Sexton fit to captain Ireland against much-changed Wallabies

By Sports Desk November 17, 2022

Johnny Sexton is fit enough to captain Ireland for their final Autumn Nations Series Test in Dublin on Saturday against a much-changed Australia, who are looking to hit back from a shock loss to Italy.

Sexton suffered a dead leg in the victory over South Africa earlier this month and did not feature in last weekend's 35-17 triumph over Fiji.

But the fly-half returns to the team for the match against Australia in one of seven alterations from that Fiji win, as the likes of Hugo Keenan, Josh van der Flier and Peter O'Mahony start.

Andrew Porter and Dan Sheehan return to the front row, while James Ryan comes into the second row.

Ireland will be without Joey Carbery and Robbie Henshaw, who both miss out through injury.

Australia are hoping to bounce back from their first ever defeat to Italy last weekend, from which just four starters remain.

Mark Nawaqanitawase and Tom Wright stay on the wings, but James Slipper returns to captain in what will be his 126th Test.

Andrew Kellaway starts at fullback, as Dave Rennie opts to keep the centre pairing of Hunter Paisami and Len Ikitau, while Allan Alaalatoa continues in the front row.

Ireland team: Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, Jimmy O'Brien, Jonny Sexton (captain), Jamison Gibson Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Tadhg Beirne, James Ryan, Peter O'Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.

Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Joe McCarthy, Jack Conan, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Bundee Aki.

Australia team: Andrew Kellaway, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Len Ikitau, Hunter Paisami, Tom Wright, Bernard Foley, Nic White; James Slipper (captain), David Porecki, Allan Alaalatoa, Nick Frost, Cadeyrn Neville, Jed Holloway, Michael Hooper, Rob Valentini.

Replacements: Folau Fainga'a, Tom Robertson, Taniela Tupou, Will Skelton, Pete Samu, Jake Gordon, Noah Lolesio, Jordan Petaia.

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    South Africa claimed an emphatic 174-run victory to seal an ODI series triumph over Ireland ahead of the final game on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. 

    Having cruised to a 139-run victory in the opening encounter, the Proteas continued to avenge their shock T20I defeat against the same opponents last week with another commanding display.

    South Africa made a strong start with the bat before Ryan Rickelton (40) fell in the 13th over, with Temba Bavuma (35) retiring hurt from the contest soon after. 

    Rassie van der Dussen (35) and Kyle Verreynne (67) also performed well, only for Tristan Stubbs to steal the show with 112 runs from 81 deliveries, handing the Proteas a strong grip on the encounter, with South Africa ending 343-4 from their 50 overs. 

    Ireland then made a dismal start to their run chase, losing five wickets in the opening 10 overs as Lizaad Williams and Lungi Ngidi ripped through their opening attack and had Ireland 50-5 early on. 

    Mark Adair (21) and Andy McBrine (10) momentarily halted the onslaught, but were soon sent on their way, with Gavin Hoey hitting 23 runs before he was bowled and caught by Ngidi (2-38). 

    Graham Hume and Craig Young's 52-run stand frustrated South Africa, only for the former to be bowled out by Bjorn Fortuin (2-36) with just under 20 overs remaining as Ireland ended all out for 169. 

    Data Debrief: Proteas on song

    It was yet another strong display by South Africa, cruising to a comfortable victory in Abu Dhabi, with Stubbs and Williams starring with the bat and ball. 

    Stubbs' knock of 112 saw him record a maiden century in international cricket, ending with an impressive strike rate of 138.27. 

    Williams, meanwhile, continued where he left off from the first match, and now has seven wickets during the series so far. 

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    South Africa cruised to a 139-run win over Ireland in the teams' first ODI in Abu Dhabi, with Lizaad Williams tearing through their opponents' batting order.

    The Proteas approached Wednesday's contest reeling from a shock T20I defeat to Ireland on Sunday, with Ross Adair's maiden international century ensuring the two-match series ended 1-1.

    There was not to be a repeat in the 50-over format, however, with Ireland's batting order collapsing after Ryan Rickelton (91) and Tristan Stubbs (79) guided an otherwise shaky South Africa to 271-9.

    The Proteas started miserably by losing three wickets for 39 runs, Mark Adair taking two of them on his way to figures of 4-50.

    But opener Rickelton stayed cool while the wickets tumbled around him, lasting 102 deliveries and allowing Stubbs to join in on the act with comfortably his best ODI score, dragging South Africa to a respectable total.

    Ireland might have harboured hopes of a successful chase, but Paul Stirling's fourth-ball dismissal for just two runs set the tone, and a spate of four more wickets in the space of six overs dropped Ireland to 61-5.

    Williams finished with figures of 4-32 from his 10 overs for the Proteas, who needed just 32 overs to finish off the tail and bring some much-needed positivity to their tour of the United Arab Emirates, which started with an ODI series loss to Afghanistan.

    Data Debrief: Williams wins it 

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    But it was Williams who made sure of the victory, taking three of the first four wickets to leave Ireland in a tailspin, then going on to record the best figures of his young ODI career.

    In none of his previous five ODIs had Williams managed more than two wickets, while his 32 runs conceded were also his fewest in the format.

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    Ireland captain Paul Stirling is "over the moon" after securing their first-ever T20I victory over South Africa, beating them by 10 runs.

    Brilliant performances from brothers Ross and Mark Adair set them on course to the win, as they drew the two-match series 1-1.

    Ross Adair scored his maiden international century, combining with Stirling for a superb opening partnership of 137, leading the team to 195-6, their highest T20I score against South Africa.

    Mark Adair then followed up that performance with an impressive stand in the field, finishing with 4-31, before Graham Hume's 3-25 rounded off the triumph.

    And Stirling was thrilled with how Ireland performed on both sides, particularly in the field.

    "At halfway, we wanted an extra 15-20 runs," he said.

    "They squeezed us, and we felt under-par. There was less dew [on Sunday] and we managed to get over the line.

    "You need time at the crease to get the pace of the wicket. That is what won us the game.

    "With new batters coming in, you always have a chance. We are absolutely delighted [with the win]. It could have gone either way. Over the moon [with the result] and hopefully we can bring it into the ODIs."

    South Africa started brightly, with both Reeze Hendricks and Matthew Breetzke getting 51 after Ryan Rickelton's opening 36.

    However, they soon collapsed after that, with none of the other eight batters able to reach double figures as they finished on 185-9.

    Captain Aiden Markram admitted that fine margins cost them on Sunday, but he still found positives to take from the series.

    "We thought it was chaseable for sure," he said. "Small moments in the game.

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    "Each guy will have a certain area to improve. We never really stop learning. Ultimately, making better decisions and winning games for South Africa."

    The two sides now turn their attention to the three-match ODI series, which starts on Wednesday at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.

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