Defending champions Australia have struggled at Trent Bridge in the recent past & today was no exception, as Aaron Finch's side weathered a resolute & gusty West Indies to win the match by 15 runs, in a battle of nerves, that went their way at crucial junctures of the game. It was certainly the most entertaining & closely contested match of the tournament thus far.
Asking the Aussies to bat first, the Windies pace attack sprayed wayward in the first over, giving away wides & no ball, but quickly settled into a deadly line & fiery bounce to rattle the Australian top order - by the 8th over, the score read a miserable 38 for 4, with Warner, Finch, Khawaja & Maxwell back in the dugout. Smith held one end dourly, absorbing the pressure, while Stoinis & Carey both put in small but meaningful contributions in an attempt to rebuild the innings. When Carey left in the 31st over after a well made 45 & the team total read 148 for 6, in walked Coulter Nile to join Steve Smith at the crease. He looked clueless initially against the battering Windies pace, & survived a few close calls, but hung onto dear life, allowing his nerves to settle & get his batting to find rhythm. At that stage, the Australian innings did not look capable of crossing 200 runs mark, but, things started to change dramatically, as Smith held one end, reaching his fifty in the 36th over, & Coulter Nile started to smack the ball to boundaries with regular ease. Smith finally got out for a resolute & painstaking 73, but by then Australians were breathing much easy. Coulter Nile, dropped again at 61, went on to clobber 8 boundaries & 4 sixes to reach a career best score of 92 off just 60 deliveries - the highest score for a no 8 in the World Cup. The Australian innings folded at 288 runs in the 49th over - a far respectable total, after the initial wobble. The West Indian pace battery of Thomas, Cottrell, Russell, Braithwaite & Holder regularly clocked over 140kmph, extracting nasty bounce from the wicket to rattle the Aussie batting, but Smith along with Coulter Nile, scoring the innings of his life & useful contributions from Carey, managed to post a fighting total.
I felt that the Windies attack eased after claiming 6 wickets, & somehow allowed the Aussies to escape the stranglehold, which eventually went on to haunt them in defeat.
In reply, one expected Gayle to fire big, but he faltered to deceive after a flourishing start, as the score read 31 for 2 in just 5 overs. Shai Hope started to rebuild the innings with Pooran in an enterprising partnership, followed by another one with Hetmyer & then with capt Holder - all floundering after a promising start, as Aussies kept coming back each time claiming a wicket. Hope perished for a patient, but well crafted 68, in the 35 over with score reading 190 for 5, as Andre Russell walked in the middle to join Capt Holder. The target, still well under control with 99 needed of 90 deliveries, but Russell's brief cameo ended, as he unnecessarily mishit Starc, & Maxwell took a stunning catch running yards behind him to pocket the skier - Windies were slowly digging a grave for themselves. Holder got his fifty, but the pressure of chase kept building & Starc removed both Braithwaite & Holder in the 46th over to demolish any resistance that the Windies had, as the Aussies rejoiced. In the final outcome, they fell short by 15 runs.
West Indies were in a position to win, but failed to complete the job - first, they let the Aussies crawl back from a hapless 148 for 6 to a commanding score of 288, allowing Coulter Nile to counter attack, dropping him twice, & also dropping Smith when on just 26 - very costly misses in the end. Then in the run chase, they could not hold their nerves, losing wickets at crucial stages, & the worst offender was Russell who unnecessarily gave away his wicket, allowing Aussies to again bite back. It was disappointing for them to end up losers after such a bright start, but they certainly take a lot of positives into their next match.
For the Aussies, it was a reassuring victory, as capt Finch used his bowling resources superbly, aiming at attacking, rather than containing, to scrape home a victory.
On the field Umpiring, was surprisingly below par in this match, as a number of reviews were taken to revoke decisions, with both Chris Gaffaney & Ruchira Palliyaguruge making mistakes.
Asking the Aussies to bat first, the Windies pace attack sprayed wayward in the first over, giving away wides & no ball, but quickly settled into a deadly line & fiery bounce to rattle the Australian top order - by the 8th over, the score read a miserable 38 for 4, with Warner, Finch, Khawaja & Maxwell back in the dugout. Smith held one end dourly, absorbing the pressure, while Stoinis & Carey both put in small but meaningful contributions in an attempt to rebuild the innings. When Carey left in the 31st over after a well made 45 & the team total read 148 for 6, in walked Coulter Nile to join Steve Smith at the crease. He looked clueless initially against the battering Windies pace, & survived a few close calls, but hung onto dear life, allowing his nerves to settle & get his batting to find rhythm. At that stage, the Australian innings did not look capable of crossing 200 runs mark, but, things started to change dramatically, as Smith held one end, reaching his fifty in the 36th over, & Coulter Nile started to smack the ball to boundaries with regular ease. Smith finally got out for a resolute & painstaking 73, but by then Australians were breathing much easy. Coulter Nile, dropped again at 61, went on to clobber 8 boundaries & 4 sixes to reach a career best score of 92 off just 60 deliveries - the highest score for a no 8 in the World Cup. The Australian innings folded at 288 runs in the 49th over - a far respectable total, after the initial wobble. The West Indian pace battery of Thomas, Cottrell, Russell, Braithwaite & Holder regularly clocked over 140kmph, extracting nasty bounce from the wicket to rattle the Aussie batting, but Smith along with Coulter Nile, scoring the innings of his life & useful contributions from Carey, managed to post a fighting total.
I felt that the Windies attack eased after claiming 6 wickets, & somehow allowed the Aussies to escape the stranglehold, which eventually went on to haunt them in defeat.
In reply, one expected Gayle to fire big, but he faltered to deceive after a flourishing start, as the score read 31 for 2 in just 5 overs. Shai Hope started to rebuild the innings with Pooran in an enterprising partnership, followed by another one with Hetmyer & then with capt Holder - all floundering after a promising start, as Aussies kept coming back each time claiming a wicket. Hope perished for a patient, but well crafted 68, in the 35 over with score reading 190 for 5, as Andre Russell walked in the middle to join Capt Holder. The target, still well under control with 99 needed of 90 deliveries, but Russell's brief cameo ended, as he unnecessarily mishit Starc, & Maxwell took a stunning catch running yards behind him to pocket the skier - Windies were slowly digging a grave for themselves. Holder got his fifty, but the pressure of chase kept building & Starc removed both Braithwaite & Holder in the 46th over to demolish any resistance that the Windies had, as the Aussies rejoiced. In the final outcome, they fell short by 15 runs.
West Indies were in a position to win, but failed to complete the job - first, they let the Aussies crawl back from a hapless 148 for 6 to a commanding score of 288, allowing Coulter Nile to counter attack, dropping him twice, & also dropping Smith when on just 26 - very costly misses in the end. Then in the run chase, they could not hold their nerves, losing wickets at crucial stages, & the worst offender was Russell who unnecessarily gave away his wicket, allowing Aussies to again bite back. It was disappointing for them to end up losers after such a bright start, but they certainly take a lot of positives into their next match.
For the Aussies, it was a reassuring victory, as capt Finch used his bowling resources superbly, aiming at attacking, rather than containing, to scrape home a victory.
On the field Umpiring, was surprisingly below par in this match, as a number of reviews were taken to revoke decisions, with both Chris Gaffaney & Ruchira Palliyaguruge making mistakes.
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