The West Indies captain Jason Holder declined an offer to make a game of the rain-ruined third Test against Australia in Sydney because he did not think his side was ready to try to go for the win. In a scenario that the Caribbean side would have struggled to create over a full five-day match
At 10 am on a greenish pitch, Jason Holder lost the toss but didn’t mind that Steven Smith chose to bat. “Hopefully we can exploit the conditions as best as possible and get into their middle order,” he said. By 12.30pm they had done so; Australia were 3 for 121 and wobbling. It turned out
Australia tuned up for the limited-overs leg of their tour of England with a 23-run DLS win over Ireland in Belfast. But while just five of those who played in the Ashes turned out here, the middle-order frailties exposed by England remained apparent as they slipped from 165 for 1 to 190 for 5 in
Two high quality hundreds were notched in this match, by Eoin Morgan and David Warner, while no other batsmen passed 40. The difference between Australia and England was that Warner’s 127 at the top of the order set the tone for the hosts, whereas Morgan’s 121 served merely to add a veneer of respectability to
Australia had a near-perfect day in their endeavour to be in a position to push hard for victory on Saturday in Adelaide. Offspinner Nathan Lyon used the considerable bounce in the pitch to hasten the end of the Indian innings during an extended first session, securing a 73-run lead for his side, after which David