First day of Kent vs Middlesex at Canterbury began an hour late due to the late finishing day-night game the day before.
Kent won the toss and batted, this looked like a good idea as Middlesex, pushing for promotion, failed to tae a wicket in the first hour as Joe Denly and Rob Key overcame the new ball and began to score more easily, then Key edged Corey Collymore to Dawid Malan at slip to go for 17, 63-1. Sam Northeast didn't get settled and fell for 3 to Steve Crook, 71-2 and Van Jaarsveld also gave John Simpson a catch for 2 to Crook after lunch ad 83-3 looked a bit onimous. Denly, who had reached 50 off 84 balls just before lunch, fell 3 balls later to Tim Murtagh, lbw for 55, 87-4. Darren Stevens and Geraint Jones then went about hitting Kent out of trouble with 45 in 9 overs when Jones (26) was lbw to give Collymore his 2nd wicket. Next ball Azhar Mahmood hit Collymore towards midwicket and ambled out of his creasew looking for a single, only for Collymore to run and rip in the throw which detonated the leg stump finding Mahmood just short of his ground to become the first golden duck of an interesting game, 132-6.
Darren Stevens dragged on off Dexter to go for 27 before Adam Ball gave Collymore a third wicket prodding to Jamie Dalrymple at 2nd slip for 8, 155-8 and conus points looked thin on the ground. Enter Tredwell and Mat Coles who smashed the bowlers for 57 in 10 overs, Coles even swiping Collymore for 6. But Collymore would have his revenge as Tredwell chopped on for 31, 212-9. Coles and Wahab Riaz (17 not out in his last game before going pack to Pakistan) added 30 more in seven overs when Coles hit Murtagh high towards the midwicket fence where Dalrymple took a good catch just inside the ropes to fall for 41 off 47. This took Murtagh to a career high 65 first class wickets for the season. 242 all out looked below par even though the pitch did seem to be slow and would require application if Middlesex were to get a large total.
Starting after tea, Scott Newman (16*) and Sam Robson (37*) safely saw out 13 overs scoring 55 runs when bad light ended play with Middlesex in control 187 behind.
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
We All Fall Down...
16th August, Canterbury, under the floodlights for Kent vs Middlesex in the CB40 in front of the Sky cameras as Middlesex needed to win to have any chance of making the semi finals. Neil Dexter won the toss and Middlesex decided to bat first with Martin Van Jaarsveld captaining Kent with Rob Key rested.
Scott Newman and Dawid Malan opened the batting and scored slowly off the first seven overs before Newman was caught behind off Azhar Mahmood for 11, 23-1. Malan and Paul Stirling then set about scoring at a healthy pace and brought up their 50 partnership in the 14th over. The pair batted well without scoring many boundaries and Malan reached his 50 off 58 balls with Middlesex cruising past 100 and Van Jaarsveld trying eight different bowlers and shortly after the 100 partnership the eighth one (Simon Cook) had Stirling just stumped in the 22nd over for 45 leaving Middlesex 130-2.
Dexter now joined Malan and they carried on the good work and with 10 overs to go Middlesex were 193-2 and looking well placed to make 280+ and the batting powerplay was taken at the start of the 32nd over which Wahab Riaz obliged in bowling 3 consecutive no-balls in as Malan reached his first List-A hundred off 106 balls though not without some trouble from Riaz's yorkers which he fell over twice. The 36th over was to prove the beginning of the Kent fightback as Riaz had Malan LBW falling over another yorker for an excellent 107, 239-3.
Malan's teammates then conspired to throw away the chance of a big total as the last eight wickets fell for 24 in 26 balls. Chris Rogers edged Mahmood to Geraint Jones for 3, John Simpson was LBW to Riaz for 5, Dexter, after reaching his 50 off 46 chipped one to substitute Matt Coles at mid on for 58. Steve Crook was caught by Tredwell off Mahmood for 0, Tom Smith also fell for 1 in the same over caught at third man. Jamie Dalrymple then had his off stump cartwheeled by Riaz for 2 and Toby Roland-Jones went almost identically next ball to leave Riaz with 5-46 and Mahmood 4-52 and Middlesex 263 all out with 3 balls left unfaced.
Tim Murtagh opened the bowling and the spin of Smith opened from the Nackington Road End and Smith bowled what turned out to be the only maiden over in the match. Only 15 came from the first 4 overs but soon it became clear that this was a good pitch and that scoring runs on it was really quite easy and the 50 came up before Daniel Bell-Drummond sliced Crook to Rogers on the boundary for 17, 51-1. Next over, Roland-Jones had Joe Denly LBW for 28, 55-2. Van Jaarsveld then gave Malan a catch to fall for 0 and Kent were 56-3 and Middlesex were back in the game again.
Mahmood and Darren Stevens then set about steadying the ship and kicked on as the pair added 90 in 12.1 overs before Mahmood was LBW to Malan for 46, 146-3. Sam Northeast helped Stevens past 50 (42 balls). 74 runs were needed off the final 10 overs just when it looked like the game was gone, Stevens fell for 65 giving Dexter an easy wicket. 195-5 became 213-6 as Jones hoisted one from Roland-Jones to Crook at long-on who took an easy catch. Adam Ball joined Northeast and they added the partnership which took Kent almost to the win with 29 in 3.4 overs before Ball edged Roland Jones to Simpson for 19. 22 needed off 16 had been reduced to 15 off 12 when Northeast launched one off Murtagh high towards Smith at deep midwicket who ran round and dropped the catch over the ropes for 6 to bring up Northeast's 50 (43 balls) and to almost win the game for Kent, 3 balls later another heave produced a drop from Crook at long-on. Northeast's next heave off the last ball of the over did produce his downfall (ct Dexter b Murtagh 57) as only 4 were needed off the final over which were easily achieved by Riaz(12*) and Tredwell(1*) for Kent to finish 264-8 and win by 2 wickets with 3 balls left. Roland Jones finished with 3-51 and Crook 2-38 as Middlesex now had a very limited chance of qualifying for the semi-finals of the CB40. Mahmood was given man of the match for his all-round performance and everyone shot off home as the championship game between these sides begins at noon.
Scott Newman and Dawid Malan opened the batting and scored slowly off the first seven overs before Newman was caught behind off Azhar Mahmood for 11, 23-1. Malan and Paul Stirling then set about scoring at a healthy pace and brought up their 50 partnership in the 14th over. The pair batted well without scoring many boundaries and Malan reached his 50 off 58 balls with Middlesex cruising past 100 and Van Jaarsveld trying eight different bowlers and shortly after the 100 partnership the eighth one (Simon Cook) had Stirling just stumped in the 22nd over for 45 leaving Middlesex 130-2.
Dexter now joined Malan and they carried on the good work and with 10 overs to go Middlesex were 193-2 and looking well placed to make 280+ and the batting powerplay was taken at the start of the 32nd over which Wahab Riaz obliged in bowling 3 consecutive no-balls in as Malan reached his first List-A hundred off 106 balls though not without some trouble from Riaz's yorkers which he fell over twice. The 36th over was to prove the beginning of the Kent fightback as Riaz had Malan LBW falling over another yorker for an excellent 107, 239-3.
Malan's teammates then conspired to throw away the chance of a big total as the last eight wickets fell for 24 in 26 balls. Chris Rogers edged Mahmood to Geraint Jones for 3, John Simpson was LBW to Riaz for 5, Dexter, after reaching his 50 off 46 chipped one to substitute Matt Coles at mid on for 58. Steve Crook was caught by Tredwell off Mahmood for 0, Tom Smith also fell for 1 in the same over caught at third man. Jamie Dalrymple then had his off stump cartwheeled by Riaz for 2 and Toby Roland-Jones went almost identically next ball to leave Riaz with 5-46 and Mahmood 4-52 and Middlesex 263 all out with 3 balls left unfaced.
Tim Murtagh opened the bowling and the spin of Smith opened from the Nackington Road End and Smith bowled what turned out to be the only maiden over in the match. Only 15 came from the first 4 overs but soon it became clear that this was a good pitch and that scoring runs on it was really quite easy and the 50 came up before Daniel Bell-Drummond sliced Crook to Rogers on the boundary for 17, 51-1. Next over, Roland-Jones had Joe Denly LBW for 28, 55-2. Van Jaarsveld then gave Malan a catch to fall for 0 and Kent were 56-3 and Middlesex were back in the game again.
Mahmood and Darren Stevens then set about steadying the ship and kicked on as the pair added 90 in 12.1 overs before Mahmood was LBW to Malan for 46, 146-3. Sam Northeast helped Stevens past 50 (42 balls). 74 runs were needed off the final 10 overs just when it looked like the game was gone, Stevens fell for 65 giving Dexter an easy wicket. 195-5 became 213-6 as Jones hoisted one from Roland-Jones to Crook at long-on who took an easy catch. Adam Ball joined Northeast and they added the partnership which took Kent almost to the win with 29 in 3.4 overs before Ball edged Roland Jones to Simpson for 19. 22 needed off 16 had been reduced to 15 off 12 when Northeast launched one off Murtagh high towards Smith at deep midwicket who ran round and dropped the catch over the ropes for 6 to bring up Northeast's 50 (43 balls) and to almost win the game for Kent, 3 balls later another heave produced a drop from Crook at long-on. Northeast's next heave off the last ball of the over did produce his downfall (ct Dexter b Murtagh 57) as only 4 were needed off the final over which were easily achieved by Riaz(12*) and Tredwell(1*) for Kent to finish 264-8 and win by 2 wickets with 3 balls left. Roland Jones finished with 3-51 and Crook 2-38 as Middlesex now had a very limited chance of qualifying for the semi-finals of the CB40. Mahmood was given man of the match for his all-round performance and everyone shot off home as the championship game between these sides begins at noon.
Monday, 22 August 2011
A Tough Day
The 2nd day of the top of the table match between Middlesex and Northamptonshire at Lord's started with Middlesex 198-6 after a reduced first day. John Simpson and Toby Roland-Jones were batting and they quickly brought up the 200 with Simpson playing well and Roland-Jones hanging in to bring up the 50 partnership before Roland-Jones was bowled by James Middlebrook for 24. 236-7 and Steve Crook in to hit a quick 12 before edging Middlebrook to Steven Peters. Tim Murtagh then stuck around Simpson until lunch with Middlesex on 296-8, only 4 runs short of the next batting point.
The 300 came up as Simpson reached 50 off 131 balls before Murtagh was LBW to Chaminda Vaas for 27. Simpson finally fell in identical fashion for 61 to give Vaas 5-76 with Corey Collymore 5 not out and Middlesex 317, a good recovery but probably not enough runs.
The Northants innings got off to a quick start with Peters and Mal Loye looking at ease against the Middlesex bowlers who couldn't assert any pressure as the 50 partnership was raised and at tea the score was 78-0.
The problems continued after tea as none of Middlesex's 7 bowlers were effective as first Peters (99 balls) then Loye (101 balls) reached 50 and passed 100 without loss.
The 150 partnership came before Crook finally bowled a couple of troubling balls to Peters who eventually got a leading edge that Crook clung on to with a smart diving catch to go for 75, 158-1. Crook was to have two wickets in 7 balls as Rob White (4) fell over a pull shot and guided an edge to Dawid Malan at slip, 164-2. Loye (80*) and Alex Wakely (12*) saw out the rest of the day to leave Northants 188-2 only 128 runs behind Middlesex.
The 300 came up as Simpson reached 50 off 131 balls before Murtagh was LBW to Chaminda Vaas for 27. Simpson finally fell in identical fashion for 61 to give Vaas 5-76 with Corey Collymore 5 not out and Middlesex 317, a good recovery but probably not enough runs.
The Northants innings got off to a quick start with Peters and Mal Loye looking at ease against the Middlesex bowlers who couldn't assert any pressure as the 50 partnership was raised and at tea the score was 78-0.
The problems continued after tea as none of Middlesex's 7 bowlers were effective as first Peters (99 balls) then Loye (101 balls) reached 50 and passed 100 without loss.
The 150 partnership came before Crook finally bowled a couple of troubling balls to Peters who eventually got a leading edge that Crook clung on to with a smart diving catch to go for 75, 158-1. Crook was to have two wickets in 7 balls as Rob White (4) fell over a pull shot and guided an edge to Dawid Malan at slip, 164-2. Loye (80*) and Alex Wakely (12*) saw out the rest of the day to leave Northants 188-2 only 128 runs behind Middlesex.
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Finnking of First Degree Murtagh
Lord's for the first day of Middlesex vs Derbyshire, which started an hour late because of the floodlight CB40 the night before. Steve Finn was released by England and was on his way down so Steve Crook was to be substitute until he arrived, although he couldn't bowl or bat because the game had started after the Test at Trent Bridge (useless ECB and their regulations...). Derbyshire won the toss and batted and Martin Guptill got an unplayable delivery first ball from Tim Murtagh which he poked to Jamie Dalrymple at slip, 0-1. Murtagh then struck in his next over, having Wayne Madsen caught by Malan for a duck and followed it up with his third wicket in 16 balls for 5 runs by having Chesney Hughes waft a wide ball to point were Sam Robson took the catch. Derby 14-3 and in deep trouble which Wes Durston and Greg Smith hit them out of. Because Crook couldn't bowl, there were only two front-line seamers so Dexter and Dalrymple were bowling after the first hour and both Smith and Durston reached quick fifties (off 48 and 75 balls) with the newish ball not spinning Durston hitting Tom Smith for a flat six to the Grand Stand boundary.
127-3 and a murmur went up amongst the crowd followed by a cheer as Steve Finn ran onto the field at 1:45 and was bowling the next over from the pavilion end where Durston was beaten by pace third ball to fall lbw for 61 and to swing the momentum back to Middlesex at lunch with 131-4.
Smith went straight after lunch for 57 to give Murtagh his 4th wicket and Luke Sutton was bowled by Finn to leave Derby 165-6, still in danger of not reaching 200. Ross Whiteley has been in good form of late in his first full season in the team and he saved his side with a fifty which included sixes off Murtagh and a huge hit off Dalrymple which lodged in the roofing to the right of the pavilion.
A missed stumping by Simpson of Jon Clare off Dalrymple wasn't to costly as Tom Smith then had Clare caught at slip by Dexter (22) and next over Gronewald was caught behind by Simpson and the over after Palladino caught by Newman at short leg for 1. 220-6 to 224-9 and 250 looked beyond them but Mark Turner hit 20 not out and aided Whiteley reaching 50 (off 97) before Whiteley smacked Finn to Murtagh to leave them 252 all out, a total that was probably below par.
This left Middlesex with 28 overs to bat and Newman and Robson did so easily. They rocked along at four an over and although they were lucky with a couple of edges both played well against an attack that struggled to assert itself. Newman reached 50 off 73 balls to be 51 not out at close and Robson was 48 not out with Middlesex closing 105-0 only 147 behind Derbyshire.
127-3 and a murmur went up amongst the crowd followed by a cheer as Steve Finn ran onto the field at 1:45 and was bowling the next over from the pavilion end where Durston was beaten by pace third ball to fall lbw for 61 and to swing the momentum back to Middlesex at lunch with 131-4.
Smith went straight after lunch for 57 to give Murtagh his 4th wicket and Luke Sutton was bowled by Finn to leave Derby 165-6, still in danger of not reaching 200. Ross Whiteley has been in good form of late in his first full season in the team and he saved his side with a fifty which included sixes off Murtagh and a huge hit off Dalrymple which lodged in the roofing to the right of the pavilion.
A missed stumping by Simpson of Jon Clare off Dalrymple wasn't to costly as Tom Smith then had Clare caught at slip by Dexter (22) and next over Gronewald was caught behind by Simpson and the over after Palladino caught by Newman at short leg for 1. 220-6 to 224-9 and 250 looked beyond them but Mark Turner hit 20 not out and aided Whiteley reaching 50 (off 97) before Whiteley smacked Finn to Murtagh to leave them 252 all out, a total that was probably below par.
This left Middlesex with 28 overs to bat and Newman and Robson did so easily. They rocked along at four an over and although they were lucky with a couple of edges both played well against an attack that struggled to assert itself. Newman reached 50 off 73 balls to be 51 not out at close and Robson was 48 not out with Middlesex closing 105-0 only 147 behind Derbyshire.
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Of Broad and The Wall
3rd day of the first Test between England and India at Lords. England had declared on 474-8 and India progressed along slowly from the England fast bowlers before Gautam Gambhir was bowled by Stuart Broad for 15. Abinhav Mukund then looked to force a ball from Broad to reach 50, only to chop it onto hit stumps for 49, leaving England 77-2. This left Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar batting together and they looked like they would tame the England attack and were 102-2 at lunch.
The pair brought up the 150 before Broad had Tendulkar well caught low down by Graeme Swann at slip. VVS Laxman came in and was dropped by Andrew Strauss at slip off Broad, then Dravid was dropped in the same over by Swann. These were the only real drops by England as Dravid then went to 50 before Laxman top edged to Trott at deep square leg. Suresh Raina then fell LBW to Swann for nought, 183-5. MS Dhoni then joined Dravid and took India to tea, 193-5.
After batting comfortably Dhoni then edged Chris Tremlett for Swann to take a diving catch to go for 28. Harbhajan Singh then edged to Matt Prior 2nd ball for nought, 240-7. Praveen Kumar started swinging merrily and reached 17 before he top edged Broad for Strauss to take a catch running back. Dravid then flicked to two, reached his hundred and let out a roar. Injured Zaheer Khan went for a duck to Anderson, then Ishant Sharma edged behind for the same score and India were 286 all out, Dravid finishing 103 not out. England saw off the final 5 overs without trouble.
The pair brought up the 150 before Broad had Tendulkar well caught low down by Graeme Swann at slip. VVS Laxman came in and was dropped by Andrew Strauss at slip off Broad, then Dravid was dropped in the same over by Swann. These were the only real drops by England as Dravid then went to 50 before Laxman top edged to Trott at deep square leg. Suresh Raina then fell LBW to Swann for nought, 183-5. MS Dhoni then joined Dravid and took India to tea, 193-5.
After batting comfortably Dhoni then edged Chris Tremlett for Swann to take a diving catch to go for 28. Harbhajan Singh then edged to Matt Prior 2nd ball for nought, 240-7. Praveen Kumar started swinging merrily and reached 17 before he top edged Broad for Strauss to take a catch running back. Dravid then flicked to two, reached his hundred and let out a roar. Injured Zaheer Khan went for a duck to Anderson, then Ishant Sharma edged behind for the same score and India were 286 all out, Dravid finishing 103 not out. England saw off the final 5 overs without trouble.
Friday, 22 July 2011
Derbyshire defy Newton's law
Having progressed to 364 all out in their first innings, Derbyshire set about asserting their authority against Northamptonshire at Northampton. Northants slumped to 12-2 with Rob White and Ben Howgego failed before a comeback was launched by Stephen Peters and Rob Newton. Newton was brutal with his drives as he went to 50 off 69 balls and then kicked on whilst Peters blocked at the other end before wicket finally fell at 151 when Peters edged Greg Smith's spin to Wayne Madsen for 46. Newton fell three overs later for 94 off 114 with 18 fours when he drove Mark Turner only for the ball to slide off the face to Martin Guptill at gully.
Light rain then forced the players off for tea and then it took an age for them to return, which eventually happened at 4:45. Andrew Hall and Mal Loye batted on but struggled to get the better of tight bowling from Turner, Smith and Tim Groenewald and Turner snared Loye for 6 after an hour (190-5). Hall and Niall O'Brien brought up the 200 before Groenewald had Hall lbw for 27. Chaminda Vaas (11) and O'Brien (14) then saw out the last 10 overs and avoided the follow-on to leave Northamptonshire 220-6 at the close, still 144 runs behind.
Light rain then forced the players off for tea and then it took an age for them to return, which eventually happened at 4:45. Andrew Hall and Mal Loye batted on but struggled to get the better of tight bowling from Turner, Smith and Tim Groenewald and Turner snared Loye for 6 after an hour (190-5). Hall and Niall O'Brien brought up the 200 before Groenewald had Hall lbw for 27. Chaminda Vaas (11) and O'Brien (14) then saw out the last 10 overs and avoided the follow-on to leave Northamptonshire 220-6 at the close, still 144 runs behind.
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Blackwell Blackout
The dry run for the Women's Quadrangular final at Lord's between England and Australia wasn't the spectacle it could have been as England folded and we were all done before the rain arrived at 4:30.
England won the toss, batted and were soon 18-1 as captain Charlotte Edwards was caught off Sarah Coyte for 2. Next over Laura Marsh also departed, caught at cover by Alex Blackwell after a juggle for 3. The 11th over brought the third wicketas Danielle Wyatt chipped to mid on off Clea Smith and Claire Taylor was bowled by Coyte for 0 to leave England 26-4.
Sarah Taylor and Lydia Greenway tried to steady the innings but Taylor fell LBW to Jess Cameron, the back-up keeper, for 11 to give her her first ODI wicket in her first spell. 54-5 after 18 made 200 look tough but Greenway and Arran Brindle batted well for 10 overs before Cameron made a diving catch at deep midwicket to get Brindle off Shelley Nitschke for 22. Nitschke then caught Greenway for the eventual top score of 34 to give Lisa Sthalekar an easy wicket. The third spinner, Erin Osborne then had Heather Knight caught behind for 13 leaving England 127-8 with 13 overs still to bat. Holly Colvin and Danielle Hazell added 34 for the ninth wicket before Sthalekar cleaned up with two wickets in two overs as Hazell(19) was caught by another diving catch from Cameron then Colvin was stumped by captain Jodie Fields for 29 to end the England innings for 168 with two overs left unbowled. The end would have been sooner had Meg Lanning not dropped a simple catch at cover, but other than that Australia fielded well and England's spinners would have to bowl as well if they were to have a chance.
England's demise was so quick that Australia had to bat for 30 minutes before lunch and after a couple of tight overs from Catherine Brunt and Brindle, all hell began to break loose. Nitschke and young prospect Meg Lanning surged to 42-0 after 10 overs with Lanning scoring 31.
Colvin bowled the first over after lunch from the Nursery end and had removed Lanning to a wild swing to the midwicket boundary where Brindle completed the catch. Lanning made 43 off 33 with 9 fours. This slowed the scoring and when Wyatt had Leah Poulton caught behind for a duck left Australia 59-2 and a possible collapse was on. The problem was that Nitschke and Blackwell are two of the most experienced players in the side and they took the game from England with a steady partnership that gradually sped up as England rotated seven bowlers with no effect. The 100 came up in the 23rd over and the 50 partnership 3 overs later.
Nitschke hit the only six of the match off Colvin into the Grand Stand in the 30th over soon followed by her 50 then Blackwell also passed the milestone. Nitschke couldn't quite last until the end as she was run out after a mix-up with Blackwell and Greenway, after a mis-field, managed to get the return to Sarah Taylor. 153-3 was a bit late and Cameron(10 not out) and Blackwell(54 not out) saw Australia home to win by 7 wickets with 15 overs remaining, just before the 4:30pm rain arrived.
Blackwell was given the match award in this one-sided hammering as the presentation took place in front of the pavilion with the crowd allowed on the outfield. Both these sides will meet again for the Quadrangular final on Thursday and England have to improve if it is to be a better contest.
England won the toss, batted and were soon 18-1 as captain Charlotte Edwards was caught off Sarah Coyte for 2. Next over Laura Marsh also departed, caught at cover by Alex Blackwell after a juggle for 3. The 11th over brought the third wicketas Danielle Wyatt chipped to mid on off Clea Smith and Claire Taylor was bowled by Coyte for 0 to leave England 26-4.
Sarah Taylor and Lydia Greenway tried to steady the innings but Taylor fell LBW to Jess Cameron, the back-up keeper, for 11 to give her her first ODI wicket in her first spell. 54-5 after 18 made 200 look tough but Greenway and Arran Brindle batted well for 10 overs before Cameron made a diving catch at deep midwicket to get Brindle off Shelley Nitschke for 22. Nitschke then caught Greenway for the eventual top score of 34 to give Lisa Sthalekar an easy wicket. The third spinner, Erin Osborne then had Heather Knight caught behind for 13 leaving England 127-8 with 13 overs still to bat. Holly Colvin and Danielle Hazell added 34 for the ninth wicket before Sthalekar cleaned up with two wickets in two overs as Hazell(19) was caught by another diving catch from Cameron then Colvin was stumped by captain Jodie Fields for 29 to end the England innings for 168 with two overs left unbowled. The end would have been sooner had Meg Lanning not dropped a simple catch at cover, but other than that Australia fielded well and England's spinners would have to bowl as well if they were to have a chance.
England's demise was so quick that Australia had to bat for 30 minutes before lunch and after a couple of tight overs from Catherine Brunt and Brindle, all hell began to break loose. Nitschke and young prospect Meg Lanning surged to 42-0 after 10 overs with Lanning scoring 31.
Colvin bowled the first over after lunch from the Nursery end and had removed Lanning to a wild swing to the midwicket boundary where Brindle completed the catch. Lanning made 43 off 33 with 9 fours. This slowed the scoring and when Wyatt had Leah Poulton caught behind for a duck left Australia 59-2 and a possible collapse was on. The problem was that Nitschke and Blackwell are two of the most experienced players in the side and they took the game from England with a steady partnership that gradually sped up as England rotated seven bowlers with no effect. The 100 came up in the 23rd over and the 50 partnership 3 overs later.
Nitschke hit the only six of the match off Colvin into the Grand Stand in the 30th over soon followed by her 50 then Blackwell also passed the milestone. Nitschke couldn't quite last until the end as she was run out after a mix-up with Blackwell and Greenway, after a mis-field, managed to get the return to Sarah Taylor. 153-3 was a bit late and Cameron(10 not out) and Blackwell(54 not out) saw Australia home to win by 7 wickets with 15 overs remaining, just before the 4:30pm rain arrived.
Blackwell was given the match award in this one-sided hammering as the presentation took place in front of the pavilion with the crowd allowed on the outfield. Both these sides will meet again for the Quadrangular final on Thursday and England have to improve if it is to be a better contest.
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