Sports
With series in the bag, Australia set to continue experimenting against short-handed Sri Lanka
With the emphatic six-wicket win in Canberra, Australia wrapped up the T20I series against Sri Lanka in straight sets, making the last two matches at the MCG dead rubbers. Australia revamped their line-up on Tuesday and are set to again experiment in Melbourne as they start preparing for a T20 World Cup title defence on home soil.
Fringe players Kane Richardson, Ashton Agar and Daniel Sams performed well, underlining Australia’s depth in their attack, but the batting has failed to really click this series. Skipper Aaron Finch, who moved down to No. 3 in a bid to arrest a form slump, batted determinedly with 35, but his trademark clean hitting has still been missing.
Australia will be aiming for a complete performance and further dominate a short-handed Sri Lanka, who produced a disappointing effort at Manuka Oval after a gutsy performance earlier. Their batting has been mostly strangled by Australia’s disciplined attack and been too reliant on Pathum Nissanka at the top.
Sri Lanka had bowled and caught well earlier, but rued a sloppy effort in the field in Canberra, where they dropped many chances as the series quickly slipped away from them. The tourists will need to sharpen every aspect of their game, otherwise they could be staring down the barrel of a 5-0 series defeat
After being named MVP of the recent BBL season, Ben McDermott was given an opportunity at the top of the order with David Warner resting. The 27-year-old grabbed his chance in the opening match with his first half-century at international level, but has missed out since, even registering a golden duck in Canberra.
It means McDermott’s overall T20I record is still modest, with an average of 15.66 and strike rate of 96.70 across 18 innings. Given a sustained run at his favoured opening role, the Hurricanes star will be hoping to light up the MCG in a way reminiscent of his belligerent batting in the BBL. Given Finch’s struggles, McDermott knows he has a couple of opportunities left in this series to apply serious heat on the selectors.
Kusal Mendis was understandably rusty in his return on Tuesday after missing the opening two matches because of Covid-19. He made just 4 from 11 balls and tamely spooned a return catch to Agar. It was his first T20I match since last June, as he copped a lengthy ban for breaching Covid-19 protocols during Sri Lanka’s tour of England mid last year.
Mendis has a middling T20I record, averaging just 18.06 from 30 matches, but his class is undeniable and he shores up a misfiring Sri Lanka batting order. With Australia’s frontline quicks missing, Mendis should fancy his chances of compiling a decent knock, having passed 15 just twice in his last ten T20I innings.
The pace trio Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc did not travel to Melbourne and will be rested for the last two matches of the series ahead of the tour of Pakistan. Steven Smith remains on the sidelines as he recovers from concussion, sustained last Sunday. Quick Jhye Richardson, who is being rested for the Pakistan tour, is set to play his first match since starring in Perth Scorchers’ BBL triumph last month. Having surprisingly been used as an opener, Agar could remain in the role with Finch likely to stay at No. 3.
Sri Lanka are set to remain without star allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga and quick Binura Fernando, who remain in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19. Quick Nuwan Thushara is in doubt after suffering a side strain seven balls into his spell on Tuesday.
Australia (possible): Ashton Agar, Ben McDermott, Aaron Finch (capt), Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Daniel Sams, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson
Sri Lanka (possible): Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dasun Shanaka (capt), Chamika Karunaratne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Shiran Fernando
(Cricinfo)
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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