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With the beginning of April comes both the launch of the Indian Premier League and the English County Cricket season. Both feature a plethora of Australians, whose progress will be charted here at the end of each week.
IPL: 1st Match – Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils
Delhi’s David Warner was the first Australian to pad up in the 6th edition of the IPL, making a decent 21 from 19 in a low-scoring affair where Mahela Jayawardene was the only Daredevil to pass double figures.
Kolkata’s Brett Lee had a hand in restricting Delhi to 128, his 2-40, including the wickets of dangermen Unmukt Chand and Jayawardene as Daredevils chased down the total for the loss of 4 wickets.
The newly acquired Ben Rohrer didn’t play for Delhi, while the Australian contingent of Brad Haddin and James Pattinson didn’t play for Kolkata, the latter out for the duration of the IPL with injury.
2nd Match- Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians
Dan Christian made a paltry 4 from 13 balls for RCB as Mitchell Johnson registered 1-15 from 3 overs, a respectable economy rate considering Chris Gayle hammered his way back to form with 92 from 58 balls.
The real story though was Ricky Ponting opening Mumbai’s batting with Sachin Tendulkar, compiling a 50-run opening partnership before falling for 28, as Mumbai’s chase fell 3 runs short of victory. Christian was expensive, bowling his complement of 4 overs for 42 runs.
Moises Henriques and Andrew McDonald didn’t play for RCB, while Mumbai’s plethora of Aussies who didn’t play included Aiden Blizzard, Phil Hughes, Nathan Coulter-Nile and the million-dollar man, Glenn Maxwell.
3rd Match- Sunrisers Hyperabad v Pune Warriors
Cameron White made 10 from 18 and bowled a solitary over for 2 runs for the IPL’s newest franchise as Sunrisers overcame Mitch Marsh’s (7 runs from 4) Pune Warriors, who were dismissed for 104 chasing 127. Marsh’s compatriots at Pune that were benched include the gastro-laden Michael Clarke, plus Kane Richardson and Steve Smith. Hyperabad have Aussies Chris Lynn and Clint McKay in reserve.
4th Match- Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals
The two Australians playing here each had a hand in the other’s dismissal, first Rajasthan’s Brad Hodge (5 from 7) was caught off the bowling of Umesh Yadav by David Warner, who then backed up his 21 in the opening game with a typically brisk 77 from 56, but was run out by Hodge in the penultimate over, arresting Delhi’s momentum and seeing them fall short of the 166 required.
Not one of Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Brad Hogg and Shaun Tait featured for Royals, something of a surprise considering their specialist T20 natures.
5th Match- Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians
Ben Laughlin made his IPL debut alongside specialist Dirk Nannes as CSK bowled first. The Aussie duo took 2-43 off a combined 7 overs. Ricky Ponting didn’t set the world alight, falling for 6 off 10 balls in Mumbai’s 148. Chennai’s batting was opened by Mike Hussey, who made 20 from 23 balls to no avail as CSK fell short of Mumbai’s total.
Mitch Johnson again was relatively miserly with 1-22 from 4 overs as Mumbai got their first win. The only Australian on Chennai’s books that didn’t make the XI was Ben Hilfenhaus, while Dan Christian was dropped by Mumbai after his poor performance in the first game.
Next week will feature a round-up of IPL fixtures, as well as the opening days of the County competition from England, results which may be particularly pertinent to Australia’s Ashes hopes, with the likes of Joe Burns, Chris Rogers and Rob Quiney turning out in the competition with an opportunity to press their claim for a place in the Ashes XI.
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