|
Symonds, Hussey blast out Aussies out of trouble
against Kiwis |
The match
between Aus-NZ and South Africa-Sri Lanka were
the biggest of all the warm-up games. At Benoni,
Andrew Symonds and Michael Hussey with their
spectacular seventies pulled Aussies out of
significant trouble to script them to a
four-wicket win with 10 balls to spare.
New Zealand
having won the toss put on 182 despite losing 8
wickets. They never got going with the first 10
overs not yielding many runs with four wickets
going down for 61. It was only for half
centuries from Ross Taylor (53 from 39 with 3
fours and 3 sixes) and Craig McMillan (60 from
29 balls with 5 fours and four sixes) that Kiwis
could put on an interesting target. Both these
batsmen shared a 67-run stand for the fifth
wicket. Ben Hilfenhaus was the best bowler with
3 for 11 in 3 overs. Brad Hogg found the
Twenty20 version tough to content the batsmen as
he went for 51 in his 3 overs! Brett Lee making
his comeback did well with 1 for 21 in his 4.
Australia
were stunned by a double blow from Shane Bond in
the first over with both acting captain
Gilchrist and Matt Hayden dismissed for ducks.
They were soon 15 for 3 in the next over but
after that it was all Australia. Symonds and
Hussey hit the Australians out of trouble with a
smashing stand of 113 in 11.5 overs. Australia
still had some work to do when Symonds was
dismissed in the 14th over. Symonds made 70 from
43 with 8 fours and two sixes. Hussey ensured an
Australian victory by staying almost till the
end with a 44-ball 72 that had six fours and
four sixes. For the Kiwis, Bond finished with 3
for 26 having bowled 3.2 overs.
Top of the Page |
Related Links