The Hindu : Sport : Australia cruises to victory

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 26, 2005

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Sport

Australia cruises to victory

Ted Corbett

MANCHESTER: : Just be warned. Australia is back on the warpath after a ten-wicket win against woeful Bangladesh and ready by next week-end to snatch the NatWest Trophy from England. It is the only side likely to qualify even if it is still mathematically possible for Bangladesh to make the Lord`s match. England tackles Bangladesh at Headingley on Sunday and is relaxed enough to allow Michael Vaughan, the captain, to rest his groin injury while it also knows that Simon Jones, its much injured fast bowler is fit again.

Bangladesh, the surprise side of the series, lost its last seven wickets for 26 runs in 15 overs — as well as leaving the final 15 overs of its entitlement unused — as the Australian spinners wrecked havoc on a helpful pitch at Old Trafford on Saturday. All-rounder Andrew Symonds, who hit top score against England on Thursday, made further redemption for his sins of the weekend before with five for 18, the best figures of his one-day career.

Villain to hero

The men who were damning his escapade of the previous week-end were clapping him on the shoulder and his downcast look had been replaced by a smile. Villain one Saturday; banned for two matches; and then two man of the match awards and the esteem of your mates a week later. Isn't sport fickle? Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, said cautiously: "We have one or two bits of untidiness to iron out." Champions are never satisfied, are they.

England leads the table with 17 points, Australia has 14 and Bangladesh five. "I hope my side will come back strongly," said the Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar. His team's miserable performance means the spectators missed three hours, or 45 overs, of cricket.

This innings contained the sort of performance we had been expecting from Bangladesh before the series began and particularly before it pulled off that marvellous win over Australia at Cardiff. The consequence was inevitable. Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden rocketed to the 140 needed for victory in slightly more than an hour with 31 overs to spare. Hayden hit his 50 off 39 balls with nine fours and a six; Gilchrist made his 42nd one-day half century off 46 balls, including six fours and a six. It brought Australia only its third ten-wicket win in one-day matches. That may be a surprise but it is no shock that eight of the ten one-day wins in all one-day games have been against Bangladesh.

For the first 24 overs there were visions of a large score by Bangladesh. Brett Lee snatched the wickets of Javed Omar and Tushar Imran by the ninth over but Mohammad Ashraful, the international find of the summer, let fly and his first 20 runs came off ten balls. He hit Lee for two sixes behind the wicket, not precisely where he intended but so far into the crowd that you soon forgot the element of top edge in each stroke. His two fours were from clean cut strokes and, although he was caught off a no-ball in between the sixes, there was no doubt who was in control. "The young fella was giving it to us again," said Symonds.

Once we had seen another example of the poor form of Jason Gillespie who went for 17 runs in three overs to add to his 66 off ten the last time the two sides met and Shane Watson had shown how he relishes English conditions.

Shariar Nafis was the first to go after making 47 off 57 balls. He tried to sweep Symonds and was bowled and from that moment the Bangladesh effort was more like a procession than an innings. Only Ashraful batted with any conviction.

Symonds had Habibul Bashar caught off his first ball and bowled Aftab Ahmed. Brad Hogg bowled Khaled Mashud and had Manjural Islam stumped and Symonds made sure there was no last minute rally when he caught and bowled Ashraful.

Bangladesh may have lost its way because Dav Whatmore, its mentor and coach, had to fly home to be with his dying father. He will have the consolation from this tour that at long last he has in Mohammad Ashraful a batsman of the future and one around whom he can build a side.

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