Story Returning To Former Glory - The Journey Of The Australian Cricket Team [ODI Rankings]

[Griffo]

Returning To Former Glory - The Journey Of The Australian Cricket Team

Series Links
ODI Series v South Africa (Away)

Hughes Named For ODI Series In South Africa

Phil Hughes has impressed everyone to earn a call up for the one day series

With young bowlers being unearthed and new batsmen on the rise, the future looks bright for cricket in Australia. After faltering in a home series against South Africa in both the test and one day arena Ricky Ponting's men hit back with a test series victory in South Africa?s territory thanks mainly to potential superstar Phil Hughes. They now aim to do what the Proteas did them in their backyard by taking the one day series as well which would result in complete and utter revenge.

The Australian selectors have named their one day squad for the upcoming series and despite his domestic record Phil Hughes has done more than enough in the test arena to earn himself a call-up, a risk which is highly praised amongst media all over the cricketing world. The series is set to be exciting with a series victory for the Australian?s taking them back to the number one team in the world in the rankings which leaves plenty to gain as well as plenty to lose.

ODI Squad v South Africa
Ricky Ponting (c)
Michael Clarke (vc)
Nathan Bracken
Callum Ferguson
Brad Haddin
Nathan Hauritz
Phil Hughes
Michael Hussey
Mitchell Johnson
Brett Lee
Shaun Marsh
Tim Paine
Peter Siddle
Shane Watson
Cameron White​

 

[Ollie_H]

Nice start, saw the end of your Derbyshire story and what you will learn is that the best stories dont get all the comments around here.

 

[Aditya]

Nice start,Pretty nice squad for the odi series nice to see Nathan Bracken there. Best of luck for this one.

 

[Griffo]

Series Preview

After a series loss at home, Australia will be looking to win back their spot on top of the one day rankings. As the winner of the previous three world cups for years their dominance of one day cricket was unquestioned but now a worthy challenger has arrived in the form of South Africa who have taken the number one spot away with a win in Australia.

When these two sides fight it out the cricketing world always takes notice and with the number one spot will be on the line during a series which is set to excite there will be many small stories within the series which will prove very interesting to follow.

Players To Watch
Phil Hughes - Australia
Unexperienced in cricket at the domestic level, let alone the international stage it’s clear that Phil Hughes is destined to become something special. Despite a domestic one day record which fails in comparison to his first class form it seems that Phil Hughes technique is perfect for the one day game due to a rare ability to play any shot at any time on either the back or front foot.

South Africa boast the most potent pace attack that he will face at this stage of his career and just like the test series he will have to learn on the go but so far at the test level he has adapted just the same to find major success. Phil Hughes’ performance may not decide the series but if he hits form it will make life easier from the Australian point of view.

Phil Hughes will look to bring his test form into the one day arena

Dale Steyn - South Africa
For a bowler with the ability that Dale Steyn possesses a one day international bowling average just under 30 is nowhere near good enough. Steyn has dominated the test arena for quite some time but his form has never translated well to the one day format at the international level.

If Steyn eventually adapts his bowling he will become the most dangerous opening bowler in the world. With sharp pace and deadly accuracy he is capable of decimating any batting line up on his day but with the pitches more likely to favour the batsmen it remains to be seen whether he will live up to the great expectations placed upon his shoulders to lead the Proteas attack.

Dale Steyn will lead the Proteas attack in a bid to defend their number one ranking​

 

[KingCJ]

Liking the start of this, and even better to see that you've got Ferguson in the squad.

 

[spaga1994]

nice work man really like this so far

 

[Gaurav_7]

Nice start there.Good to see Callum Ferguson in the squad.Would be interesting to see how Phil Hughes goes about in international cricket.

 

[blake]

Can I predict how Phil Hughes will go? I think he'll hit a few 150* scores in the ODI series, and end up averaging 65 in his Test and ODI career, being far better than established batsmen such as Gautam Gambhir and Ricky Ponting. :sarcasm

Good luck with the story though, Griffo. Hopefully we can see Australia back on top of the world winning every series before too long, anyway.

 

[Jakester1288]

Haha, I agree with Blake, but yeah, I'm keen to see how you go.

 

[MaD]

I'm going to be bidding for SAF, good luck

 

[Griffo]

1st One Day International v South Africa

Recent history has shown results between Australia and South Africa are harder to pick than the apocalypse but we have now reached the final conclusion of this epic battle which has taken place over the summer. The winner of the series is the number one team in the world and that is all the motivation each team needs to give 100% throughout the series.

Pitch Report
A preview of the pitch shows that it will take to spin throughout the match with this increasing the longer the match wears on. It is offering a little movement early on for the pace bowlers but not enough to majorly worry the batsmen during the days play. The outfield doesn’t seem to be overly quick but it is definitely not going to hinder any balls looking to make its way to the boundary.

Now we will take an in-depth look as to how the sides line up for today’s clash.

South Africa

Graeme Smith (c)
Hashim Amla
JP Duminy
AB de Villiers
Jacques Kallis
Neil McKenzie
Albie Morkel
Mark Boucher
Vernon Philander
Dale Steyn
Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Although lacking a spinner this line up bats all the way to number 9 and shows class in every department. The South Africans haven’t got to number one in the world without reason and its well established top order generally dominates more often than not and with a pace attack of such quality they will be tough to beat. Dale Steyn will lead the attack and look to tear through the top order in hope of victory.

Australia

Phil Hughes
Shaun Marsh
Ricky Ponting (c)
Michael Clarke
Michael Hussey
Shane Watson
Brad Haddin
Cameron White
Mitchell Johnson
Brett Lee
Nathan Bracken

It’s clear that Australia have recognised the spin within the pitch shown by the inclusion of Cameron White into the line up who will also add plenty of batting depth to the already terrific lower order. Most eyes will be placed upon young Phil Hughes who is making his one day international debut today after a very successful test series which saw all his tremendous skill put on display.

The Toss
The toss has taken place and it appears that South Africa have won the toss and have elected to bowl. This is a risky decision but a calculated one as the South Africans will be looking to extract any early movement the pitch has to offer.​

 

[KingCJ]

Nicely written match preview Griffo. I like the look of both sides, should be a good match.

 

[MaD]

Well done mate, keep going, don't stop updates just because of comments, you have to continue, comments will come...

 

[Griffo]

Australia Pass 300 Despite Middle Order Collapse

Brad Haddin worked well with the tail to ensure a very good total for his side

Brad Haddin’s magnificent work with the bat has ensured Australia have something to bowl at during the first one day international against South Africa. Haddin put together an impressive 103 run partnership with Cameron White while going on to finish with an individual score of 105 not out.

The day started with openers Phil Hughes & Shaun Marsh making a solid start before Lonwabo Tsotsobe clean bowled Marsh on 21 which caused a collapse. The collapse saw Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey and Shane Watson all back in the dressing room for a combined run total of 29 while debutant opening batsmen Phil Hughes witnessed the entire event from the non-strikers end.

Brad Haddin then strode to the crease combining with Phil Hughes to resurrect the innings with a solid partnership until Phil Hughes lost his wicket on 86 after playing a Jacques Kallis delivery onto his own stumps in an otherwise impressive debut. Cameron White then strode to the crease and continued the fight back putting on a 103 run partnership with Brad Haddin to see the Australian’s in a very good position.

Cameron White made a career top score of 51 before getting out to a slower ball from Albie Morkel which was caught out in the deep leaving Brad Haddin to bat with the tail, a task which he completed quite effectively taking the total past 300 and putting Australia in a very strong position.

South Africa were clearly exposed with their lack of a spin bowlers on a pitch which offered much assistance but they still managed to cause trouble without one and it was a lack of discipline as they reached the lower order that allowed the Australians to capitalise on the situation. Lonwabo Tsotsobe was the pick of the bowlers with 2/50 and causing the top order collapse but all the credit must be given to the Australian lower order who kept their side in the game.

Australia (1st Innings)

Bowling

​

 

[Highlander999]

LOVE LOVE LOVE



Bah, Hughes is rubbish, he should have stuck there with Haddin to the end and Aus could easily have made 350 With the pitch spinning, White and possibly Clarke are going to play big roles.