West Aussies on top after two days in Shield opener
SEASON 2022/23 of the Sheffield Shield kicked off earlier in the week, with Western Australia and the New South Wales Blues beginning their four-day first class clash at WACA Ground.
The Western Australians were the winners of the 2021/22 Sheffield Shield, and came into the season with the list capable of defending the title. The Blues on the other hand, were looking to rise up the rankings after just a pair of wins in their previous campaign.
The two sides also clashed in the Marsh One Day Cup on the weekend, with WA emerging dominant winners, bowling the Blues out for just 76 runs.
That form looks to have carried into the red ball format, with Western Australia continuing to outperform the opposition in a big way.
The Blues batted first and WA took no time before asserting their bowling dominance once again. It was a theme that carried over from the Marsh Cup match last week. The Blues simply could not get going with bat in hand, with no genuine partnership coming to the forefront.
Apart from Kurtis Patterson‘s unbeaten knock of 72, no player scored above 21 for New South Wales, and the entire batting lineup was dismissed for just 180 runs, a total that was more than achievable for the Western Aussies.
Things looked shaky however to start the home side’s innings, when openers Cameron Bancroft (two runs) and Sam Whiteman (duck) were both dismissed by Ben Dwarshius. Sam Fanning and Hilton Cartright were solid at the crease shortly after, but it was youngster Teague Wyllie that was the difference.
He rewrote the history books and became the youngest player to score a shield ton since Ricky Ponting. His composed knock of 104 runs from 204 balls included 15 fours, as he picked the gaps to perfection. Punishing the likes of Nathan Lyon and Liam Hatcher, Wylie steered WA into the lead, and thanks to Matthew Kelly‘s 47-run effort, the side went into day three with a 78-run lead.
New South Wales had started day three in decent fashion, with the Blues building a promising opening partnership, before Blake Nikitaras edged one through to the keeper, dismissed for 25 runs. It was all downhill from there, as the wickets began to fall for the Blues. At the time of publication, WA had the opposition sitting at figures of 4/64 in the second innings, and in full control of the game.
Aussies clean sweep tour with another big win
AUSTRALIA’s undefeated run has continued, this time defeating Bangladesh by 77 runs in the third T20 of their series to fully clean sweep their tour. The Australians batted first and made 6/155, before bowling their hosts out for just 78. Choosing to go back to a more traditional batting line up, the Australians made pretty […]
Experimental Aussies maintain winning momentum
AUSTRALIA remains undefeated in its tour of Bangladesh after another white ball victory, this time to the tune of 58 runs in the second T20. After the Australians opted to bat first and posted 8/161, Bangladesh could only muster 9/103. The tourists experimented with their batting order, including promoting Georgia Wareham to number three and […]
Australia changes format but not form in cruisy win
THERE may have been a change in format but there was no change to Australia’s dominance over Bangladesh, this time cruising to a 10 wicket win in the first T20 of the series between the sides. Bangladesh was restricted to 4/126 from its innings, before Australia only needed 13 overs to reach the tally. Losing […]
Aussies clean sweep series with strong but inaccurate bowling
AUSTRALIA has clean swept its ODI series with Bangladesh after defeating the hosts by eight wickets in the third ODI. Australia bowled Bangladesh out for 89, before reaching the target itself halfway through the 19th over. The fact that the hosts lost their first wicket two thirds of the way through the second over and […]
Sophie stars to help Aussies win big again
A bowling masterclass from Sophie Molineux has helped Australia cruise to a six-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second ODI of the series. After bowling Bangladesh out for just 97, the Australians did not even need half their allotted overs to get the job done. Bangladesh’s start was very slow, and when that first wicket […]
Warriors wrap up domestic triple-double
WESTERN Australia has secured its third consecutive Sheffield Shield title after defeating Tasmania by 377 runs at the WACA on Sunday. The Warriors sealed victory as day four drew to its crescendo, with Joel Paris sticking a screamer in gully to see Tasmania rolled for 160 in the final session. A dominant force on the […]
‘A’ names equals ‘A+’ performance as Australia wins big
SOME explosive batting from Alana King and some star bowling from the Australians has helped them start their series with Bangladesh with a big 118 run win. Australia posted 7/213 before bowling its hosts out for just 95. Although Australia’s total ended up being more than enough, things were not looking that certain early in […]
Molineux’s magnificent over helps Bangalore bag title
THE Royal Challengers Bangalore are the Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) champions of 2024, after they comprehensively beat the Delhi Capitals to the tune of eight wickets in the final overnight. Delhi was bowled out for 113 before Bangalore took its time but reached the target with three balls to spare. The Capitals actually made a […]
Bangalore’s big upset sees Royal Challengers through to big dance
THE Royal Challengers Bangalore have defeated the Mumbai Indians by five runs to cause a bit of an upset and move through to the Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) Final. After the Royal Challengers were restricted to just 6/135, some superb bowling ensured Mumbai could only make 6/130. The win sees Bangalore move through to […]
