The Week to August 31

CRICKET

Australia has warmed up for their five-match one-day series against England with an unconvincing 23-run win against Ireland in Belfast in the one and only one-day clash between the two sides.

Australia’s captain Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bat, and Dave Warner and debutant Joe Burns put on a record partnership of 139 for the first wicket before Burns was dismissed for an impressive 69. Warner went on to post 84, but that was the last of Australia’s significant contributions with the bat, as their middle order frailties were exposed again by England’s attack. Shane Watson was next top-scorer with 26 not out, and the Australians finished at 6/222 from 40.2 overs before rain curtailed their innings.

Joe Burns made an impressive 69 on debut against Ireland

Ireland’s target was reduced to 195 from 27 overs, before further rain left them chasing 181 from 24 overs. Australia’s pacemen reduced their opponents to 2/7 in the second over before Ed Joyce and Niall O’Brien combined to put Ireland back in the game with an 86-run stand in just 13 overs. Glenn Maxwell was brought into the attack and immediately dismissed both batsmen for well-compiled 40s to put Australia back in control. A steady stream of wickets from then on saw Ireland dismissed for 157 with two balls remaining in their innings.

MATCH SUMMARY:

Australia 6/222 (40.2 overs): D Warner 84, J Burns 69; T Murtagh 2/45 (10 overs)
Ireland 10/157 (23.4 overs): N O’Brien 45, E Joyce 44; N Coulter-Nile 3/13 (4.4 overs)

AUSTRALIA won by 23 runs (Duckworth-Lewis Method)

Man of the Match – David Warner (Australia)

AUSTRALIA won the one-off match.

 

Upcoming fixtures:

MEN

Twenty20:
Only T20I: England vs Australia at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (Tue, Sep 1 at 12:00am)

One Day Internationals:
1st ODI: England vs Australia at The Rose Bowl, Southampton (Thu, Sep 3 at 11:00pm)
2nd ODI: England vs Australia at Lord’s, London (Sat, Sep 5 at 7:30pm)
3rd ODI: England vs Australia at Old Trafford, Manchester (Tue, Sep 8 at 11:00pm)
4th ODI: England vs Australia at Headingley, Leeds (Fri, Sep 11 at 7:30pm)
5th ODI: England vs Australia at Old Trafford, Manchester (Sun, Sep 13 at 7:30pm)

 

WOMEN

The Southern Stars have managed what the Australian men couldn’t do, and won their Ashes series after claiming the one victory required from their three Twenty20 clashes against England.

All three matches followed similar patterns, with Australia batting first in each of the games, posting totals between 107 and 122. The difference in Australia’s win in the second match was that none of England’s top four managed to notch up a significant contribution in the chase, and this was enough for the Southern Stars to claim the two points they needed to regain the Ashes.

All-rounder Ellyse Perry was Australia’s player of the series, scoring 264 runs at an average of 33 and taking 16 wickets at 13.43 across the seven matches, whilst Anya Shrubsole was England’s player of the series, taking 13 wickets at an average of 18.

The Southern Stars celebrate winning the 2015 Ashes

MATCH SUMMARIES:

Game One: Australia 8/122 (20 overs) lost to England 3/123 (17.3 overs) by 7 wickets (with 15 balls remaining)

Player of the Match – Sarah Taylor (England)

Game Two: Australia 7/107 (20 overs) defeated England 10/87 (19.1 overs) by 20 runs

Player of the Match – Rene Farrell (Australia)

Game Three: Australia 10/111 (20 overs) lost to England 5/114 (18.1 overs) by 5 wickets (with 11 balls remaining)

Player of the Match – Natalie Sciver (England)

Players of the Series – Ellyse Perry (Australia) and Anya Shrubsole (England)

AUSTRALIA won the Ashes series 10-6.

 

RUGBY UNION

Upcoming fixtures:

One-off Test:

USA vs Australia at Soldier Field, Chicago (Sun, Sep 6 at 9:40am)

World Cup:

Australia vs Fiji at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (Thu, Sep 24 at 1:45am)
Australia vs Uruguay at Villa Park, Birmingham (Sun, Sep 27 at 9:00pm)
Australia vs England at Twickenham, London (Sun, Oct 4 at 6:00am)
Australia vs Wales at Twickenham, London (Sun, Oct 11 at 2:45am)
*All times AEST

 

RUGBY LEAGUE

Round results (home team listed first): Rabbitohs lost to Broncos 12-47; Sea Eagles lost to Roosters 10-46; Eels lost to Sharks 28-35; Knights lost to Bulldogs 18-20; Storm defeated Cowboys 14-6; Tigers defeated Warriors 50-16; Titans defeated Dragons 28-26; Raiders defeated Panthers 34-18.

Current standings – Round 25:

Upcoming fixtures – NRL Round 26 of 26:

Broncos vs Storm at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Thu, Sep 3 at 7:45pm)
Roosters vs Rabbitohs at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Fri, Sep 4 at 7:45pm)
Panthers vs Knights at Sportingbet Stadium, Penrith (Sat, Sep 5 at 3:00pm)
Dragons vs Tigers at ANZ Stadium, Sydney (Sat, Sep 5 at 5:30pm)
Cowboys vs Titans at 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville (Sat, Sep 5 at 7:30pm)
Eels vs Raiders at Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta (Sun, Sep 6 at 2:00pm)
Sharks vs Sea Eagles at Remondis Stadium, Woolooware (Sun, Sep 6 at 4:00pm)
Bulldogs vs Warriors at ANZ Stadium, Sydney (Sun, Sep 6 at 6:30pm)

*All times AEST

**If you are tipping and have no idea who to go for, you could pick the home team, or the team that’s higher on the ladder. I’ll put up the tally each week of where you would be placed for each option. (The underlined team is the higher-ranked team as at the end of the previous round.)

HOME: 97/184 after Round 25 (93/176 after Round 24)
HIGHER-RANKED: 102/184 after Round 25 (97/176 after Round 24)