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Seamer went off the field midway through an over on the first day and did not return

Vithushan Ehantharajah07-Jul-2023Ollie Robinson is fit to bat in England’s first innings after suffering a back spasm on day one of the third Ashes Test at Headingley.The seamer had to leave the field in 43rd over of Australia’s innings after feeling what has been described as a shooting pain up his back after bowling the second delivery of his 12th over. Robinson alerted Ben Stokes to the issue and the England captain insisted he should leave the field. Stuart Broad finished the over.Following an assessment from the medical team and rest overnight, the 29-year-old was said to be in better shape on Friday morning and will be able to bat when required. England resumed day two on 68 for 3 after bowling Australia out for 263. Robinson was wicketless.Related

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Similar issues have blighted Robinson in the past. A back spasm in the Hobart Test on the previous Ashes in 2021/22 led then-bowling coach Jon Lewis to publicly urge him to improve his fitness. Further such issues on the subsequent tour of the Caribbean meant Robinson could not play any of the three Tests against West Indies.With the help of Stokes as a mentor, Robinson returned for the second Test of the South Africa series last summer a more robust bowler, and showcased his renewed fitness by maintaining his pace across spells during a day’s play. Though he has not quite been at the races in this series, he still has 10 wickets at an average 28.40, taking him to 76 at 21.71 across 18 caps to date.England are optimistic that Robinson will be able to return with the ball, though much will depend on how much rest he can bank. The onus is on their middle order to break down Australia’s overnight lead of 195 and fashion one of their own, allowing Robinson and the rest of the bowling attack to keep their feet up for most of Friday.

Baig and Raza blaze with the bat to extend Gladiators’ disastrous campaign

Danyal Rasool21-Feb-2023Quetta Gladiators’ campaign continues to leap from one disaster to the next. Hours after it was confirmed their Platinum pick, Sri Lankan allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga, would miss the entire PSL, they turned in a wretched performance against a ruthless Lahore Qalandars, succumbing to a 63-run defeat. The 2019 champions were never in the chase of 199 against the defending champions, and the lopsided scorecard didn’t flatter Gladiators in the slightest.It was Shaheen Shah Afridi who spearheaded his side with the ball, knocking Gladiators out of the contest early on in the chase, and sometimes, knocking batters quite literally off their feet. Unplayable inswinging yorkers stung the toes of several top-order batters; one saw Jason Roy end up flat on his stomach. There was, of course, the mandatory first-over wicket, Abdul Bangalzai dismissed for a golden duck. There was a sensational diving catch from him to get rid of Mohammad Hafeez. There was a lovely deception of pace that fooled Odean Smith all ends up. It was a Shaheen Afridi masterclass.Haris Rauf had an off day, but aside from him, there was no aspect of this Qalandars bowling line-up that wasn’t on song. Rashid Khan, playing his first game this year, was at his masterful best, having shaken off a poor spell in the SA20. It was his wicket of Roy, who scored a 30-ball 48 laced with 5 sixes, that snuffed out realistic hopes of a chase, and figures of 4-0-17-1 were well merited. Even David Wiese found himself among the wickets, taking 3 for 23 in his full quota. Brief flashes of resistance from Gladiators’ batters were precisely that, and the outcome was a foregone conclusion long before the final delivery was bowled.Signs of the direction this game was headed in were evident from the outset when Tahir Baig and Fakhar Zaman got Gladiators off to a blazing start. Mohammad Hafeez opened the bowling for the Gladiators, and Baig immediately went after him, clobbering him for two fours and a six in that first over. Even Naseem Shah – who was off-colour – wouldn’t be spared, with Baig picking up two boundaries on either side of square in the powerplay.The partnership had flown along to 49 in 27 balls before Fakhar nicked off to the keeper. But Qalandars continued in that vein throughout, a 56-run stand between Shai Hope and Kamran Ghulam forming the backbone of the middle overs. A cameo from Hussain Talat and an unbeaten late flurry from Sikandar Raza, who smashed 32 in 16, ensured Gladiators were never quite able to find breathing room, powerless to prevent Gladiators from surging towards 200.Well, with one notable exception. Mohammad Hasnain was heroic in defeat against Peshawar Zalmi 24 hours earlier, and today would be an encore. He was sensational once more, particularly at the death, mixing up the lengths and speeds expertly, the only bowler who was truly able to stop Lahore in their tracks. Bar his two death overs, which allowed just 14 runs, Qalandars’ score, as well as Gladiators’ margin of defeat, would have been much greater.Tonight’s game looks to have demonstrated that Qalandars’ defeat against Karachi Kings was an aberration, while Gladiators’ showing only appeared to confirm their victory against that same opposition was exactly that, too.

Sophie Devine made a fifty and Amelia Kerr made 40 off 67 for the White Ferns in Bengaluru

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2025India chased down 237 to beat New Zealand by four wickets in their second Women’s World Cup warm-up match in Bengaluru after a heavy loss to England in their first match.After a solid start, where they reached 54 for 0 in the eighth over, India lost Pratika Rawal and Uma Chetry to leave the score at 71 for 2. Harleen Deol (74) and Harmanpreet Kaur (69) then put on a 132-run third-wicket partnership, guiding India towards the target. Despite a late collapse from 203 for 2 to 230 for 6, India held on to win with ten balls to spare.Earlier, after a rain delay, New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat. India struck early, reducing them to 38 for 2 by the eighth over. Sophie Devine’s 54 and Amelia Kerr’s 40 steadied the innings, taking New Zealand to 132 for 3. They finished on 232 for 8 in a 42-overs-a-side contest.For India, N Shree Charani claimed three wickets, while pacers Kranti Goud and Arundhati Reddy – back in action after suffering a blow to her leg in the previous match – each took two.

Like the first four games of the tournament, the fifth match was also won by the side batting first

Danyal Rasool16-Sep-2024Panthers claimed their second successive win, thanks to contributions of 90 and 84 from Mubasir Khan and Haider Ali and an all-round contribution from their captain Shadab Khan. A 144-run fifth-wicket partnership between Mubasir and Haider powered the team to 283. Lions did look well-placed just before the halfway mark in their chase with Imam-ul-Haq’s second successive half-century guiding them to 127 for 3, before a collapse saw them lose their last seven wickets for 72 in 79 balls, giving the Panthers an 84-run win, and keeping Lions winless.Panthers won the toss and batted first; that has been a winning formula all tournament and it did not change in the only day game of this competition. Sirajuddin and Shaheen Shah Afridi gave Lions a perfect start with four early wickets, reducing Shadab’s side to 51 for 4, but a remarkable middle-order recovery got the innings back on track.The next 211 runs came at over a run a ball for the loss of just one wicket and Mubasir and Haider were on the path for well-deserved hundreds before falling short of that mark. A cameo from Shadab ensured Panthers posed an imposing total, even if a late mini-collapse saw them bowled out in under 47 overs.Mohammad Hasnain, enjoying a solid tournament, gave his side another good start with Sajjad Ali’s wicket in the first over. His contribution extended to the fielding, running-out Omair Yousuf to leave Lions 44 for 3. But a counterattacking knock from Imam got Lions back into the driving seat, as he went after spin and pace alike.But from the moment Shadab returned and drew an edge from the opener that Usman Khan latched onto, Lions’ resistance fell apart. Usama Mir and Shadab got stuck into the middle order, which could not replicate the role of their counterparts. Hasnain returned to clean Sirajuddin up to seal a convincing win and maintain the status quo of no chasing side winning in this tournament.

Allrounder Nishant Sindhu, who led in Dhull’s absence, has, however, tested positive ahead of the quarter-final against Bangladesh

Sreshth Shah28-Jan-2022India’s Under-19 allrounder Nishant Sindhu will miss the quarter-final against Bangladesh after testing positive for Covid-19. However, India are set to be led by regular captain Yash Dhull on Saturday after he and four others, including vice-captain Shaik Rasheed, returned negative Covid tests. Earlier, the five players were forced to miss two group games after returning positive tests.In another development, Aaradhya Yadav has replaced Vasu Vats in India’s squad ahead of the Bangladesh fixture. Vats has sustained a hamstring injury and will be unable to take any further part in the tournament.Meanwhile, players who test positive at the competition are expected to serve at least seven days of quarantine, which means Sindhu is also likely to be unavailable for the semi-final – against Pakistan or Australia on Wednesday – if India get there.Related

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Despite Sindhu’s absence, the availability of the five previously positive players has bolstered India’s squad. Dhull and Rasheed are expected to slot into a batting line-up that averages nearly 315 runs per innings; Siddarth Yadav and Aaradhya Yadav are up for selection in the playing XI too. So far, Sindhu has played a key role as an economical left-arm spinner, taking four wickets at an average of 14.25 and an economy rate of 2.75.India currently have 21 players to choose from. Sixteen of the 17 from the main squad remain available for selection, along with the five travelling reserves who were flown into the Caribbean following the first Covid-19 outbreak in the squad. If India need to dip into the pool of reserves, they will have to make a formal request to the ICC event technical committee for a temporary change in the squad.Sindhu’s positive result makes it the fourth time that the Under-19 World Cup has been affected by Covid-19. Before the competition started, four Zimbabwe players tested positive before members of the Indian camp also returned positive results. West Indies, too, had to replace two players before their final group match because of Covid in their squad.

Skipper’s unbeaten ton follows seamer’s 5 for 29 as home side secures first victory of campaign

ECB Reporters Network09-Jul-2022Skipper Kathryn Bryce hit an unbeaten 109 after left-arm seam bowler Grace Ballinger had taken a career-best 5 for 29 as Lightning defeated Thunder by five wickets to record their first win of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign at the Haslegrave Ground in Loughborough.Thunder captain Ellie Threlkeld posted a career-best 91 as Thunder made 238 for 9 in their 50 overs but it was not enough to prevent the North West representative side suffering a second defeat after Bryce and Sophie Munro, whose 50 was also a career-best, shared a 133-run partnership for the fifth wicket.Threlkeld hit six fours and faced 117 balls after being dropped on three, a vital innings to help her side post a competitive score in the absence of Emma Lamb on England duty.East Midlands side Lightning were without England spinner Kirstie Gordon and further hampered by the loss of Marie Kelly from their batting resources after the former Central Sparks player suffered a hand injury while fielding, but overcame both. Thunder took the match into the last over but Bryce’s 15th boundary saw the home side to victory with five balls to spare.Thunder had found themselves in early trouble after choosing to bat first, Ballinger’s opening spell left them 36 for 3 midway through the seventh over.The 20-year-old from Birmingham had Georgie Boyce leg before and bowled Danielle Collins with her seventh ball then should have had a third wicket in her third over as Kelly dived to her right at slip but could not hold on as Threlkeld was allowed to escape.West Indies batter Deandra Dottin hammered 20 in an over off Australian seamer Piepa Cleary, including three fours and a six over long-on, but Dottin’s aggression was short-lived as Ballinger soon had her leg before.Threlkeld made the most of her reprieve, adding 83 for the fourth wicket with Nat Brown before the latter was caught at backward square leg sweeping Cleary, and 73 for the fifth with former Lightning batter Shachi Pai, who fell for 27, top-edging one that eventually came down into the gloves of wicketkeeper Sarah Bryce as Ballinger returned to claim her fourth wicket in the 42nd over.Threlkeld, dropped again on 89, was run out by Cleary’s direct hit from mid-on, after which Daisy Mullan dragged one on to give Ballinger her fifth wicket before Teresa Graves had Phoebe Graham stumped and Cleary saw Hannah Jones caught at mid-off.Lightning’s response saw them 55 for 1 after the opening 10 powerplay overs, compared with Thunder’s 48 for 3, Beth Harmer having hit three fours in an eventful Graham over that saw her dropped on the boundary. Soon afterwards, she was bowled by Laura Jackson.Sarah Bryce plundered 25 of her 33 runs in another two expensive overs from the right-arm seamer Graham and her departure, bowled through the gate by Brown was another blow for Lightning, compounded when Gwenan Davies was given out leg before to Alex Hartley’s left-arm spin.But Thunder could not find another breakthrough as Lightning reached the 30-over mark needing another 114 at 5.7 per over, their bowlers offering too many scoring opportunities, with skipper Bryce and 20-year-old Munro, primarily a bowler playing here as a batter only, wasting few of them.Munro completed her maiden List A fifty off 63 balls with eight fours and though she was bowled by left-arm spinner Jones without addition she had helped her skipper take Lightning close to the winning line. Bryce completed her second List A hundred when she drove Dottin through the covers for her 14th boundary before pulling Brown to the ropes to win the match.

Marsh will return at No. 3 against West Indies but initially as a batter-only after an ankle injury

Alex Malcolm04-Oct-20222:48

Hodge: Green might go on to become one of the best Australia has produced

Mitchell Marsh is set to return at No. 3 for Australia but as a batter only in the first T20I against West Indies as he continues to recover from his ankle injury, while Marcus Stoinis is expected to be fit for Sunday’s opening T20I against England, with the pair of allrounders vital to the balance of their World Cup side.Captain Aaron Finch confirmed that both men were tracking well for the World Cup after missing the recent tour of India meaning that it looks unlikely there will be an opening for Cameron Green.However, Finch did note that Stoinis’ absence from this two-game series against West Indies and Marsh’s inability to bowl could change the structure of the side in the short term, given they will have fewer bowling options in their top seven, but he was adamant Marsh would play as a specialist batter.Related

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“Hundred percent, yeah,” Finch said. “He’s made that No. 3 spot his own in T20 cricket and I think the way that he played in the lead-up and then through the World Cup [last year] is so important for the way that we want to play and gives us a lot of flexibility through that middle order.”I think he had his second bowl yesterday and he felt really good. He pulled up well from it. So that’s a really positive sign. I think for the balance of the side, it’s better when they’re both bowling because you can get caught a little bit short if you go in with five bowlers. But we’ll work that out.”Marsh last played on August 28 in an ODI against Zimbabwe. He missed the three-match series against New Zealand and the three T20Is against India and did not bowl at all while recovering in Perth in September.Finch explained that the decision to leave Stoinis in Perth was a logistical one given the short turnaround time between the two matches against West Indies in Queensland. The second game is at the Gabba on Friday while the first of three matches against England is in Perth on Sunday. The team will have a five-hour flight across the country on Saturday after playing on Friday night.”He’s at a level where we think that he’ll be fully fit for that first game against England,” Finch said. “We were just conscious of the travel with a quick turnaround…it can be quite a high-risk game for some guys with some soft tissue injuries so he’s just still planning and preparing there. He’s such an important part of our side and the make-up of it, especially with his bowling.”Mitchell Marsh was back with the Australia squad•Getty Images

The Green question is a vexing one for Australia. He is currently not in the 15-player World Cup squad but is with the team in Queensland and available to play on Wednesday. If Stoinis and Marsh are fully fit there is almost no chance he can come into the 15, according to Finch.”I don’t think so,” Finch said. “It’s just one of those things. He had a really good tour of India. It was good for him to get an opportunity to open the batting so he’ll get more opportunities. I think he’ll get an opportunity at some point in this series. Obviously his batting is exceptional and he shows a lot with the ball. He keeps improving every time he gets an opportunity but over the next few weeks, he’ll get a run no doubt.”It leaves Australia contemplating playing five specialist bowlers at Metricon Stadium on Wednesday. It is something they have barely done since abandoning the strategy ahead of last year’s World Cup. But Glenn Maxwell is the only genuine bowling option in the top seven with Marsh unavailable to bowl and Stoinis absent, unless either Green, Daniel Sams or Sean Abbott slot in.If that does happen it would need to be the expense of Steven Smith or Tim David, given David Warner will return to the top to partner Finch and Marsh is at No. 3.”It’s never easy when you’re trying to balance up the side, particularly when the allrounders aren’t fully fit at the moment,” Finch said. “So that gives us an opportunity to keep tinkering with the squad. We feel as though we’ve got our best XI in the back of our mind, but it’s just not everyone’s 100% fit at the moment.”But we’ve still got a little bit of time for that over the next two and a half weeks. There’s five games plus the warm-up game against India. I think it’s important that we keep making sure that we’re giving ourselves enough options, because if something does happen in the World Cup the last thing you want is to be caught short in playing only one style of team or only one structure of team.”Mitchell Starc is fully fit after resting from the India tour due a minor knee issue. Ashton Agar remains in Perth with Stoinis as he also recovers from a side issue. Kane Richardson is back training with the squad but won’t play against West Indies.

India’s pace attack played a starring role in bowling NZ out for 273 despite Mitchell’s ton

Karthik Krishnaswamy22-Oct-20231:29

Pujara: Shami is ‘always mentally ready’ for games

They were without their most irreplaceable player in a top-of-the-table clash against a New Zealand side that’s had the wood over them in recent global-tournament meetings, and this New Zealand side put them under severe pressure on multiple occasions. But in the end, India continued to typify the 2023 World Cup equivalent of Gary Lineker’s famous quote on a superteam from a different sport: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and in the end, the Germans always win.”We’re still only halfway through the league stage, and knockouts are knockouts, but India have looked so hard to beat that even this game, their most intense tussle yet in this tournament, ended with Virat Kohli trying to repeat what he did against Bangladesh on Thursday, and refuse singles with India in sight of victory in order to try and reach his hundred.It didn’t quite happen this time, with the attempted winning six on 95 ending up as a catch on the midwicket boundary, but India sauntered home nonetheless, with Ravindra Jadeja pulling Matt Henry for four to complete the job with two overs to spare. Jadeja made an unbeaten 39, a vital innings given that he came in at No. 7 with India still 83 away from victory.With Hardik Pandya out injured, India replaced him with two players, a specialist batter in Suryakumar Yadav and a specialist fast bowler in Mohammed Shami, which meant India’s batting effectively ended with Jadeja at No. 7.The lack of batting depth was counterbalanced, however, by the increased menace of India’s pace attack, who played a starring role in bowling New Zealand out for 273 after they had been 178 for 2 at one stage. Shami, playing his first game of the tournament, led the way with his second five-wicket haul in World Cups, his bullying of New Zealand’s lower order the centerpiece of a superlative effort by India in the last 10 overs, where they took six wickets while conceding just 54.Particularly impressive was India’s shackling of Daryl Mitchell, New Zealand’s top scorer. Mitchell had put on 159 for the third wicket with Rachin Ravindra, and reached an exactly run-a-ball hundred in the 41st over, but India kept him to just 30 off his last 27 balls. He was ninth out in the final over, caught on the wide long-on boundary to give Shami his fifth wicket.Daryl Mitchell brought up ODI century No. 5•ICC/Getty Images

Each of Shami’s wickets seemed to come with a question attached to it: “You’re keeping on the bench?” He struck first ball after coming on as first change, getting Will Young to play on with a typically upright-seamed inducker. Then he broke the Mitchell-Ravindra stand with an offcutter into the pitch. And he ended New Zealand’s hopes of getting near or past 300, effectively, by splattering the stumps of Mitchell Santner and Henry with consecutive balls in the 48th over.Chasing a significantly smaller target than they may have envisaged at one stage, India began in typically ominous fashion, with Rohit Sharma hitting four sixes in a 40-ball 46 that dominated an opening stand of 71 with Shubman Gill. During this partnership, India extracted a strange sort of revenge for the Old Trafford semi-final of 2019, where their fast bowlers had caused as much trouble with the new ball as New Zealand’s quicks but ended up with significantly fewer early wickets. This time Henry beat both openers’ bats repeatedly – including Gill three times in a row – and Trent Boult saw an edge from Rohit fall short of slip, but there were no wickets in the first powerplay.Thereafter it was all about Kohli, even though he typically did most of his work in the shadows – literally for a while when a spectral fog enveloped the ground, eventually stopping play for around 15 minutes. Kohli was the less-dominant partner in half-century stands for the third and fourth wickets, but where Shreyas Iyer fell to another short ball and KL Rahul played down the wrong line against Santner to be dismissed for the first time in the tournament, he endured, as he always does in run-chases.Ever so often, Kohli imposed himself on the game with an incandescent shot: an on-the-up square drive off Lockie Ferguson to get off the mark; a charging, flourishing extra-cover drive off Henry to get to 40; and in between an inside-out loft for six off Ravindra to release whatever pressure New Zealand had put on him by keeping him to 28 off his first 47 balls.From that point, Kohli scored 67 off 57 balls. A significant hiccup arrived when he got into a mix-up that sent back Suryakumar Yadav, but once Jadeja eased India’s fears over their lack of batting depth, the result became a formality.Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja operated at full intensity•Associated Press

New Zealand would have been disappointed at this because they had put themselves in a commanding position at one stage after India had sent them in. Ravindra and Mitchell had fought extremely hard to get them into that position, coming together after Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Shami had combined to reduce them to 19 for 2 in the ninth over.Along the way, the two of them demonstrated to all other sides a method to combat India’s attack. Mitchell exemplified this with his calculated risk-taking, particularly at the start of overs. He mixed up his pre-ball movements against the fast bowlers, sometimes shuffling across his stumps and out of his crease, at other times stepping back towards his off stump, and manipulating line and length in this manner. Most telling, though, was his calculated assault on Kuldeep Yadav, to whom he used his feet multiple times to launch him down the ground. In all, he scored 43 runs off Kuldeep – the most any batter has scored against the left-arm wristspinner in an ODI innings – off just 28 balls.Kuldeep conceded 48 in his first five overs, which would have worried India considerably, given that they didn’t have a sixth bowler. But the measure of Kuldeep’s skill and self-confidence came over his next five overs, in which he had Mitchell dropped at long-off, took two vital wickets – Tom Latham deceived by a flatter skidder and trapped plumb in front, Glenn Phillips caught off a miscue against the wrong’un – and conceded just 25.Kuldeep’s display was an encapsulation of India’s day. They were put under intense pressure by a formidable opponent, but they trusted their methods and came out unscathed. This India side can be rattled, but for any side to beat them over the next four weeks will likely take a special effort of sustained excellence.

The Chennai pitch on which India played their first Test against Bangladesh was rated “very good”

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2024The outfield at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, which hosted the rain-affected second Test between India and Bangladesh from September 27 to October 1, has earned an “unsatisfactory” rating from the ICC. The rating comes with one demerit point for the venue.Only 35 overs of play were possible on day one of the Test match, and there was no play possible on days two and three – this was despite no rain falling during the scheduled playing hours on day three. In the lead-up to the Test match, the state’s public works department had deemed one of Green Park’s stands unsafe, and had instructed the stadium authorities to open up only a limited number of its upper-level seats to spectators.The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) uses the Green Park Stadium on the basis of an MoU it has signed with the UP government. The government owns the land but as per the MoU, the stadium and its upkeep are the responsibility of the UPCA.BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla, who hails from Kanpur, defended the venue after it came in for widespread criticism following the washout of day three but conceded that the ground, which has hosted Test cricket since 1952, was in need of refurbishment.After more than two-and-a-half days of the Test match were washed out, India put in a concerted effort to force a victory, picking up 20 Bangladesh wickets in the space of 121.2 overs, and scoring 383 runs in just 52 overs across two innings, at an unprecedented 7.36 per over.The pitch for this Test match, meanwhile, earned a “satisfactory” rating.The ICC rates pitches and outfields for all international games on a scale of very good to unfit: very good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory and unfit. One demerit point is awarded to venues for an unsatisfactory rating, and three for an unfit rating. If any ground receives five or more demerit points in a five-year rolling period, it is suspended from hosting any international cricket for 12 months.The rest of the venues that hosted India’s 2024-25 international season did not come in for any censure from the ICC. Of the pitches on which India played their five Tests, four – including all three that hosted the recently concluded series against New Zealand, in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai – earned “satisfactory” ratings, while the surface at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, which hosted the first Test against Bangladesh, earned a “very good” tag.

He helped Australia pille up 196 before Scotland were bowled out for 126 with Stoinis and Green picking up a combined 6 for 39

Karthik Krishnaswamy06-Sep-2024In conditions where every other batter from both sides struggled for timing, Josh Inglis struck the ball with remarkable fluency on his way to the fastest T20I hundred by an Australia batter. He brought up the milestone in 43 balls, beating the previous record – held jointly by himself, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell – by four balls, and finished with 103 off 49.To put the innings in context, the rest of Australia’s top six scored 89 off 73 balls between them. His innings laid the foundation of Australia’s 70-run win over Scotland and also helped them take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.Sent in, Australia set Scotland 197 to draw level after their shellacking in Wednesday’s series-opener. The home side had their moments in the chase, particularly during a 42-ball 59 from Brandon McMullen, but they could never quite keep up with the asking rate. On an occasionally two-paced pitch that offered a bit of seam movement, Australia’s seamers used their height advantage expertly, bowling hard lengths and extracting every ounce of help they could find.Scotland managed the odd spurt of quick scoring – George Munsey whipped Xavier Bartlett for two leg-side sixes in the first over, and McMullen used his feet against the quicks and hit four sixes, the pick of them a front-foot pull over wide long-on off Aaron Hardie – but Australia kept chipping out regular wickets, bowling into the pitch and inducing miscues.When Sean Abbott employed this modus operandi to end McMullen’s charge in the 13th over, the contest was all but over. From there, the end was swift, with Scotland losing their last six wickets for just 20 runs and being bowled out for 126 in 16.4 overs.Take Inglis away, and Australia didn’t do a whole lot better with the bat. Jake Fraser-McGurk, who had fallen for a duck on T20I debut on Wednesday, got off the mark in the format with a first-ball four. But he struggled to middle the ball – and often failed to connect – as his aim-for-the-grandstand methods proved unsuitable for the conditions, particularly against McMullen’s nibbly new-ball medium-pace.Marcus Stoinis picked up 4 for 23 with his medium pace•AFP/Getty Images

He fell for a run-a-ball 16, and Travis Head, who had battered Scotland for 80 off 25 in the first T20I, was out for a first-ball duck, bowled by a peach of an inducker from left-arm quick Brad Currie. Currie was one of five players in Scotland’s XI who hadn’t played on Wednesday.Three of the incomers were bowlers, and the revamped attack continued to make the Australia batters not named Inglis work for their runs. Cameron Green scratched his way to 36 off 29, and Marcus Stoinis finished with an unbeaten 20 off 20. They would eventually have their revenge with the ball, picking up a combined 6 for 39 in 5.4 overs.Inglis, though, seemed to bat on another pitch, against another attack. Where his team-mates seemed to lack options if they were denied room to free their arms, Inglis kept finding the boundary by means of quick feet and quicker hands. He manipulated the field expertly with his movements around the crease and his use of the scoop and reverse-scoop. When the Scotland bowlers tried to cramp him by going short and into his body, he generated incredible bat-speed through his short-arm whips and pulls.Despite this, Australia had only got to 179 when Chris Sole ended Inglis’ innings in the 19th over. Sole, introduced only in the 11th over and bowling just three overs, was perhaps Scotland’s best bowler on the day, quicker than his colleagues and as a result more impactful when he used his pace variations.In the end, Australia got close to 200 thanks to a cameo from Tim David, who clubbed the first two balls of the final over, bowled by Brad Wheal, for six, the second one soaring well beyond the midwicket boundary and landing outside the ground.