A phenomenal 92 from Nathan Coulter-Nile and a blistering five-wicket haul by express quick Mitchell Starc helped Australia to a rousing come-from-behind win against the West Indies last night.
At 5-79 Australia looked at danger of being skittled for less than 200 until Coulter-Nile played the innings of his life to haul Australia to 288, which they then defended in impressive fashion thanks to Starc.
Australia started well in defence of 288 with star quicks Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins both in great rhythm. Cummins had Evin Lewis caught behind before Starc got Chris Gayle LBW after a bizarre sequence of events.
First Gayle lobbed a cut just inches short of point, then he nicked a vicious bouncer just over the head of ‘keeper Carey, had a ball kiss his off stump but not remove a bail, and was given out LBW only to be reprieved by DRS.
Incredibly, all of that happened in one over with the 39-year-old Gayle struggling badly against the pace of Starc, who repeatedly hit 152kmh last night.
Finally Starc had Gayle plumb LBW, leaving the Windies stumbling at 2-31. The Windies appeared well in control of the chase due to half centuries from Shai Hope and Jason Holder, and a handy 40 from Nicholas Pooran, before a flurry of late wickets.
Earlier, Australia put together a truly bizarre team innings. A cluster of horrendous, brainless strokes from their top six left them in a deep crevasse at 5-79 before a trio of fantastic knocks hauled them out of this abyss.
The Windies telegraphed their strategy with the ball. Not only did star all-rounder Andre Russell promise in the media Australia would be showered by bouncers, but stats displayed during last night’s TV coverage showed the Windies have used bouncers more effectively than any other ODI unit in the past two years.
Yet still Australia’s batting lineup seemed surprised by the barrage of bumpers they received.
After Aaron Finch’s leaden footwork saw him caught behind, short balls then had either a direct or indirect influence on the next four wickets.
First Warner was caught hanging back in his crease, seemingly waited for the bouncer, only to bunt a tame shot to backward point.
Then Khawaja was patently rattled by several nasty bouncers, including one which struck his gloves and another which hit him in the chest.
The next ball after that latter blow Khawaja lost his cool, backed away from a Russell delivery and aimed an ugly hack towards the off side, succeeding only in feeding an edge to the wicketkeeper.
Moments later Maxwell tried to hammer a pull from his second delivery, was late on the shot and skied a catch.
Glenn Maxwell. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Yet still Australia did not learn from these horrid mistakes – Marcus Stoinis pulled a Jason Holder short ball straight to midwicket. A complete shambles.
Better judgment was then shown by Steve Smith (73 from 103 balls) and Alex Carey (45 from 55 balls). Both men ignored the bouncer trap and worked their way into their innings.
While Smith and Carey were excellent it was fast bowler Coulter-Nile who left the Windies Indies dazed and confused.
This, inarguably, was among the most extraordinary knocks in World Cup history. When Coulter-Nile sauntered to the crease at 6-147 Australia would have hoped he could eke out a handy 20 and help them to finish with a total of more than 200.
He is, after all, a specialist bowler who had an ODI batting average of 12 and a highest score of 64 across all formats. Coulter-Nile has always been considered in WA to have great natural talent with the blade. He just hasn’t shown it very often.
Nathan Coulter-Nile was the star of the show with the bat for Australia as they beat the West Indies. (Photo by Simon Cooper/PA Images via Getty Images)
The 31-year-old looked shaky early on yesterday, fending awkwardly at a sequence of short balls.
Then he just clicked. It started with a straight drive for four from a very good yorker by burly quick Oshane Thomas, a delivery the West Indian would have expected to be a dot.
That over ended up going for 13 runs as Coulter-Nile unfurled a fine pull shot and then clipped a ball off his pads for four. It was a similar shot, a pick-up stroke off his legs, that soon confirmed Coulter-Nile’s bat was ablaze.
On 31 he flicked on-song paceman Andre Russell over backward square leg for a nonchalant six, the type of stroke you would expect from Virat Kohli, Steve Smith or Jos Buttler. But not from a tail ender.
From there he did not play similar to Kohli or Smith or Buttler, he batted as if he actually was one of that champion trio.
Had you blurred Coulter-Nile’s face on the coverage, concealing his identity to new viewers, they’d have been left exclaiming: “Bloody hell Australia have unearthed a star here”.
That they had, even if only for the glorious 79 minutes that he batted. Coulter-Nile will never play another innings like this in international cricket, of that I’m sure.
Reasonably sure. Pretty sure.
Ok, maybe he will because all logic has seemingly disappeared from the cricket field thanks to Coulter-Nile’s jaw-dropping, knee-slapping, fist-pumping burst of brilliance.
Peter Warrington
Guest
no. absolutely. the alignment of hands and eyes and wrists. like my golf swing. unfeasible. but effective. clearly he is fascinating and appeals to many, many australians. what i don't get is the astringency. that self-abnegation in the last Ashes. he showed in the recent warm up games he still has a pretty top gear. love to see it more often. for example he went at 71 in the great series win over Pakistan in 16-17. he liberated himself and the team after the Hobart debacle. he then averaged 110 but still went at 50 in that magnificent series in India. 54 on obscure decks in Bangladesh. but he went at less than 50 against a pitiful England. and seemed to demand that everyone else do the same. even in the deadest of rubbers we made 650 but at a snail pace. no real acceleration across the innings. Marshes allowed to cement their places. a commitment to humiliating and grinding the opposition, rather than entertainment. like some here on other issues, i really resented then - and now - being shouted at, this this, this boredom, was the ONE TRUE TEST CRICKET. considering Warner made a century before lunch the year before, and we went at 7.5 an over in the second dig - against a better opponent, i did not support, or understand, the groupthink. wasn't that, also, test cricket. so i can see myself that i am conflating his technique, his strike rate, his captaincy and the coaching. i was pretty pissed off with him that summer, to be sure! and don't let anybody think i am some T20 bash expert.context is absolutely everything. De Villers' sublime, boundary-free 33 off 220 in Adelaide to draw a live test is still one of my favourite, context is everything digs. Smith played a great did the other night. yet again showed he is a million miles above everyone else in the country. i knew that when he was picked in 10-11. we knew about Smith for years, from grade cricket, here in Sydney. i just couldn't really bring myself to watch. (yet sat glued to Richmond's ritual humiliation the other night. clearly self-abnegation has a long way to go in this house!)
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
I actually find him fascinating to watch Peter. I agree that his technique is a purists nightmare but there's something intriguing about his method. That fact that he even gets away with it for a start. Anyway, each to their own I guess.
Peter Warrington
Guest
score more than the other team and we win
Peter Warrington
Guest
get your hand of it. i know countless people who know his talent. we probably all know more about cricket in our little fingers than you do in your whole keyboard it's got nothing to do with his suspension. i found him unwatchable in the Ashes as well, totally self-absorbed, which is his strength i just believe it's an aesthetic nightmare, watching the greatest batsman in the country turn the nudge to square leg for a single into a life's work you don't have to agree, but you don't get to demean like that FWIW, there were thousands who much preferred to watch Archie Jackson or Kippax or McCabe, than the Boy Wonder of the time. the Smith of 16-17 and India, that's the smith I want to see.
Peter Warrington
Guest
you said you wanted a long innings. there it was.
Paul
Roar Guru
sorry Roger in this instance, that was certainly not my intention. In hindsight I could have chosen different words to express my views on his ODI batting.
RogerTA
Roar Rookie
While accurate Paul, the sarcasm in "his one and only test century" is unbecoming. He's played 7 tests, in about 5 different batting places, in unfamiliar conditions, scored a ton in India and you turn that into a veiled criticism...
Simoc
Guest
I'm not so sure. That was a seriously good innings from Coulter-Nile, using risk free orthodox technique. Just the ball was hitting the middle of the bat when he got going. By comparison Starc looked like he was trying to get out every ball he faced. Coulter Nile reminding me of Shewag, swinging freely but nearly always straight down the line of the ball. Also I thought Finch was out to a great ball and only Khawaja was bad, Maxwells was normally bad. Certainly the umpiring was average at best and Australia did better, but we won so who cares.
Paul
Roar Guru
in completely different conditions against an attack that not only we destroyed several times, but a few others did likewise soon after.
jamesb
Roar Guru
I think Behrendorff has to come in for NCN. How often will NCN contribute with the bat? He is not James Faulkner.
13th Man
Guest
Smith unwatchable???? The bloke is an absolute genius with the bat, anyone who finds him unwatchable doesn't understand cricket! He's made a mistake, he copped a ridiculously harsh punishment, he's done his time and is back again making runs! Absolutely love the bloke, if only a few others in our top order could take note, he's the best bat this country has produced since Ponting.
Peter Warrington
Guest
yep it was Haddin in the 9-21
Peter Warrington
Guest
undoubtedly also undoubtedly the least watchable how to reconcile these two things : (
Peter Warrington
Guest
3 or 4 Dev Malcolms. may struggle on flatter decks. but love seeing them make it sing.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Finch has averaged about 50 this year (including a couple of big knocks vs India, which has a great attack) and is the captain of the side. The other pace bowling options are Dorff and Kano, who statistically aren’t as good as NCN.
Peter Warrington
Guest
like his 98 off 82 in Dubai? at the crease for 27 overs. that sort of thing? it's basically two games ago. people need to chill a bit i reckon.
Paul
Roar Guru
hi James, I certainly get where you're coming from now, especially considering the comments from Chris. That said, I'm happy that he DID come in where he did, as Finch and co clearly expected him to do a job as a number 5 batsman. I get the impression Maxwell's a tad one dimensional in that I and Australia will want him to play a long innings from time to time. You've used his one and only Test century as proof he can do it and I agree he appears to have the skills to apply himself - on paper. There's no doubt his greater value comes as a genuine hitting threat but wouldn't it be great to see him buckle down and play a long innings for a change, similar to what Rohit Sharma did against the Saffers? He could mix good batting with great hitting and really cement himself as a top class all round ODI batsman
El Loco
Roar Rookie
Look at it this way, he went for 10-15 more than you'd hope off his bowling but scored about 80 more than you'd expect from his batting. Not to say there's nothing to think about, but it's a pretty acceptable outcome.
13th Man
Guest
I feel like you almost can't afford to have NCN and Zampa in the same side... both are reasonably expensive. I think if you are going to play NCN you have to offset that by playing Lyon and if you are going to play Zampa you either play Lyon as well or play Behrendorff. I just feel that at the moment apart from Starc and Cummins the attack is too easy to get after. I'd like to see Lyon play the next game regardless I think.
13th Man
Guest
Seriously mate, get over it. Smith is heads and shoulders above any other batsman in this country.