England beat http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 by 1 wicket in first Twenty20
England’s dream tour of Australia continues, as the Twenty20 world champions beat world champions of the 50-over format by 1 wicket in a thrilling encounter at Adelaide Oval. It was first of two T20s and England can now not lose
the miniseries.
Australia’s new T20 captain Cameron White, who was promoted after Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 announced his retirement from T20 cricket, won the toss and decided that they would bat first. There were a number of changes in the Australian team
that played in the Ashes and many specialists of limited-over cricket were back. David Warner, the left-handed dynamite at the top of the order, was also back and opened the innings with Shane Watson. The right-handed all rounder is one of few players who
continue to do the same job in all 3 formats of the game in almost the same manner. The two began the innings cautiously and did not take too many risks in the first 3 overs. Once the two in the middle got the measure of the wicket, runs suddenly started to
flow.
Warner as usual was at his blistering best and was severe on anything marginally short or wide; the left-hander cut and pulled well. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 was using the drives to long on and long off more to his use. However, when spin was introduced,
Watson took Graeme Swann to the cleaners and hit him for 3 sixes. The partnership was broken after 83 runs. Shane Watson was the first to go after scoring 59 runs from 31 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes. Warner followed soon after for 30 runs from 28 balls
with 5 fours. Michael Yardy accounted for both their wickets.
Cameron White could not impress with the bat and left for just 6 runs. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Aaron-Finch-c881 and Steven Smith got 15 each (both were unbeaten at the end of Australia’s run) while David Hussey made 28 as Australia ended their innings at 157
for the loss of 4 wickets. The home team would have been aiming for a much bigger total considering the start they got, but England did well to get back and restrict the Aussies.
England’s reply did not begin ideally, and the first wicket fell for just 16 when Steve Davies was out for 4. Kevin Pietersen walked in at number 3 and gave the innings some composure and momentum. Opener Ian Bell was at the other
end; the two added 33 runs for the 2nd wicket. The partnership ended with the score at 49 when Bell was dismissed for 27 runs, and England captain Paul Collingwood came in next. England innings looked to be going well but whenever a partnership
started to take shape they lost a wicket. Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen were dismissed for 16 and 25 respectively.
England would still have had hope as their most dependable batsman Eoin Morgan was still on the crease. The calm left-hander once again showed why he is said to have nerves of steel; Morgan kept the innings going and batted around
the tail. Morgan was dismissed for a well-made 43 runs and the score at the time was 130 for 6. England needed 28 runs from 27, but wickets started to fall and it went down to the final over with 4 runs needed and 2 wickets left. Watson dismissed Swann but
the man playing his first ODI Chris Woakes showed some composure and hit the winning run off the final ball to earn a hard fought win. England lead the series 1-0; Shane Watson of Australia was given the man of the match award for his 4-wicket and 59-run contribution
to the match.
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