Shaun Tait stormed into first Test calculations with a withering fast bowling performance as England succumbed to a 166-run defeat in their opening Australian Ashes tour match yesterday.
The tourists' bowlers were hammered for a record 347 for five by a Prime Minister's XI off 50 overs and in reply England were skittled for just 181 off 38.4 overs.
It was a worrying performance with the first of the five Ashes Tests, in Brisbane, just 13 days away.
PHOTO: AFP
Tait, little used in his two Tests in last year's Ashes series, threw down his challenge for the third fast-bowling slot behind Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee at the Gabba with explosive figures of 3-21 from eight overs.
The South Australian slinger worked up a full head of steam and claimed the prized wicket of England skipper Andrew Flintoff for one off three balls, while big-hitting Kevin Pietersen fell for seven.
The day began poorly for England, with opener Phil Jaques leading the charge with 112 off 110 balls after the PM's XI was sent into bat by Flintoff.
It was the highest score by a PM's XI team against a touring side in the national capital, surpassing the 334 for 5 against India in 1999.
Only vice-captain and Middlesex opener Andrew Strauss looked the part with some sweetly timed shots before he went for 67.
Opener Marcus Trescothick faced just three balls before he edged Tait to second slip for two and Alastair Cook mistimed a pull shot to top-edge Ben Hilfenhaus to wicketkeeper Tim Paine for four.
Paul Collingwood looked set before he found Jaques at deep mid-wicket off leg-spinner Cameron White for 35, putting on 58 for the third wicket with Strauss.
Strauss reached his half-century off 50 balls, showing exquisite timing but was annoyed with himself when he tried to hook Tait, only to offer a simple catch to Hilfenhaus at mid-on.
His runs came off as many balls and his innings included 12 fours to all parts of the ground.
Pietersen perished to an ill-judged hook shot, top-edging Hilfenhaus to Paine for seven before Tait bowled Flintoff two balls later.
Flintoff was beaten by Tait's sheer pace to have his stumps spreadeagled and next ball Ashley Giles survived a huge shout for lbw with Tait down on his knees beseeching the umpire.
Giles was run out by White for 13, Sajid Mahmood was stumped down the leg-side off White for 22, Anderson was lbw to local player Adam Ritchard for a duck and Monty Panesar was last man out for one with wicketkeeper Geraint Jones not out 13.
Earlier, Test opener-in-waiting Phil Jaques gave Australian selectors more food for thought with an impressive century.
Jaques, who has the obstacle of long-time incumbents Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden blocking his way into the Australian Test team, hit nine boundaries and two sixes in his breezy knock off 110 balls.
He gave only one chance, on 21, when he was put down by wicketkeeper Geraint Jones off James Anderson, before he holed out in the deep to Cook off medium-pacer Collingwood in the 37th over.
The runs flowed late in the innings, with 112 runs coming off the last 10 overs.
Shaun Marsh hit an unbeaten 78 off 56 balls, Travis Birt smacked 40 off 45 balls and Adam Voges chipped in with 39 off 32 balls.
The PM's XI batsmen smashed a total of eight sixes in the innings, with skipper Cameron White helping himself to three of them in an unbeaten 30 off 14 balls.
Flintoff, looking for a solid bowling stint to fully test his ankle, was the pick of England's wayward bowlers with 1-55 off 10 overs after conceding just 10 runs in his first five overs.
Lancashire fast bowler Anderson looked ineffective, going for 1-65 off 10 overs while seamer Sajid Mahmood had major problems with overstepping.
He finished with a tally of six no balls and four wides in his sorry return of 1-97 off nine overs.
Panesar only bowled three overs, for 17, and fellow spinner Giles 1-53 off eight overs.
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
RSS