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Mitchell Johnson turns hero with bat as Aussies prove too strong for Windies
September 27, 2009
Mitchell Johnson hit 73 as title holders Australia flourished in the closing overs to launch their ICC Champions Trophy campaign with a 50-run win over the West Indies. But the anticipated stroll for the world champions never materialised because the outsiders shrugged off the absence of their best players owing to a contract dispute and improved markedly on a midweek drubbing from Pakistan. Australia was sent in to bat at the Wanderers stadium and finished their 50 overs on 8-275 before restricting the West Indies to 9-225 off 46.5 overs with injured Dale Richards unable to bat. “I thought we did really well to make our score with exceptional batting from Mitchell, but we did not bowl to our best ability with too many extras conceded,'' said Australia skipper Ricky Ponting. West Indies captain Floyd Reifer also hailed Johnson. “He played a magnificent innings. After reaching 2-124 we needed to carry on with one of the batsmen scoring 80, 90 or even 100, but we are learning quickly.'' Australia began disastrously in a rematch of the 2006 Mumbai final they won by eight wickets with Shane Watson bowled off the first ball by a late swinging yorker from Kemar Roach on his return in place of Tino Best. Enter Ponting to steady the innings with 79 runs off 94 balls, including nine fours and a six, before missing a well-flighted delivery from Nikita Miller and Chadwick Walton sent the bails flying. A middle-order slump saw the defending champions surrender three wickets cheaply before Johnson demonstrated that his skills extend beyond the ball. He survived a scare when in single figures to amass his unbeaten 73 off 66 balls in an innings that included eight fours and three sixes and Brett Lee (25) proved a solid partner before being run out. Miller, top-scorer with 51 in the five-wicket defeat by Pakistan at the same venue three days ago, was the most successful Windies bowler, taking two wickets for the loss of 24 runs with the 10-over stint including a maiden. Expectations were high for Gavin Tonge after his four-wicket haul against the Pakistanis, but he finished without a wicket and conceded 55 runs. Devon Smith scored two consecutive fours at the start of the West Indies innings to signal that the batting collapse that saw them plunge to 7-47 in midweek was unlikely to be repeated. He made 17 before being caught by Tim Paine off the bowling of Peter Siddle and then Andre Fletcher and Travis Dowlin lifted the 2004 champions to 124 before the former was run out for 54 by Johnson. Another five balls and another Windies wicket fell with wicketkeeper Walton attempting to take the cover off the ball only to get an inside edge into the stumps. Having stayed just ahead of the required run rate for some time, the West Indies slipped owing to a dearth of boundaries and a spectacular Paine catch saw top scorer Dowlin exit after contributing 55, including five boundaries. Darren Sammy did manage two sixes and a four in a 20-run stay, but wickets fell at regular intervals with Watson, Siddle and Nathan Hauritz turning the screws to ensure success. |
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Pakistan move into semis after Australia-India game washed out
September 29, 2009
Pakistan qualified for the Champions Trophy semi-finals after the India-Australia match was abandoned due to rain. Pakistan have already secured four points after winning both of their matches in the four-team Group A, while Australia have three points and India one after two games. The West Indies have lost both of their games. The top two sides advance to the semi-finals. Defending champions Australia were on course for a big total before the play was called off due to heavy rain in the day-night match. They posted 234-4 in 42.3 overs after winning the toss on a good batting track, with Michael Hussey (67), skipper Ricky Ponting (65) and Tim Paine (56) all making the most of a mediocre Indian attack. Cameron White was unbeaten on 35 and Callum Ferguson on two. India, needing a win to boost their hopes of making it to the last-four, bowled inconsistently, failing to keep pressure on Paine, Ponting and Hussey. Australia lost an early wicket when Shane Watson pulled left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra to Harbhajan Singh at mid-wicket. Ponting and Paine then steadied the innings with an 84-run stand for the second wicket, gathering runs comfortably against both pace and spin. Paine was more aggressive than his captain, once pulling seamer Ishant Sharma for a six and also hitting seven fours in his 58-ball knock. His flourish ended when he was caught by Harbhajan off leg-spinner Amit Mishra. But there was no respite for India as Hussey and Ponting consolidated their team's position with an 88-run partnership for the third wicket. Ponting was caught short of the crease while going for a second run, with Gautam Gambhir hitting the stumps from the deep at the non-striker's end. He hit one six and four boundaries in his 88-ball knock. Hussey fell in a bid to step up the run-rate, caught by Sachin Tendulkar at long-off off Sharma in the 41st over after hitting five fours in his 65-ball knock. India made two changes from the side that lost to Pakistan on Saturday, bringing in Mishra and seamer Praveen Kumar in place of Yusuf Pathan and Rudra Pratap Singh. Australia retained the team that defeated the West Indies in the previous match. India clash with the West Indies, while Australia meet Pakistan in the last league matches on Wednesday. |
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Australia reach Champions Trophy semi-finals after defeating Pakistan
October 01, 2009
Australia qualified for the Champions Trophy semi-finals with a thrilling two-wicket win over Pakistan at SuperSport Park thanks to a last-ball bye. The defending champions, having won the toss and restricted Pakistan to 205-6 off 50 overs, appeared to be coasting home with 140 runs on the board, seven wickets in hand and 112 balls to face. But as the Pakistani bowlers led by Saeed Ajmal came alive, wickets tumbled and Australia entered the final over needing four runs to win a match transformed into a thriller after being tedious to watch for so long. Tail-enders Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz picked off singles against superb bowling from Umar Gul and tight fielding to reach 206-8 in the best match so far of the tournament. Man-of-the-match Michael Hussey top scored with 64 and Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson took two wickets each for the Australians, who face England Friday in the semi-finals with Pakistan meeting New Zealand one day later. "I was chewing my fingers off at the end," joked Australia skipper Ricky Ponting. "Now we have to discover what went wrong in the second half of our innings and fix it." Pakistan captain Younus Khan admitted he never expected such a tight finish: "We suddenly came good and took wickets. Some of our bowling was fantastic on a track that was a little soft but good." Pakistan were never comfortable on a seam-friendly wicket and openers Kamran Akmal and Shahid Afridi compiled only 30 when the partnership was terminated on an overcast day. Afridi was forced to play a pull off Mitchell Johnson and James Hopes covered ground quickly to take the catch as Pakistan struggled to match the form that reaped 302 runs against India last weekend. Kamran also paid dearly for attempting a pull off Watson and the ball took a bottom edge into leg stump to leave Pakistan 75-2 approaching the 20-over mark. It was lacklustre fare from teams who could meet again in the final with barely a murmur from the small crowd who braved cool conditions to watch the action. Skipper Younus Khan was the third Pakistani victim and his innings summed up the lethargy that enveloped his team with 49 balls needed to garner an 18-run total that included just two fours. Johnson joined the Australian 100 ODI wicket club with a soft one as Shoaib Malik attempted a drive only to send the ball straight to Ponting at short cover. Mohammed Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq consolidated the innings with a 63-run fifth-wicket stand before the former was caught by Cameron White trying to steer a Brett Lee delivery over midwicket. Misbah hit his wicket in the final over and the most unpredictable team in world cricket must have sensed they had not scored enough runs to avoid losing and slipping to second spot on the table. After ducks against the Windies and India, Watson was desperate for runs and struck five boundaries in a brisk 24 before Gul deceived him and the ball edged to Kamran. Fellow opener Tim Paine departed three overs later, trapped leg before by Afridi spin, then 'old hands' Ponting and Hussey added 81 runs for the third wicket. Ponting made 32 off twice as many balls and managed just one boundary before a spectacular Gul catch off a Shoaib delivery sent the Australian skipper back to the pavilion. Replacement Callum Ferguson made just seven off 18 balls before he was bowled by Saeed Ajmal, whose low, swift delivery uprooted the middle and leg stumps. A Rana Naved yorker proved the undoing of Hussey, who could not get his bat down sufficiently quickly and was bowled having faced 87 balls and scoring six fours and one six. |
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Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting hit centuries as Aussies hammer Poms
October 03, 2009
Australia will play in the Champions Trophy final after thrashing England by nine wickets in the first semi-final thanks to centuries by Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson. Australia captain Ricky Ponting is not yet satisfied despite his side thrashing England and securing a place in the Champions Trophy final. Australia won the semi-final by nine wickets thanks to a record unbeaten partnership of 252 between Ponting and opener Shane Watson, who both scored centuries. Watson's unbeaten 136 and Ponting's 111 not out took Australia (1-258) comfortably past England's 257 with 49 deliveries to spare and earned them a berth in the final at Centurion. Australia's opponent will be determined by the other semi-final between Pakistan and New Zealand at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. Ponting said he expected his side to lift in the tournament decider, where Australia will aim to become the first side to successfully defend the Champions Trophy title. “We won't be happy until we peak in the final,'' he said. “We played some great cricket today and now it's a day off tomorrow for us and we start getting our head around playing our best game in a month in the final on Monday.'' While Australia's pursuit was awesome, Ponting was also pleased with his bowlers, who wrapped up England's innings in the 48th over. Peter Siddle (3-55) and Brett Lee (2-46) claimed early wickets after England won the toss and batted on a good pitch, while Watson chipped in with 2-35. “We've been talking about playing at a level that's going to get us into big games,'' Ponting said. “Right from the start of the (recent) England (one-day) series we were focusing on being well prepared for the Champions Trophy and getting ourselves in a position like today, where we can play our best cricket when it matters. “We did that the majority of today, to take wickets early up today and have them 6-101 was a really good start for us.'' A century partnership between all-rounders Tim Bresnan (80) and Luke Wright (48) gave England hope of defending, until Ponting and Watson ruthlessly took the game away. They struck a combined 22 fours and eight sixes between them and their partnership was the highest by an Australian pair in one-day internationals. Ponting's century was his 28th and he became only the third player to pass the 12,000-run mark, after India's Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya. Watson's ton was the third of his career and atoned for two ducks to start the tournament. England's massive defeat was a sour end to what had been encouraging tournament for Andrew Strauss' side. The loss also meant England remain without a world one-day title. Australia's win was their seventh from eight games against the old enemy, following their 6-1 one-day series win which concluded the Ashes tour. |
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New Zealand cruise past Pakistan to set up final with Australia
October 04, 2009
Grant Elliott braved a thumb injury with an impressive half-century as New Zealand stormed into the Champions Trophy final with a five-wicket victory over Pakistan. Elliott cracked an unbeaten 75 to help his injury-hit team achieve a 234-run target with 13 balls to spare. New Zealand will now clash with defending champions Australia in the final on Monday (EDT). “It all started with the way we bowled. The 234 was a target we fancied we could chase. We have not been a consistent side, but we have managed to do that here. Elliott was great,'' New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said. New Zealand, who have lost five of their six semi-finals against Pakistan in one-day internationals, improved that record with a superb all-round performance in the day-night match. Paceman Ian Butler grabbed a career-best 4-44 and left-arm spinner Vettori finished with 3-43 to restrict Pakistan before Elliott completed the victory with a brave 103-ball knock, including one six and five fours. New Zealand, who had lost Jesse Ryder, Jacob Oram and Daryl Tuffey during the tournament to injuries, were sweating over Elliott's fitness on the eve of the match, even summoning Scott Styris as cover. Elliott received valuable support from Vettori (41), adding 104 for the fifth wicket to ensure his team's second appearance in the final of this tournament. New Zealand were the winners in 2000 in Nairobi. Vettori was named man of the match for his all-round performance. He later joked he would have preferred to avoid the romanticism of playing Australia given their form, but could not downplay what a win over Ricky Ponting's side would mean. "New Zealand fans back home, their biggest game whenever we play is against Australia, and the Chappell-Hadlee series is vitally important to them," he said. "The series we played last year where we managed to win the first two games and draw the series, it felt pretty good back home. "This opportunity is pretty big. We know we're up against it against a good Australian team, but if we do win there will be a happy four million people back home.'' Vettori said his side's increased ambition had helped it reach the final, and aim to win. "We know Australia's going to play, we know they've got great players, but what are we going to do? What team is going to turn up?'' he said. "Hopefully the team of the last three games does and it really gives us the chance of winning.'' Pakistan's best chance of keeping pressure on New Zealand came in the 40th over, but skipper Younus Khan dropped Elliott in the covers off paceman Mohammad Aamer. The batsman was then on 42. Debutant Aaron Redmond (31) and Ross Taylor (38) were the other notable contributors for New Zealand. ”I think we were 20-25 runs short. At one stage, we looked like making 250. The plan was that someone from the top four should stay,'' Younus said. “It was a good pitch to bat and if you score 250, it would have been good. If I had taken that catch, maybe things may have changed.'' Pakistan earlier looked set to reach a challenging total following teenager Umar Akmal's solid 55. They were 5-174 in 40 overs before Vettori and Butler struck in quick succession. The 19-year-old Umar, brother of wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran, looked unhappy with Australian umpire Simon Taufel's decision when given out leg-before while attempting to sweep Vettori. It appeared from the television replays that he had inside-edged the delivery on to his pads. Akmal cracked seven fours in his 62-ball knock for his second half-century. Butler then grabbed a big wicket when he had Shahid Afridi (four) caught behind to send Pakistan struggling at 7-183. Teenager Aamer (19 not out) and Saeed Ajmal (14 not out) added 35 runs off 34 deliveries for the last wicket. Aamer hit four boundaries, including three in Shane Bond's over. Umar and Mohammad Yousuf steadied the innings with an 80-run stand for the fifth wicket after Pakistan had been reduced to 4-86. Yousuf made 45 before inside-edging a Kyle Mills delivery on to his stumps. Pakistan started impressively after winning the toss on a good Wanderers pitch, with openers Kamran (24) and Imran Nazir (28) playing attacking strokes to put on 46 in 9.4 overs. They failed to capitalise on the start as they lost four wickets in the space of 40 runs, with Butler grabbing two wickets and Bond and Vettori each taking one. |
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Shane Watson smacks century as Aussies claim Champions Trophy title
October 06, 2009
Australia claimed their second successive ICC Champions Trophy title as Shane Watson smacked an unbeaten century in a comfortable six-wicket victory over New Zealand at Centurion. Australia had a huge fight on their hands at 2-6 against some inspired Kiwi bowling, but Watson again kept a cool head to steer Australia (4-206) side past New Zealand's 9-200. Watson (105 not out) hit successive sixes off spinner Jeetan Patel to score the winning runs - with 28 balls remaining - and reach three figures in style. After Australia's early wickets, Watson and Cameron White (62) restored order with a partnership of 128, and despite wickets to Kyle Mills (3-27), the world champions were never in trouble. Australia's victory created history, as they are now the only nation to have won this event twice, following their triumph in India three years ago. Ponting was delighted his side had earned reward for their hard work since the Ashes defeat in England, and satisfied with such an emphatic showing. "I'm ecstatic," he said. "To come away with a win and win a tournament as big as this one is is great reward for all the guys, whether it's coaches or players who have been around the group for the past six or seven weeks. "As soon as the one-dayers kicked off in England it was all about playing well there, but we always had one eye on the Champions Trophy and wanted to perform well in this tournament. "Five months on the road has been a long time for the boys, it's been hard work and we've played a lot of cricket. "We've had our ups and downs over the past five months as well, but to finish off the way we have here and to win the tournament the way we have, there'll be some big celebrations I'm sure. "It's the second-biggest one-day tournament that you play, there's nothing else outside a World Cup, so it's a very special achievement." Their win also earned a major windfall, as the team pocketed $US2 million ($A2.31 million). As runner-up, New Zealand earned $US1 million ($A1.15 million). |
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