Home and away dominance as Aussies light up the cricket pitch

Australian dominance* of major cricket events continued on Sunday when they beat India by 79 runs in the Under-19 World Cup final at Willowmoore Park in South Africa.

Australia’s senior men’s team won the world Test championship and Cricket World Cup in 2023 – beating India in the finals on both occasions.

The Australian women’s team are the current 50-overs and T20 World Cup champions.

Sunday’s final between the only unbeaten teams in the tournament was surprisingly one-sided*.

Australia made 253 for seven in their 50 overs after winning the toss and deciding to bat. Left-hander Harjas Singh made a hard-hit 55 to highlight a solid batting performance.

India’s batting had been their strength leading up the final but they crashed to 122 for eight against Australia’s pace bowling attack. Opening batsman Adarsh Singh (47) was the only top-order batsman to shine.

Murugan Abhishek (42) led some lower-order resistance before the five-time champions were bowled out for 174.

Fast bowler Mahli Beardman took three for 15 and was named Man of the Match. Off-spinner Raf MacMillan took three for 41.

Australian captain Hugh Weibgen said at the post-match presentation that his team’s bowlers had been the key to their success.

“With a bowling attack like ours, we had a lot of confidence with 250 runs on the board. As a unit, they bowl so well together. They know their roles and I will be surprised if all of them don’t go a long way in their careers.”

Indian captain Uday Saharan said he was proud of his players despite stumbling in the final.

“Our preparation was good but the execution* didn’t go our way,” he said. It was Australia’s fourth Under-19 World Cup title but their first since 2010 when they were led by current international Mitchell Marsh.

Brief scores: Australia 253-7 in 50 overs (H. Dixon 42, H. Weibgen 48, H. Singh 55, O. Peake 46 not out; R. Limbani 3-38, N. Tiwari 2-63).

India 174 in 43.5 overs (A. Singh 47, M. Abhishek 42; C. Vidler 2-35, M. Beardman 3-15, R. MacMillan 3-43).

Result: Australia Under-19 won by 79 runs.

THE BIG SHOW BACK HOME
The U19 World Cup win was book-ended by a stunning century to Glenn Maxwell, who lit up Adelaide Oval on Sunday night. The star batter they call The Big Show belted* an unbeaten ton* as Australia claimed a series win against the West Indies with a dominant victory in the second T20I clash.

Masterful* Maxwell crunched 120 runs from 55 balls, including eight towering* sixes and 12 fours, to lead the home side to a record score of 4-241, Australia’s highest T20I total on home soil, after being sent in.

The visitors lost early wickets and were never a realistic chance to run down the daunting* target, despite some spirited* hitting by Rovman Powell and Andre Russell.

But the doomed run chase was a sideshow* to The Big Show, who reached a half-century from 26 balls and marched into triple figures off just 50 deliveries to notch the fastest T20I century recorded in Australia.

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GLOSSARY

• dominance: superiority, supremacy, power over others
• one-sided: having one side prominently leading in a contest or competition
• execution: carrying out a plan of action
• belted: whacked, hit hard
• ton: a century or 100 runs in cricket
• masterful: expert, commanding, skilful
• towering: soaring, very high overhead, sky-high
• daunting: intimidating, a difficult prospect to deal with, challenging, formidable
• spirited: energetic, full of determination, courage and enthusiasm
• sideshow: less important or less significant event or situation beside a larger, more important one that is happening at the same time

EXTRA READING

Lyon claims 500th test wicket

Australia wins Cricket World Cup

Maxwell’s innings declared greatest ever played

QUICK QUIZ

1. Which major titles did the senior men’s cricket team claim un 2023?
2. Who was named man of the match in the final and what position does he play?
3. The Aussies claimed the U19 World Cup title by how many runs?
4. What is star batter Glenn Maxwell’s nickname?
5. Maxwell and the Aussies claimed a series win against which team?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Use the words
Think about these words and phrases from the story: ‘surprisingly one-sided’, ‘lower-order resistance’, ‘key to their success’, ‘a lot of confidence’, ‘despite stumbling’, ‘stunning’, ‘daunting target’, ‘spirited’.

Make sure that you know what they all mean. Then, plan and write a story that uses all of the words and phrases. Your story cannot be about sport.

Time: allow at least 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Rewrite the story from the point of view of an Indian cricket fan. You could use your research skills to find out more about the Under-19s Indian cricket team and how they scored or what they did during the match.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education

VCOP ACTIVITY
To sum it up
After reading the article, use your comprehension skills to summarise in a maximum of three sentences what the article is about.

Think about:

What is the main topic or idea?

What is an important or interesting fact?

Who was involved (people or places)?

Use your VCOP skills to re-read your summary to make sure it is clear, specific and well punctuated.