- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Usman Khawaja has propelled the Brisbane Heat into the next stage of the Big Bash finals but is no guarantee of lining up as he considers whether to give himself a break before the Test tour of India.
Khawaja was one of five members of the Test squad who played in Friday night’s rain-affected eliminator final between the Heat and Sydney Thunder, won by the visiting Brisbane team.
Earlier this week, the BBL told AAP that the Heat’s Khawaja, Matt Renshaw and Marnus Labuschagne could all line up should the team make it through to Sunday’s challenger final against the Melbourne Renegades.
Their Test teammate Mitch Swepson will miss the game to attend a warm-up training camp for spinners flying out to India on Wednesday.
The Test batters ship off to India on Tuesday and are in for a busy four days before then, following on from a busy home summer of BBL and Test cricket.
Usman Khawaja plays a switch hit (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)
If the Heat trio were to play on Sunday, they would have travel to Melbourne for Sunday’s game, before returning to Sydney on Monday and attending the Allan Border Medal ceremony and then taking another flight to India on Tuesday.
After scoring 94 in the Heat’s win, Khawaja said he had yet to consider whether that was how he wanted to spend his last days in Australia for nearly two months.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead if I’m being honest,” he told reporters.
“We’re obviously going away for six-and-a-half weeks, my family is coming over for the AB Medal that’s happening on the 30th. There’s a lot happening right now.
“I wanted to just win this game and then I’ll cross that bridge and figure out what I want to do.
“I’ll have to talk to coach about it first and see what he can do.”
With the Thunder eliminated and his BBL cameo over, David Warner now has extra time at home before flying out for what is set to be his last Test tour of India.
He would not reveal whether he would have played against the Renegades in the knockout final had the Thunder progressed, but encouraged his Test teammates at the Heat to do so.
“I don’t have to answer that question now,” Warner joked. “The Heat boys, it’s good for Australian cricket that those guys are here and they’re having that opportunity to play. With their momentum tonight, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t play.”
Jason Roy has roared back into form with a masterful 79-ball hundred but England’s batting collapse still saw a Rassie van der Dussen-inspired South Africa snatch an unlikely 27-run victory on Jofra Archer’s international return.
Roy has had a prolonged lean run but registered his first 50-plus score in 15 international innings with 113 off 91 deliveries in the first of three ODIs against the Proteas in Bloemfontein on Friday.
He put on 146 in 19.3 overs with fellow opener Dawid Malan, who amassed 59 off 55 balls, but England badly lost their way thereafter in a chase of 299, being dismissed for 271 in 44.2 overs.
Below the openers, only captain Jos Buttler (36) reached 20 for the tourists on an easy-paced pitch, with Anrich Nortje claiming 4-62, while Sisanda Magala collected an important three-wicket haul.
South Africa posted 7-298 with van der Dussen cracking 111 off 117 balls but Sam Curran checked their progress on more than one occasion to finish with 3-35 off his nine overs.
It was a tough day for pace ace Archer as he toiled in the 30 degrees heat in Bloemfontein with minimal reward in his first England international in nearly two years.
Encouragingly, he got through 10 overs but ended up with 1-81 – the most runs he’s conceded in a limited-overs international.
Archer believes he is at “about 80 per cent” fitness so some rust was inevitable – and he conceded 20 runs in one ugly nine-ball over before his spell finished on a brighter note with Wayne Parnell’s wicket.
His day ended on a forgettable note, though, after being dismissed for a four-ball duck.
Archer did operate near the 140kmh range, topping out at 143kmh, and his display wasn’t an issue for the double world champions.
Roy had averaged 12.5 in the SA20 this month but he looked in good nick from the moment he clipped his third ball for four.
Malan mistimed a pull off Magala, leading to a mini-collapse from 0-146 to 3-152 as Ben Duckett and ODI debutant Harry Brook fell cheaply.
Roy reached three figures by pulling Nortje for his 11th four, before clubbing Tabraiz Shamsi for a fourth six. He got out, looking to clear the boundary with a pull off Kagiso Rabada.
Captain Buttler flickered after being struck by a Magala bumper early on but his departure, nicking off to Nortje, after Moeen Ali had given Magala his third wicket by pulling to deep midwicket, gave South Africa fresh impetus.
Nortje bounced out David Willey and Archer, with Rabada taking the edge of Curran’s bat, before Shamsi had last man Olly Stone caught and bowled to spark frenzied celebrations.
Earlier, Archer was driven for back-to-back fours by van der Dussen, who moved quietly to an understated 110-ball ton.
He cast off the shackles from an Archer free hit with a furious heave for six while the England bowler threw in a wide and another no-ball in a chastening penultimate over.
Curran limited the damage to under 300 and prised out Van der Dussen for 111 and David Miller for 53 to catches in the deep.
Australia’s teenage women cricket prospects have been left reflecting ruefully on a frustrating three-run defeat in their Under-19 Twenty20 World Cup semi-final with England.
Rhys McKenna’s Aussies had looked set to ease home to victory on Friday and set up a date with India in the inaugural final of the ICC event in Potchefstroom, South Africa, after they skittled England for just 99 and were moving along smoothly enough at 3-48.
But Australia suffered a collapse, losing their next four wickets for just 11 before Amy Smith, in particular, gave them most hope with her run-a-ball 26.
Legspinner Hannah Baker (3-10) proved the architect of England’s win with three quick wickets, bowling Ella Hayward, getting captain McKenna caught at mid-off and then trapping wicketkeeper Paris Hall three balls later.
In a dramatic finish, boundaries from Ella Wilson and Milly Illingworth left Australia needing just four off 17 balls, with two wickets still standing.
But Illingworth was run out via a direct hit from Ryana MacDonald-Gay from mid-off before No.11 Maggie Clark got trapped lbw by offspinner Grace Scrivens with eight balls left and just 96 on the board.
“No-one likes losing, especially in the semi-final,” sighed Melbourne Stars’ prospect McKenna.
“Losing bulk wickets in a short period of time is what cost us. Our bowling has been exceptional, but the batting hasn’t been good enough at times.”
It felt, though, like a win that had really got away for Australia, as they’d begun superbly, reducing England to 7-45.
But they let England off the hook somewhat as a 46-run partnership between Alexa Stonehouse and Josie Groves helped bring some respectability to their total.
Fine bowling from Clark (3-15), Hayward (3-25) and Sianna Ginger (3-13) still handed Australia the initiative but it ultimately proved not quite enough.
In the other semi, India eased past a New Zealand side which had been previously unbeaten, winning by eight wickets after they restricted the Kiwis to 9-107 before reaching their target of 2-110 of just 14.2 overs, thanks largely to an unbeaten 61 from Shweta Sehrawat.
Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell have strangled India with spin as New Zealand came out on top in their first Twenty20 international with a 21-run win.
Santner (2-11) and Bracewell (2-31) shared four wickets in eight overs in Ranchi on Friday to put the brakes on India’s chase after New Zealand had posted a lofty 6-176 thanks to half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell (59) and Devon Conway (52).
India eventually fell short, tied down to 9-155 as New Zealand successfully defended a sub-200 total in a T20I on Indian soil for the fourth time – the most by any visiting side.
“There was a lot of turn and it continued right through the second innings,” Bracewell said.
“We were able to get early wickets and capitalise on that start. It is massive to bounce back from the ODI series,” he added, reflecting on India’s 3-0 sweep in the longer white-ball format.
Put in to bat, Finn Allen gave New Zealand a quick start with 35 off 23 balls. He struck four fours and two sixes, while putting on 43 off 26 balls with Conway.
Washington Sundar (2-22) struck twice to remove Allen and Mark Chapman, but Conway scored a half-century off 31 balls, including seven fours and a six, to steer New Zealand to 100 in the 13th over.
Conway fell on 52 in the 18th over to Arshdeep Singh, but Mitchell pressed on, his 26-ball half-century powering the total past 170. Mitchell hit three fours and five sixes as Singh gave away 27 runs in the final over.
In reply, India got off to a poor start due to the Kiwi spinners.
Bracewell bowled Ishan Kishan (4) and Santner got rid of the in-form Shubman Gill (7).
Rahul Tripathi was caught behind for a duck and India were down to 3-15 in the fourth over.
Suryakumar Yadav scored 47 off 34 balls and added 68 for the fourth wicket with Hardik Pandya, 21 but, again, the duo were undone when the spinners returned.
Yadav holed out off Ish Sodi, and Pandya fell to Bracewell, while Santner had Deepak Hooda stumped on 10.
Sundar’s 50 included five fours and three sixes but his maiden T20 half-century off 25 balls could only reduce New Zealand’s winning margin.
The second of three T20s is on Sunday in Lucknow.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.