http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746’s tour of Bangladesh – Review – Part 2
Newly appointed Australian Captain Michael Clarke replaced his predecessor Ricky Pointing at the crease with Australia and was joined by Cameron White as the Australians looked to push on in their innings. After taking two quick wickets, hosts http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747
looked to keep the momentum going and pressurise the two new batsmen on the crease.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imrul-Kayes-c64265 in the field who made no mistake with the catch. The Australian batsmen did not look comfortable as he struggled to reach the score in 50
deliveries with a painstakingly slow strike rate of 40.00.
On the other hand, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 seemed to be relishing the new role as captain for his side as he made the majority runs in the 48 run partnership with White. Mike Hussey, who can be devastating prospect when on form, was the new man in as he looked to build up
a partnership with Clarke.
Hussey played a more sober knock as compared to his usual self and was solid for his 33 run contribution before he was dismissed by what seemed to be Bangladesh’s only real bowling threat, Shuvo.
The bowler tempted the batsmen to play a shot against his better judgment that resulted in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahmudullah-c1877 taking a well judged catch to dismiss Hussey. With just under five overs to go and the Australians at 222 runs the Bangladeshi side were growing desperate
to try and halt the Aussie onslaught.
They had something to cheer about when Hussey’s replacement at the crease, Steven http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mitchell-c76390 Johnson made sure that the score kept
ticking.
Yet the innings was all about Clarke’s first game as captain as he completed his century soon after. It seemed the burden of responsibility as captain was not a burden for him at all as his knock of 101 runs was the backbone of the innings.
Clarke made his way back to the pavilion on the penultimate delivery of the innings after his shot did not connect as well as he would have liked and made its way into the grateful hands of Mahmudullah. The captain had done his job though, as Mitchell Johnson’s
26 run burst from 13 deliveries ensured that the Australian’s had a comfortable total of 270 runs up on the board.
The Bangladeshi bowlers did not perform as well as they perhaps thought they could have. Apart from Suhrawadi Shuvo who claimed three wickets none of the other bowlers contributed enough to their side. Captain Shakib Al http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hasan-c61990 did well for his figures of
34 runs in 10 overs, restricting the Australian run rate to some extent but the lack of wickets taken will be something of a concern for the Bangladeshi side for the rest of the series.
The batting from the Australian side had been sound and consistent as almost every batsman contributed to the overall score as Clarke was supported well by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326, Ponting and Hussey’s innings. The batsmen did not panic even when they lost quick wickets
and stuck to their game plan, something the Bangladeshi batsmen would look to emulate in the second innings as they took to the crease.
Continued in Australia’s tour of Bangladesh – Review – Part 3
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