Jackson Barrett: The World Test Championship final is set up for Australia's Nathan Lyon in the fourth innings
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Jackson Barrett: The World Test Championship final is set up for Australia's Nathan Lyon in the fourth innings
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Up to Australia's bowlers again in WTC title defence
After another dramatic collapse, Australia's pace machine will need to bowl them to a famous victory as South Africa struck back in a pulsating World Test Championship final at Lord's. Having secured a first-innings lead of 74 thanks to a landmark 6-28 from captain Pat Cummins, Australia limped to 8-144 at stumps on Thursday in a decider that should be over well within three days. A frantic 45-minute collapse of 5-29 after tea on day two left the door ajar for the Proteas to pull off a monumental upset as they attempt to lift their first ICC trophy since 1998. The lead of 218 could already still be enough after South Africa were rolled for just 138 in their first innings. Only four teams have successfully chased a target of more than 200 in a Test at Lord's. "Happy we got 200," Cummins said. "Hopefully, we get another 20 or 30 in the morning, that'd be good. "That would give us a few more options to bowl, a few more aggressive fields. "Ideally we'd have a few more wickets in the shed. "We're going to have to still bowl well in the fourth innings." Fourteen wickets tumbled on Thursday, after 14 had already fallen on a dramatic opening day. But wicketkeeper Alex Carey (43) and star quick Mitchell Starc (16no) were able to steady Australia late in the day. The pair put on a crucial 61-run stand, after the reigning WTC title holders had slumped to 7-73. Kagsio Rabada (3-44), however, had one last spell in him and was able to dismiss Carey for his eighth wicket of the Test. Starc was then dropped by towering Proteas quick Marco Jansen in the slips two balls before stumps. In seven overs of chaos after tea, unheralded Proteas pacer Lungi Ngidi (3-33) steamrolled Australia's middle-order in stunning fashion to boost the chances of a boilover. Left-armer Jansen, who appeared to hurt his finger in the field, removed Marcus Labuschagne in the second failure of his first Test as an opener. Having not played a Test since September, Ngidi then took the prized wicket of Steve Smith, before taking care of Beau Webster and Cummins. Earlier, Cummins had demolished South Africa to become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets. While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins was relentless in finishing the job with the 14th five-wicket haul of his brilliant 68-Test career. The first paceman to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets. Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line. Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300. Out of those eight, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins' 22.08. The 32-year-old also finished with the best figures by a captain at Lord's, bettering England's Bob Willis' 6-101 in 1982. One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw. As Cummins was pedalling backwards while appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over. The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed. David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision. Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining. Bedingham insisted South Africa were not burdened by the weight of history and the Proteas' dismal record in big ICC games. "There's a massive belief in this team," he said. "It's just an amazing chance. "We're all very excited about the opportunity to win." This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final. After another dramatic collapse, Australia's pace machine will need to bowl them to a famous victory as South Africa struck back in a pulsating World Test Championship final at Lord's. Having secured a first-innings lead of 74 thanks to a landmark 6-28 from captain Pat Cummins, Australia limped to 8-144 at stumps on Thursday in a decider that should be over well within three days. A frantic 45-minute collapse of 5-29 after tea on day two left the door ajar for the Proteas to pull off a monumental upset as they attempt to lift their first ICC trophy since 1998. The lead of 218 could already still be enough after South Africa were rolled for just 138 in their first innings. Only four teams have successfully chased a target of more than 200 in a Test at Lord's. "Happy we got 200," Cummins said. "Hopefully, we get another 20 or 30 in the morning, that'd be good. "That would give us a few more options to bowl, a few more aggressive fields. "Ideally we'd have a few more wickets in the shed. "We're going to have to still bowl well in the fourth innings." Fourteen wickets tumbled on Thursday, after 14 had already fallen on a dramatic opening day. But wicketkeeper Alex Carey (43) and star quick Mitchell Starc (16no) were able to steady Australia late in the day. The pair put on a crucial 61-run stand, after the reigning WTC title holders had slumped to 7-73. Kagsio Rabada (3-44), however, had one last spell in him and was able to dismiss Carey for his eighth wicket of the Test. Starc was then dropped by towering Proteas quick Marco Jansen in the slips two balls before stumps. In seven overs of chaos after tea, unheralded Proteas pacer Lungi Ngidi (3-33) steamrolled Australia's middle-order in stunning fashion to boost the chances of a boilover. Left-armer Jansen, who appeared to hurt his finger in the field, removed Marcus Labuschagne in the second failure of his first Test as an opener. Having not played a Test since September, Ngidi then took the prized wicket of Steve Smith, before taking care of Beau Webster and Cummins. Earlier, Cummins had demolished South Africa to become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets. While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins was relentless in finishing the job with the 14th five-wicket haul of his brilliant 68-Test career. The first paceman to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets. Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line. Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300. Out of those eight, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins' 22.08. The 32-year-old also finished with the best figures by a captain at Lord's, bettering England's Bob Willis' 6-101 in 1982. One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw. As Cummins was pedalling backwards while appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over. The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed. David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision. Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining. Bedingham insisted South Africa were not burdened by the weight of history and the Proteas' dismal record in big ICC games. "There's a massive belief in this team," he said. "It's just an amazing chance. "We're all very excited about the opportunity to win." This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final. After another dramatic collapse, Australia's pace machine will need to bowl them to a famous victory as South Africa struck back in a pulsating World Test Championship final at Lord's. Having secured a first-innings lead of 74 thanks to a landmark 6-28 from captain Pat Cummins, Australia limped to 8-144 at stumps on Thursday in a decider that should be over well within three days. A frantic 45-minute collapse of 5-29 after tea on day two left the door ajar for the Proteas to pull off a monumental upset as they attempt to lift their first ICC trophy since 1998. The lead of 218 could already still be enough after South Africa were rolled for just 138 in their first innings. Only four teams have successfully chased a target of more than 200 in a Test at Lord's. "Happy we got 200," Cummins said. "Hopefully, we get another 20 or 30 in the morning, that'd be good. "That would give us a few more options to bowl, a few more aggressive fields. "Ideally we'd have a few more wickets in the shed. "We're going to have to still bowl well in the fourth innings." Fourteen wickets tumbled on Thursday, after 14 had already fallen on a dramatic opening day. But wicketkeeper Alex Carey (43) and star quick Mitchell Starc (16no) were able to steady Australia late in the day. The pair put on a crucial 61-run stand, after the reigning WTC title holders had slumped to 7-73. Kagsio Rabada (3-44), however, had one last spell in him and was able to dismiss Carey for his eighth wicket of the Test. Starc was then dropped by towering Proteas quick Marco Jansen in the slips two balls before stumps. In seven overs of chaos after tea, unheralded Proteas pacer Lungi Ngidi (3-33) steamrolled Australia's middle-order in stunning fashion to boost the chances of a boilover. Left-armer Jansen, who appeared to hurt his finger in the field, removed Marcus Labuschagne in the second failure of his first Test as an opener. Having not played a Test since September, Ngidi then took the prized wicket of Steve Smith, before taking care of Beau Webster and Cummins. Earlier, Cummins had demolished South Africa to become the eighth Australian to take 300 Test wickets. While Starc started the destruction on Wednesday evening, Cummins was relentless in finishing the job with the 14th five-wicket haul of his brilliant 68-Test career. The first paceman to captain Australia long-term, Cummins joins the country's greats in reaching 300 wickets. Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) sit one and two, while Cummins' teammates Nathan Lyon (553) and Mitchell Starc (384) are next in line. Dennis Lillee (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Brett Lee (310) are the others to take more than 300. Out of those eight, only McGrath has a better average (21.64) than Cummins' 22.08. The 32-year-old also finished with the best figures by a captain at Lord's, bettering England's Bob Willis' 6-101 in 1982. One of Cummins' six victims was Kyle Verreynne, who had to go after being trapped lbw. As Cummins was pedalling backwards while appealing, he and Verreynne collided with each other and tumbled over. The umpire gave the South Africa wicketkeeper not out, but Cummins successfully appealed. David Bedingham (45) top scored for South Africa, while Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived a controversial DRS decision. Adjudged lbw on 16 off Josh Hazlewood, Bavuma left it late to review, but eventually took the decision upstairs with four seconds remaining. Bedingham insisted South Africa were not burdened by the weight of history and the Proteas' dismal record in big ICC games. "There's a massive belief in this team," he said. "It's just an amazing chance. "We're all very excited about the opportunity to win." This AAP article was made possible by support from Amazon Prime Video, which is broadcasting the World Test Championship final.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Came across as a bit dodgy:' How Australia avoided Lord's ‘handling the ball' meltdown
London: Australian captain Pat Cummins has revealed he would have withdrawn an appeal for handled the ball against South Africa's David Bedingham had the umpires not ruled dead ball as Alex Carey sweated on a possible catch. Two years on from the Jonny Bairstow stumping that had Lord's in a state of tumult, Carey was close by as Bedingham flicked away a ball that looked to have lodged in his pad flap. Such a lodging is a dead ball under the game's laws, but it happened quickly enough for some speculation about whether the Australians would have appealed. 'The umpires said it was dead ball first of all, but I think we probably would have withdrawn [the appeal], yeah,' Cummins said after play on a hectic day two of the World Test Championship final. Softly-spoken Bedingham was relief personified after admitting he had panicked with Carey so close by. 'I panicked big time, because Carey was standing up so he was quite close,' he said. 'The umpires said regardless I think it was dead ball, but the way I dropped the ball, picked up the ball, came across as a bit dodgy. 'But I'm glad they withdrew the appeal because there's more controversy in other stuff, so I'm glad nothing happened out of it really. The slip cordon just told me 'don't panic, just leave it', but in the moment I think I panicked big time, yeah.' Loading Carey returned to Lord's for the first time since the infamous Bairstow stumping – only to narrowly avoid being swept into another storm of cricketing controversy. In the final over before lunch on day two, Australia's wicketkeeper found himself again at the centre of an odd dismissal debate. This time, with Bedingham at the crease. The delivery from Beau Webster angled in and deflected off Bedingham's inside edge into his thigh pad. From there, it bobbled gently along the top of his right leg guard and started to fall away.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Cricket greats dumbfounded by crazy WTC final as batting nightmare continues on day two at Lord's
Another 14 wickets fell on a chaotic day at Lord's on day two, leaving cricket greats 'flummoxed' at the wild scenes unfolding in the World Test Championship final. The final is currently on a knife's edge at stumps after Australia collapsed to 8/144 in its second innings to lead by 218 runs – after earlier knocking South Africa over for a measly 138. Champion bowlers Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada are having a field day at Lord's, with the ball, appearing to have extra nip and bounce on the iconic pitch. But for the batters, it has been a game to forget, with no player managing a half-century on day two. And Australian cricket legend Matthew Hayden revealed it's taking a toll on them. 'There are a few players crying in the dressing room, especially the batters,' Hayden said. 'Us poor old fellas with the bat have had a tough old time of it.' Former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith couldn't believe what he was witnessing. 'It is just bamboozling. Everyone who walks down those stairs to play an innings … cannot do it. They are just getting bamboozled. Techniques go out the window. It is just staggering,' Smith said. 'Everyone is just a bit flummoxed by what they are witnessing.' After day one many pointed to the pitch as being subpar, with even Steve Smith commenting that it was very tricky to bat on. 'It felt quite tricky. It was doing something all day,' Smith said at the end of day one. 'A little two-paced, a little on the slower side and then one would kind of zing through. 'It offered all day even with the older ball, it felt like it got softer but still offered something.' But former England captain Nasser Hussein said the talk about the pitch being so lively is wide of the mark. 'All of us are wracking our brains to figure out why and how this has happened,' he said. 'The statistics are showing it has not swung or seamed as much as it usually does. The sun has shone at times … so you would expect it to be a beautiful batting day. 'We have seen great fast bowling. As much as we talk about batting techniques or surfaces, these are great bowlers.' South Africa's David Bedingham also believed the lack of runs had more to do with the bowlers nailing the conditions than the pitch itself. 'I think with the slope, I think the bowlers have had the ability to take it, obviously with the slope, which means the ball will move more, and then they also have the ability to take it away with the slope,' Bedingham said after day two. 'So I think just having world-class bowlers with a pitch that can move both ways, I think, makes it quite tricky to bat on.' According to CricViz – the leading data and analytics provider in cricket – the seamers had just been incredibly accurate, with the bowlers in the final hitting a 'good length' more than three out of every four balls, the third highest percentage in the UK since 2006 when the data began being properly recorded. And Head of Insight at CricViz Ben Jones said all indications pointed to the pitch being actually less lively than usual, stating the lack of runs was largely down to 'extremely average batting' rather than the conditions themselves. 'Pre-empting any chat here: all the tracking data for this Test is normal, in some areas less movement than is typical for Lord's,' he wrote on X. 'We've seen some very consistent, accurate bowling and some *extremely* average batting under pressure.' However, irrespective of the conditions or not those with tickets for day four will be looking to make alternate plans, while those hoping to be at Lord's on the final day, appear all out of luck. Day three of the WTC will begin at Lord's at 7.30pm (AEST).
