Sports
Labuschagne, Warner blaze tons in Australia’s romp to 2-0 lead
Two days can make a lot of difference. At the same Mangaung Oval that saw a 222-plays-225 contest 48 hours ago, Australia turned up the batting oomph to post a gargantuan 392 before burying their hosts under this mountain of runs to take a 2-0 series lead in the ODI series, reinforcing their credentials as one of the early favourites at next month’s World Cup. This was still a mostly experimental side from the five-time champions but they still packed enough punch to pummel their hosts to the tune of 123 runs. Leading their batting charge was Marnus Labuschagne with a second straight demonstration of why he should also be on the plane to India. He hit 124 off just 99 balls with David Warner dovetailing brilliantly with his 20th ODI ton. Adding the gloss to the performance was a four-fer from the continually impressive Adam Zampa, who took 4 for 48 from nine overs of excellent legspin bowling to douse South African hopes.
The visitors turned up on a true batting surface with an aggressive approach. This was predicated on the fact that they fielded one proper bowler less. They handed debuts to Aaron Hardie and Tim David while Nathan Ellis came on for Josh Hazlewood. Incidentally, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma made three changes — Shamsi, Anrich Nortje and Andile Phehlukwayo in for Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee and Keshav Maharaj — of his own and opted to field.
Very early it became apparent that this wasn’t going to conform to the script of the opening game. The pace and carry was true and batters could hit through the line. The first two overs of the innings saw as many five boundaries struck with Head hitting four of them, including three off Kagiso Rabada’s first over. After his lead pacer went for 20 from his first two overs, Bavuma was quick to ring in a bowling change but after giving away just three runs from his opening over, Nortje was taken apart for 17 in his second with both Head and Warner hitting a six each
After eight overs, Australia had raced off the blocks to 71/0 and the South Africa captain turned to spin for respite. None of it was forthcoming as Warner put away two short deliveries from Aiden Markram before playing a pleasing inside-out loft over extra cover to complete a 12-run initiation. In the next over, Head launched two more sixes off Nortje to race to a 26-ball half-century and give his side a PowerPlay score of 102/0 — the highest in ODIs in South Africa.
South Africa caught a break eventually in the 12th over when Head mishit a loft off Shamsi, South Africa’s best bowler of the evening, and saw David Miller complete an excellent catch running back from mid-on. The left-arm legspinner struck for a second time a ball later when Mitchell Marsh missed an attempted reverse sweep and was dismissed LBW courtesy a DRS review.
After a 109-run opening partnership, Australia had lost two in two. But that was no reason to dial down the tempo of the innings. Labuschagne joined Warner and instantly displayed the kind of nimble footwork that was on show two nights ago when he arrived to the series as a ‘Concussion Substitute’. His battle against Shamsi had a bit of an edge to it with the batter looking to pull out the sweeps and the bowler not shy of returning words. At the other end, Warner, surprisingly, took a less dramatic route to a half-century and then marked the milestone by launching Phehlukwayo for a six.
By the 27th over, this third-wicket pair had given Australia their second century stand of the innings. Warner raced away to 93 off 77 while Labuschagne had serenely motored along to a run-a-ball 49. The veteran opener completed his 20th ODI century with a four and a trademark leap in the middle of a 16-run over from Shamsi that saw Labuschagne hit a six and four of his own. The right-hander followed that up by taking Nortje for three more fours in the following over. Such was Labuschagne’s acceleration post his half-century that he was already on 85 off 67 when Warner eventually fell – bowled to a ball that kept low – for 106.
Labuschagne eventually got to his second ODI ton off just 80 balls and shared another quickfire 83-run partnership with Josh Inglis, who added to the mayhem with a 37-ball 50. South Africa did, however, come back well in the final phase of the innings, with Shamsi taking two more wickets to finish with excellent returns of 4 for 61 and put the lid somewhat on the big hits. Australia managed only 134 for 6 from the final 18 overs, but the 48 fours and 9 sixes their batters achieved meant the score was only just shy of the rather ridiculous 400-mark.
It was always going to be a steep ask from the Proteas to keep up with the scoreboard pressure. But they did make a fist of it in the early running when Quinton de Kock and Bavuma added 81 runs in 9 overs before the keeper-bat fell to a sharp return catch from Nathan Ellis for 45. The introduction of Zampa then put the brakes on the chase with the ace legspinner trapping Bavuma LBW for 46 while attempting a paddle sweep and then having Aiden Markram caught. When Rassie van der Dussen dragged a Hardie delivery on to his stumps, the game appeared to have been settled.
But Heinrich Klaasen kept South Africa in the game with a series of superb strikes, especially off the bowling of Head. Zampa returned to castle him with a skidder. David Miller kept the flame of the chase flickering for some more time but when he became the fourth South African batter to get out in the 40s, the writing was on the wall. The final rites were read in the 42nd over.
Brief scores:
Australia 392/8 in 50 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 124, David Warner 106; Tabraiz Shamsi 4-61) beat South Africa 269 in 41.5 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 49, David Miller 49; Adam Zampa 4-48) by 123 runs
(Cricbuzz)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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