Australia - 2017 and Beyond

[Dick Van Dykes Disco Dog]

See replies inline. I also used Jon Holland for Sydney T20's and he was OK, might have used him more for Victoria. Clarke's got me a couple of wickets too. But it's slim pickings.

I've had no such problem as came has had with quicks, the toughest thing is sicking with one!!

Thanks for this - very interesting

I always go for Maxwell, O'Keefe and White in the Australia ODI and T20 games with Smith replacing White for Tests.
Holland gets some game time in my Victoria save, and if Yuvraj is unavailable he fills in on my Melbourne Stars save.

I think the reason I prefer the Aussie international team is their dearth of all-rounders - both seam and spin
In this respect my Test team only needs a few changes to become my ODI team .. and only a few more (Nannes & Tait) to become my T20 team.

[q felt]

Make sure you read the next few posts for the Cummins and Agar stories then DVDDD. One is pretty ridiculous.

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Australian Tour to Zimbabwe - ODI Squad and Friendly vs Matabeleland

We decided to go with a very young and inexperienced squad considering how easy the test series had been. And . A lot of names you won't have seen here, but hopefully some stick their hands up and I can tell you more about them. Here are their List A averages:




Matabeleland vs Australia
Our first game was a friendly against Matabeleland. Let's see how this goes… We lost the toss and would have to bat first on a bowler friendly wicket.



Australian Innings
It was 2 of the senior players and better ODI batsmen who steered the ship, Maxwell (103 off 98) and Smith (88 off 72), while Sheen (43 off 72) and Nevill (39 off 22) also made useful contributions. We made 6/322.

Matabeleland Innings
Cummins starred with the ball taking 5/20 as we bowled them out for 118. Starc and McDermott were worryingly expensive.

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Zimbabwe vs Australia - 1st ODI

Time for the first ODI on a pitch that should help the spinners. Sheen, Behrendorff and Highsmith make their debuts. We lost the toss and were sent in again.




Australian Innings
Phil Hughes led from the front in his first game as captain making 76 (103). Smith and Doolan also made useful contributions, but the rest failed to make an impact and were bowled out for 224 in the last over.

Zimbabwe Innings
Starc started well but it was Agar who really surprised with the ball, taking 3/41 from his 10. We took a comfortable win as a result, Behrendorff and Maxwell also chipping in with 2 wickets a piece.




AB Medal
3 Agar - really controlled the momentum with a good spell
2 Hughes - anchored the innings from #3
1 Doolan - looked more comfortable as an opener here

Verdict
The pitches are tough for batting over here, but still no one is really standing up. The bowling was good though.

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Zimbabwe vs Australia - 2nd ODI

Hazelwood and McDermott came in for Behrendorff and Highsmith for the second match to make sure everyone gets a go. Another bowlers dream was presented in Harare and we bowled on winning the toss.

Zimbabwe Innings
Pat Cummins was expensive in his first spell, collecting 1/35 off 5 in his first spell. Hazelwood and Agar were also expensive, but Starc was more consistent. Zimbabwe reached 1/199 after 34 overs when I bought Cummins back on, thanks largely to a superb 106 (116) from Brendan Taylor. But then Cummins came back on and he was absolutely unstoppable. He dismissed Taylor, then Agar grabbed Mutizwa for 66 (72) in the next over. From there Cummins cleaned up the rest of the Zimbabwean team! He second spell yielded an incredible 4.2-0-9-8!!!! He finished with 9/44 off 9.2 and Zimbabwe had lost their last 9 for 25 to be all out for 224.

Australian Innings
The chase appeared pretty routine, we lost wickets steadily, Maxwell spearheading the chase with 92. We needed 7 off the last 2 overs, but only scored 2 in the 49th. Then Maxwell got out.. And we choked, failing to make the required five runs in the last over and losing by 1 run…




Ab Medal
3 Cummins - umm, see above.
2 Maxwell - nearly made it..
1 Doolan - batted well at the top.

Verdict
What the hell was that? Crazy crazy game. No words at the moment really. We should have been more aggressive in the last 10, but Starc couldn't seem to get going. Ah well, not much I can do now. Maybe I should blame Cummins' expensive first spell.


Side note: just noticed Taylor got the MOTM. Blargh, would never happen to a batsman who got 200 in an ODI loss.

[q felt]

Zimbabwe vs Australia - 3rd ODI

Another bowlers pitch greeted us for the decider. O'Keefe comes in for Hazelwood and we elected to bowl after winning the toss.




Zimbabwe Innings
Starc and Cummins each removed an opening batsman, but Mutizwa and Ervine put together a decent partnership. The introduction of Agar reduced Zimbabwe to 3/96. From there the wickets fell pretty consistently, Agar the star with 4/38 off his 10, Zimbabwe all out for 183.

Australian Innings
We lost early wickets in a poor start, and were 3/27 at one stage. Maxwell guided the innings, making 71 (114) but was out leaving the spin duo of O'Keefe and Agar to guide the ship home. We needed 11 off 2 overs and 6 off the last. Despite being on full aggression they decided to give me a heart attack and do it in singles, a win off the very last ball.




AB Medal
3 Agar - good all round performance, I think he'll get a few more games on the back of them this year.
2 Maxwell - The only bright spot in the batting at the moment
1 Starc - 3 wickets and 26 runs, a good performance.

Verdict
We made that series way closer than it needed to be. I was pleased with the young bowlers stepping up, particularly Cummins and Agar, but the batting left something to be desired. Still, hopefully this signals a better year to come for the Aussies.


SERIES RESULT: Australia wins 2-1

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Zimbabwe vs Australia - 1st T20

Ugh - do I really need 2 t20's against Zimbabwe? Ah well, here's the team, yet again more youngsters to try out.
It was a cloudy day and a flat track that greeted us in Bulawayo, we won the toss and decided to bowl




Zimbabwe Innings
Henriques bowled well with the new ball, taking 3/21 off 4. That set the tone and a steady stream of wickets restricted Zimbabwe to 9/129, Agar and Cummins the other multiple wicket takers.

Australian Innings
No-one in the top four really got going, but Maxwell (37* off 27) and Burns (32* off 19) rescued us and we won by 6 wickets with 4.2 overs to spare.




AB Medal
3 Henriques - set the tone with a good display as opener.
2 Maxwell - steered the chase
1 Agar - another tidy performance, he continues to improve.

Verdict
A professional performance, but Maxwell is opening in the next game, if the top 4 can't get runs, I'll put someone there who can.

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Zimbabwe vs Australia - 2nd T20

Cutting comes in to replace Starc and Nevill is on for Doolan, as well as a bit of a batting order reshuffle. It was a green top in Harare and lost the toss and had first use of the ball.


Zimbabwe Innings
Henriques set the tone again and had 3/12 by the end of his third over. When Cutting added three wickets in the 7th over of the innings, the match was all but over with Zimbabwe 7/30. Henriques grabbed a fifth during his last over and Agar grabbed the last 2, Zimbabwe all out for 62.

Australia Innings
We lost 4 wickets but made the chase in 6.3 overs, Hughes and Maxwell joint top scorers with 18 each.




AB Medal
3 Henriques - Too good again
2 Cutting - When he joined the party the match was wrapped up
1 Agar - Another two wickets (and he was helped by none of the batsmen really staying in)

Verdict
A nice easy series but Henriques proved his value to the T20 squad.

Series Result: Australia Win 2-0.

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Australia vs Bangladesh - 1st Test

In picking the squad I noticed that only Hughes and Starc played in the Zimbabwe tests and also made the T20 squad. Pretty pleased with the number of players I got to try out! More astonishing, Pattinson averaged 7.50 with the ball and 124.00 with the bat for the series!!! We are back to full strength for the tests against Bangladesh, but Agar replaced Faulkner in the starting line up on account of the expected turn in the outback Victorian pitch (because this is a July test, there is no chance they are using the MCG!). Faulkner took the least test wickets of the bowlers in Zimbabwe, but Siddle as always is on notice… We lost the toss and would have to bowl first.




Day 1
Behrendorff took the first wicket, then Pattinson added 2 in a strong start. Starc and Siddle were the change bowlers and grabbed 3 between them to send Bangladesh to lunch at 6/84. Pattinson grabbed another soon after the interval but the Bangladesh batting improved significantly and by tea they were 7/200. Agar eventually broke the partnership and Starc took the last 2 wickets to finish with 4/37, Bangladesh making 263. Khawaja and Watson saw us through to stumps at 0/29.

Day 2
Khawaja didn't last long on the next day but Watson and Hughes put together a good partnership, the former reaching his half-century on the stroke of lunch, the score 1/124. They continued to grind but when Hughes was dismissed for 57, Clarke then Watson (62) followed quickly and we were 4/159. Triffit and Sabburg came to the rescue and saw out the day, making 56* and 38* respectively by the close, our total at 4/258 after a slow day.

Day 3
Sabburg was dismissed for 38 early the next morning (after a grueling 151 ball stay). Triffit was LBW on 79 and Agar didn't last long, leaving us at 7/321 by lunch. Starc and Pattinson, however, continued their fine batting form from the Zimbabwe tour. Starc reached his 2nd test hundred and Pattinson was left stranded on 70* when we were eventually bowled out for 477, a 214 run lead. We had 15 minutes to bowl before stumps but couldn’t take a wicket.

Day 4
Pattinson and Behrendorff took an early wicket each, then Bangladesh start a counter attack. Starc and Agar slowed them somewhat with a wicket each and they were 4/131 by lunch. Pattinson quickly stopped hopes of a Bangladeshi comeback with 3 wickets after lunch, Agar and Behrendorff grabbing the remaining three between them for a win by an innings and 23 runs.




AB Medal
3 Starc - justified his inclusion ahead of Faulkner with 5 wickets in total and a century. Also the first player besides Pattinson to get the three votes this year so far!
2 Pattinson - 7 wickets and 70*. Unbelievable, hope the form continues against the better teams.
1 Triffitt - The AI doesn't like him (auto selected behind Agar) but I do, his 79 put us on track to a big first innings lead.

Verdict
I would have like some more hundreds from the top order against our lowly ranked opposition. The bowlers though, are going great guns, I don't even have to think about using Watson, let alone the part timers.

[q felt]

Australia vs Bangladesh - 2nd Test

Another dry pitch greeted us at Bankstown Oval in Sydney for the second test. Sabburg loses his place in the team to Doolan after scoring just 93 runs with 1 fifty in his first 3 matches. Clarke lost another toss and we were forced to bowl first.



Day 1
The opening pair of Behrendorff and Pattinson took 3 wickets between them to put us well on top. Starc added another before lunch, Bangladesh 4/96. A lethal post lunch spell form Pattinson yielded 3 more wickets to give him another 5 wicket haul, his fourth for the season and then Agar cleaned up the tail to finish with 9.2-5-15-3. Bangladesh all out for 184. Watson and Khawaja failed to fire, but Hughes and Clarke got us to stumps, the latter reached a fluent 50 by the close.

Day 2
Finally. Runs, a flood of runs! Hughes and Clarke developed a mammoth partnership and looked like they were going to bat all day until Hughes fell half an hour before stumps for 173. Their 331 run partnership was an all time Australian record and they effectively batted Bangladesh out of the game in just one day. At stumps we were 3/407 with Doolan racing to 31*, but Clarke was the hero, unbeaten on 177.

Day 3
Doolan fell early in the day and Clarke followed for 188. The remaining batsmen tried to up the tempo and we were 6/530 at lunch. Triffitt batted well yet again, slogging his way to 91 from 126 balls, before he was the last batsman to fall and we were all out for 607, a lead of 423. Bangladesh proved a much tougher opponent in the second innings. Pattinson took an early wicket and Starc one later in the day, but by the close of play Bangladesh were 2/189, their quick scoring rate aided by super aggressive fields.

Day 4
Siddle took the only wicket as Bangladesh proceeded to cruise through the first session. When Starc removed centurion Al Hasan after the break, it gave us another chance to attack, with the new ball just about due. Pattinson and Behrendorff seized the opportunity and we soon had victory by an innings and 15 runs.




AB Medal
3 Clarke - finally found some form
2 Hughes - only 16 runs from the 3 points, seems silly really
1 Pattinson - only the 8 wickets.

Verdict
An improved batting performance from Bangladesh in the second innings put the pressure on the bowlers, and I think I will have to drop one against the stronger teams and bring Faulkner back in to strengthen the batting a touch.

SERIES RESULT: Australia win 2-0

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Australia vs Bangladesh - 3 match ODI series

A few changes for the ODI's again, with the stars like Clarke and Pattinson resting up. Khawaja has been given his first chance in ODI's under my reign, let's see if he grabs the opportunity. Here are the ODI careers of the team:

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Austalia vs Bangladesh - 1st ODI

The pitch for the first ODI had a bit in it for the seamers. We lost the toss and would have to bat first.



Australia Innings
Khawaja and Watson started well with a partnership of 65 before Watson fell for 30. Hughes and Smith didn't last long, but Maxwell chipped in with 47 (58). With just under 10 overs to go the anchor of the innings, Khawaja was dismissed for 75 (125) leaving Doolan and Nevill to take control during the slog, making 46* (45) and 298 (26) respectively to give us what seemed a competitive total of 242.

Bangladesh Innings
Bangladesh lost early wickets, but a strong partnership between Jilani and Islam got them on track to win. Jilani cashed in on Watson in particular, forcing us to use Maxwell on where he was not suited. Needing only 4.5/over for the last 10 with Jilani seemingly in control, I reintroduced Behrendorff who promptly took 3 wickets in the first over of his new spell, including the centurion. This got us right back on and we won by 16 runs.



AB Medal
3 Behrendorff - absolutely changed the game for us in the late stages.
2 Khawaja - provided the solidarity the ODI batting has lacked
1 Faulkner - played a key role in the bowling comeback and also nabbed an early wicket with the new ball


Verdict
It was good to have a more composed batting innings, but I'm not sure if Khawaja's strike rate will be good enough on the latter pitches.

[q felt]

Austalia vs Bangladesh - 2nd ODI

Watson makes way for Highsmith on a flatter pitch for the 2nd ODI, along with a reshuffle of the batting order. We lost yet another toss and would be bowling first.

Bangladesh Innings
Faulkner and Starc started well, grabbing 3 wickets between them. A Bangladeshi counterattack took on the bowling of Cummins, who bowled 6 overs for 50 before being taken off. Pressed to find bowlers, I turned to Hughes who bowled his off spin in concert with Maxwell, picking up 2/37 off 8. The reintroduction of Faulkner and Starc cleaned up the tail and Bangladesh were all out for 253, Starc finishing with 5/37.

Australia Innings
We started slowly and never really mounted much of a chase. Again starts and constant wickets kept us from a better total and we needed a quickfire 45 from Starc to get even an ounce of credibility.




AB Medal
3 Starc -best batsman and bowler by a mile
2 Hughes - decent all round performance
1 Faulkner - took 2 key wickets

Verdict
Another ODI decider. Bring it on!

[q felt]

Austalia vs Bangladesh - 3rd ODI

A seamers pitch greeted us in Brisbane for the decider. Watson replaced Nevill (with Doolan to take the gloves) and White is in for Highsmith. We lost the toss and would gain be chasing.



Bangladesh Innings
Starc and Faulkner made early inroads but the change bowlers couldn’t match their intensity as a partnership blossomed between Haque and Hossain. The re-introduction of Faulkner saw Hossain fall, Bangladesh 4/137. Bangladesh rebuilt some momentum but Behrendorff and to a lesser extent Cummins derailed it and Bangladesh were all out for 203 in the 46th over.

Australia Innings
Doolan fell early but a brilliant partnership between Khawaja and Maxwell saw us win the series and the match by 9 wickets. Maxwell raced to a century with ease, finishing 105* off 110, while Khawaja played the anchor role he'd been bought into the team to play and finished 92* off 134.




AB Medal
3 Maxwell - too easy for the big fella.
2 Khawaja - Playing exactly the role we need him to
1 Behrendorff - his 3 wickets ensured there was no wag in the Bangladeshi tail, which was crucial with the nervy chases we've had recently


Verdict
Khawaja is playing well as an opener and hopefully he can start to help us build some big totals

[q felt]

Austalia vs Bangladesh - 1st T20

The T20 world cup is coming up so it is nice to have 2 matches to hone our game for a change. I picked a squad with a view of giving some young charges a chance, especially with the ball. Most of the batsmen need all the practice they can get! Hilfenhaus also comes back in by way of good form.. A flat track awaited us, as did another lost toss and we'd be bowling first.



Bangladesh Innings
Cummins starred with the ball, while Agar and Faulkner were also good. Henriques and debutaant Lester leaked a few more runs, but we managed to keep Bangladesh to 5/141 from their 20.

Australia Innings
Runs flowed and wickets tumbled in the first few overs, but Maxwell and Warner put us on track, and we won by 5 wickets with 3 balls to spare.



AB Medal
3 Maxwell - Steered the chase with 42 (37)
2 Cummins - Grabbed crucial wickets in the tricky middle period of the Bangladesh innings
1 Warner - scored his 38 at just a run a ball, but is what was needed.

Verdict
A good warmup…