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Tasmania veterans take seven wickets between them to put the visitors in control after bowling Victoria out for just 121 on day one

AAP24-Nov-2022Wickets tumbled as Jackson Bird and Peter Siddle helped put Tasmania in a strong position at stumps on day one of the Sheffield Shield clash with Victoria.The two quicks fired as the Tigers skittled their hosts for 121 after winning the toss and bowling first on a green deck at the MCG.Bird was the chief destroyer with 4 for 13 from 15 overs, including seven maidens, while Siddle and Nathan Ellis also did some damage on Thursday.Captain Jordan Silk and Jake Doran then guided Tasmania to 4 for 102 in reply, trailing by just 19 runs heading into day two.Matthew Wad and Ben McDermott made starts for the Tigers but were both dismissed bowled.Shield debutants Sam Elliott and Campbell Kellaway both showed glimpses of their potential for Victoria.Fast bowler Elliott, the son of former Test batter Matthew Elliott, removed Tasmania’s openers Caleb Jewell and Tim Ward in claiming figures of 2 for 20 from 10 overs.Earlier, Kellaway made 23 with the bat and soaked up 82 balls as Victoria staggered to a grim first innings total.It continued a poor run for Victoria, following tallies of 63 and 132 in an innings defeat to Queensland earlier this month.Opener Travis Dean was out for his third consecutive duck after a pair against the Bulls.Nic Maddinson and Ashley Chandrasinghe were also out cheaply as Tasmania’s new-ball attack had the hosts in all sorts of trouble, reducing them to 3 for 10.Allrounder Fergus O’Neill, Matt Short and Kellaway helped lift Victoria’s tally into triple figures.Elliott and Kellaway were selected with Test duo Marcus Harris and Scott Boland, as well as Prime Minister’s XI pair Peter Handscomb and Todd Murphy, unavailable due to national commitments.Tasmania recalled Ellis in place of Riley Meredith, who has been managed.

Five UAE players have now received bans of varying degrees in the last two years

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2021UAE players Amir Hayat and Ashfaq Ahmed have been banned from all forms of cricket for eight years by the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal for violating ICC’s anti-corruption code.The bans are backdated to 13 September 2020, when they were provisionally suspended for corrupt conduct in relation to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in April 2019. Hayat played the last of his 13 internationals in February 2019, while Ahmed, 37, last played for UAE in April that year.The ruling means five UAE players – Mohammad Naveed, Shaiman Anwar and Qadeer Ahmed – have received bans of varying degrees over the last two years. While Ahmed is in the middle of a five-year ban, Naveed and Anwar were banned for eight years.Following a full hearing and presentation of written and oral arguments, the Tribunal found both Amir and Ashfaq guilty of:

• Article 2.1.3, which deals with a player taking a bribe to try to fix a cricket match or ensuring the occurrence of a particular event for the purposes of betting on a cricket match.
• Article 2.4.2, which deals with gifts being given to a player in exchange for them breaking the ICC anti-corruption code and bringing the game into disrepute.
• Article 2.4.3, which deals with a player failing to disclose gifts and benefits offered to them with a value of USD 750 or more. There are exemptions to this: gifts given to them by family or friends, food or beverage gifts and cricket hospitality gifts in connection with the matches the player is involved in.
• Article 2.4.4, which deals with a player failing to disclose a corrupt approach made on them.
• Article 2.4.5, which deals with failing to disclose anything that may be seen as evidence of corrupt conduct.

ICC hoped the bans would serve as a warning to the others. “Both Amir and Ashfaq had played cricket at the highest level for long enough to understand the threat from match fixers,” ICC general manager Alex Marshall said in a statement.”The two UAE players, attended several ICC anti-corruption education sessions, and knew how to avoid becoming involved in any corrupt activity. They failed in these obligations and let down their teammates and everyone involved in UAE Cricket, in their adopted country. Their lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others.”

Thursday’s ICC meeting starts contingency planning process

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Apr-2020Cricket has never faced a crisis quite like this. With much of the world still deep in Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns, administrators are facing an unprecedented situation. At some point in the near future, sport will resume but in what form, when and where exactly, no-one knows.On Thursday, the chief executives of the 12 full-member countries along with the ICC management will convene via a conference call to start plotting what a new landscape might look like. Thursday’s meeting is merely the starting point of a process that will remain a work in progress for the foreseeable future.The ICC has said the aim of this virtual meeting – and there really only is one item on the agenda – is to check in on the health of members and how they are coping with the effects of no cricket, as well as collectively work on contingency planning and sort out priorities between the resumption of international bilateral cricket, domestic cricket and global events.Based on conversations with various boards, ESPNcricinfo lists some of the key issues that will rank high on the list of priorities to be addressed on Thursday.

Men’s T20 World Cup

Aaron Finch’s Australia will be among the favourites for the T20 World Cup if it goes ahead•Getty Images

Scheduled for October-November this year, this is the biggest marquee event left in 2020 outside of the IPL. Currently the ICC remains optimistic about the event going ahead in case Australia opens its doors to host the tournament.However, the tournament comprises 16 teams, which means each will need their respective government’s approval. What happens in case one of the participants is denied permission? What would be the quarantine process in individual countries? Will air travel resume completely to allow players to travel to Australia? These will be some of the questions that the chief executives’ committee (CEC) will make note of and it is clearly a complex issue as one of the officials who will be sitting on the call, said.According to one official, the fate of the T20 World Cup is the most important issue for a number of boards outside the biggest few. Those boards rely heavily on revenue distributions from the ICC and a disruption to any event – as PCB chairman Ehsan Mani warned – could have serious financial repercussions for some members. What members might be looking to discuss is a rough idea of a timeline by when a definitive decision on the tournament needs to take place.

ODI Super League

Already this tournament, due to begin in 10 days’ time, has been impacted. Three of the series scheduled as part of the ODI League, which the ICC put in place to provide more context to 50-overs cricket, have been postponed indefinitely, with Pakistan’s series in the Netherlands the latest to be axed. The ODI League serves as a pathway for the 10-team 2023 World Cup, scheduled to be hosted in India. Alongside India, the seven highest-ranked sides in the ODI League as of March 31, 2022 would have qualified directly for the 2023 World Cup, while the bottom five will get a second chance to make the grade through a qualifier.The questions the CEC will need to consider include whether the league should be scrapped, or whether the number of series each team has to play is reworked so the original framework is not completely revamped. “The reason for the ODI League was to bring context and add an element of jeopardy to the qualification for 2023 World Cup,” said one official who will be participating in Thursday’s call. “So ‘is there a way to maintain the integrity of that league?’ is the question that will be asked.”One alternative is that in the absence of a league, all those series go ahead when they can and the shortlist for the 2023 World Cup takes place based on the rankings. However, the official pointed out, countries like England would be at a disadvantage in such a scenario because they are likely to lose out on playing ODI series this summer to accommodate various other events in the calendar.”That is the part of the challenge: you’ve got to decisions that taken into account all of these things but there will so many competing agendas or viewpoints,” the official said.

World Test Championship

India and Australia are the top two sides on the World Test Championship table•Getty Images

The WTC is nearly nine months old with the final is scheduled for July 2021. However, not all teams have played the same number of series. Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq had suggested recently that the WTC should be put on hold instead of attempting to tinker with the original format where each team is meant to play a total of six series. Not everyone agrees.One chief executive felt that with “nearly 40%” of the WTC already played, suspending was not the best option. “If we have cricket back in July even if it in bio-safe stadiums, behind close doors, I don’t see a need for it [suspending]. But it is a big if.”The ICC, it is believed, will not make a hasty decision on the WTC. One key determining factor will be what percentage of WTC series are lost when bilateral cricket resumes. If it is not a significant chunk, then the ICC will want the nine countries in the Championship to collectively work out windows in the FTP.”Like in the UK, the government is quite keen to restart sport behind closed doors because they believe it is quite good for the morale of the nation,” the official said. “It will start at different places at different times and we’ll ease back into it. That’s when the genuine rescheduling and decision making around the competitions like WTC will start.”

So what might be the outcome?

Don’t expect too much by way of binding decisions from this meeting. In any case, it is the ICC Board rather than the chief executives’ committee that makes decisions final.”There’s going to be discussion around what the restart of cricket looks like, what competitions will have been missed and how we go about trying to see what the next stage is about rescheduling,” Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. “But of course rescheduling is only going to be a relatively relevant discussion when we know more about the point from which we can definitively reschedule.”So I think it’s going to be more around discussing principles: what priorities should there be between bilateral cricket, ICC events, domestic T20 franchise leagues?”

The captain struck a 30-ball 58 while Jofra Archer claimed 2 for 19 to consign Melbourne Renegades to a 16-run loss

The Report by Tristan Lavalette07-Feb-2019
A well-rounded Hobart Hurricanes attack stymied Melbourne Renegades’ chase at the batting-friendly Blundstone Arena to secure a home semi-final.Sent in to bat, the Hurricanes looked set to post the first total of 200 this season after openers Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short smashed 87 runs before they both fell in the ninth over. The home side wobbled mid-innings but a late assault propelled them to a sizeable 6 for 183.In their chase, the Renegades were on track until wristspinners Short and debutant Qais Ahmad flipped the match with two wickets apiece. Quick Jofra Archer bowled well at the death as Hurricanes tuned up nicely for the finals with their eighth straight win in Hobart.The victory ensures the Hurricanes will finish on top of the ladder ahead of their final match against Sydney Thunder, while third-placed Renegades’ hopes for a home final are in tatters.The Wade and Short Show
Finch backed spearheads Kane Richardson and Chris Tremain from the get-go in the hope of his aces conjuring early swing. Instead, the veteran seamers copped a thrashing by Hurricanes’ irresistible opening duo during a pyrotechnics show.Wade’s intentions were made clear on the second ball of the innings when he made room and smashed a short ball from Richardson to the boundary. Two balls later, he outdid himself with a six over mid-wicket in perhaps a pointed message to the national selectors after missing out on Australia’s limited-overs tour of India.Wade was soon joined in the party by Short, who gloriously stroked a cover drive to the boundary on the first ball he faced. The normally miserly Renegades seamers were rocked by the whirlwind batting and Finch’s bowling changes were to no avail. Wade smashed a loopy Cameron Boyce delivery into the crowd in the eighth over to memorably bring up his half-century off just 27 balls.His belligerent batting somehow made Short look relatively sedate as the runs flowed at more than 10 an over until Wade holed out off Richardson in the ninth over. Short, who was recalled by national selectors as cover for Shaun Marsh, fell rashly two balls later to a full toss as the contest evened up mid-innings.Hurricanes unleash at the death
Hurricanes’ slump continued when Caleb Jewell fell to Mohammad Nabi, who slowed down the scoring with his accurate offspin. George Bailey and Ben McDermott were left to stabilise the innings, but were tied down and mainly scored through hard-run singles and twos.The frustration led to Bailey throwing his wicket away in the 15th over as Renegades’ seamers fought back into the contest through clever slower deliveries. Needing a tonic, Simon Milenko went for broke in the 17th over with audacious hitting to smash Richardson for 20 runs and reignite the Hurricanes.The BBL’s leading wicket-taker, however, gained revenge shortly after, when he caught his tormentor Milenko in the deep. Richardson, who endured his worst ever BBL bowling figures with 2-55 from 4 overs, then turned to the crowd and cheekily laughed.McDermott tried to improvise, but suffered a nasty blow when his miscued paddled scoop hit him on the jaw. After receiving medical attention, he clubbed the next ball for six to cap a Hurricanes comeback yielding 57 runs off the last five overs.Meredith struggles, Qais shines
Hurricanes speedster Riley Meredith cranked up the pace at 150kmh, but disaster struck when he bowled three no-balls and a leg-side wide that rolled away to the fine leg boundary in a nightmare first over costing 23 runs. Finch further applied the blowtorch with consecutive boundaries off left-arm spinner Clive Rose in the third over to ensure Renegades got off to a flying start.Marcus Harris couldn’t get going in his return from Test cricket and fell to a sharp catch from Short at backward point in the fourth over. Meredith came back on but his confidence was dented as Renegades posted 70 runs in their best Powerplay of the tournament.Hurricanes needed a boost and new import Ahmad delivered with his fifth ball, claiming the prized wicket of Finch, whose frustrating summer continued. The Renegades gifted wickets with Sam Harper miscuing a half-tracker off Short, who then picked up Nabi in a wicket-maiden to put Hurricanes in the box seat.Renegades fall short
Tom Cooper and Dan Christian were forced to play conservatively and knocked the ball around in a bid to get Renegades back into the contest. They could do little to counter Short’s accurate bowling but had better luck when Meredith continued to spray it around.Meredith was further dejected when Qais dropped a sitter in the deep to reprieve Cooper, but he had some belated cheer with the scalp of Christian next ball.Renegades never seriously threatened despite some late fireworks from Mackenzie Harvey.

Life as an understudy wicketkeeper on an Ashes tour can be humdrum, but Ben Foakes made good use of his opportunity for England Lions in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2017Keaton Jennings and Ben Foakes made an impression for England Lions in Brisbane as England’s head coach Trevor Bayliss and batting coach Mark Ramprakash looked on before heading to Adelaide to prepare for the second TestJennings, who has switched from Durham to Lancashire to try to restate his England credentials, scored 89 from 148 balls and shared a second-wicket stand of 144 with Foakes, who like his Surrey team-mate Tom Curran was drafted into the Lions team from England’s Ashes squad in search of match practice.Foakes, understudy to Jonny Bairstow, whose strange headbutt greeting to Cameron Bancroft has given the Ashes one of its stranger headline stories, shared wicketkeeping duties with Lancashire’s Alex Davies at Allan Border Field as the Queenslanders made 396 for 9 on the first day.He then stroked 67 from 94 balls, batting at No 3, to continue the excellent batting form that had been a feature of his 2017 county season.

Westley heads home

Tom Westley was due to return home from the England Lions’ tour of Australia on Wednesday in expectation that he will need an operation on finger injury on his left hand.
Westley, who was omitted from England’s Ashes tour party after a five-Test run last summer, had been due to bat first wicket down for the Lions in their clash with Queensland Select.
Instead, he is heading for Leeds where he will have a second scan and any surgery that proves to be necessary.

“Obviously I’ve been netting a lot out here so it was nice to get out in the middle, share a stand with Keats and get a few runs,” said Foakes.”When you come out as back-up keeper you know your game time is going to be limited, but it’s still been special to be out here,” he added.”We had three days of hard work in Brisbane when I thought we played pretty well, and although it slipped away in the end, hopefully Adelaide will be a good place for us to come back.”Jennings declared the Lions innings on 250 for five, in the hope of setting up a last-day run chase and there seemed every chance of further batting opportunities as Queensland powered to a lead of 344 at the close with eight wickets remaining.

Mignon du Preez’s 80 took South Africa to their first ever win against New Zealand, and levelled the series at 1-1

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Mignon du Preez’s 80 helped South Africa level the series•ICC/Getty Images

Mignon du Preez’s 80 led South Africa Women to their first-ever win against New Zealand Women, in the second ODI in Kimberley. She struck ten boundaries in her 112-ball knock to help South Africa level the seven-match series at 1-1.This after Lizelle Lee, who was promoted to open, made a run-a-ball 42. Morna Nielsen, the left-arm spinner, pegged South Africa back with her third ODI five-wicket haul, and was New Zealand’s only wicket-taker till Holly Huddleston, the fast bowler, removed du Preez with five to get. But there were no more hiccups as South Africa completed their four-wicket victory with five balls to spare.Earlier, New Zealand’s top order showed more resolve than in the first ODI after being put in, led by captain Suzie Bates who top-scored with 66. She put on 68 for the opening wicket with Rachel Priest, and 72 for the second wicket with Amy Satterthwaite, who scored 47. However, the middle order failed once again as they slipped from 140 for 1 to 168 for 5 in a span of 7.3 overs. The collapse strangled New Zealand, and the last 12 overs fetched only 54.Medium-pacer Marizanne Kapp was at the centre of this collapse, as she removed Sattherwaite and Katie Perkins in consecutive overs. She finished with 3 for 41 in nine overs before contributing 27 in a 49-run fifth-wicket stand with du Preez.The win brought South Africa within one point of fourth-placed New Zealand in the ICC Women’s Championship table. A win on Thursday -only the first three ODIs count towards the championships – will help the hosts jump into the top four.

Steven Finn gave his chances of playing in the first Test a significant boost as he took four early wickets before England’s bowlers capped off an encouraging day by reducing Pakistan A to 192 for 12

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2015
ScorecardSteven Finn gave his chances of playing in the first Test a significant boost as he took four early wickets before England’s bowlers capped off an encouraging day by reducing Pakistan A to 192 for 12. With the teams having agreed to spend a day each in the field, several of the Pakistan A side batted twice as a much-changed England attack got a good workout.Finn appeared to be behind Mark Wood in the running to support James Anderson and Stuart Broad – he said so himself afterwards – but impressed during two penetrative spells that yielded figures of 11-7-5-4. Wood had been given the first opportunity in the two-day game earlier in the week but was rested this time, along with Anderson and Broad.Although Finn and Wood played two Tests together at the end of the Ashes, one will have to make way due to Anderson’s return from injury. Given the sapping conditions, having both in form will not be to England’s disadvantage.This was a more responsive surface than the one on which Pakistan A made 216 for 5 on Tuesday and Finn’s pace helped reduce them to 73 for 6 before a 93-run stand between Umar Amin and Adnan Akmal brought some respectability to what was soon to become a rather confusing scorecard.England selected Alex Hales and James Taylor in their XI, in place of Alastair Cook and Joe Root, while the inclusion of Samit Patel and Liam Plunkett meant everyone in the squad got a workout. Cook and Root were still involved in the field, sharing the captaincy along with Ian Bell for a session each, while Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler took turns behind the stumps.Finn had Khurram Manzoor caught behind in his fifth over – although the opener appeared to dispute the decision – and then Ali Asad slashed a drive to second slip. He returned after lunch to have Iftikhar Ahmed lbw and Usman Salahuddin taken at third slip two balls later, providing a reminder of his ODI performances in the UAE three years ago when he was the leading wicket-taker on either side.Focus has been on England’s spin resources and Moeen Ali had Fawad Alam taken at slip after extracting some turn before Adil Rashid picked up his first wicket on tour by inducing an edge from opener Sami Aslam on 43.Akmal and Amin rebuilt the innings during the afternoon, taking their seventh-wicket stand beyond tea. Shortly after Akmal had reached his fifty, Patel had Amin caught behind and Manzoor was then dismissed for the second time in the day trying to hit Patel over long-off.Asad walked out again only to be dismissed for another duck, his stumps rattled by Plunkett, and Rashid picked up the 10th wicket of the innings after a brief stand between Akmal and Zafar Gohar. With 12 overs left, Pakistan A continued to bat and there were further wickets for Rashid – Salahuddin the third batsman to fall twice – and Plunkett before the teams walked off with Akmal unbeaten on 74 and the scorers comparing notes.England will conclude their preparations for the first Test, which starts in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, by giving chances to Hales and Taylor with the bat. Hales will open alongside Moeen, with both looking to make their case to become Cook’s latest partner at the top of the order.

Despite beating Australia for the first time, and qualifying for their maiden World Cup final, West Indies captain Merissa Aguilleira said her team hadn’t produced its best

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai13-Feb-2013Despite beating five-time world champions Australia for the first time in an ODI, and qualifying for their maiden World Cup final, West Indies captain Merissa Aguilleira said her team hadn’t produced its best performance yet. And West Indies had just defended 164 to win their last Super Six match in Mumbai, knocking out England and New Zealand.”Since we have come to this World Cup, we haven’t brought forth our A game,” Aguilleira said. “The final is definitely the place to bring our A game. Yes, we had a few misfields and there is lot of room for improvement, not just on the field, but batting wise as well.”After choosing to bat, West Indies were dismissed in 47 overs by a disciplined Australian attack. They were 59 for 5 at one stage and could have been out for a lower score had Deandra Dottin not scored 60 at No. 7. Aguilleira said the difference between Dottin and the others was her natural ability to hit the ball hard. “That’s a god-given talent and I think she is using it well. She is not using it enough, but she is using it.”Australia lost wickets regularly too, but they also had steady partnerships that kept swinging the match in their favour. However, when three important middle-order batsmen fell in quick succession, Aguilleira said she could sense panic in Australia’s players.”I felt some panic happening in their camp and that’s the time we started to attack even more. We realised that as long as we bowl in the right areas, we can get wickets and that’s exactly what happened. You really need bowlers to bowl as tight as possible. The bowlers made it easier for me by doing exactly what they are supposed to do.”West Indies had to win this match to qualify for the final, because the gap between their net run rate and that of the other contenders was marginal. “The atmosphere in the dressing room was high because we knew how important this match was, not just for us but for the people of the Carribbean and our fans as well,” Aguilleira said. “We have a lot of people supporting us. We knew that we could make it to the final and that’s exactly what we did.”Amid all the questions after the match, she admitted with a beaming smile that she was overjoyed. “I’m overwhelmed right now. Words can’t express the way I’m feeling right now. We got to thank god for it, we had been through a lot as a team and hope his blessings continue to shine on us.”Aguilleira said West Indies now had a better idea of Australia’s game, which would help them prepare for the final. “We understand them much better having seen them and I think they understand us as well. We made mistakes in some areas and those are the things we need to work on. Since we have a few days, we will work on areas such as not giving their batsmen much width because they are strong whenever they get a chance to free their arms.”Australia’s captain Jodie Fields gave the credit to the West Indies players. “Their bowling was very disciplined and they put the ball in good areas,” she said. “Their spinners took it to our batsmen and that helped them win the game today. They bowled with disciplined, tight lines and fielded very well today. The pitch was a bit slow and also turning a lot, so it was hard to score.”West Indies complemented their bowling with sharp fielding, which resulted in three catches and three run-outs. The run-outs occurred not just because of good fielding, but also because of poor running. “We had to score runs and sometimes you have to take those risks and to West Indies’ credit they got a few run-outs. They are great fielders, Deandra Dottin was really good at point today and Daley and others backed each other up.”Australia had been undefeated in the World Cup until now and that’s how they wanted the record to be. After losing to West Indies, who they will meet again in the finals, Fields said they have time to prepare and work on their shortcomings.”I don’t think it’s ever good to have a loss. We definitely came out today to win the match and wanted to go through the tournament undefeated. We have to go and focus on our training. Since we are going to play them in the final, at least we got a chance to look at their game and hopefully we can bring it back on Sunday.”

A round-up of matches from the Caribbean T20 on January 17

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2012Windward Islands surged to their third win in as many games and cemented their spot at the head of Group A with a 22-run win against Leeward Islands at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. Batting first, Windward were on their way quickly, through an electric 42-run opening stand in three overs between Johnson Charles and Miles Bascombe. Gavin Tonge then helped Leeward recover ground with three quick strikes. Justin Athanaze shackled Windward in the middle overs with a spell of 3 for 12 in four overs, while Devon Smith anchored proceedings with 31 off 29 balls. Darren Sammy and Shane Shillingford provided the closing fireworks, slugging four sixes and three fours in all, off the 25 balls they faced between the two of them. Windward were bowled out for 157 with a ball to spare.Leeward’s chase was propelled in ideal fashion by their openers Kieran Powell and Austin Richards, their 45-run stand coming off 6.1 overs. Chesney Hughes maintained the momentum with 25 off 13 balls, but the innings slumped once Shillingford’s offspin came into the picture. He had Hughes stumped and proceeded to slice through the middle order to finish with 4 for 22. Three run-outs did not help Leeward’s cause, and they were bowled out in the 20th over. They have now lost three of their four games.The only solace for Leeward came from Canada who remained winless after three games, thanks to an eight-wicket loss against Guyana at the Kensington Oval. Canada gave a creditable account of themselves with the bat, with Ruvindu Gunasekara (38 off 28) and Jimmy Hansra (40 off 36) providing the platform for a score of 143 for 7. But the total proved insufficient for their bowlers to defend, and Guyana sped to the target in 17 overs. Narsingh Deonarine was the top scorer, with 52 off 32 balls including four fours and two sixes.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer, but one Finch made Australia’s day at the MCG, where the hosts ended England’s eight-match winning streak in Twenty20 games

Andrew McGlashan at the MCG14-Jan-2011Melbourne loves a hometown hero. When Dean Jones and Bill Lawry were paraded around the ground during the fourth Test they were cheered to the rafters and all Shane Warne has to do is step foot on the turf to be hailed by the locals. Aaron Finch has a long way to go to match any of them, and may never play Test cricket, but for one night he gave the suffering Australia supporters something to cheer in front of his fellow Victorians.Finch’s 53 off 33 balls, which guided Australia to a competitive 7 for 147 after they’d stalled against England’s spinners, will be his last international innings of the summer. He isn’t part of the one-day plans, or even in the World Cup 30 which will be trimmed next week, so he’ll have to content himself with a return to state cricket where he can slot straight back into the Big Bash. “One thing Melbourne is great at is supporting cricket and they came out after the ordinary weather,” he said. “It was a real buzz in front of the home crowd.”In a sense it’s not surprising Finch isn’t around the 50-over set up yet with a career one-day average of 33.95 and no hundreds in 27 matches. His domestic Twenty20 record is superior with a strike-rate in excess of 130. He is a modern cricketer in many ways. His Twenty20 skills had been recognised by others before his country. He was part of the Rajasthan Royals squad at the 2010 IPL and this year has been bought for US$300,000 by Delhi Daredevils.Like many young sportsmen he’s also on Twitter, but an hour after the match finished he hadn’t got round to reflecting on his effort. His most recent message read: “New shoes must be complimented with new socks! Haha.” But there is a serious, mature, side to his cricket and he showed it by the way he rebuilt Australia’s innings. When Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy reduced them 5 for 80 a sixth consecutive Twenty20 defeat was on the cards.Then Finch and Steve Smith, another of Australia’s hopes for a better future, produced a sensible stand of 61 in seven overs. Finch dominated with his partner contributing just 13 from his 18 deliveries. “We just tried to take the innings as deep as we could and leave our run late,” he said. “We were losing wickets consistently up the top so we couldn’t afford to be seven or eight down with four or five overs to go. We thought we’d knock it around and aimed for 155, we came up a bit short but it was enough.”A key factor in the final outcome was Australia’s sixes tally which stood at five compared to England’s one and that came in the final over when Chris Woakes, another fearless youngster, launched Brett Lee into the Great Southern Stand. Finch used his local knowledge and didn’t try to clear the large square boundaries, instead aiming straight or towards midwicket.”This ground is suited to orthodox cricket shots, you’ve got short straight boundaries and wider square so it encourages you to play with good technique and hit through the line with good cricket shots,” he said. “You get value for shots here when you play that way.”Paul Collingwood said he still backed his team to chase down the total after their eight-match unbeaten run, but admitted Finch’s innings had given Australia a vital lift. “He struck it very well tonight. He hits a long ball and he hits it in good areas, he’s a dangerous player. It was a good innings. It kind of shifted the momentum a little bit.””We were quite happy at half-time with chasing down a score like that but we were 10 percent or 20 per cent off our batting,” he added. “There were quite a lot of dot balls from over six to 16 and then obviously we couldn’t get the boundaries and started holing out after that.”Given the way Australia – both the team and the country – has clung to every morsel of success this season, such as Usman Khawaja’s ‘double’ of 37 and 21 on Test debut, it was slightly surprising this wasn’t hailed a glorious rebirth, but Cameron White knew it was just a small, albeit welcome, step in the right direction ahead of the one-day series.”It’s important, it beats losing for sure,” he said. “It’s a different format to the Tests and it’s different to the one-dayers. You might be able to take something forward, but it’s a new competition starting Sunday.”Collingwood, though, was confident the result wouldn’t mean much come the opening ODI at the same ground on Monday when he hands back the captaincy to Andrew Strauss. “I don’t think it’s hurt our momentum too much,” he said. “It’s obviously disappointing to lose a game but we still did some good stuff tonight.”