Pace bowler Kagiso Rabada led an impressive attack with three wickets to bowl out the Australians for 142 in 34.2 overs after Behardien’s fifth ODI half century rekindled South Africa’s innings allowing them to post a decent 189 for nine in 50 overs.
Opener Aaron Finch singled handedly carried Aussie’s hopes, in difficult batting conditions, by batting throughout most of the innings with a defiant 79 but wickets tumbled around him as Wayne Parnell, Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso supported Rabada by capturing two scalps each.
Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Coulter-Nile who undermined the top half of the South African innings and Glen Maxwell were the main destroyers taking two wickets each after AB de Villiers won the toss and opted to bat first.
Born June 7, 1894, Robert Karl Nunes was West Indies’s first Test captain and wicketkeeper. A gritty, technically correct left-handed batsman and an occasional gloveman, Nunes led West Indies in their first three Tests on their maiden tour of England. Abhishek Mukherjee looks back at the one of the early Calypso champions.
Even if he had done nothing else, Robert Karl Nunes would have been remembered by West Indies cricket as their first Test captain and wicketkeeper. But there was more to Nunes than that. A left-handed batsman with a polished technique, Nunes could bat anywhere in the line-up. With the big gloves he was at best competent, but was forced to take up roles that were possibly beyond him.
As captain Nunes was strict and hard-nosed. His wiry frame and toothbrush moustache did not command respect at first, but his wards soon found out that Nunes was more Hitler than Chaplin when it came to being a disciplinarian.
From 61 First-Class matches, for Jamaica and various representative West Indian teams, Nunes scored 2,695 runs at 31 with 6 hundreds to go with 39 dismissals. These included 4 Tests, which fetched him 245 runs at 31 with 2 fifties, along with 2 catches.
The numbers do not seem spectacular, but it must be remembered that Nunes played in an era when wicketkeepers were not expected to do well with bat (though he did not always keep wickets). He was also not among the great travellers: while his 1,253 overseas runs came at 22, his 1,442 runs at home came at 50.
Recuperating West Indies opener Lendl Simmons is champing at the bit ahead of the upcoming Caribbean Premier League campaign, and says he expects to be fit and ready to lead the batting for his new franchise St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
The 31-year-old right-hander limped out of the just concluded Indian Premier League with a back injury which has sidelined him since but said his rehabilitation had progressed as planned, and he was now close to full recovery.
“Physically I feel as though my back is getting stronger each day and I can’t wait to get back playing because it can be frustrating watching on from the sidelines,” the Trinidadian said.
“But I have stepped up my rehab recently and I’m looking forward to getting 100 percent fit.”
Simmons has represented Guyana Amazon Warriors from the tournament’s inception, and his aggressive batting has been key to their success. In the first year, he gathered 266 runs at an average of 33 to help Amazon Warriors reach the final where they lost to Jamaica Tallawahs. He topped the charts the following year with an astonishing 446 runs at an average of 49, to help the Georgetown-based franchise into the final again where they went down to Barbados Tridents.
Just two days after beating South Africa, a recent limited-overs nemesis, a high-flying West Indies came crashing down to earth as Australia, the 50-over world champions, began the tri-series with a thumping victory over the hosts in Guyana on Sunday (June 5).
Mitchell Starc made a widely-anticipated return to the field, but it was the spin duo of Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon that did most of the damage to Jason Holder & Co. Asked to bat first, West Indies fell to a paltry 117, with Johnson Charles's 22 being the highest individual score for the hosts on the night. Even as Australia turned in a fine performance on the field, Holder preferred to find faults within his camp and felt the opposition didn't have to bowl "spectacular balls" to pick wickets.
The match in a tweet: Aussies use spin to win tri-series opener! Windies skittled for just 116 as tourists overcome late stumble to complete bonus-point victory just after nightfall The result: West Indies 116 (32.3 overs, Zampa 3-16, Lyon 3-39, Starc 2-37) lost to Australia 4-117 (25.4 overs, Warner 55no, Narine 2-36) by six wickets The turning point: In the space of just two deliveries at the start of the 17th over, the home side went from a decent position at 3-70 on a difficult pitch to five down and on the edge of a giant hole from which they were unable to extricate themselves. With the first ball of his sixth over, Nathan Lyon finally convinced umpire Gregory Brathwaite to raise his finger after several vocal appeals for leg-before wicket, Marlon Samuels the man to go for 10. It brought Kieron Pollard to the crease, the match-winner from the opening game of the series against South Africa, when he had used his long, powerful arms to hit an incredible six sixes in a match where no other batsman managed to clear the boundary. Perhaps buoyed by that performance, Pollard inexplicably attempted another maximum from the first ball he faced and succeeded in only offering a catch to David Warner at long-on. The celebrations of the Australians upon grabbing such a crucial wicket spoke volumes of what a significant moment it was.
