David Edwards
NormWeekend Wrap – Australia…Lose, England…Win?
February 11th 2007 12:54
This weekend has been one of the most action packed weeks in the summer series, as the NBL wraps up their home and away season, the Super 14’s starts it second round, the A-League whittles down to the top two sides of the competition, and unbelievably, England win the Commonwealth Bank Trophy in the one day competition.
It’s not a typo, it’s not a factual error, but is something that many Australian fans will have to come to terms with. England, who is considered to have a better Test playing side than one day side, has been able to steal away the Commonwealth Bank Trophy from Australia in two finals after clawing its way into the competition.
Looking like they were going to leave our shores winning only a single match throughout their entire Test and one day tour, England truly turned its competition on its head by winning their last two matches, against Australia by 92 runs, and a fantastic match against New Zealand, to enter the finals, the Poms came out firing in the finals to completely stump Australia to win the Commonwealth Bank one day series.
On Friday night, Australia batted first and gave England an impressive total to win, but England were able to draw inspiration and grab the total with three balls to spare. Sunday was a day where Australia would have to grab the win to stay alive in the finals.
England batted first, and with Collingwood once more finding touch with the bat, they were able to grab the impressive total of 8/246, with Glenn McGrath grabbing his final career wicket at the SCG with the final ball of the innings, getting Nixon out caught.
As Australia went into bat, the biggest concern was the weather. England was interrupted twice in their innings, and with grey clouds covering the sky their was thought that Australia would not be able to bat their full 50 overs. Their strategy was to go out all guns blazing, but it was not able to work to their advantage, as the top order stumbled to 4/40, and whilst Watson and Clarke was able to secure a steady partnership with a number of interruptions, they were not able to grab the much needed runs.
With rain stopping the match frequently throughout the innings, the Duckworth-Lewis system came into effect, and with Australia batting out 20 overs in their match, they were unable match their motherland counterparts in the run chase, and ended up losing the match as rain came for the final time, by 35 runs.
In the other sports around the nation, Adelaide were able to beat out Newcastle on penalties on Sunday in the A-League Preliminary Final played out at Hindmarsh Stadium. Newcastle, who were the underdogs coming into the finals competition, were able to place the pressure against last season’s minor premiers, and whilst the game saw two goals through in the second half, it ended up being decided on spot kicks.
Whilst the Jets were able to place the pressure in regulation and extra time, Adelaide always had the passion and determination to succeed, literally running themselves ragged in the 120 minutes of play, and whilst the Reds held the lead with a fantastic strike by Carl Veart in the 56th minute, the Jets were able to tie up in the 76th minute by a last ditch effort to confuse the keeper.
Extra time saw both sides lay everything down on the line, but could not convert the goals needed. The game ended up in penalties, and Adelaide was able to score when needed, taking away the victory 1-1 (5-3) on penalties. Adelaide will now face up against the Melbourne Victory on Sunday night to decide who will be the champion in the A-League’s second season.
In the NBL , the final home and away season wrapped up with the Brisbane Bullets scoring a record 18th consecutive win for the season, finishing up with a one point win against the Cairns Taipans. In a match where a number of key players were rested in the lead up to the playoffs, the lead swung between the two sides before Brisbane tied up the match at 93 apiece with four minutes remaining. The Bullets kept their momentum, and was able to finish their season on an unbelievable high, defeating Cairns 103-102.
In other matches, the Perth Wildcats held their third place spot, beating the New Zealand Breakers 99-94, Sydney finished forth after beating Singapore 102-76, Brisbane finished up another nail biter, beating Townsville by two points 130-128, West Sydney finished their season on a high, downing the Wollongong Hawks 101-91, Melbourne Tigers locked in second place on the ladder, beating their long-time rivals the Sydney Kings 99-83, and the Adelaide 36ers were able to finish with a win after eight straight losses, defeating the Cairns Taipans 98-89.
In the Super 14s, the Crusaders kept their seven year long winning streak against the Queensland Reds, downing them 33-22. In other games, the Waratahs stumbled against the Sharks, getting thrashed 22-9, the Western force won their first game of the season (and third match overall), beating the Stormers 22-3, the Hurricanes edged out the Cheifs 39-32, the Blues won an nail biting match, kicking a sideline conversion after the siren to take the win against the Brumbies 17-15, the Bulls beat the Cheetahs 24-20, the Lions beat the Highlanders 11-6.
Whilst many supporters will try to comprehend how England could come away with the win in the one day competition, and whilst the World Cup is only three weeks away, the Poms might make a few more waves than previously thought, whilst Australia will have to work hard to earn back the confidence and form that has seem to disappear from them over the past two weeks of play.
Only time will tell.
Until next time, sports minds.
It’s not a typo, it’s not a factual error, but is something that many Australian fans will have to come to terms with. England, who is considered to have a better Test playing side than one day side, has been able to steal away the Commonwealth Bank Trophy from Australia in two finals after clawing its way into the competition.
Looking like they were going to leave our shores winning only a single match throughout their entire Test and one day tour, England truly turned its competition on its head by winning their last two matches, against Australia by 92 runs, and a fantastic match against New Zealand, to enter the finals, the Poms came out firing in the finals to completely stump Australia to win the Commonwealth Bank one day series.
On Friday night, Australia batted first and gave England an impressive total to win, but England were able to draw inspiration and grab the total with three balls to spare. Sunday was a day where Australia would have to grab the win to stay alive in the finals.
England batted first, and with Collingwood once more finding touch with the bat, they were able to grab the impressive total of 8/246, with Glenn McGrath grabbing his final career wicket at the SCG with the final ball of the innings, getting Nixon out caught.
As Australia went into bat, the biggest concern was the weather. England was interrupted twice in their innings, and with grey clouds covering the sky their was thought that Australia would not be able to bat their full 50 overs. Their strategy was to go out all guns blazing, but it was not able to work to their advantage, as the top order stumbled to 4/40, and whilst Watson and Clarke was able to secure a steady partnership with a number of interruptions, they were not able to grab the much needed runs.
With rain stopping the match frequently throughout the innings, the Duckworth-Lewis system came into effect, and with Australia batting out 20 overs in their match, they were unable match their motherland counterparts in the run chase, and ended up losing the match as rain came for the final time, by 35 runs.
In the other sports around the nation, Adelaide were able to beat out Newcastle on penalties on Sunday in the A-League Preliminary Final played out at Hindmarsh Stadium. Newcastle, who were the underdogs coming into the finals competition, were able to place the pressure against last season’s minor premiers, and whilst the game saw two goals through in the second half, it ended up being decided on spot kicks.
Whilst the Jets were able to place the pressure in regulation and extra time, Adelaide always had the passion and determination to succeed, literally running themselves ragged in the 120 minutes of play, and whilst the Reds held the lead with a fantastic strike by Carl Veart in the 56th minute, the Jets were able to tie up in the 76th minute by a last ditch effort to confuse the keeper.
Extra time saw both sides lay everything down on the line, but could not convert the goals needed. The game ended up in penalties, and Adelaide was able to score when needed, taking away the victory 1-1 (5-3) on penalties. Adelaide will now face up against the Melbourne Victory on Sunday night to decide who will be the champion in the A-League’s second season.
In the NBL , the final home and away season wrapped up with the Brisbane Bullets scoring a record 18th consecutive win for the season, finishing up with a one point win against the Cairns Taipans. In a match where a number of key players were rested in the lead up to the playoffs, the lead swung between the two sides before Brisbane tied up the match at 93 apiece with four minutes remaining. The Bullets kept their momentum, and was able to finish their season on an unbelievable high, defeating Cairns 103-102.
In other matches, the Perth Wildcats held their third place spot, beating the New Zealand Breakers 99-94, Sydney finished forth after beating Singapore 102-76, Brisbane finished up another nail biter, beating Townsville by two points 130-128, West Sydney finished their season on a high, downing the Wollongong Hawks 101-91, Melbourne Tigers locked in second place on the ladder, beating their long-time rivals the Sydney Kings 99-83, and the Adelaide 36ers were able to finish with a win after eight straight losses, defeating the Cairns Taipans 98-89.
In the Super 14s, the Crusaders kept their seven year long winning streak against the Queensland Reds, downing them 33-22. In other games, the Waratahs stumbled against the Sharks, getting thrashed 22-9, the Western force won their first game of the season (and third match overall), beating the Stormers 22-3, the Hurricanes edged out the Cheifs 39-32, the Blues won an nail biting match, kicking a sideline conversion after the siren to take the win against the Brumbies 17-15, the Bulls beat the Cheetahs 24-20, the Lions beat the Highlanders 11-6.
Whilst many supporters will try to comprehend how England could come away with the win in the one day competition, and whilst the World Cup is only three weeks away, the Poms might make a few more waves than previously thought, whilst Australia will have to work hard to earn back the confidence and form that has seem to disappear from them over the past two weeks of play.
Only time will tell.
Until next time, sports minds.
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