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Emphatic victory for New Zealand ‘A’

V.V. Subrahmanyam

Bowlers defend modest total with élan; skittle out Australia ‘A’ for 106

— PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

AIRBORNE: Australia ‘A’s Phillip Hughes pulls off a spectacular catch to send back James Marshall of New Zealand ’A’.

HYDERABAD: Australia ‘A’s joy at restricting New Zealand ‘A’ to a modest 235 for nine evaporated in no time when it began the chase in the second session. Seam bowlers Mark Gillespie and Grant Elliott came up with splendid spells to skittle their trans-Tasman neighbour for 106 in the first one-dayer of the tri-series at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Uppal) here on Monday.

It all started when Gillespie bowled a beauty to square up Phillip Hughes and forced him to snick to second slip. He then had David Hussey caught behind by Reece Young. Ironically only the bowler appealed even as the wicketkeeper was completing the motion of collecting the ball down the leg-side.

Twin strikes

Soon, Luke Ronchi was trapped on the shuffle by Gillespie. First-change bowler Elliott struck twice in his very first over. He first had Marcus North snapped up smartly by Young and then the wicketkeeper produced a diving catch to his left to send back Adam Voges.

Though the wicket was perfect for one-day cricket the Australian batsmen seemed to be in an unusual hurry. So much so that even off-spinner Jeetan Patel joined the party, polishing off the tail with a four-wicket haul. Captain Cameron White (42, 71 balls, 7x4) was the exception before he was run out by a brilliant, direct hit from the point boundary by Martin Guptill.

Earlier, 29-year-old Peter Fulton played a captain’s knock with a classy 75 (101 balls, 12x4) to help New Zealand ‘A’ score 235 in 50 overs. Fulton hit fast bowler Peter Siddle for three fours in his third over to make his intentions clear.

Fulton and Guptill (33, 59 balls, 3x4 and 2x6) put on 104 for the second wicket in 19.3 overs. Just when he looked set for a big score, Guptill was trapped in front trying to sweep left-spinner Xavier Doherty.

Brilliant catch

James Marshall played commendably against both Cameron White and Doherty before a brilliant catch by Phillip Hughes led to his exit off White. Marshall went for a big shot over the mid-on and Hughes fielding near the boundary line first leapt high in the air to pluck the ball. But the moment he realised that he would cross the line, Hughes threw the ball into the playing area and then dived forward to complete a spectacular catch to the delight of his teammates.

Fulton departed when Bollinger struck in the very first over of his second spell. The Kiwi captain failed to control his lofted, off-drive and holed out in the 35th over with the score reading 170 for four. This dismissal saw the Australian bowlers come back strongly.

Left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty was the most impressive with his line, length and variations to finish with a four-wicket haul.

On Tuesday, India ‘A’ will play against Australia ‘A’.

The scores: New Zealand ‘A’: A.J. Redmond b D. Bollinger 5, M.J. Guptill lbw b X. Doherty 33, P. Fulton c S. Tait b D. Bollinger 75, J. Marshall c Hughes b C. White 25, N. Broom c White b P. Siddle 30, G. Elliott st. Ronchi b X. Doherty 10, N. McCullum b Doherty 2, R.A. Young (not out) 13, J.S. Patel b X. Doherty 3, M.R. Gillespie b A. Noffke 2, B.E. Scott (not out) 8; Extras: (b-1, lb-11, w-15, nb-2) 29; Total: (for nine wkts. in 50 overs) 235.

Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-115, 3-152, 4-170, 5-198, 6-204, 7-206, 8-218, 9-221.

Australia ‘A’ bowling: Tait 7-0-36-0, Bollinger 7-1-26-2, Siddle 9-2-43-1, Noffke 9-1-49-1, White 9-0-35-1, Doherty 9-0-34-4.

Australia ‘A’: P. Hughes c Broom b Gillespie 8, L. Ronchi lbw b Gillespie 27, D. Hussey c Young b Gillespie 0, C. White (run out) 42, M. North c Young b Elliot 5, A. Voges c Young b Elliott 0, A. Noffke c Young b Patel 0, X. Doherty c Fulton b Patel 0, P. Siddle st. Young b Patel 3, D. Bollinger b Patel 0, S. Tait (not out) 9; Extras: (lb-5, w-6, nb-1) 12; Total: (in 26.1 overs) 106.

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-18, 3-47, 4-67, 5-67, 6-73, 7-73, 8-97, 9-97.

New Zealand ‘A’ bowling: Gillespie 9-1-37-3, Scott 7-1-33-0, Elliott 4-1-15-2, Patel 6.1-1-16-4.

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