Women’s Cricket World Cup

CRICKET – Women’s World Cup

The Australia Women’s cricket team will tonight begin their campaign to win a record seventh World Cup title, aiming, in the process, to become the first side since the Australians of 1978, 1982 and 1988 to win consecutive tournaments.

England play hosts for the third time in the tournament’s history, and will be strong contenders, particularly considering they have won both times they have hosted previously (1973 and 1993).

Australia will be looking to record back-to-back World Cup victories, following their success in India in 2013. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images)

The eight teams involved (Australia, England, New Zealand, India, West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) will play each other once, with the top four teams going through to the semi-finals. The final will be played at Lord’s in London on Sunday, July 23.

Rachael Haynes will be hoping to emulate her performance in the 2013 World Cup, where she scored 273 runs at an average of 45.50. (Getty Images)

Australia’s squad is as follows:
Meg Lanning (c), Alex Blackwell (vc), Sarah Aley, Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani and Amanda-Jade Wellington.

UPCOMING FIXTURES:
Australia vs West Indies at Taunton (Mon, Jun 26 at 7:30pm)
Australia vs Sri Lanka at Bristol (Thu, Jun 29 at 7:30pm)
Australia vs New Zealand at Bristol (Sun, Jul 2 at 7:30pm)
Australia vs Pakistan at Leicester (Wed, Jul 5 at 7:30pm)
Australia vs England at Bristol (Sun, Jul 9 at 7:30pm)
Australia vs India at Bristol (Wed, Jul 12 at 7:30pm)
Australia vs South Africa at Taunton (Sat, Jul 15 at 7:30pm)

*All times AEST. Times, dates and venues subject to change.

Women’s World T20

CRICKET – Women’s World T20

The Australia Women’s cricket team – the Southern Stars – has progressed to their fourth consecutive World T20 final, after narrowly defeating the England Women’s team by five runs.

The Southern Stars celebrate their win over England in the 2016 ICC Women’s World T20 semi-final

 

After losing the toss and having her side sent in, Stars skipper Meg Lanning again proved why she is the top-ranked batsman in T20 cricket, notching up her second half-century of the tournament, which was the backbone of the Australian innings. Openers Alyssa Healy and Elyse Villani raced to 41 in five overs before both were dismissed in consecutive overs. Lanning then added 36 runs with all-rounder Ellyse Perry and 37 runs with Alex Blackwell before being superbly run out by Anya Shrubsole in the final over for a well-compiled 55 from just 50 deliveries. With each of the top five reaching double figures, Australia finished at 6/132 – a challenging score, but not out of reach for their opponents.

Stars skipper Meg Lanning scored 55 from just 50 deliveries to help her side reach 6/132

 

England’s openers fared even better than their counterparts, reaching 67 inside ten overs before their skipper and best batsman, Charlotte Edwards, was dismissed by leg-spinner Kristen Beams, caught by Lanning for 31. Lanning was in the game again just a few overs later, taking another good catch to get rid of the other opener Tammy Beaumont for 32. At 2/89, England only needed 44 runs from 38 deliveries, and were still well in control. Unfortunately for them, their misfiring middle order failed yet again and they lost a wicket almost every over for the next five overs, leaving them at 7/117 with nine balls remaining. The Australian bowlers kept their cool, with Rene Farrell conceding just seven runs from the final over, giving the Stars a nail-biting five-run victory.

England’s middle-order self-imploded, with four wickets falling for just 14 runs, giving Australia a narrow five-run win

 

Meg Lanning was named player of the match, and she will lead her side for the second consecutive time in a World T20 final, against either New Zealand or the West Indies on Sunday.

Meg Lanning also took two vital catches on her way to being named player-of-the-match

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)

The Week to February 3

CRICKET

Australia completed England’s miserable tour down under with a 3-0 whitewash in the Twenty20 series, winning by margins of 13 runs, 8 wickets and 84 runs. The result meant a 12-1 scoreline in favour of the Australians across all formats throughout the summer, and the English could not get out of the country fast enough, with rumours circling that they chartered a flight to take them home on the night of the final match of the tour.

Australia’s opening pair of Cameron White (174 runs) and Aaron Finch (92 runs), as well as captain George Bailey (123 runs), all had a superb series with the bat, whilst new kids on the block Nathan Coulter-Nile (7 wickets at an average of 12) and 20-year-old leg-spinner James Muirhead (4 wickets at an average of 16) starred with the ball. Muirhead’s performances, especially, were impressive, as he showed considerable skill and nerve in each of the three matches, with his figures getting better and better as the series went on. He will no doubt be a player earmarked for future Australian international fixtures, particularly with the Ashes and World Cup to come in 2015.

Cameron White and George Bailey starred for the Australians in the T20 series

Australia’s women’s cricket team, the Southern Stars, won the Twenty20 component of their Ashes series 2-1, but lost the series overall ten points to eight. After losing the first match convincingly by nine wickets, they fought back to win both the remaining matches by seven wickets.

Southern Stars skipper Meg Lanning starred with the bat in each match, finishing the series with 143 runs, whilst Rene Farrell took the honours with the ball, snaring 5 wickets at an average of 12.80. Ellyse Perry was named player of the series overall – she scored 102 runs and took 8 wickets in the only Test, smashed 155 runs and took 3 wickets in the three One Day Internationals, and hit 29 not out in her only innings in the Twenty20 series.

Meg Lanning had an excellent T20 series, scoring 143 runs in the three matches

MATCH SUMMARIES – Men’s Twenty20 Internationals

Game One

Australia – 4/213 (20 overs): White 75 (43 balls), Finch 52 (31 balls)

England – 9/200 (20 overs): Bopara 65 not out (27 balls); Coulter-Nile 4/31, Henriques 2/35

AUSTRALIA won by 13 runs

Man of the Match – Cameron White (AUS)

Game Two

England – 9/130 (20 overs): Hazlewood 4/30

Australia – 2/131 (14.5 overs): Bailey 60 not out (28 balls), White 58 not out (45 balls)

AUSTRALIA won by 8 wickets (with 31 balls remaining)

Man of the Match – Josh Hazlewood (AUS)

Game Three

Australia – 6/195 (20 overs): Bailey 49 not out (20 balls); Broad 3/30

England – 10/111 (17.2 overs): Muirhead 2/13, Coulter-Nile 2/21

AUSTRALIA won by 84 runs

Man of the Match – George Bailey (AUS)

AUSTRALIA WON THE THREE-MATCH SERIES 3-0.

Australia celebrate their 3-0 victory in the T20 series

MATCH SUMMARIES – Women’s Twenty20 Internationals

Game One

Australia – 3/150 (20 overs): Lanning 78 not out (54 balls), Finch 52 (31 balls)

England – 1/151 (17.5 overs): Edwards 92 not out (59 balls), Taylor 50 not out (37 balls)

ENGLAND won by 9 wickets (with 13 balls remaining)

Player of the Match – Charlotte Edwards (ENG)

Game Two

England – 6/98 (20 overs): Ferling 2/14

Australia – 3/99 (15.1 overs): Lanning 42 (28 balls), Healy 37 not out (43 balls)

AUSTRALIA won by 7 wickets (with 29 balls remaining)

Player of the Match – Holly Ferling (AUS)

Game Three

England – 8/101 (20 overs): Farrell 4/15

Australia – 3/102 (18.3 overs): Villani 36 not out (47 balls)

AUSTRALIA won by 7 wickets (with 9 balls remaining)

Player of the Match – Rene Farrell

Australia won the three-match series 2-1.

Player of the Ashes Series – Ellyse Perry (286 runs at an average of 95.33, 12 wickets at an average of 25.50)

ENGLAND WON THE 2013/14 WOMEN’S ASHES 10-8.

England’s women’s team retained the Ashes, winning the series 10-8