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.
Jayvan Collins
Roar Pro
Great idea and thanks for doing it! I hope you don't have to spend too much time actually watching the IPL to do it :P
Max Weber
Roar Pro
An update for the last 5 games will be coming in the morning, pending publication.
John Edgar
Guest
Who is playing tonight.
Adam
Guest
good work thanls for the up dates
John Edgar
Guest
I watched IPL in the first season, but not as interested anymore
John Edgar
Guest
He is out for 6 weeks right, so should be fresh by the ashes.
Varun
Guest
Did any one see white win it for sunrisers in the super over, he is looking in good T20 form
Varun
Guest
What was the latest scOre from last night
Varun
Guest
Test cricket is king bit no denying T20 cricket is exciting, but the IPL has lost some of its charm
Varun
Guest
Pressed submit too fast, fine now but recovering from lower back issues
Varun
Guest
He is fine now, just recovering fr
Amith
Guest
How is he doing now, i hope he is all recovered.
Amith
Guest
I am not sure if I agree IPL is good for cricket as i am more of a fan of test cricket, but I do agree that IPL has made cricketers much more well off then they were 10 years ago, whether that's good or bad for the game i will let others decide
Shankar
Guest
IPL is good for cricket
The Barry
Roar Guru
"gastro-laden Michael Clarke"....ugh
Max Weber
Roar Pro
I'll definitely do a full list of Australian county players next week once the season starts.
nickyc
Guest
Max, Thanks for doing this. If you have time would it be possible to let us know which Aussies are playing for which counties. If there are any gaps we might be able to fill them in for you.
Max Weber
Roar Pro
I'm actually toying with the idea of including the quasi-Australian brigade. Rikki Wessels, Thorp, etc. There's a couple more around, can't remember them for the life of me at the moment though.
JGK
Roar Guru
I see that Callum Thorp is still playing for Durham. Maybe he doesn't count as Australian any more.
Max Weber
Roar Pro
It doesn't thrill me to bits either, but this is not written with the IPL expressly in mind, but rather with the Australian cricket team in mind. If I could switch the number of Aussies playing county cricket with the ones playing IPL, I'd do it in a heartbeat.