Tassie cruise to victory in FRC clash

A quickfire 50 from Michael Dighton and a run a ball 50 from Travis Birt has helped set up a comfortable 7 wicket victory against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval.

Dighton made 69 from only 57 balls in a breathtaking knock which featured 10 fours and earnt him the man of the match award. He was well supported by fellow opener and keeper Tim Paine who made 41 which helped set up the victory.

Graham Manou won the toss for South Australia and elected to bat on a flat pitch, but a mixture of poor shot selection and good bowling meant the Redbacks could only manage 9/249 from their 50 overs.

Daniel Harris top scored for South Australia with a gritty 68, although it could've ended early on the 4th ball of the day when he chopped a ball onto the stumps off the bowling of Ben Hilfenhaus which did not dislodge the bails. Aaron O'Brien made 54 and South Australia's total would have been far more worse off if it wasn't for Dan Christian's brisk knock of 35* from 26 balls at the end of the innings.

Xavier Doherty was the pick of the Tassie bowlers picking up 3/46 from his 10 overs. He was able to extract some turn and bounce on the dry Adelaide Oval pitch.

Tasmania's reply started off brilliantly with Michael Dighton and Tim Paine putting on an opening partnership of 112. Openers Tait and George failed to trouble the pair as they hit runs at will. Shaun Tait was playing in his first game back and was lacking the pace and the venom that is usually seen from the speedster.

Tassie did lose 3 quick wickets in the middle of their innings and it looked like South Australia were back in the game, but that was about as close as they got as Ed Cowan and Travis Birt cruised to victory. Cowan played the supporting role and he finished on 54 from 72 balls while Travis Burt finished on 68 from 68 deliveries.

South Australia's next match is against Queensland at the Gabba on Wednesday, while Tasmania's next game will be at the same ground against the same opposition on the 30th of October.

Sheffield Shield Wrap Up

The first lot of matches are over in the Sheffield Shield where Western Australia has drawn with Queensland and South Australia has defeated Tasmania.

At the WACA, Western Australia went into the game full of confidence after after their tight victory over Queensland in the Ford Ranger Cup match.

Queensland won the toss and elected to field and although they kept the run rate down, they could not capitalize on the pressure as Western Australia finished the first day at 4/247. The highlight of the day was Marcus North who ended up making 107. He smashed 75 in the final session and was very well supported by Shaun Marsh who made 70 at number 3. WA ended up making 9/407 dec., with half centuries to night-watchman Steve Magoffin and all rounder David Bandy. The chief wicket taker for Queensland was youngster Scott Walter who picked up 6/121 from 39 overs in only his 2nd four day match for his state.

Queensland batted slowly and steadily in their 1st innings, racking up only 458 from 167 overs at a measly run rate of 2.74. Coincidentally the same run rate as Western Australia's first innings. Ryan Broad was the top scorer for QLD, making 103 from 253 balls, a strike rate of 40. Contributions were aplenty with Lee Carseldine making 80 (184), Chris Hartley 68 (108) and Chris Simpson 70 (111). The game petered out to a draw with Queensland getting first innings points.

At the Adelaide Oval and South Australia smashed Tasmania by 9 wickets in a rather one-sided affair. Tasmania won the toss and elected to bat, but could not take advantage of first use of the wicket as they were bowled out for 246. Brady Jones, who was in for Tim Paine as keeper top scored with 45* in his first first-class match. Tasmania really should have made more, with the top 5 batsmen making starts and then falling.

South Australia replied with 345 as opener James Smith racked up 116. He was well supported by Cosgrove and Manou who made 53 and 40 respectively. Krejza was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up 4/70 on the turning Adelaide Oval deck.

Tasmania crumbled in their 2nd innings, losing 4/43 at the start of the innings and then lost 6 wickets in their last 11 runs to be bowled out for 184. Spinner Aaron O'Brien and medium pacer Daniel Christian ran riot taking 7 wickets between them.

George Bailey was the best batsman for Tassie making 90 with little to no support from the other batsmen and helped them avoid an innings defeat. South Australia cruised to victory chasing down the small total of 76 for the loss of only one wicket.

South Australia will play Tasmania today in the Ford Ranger Cup match while Queensland will play South Australia at the Gabba in a one dayer before playing WA at the same venue a couple of days later.

Tim Paine takes his chance

Tim Paine has excelled behind the stumps

WHEN Brad Haddin broke his finger and was forced to fly home to Australia , many names were thrown around as to who could be his replacement. Chris Hartley and Graham Manou just a couple of examples. But the man who the selectors chose was young Tim Paine.

Paine came into the side as a keeper who could bat a bit instead a batsmen who could keep a bit. He has exceeded all expectations in his time in Australian colours, keeping very well behind the stumps and doing well with the bat, scoring 389 runs at 32 which has included 2 50s and a superb century as opener against England at Trent Bridge .

Although not in the same mould as the likes of Haddin and Gilchrist, Tim Paine has been just as good, being used as the rock at the top of the order to see off the opening bowlers and give the rest of the batting line ups a solid platform to continue on from. He has the technique to face the best bowlers in the world and should do very well as a test batsman once Brad Haddin's time is up.

His batting may not be as effective as Haddin, but his keeping certainly is better. Haddin has been criticized for dropping easy catches and missing balls that he should be taking. Paine, although not spotless has been remarkedly tidy and has impressed many experts including David Boon. "He hasn't been overawed at all and his keeping has been exceptional." he said. In a one dayer against England in the Champions Trophy, Paine contributes to 7 dismissals, 5 of those catches behind the wicket and 2 run outs.

Paine will play in the Indian series before happily giving Haddin is place back in the side for the Australian Summer. But what we do know is that he has a bright future and is a certainty to wear the Baggy Green once Haddin retires.

Blast from the Past - Round 3 vs Carlton 1998

ESSENDON:

Mercuri, Cockatoo-Collins, Lucas 3, Caracella 2, Lloyd, Fraser, Bomford 1.

CARLTON:

Pearce 4, Whitnall 3, Camporeale 2, Allan, Hogg, De Iulio, Anstey 1.


Games between Essendon and Carlton have always been great, tense contests. Back in 1998, the Bombers played the Blues at the MCG on easter Monday. A crowd of 68,177 turned out to watch the game, far more than 17,000 that turned out to watch Melbourne beat Brisbane.

Both teams had come into the game with 1 win and 1 loss. Essendon came into the game full of confidence after thumping the 97' Grand Finalist's St Kilda by 89 points, while Carlton had been smashed by 56 points against the Western Bulldogs.

With skipper James Hird missing, the game didn't start too well for the Bombers, conceding 2 early goals. Before they were able to kick 5 straight to take the lead at quarter time. In the 2nd quarter, the exact same thing happened. Carlton kicked 2 early goals, before Essendon rammed home 5 in a row to take 35 point lead at the main break.

Despite being without Murphy, Bradley and Manton, the Blues were able to fight back, kicking 5 goals in the 3rd to Scott Lucas' 2. In the final quarter, the Bombers were tired and the Blues nearly snatched the game away from them. Cockatoo Collins kicked a goal at the beginning of the quarter before Carlton kicked 3 goals in a row to get the margin under a goal. But the Bombers were able to remain calm despite the pressure from the Blues, holding onto the ball for the last 2 minutes to register a 1 point win.
Mercuri was instrumental in the Bomber's win, kicking 3 goals. Andrew Bomford played his best ever game, picking up the most disposals. While O'Donnell, Wellman and Hardwick were among the best.

Match Info: Essendon FC

Sorry there wasn't one last week, that was because I had moved house and had no net.

Blast from the Past - Round 1 Essendon vs Port Adelaide 2000

This is the first of what is hopefully a week by week feature from me. Each week, I will try and write an article on an old match that Essendon played. Today's Blast from the Past is the first round of 2000 between the Bombers and Port Power.

It was the start of what would end up being a record breaking season. A season where the Bombers would only lose a single game. It all started with a thumping of Port Adelaide at the newly created Colonial Stadium.

Just some 6 months earlier, Essendon had lost their preliminary final against Carlton by one solitary point. Essendon were almost dead certainties to win the flag in that year, and vowed to go one further in the first year of the new Millennium. They had won the pre-season comp without breaking a sweat, and went into the season as Flag favourites as they came up against Port Power to start the season.

They dominated the match, winning by a mammoth 94 points. Champ, Matthew Lloyd kicked 7 goals, while Hird kicked 4 in his comeback from a stress fracture in his foot the previous year and Bewick kicked 3 as the Bombers ripped apart the Power in a scintillating display of football.

They started strongly with Michael Long kicking the first ever goal in the AFL at Colonial Stadium and kept Port goalless until well into the 2nd term. The Power never looked in the hunt, only kicking 2 goals and 8 behinds to half time and ending up with only 8 goals at the final siren.

Among the highlights were Dustin Fletcher who kept youngster Warren Tredrea down to one goal, Jason Johnson and Michael Long who produced the running in the middle of the ground under the ruck work of John Barnes. Matthew Lloyd and James Hird benefited from the wonderful delivery from the midfield, while small forward Darren Bewick was there whenever a ball was spilt. It was a brilliant start for Lloyd in his bid to win his first Coleman medal, despite a knock to the head and a report.

It was an all round effort from the Bombers, where they produced 10 goal kickers and a brilliant start to what would become and unforgettable season.

Credit: Essendon FC

First Test Preview - Australia Vs South Africa at The Wanderers, Johannesburg

It's been a brilliant competitive summer and it continues with the return tour between South Africa and Australia, but this time on the Protea's home soil.

South Africa won the last series 2-1 and also dominated in the ODI series winning 4-1 and will be full of confidence. While Australia have struggled in the One Dayers against both New Zealand and South Africa.

Lead Up

South Africa are unnoficially the best team in the world, and will be favourites to take the official mantle of number 1 in this series. They have had some time to rest after the one day series in Australia so they will be full for energy.

Ricky Ponting has come over to South Africa confident that they can regain the trophy. But South African have begun their mind games with Mark Boucher saying that he has enjoyed the demise of Australia, while AB De Villiers has said that Australia will have a torrid time when they bat in the first test.

Australia's warm up game was a draw, with some good signs and bad. The fast bowlers were thumped around the ground in the first innings, while 3 of Australia's players were off the field with gastro. Meaning that some of the coaching staff had to be sub fielders. But among the good signs were Phil Hughes, Marcus North and Simon Katich were among the promising players.

Phil Hughes was solid in the first innings making 24 before making a half century in the century where he then retired to let others have a bat. Marcus North made unbeaten 50s in both innings as well as taking a 6/69 in the 2nd innings of the PXI. He backed up WA coach Tom Moody's claim that he can be used as an all rounder in the team. Simon Katich also made 124 before retiring hurt with a bruised elbow. Spinner Bryce McGain was disappointing, going for over 6 runs an over. He was unable to bowl in the 2nd innings due to him suffering from gastro.

Mitchell Johnson will spearhead the attack with Brett Lee and Stuart Clark still injured. If you don't include Johnson, the likely attack of Bollinger, Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle have a total 5 test matches between them. Which shows a lack of experience for the Australians.

Key Players

South Africa
Graeme Smith

The Skipper was superb against the Aussies, with brilliant decision making out on the field and made a ton of runs. Won the man of the series award despite a niggling elbow injury throughout the tour. Was applauded by many around the world for batting with the elbow injury and a broken finger in the final test. Who knows what he can do if he is fully fit.

JP Duminy

Duminy had an brilliant summer in Australia. He made his mark on the world with a superb 166 in the Boxing Day Test fightback. Not only has he been in the runs, he's also bowled well as a part timer and been brilliant in the field. The Aussies will be looking to try and stop him in this series.

Dale Steyn

Bowled very well, 18 wickets in the test series including a 10 wicket hall at the MCG. Went into the Australian tour with doubts that he could do well against the best, but left as a superstar. He shocked the batsmen and bowled very accurately. He showed that he is a handy batsman as well. He will be dangerous in the bowler friendly conditions at the Wanderers. The openerers will need to be weary.

Australia

Ricky Ponting

He has a knack of scoring a hundred at the start of a series. The skipper will be looking to lead from the front when he bats either on day one or two in the first test. Made 101 and 99 in the Boxing Day test last year and if he makes a big one, it will he a long way towards giving Australia the edge for a victory. But of course, he will need help from the other batsmen. He can't do it on his own.

Phillip Hughes

Earmarked has a future star, the 20 year old has torn up the domestic competition this summer. He batted well in the tour match and everyone will be excited for him when he gets his baggy green cap. He will very nervous when he goes out to bat for the first time, but with confidence as high as his, he can do anything.
Mitchell Johnson

The fast bowler struggled early on in his career for Australia, but finally showed everyone what he can do with such a wonderful summer. Seems to have the ability to get batsmen to go fishing at his wide deliveries. He can bowl ordinary spells, but then all of the sudden will bowl a pearler to get rid of the batsman. Surprisingly he will be the spearhead of the attack with Brett Lee and Stuart Clark out.

The Verdict

Both teams will come out firing. One to regain their credibility as an aggressive, strong team. While the other will be looking to gain the number 1 status. Australia could field 3 debutants in the team, showing a lack of experience on their part. My tip is South Africa to win in another competitive game.

South Africa by 4-6 Wickets/50-100 runs.

2008/09 Australian Summer in Review - Limited Overs

This is the final part of a three part series for the Australian Cricket Team.

After a very competitive test series, it was time for the Twenty20s and ODIs. The Australians were confident that they could bounce back after their 3rd test win.

First up were the T20s and Australia won both games easily. In the first game, Australia won by 52 runs in front of a massive crowd. There was one man who helped them gain that victory. The new sensation in David Warner. He hammered 89 from 43 balls which included 6 huge sixes into the MCG crowd. He was earmarked as a future one day superstar. A bit too soon one might think after his fall from grace later in the summer.

The 2nd T20 was at the Gabba and it was also the farewell to a legend. Matthew Hayden announced his retirement earlier in the day. He recieved a lap of honour which involved a lot of emotion as Queensland farewelled one of their own.

Australia comfortable chased down a target of 159 thanks to 53 from Mike Hussey and 40 from Cameron White. One of the highlights of the game was JP Duminy. He made 69, but it was his catch that had everyone amazed. Running back towards the boundary looking back over his head, he took a brilliant sliding catch which reminded everyone of Steve Waugh's ripper back at the MCG many years ago.

The first ODI was played at the MCG where Australia made a competitive total of 271. Shaun Marsh bounced back to form with a solid 79, while David Hussey made 52. Australia looked like they had the win when South Africa were 7/221. But Albie Morkel, captain Johan Botha and the help of a powerplay brought them home. The Australian's unable to combat Morkel's brilliant power where one of his shots went so far back that it went down one of the crowd tunnels.

Game 2 was much the same with Australia making 249 thanks to 78 from Shaun Marsh and 64 from Ricky Ponting. But this time the victors were Australia. South Africa left their chase too late, despite being able to hit the Australian bowlers to the boundary in the last 5 overs.

South Africa won the 3rd game comfortably with 3 overs to spare despite Warner's return to form with 69. Australia were thumped in game 4, making only 222 in the first innings and having it chased down with 12 overs to spare and 8 wickets in hand. The final game was Australia's chance to hold on to the World number 1 title. If they lost, South Africa became official World Number 1 in ODIs. South Africa made 288 and Australia could only manage 249 in reply, giving South Africa the new status as number 1 in the World.

New Zealand came over with a whole lot of confidence after witnessing Australia being thumped by the South Africans. The first game was a thriller. Australia batted first at the WACA and were bowled out for a low 188. But the Kiwis struggled in reply 4/64. But they were able to sneak home by 2 wickets thanks to a last ball boundary from Daniel Vettori.

Ricky Ponting was controversially rested for the 2nd game, drawing many criticisms from many saying that the captain should not be rested when the series is still alive. Shaun Marsh was also out of the series after injuring his hamstring. Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin were promoted up the order. Clarke made a very good 98 in Australia's modest total of 225. The Kiwis never looked threatened in the chase, reaching the target with an over and 6 wickets in hand.

Dave Warner was dropped for the 3rd ODI after some poor form. Brad Haddin became opener and made a superb 109 in Australia's 301 in the 3rd ODI at the SCG. Ricky Ponting was rushed back into the side and the Aussies won by 32 runs and kept the series alive despite a hundred from Grant Elliot.

Australia levelled the series at Adelaide, chasing down 244 set by the kiwis. The Hussey brothers helping Australia win the game with 79 for David and 75 for Michael.

The 5th ODI was sadly a rain affected one. The decider was reduced to 22 overs before being reduced again to 20 overs in New Zealands innings. Australia posted 168 after some awesome hitting from opener Brad Haddin and middle order batsman Callum Ferguson. Rain in the innings interval reduced the total to 156 from 20 overs. Australia were on track for a win, skittling the top and middle order to have them 6/73. But the game turned on its head when Guptill and Diamanti put on a big partnership. At 6/123 and with 6 overs left to make their total, rain fell again and this time the players could not get back on the field. Meaning that Australia tied the series at 2-2 and retaining the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.

New Zealand went into the T20 talking it up as the unofficial decider. But it meant nothing as they fell just 1 run short in their chase and had to go home empty handed.

Australia Votes

Dave Warner 4/10 - Became the new golden boy after his whirlwind 89. Could only manage one more half century in his next 8 matches. Needs to learn a defensive side to his game.

Shaun Marsh 7/10 - Was good in the first 3 ODIs against South Africa before struggling later. Injured his hamstring against New Zealand.

Ricky Ponting 6/10 - Was good in the SA One Dayers, but struggled against New Zealand.

Michael Clarke 7/10 - Was injured for most of the SA series but came back well against New Zealand.

Michael Hussey 8/10 - Had a very good series. Played some crucial innings against New Zealand.

David Hussey 6/10 - Was dissapointing for most of the series against both teams. Played a couple of good innings.

Cameron White 3/10 - Was poor. Highlight was 40 in the 2nd T20 against South Africa.

Brad Haddin 8/10 - Was quiet for the first part of the one dayers, but played brilliantly when promoted to the top of the order.

James Hopes 7/10 - Bowled quite well, taking 12 wickets. Made a couple of handy contributions.

Mitchell Johnson 6/10 - Was economical in the NZ ODIs, and bowled well.

Ben Hilfenhaus 4/10 - Bowled poorly for the majority of the matches. Had 2 series that he'd rather forget.

Nathan Bracken 8/10 - He was brilliant for the series. Only had 1 or 2 poor games, but overall was very good at the death.

Shaun Tait 5/10 - Was disappointing. Seemed to be lacking fitness. Could only bowl in 2 over spells before he got tired or wayward.