Aaron Finch struck his second 50-over ton as Australia maintained their dominance over England with a six-wicket victory in their first one-day international yesterday.
Finch (121) and fellow opener David Warner (65) dazzled, while captain Michael Clarke contributed 43 brisk runs as the hosts eased to a victory target of 270 with 4.2 overs to spare in Melbourne, Australia.
Earlier, half-centuries from Gary Ballance (79) and Eoin Morgan (50) helped England put behind a wobbly start and post 269 for seven wickets after captain Alastair Cook opted to bat first.
The 163-run stand between Finch and Warner in 28 overs laid the foundation for Australia’s comprehensive win, which prolonged England’s misery Down Under after their Test series whitewash.
Australia’s openers enjoyed their share of luck, with Finch dropped by Ballance on eight and Warner called back from the boundary line on 22 after replays could not establish conclusively if Jos Buttler had a clean catch behind the stumps.
Warner eventually holed out in the deep off Joe Root to depart after a 72-ball knock that included five boundaries and a six off Chris Jordan.
Jordan dismissed Shane Watson for a two-ball duck in the next over, but Clarke and Finch scored freely to kill the contest.
Balance eventually caught Finch in the 40th over off Ben Stokes, putting an end to his 128-ball blitz.
England suffered an early blow when Cook edged the fourth ball of the day to perish caught behind for four.
Clint McKay (3-44) claimed his second victim in Root (three) to reduce the tourists to 22 for two, before Ian Bell and Ballance steadied the ship.
Morgan joined Ballance in the middle for England’s most productive partnership, adding 83 runs from 14.1 overs.
Maxwell dismissed Morgan for 50 off 47 balls, as Ballance fell in the 46th over, having justified his call-up with his maiden ODI fifty.
BOUNCING BACK: Antetokounmpo had just returned from an eight-game injury absence last month, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their third win in four games Giannis Antetokounmpo threw down the game-winning dunk with 4.7 seconds remaining to lift the Milwaukee Bucks to a 122-121 victory over the Charlotte Hornets and grab a slice of NBA history on Friday. The Bucks trailed by as many as 16 on their home floor, but Antetokounmpo scored 12 of his 30 points in the final quarter to help seal the win in a frantic finish that saw five lead changes in the final 45.7 seconds. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) added 10 rebounds and five assists. It was his 158th regular-season game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and
For the first time in almost 36 years, a Parisian derby will be played in French soccer’s top flight when reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain FC take on the nouveau riche Paris Football Club (PFC) today. Not one of the players involved in today’s match — PFC’s 38-year-old third-choice goalkeeper Remy Riou is almost certainly not going to be involved — was born the last time there was a Parisian derby in Ligue 1. That was on Feb. 25, 1990, when Moroccan midfielder Aziz Bouderbala scored a brace as Racing Paris 1 beat PSG 2-1 at the Parc des Princes home that
Stan Wawrinka’s 40-year-old legs did not let him down over three-plus hours in his first singles match of a farewell tour yesterday. Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Wawrinka beat Arthur Rinderknech of France, who is ranked 29th to Wawrinka’s 157th, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). The match went 3 hours, 16 minutes. Wawrinka last month announced that this year would be his last on the ATP tour. “Today was a tough battle ... it’s amazing to come here for the first time, to have so much support,” Wawrinka said yesterday. “Twenty years on tour, you kind of always play in the same place
Manchester City have confirmed defender Josko Gvardiol suffered a broken leg in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Gvardiol was one of two City centerbacks who went off injured in the second half, along with Ruben Dias, before Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equalizer for the visitors. The draw left second-placed City six points behind English Premier League leaders Arsenal. City, announcing Gvardiol sustained a tibial fracture to his right leg, added in a statement issued on Monday: “The defender will have surgery later this week and assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the
RSS