AUSTRALIA ARE WORLD TEST CHAMPIONS

 

Image Credit- ICC.

Venue- The Oval, London [June 2023]. 

Australia was facing India in the finals of the ICC World Test Championship. In the previous edition, India lost the finals to the Kiwis (It has been discussed in this post), whereas the Aussies failed to reach the finals itself. So, both the teams were eager and determined to win their maiden Test Championship Mace. Though in the past few years, Indians had an edge over the Aussies as they won the last 4 editions of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but in a one-off test anything can happen. Further in the knock-out stages of an ICC Event, Aussies are known for giving their best performance. So, everyone was expecting an exciting contest.

On a green top pitch, Indian Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first. Usman Khawaja was dismissed for a duck by Mohammad Siraj, but Australian opener David Warner gave his team a strong start. Australia had a score of 73/2 by the time of lunch. Marnus Labuschagne was dismissed by Mohammed Shami shortly after the lunch break. Travis Head, who was batting at five, used an aggressive batting style to score runs fast, surpassing the fifty-run milestone before tea. Australia's total was 170/3 at that point. After tea, Head and Steve Smith developed a strong partnership. During the course of their partnership, Smith also reached his fifty. Head scored a century in the 66th over of the game, his first outside Australia. At the conclusion of the day's play, Smith and Head's combination had amassed 251 runs, helping Australia finish strongly at 327/3. Smith was still unblemished with a score of 95, while Head was batting on 146. 

Smith too scored a century on the second day and proved why he is the best test batsman of the world. However, after Smith's 100, the Indian pacers made a comeback by taking quick wickets. Following the dismissal of Travis Head by Siraj, Smith and Cameron Green were also soon dismissed. Australia's score was 422/7 by lunch of second day. After the lunch break, the wickets kept falling at one end, but Alex Carey displayed resiliency by scoring 48 before being given out lbw. The Aussies were finally bowled out for a score of 469 in their first innings. Siraj was the leading wicket taker for the Indians as he picked up 4 wickets. 

The Indians did not get a good start as Australian captain Cummins quickly dismissed Sharma, and shortly thereafter Gill erred in judgment and was bowled out. India was at 30/2 as teatime drew near, with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara on the crease. India lost further wickets in the final session of the day, with Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green dismissing Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, respectively. Before Smith caught Jadeja off Nathan Lyon's bowling, Jadeja helped the team's scoring rate. India's score at the end of the day was 151/5, with Rahane and wicketkeeper-batsman K.S. Bharat on the crease. 

Bharat quickly lost his wicket to Scott Boland's bowling at the start of the third day, but Thakur was able to survive a missed catch in the slips. Rahane showed some grit and hit a six to reach fifty as India reached a score of 260/6 at lunch. Rahane's innings was over just after the lunch break when Green caught him while he was on 89. Shardul Thakur was also able to reach fifty, but his departure resulted in a collapse as India was finally bowled out for 296 in their first innings. 

The Aussies continued to batter the Indian bowlers on day 3 and 4 as well. Eventually at the score of 270/8, they declared. Indians now needed 444 runs to win the final. This was never going to be an easy task in front of the lethal Aussie bowling line-up. The Indians needed big innings from their star batsmen to win this match. Unfortunately, none of the Indian batsman managed to reach even the score of 50. Virat Kohli was the highest run getter for the Indians as he scored a 49 but it was never going to be sufficient in a run-chase of that magnitude. For Aussies Nathan Lyon picked up 4 wickets as the Indians were bowled out for 234 runs in their second innings.

The Aussies won the match by 209 runs and thus lifted the ICC World Test Championship Mace. With this win, Australia became the first team to win all ICC Trophies. 

To watch the highlights of the game, Click Here. 

THE BEST OF STUART BROAD

 

Image Credit- Wisden.

Venue- New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg [January, 2016].

On 29th July, 2023 Stuart Broad announced that he will be retiring from cricket at the end of the Ashes Series. And Boy what a way he bowed out of International Cricket. However in this post we won't be talking about his heroics in the Oval, but about his match winning as well as series winning spell in the Wanderers. 

In December 2015, English Cricket Team toured South Africa to play 4 tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T20 games. The visitors won the first test at Durban, whereas the second test in Cape Town ended in a draw. All eyes were now set in Wanderers wherein the third test of the series was scheduled. 

On a spicy Wanderers wicket, South African Captain AB de Villiers won the toss and elected to bat first. It is interesting to note that every South African batsman got a start, but none of them managed to reach even 50 runs mark. Despite this interesting feat. the Proteas ended up scoring 313 runs in their first innings. In response the visitors were bowled out for 323 in their first innings. Joe Root scored a brilliant 110, whereas Ben Stokes scored a quickfire 58. For the Proteas, Kagiso Rabada picked up 5 wickets. 

The English had a lead of 10 runs, but it was not that big a lead which would worry the Proteas. However little did they know that a storm was about to come in Wanderers. In that afternoon, Stuart Broad bowled one of his finest spells and made a mess of the South African batting order. In no time the Proteas were reduced from 23/0 to 35/5. Stuart Broad in his short spell picked up 5 wickets for just 1 run. The Proteas were unable to recover after the Start Broad storm and were eventually bowled out for 83 in their second innings. Stuart Broad ended up with figures 6/17 in 12 overs.

The visitors needed just 74 runs to win which they chased down comfortably. It is pertinent to note that with this win the English also won the series.Furthermore this bowling performance of Broady also took him to number 1 ranking of test cricket. It was indeed a spell to remember. 

To watch the spell of Stuart Broad, Click Here.  

THE SPELL WHICH WON AN ASHES

 

Image Credit- The Times of India. 

Venue- Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne [December 2021].

In the Australian Summer of 2021-22, English Cricket Team toured Australia for the Ashes. The Aussies won the first two test comfortably at Brisbane and Adelaide and all eyes were now set in the massive MCG. It was a must win game for the visitors to remain alive in this series. For hosts a win in this game would have meant a series win. 

Post the second test both the teams made a lot of changes in their squad.  Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Jack Leach, and Mark Wood replaced Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Ollie Pope, and Chris Woakes in the English team. The Australian team also underwent some changes, with Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser being replaced by debutant Scott Boland, a local lad who became only the fourth Indigenous Australian cricketer to play at the Test level, and Pat Cummins, who was back as captain. 

On a bowling friendly wicket, Aussie Captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to field first. Rain caused a delay in the start of the game, and even it began, England's batting difficulties at the top of the order persisted after Cummins bowled openers Hameed and Crawley with only 13 runs scored. Malan and Root once again had to save the innings, and they did it by putting up 48 runs before Malan was out on the final ball before lunch, caught by Warner off of Cummins for 14. Post lunch the visitors kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 185 runs in their first innings. 

Warner and Harris gave Australia its best start of the series, putting on a 57-run opening stand in 14 overs until Warner was dismissed for a quick 38 from 42 when a thick edge off Anderson was collected by Crawley at gully. Australia finished the day's play with 61 for one, as Lyon was sent in to serve as the nightwatchman for the final two overs. The discovery that four non-playing members of the England squad, including two family members and two members of the support staff, had tested positive for COVID-19 caused the start of the second day to be postponed by 30 minutes. Before getting bowled out in their first innings, Australia boosted their run total to 267. Three more wickets were taken by Anderson, bringing him first-inning total of 4/33.

Early in the second innings, England ran into problems once more. In the fifth over, Mitchell Starc dismissed both Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan. Haseeb Hameed and Jack Leach were both dismissed in the eleventh over thanks to Scott Boland. At the end of day two, England was 4/31 and was 51 runs behind Australia.

Ben Stokes was dismissed by Starc in the fifth over of the third day with England at 5/46. With ducks from Wood and Robinson, Boland dismissed the following four batters (Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Mark Wood, and Ollie Robinson) in quick time. It seemed Boland was on a mission to win the Ashes for his country. He bowled with such precision that English Batsmen had no answer to him. It was indeed an Ashes winning spell from the debutant. His impact in the game can be summarized with the following words of the Commentator, "Build the man a statue".  

James Anderson was knocked out by Cameron Green to close the Test, which Australia won by an innings and 14 runs. The 68 runs total of the English were their lowest total on Australian soil since 1904. The Aussies won the Ashes again and Scott Boland won the Mullagh Medal for his spell of six wickets for seven runs. 

To watch the spell of Scott Boland. Click Here.  

THE DUEL

 

Image Credit- Wisden.

Venue- Trent Bridge, Nottingham [July, 1998].

In the summer of 1998, South African Cricket Team toured England to play 3 ODIs and 5 Tests. The Proteas won the ODI series 2-1 and after the end of 3 tests the visitors were also leading the test series 1-0. In the 4th test at Trent Bridge, England needed 247 runs to win the game and level the series. It was thus a must win game for the English to remain alive in the series. 

Furthermore, how will English batsmen handle the threat of Donald, Shaun Pollock, Steve Elworthy, and Jacques Kallis was the main focus of attention. A tough fighter and a stickier customer at the crease, Atherton guided England through a tough period in the 1990s. Although it is debatable if he was truly world-class, he did fit in the mold of a traditional Test opener who was never afraid of a fight.

As the English innings continued, Atherton remained unharmed despite Donald's continuing barrage of short pitches by dodging, weaving, and using soft hands to keep the ball on the ground while simultaneously sustaining many knocks to the body. When he finally had the chance, Atherton pulled forcefully to frustrate Hansie Cronje. However, when Atherton was in his 20s, Donald hit him with a scorching, rising ball, but the umpire did not signal out. This made Donald even more furious. The anger reached next level when Boucher dropped a catch of his bowling. However, he did apologize to his fellow mate after the end of over. 

After hours of struggle, Atherton led his team to victory. He maintained his perfect record of 98, and helped England remain in the series that they would eventually win with the assistance of an equally determined Nasser Hussain. Donald, who was disappointed with his performance, came in second place, while Atherton once again shown extraordinary concentration skills and took the initiative with bravery and tenacity. 

Michael Atherton stayed undefeated on 98 off 277 balls and held onto the crease for 353 minutes. The English won the match with 8 wickets and later the series 2-1. However, the conflict between Atherton and Donald resembled nothing less than a heavyweight fight between two boxers. Both players were at the height of their abilities and when Donald, also known as the "White Lightning," bowled a lightning-quick ball to Atherton, the crowd went wild. 

To watch the duel between Donald and Atherton, Click Here. 

THIS IS BAZBALL

 

Image Credit- NDTV.

Venue- Trent Bridge, Nottingham [June, 2022].

In the summer of 2022, New Zealand Cricket Team toured England to play 3 test matches. The hosts won the first test comfortably at Lords and all eyes were now set in Nottingham. On a batting friendly wicket, England Captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to field first. However soon he realized that  it was not the best of decisions as the visitors piled up a massive 553 in their first innings. Daryl Mitchell was the highest run getter for the Kiwis as he scored a brilliant 190 of 318 deliveries. His innings consisted of 23 boundaries and 4 massive sixes. Apart from him Tom Blundell also scored a solid 106 to take his team to a dominant position. Anderson was the leading wicket taker for the hosts as he picked up 3 wickets for 62 runs. 

In response the hosts ended up scoring 539 runs. It is pertinent to note that the English lost their first wicket at the score of 6. However post then they had partnership after partnership which took them close to the Kiwi total. Joe Root scored magnificent 176 of just 211 deliveries. His innings consisted of 26 boundaries and 1 six. Ollie Pope too scored a solid 145 to justify his position in the team. Apart from Root and Pope, Alex Lees and Ben Foakes scored crucial half-centuries for their side. For the Black Caps, Trent Boult picked up 5 wickets.

The surface was batsman friendly even on the 4th and the 5th day as the visitors made an above par score of 284 in the second innings. The Hosts now needed 299 runs to win the game and the series. It was not going to be easy and the task became a herculean one as they were reduced to 93/4. However this is when Jonny Bairstow stepped in. 

Initially Jonny Bairstow was playing slow. But, after the tea interval Bairstow scorched his way to 136 off 92 balls, including 14 fours and seven sixes. The crowd at Trent Bridge went wild. Furthermore his 77-ball hundred was just one ball short of England's 120-year-old record for their quickest Test century. After Bairstow was out, Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes guided their team to victory in Trent Bridge's highest-ever Test chase after 50 overs. With 75 off 70 at the end of the innings, Stokes was still unbeaten. His 179-run partnership with Bairstow for the fifth wicket, off 20.1 overs at 8.87, was the third-fastest century partnership in Tests in terms of run rate. Apart from that this test match also recorded the record of maximum boundaries hit in a test match [249- 225 4s, 24 6s.] 

The English Cricket Team won a test series after 15 long months. The fans were absolutely delighted. For his quick fire 136 Jonny Bairstow was awarded the man of the match award.   But, this was not the end, it was just the beginning of what will be called in coming times- BazBall.

To watch the innings of Joe Root, Click Here.

To watch the innings of Ollie Pope, Click Here.

To watch the innings of Jonny Bairstow, Click Here.  

ALL IN A DAY'S PLAY

 

Image Credit- ICC Cricket. 

Venue- Eden Park, Auckland [24th March, 2015].

Today there is a big fear among cricket fans that the ODI format of the game will soon become a thing of past. Innumerable T20 leagues have put ODI cricket on the brink of extinction. A few years ago, Test Cricket was in a similar situation. However due to the passion of players (Big Credit goes to Former Indian Captain Virat Kohli) and also because of the ICC Test Championship, Test Cricket has regained its importance. For the survival of ODI cricket it is necessary that the players playing ODI cricket play it with passion and also we have tense, exciting games. A Game like the First Semi-Final of the 2015 Cricket World Cup.   

In the summer of 2015, Australia and New Zealand hosted the 50 Overs World Cup tournament. After 46 games, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa reached the semi-finals of the tournament. The first semi-final took place in Auckland wherein hosts New Zealand took on the mighty Proteas. On a batting friendly wicket, South African Captain AB de Villiers won the toss and elected to bat first. The Proteas started slowly and at the end of 30 overs their score reached just 130 for the loss of 3 wickets. However post that there was a massive acceleration and after the rain break the Proteas were simply unstoppable. The South Africans ended up scoring 281 runs in 43 overs. Faf du Plessis scored a solid 82, whereas Skipper De Villiers scored a quickfire 65 off 45 deliveries. However it was David Miller who simply demolished the Kiwi attack in the final overs as he scored 49 off just 18 deliveries. 

The D/L target for the Kiwis was 298 in 43 overs. The required rate was close to 7 runs per over. Though the dimensions of Eden Park are smaller in comparison to other international grounds, but hitting 298 runs to the premium pace attack of the Proteas was never going to be an easy task. This is when Captain Courageous took charge. Brendon McCullum just blew away the Proteas bowling attack and gave his side a solid start. The shots which he played to Steyn and Philander were simply outrageous. The crowd went gaga by his power hitting, especially when he stepped out and hit Steyn for a straight six. Eventually in the sixth over, Morne Morkel dismissed Baz and the slaughter came to a halt. Couple of overs later he bowled Williamson out and now Kiwis were in a precarious situation. 

However this is when Grant Elliot and Corey Anderson stepped in. The duo had a partnership of 103 runs and kept Kiwis in the game. By the time Anderson was dismissed for 58, the scorecard read 252/5 at the end of 38 overs. The hosts still needed 46 to win off 5 overs. 2 overs later, Steyn dismissed Ronchi for 8 and the Kiwis were reduced to 269/6.  The game could have gone anywhere. The South African bowlers gave their best, but their efforts were not adequately rewarded as their fielders by their sloppy fielding kept the Black Caps alive in the game. This is not a common phenomenon, Afterall South Africans are known for their fielding.

At the end of 42.4 overs, New Zealand required 5 runs to win off 2 deliveries with Grant Elliot on strike. In front of him was the best fast bowler of the world, Dale Steyn. A year ago Steyn defended 7 runs in the final over against the same opponents, but this time the same did not happen as Elliot smashed him for a 6 and took his country to their first ever World Cup final.  

The stadium erupted in joy. The crowd went wild. However the crying faces of the South African cricketers did break heart of everyone who loves this game. But, this is cricket. One team will win, the other will have to taste defeat. However that day it was not the Kiwis who won, but it was cricket who won. 

To watch the highlights of the game, Click Here.