Kurtis Patterson and James Vince have helped steer the Sydney Sixers to a comfortable six-wicket BBL win over the Melbourne Renegades in Geelong.
After restricting their hosts to a below-par 7-124, the Sixers were never in any real trouble in their run chase at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night.
Vince (39 off 31 balls) was the early aggressor before Patterson (38 off 35) took the reins, with the pair laying a strong platform.
Dan Christian (21 not out off 15) completed the job, belting four consecutive boundaries off Kane Richardson to guide the Sixers to 4-126 with 13 balls to spare.
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The result lifted the Sixers (4-2) level on points with the Perth Scorchers at the top of the table, while the Renegades (3-3) have suffered three straight defeats.
Kurtis Patterson. (Photo by Jonathan Di Maggio – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
The Renegades won the toss and batted first but their highly credentialed batting line-up faltered again.
Shaun Marsh (35 off 29 balls) and Jonathan Wells (28 off 30) were solid contributors but lacked support at the top.
“Our bowlers did a great job the last couple of games and we (the batters) let them down, and it was the same again tonight,” Renegades captain Nic Maddinson said.
“It was a pretty good wicket and we were probably 20 to 30 runs short of being competitive.”
The Sixers’ bowlers shared the wickets, with Chris Jordan (2-25), Hayden Kerr (2-25), Ben Dwarshuis (1-18), Jackson Bird (1-23) and Izharulhaq Naveed (1-31) all getting in on the action.
Wicketkeeper Josh Philippe dropped a simple early chance when Renegades opener Martin Guptill (12) edged one behind off Bird, but the Sixers’ catching was otherwise superb.
Kerr, Jordan and Jordan Silk all claimed difficult diving catches in the outfield.
English import Jordan’s athletic effort – in his return to action following a back injury – removed dangerous veteran Marsh.
“I’m just pleased to contribute to a win today,” Jordan told Fox Sports.
“(Catching) is something that I practice day in, day out and fielding is a part of the game that I really enjoy.
“When the ball went up it was just a matter of getting on my bike and when I get close I just trust my hands. It managed to stick.”
Maddinson was the first man out – for a six-ball duck – when he was caught by Kerr.
It continued a tough run for the Renegades skipper, who has scored a total of only three runs in his last four innings.
The Renegades managed just 1-14 from the opening powerplay and their run rate still sat well below six at the halfway point of the innings, when they were struggling at 3-53.
At that stage, Marsh had been the only batter to find the boundary.
He scored three fours and one of the Renegades’ two sixes for the innings, with Aaron Finch (17 off 15) the only other batter to clear the rope.
Renshaw ready to make most of second chance
Matthew Renshaw feels his growth as a person will leave him well placed to thrive during his third coming as a Test cricketer – and he has Usman Khawaja to thank for his recall.
Renshaw received his first call-up to an Australian red-ball squad since 2018 when the forgotten opener was named on Friday for the third Test against South Africa.
The 26-year-old is one of two additions to the 14-man squad for the New Year’s Test at the SCG, with spin-bowling allrounder Ashton Agar also back in favour after injuries to star quick Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green.
Renshaw last played a Test in March 2018 when he rushed to South Africa after Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were stood down following the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
He had previously notched 10 Tests across 2016-17 before being dropped for Bancroft ahead of the 2017-18 Ashes as a result of poor Sheffield Shield form.
The left-hander failed to retain his Cricket Australia contract in 2019-20, and he hit a new low when he was dropped from Queensland’s Shield side in 2020.
Some technical improvements helped Renshaw regain his spot in the Bulls’ line-up. But it was a mental shift that played an even bigger role in Renshaw’s rise back to Test ranks.
“A lot of it is mental,” Renshaw said of his improvement as a cricketer. “A lot of work away from Queensland cricket, away from the Brisbane Heat, away from Australian cricket, just doing some of my own stuff, which has really helped me.
Matt Renshaw. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
“I just sort of grounded myself. As a 20-year-old, I still wasn’t sure who I was at that point.
“I was trying to be someone else, trying to be what people wanted me to be.
“So just making sure I be myself has seemed to have worked in the last few years.”
Good friend and Queensland teammate Khawaja has also played a key role in Renshaw’s resurgence.
“He’s someone I’m quite close to,” Renshaw said. “I call him my life coach. He hasn’t accepted the role, but unfortunately for him it’s not a role that you can accept – it’s just given to you. He knows me quite well, he knows when I’m up or down, and knows when I need to be checked in line as well.”
Unlikely to play against the Proteas in the SCG Test, starting on January 4, Renshaw’s inclusion could be a hint to what selectors have in mind for February’s tour of India.
Renshaw featured in all four Tests the last time Australia toured India back in 2017. Agar is a more realistic option to play on an expected spin-friendly pitch at the SCG.
The left-arm spinner could slot in at No.7 and leave wicketkeeper Alex Carey, fresh off a maiden Test century, to be promoted up the order.
Experienced quick Josh Hazlewood will almost certainly end a three-Test absence and return to the XI after recovering from a side-strain injury suffered against the West Indies in Perth earlier this month.
West Australian speed machine Lance Morris, who has been dubbed the new “Wild Thing”, has retained his spot in the squad and could make his Test debut.
Despite both players finishing the Boxing Day Test, Starc and Green will now recuperate as they aim to get themselves right for India.
“Ashton offers a second spin option should the Sydney pitch be conducive to turn, as it has done in the past. He also brings a solid batting component,” Australia selector Tony Dodemaide said.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD: Pat Cummins (capt), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, David Warner.
Pant lucky to be alive after crash
India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has been described as being in a stable condition in hospital following a car crash in the early hours of Friday morning.
Police said the wicketkeeper-batter, who was alone in the car when it crashed in the northern state of Uttarakhand, had told them he lost control of the vehicle when he “dozed off”. The car flipped over twice, police added.
Multiple reports in Indian media said Pant’s car had collided with the traffic divider in the middle of the road.
Photographs of the crash showed extensive impact and fire damage to the car.
Hospital authorities were not immediately available to give an update on the 25-year-old’s condition but ESPNCricinfo reported he suffered lacerative wounds on his forehead above his left eye and also a ligament tear in his knee. The report added that first X-rays did not show any fractures.
Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), tweeted: “Rishabh is stable and undergoing scans. We are closely monitoring his progress and will provide him with all the necessary support.”
Pant’s IPL team Delhi Capitals said the crash occurred between Manglaur and Narsan in Haridwar district.
“He has now been shifted to a hospital in Dehradun after receiving primary treatment in a hospital in Roorkee,” they said on Twitter.
The team’s head coach Ricky Ponting expressed his concern. “Hope you’re on the mend and back on your feet soon,” tweeted the former Australia captain.
National Cricket Academy chairman and former Test batsman VVS Laxman wished Pant a speedy recovery. “Praying for Rishabh Pant. Thankfully he is out of danger… Get well soon champ,” Laxman tweeted.
Pant was part of the Test squad that sealed a 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh this month. He was not named in India’s Twenty20 and ODI squads for matches against Sri Lanka next month.
Light denies Kiwis as Waqar slams chair-whacker
Bad light has proved the winner in the first Test between Pakistan and New Zealand despite both sides attempting to engineer a dramatic victory.
Strong batting by the Pakistani tail enabled captain Babar Azam to surprise the tourists with a bold declaration that set them 138 to win in 15 overs.
An early wicket encouraged home hopes of victory but the Black Caps then set about the bowling and were 1-61 in the eighth over when, to their frustration, the light faded.
Legspinner Ish Sodhi, on his return to the Test team after four years absence, took 6-86 to earn his first Test five-wicket haul.
Initial resistance had come from opener Imam-ul-Haq (96) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (53). They dragged Pakistan from 4-100 past the huge first-innings deficit of 174 with an aggressive 85-run fifth wicket stand.
But both fell to Sodhi after lunch in quick succession.
Imam was shown bashing a chair with his bat after being dismissed which drew a rebuke from Pakistani legend Waqar Younis in commentary.
“That’s not good, seriously,” said Waqar. “Come on man, you’re better than that. You played well. You had a great knock. Sometimes I understand the heat, the emotions and all that but you don’t do that with your equipment.”
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Pakistan then slipped to 7-206, just 32 runs ahead, and looked headed for a fifth successive home Test defeat. But Saud Shakeel (55 no) and tailender Mohammad Wasim (43) added 71 for the eighth wicket. Mir Hamza (3no) then batted 49 minutes with Shakeel enabling Babar to make his bold declaration.
New Zealand, who scored 9-612 declared in their first innings, went for it despite losing Michael Bracewell (3), promoted to opener to hit out, in the first over.
Tom Latham (35no) and Devon Conway (18no) rattled along at nine-an-over but were thwarted by the setting sun.
Tim Southee, who was playing his first match as New Zealand captain said: “For us to have lost the toss and been in a position to have won this Test was pleasing.
“Sodhi can be proud of his return and the way Kane (Williamson) played was great to watch. He showed his class.”
Williamson, who made 200 in his first innings since stepping down as captain, rejected suggestions that handing over the responsibility had freed him to make runs, noting he was still involved in decision-making.
Southee backed that up, adding of his captaincy debut: “It wasn’t too dissimilar to what we normally do, we are a pretty tight leadership group with Kane and Tom [Latham].
Babar said he was delighted with the fight his team put up after being put under pressure.
The second and final Test, also in Karachi, starts on Monday.
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