Australia’s Mitchell Starc was looking forward to “a great spectacle of cricket” after his side book their spot in the World Cup final against hosts India.
Starc helped Australia conquer South Africa in the semi-final at Eden Gardens, claiming three for 34 and holding up his end in a vital partnership with captain Pat Cummins during the closing moments of a tense chase.
In the end Australia squeaked home by three wickets in a low-scoring encounter, with Starc’s new-ball burst doing a huge amount of heavy lifting.
He set the tone for the day by removing Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma in the first over, then dismissed Aiden Markram as he and Josh Hazlewood reduced their opponents to 24 for four.
The intensity is only going to be dialled up when they take on undefeated home favourites India in Ahmedabad on Sunday, with up to 100,000 locals ready to roar their nation on at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
And it is a prospect Starc is ready to embrace.
“It’s certainly going to be a big occasion, a World Cup Final in India. It’s going to be loud,” he said.
“I think it’s just going to be a great spectacle of cricket, no doubt. There’s going to be a lot of passion there. Certainly, everyone in our changing room is looking forward to it.
“I don’t think either changing room is new to big occasions. You want to take on the best and that’s why we play the game. They’ve been the best team in the tournament so far and we both find ourselves in the final. That’s what World Cups are about.”
Starc’s skipper, Cummins, was equally enthused about the prospect having been part of Australia’s last ODI world champion squad on home soil eight years ago.
“The stadium is going to be packed, pretty one-sided, but we’ve got to embrace it,” he said.
“The 2015 World Cup was a career highlight, so to be out there in a final in India, I can’t wait.”
Starc agreed with the idea that over the course of a hard-fought contest against South Africa, Australia’s victory lay in their aggression during the powerplay overs. While he and Hazlewood established a stranglehold over the batters, Travis Head and David Warner went on the attack as they raided 60 runs off the first six.
On both occasions, damage was done that could not be clawed back by the Proteas.
“We’ve seen throughout the tournament how tough the first 10 overs can be at certain times…when you’re willing to take the game on like that, sometimes you take a little bit of luck with you,” he said.
“It certainly went to plan with the ball today and the way we set up with the bat is to really be aggressive, take the game on and the freedom to give those guys to go out and play the way they like to.”
Losing coach Rob Walter gave South Africa credit for battling back into contention after their early collapse, making 212 on the back of David Miller’s 101, and insisted the age-old tag of ‘chokers’ was no longer fitting.
“It’s obviously gutting to lose a semi-final but beyond that, I’m incredibly proud of the fight shown by the lads,” he said.
“I guess you need to define what a ‘choke’ is. For me, a choke is losing a game that you’re in a position to win. In this instance, we were behind the eight ball right from the word go and we actually fought our way back into the competition and put up a score that gave us a chance.
“For me there’s nothing even remotely close to a choke that happened out there today. It’s a serious contest between two good teams, number two and three in the tournament.”
Charles, Powell star as Delhi Bulls hammer Chennai Braves by 65 runs in Abu Dhabi T10 League
Johnson Charles and Rovman Powell both played starring roles to help the Delhi Bulls get their second win in as many games in the 2023 Abu Dhabi T10 League on Friday with a 65-run triumph over the Chennai Braves at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Charles made a 21-ball 40 opening the batting including four fours and two sixes while skipper Powell, batting at five, hit 35 off just 15 balls including one four and four sixes to help the Bulls post an intimidating 126-6 off their 10 overs after being put in to bat.
Englishman James Vince also showed good form with 37 off 14 balls. Obed McCoy and Junaid Siddique had identical figures of 2-18 from two overs.
Chennai’s chase then came up significantly short, being bowled out for just 61 in 8.5 overs.
Only Mohammad Nabi was able to crack double figures with 25 as Fazalhaq Farooqi (2-8 from two overs), Muhammad Rohid (2-14 from two overs), Naveen-ul-Haq (2-22 from two overs) and Ravi Bopara (2-4 from five balls) combined to produce an excellent display of bowling.
With goal of being best all-rounder in the world, Matthew Forde says CPL is ‘foundation to my success’
Matthew Forde was 20 years old when he first appeared for a CPL franchise. Having had success in age group cricket he was someone who was of interest to CPL teams, but it was a conversation with Pedro Collins that started his CPL career. Forde had been coached by Collins for a while. They lived very close to each other, and Collins would regularly give Forde a lift to and from training.
On one of those journeys the conversation turned to CPL cricket. Forde told Collins that he did not currently have a team. Collins is part of the Saint Lucia Kings set up and he called Daren Sammy, the Kings head coach, while Forde was in the car. Forde was encouraged to send videos of him in action to Sammy and by the time he was dropped off Sammy had called back to say, “I want this youngster.”
That conversation led to Forde making his CPL debut during the 2022 season, and while he didn’t bowl in his first match, he was entrusted with the new ball for his home debut against Guyana Amazon Warriors. Forde says his response to being asked if he wanted this responsibility so early in his career was to tell Sammy, “You asking a dog if he want a bone”.
Forde was determined to make the most of that opportunity. While sat on a drinks cooler waiting for his home debut he made it clear to his team mate, Rivaldo Clarke, that he was not going to miss his chance. He said: “Rivaldo boy, I don't know about you, but I know when I get my chance and I come off of this cooler, I'm not coming back on this cooler.”
Forde has not had to sit on the side lines since, with the latest milestone being his call up for the West Indies ODI team who are taking on England in December. His coach for that series will be Daren Sammy, and Forde has said that his relationship with the Kings and West Indies head coach has been foundational to his career.
“I think he has been, if not the backbone, he has been the main guy for me in terms of giving me that opportunity and trusting me, believing in me. I started opening with the new ball for the Kings and he trusted me. I just kept performing until he built that trust in me,” Forde said.
For Forde, the CPL has been the building block for his career progression since making that breakthrough in 2022. “I think CPL was the foundation. CPL really started it all because without CPL then the rest of the world wouldn't see me. CPL was my first major tournament. So, for me that's like CPL was the foundation. And I will always say the Kings will always be at my heart.”
Going forward, Forde wants to develop all elements of his game. He has two half centuries in topflight cricket, one as an overseas player at the Lanka Premier League and another in the recently concluded Super 50 tournament where he presented the West Indies academy side. He says developing his batting and becoming a true all-rounder is where he wants his game end up.
“My goal is to be to be the number one all-rounder in the world and to put West Indies cricket back to where it needs to be at the top. So, for me and a couple of the younger guys like me, we work really hard in in terms of fitness, the mental side of the game, theory, whatever it be. We are always working because we know what we want to achieve, and we know the goals that we have set and planned out as a collective group.”
Pakistan appoint Salman Butt to first official role since spot-fixing conviction
Former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt has been appointed to a first official role since he was jailed for spot-fixing.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has named Butt as one of three consultants to new chief selector Wahab Riaz.
In 2011, Butt was jailed for 30 months for his part in a conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls during the Test against England at Lord’s the previous summer.
Butt, 39, was also handed a 10-year ban by the International Cricket Council, with five years suspended, for his role in the controversy, which also involved team-mates Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
Along with former Pakistan internationals Kamran Akmal and Rao Iftikhar, Butt, who returned to play domestic cricket in 2016, will take up his role on the selection panel with immediate effect ahead of the T20 series against New Zealand in January, which follows the conclusion of the Test tour to Australia.
All three players were part of Pakistan’s successful T20 World Cup in 2009 and look set to bring some of their experience to the current squad.
The PCB added in a statement: “When not engaged in selection duties, the consultant members may be assigned additional tasks such as conducting skills camps.”
The move follows an overhaul of Pakistan’s set-up following an early exit from the 2023 World Cup in India.
As well as new chief selector, Mohammad Hafeez has come in as team director.
Babar Azam stepped down as captain, with Shan Masood confirmed as Pakistan’s new Test skipper and Shaheen Afridi set to lead the T20 side.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
