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Sydney Morning Herald
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Labuschagne facing the axe as Australia's fragile batters leave door open for South Africa
London: If this game has been the ultimate Test, as billed by its promoters, then Australia's increasingly fragile batting lineup has largely failed its questions. Hoping to settle their top six ahead of the Ashes at home this summer, the national selectors – all of them in attendance at Lord's this week – have a long list of fresh queries about how to produce the runs required to keep winning games. Pat Cummins, who now has 300 wickets in Tests, will back his men to outbowl South Africa here in the final innings to seize back-to-back world test championship titles. The game is in fast-forward, but Alex Carey (43) and Mitchell Starc (16 not out) fought through the final hour on day two to be 8-144 at stumps. But the magnificent pace and spin ensemble led by the captain, alongside Josh Hazlewood, Starc and Nathan Lyon with Scott Boland in reserve, should not be having to go back to the well this often. CricViz has the Proteas narrow favourites: 51 per cent to 49, with the Australians leading by 218 overall. 'Ideally we'd probably have a few more wickets in the shed,' Cummins said. 'But the trend of the game is it's still pretty difficult out there, so it's set up pretty well for a day three finish you'd imagine tomorrow, but we're going to have to bowl well.' Usman Khawaja (zero and six) and Cameron Green (four and zero) were taken apart by the formidable Kagiso Rabada in both innings, succumbing to quality seam bowling at high pace. That is no disgrace in itself, but top order players need to be able to handle those difficulties more often than not, at least for long enough to ease a path for the middle order. At 38, Khawaja's skills have lately been stretched by the top echelon of pace bowlers: Mark Wood in England in 2023, Jasprit Bumrah last summer, and Rabada here. A double century in Sri Lanka was made in between, but conditions at Lord's have been far closer to those of Australia than Galle was or the West Indies will be. Slotted back into the side before he was ready to bowl again, Green can be a somewhat iffy starter, when roles in the top three require precision against the new ball. His runs for Gloucestershire were characterised by some struggles early before he was fully dialled in at the crease, and Test class attacks won't give him the latitude of the county second division.
New Indian Express
12-06-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
WTC Final: Ball dance continues on Day 2 but Oz hold upper hand
TEST cricket's biennial showpiece careened towards a sensational and lightning finish after both batting units folded in the face of some tight and accurate bowling either side of tea. Even if the scores may suggest that the pitch may come under scrutiny, the Lord's curator could escape censure. Ben Jones of CricViz posted that '... all the tracking data for this Test is normal, in some areas less movement than is typical for Lord's' (CricViz is a data solutions company who supply data to sporting bodies including ICC). The broadcaster's own graphics backed up that assertion there was nothing alarming about the average seam or swing movement over the first two days. It was just good bowling vs not so good batting. That perfect storm set-up resulted in a loss of 14 wickets in the day, including 13 after lunch on Thursday. As the players walked off the field, Australia will perhaps rightly believe they have their noses in front as they lead by 218, with two second innings wickets in hand. More than four hours earlier, at lunch, the Proteas had counterpunched their way to 5/121 after Temba Bavuma, David Bedingham and Kyle Verrreynne had showed a mix of fight and imagination. The trio added added 70 runs to get within striking distance before Pat Cummins did what he does best. Strangle the batting unit while keeping both edges as well as the stumps in play. Just as the alliance was beginning to bloom between the pair of Bavuma and Bedingham, Cummins got himself on. He did concede a six but across two spells separated by lunch, he picked up five wickets for 14 runs. There was genteel movement but that was enough to leave the batters scrambling. If it was Cummins who starred with the ball before tea to give the holders a big chance, the Proteas' all sorts pace combination got in on the act soon after to totally light the blue touchpaper and set the stage for an early finish. A lead of 74 is gold in game with low scores and it had ballooned to over a 100 as the beleaguered Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja put on 28 for the first wicket. The floodgates, though, opened in the 11th over thanks to Kagiso Rabada. He got the ball to straighten a touch and the southpaw nicked it to the keeper. Cameron Green came and went without adding to the score. An uncomfortable position turned perilous after Steve Smith missed a rather straight delivery off Lungi Ngidi. Ngidi also played a big role to play in Australia losing wickets in a cluster, a welcome return to form after a wayward first innings outing where he conceded none for 45 off just eight overs. The wickets started to tumble and the mode of dismissals was similar to the first 150 overs or so — keeping the edges in play and bringing the stumps into play with whatever deviation off the surface. Each of the next four wickets were either bowled or leg-before. When they weren't getting bowled or being trapped in front, they were getting beaten. It's why the innings Alex Carey played before being dismissed could yet be the one that gives Australia its second mace. The southpaw is known for his firefighting abilities and he once again displayed his class with a nerveless 50-ball 43. On Friday, with the weather expected to be largely clear, South Africa have the chance to do something special, a first men's ICC title this side of 2000. Can they do it? Brief scores: Australia 212 and 144/8 in 40 ovs (Carey 43, Rabada 3/44, Ngidi 3/35) vs South Africa 138 in 57.1 ovs (Bavuma 36, Bedingham 45, Cummins 6/28, Starc 2/41))
The Age
12-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Australia's fragile batters leave door open for South Africa
London: If this game has been the ultimate Test, as billed by its promoters, then Australia's increasingly fragile batting lineup has largely failed its questions. Hoping to settle their top six ahead of the Ashes at home this summer, the national selectors – all of them in attendance at Lord's this week – have a long list of fresh queries about how to produce the runs required to keep winning games. Now with 300 wickets in Tests, Pat Cummins will back his men to outbowl South Africa here in the final innings of a game in fast-forward, particularly after Alex Carey (43) found a willing ally in Mitchell Starc for a stand of 61 in the final hour. But the magnificent pace and spin ensemble led by the captain, alongside Josh Hazlewood, Starc and Nathan Lyon with Scott Boland in reserve, should not be having to go back to the well this often. CricViz has the Proteas narrow favourites: 51 per cent to 49, with the Australians leading by 218 overall. 'Ideally we'd probably have a few more wickets in the shed,' Cummins said. 'But the trend of the game is it's still pretty difficult out there, so it's set up pretty well for a day three finish you'd imagine tomorrow, but we're going to have to bowl well.' Usman Khawaja (zero and six) and Cameron Green (four and zero) were taken apart by the formidable Kagiso Rabada in both innings, succumbing to quality seam bowling at high pace. That is no disgrace in itself, but top order players need to be able to handle those difficulties more often than not, at least for long enough to ease a path for the middle order. At 38, Khawaja's skills have lately been stretched by the top echelon of pace bowlers: Mark Wood in England in 2023, Jasprit Bumrah last summer, and Rabada here. A double century in Sri Lanka was made in between, but conditions at Lord's have been far closer to those of Australia than Galle was or the West Indies will be. Slotted back into the side before he was ready to bowl again, Green can be a somewhat iffy starter, when roles in the top three require precision against the new ball. His runs for Gloucestershire were characterised by some struggles early before he was fully dialled in at the crease, and Test class attacks won't give him the latitude of the county second division.
Sydney Morning Herald
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia's fragile batters leave door open for South Africa
London: If this game has been the ultimate Test, as billed by its promoters, then Australia's increasingly fragile batting lineup has largely failed its questions. Hoping to settle their top six ahead of the Ashes at home this summer, the national selectors – all of them in attendance at Lord's this week – have a long list of fresh queries about how to produce the runs required to keep winning games. Now with 300 wickets in Tests, Pat Cummins will back his men to outbowl South Africa here in the final innings of a game in fast-forward, particularly after Alex Carey (43) found a willing ally in Mitchell Starc for a stand of 61 in the final hour. But the magnificent pace and spin ensemble led by the captain, alongside Josh Hazlewood, Starc and Nathan Lyon with Scott Boland in reserve, should not be having to go back to the well this often. CricViz has the Proteas narrow favourites: 51 per cent to 49, with the Australians leading by 218 overall. 'Ideally we'd probably have a few more wickets in the shed,' Cummins said. 'But the trend of the game is it's still pretty difficult out there, so it's set up pretty well for a day three finish you'd imagine tomorrow, but we're going to have to bowl well.' Usman Khawaja (zero and six) and Cameron Green (four and zero) were taken apart by the formidable Kagiso Rabada in both innings, succumbing to quality seam bowling at high pace. That is no disgrace in itself, but top order players need to be able to handle those difficulties more often than not, at least for long enough to ease a path for the middle order. At 38, Khawaja's skills have lately been stretched by the top echelon of pace bowlers: Mark Wood in England in 2023, Jasprit Bumrah last summer, and Rabada here. A double century in Sri Lanka was made in between, but conditions at Lord's have been far closer to those of Australia than Galle was or the West Indies will be. Slotted back into the side before he was ready to bowl again, Green can be a somewhat iffy starter, when roles in the top three require precision against the new ball. His runs for Gloucestershire were characterised by some struggles early before he was fully dialled in at the crease, and Test class attacks won't give him the latitude of the county second division.
Hindustan Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
RCB's Virat-Padikkal emerge as most prolific batting pair of IPL 2025
Bengaluru [India], : With another high-scoring, calculated partnership against Rajasthan Royals , the Royal Challengers Bengaluru pair of Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal outshone some of the most prolific pairs of the ongoing Indian Premier League to become the duo with most runs as partners this season. During the clash against the Rajasthan Royals , Virat and Paddikal added 95 runs in 51 balls for the second wicket, reaching a total of 426 runs as a pair. Their partnership played a crucial role in RCB posting 205/5 in their 20 overs. They have outdone the Gujarat Titans pair of England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler and Sai Sudharsan and the Lucknow Super Giants pair of Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran as the most prolific pair of IPL 2025, as per CricViz. Before this match against RR, Virat-Paddikal had partnerships of 20 runs , 31 runs , 91 runs , three runs , 83 runs , 103 runs against Punjab Kings . It is quite stunning given how up-and-down of a start Padikkal had to his season, which he later picked up with some valuable, counter-attacking knocks. In eight matches so far, Padikkal has scored 230 runs at an average of 32.85 and a strike rate of 156.46, with two half-centuries and the best score of 61. The veteran Virat has climbed to the second spot in the Orange Cap race with his half-century against RR at home, with 392 runs in nine matches at an average of 65.33, a strike rate of 144.11, with five half-centuries. His best score is 73*. Coming to the match, RR opted to bowl first after winning the toss. A 61-run stand between Phil Salt and Virat kickstarted things off for RCB. Later, a 95-run stand followed between Virat, who made 70 in 42 balls, with eight fours and two sixes and Devdutt Padikkal . Despite some quick wickets later, cameos from Tim David and Jitesh Sharma powered RCB to 205/5 in 20 overs. Sandeep Sharma was the top bowler for RR, while Jofra Archer also delivered an impressive four-over spell of 1/33.
