Tag: SCG

  • David Warner unlikely for Boxing Day, big selection call likely in New Year

    David Warner is unlikely to be fit for the Boxing Day Test which means the decision on who will make way when he returns is set to be delayed until the third game of the series in the New Year.

    Warner, who was swiftly moved to Melbourne earlier this week due to the Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney, has been out of action since injuring his groin in the second ODI at the SCG last month and despite an extensive rehabilitation programme, which has including using an oxygen chamber, the time frame looks too tight for him to be available.

    In Warner’s absence – and that of Will Pucovski who is also set to miss the second Test as he continues his recovery from concussion – Joe Burns and Matthew Wade formed a new opening partnership. Burns was coming off the back of a horrid run of form while Wade had never done the job previously in first-class cricket, but they added 70 in the second innings after repelling the new ball for 14 overs in the first.

  • Moises Henriques added to Australia’s squad for first Test, Sean Abbott ruled out

    Moises Henriques has joined the Test squad as cover for Cameron Green even as Australia’s injury woes continued with Sean Abbott ruled out of the first Test in Adelaide. Abbott had picked up a calf strain in the day-night tour match at the SCG on Saturday. He will remain in Sydney to continue his rehabilitation but is expected to join the squad for the second Test.

    One good news coming in for Australia was that Green was making steady progress in his recovery from the mild concussion he suffered during the SCG tour game. Green, Henriques and Mitchell Starc were among the Australian players flying into Adelaide together on Monday on the same charter plane that dropped the Indian touring party from Sydney to South Australia.

    Henriques, Cricket Australia said, recovered from a mild hamstring strain which had ruled him out of the Australia A game against the Indians, at the SCG. He passed a fitness test on Monday to join the injury-hit squad. Henriques had made a comeback during the recent ODIs and T20Is against India after over three years, having last played in 2016

  • I can’t just stand in slips and go through the motions

    Virat Kohli could miss India’s three-day warm-up match before the day-night Test in Adelaide. Most players in the team will come to the day-night Test with only one prior experience of playing first-class cricket in the night, in the Test against Bangladesh. However, having played six limited-overs internationals in 12 days, Kohli doesn’t want to risk being less than 100% for the Test, the only one he will play before departing for paternity leave.

    “Let’s see how I wake up tomorrow,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation after the final T20I at the SCG. “You know, I can’t play half and half. That’s me. I can’t just stand in slips and go through the motions. I need to wake up in the morning and see. If I feel great, I’ll definitely play. If not, I’ll speak to the physio and trainer and get a few days off and be fresh for the first Test.”

    Each player has his own ideas of preparation, and Kohli has generally not been a fan of less-than-peak-intensity warm-up games. He prefers shorter, sharper and intense nets sessions instead. Add to that the strain the players must be going through having left their homes well before the IPL and moving from bubble to bubble and playing all the cricket that they have.

    “I think before we go into the first Test, the feeling that we’ll want to have is that our games are at an acceptable level,” Kohli said later at the press conference. “But more important than that is that you’re physically fresh. We can’t afford the slightest of niggles or muscle strains. That is the biggest priority for us: to keep our main players physically fit. To start the Test series well, we will need our fittest 11 players on the field.”

    This was perhaps the reason India’s main fast bowlers took it easy during the first warm-up game, which, for a change, happened to be a high-intensity proper first-class match against a strong Australia A side. In the end, Wriddhiman Saha and last-man Kartik Tyagi had to dig deep to avoid a loss to Australia A inside three days.

  • India off to sloppy start as Australia stalwarts fashion big win

    The first ODI between India and Australia at the SCG on Friday had a retro feel to it. India’s deep blue outfit was similar to the one they wore during the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and in South Africa later in the year.
    On both those trips, they played almost an ancient brand of cricket. Batsmen got bounced out, fielders let balls through their legs and dropped catches and bowlers sprayed the ball all over the place. Virat Kohli’s team did their best to mirror that in all departments as they got outplayed by 66 runs against a power packed Australian line-up.

    Chasing a mammoth 375 on a good batting pitch, India ended with 308/8, thanks largely to the efforts of Hardik Pandya (90; 76b, 7×4, 4×6) and left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan (74; 86b, 10×4), and their fighting alliance of 128 for the fifth wicket. The margin looked lesser because towards the end, Australia tried their part-time spinners to boost the over-rate, which was criminally slow by both teams.

    Only briefly during that stand did India look competitive. The rest of the top-order looked rushed against the pace of Josh Hazlewood, who used the short ball expertly to prise out Mayank Agarwal, Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa also had an excellent outing, dismissing KL Rahul early and then coming back in his second spell to break the threatening stand between Dhawan and Pandya to end with figures of 4-45.

  • Mohammad Shami Lauded On Twitter For Fitness And Discipline During 1st ODI Powerplay

    Australia and India are playing the first of the three-match ODI series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Having won the toss, Aaron Finch decided that the hosts would bat first. India chose to go with four specialist bowlers and two bowlers in the form of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja while Mayank Agarwal grabbed the opener’s spot in place of the injured Rohit Sharma.

    Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah started the proceedings for India and both were on the money from the word go as they bowled at good lines and lengths. Shami, in particular, was extremely tidy in the first two overs as he gave away just two runs in his first twelve balls. Bumrah was a tad expensive, however, he ensured that the Australian openers didn’t get any freebies.

    Shami gave away 12 runs in his first spell of three overs. The right-arm speedster returned to bowl his fourth and the final over of the powerplay and once away he was economical, giving away just a solitary run. In his first four overs, Shami gave away just 13 runs as Australia finished the powerplay at 51/0.

    Meanwhile, Australian openers were going strong with both Aaron Finch and David Warner scoring runs easily. At the time of publishing this article, Australia reached 84/0 at the end of 17 overs. India will be eager to get the first breakthrough and put a brake on the scoring rate.