An Aussie story (starting 2027)

[kc_law]

Australia vs. India - Third Test

Conditions
The third test brings cricket to the west, with the WACA ground hosting the third test. The weather is expected to be hot with the exception the second day where there is a chance of rain in the evening. The outfield is fast but there is some assistance for the bowlers, and spin has been effective at the WACA ground in recent seasons.

Australian XI
World number 1 batsman, Alan Osmond, returns from injury and replaces Gray to return the Australian line up to a more traditional 6 batsman and 4 bowlers. Christie returns to the squad, but Flavin’s success in the second test and the incumbency of Dickens and Parry, as well as concerns over his fitness have seen him sit out the match as twelfth man. Adam is starting to feel the pressure of his low scores and will be looking for runs, especially now that the selectors have shown their hand that they don’t fear going in with 5 bowlers.
1)N. Maddinson (c), 2) M. Tong, 3) M. Lingham, 4) A. Osmond, 5) A. Freeman, 6) P. Adam, 7) J. Thorpe, 8) R. Dickens, 9) G. Parry, 10) G. Flavin, 11) K. Sutton

Indian XI
Four changes have been made in response to loss in the second test, as well as the prospect of the more spin friendly pitch. Gavaskar takes the gloves from W. Mehra, as W. Mehra is replaced by Puri who missed the second test after a successful first test. Both Khan and Lahore have also been dropped from the bowlers, being replaced by right arm medium fast bowler, D. Singh, and slow left armer, B. Jha, an unexpected selection given the other quality spinners in the side. Kishmore has also been removed from the top of the order, being replaced by Yadav, who has spent a season at Yorkshire in the past few months, but has never really had a great deal of success at international level.
1) F. More (c), 2) F. Yadav, 3) T. Mehra, 4) R. Muzumdar, 5) P. Khullar, 6) W. Gavaskar, 7) G. Puri, 8) D. Singh, 9) B. Sodhi, 10) I. Mehra, 11) B. Jha

Toss: Won by India, elected to bat

--Day 1--

More and Yadav strided out to the crease, looking to fight back after the convincing lost, but got met with some quality bowling from Parry and Dickens. The pressure got too much for Yadav on his return to the side, and he edged Parry to be removed at 11. This started the ball rolling as Dickens removed T. Mehra, R. Muzumdar and F. More in quick succession to leave India struggling at 4/47. Then drama set in for the Australian side as Parry injured his back quite badly. This did not stop the wicket enslaught as Flavin took 2 more Indian wickets to leave them at 6/84 at lunch.

The second session did not see too much improvement from the Indians, as the continued to choke and splutter along. The part time medium pace of Freeman knocked over Singh, before Dickens and Flavin cleaned up the tail. Dickens recorded 5/48 in a destructive display by the Australians, where the only highlight for India was a fluent 54* from Gavaskar as India was blasted away for 154.

After the tea break, Maddinson came out firing, scoring 51 off 61 deliveries before edging a ball to the keeper off the spin of I. Mehra. Australia’s charge toward taking the game from India then took a turn for the worst as the unknown bowling of Jha picked up two wickets and I. Mehra picking up a second, leaving Australia in a spot of bother at 4/96 at stumps, with the returning Osmond on 11 and the under pressure Adam on 2.

--Day 2--

The wicket insanity continued on the morning of the second day, as Australia fell from the hope of putting on a big league to the reality of this titanic struggle. Adam was bowled by the ball that went straight on early, before Jha found Osmond’s edge to remove the last of the recognised batsman. Dickens and Flavin were both removed without scoring too many more runs. Thorpe started swinging to try and grab as many runs as possible, before getting stumped off the bowling of I. Mehra, with Australia on 149, 5 runs behind the Indian total, with a bit less than an hour left to play in the morning session of day 2.

More and Yadav came out to start the second innings, and stroked the ball around the ground to look the most comfortable of all the batsman so far in the match. They found themselves at 0/47 at lunch. After lunch, the Indians continued to score runs at a steady rate. The Australians gradually chipped away through the line up with More falling for 30, T. Mehra falling for 21 and Khullar falling for 42. By the end of the day’s play, however, India were 4/234 showing no reflection of the insanity that swept over the first 7 hours of the game. Yadav finished the day unbeaten on 123, his first century in test cricket after 30 matches at 31 years of age. The Australians were definitely missing the option of Parry, with Flavin, Dickens and Sutton not penetrating the Indian line up quite like the first innings when Parry made the early incision.

--Day 3--

Sutton had Yadav out early on the third day for 134, but Gavaskar continued to build the Indian lead. He brought up his second fifty for the match, before being removed just before the lunch break to leave India 6/318 with an imposing 323 run lead given the calamity of the first day and a bit. The patches of wickets continued, however, with Sutton coming out after lunch and running through the last 4 wickets to finish with 5/103, India leading by 351 as the match headed into a gripping climax.

Tong and Maddinson came out in the fourth innings, looking to slowly edge their way to victory, with half the game remaining to score 351 runs. They looked solid but unspectacular, as they knocked it around for 2 an over. India went into tea with a boost of confidence, however, when Sodhi found a hole in Tong’s defence, bowling him for 9 off 36. Not long after the tea break, Lingham continued his struggle in the series, being bowled for 2 by I. Mehra, leaving Australia at 2/31 and India feeling good about their prospects of victory. Enter the world no. 1, Alan Osmond. The team’s two most experienced batsman battled to even the game up, gradually compiling runs and eating away at the Indian advantage. Maddinson brought up his 50 as confidence grew around the ground that the home side could pull off the win. The Indians had other ideas though, catching Osmond off the bowling of Singh for 46 on the third last ball of the day, to leave the game in a tantalising position going into the fourth and likely final day. Australia required 239 runs whilst India needed 6 wickets (Parry had been ruled out of playing a part in the rest of the game).

--Day 4--

India walked out to the WACA ground, needing early break throughs, knowing Freeman and Maddinson both had the talent to take the match away from them. This was achieved when I. Mehra thundered into the pads of Maddinson on 62, to bring in Adam, a batsman with massive pressure laying on his shoulders after a string of low scores, and a universal feeling he was given an opportunity before earning it. Adam, however, raced into his innings, and by lunch had brought up his 50, going into lunch at 55 off 66, with Freeman also on 49. India required 5 more wickets and Australia needed 121 runs. Both sides still having a win clear in sight.

After lunch, Adam fell after making 72 off 89. Thorpe and Freeman continued building towards an Australian victory when Jha made his impact on the match. First he dragged Freeman out of his crease to get him stumped on 79 off a painstaking 175 deliveries, soon he had Thorpe caught behind after a quick fire 41 off 51. This left Dickens and Flavin in, with 15 more runs to get. They managed 8 of those before Flavin was removed by Jha, and a dramatic finish approached as India required one wicket and Australia needed 7 runs. Let’s go ball by ball on the next post because it is becoming too long, to see how the match finished.

[kc_law]

The third test continued...

106.4, Jha to Sutton, no run, defended! Sutton didn’t look like he knew what was going on there, but did enough to cover the spin.
106.5, Jha to Sutton, 1 run, Sutton finds the bat and the gap, and Australia move one run closer with that prod into the hole on the onside.
106.6, Jha to Dickens, no run, A solid assured Dickens blocks out a good ball from Jha to leave Sutton on strike for the next over.

107.1, I. Mehra to Sutton, no run, PLAYED AND MISSED, that ball was too good for Sutton who played all around the delivery and the Indians are excited.
107.2, I. Mehra to Sutton, no run, a bit more solid in defense there. Pressure is building
107.3, I. Mehra to Sutton, no run, Sutton doesn’t need to play at that one, and he doesn’t.
107.4, I. Mehra to Sutton, no run, brave leave by Sutton as that one fizzes past the top of the stumps.
107.5, I. Mehra to Sutton, no run, Sutton pokes the bat at that one but it lands safely. The pressure is building here, every person at the WACA ground is on the edge of their seat.
107.6, I. Mehra to Sutton, no run, PLAYED AND MISSED AGAIN! Oh, how on earth did he miss that. The Indians thought they had their man there, but Sutton is still safe.

108.1, Jha to Dickens, no run, good delivery, looks like Dickens is going to leave the runs for after tea at the end of the over
108.2, Jha to Dickens, no run, pressure is on from the Indians, there are no easy runs with this field.
108.3, Jha to Dickens, no run, patient defense. But how long can Dickens keep faith in Sutton?
108.4, Jha to Dickens, no run, solid once again. The Indians are working extra hard to cut off the single now.
108.5, Jha to Dickens, no run, the pressure is huge here. Another defensive stroke by Dickens, as he waits for the bad ball.
108.6, Jha to Dickens, no run, and that’s tea, Australia need 6 more to win after the unnecessary break.

109.1, I. Mehra to Sutton, no run, first ball after tea sees a careful leave by Sutton, as Mehra misses his spot on the pitch and Sutton doesn’t risk it.
109.2, I. Mehra to Sutton, two runs, on the pads and Sutton works that fine for a vital two runs.
109.3, I. Mehra to Sutton, no run, Sutton blocks that one confidently.
109.4, I. Mehra to Sutton, one run, EDGE! Safe though, Sutton doesn’t pick the doosra, and the ball finds the edge but it goes wide of slip, and the Aussie scurry away for a run. THREE TO GO!
109.5, I. Mehra to Dickens, no run, confident defense there, but Dickens is pushing his luck leaving the scoring to Sutton.
109.6, I. Mehra to Dickens, one run, Dickens finds the smallest of gaps and sneaks a single, just surviving a run out attempt with the ball missing the stumps. He was gone if it hit.

110.1, Jha to Dickens, one run, EDGE AND SCORES ARE EVEN. Jha tickles the edge and it goes just wide of bat pad. The Aussies sprint through a run and India look defeated. Will it be a tie?
110.2, Jha to Sutton, no run, bat behind ball there, waiting for his moment to strike the winning runs, or his going to try and play out the over to leave Dickens the work?
110.3, Jha to Sutton, no run, Horrible defense there, only just managed to keep that one out. Tie on the cards here.
110.4, Jha to Sutton, one run, AND THERE IS THE WIN FOR THE AUSTRALIANS! Jha gets it a bit wide and Sutton throws his bat at it, scoring a single through point to bring up a dramatic victory for the Australians. Dickens and Sutton are fist pumping and there is pandemonium in the stands. Some of the Indians are on their haunches, devastated, but there is no taking away from this moment for Sutton and Dickens.

Australia win by 2 wickets
M.O.M: F. Yadav

Indian 1st Innings
Australian 1st Innings
Indian 2nd Innings
Australian 2nd Innings

[Imager36]

Now that is what I call a test match. And a great write-up of a great test match too

[kc_law]

Now that is what I call a test match. And a great write-up of a great test match too

Thanks. Love a close contest.

[kc_law]

Recent Domestic Results


SHIELD#15: NSW defeat Victoria by 32 runs
NSW: 327 (Jacob 97, Springett 89*, Knapp 4/97, Lampard 4/101)
VIC: 201 (Rigby 54, Callan 51*, Gray 6/57)
NSW: 261 (Ferguson 104, Stack 94*, Conran 7/54)
VIC: 355 (Rigby 118, Stewart 59, Gray 5/109)

SHIELD#16: WA defeat TAS by 7 wickets
TAS: 247 (French 51, Bevington 50, Miller 6/47)
WA: 279 (Darkes 106, Webster 4/43, Marwood 3/45)
TAS: 172 (Kingsley 47, Miller 3/47)
VIC: 3/142 (Darkes 75*, Buss 43*, Marwood 2/36)

ODD#21: VIC defeat NSW by 5 wickets
NSW: 227 (Oulton 103, Lappin 69, Hucknall 5/47, Lampard 3/43)
VIC: 5/228 (Moore 87*, Lampard 44, Lappin 2/29)

ODD#22: SA defeat NSW by 2 wickets
NSW: 164 (Richards 53, Rutter 5/26, Shelley 3/31)
SA: 8/165 (Griffith 73, Gray 3/48)

[kc_law]

Australia vs. India - Fourth Test

Conditions
As per the previous few years, since there is no longer a new years test, the last test before christmas comes to Sydney at the SCG. The sun is expected to be out with periods of cloud cover, but no rain is expected. The outfield is fast and there is assistance for bowlers, and a bit there for the spinners.

Australian XI
Parry leaves the squad with a back injury that looks like keeping him out of the rest of the test series. Andy Liddell returns to the squad after a lengthy absence from the national side, after taking 17 wickets so far this season in the shield at 13.37. He will carry the drinks however, as Christie slots back into the playing XI. Lingham’s spot in the side is safe, despite his series so far only having one score above 8. Adam will continue to hold his spot in the side after his strong 72 in the last game, and as long as the side is winning he may well stay in the side, depending on how others perform in the shield.
1)N. Maddinson (c), 2) M. Tong, 3) M. Lingham, 4) A. Osmond, 5) A. Freeman, 6) P. Adam, 7) J. Thorpe, 8) R. Dickens, 9) G. Flavin, 10) R. Christie, 11) K. Sutton

Indian XI
The Indians have made one change after the demorilasing defeat in Perth. Singh is replaced by veteran of 113 tests, right arm medium fast bowler K. Subramaniam. At 35 years old, it was thought his career might be over, but the Indian selectors have called on his 455 wickets of experience to see if they can keep their team alive in this series.
1) F. More (c), 2) F. Yadav, 3) T. Mehra, 4) R. Muzumdar, 5) P. Khullar, 6) W. Gavaskar, 7) G. Puri, 8) B. Sodhi, 9) K. Subramaniam, 10) I. Mehra, 11) B. Jha

Toss: Won by Australia, elected to bat

--Day 1--

The day started ideally for India, as Sodhi found Maddinson’s edge to send the captain back to the sheds for 2 runs. This brought in Lingham to partner Tong, and the pair struggled and strained to put on runs. Lingham finally past into double figures, after a series of struggle. He didn’t get much further then that, as the spin of Jha gave Gavaskar his second catch of the match. Osmond came in and lifted the scoring rate as the Australians went into lunch at 2/73. Tong’s struggle ended about 45 minutes into the second session on 43, as Australia shakily built a total. Osmond, however, looked fluent and was justifying his position as world number 1, until Jha beat the bat and got Osmond out lbw for 86. Freeman soon followed and Australia went into tea at 5/188. Australia continued to battle to the close of play, finishing at 7/281, with only bowlers remaining.

--Day 2--

Dickens and Flavin came out on the second day, looking to assert Australia’s case for victory and India couldn’t find the wicket. The morning started with a lack of intensity as the Indians bowled with the expectation that the tail would fold for them. Both Dickens and Flavin punished this, with both bowlers picking off fifties to grow the total close to 350. Flavin could register no more after he reached 50, but Dickens knocked away a few more runs and Australia were all out for 359 just before lunch on the second day.

Yadav and More came out to face an awkward 5 overs before lunch, and they played out the first 4 tentatively before Christie was hit for a 4 and a 6 to bring the game to lunch on the second day. More and Yadav kept building the Indian comeback after lunch, when Christie got his first wicket for the series, removing Yadav for 31. T. Mehra started where Yadav left off, and India continued to edge toward the total. However, when Christie removed T. Mehra, and Dickens removed More after he scored his fifty, regular wickets fell through out the day, with India heading into the close of play at 7/219 with Gavaskar once against resisting with an unbeaten 46.

--Day 3--

Gavaskar managed to scrape past his 50, his third in three innings, as Christie and Sutton quickly ended the Indian innings, 134 runs behind. Christie and Sutton’s flourish of wickets towards the end leaving Christie with a 5 for on return (5/103) and another great haul by Sutton (4/37).

Australia started their second dig, miles in front and looking to grind India into the dirt, and when Maddinson and Tong saw the lead pass 200, there was a sense that the Indians were wilting. As the hundred partnership was achieved and both batsman reached 50, the Indians hope started to fade. Jha took the wicket of Tong, but Lingham came in, looking to grind out a score to get him going again. There was a brief spark of life in the Indian camp when the grabbed the wickets of Maddinson and Osmond in quick succession, but as play came to a close on the third day, Lingham had made his second fifty for the series and Freeman had made a fluent 36, giving Australia a lead of 372.

--Day 4--

The fourth morning saw a switch to one day mode, as Australia focused on playing a positive brand of cricket. This resulted in Lingham, Adam, Thorpe, Dickens, Flavin, Christie and Sutton to have less than pleasing additions to the total. The morning was propelled by a ferocious Freeman who added 70 unbeaten runs off 66 deliveries to his overnight total to pick up Australia’s first century of the series, and take Australia’s lead to an imposing 487. I. Mehra was the unsung hero for India, as he picked off 7 wickets at a cost of 124 runs, but a huge batting effort was required to keep the series alive.

More stepped down the historic steps of the Sydney cricket ground, looking to make history as a mammoth 487 sat on the scoreboard, needing to be chased. They had just over 5 sessions to do it though, so it was still possible. More and Yadav made progress on the total, scoring strongly through the offside. Both batsman progressed past the 50 mark, as a century opening partnership was reached. After the tea break, with the score on 116, Sutton coaxed an edge from More to remove him for 54. I. Mehra soon followed, and India shut up shop and looked to grind toward a draw with just under 4 sessions still to go. Muzumdar grinded out 1 run off 25 deliveries before he fell, and Khullar was fluent in defense whilst Yadav built towards his century, being 97 at the close of play. There were only 2 results left in this game however, a draw or an Australian win.

--Day 5--

Cricket Australia got their first set of ticket sales for the fifth day this summer, as India continued to grind. Yadav slowly picked up the last 3 runs to score his second second innings century in as many matches. Khullar continued to battle away until the part time off spin of Tong, removed him for 13 off 102 deliveries. The in form keeper-batsman Gavaskar came in, and the slow grind continued as Australia took the new ball. After a few overs of the new ball, Yadav’s innings finally ended on 126 with Flavin bending his back and really beating him with pace.

Puri entered the arena, and along with Gavaskar and saw off the shine on the new ball, as Australia decided to use the wear on the pitch and brought on duel spin, with the champion leg spin of Sutton, and the part time off spin of Tong, fresh off his first test wicket. Puri was first to go. Sodhi didn’t last very long either. Subramaniam provided a short resistance, but Sutton got his five for with a googly. Gavaskar brought up his fourth fifty in four consecutive innings, before Sutton removed him for 55, effectively ending the Indian resistance and also completing 9th test match 10 wicket haul. Tong grabbed his second test wicket the finish the match and complete a decisive test victory.

Australia win by 183 runs
M.O.M: A. Freeman

Australian 1st Innings
Indian 1st Innings
Australian 2nd Innings
Indian 2nd Innings

[Justo]

Thought I'd sign up to mention that I am following this very well told story. Looking forward to how things turn out with this solid looking Australian team.

[LBW Miller]

Loving the story, there's always something really captivating about watching ICC re-gen players and how they go. Sometimes you get stars, sometimes you get crabs. Great coverage too

[kc_law]

SHIELD#17: QLD defeat TAS by 175 runs
QLD: 123 (Reeds 34, Corbett 4/33)
TAS: 168 (Gray 66, Ryan 56, Radley 4/46, Yau 3/21)
QLD: 361 (Thaw 76*, Daly 71)
TAS: 141 (Ryan 42, Radley 4/26, Thaw 3/50)

SHIELD#18: NSW defeat SA by 6 wickets
SA: 146 (Rutter 46, Gray 5/56, Lappin 3/54)
NSW: 260 (Jacob 67, Stack 54, Bentley 4/44)
SA: 200 (Mount 60*, Griffith 52, Gray 4/60)
NSW: 4/88 (Jacob 45*)

SHIELD#19: VIC defeat WA by 5 wickets
WA: 131 (Lampard 4/54, Knapp 3/25)
VIC: 307 (Barsby 69, Aylott 51, Bakewell 3/49)
WA: 364 (Darkes 145, Miller 91*, Lampard 4/114)
VIC: 5/191 (Aylott 64, Miller 2/32)

ODD#23: TAS defeat QLD by 211 runs
TAS: 4/335 (Ryan 129*, Bevington 80, Monks 66)
QLD: 124 (Lowe 5/32, Collins 3/28)

ODD#24: VIC defeat SA by 5 wickets
SA: 199 (Redmond 87, Hind 3/55)
VIC: 5/203 (Aylott 86*, Marsh 66*, Bentley 2/41)

[kc_law]

Sorry for the delay, life took precedence. Fifth test will be up tonight.

[kc_law]

Australia vs. India - Fifth Test

Conditions
The series reaches its climax on hallowed turf of the MCG for the historic Boxing Day test. The weather leading up has not been ideal, leaving the outfield quite average, but the pitch is looking good, and the bowlers could find life difficult. The weather is expected to be sunny for all days except the second morning.

Australian XI
The Australian team was dealt a significant blow after the previous match, with Dickens being ruled out with a back injury for a month. His bowling had not been up to his usual standards (10 wickets at 47.60), but his batting had saved Australian in the previous 3 games with his 261 runs coming at 43.50, standing 3rd on Australia’s run scorers for the series. It means Mark Thomas, the Western Australian right arm medium fast bowler comes in. Thomas is currently the second highest wicket taker in the shield comp this season with 39 wickets, just behind the Victorian and One Day International off spinner Lampard, with 42 wickets. This injury results in Liddell getting his first test in 5 seasons.
1)N. Maddinson (c), 2) M. Tong, 3) M. Lingham, 4) A. Osmond, 5) A. Freeman, 6) P. Adam, 7) J. Thorpe, 8) G. Flavin, 9) A. Liddell, 10) R. Christie, 11) K. Sutton

Indian XI
The Indian selectors have made the bizarre move of dropping Yadav, the scorer of centuries in the previous 2 tests to 7 as they reintroduce Kishore in the place of Puri. The only other change is Sodhi being replaced by Singh after a disappointing series.
1) F. More (c), 2) K. Kishore, 3) T. Mehra, 4) R. Muzumdar, 5) P. Khullar, 6) W. Gavaskar, 7) F. Yadav, 8) D. Singh, 9) K. Subramaniam, 10) I. Mehra, 11) B. Jha

Toss: Won by Australia, elected to bat

--Day 1--

The large crowd roared as the openers walked on, but there was a tentative start as runs were hard to come by. Tong, pushed and poked, scrapping for every run he could as Maddinson looked a touch more fluent. The opening bowlers struggled to penetrate as well, however, I. Mehra’s fourth over brought the wicket of Tong, who had struggled to 17 off 75. Lingham came in and showed no signs of his form struggle so far this series as he powered the first 3 deliveries he faced for four. By lunch, Australia were on 1/85 with Lingham firing at almost run a ball. Lingham’s scoring slowed after lunch, and he started looking troubled at the crease. In the mean time, Maddinson went past the 50 mark and was looking strong. Lingham finally fell to Singh after managing only 10 off the last 38 balls he faced. That was the last wicket to fall before tea as Australia strided to 2/167. The slow going continued in the last session of the day, as Maddinson picked up his century and Osmond went past the half century as both batsman finished the day unbeaten. Maddinson was on 130 and Osmond was on 70 as Australia finished the day 2/257.

--Day 2--

Maddinson and Osmond continued the attriontinal build of Australia’s total. Maddinson went past the 150 as Osmond edged closer to the century. Tragedy struck however, when Osmond was decieved with flight on 98 to offer a return catch to I. Mehra. Freeman soon followed as Australia went into the lunch break 4/348, Maddinson 17 away from his double century. Adam fell shortly after lunch, but the Indian advance was forgotten as Maddinson hit a square drive for a single off Jha to bring up his 200 off 378 deliveries. His just over 9 hour stay at the crease was ended shortly after however, as I. Mehra grabbed his 5 for.

More and Kishore set about chasing the total, but More’s challenge was ended as he uppishly played a cover drive which was caught by Freeman in the deep. This sent the Indians into the tea break at 1/15. Liddell got his first international over in quite some time, and the Indians greeted him with two fours. His third over was then belted for 15 runs and the big fast man from Adelaide was looking angry. He tightened up his line as Christie found the pads of Kishore at the other end, to get India to 2/68. Another 20 runs were put on by the Indians, to see them close the day on 2/88, with T. Mehra in main man on an unbeaten 39.

--Day 3--

Muzumdar belted an on drive to start the morning, but on his second crack at it, he managed to get it around to leg slip to give Christie his third wicket. Sutton was introduced in the 53rd over, and with the start of his third over, he had picked up the wicket of Khullar, bringing in the consistent keeper-batsman, Gavaskar, who had four fifties from his last four innings. The run did not continue as the big fast bowler, Liddell managed a quite remarkable catch in short leg off Sutton. As the excitement went on at the other end, T. Mehra had worked his way to 81 by the lunch break, with India 5/187. He only added 6 more after lunch, however as Sutton picked up his third, after a fine edge to slips.

The part time medium pace of Alex Freeman was introduced to see the old ball off, and in a stunning twist, he clean bowled Singh, to get India to 7/243. The new ball wasn’t taken after this, and Sutton attempted to remove the rest of the Indian batsman, whilst Freeman kept it tight at the other end. Sutton removed Subramaniam, I. Mehra and Jha without any of them troubling the scorers as India collapsed to 274, trailing by 126, and Yadav being left high and dry on 65.

This left Australia to face an awkward 3 overs before tea. Tong found this situation just a touch too challenging, falling for 5 before the tea break. The Aussie came out after the break, to see how much of the advantage they could seize, but Lingham looked seriously out of sorts, with pokes and prods, and a lot of struggle. His vigil ended for a 90 minute 26 runs off the bowling of I. Mehra. Osmond and Maddinson saw out the rest of the day, Australia ending on 2/92, a lead of 218. Maddinson top scorer on an unbeaten 48.

--Day 4--

The fourth morning started with Australia going on the aggressive as the looked to make quick runs to maximise their time to get the Indians out. The early going backfired, as Osmond fell for 14 and Maddinson was dismissed for 66. Freeman soon followed for 16 and Australia’s strong position was faltering. With Thorpe removed for a diamond duck, Australia sat at 6/146, a lead of only 272. Two runs later, Phil Adam threw away his wicket, and Australia were struggling. The rest of the batsman added just 14 runs, as Australia were dismissed for 162, and India were in this match in a big way. I. Mehra was the pick of the bowlers with 5/62.

India had a sniff of victory with 289 to win, and Kishore and More progressed to lunch at a steady rate. They continued the progress to victory, until they pushed a tight single and a direct hit saw the end of More for 33. T. Mehra continued the steady progress as India pushed past 100. Christie finally found a break through, knocking down T. Mehra’s stumps, with India still trailing by 177. Muzumdar fell soon after and Australia started their resurgence. Kishore had past 50 however, and was forming stiff resistance. Liddell continued his match long struggle in his return to international cricket, not finding the same penetration he had gotten in state cricket, but he cracked the partnership that was forming, removing Kishore on 77. Gavaskar fell shortly before the close of play and in the last over of the fourth day, Khullar brought up his fifty, to leave 68 required on the final morning with 5 wickets in hand.

--Day 5--

Yadav started the morning on 8 off 21 and decided to come out firing to finish the game off in a blaze. Yadav scored 54 of the remaining 68 runs, in 49 balls, to blaze toward an Indian victory in the dead rubber match. The match finished with Flavin being blasted through covers for four, straight for four and another cover drive to end the game in a flourish and giving India a 5 wicket victory.

India win by 5 wickets
M.O.M: N. Maddinson

Australian 1st innings
Indian 1st innings
Australian 2nd innings
Indian 2nd innings

[kc_law]

Australia win the series 3 - 2

Australia just good enough to win the series, but were very disappointing in the last portion of the fifth test, after being in a strong position at the end of the first innings. Maddinson was top scorer easily, with 529 runs from the 4 matches he was available for at 75.57. The bowling figures were dominated by Sutton, who took 38 wickets in the series at 19.26. The next highest wicket tally was 15 from Flavin.

Australia’s top 10 run scorers for the series
N. Maddinson - 529 runs at 75.57 (4 matches)
M. Tong - 417 runs at 46.33 (5 matches)
A. Freeman - 351 runs at 43.87 (5 matches)
A. Osmond - 267 runs at 44.50 (3 matches)
R. Dickens - 261 runs at 43.50 (4 matches)
M. Lingham - 223 runs at 38.31 (5 matches)
J. Thorpe - 212 runs at 26.50 (5 matches)
P. Adam - 199 runs at 22.11 (5 matches)
G. Parry - 143 runs at 71.50 (3 matches)
G. Flavin - 96 runs at 12 (5 matches)

Australia’s wicket takers in the series
K. Sutton - 38 wickets at 19.26 (5 matches)
G. Flavin - 15 wickets at 40.20 (5 matches)
R. Dickens - 10 wickets at 47.60 (4 matches)
R. Christie - 9 wickets at 32.78 (2 matches)
G. Parry - 7 wickets at 34.43 (3 matches)
A. Freeman - 2 wickets at 22.50 (5 matches)
M. Tong - 2 wickets at 24.00 (5 matches)
A. Liddell - 1 wicket at 116 (1 match)

[kc_law]

Australian Domestic Cricket Update

With Australia’s domestic season entering T20 mode, it is time to look back on how the domestic teams are currently progressing.

Sheffield Shield



Top 5 run scorers
T. Darkes (WA) - 602 runs @ 60.20 (6 matches)
N. Jacob (NSW) - 508 runs @ 56.44 (6 matches)
F. Stewart (VIC) - 426 runs @ 32.77 (7 matches)
S. Redmond (SA) - 424 runs @ 35.33 (6 matches)
T. Bull (WA) - 412 runs @ 29.43 (7 matches)

Top 5 wicket takers
G. Lampard (VIC) - 47 wickets @ 20.77 (7 m)
M. Thomas (WA) - 39 wickets @ 26.85 (7 m)
D. Miller (WA) - 34 wickets @ 26.00 (7 m)
R. Webster (TAS) - 32 wickets @ 18.84 (6 m)
N. Gray (NSW) - 32 wickets @ 20.19 (6 m)
A. Thaw (QLD) - 32 wickets @ 23.97 (5 m)

One Day Domestic



Top 5 run scorers
R. Bevington (TAS) - 372 runs @ 53.14 (8 m)
F. Ryan (TAS) - 325 runs @ 46.42 (8 m)
W. Gray (TAS) - 320 runs @ 45.71 (8 m)
S. Redmond (SA) - 296 runs @ 42.29 (8 m)
I. Bosely (WA) - 283 runs @ 47.17 (7 m)

Top 5 wicket takers
S. Lowe (TAS) - 22 w @ 13.82 (8 m)
J. Hucknall (VIC) - 19 w @ 18.26 (8 m)
G. Lampard (VIC) - 18 w @ 18.06 (8 m)
K. Collins (TAS) - 17 w @ 13.76 (8 m)
D. Miller (WA) - 16 w @ 19.87 (8 m)