Just like the advent of one-day internationals in the 1970s and the glitzy Twenty20 format in the last decade, Test cricket stands on the threshold of a game-changer and both skippers are keen to buy into the concept. “We saw last week the way he bowled was extremely impressive to bowl 37 overs above 145 kph (90 mph) consistently, that’s pretty impressive so hopefully we can a lot more of that”.
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Australia won the opening Test at Brisbane by 208 runs and the second Test in Perth ended in a high-scoring draw, so the series is still alive.
While Cricket Australia immediately boosted the medical presence at grounds and now requires all players to wear a helmet that meets stringent safety standards, Hughes’ long-time coach and mentor Neil D’Costa said he was still not convinced it was enough. Shaun Marsh will replace injured batsman Usman Khawaja and bat at No. 5.
“The atmosphere out there was unbelievable from early on until the end of play, the crowd was upbeat and especially when we were on a roll and getting some wickets”. Obviously, the first two tests were a bit disappointing in terms of crowds.
Crowds of about 40-45,000 are expected for Adelaide Oval on the first three days of the series-deciding test, with Australia holding a 1-0 lead.
It was an historic and largely successful day for Steve Smith’s Australians at the Adelaide Oval, but any sense of satisfaction will have been soured by the news of a potentially serious injury to paceman Mitchell Starc.
“I was a bit shaken up to be perfectly honest, and I think a couple of the guys were as well”, he said. “There is grass but there’s been grass the last couple of wickets as well”. “Everyone could see that”, Boult said.
Siddle, who took 2-54, said: “For cricket it’s definitely been a great day”. “It’s just a matter of working out what the best balance is”.
The bowlers seemed to enjoy using the new pink ball as 12 wickets fellWas it a success? “To be able to get them out early on and get that done and dusted gives us time to rest up and not having bowled that many overs”, Siddle said.
Born in northern New South Wales and raised on a banana plantation, Hughes moved to South Australia to play Sheffield Shield cricket in a bid to re-boot his test career.
After winning the toss, New Zealand squandered a positive start with a rash of poor shot selection to be dismissed cheaply for 202.
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Mitchell Starc, the new leader of Australia’s pace attack, and new ball partner Josh Hazlewood claimed three wickets each before Starc was forced from the field and was later diagnosed with a stress fracture of the right foot.
