Cameron Green has overcome a painful pre-Ashes scare in the Indian Premier League semi-final before his exciting IPL adventure was finally ended in Ahmedabad.
Mumbai Indians’ star Aussie allrounder was for a while on Friday at the centre of worrying scenes at the Narendra Modi Stadium when he was struck in the arm by a short, sharp 146kph ball from Hardik Pandya in the second over, which forced him to retire hurt during their defeat against Gujarat Titans.
But amid fevered speculation that he might have suffered a break close to his elbow after the blow proved so powerful that it appeared to leave an imprint on his forearm close to his elbow, there was relief for all Australian observers as Green was passed fit to return to the crease at the fall of a later wicket.
Thankfully, Green didn’t look in too much discomfort when he returned to clout a couple of sixes but when finally bowled for 30 off 20 balls by Josh Little, his impressive IPL debut season was done and dusted, along with that of all the Australian contingent at this year’s edition.
Cameron Green bats for Mumbai. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
Ultimately, it was the new superstar Shubman Gill who completely stole the show from Mumbai’s last three Australians left in the tournament – Green, Tim David and Jason Behrendorff – with a matchwinning century that stamped his place as the new darling of the Indian game.
Behrendorff and Green went for 63 wicketless runs between them and David’s one major unfortunate contribution was to drop Gill at mid-on when he was on 30.
Green also dropped a difficult return chance off the man he’ll soon be facing in the World Test Championship final.
They proved difficult chances, but were extraordinarily costly misses.
For by the time David did finally catch him, Gill had motored elegantly to 129, including 10 effortless sixes and seven fours off just 60 balls, in what was one of the landmark innings the league has witnessed. In front of 75,000 enthralled fans too.
His third ton of the season propelled reigning champions Titans to 3-233 off their 20 overs, which never looked attainable after fast bowler Mohit Sharma also went to work, taking 5-10.
It gave Gujarat a 62-run win with 10 balls to spare and set up a final on Sunday against Chennai Super Kings on the same ground.
“The over I hit three sixes is where I felt it was my day,” Gill smiled. “I wanted to maximise scoring. Belief is more important. Helps when you’re coming off a good international season. This is my best innings so far in the IPL.”
Once Green returned for his second spell at the crease, his forearm covered with tape but still not wearing an arm guard, Mumbai still had some hope as the dazzling Suryakumar Yadav made 61 off 38, yet Sharma clean bowled him, ending their chances .
Australia captain Meg Lanning has been ruled out of the women’s Ashes due to medical issues in a major blow for the team’s defence of the urn.
Lanning only returned to cricket in January following a four-month mental health break, but led Australia to the women’s Twenty20 World Cup triumph in March.
The 31-year-old played in the inaugural Women’s Premier League in India, but will unavailable for the tour of the UK.
“It’s an unfortunate setback for Meg and she’s obviously disappointed to have been ruled out of the Ashes; it’s a significant series for the team and she’ll be missed, but she understands the need to put her health first,” Cricket Australia’s women’s cricket performance boss Shawn Flegler said.
“Meg will remain at home where she will continue to work with medical staff with the aim to return to playing as soon as possible.
“We ask that Meg’s privacy is respected at this time.”
Dashing wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy will step up to captain Australia in the Ashes, with allrounder Tahlia McGrath to be vice-captain.
Lanning will not be replaced in the squad due to the concurrent Australia A tour which allows players to be available for and cross over into both squads as required.
The one-off women’s Test gets underway in Nottingham on June 22, with three T20s and three ODIs to follow in the multi-format series.
(with AAP)
Australian allrounder Sean Abbott has been left astonished by his own record-breaking exploits after equalling the fastest-ever hundred hit in English T20 cricket.
The Surrey player simply destroyed Kent’s bowling at the Oval in the T20 Blast competition, blasting to three figures in just 34 balls on Friday night to match the competition record set by his late, great compatriot Andrew Symonds for Kent against Middlesex 19 years ago.
Yet the modest Abbott, who’s quickly become a popular figure with the county champions, paid tribute to one of Australian cricket’s old heroes afterwards, shrugging: “I don’t think people should be talking about me and ‘Roy’ in the same breath.
“But that was a lot of fun!”
“I don’t think I’ll get much sleep tonight but to share that one with Roy – he’s a hero of mine, and hopefully we get to share a beer upstairs and have a chat about it some day,” Abbott said.
“I’m absolutely chuffed with it. I don’t really have the words for it to be honest.”
It was an astounding knock which featured 11 sixes and seven fours, including 30 coming in the 17th over – 6-4-6-4-4-6 – off his luckless Australia pace colleague Kane Richardson.
Even more remarkably, the 31-year-old Abbott, who rescued a difficult situation for Surrey after coming in at 4-64, had previously never scored a fifty – his best had been 41 – in 76 T20 innings.
Instead, his 110 not out off 41 balls completely transformed the match, taking Surrey to 5-223 before they went on to limit Kent to 7-182 and seal a 41-run victory.
“Have to have a chat with Moises Henriques (his captain at the Sydney Sixers) back home – maybe I’m batting too low!” laughed Abbott, when asked on Sky TV about the transformation from a man who’d only made 51 runs in seven innings in the entire 2022-23 BBL.
“No, we’ve got a class side back home at the Sixers, so I can’t ask to bat too much higher. Just grateful for this opportunity.
“This isn’t going to sink in for a while. First (Blast) game at the Oval in front of a home crowd (of 17,000), I haven’t batted that well for a while, nice to go out there and make the most of it. I had a little bit of luck – but, boy, that was a lot of fun.”
The luck came when, after being shunted up the order to No.6 and racing to his half-century off 23 balls, including three sixes bludgeoned over long-on off George Linde, he got dropped by the same player off Joey Evison when he’d powered on to 87.
But Abbott couldn’t be stopped and reached the landmark with two more back-to-back sixes off another Australian, Kent’s 41-year-old veteran Michael Hogan.
Sean Abbott celebrates a Vitality Blast century. (Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images for Surrey CCC)
FASTEST T20 HUNDREDS IN HISTORY
Chris Gayle – 30 balls (Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Warriors in Bangalore) 2013
Rishabh Pant – 32 balls (Delhi v Himachal Pradesh in Delhi) 2018
Wihan Lubbe – 33 balls (North West v Limpopo in Paarl) 2018
Andrew Symonds – 34 balls (Kent v Middlesex in Maidstone) 2004
Sean Abbott – 34 balls (Surrey v Kent at The Oval) 2023
(with AAP)
Australia could be forced to blood an entirely new-look opening combination in next month’s women’s Ashes Test with Alyssa Healy seriously considering dropping down the order to manage workloads.
Healy has opened for Australia in the last three Tests dating back to 2019, taking on the role she has regularly occupied in the white-ball game.
But the vice-captain is wary of the impact keeping wicket will have on her in Test cricket.
Also on Healy’s mind is she was dismissed for a pair in her last Test against England in Canberra, on both occasions to the now-retired Katherine Brunt.
“I have given it a lot of thought. And it has been up for discussion for a little bit of time,” Healy told AAP.
“In the last Test match, look I put my hand up and I wanted to do it. It was my decision to open the batting and I thought it would be a great place to bat.
“I probably underestimated the work I would have to do in the field, not having to do that all the time.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it, and if the time comes and they want me to open, okay great. “But I’d happily slide down to the middle and whack a Dukes ball around.”
(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Healy is the only player in the men’s or women’s game to wicketkeep and open the batting on a regular basis, with the last being Kamran Akmal for Pakistan in 2007.
Asked if her preference was to now drop down the order and bat at No.6 or No.7 like she did when she debuted in Test cricket, Healy said that was the case.
“It was tough. I’m not trying to have a cop out, but it was really tough mentally to open and keep,” Healy said.
“Knowing what the conditions could potentially be like in England, the Dukes ball swings around a little bit longer.
“The chances behind the stumps are going to be really important. So doing that job well will be my priority.
“And wherever I have to slot in with the bat, that will be great.”
Healy is aware the decision will be a long-term one, with Australia to play three Tests in the next eight months and a new opening combination already looming following Rachael Haynes’ retirement last year.
Beth Mooney is favoured to step up and take Haynes’ spot at Trent Bridge on June 22 when the Test matches open the multi-format Ashes series having filled in at the top previously.
Rising star Phoebe Litchfield would then be an option to make her Test debut opening after an impressive start to her international white-ball career last summer.
The number of Ashes Tests played by England’s legendary swing bowler, Sydney Barnes, who managed to dismiss Aussie batters 106 times from 1901-12.
On This Day …
May 27 – Don Bradman set yet another record on the 1938 Ashes tour when he brought up his 1000th first-class run for the season during a century in a tour game against Hampshire, beating the mark set the previous year by Walter Hammond by one day.
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