battling a virus he picked up on Thursday.

"I've have to rate that (century) up there pretty highly."

Magoffin, despite suffering a back strain, chipped in with a valuable 31 in a 97-run partnership with Hartley, who was the last man dismissed when trapped lbw off the bowling of Jackson Bird (4 for 56).

ABC/AAP

Tags: cricket, sport, brisbane-4000, qld, hobart-7000, tas, australia

First posted March 18, 2012 18:50:21

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Aussies put pace decision on hold

Updated April 06, 2012 16:28:09

Australia's pace pack will not know until the eve of the first Test against the West Indies just who will be letting rip at Kensington Oval on Saturday.

Captain Michael Clarke and his fellow selectors must make the tough call of omitting one of Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Pattinson and Ryan Harris for the opening Test with only three fast bowlers set to play.

Siddle's performances over the past six months make him a near-certainty while Hilfenhaus' recent form and a four-wicket haul in this week's tour match in Bridgetown should put him in.

That means either young gun Pattinson, who missed the last two Tests of the summer home series against India due to injury, or Queensland quick Harris will have to sit out the first Test starting on Saturday (0000 Sunday AEST).

Pattinson appears the man most likely to be cut after Harris claimed four first innings wickets in the eight-wicket tour match win, but Clarke said nothing had been decided yet.

"If you go on performance since being in the West Indies ... the tour game, everybody put their hand up," Clarke said on Thursday.

"You've probably got to take the Australian summer into contention as well. You've got to look at the results of the bowlers through that period.

"Conditions are a lot different here though ... we've got some guys that are in really good form. Whichever quicks and spin bowler we decide on, I'm really confident they can do the job for sure."

This year's battle for the Frank Worrell Trophy is the first time for three decades the teams have met without one or the other being the pre-eminent Test nation in the world, with only three Australian players - Clarke, Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting - remaining from the team which won the Kensington Oval Test in 2008 to seal a 2-0 series win.

But Australia go into the Test on a four-match winning streak following its domination of India.

Having lost just once at Test level in the past 18 meetings with the Windies, many feel that winning run could be extended to seven by the end of the three-match campaign.

Clarke is wary of under-estimating a West Indies team that showed during the drawn one-day and Twenty20 campaigns last month they have plenty of spirit and self-belief.

"As a playing group we can take some confidence out of beating India 4-0 in Australia but conditions are a lot different here," he said.

"The expectation, particularly in Australia, is to win in your own backyard and it was really nice that we could do that during the summer.

"The most important thing about touring the West Indies is that one bad hour can cost you a Test match.

"You need to be at your best for all five days to have any chance of winning ... against a very talented opposition you can't afford to give them too many chances, too many opportunities in the game to run away with it."

AAP

Tags: cricket, sport, australia, barbados

First posted April 06, 2012 16:28:09

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Lyon triggers Windies' collapse

Updated April 18, 2012 13:48:48

Shivnarine Chanderpaul fell agonisingly short of a century before Australian spinner Nathan Lyon destroyed the West Indian lower order to hand the momentum back to the visitors on the third day of the second Test at Queen's Park in Port of Spain.

Chanderpaul was dismissed for 94 but his gritty performance counted for little at stumps after the fragile West Indian batting crumbled and the home side was reduced to 9 for 252, still 59 runs behind Australia's first innings of 311.

Lyon (5 for 68) triggered the collapse when he captured five wickets in a devastating spell late in the final session on an increasingly difficult pitch.

Chanderpaul, who scored an unbeaten century in last week's first Test defeat in Barbados, shared a 130-run partnership with Narsingh Deonarine (55) to give West Indies hope of a first innings lead when the wheels suddenly fell off and it lost five wickets for just 19 runs.

Deonarine was stumped by Matthew Wade shortly after completing his third half-century in his 10th Test then Lyon trapped Chanderpaul LBW with a ball that turned just enough to beat the inside edge.

Darren Sammy (1), Shane Shillingford (4) and Kemar Roach (duck) then followed in quick succession, leaving Carlton Baugh (17 not out) and Fidel Edwards (duck) to battle through to stumps.

Lyon says his performance meant as much to him as his five-wicket haul on debut against Sri Lanka last year.

"Obviously different playing my first Test match and being able to grab five wickets, but here today's been a hard toil for the whole Australian side," he said.

"I'm still over the moon even though I didn't run around like I did in Galle. Just really happy with the way things panned out, but saying that we've still got a lot of work to do to win this Test match."

Lyon says claiming the wicket of Chanderpaul added to the significance of his dismissals.

"He's one of the best batsman going around in world cricket," he said.

"You look at all the other best batters in the world, they're not easy to get out. It's Test match cricket for a reason and full credit to Chanderpaul.

"He's a great player and it's definitely a challenge for all our players and we're looking forward to every challenge when we walk out to the crease. It's difficult to bowl to him but it's a great challenge and we're definitely up for it."

Chanderpaul, a thorn in Australian sides for years, had been given a life on 8 when the Australian skipper Michael Clarke failed to grasp a difficult chance at slip that deflected off Wade.

The unorthodox left-hander then made the Australians pay for the missed opportunity with a watchful 217-ball innings that featured 10 boundaries and a six, off left-arm spinner Michael Beer.

Deonarine also had a close shave early in his innings, scrambling home by a whisker to avoid being run out on the last ball before lunch.

The day began in bizarre circumstances when play was delayed for 20 minutes because of a power outage.

The two teams walked on to the field as scheduled but were told by match referee Jeff Crowe to retreat back to the dressing room before a ball was bowled because there was no live television footage.

Australia's frontline bowlers failed to make any inroads in the morning session and it was left to part-time seamer Mike Hussey to make the initial breakthrough, removing Darren Bravo for 38.

Australia did not get another wicket until after tea when the second session was interrupted for around 90 minutes because of a passing rain shower.

Reuters/ABC

Tags: cricket, sport, trinidad-and-tobago

First posted April 18, 2012 07:39:29

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Aussies boosted by Warner's first wicket

Updated April 08, 2012 16:09:15

Part-time leg-break bowler David Warner took his first international wicket as West Indies reached 3 for 179 against Australia before rain ended play early on the first day of the first Test.

Kraigg Brathwaite (57) and Kirk Edwards, who made 61 with 10 boundaries and a six, had put on 104 for the second wicket when Warner took a smart catch off his own bowling to dismiss Edwards.

It was a key breakthrough just before the tea interval and provided Australia with some relief after a difficult day in the field at Kensington Oval.

Brathwaite and Edwards were beginning to get on top of the bowling after a slow but steady start to the match and it was a blow for the West Indies as Edwards had been the aggressor in a growing partnership.

Warner, the seventh bowler Michael Clarke used, admitted the team felt relieved when he got his wicket after poor fielding denied them earlier dismissals.

"We've got to keep taking our chances, we pride ourselves on that and I think we've got to be better tomorrow," Warner said.

"The scoreboard pressure that we've put on there as well - it's not moving at a great rate.

"If we can keep doing what we did at home and play boring cricket but keep the ball hanging out there ... hopefully they play and we get some nicks."

Brathwaite made the most of three chances the Australians gave him to reach his fourth Test half-century before Peter Siddle induced a nick behind to give Matthew Wade his first dismissal.

Siddle should have twice got the wicket of the 19-year-old opener before this point, dropping a caught and bowled chance and then seeing an edge dropped by Shane Watson at fourth slip.

Watson himself also came close to snaring Braithwaite's wicket when Ricky Ponting could not claim a catch stretching to his right.

The first breakthrough for Australia came in the 18th over.

Starting his second spell, Ryan Harris came around the wicket to Adrian Barath and his third ball bouncer outside off stump was hit high in the air by Barath for Siddle to catch at fine-leg.

On a slow pitch that is offering little assistance to the fast bowlers, Australia will be keen to stop the current partnership between Darren Bravo and the returning Shivnarine Chanderpaul developing on day two.

James Pattinson was named as 12th man for the match which will see vice-captain Watson will bat at number three for the first time with Warner and Ed Cowan opening the batting.

West Indies is aiming for its first Test win against Australia for 9 years and a first series win over the visitor in 19 years.

AFP

Tags: sport, cricket, barbados, australia

First posted April 08, 2012 06:46:43

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Afghanistan qualifies for World Twenty20

Updated March 23, 2012 09:13:32

Afghanistan booked its place in the 2012 World Twenty20 with a 47-run victory over Namibia in the first final of the 16-nation qualifying tournament.

In a battle of two undefeated teams, Afghanistan was bowled out for 146 in their 20 overs before Namibia was dismissed for 99 in the 19th over.

Despite the loss, Namibia will get a second chance of making the World Twenty20 when it faces either Ireland or the Netherlands in Saturday's second qualifying final.

The result also made it eight wins out of eight for Afghanistan in the tournament and captain Nawroz Mangal said a statistic like that made a compelling case for his side to be given more opportunities to play against the established teams.

"It is a big day for us and the entire nation to compete at a bigger level," Mangal told reporters through an interpreter.

"Afghanistan is no longer at a stage to compete against associate and affiliate members. In every single tournament we have participated in, in the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) and in global associate and affiliate tournaments, we have beaten every single team.

"So we want to compete on a bigger level and the stage is there. The boys are up to that and we will do our best."

Afghanistan, which also played in the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, saw openers Karim Sadiq (28) and Javed Ahmadi (24) give its side a flying start with a partnership of 57 by the seventh over.

But Namibia slammed the brakes on the scoring rate with skipper Sarel Burger taking with 3 for 16.

However, the African side never recovered from a precarious 4 for 18 by the fourth over with seamer Dawlat Zadran boasting figures of 3 for 1 off his first two overs.

Burger and Nicholaas Scholtz, with 22 runs each, gave a little middle-order impetus, but Afghanistan was simply too powerful in all departments and coasted to a place in the finals in Sri Lanka in September and October.

Right-arm fast bowler Aftab Alam claimed 4 for 25, sweeping up the tail in the process.

Afghanistan and the winner of final play-off will meet in the tournament finale on Saturday night.

The winner will be slotted into Group B in Sri Lanka alongside Australia and the West Indies with the runner-up going into Group A against India and defending champions England.

AFP/Reuters

Tags: cricket, sport, twenty20, afghanistan

First posted March 23, 2012 09:13:32

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Cowan completes collective Aussie effort

Updated April 27, 2012 07:59:05

When the post-mortem on the Australia tour of the Caribbean is concluded after the third Test, one of the positives is sure to be the ability of the team's top-line batsmen to all make a key contribution at some stage.

Left hander Ed Cowan joined the club, a little belatedly, in the second innings as he helped the team towards an imposing 310-run lead.

While West Indies, whose opening pair have just one-half century performance between them, have struggled to find the batting displays to back up their improved bowling, Australia has shown it has a solid collective unit with the bat.

There may not have been a single dominating figure in the top order, but each of the top seven have come up with at least one half-century during the tour.

Left-hander Ed Cowan's' 55, was a timely one given the questions in some quarters about his inability on this tour to get beyond the twenties and thirties.

"I'm satisfied to overcome that hurdle of mid 20s, a nothing score, to get a 50 on what is a bloody challenging wicket," he told reporters.

"Fifty for me feels like a really good contribution and I'm really happy that I feel like I've been improving certain aspects of my game and haven't got the rewards and today I got some reward for a lot of hard work."

Cowan batted with an injured wrist, picked up when he was struck by the ball in a close catching position on Tuesday and faced a surface that was turning sharply and bouncing, particularly from the off-spin of Shane Shillingford.

"Fifty on a wicket like that can be as good as 100. Sure the runs don't show in the scorebook but over 300 to chase is a hell of a lot of runs and I think the contributions from guys have been huge," he said.

Cowan, who made his debut against India last December, is only in his seventh Test but it is clear he had been feeling a little pressure having not passed 50 since he scored 74 in Perth in January.

"I try not to read too much of it but if you're in the Australian cricket team and you're not consistently getting big scores, of course you are going to be under pressure. You don't need to be a genius to work that out," he said.

"The only disappointing aspect is I think guys here on the ground would appreciate how hard batting has been through the series but people, because of the time zone, probably haven't watched a lot of cricket but they click on a link to see the score in the morning and they go '28, oh, Ponting 30, these guys are struggling'.

"Well, it's bloody hard work and you need to see the ball spitting and turning the way it is to appreciate that.

"And if you're just judging people's form by looking at the scorecard, then you're not doing the game full justice."

Reuters

Tags: cricket, sport, dominica, australia

First posted April 26, 2012 13:23:11

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