The 2nd Ashes Test in Adelaide is looking no better for England than the 1st Test, which Australia won by 9 wickets. If you recall, England went into Day 4 at the Gabba at 220/2 trailing only by 58 runs. They quickly dropped every remaining wicket and were bowled out for 297, leaving Australia the decidedly non-daunting task of a 19-run chase, which they dispensed with at haste. In Adelaide, Australia lost their captain, Pat Cummins, at the 11th hour because he ate at a restaurant next to a person who tested positive for COVID. Steve Smith, yes, the same Steve Smith as before all the unpleasantness at Newlands, was pressed into service. Smith won the toss and elected to bat, and the hosts did not regret that decision, finishing with 473/9d. This included 134 runs from batters 8-11, which is 59 more than the England openers Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns have in 3 innings so far. Speaking of Hameed and Burns, they finished the day’s play out for 6 and 4 respectively, putting England in yet another giant chasm. Well, there are three more Tests, COVID permitting.
BBL11 had a cracking match between Melbourne Stars and Sydney Sixers. Glen Maxwell of Stars scored a 103 off 57 balls before finally holing out to David Hughes. Josh Philippe of Sixers rose to the challenge, though, with 11 fours and 2 sixes on route to 99* and a successful chase that ended with two balls left in the last over. Sixers are 3-1 to top the table over 3-0 Perth (Sixers have an extra “Bash point” for having a better score after 10 overs, or something, I forgot).
The Lanka Premier League is headed to the playoffs with Jaffna Kings leading the way at 6-2. Thisara Perera and Wahab Riaz are doing most of the damage for Kings. They will play Galle in a qualifier match, with the winner going to the finals and the loser getting another crack.
Central Districts still leads the Men’s New Zealand Super Smash. Otago is atop the Women’s side over Wellington, but Wellington hasn’t played since December 5th. They finally get their next fixture on Sunday against Canterbury.
The Windies were whitewashed by Pakistan in three T20Is thanks to superb batting from Mohammad Rizwan. The scheduled ODI series was postponed to June 2022 because of…any guesses?
That just about covers it. If there’s more, please let me know about it.
