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*Official* Australia in CWLand

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Explosive Blackman called up

Batsman Alex Blackman has been called into a squad of 12 for Cricket Web XI for the crucial final Test against Australia. The right-hander has been rewarded for his explosive form in the recent tour match against the Aussies. He will likely be competing with Rob Dauth for a place in the time. Dauth struggled on his recall with scores of 1 and 13.

4th Test squad:
T Mamesh, H Mørk (wk), AP Cloete, NS Pickup (c), GM Thomas, TJ Demeza, RJ Dauth, AJ Blackman, MW Wilson, WA Kerr, CR Butler, NA Borcich.
 

superkingdave

Hall of Fame Member
Any scorecards for the Black game? 7-70 against the Aussies not to be sniffed at, hopefully puts me in contention for a winter tour spot
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Webbers fade after bright start
4th Test - Day 1 - CWBCC Stadium

Four wickets fell on the first morning of the deciding fourth Test, but Cricket Web XI could not maintain the intensity and Australia recovered to a strong position at the close. Crucially Andrew Symonds, on 8, was dropped by Mørk in the second over after lunch to continue a miserable day for left-armer Travis Demeza. The fast bowler bowled well in bursts but had absolutely no luck after he took the first wicket of the match.

Simon Katich flashed hard outside offstump and was caught smartly at third slip. There Alex Blackman took his first catch in Test cricket but hardly celebrated the feat. It was clear that the Webbers were on a mission and they pressed on to remove Ricky Ponting (10) cheaply. Australia recovered somewhat with a third wicket stand of 38 and Phil Jaques notched a brisk half-century in the process. He was ultimately caught flicking to square leg and CW XI edged into the lead with the wicket of Michael Clarke before he had scored. A spectacular yorker from Greg Thomas dealt for the Australian vice-captain and kept his poor form intact. At lunch then Hussey and Symonds were the men charged with revival.


Hussey and Symonds revived Australia

Symonds batted on from his early afternoon escape and in the 43rd over he soon joined Mike Hussey with a half-century. The two added 149 for the fifth wicket and put Australia back into control of their innings. The lone wicket to fall in the second session was that of Hussey, who was out to Greg Thomas at 258-5. It was not long then before CW XI added a 6th wicket and threatened to fight back and have Australia all out for less than 300. But as he has several times on this tour, Ashley Noffke highlighted his ability with the bat. He and Brad Haddin batted coolly to stumps, and revealed the pitch as ominously lifeless.

Australia 1st Innings 356-6 (90 overs)
A Symonds 92, MEK Hussey 79, PA Jaques 65, BJ Haddin 43*, AA Noffke 25*
MW Wilson 2-56, GM Thomas 2-89

Australia lead by 356 runs with 4 first innings wickets remaining.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Mørk keeps hope alive
4th Test - Day 2 - CWBCC Stadium

Håkon Mørk (96 not out) and Andrew Cloete (53 not out) put on 88 unbeaten and took Cricket Web XI close to the follow-on target at stumps. The home side suffered throughout the first session, but played well to return to form and keep the option of a positive result alive.

In the morning Australia were led by half-centuries from Brad Haddin and Ashley Noffke. The former notched a fighting 59 and then snicked an edge through to Mørk. Noffke then batted on to score 63 not out and held the innings together on the way to 459 all out. Together with Mitchell Johnson the 9th wicket stand was worth 47 runs until Nick Borcich struck twice quickly to wrap up the innings. None of the bowlers finished with particularly good figures, though each of Thomas and Wilson took 3.

The Webbers took to the crease with much more confidence than anticipated. After the debacle of the third Test they changed their approach and mixed caution and aggression impressively during a partnership of 123 for the first wicket. Unsurprisingly it was the spin of Michael Clarke that worked wonders for Australia. He got the ball to straighten and struck Thamba Mamesh (55) in line with middle stump. What followed were a potentially tricky couple of hours. But it was clear that confidence had returned and it was epitomized by the welcome return to form of Mørk. His twin centuries in the first Test seemed a distant memory as he stumbled through his next 4 innings, but he stood on the verge of a third ton when the day closed. In the mean time Cloete raced to a pleasant half-century and looks in good shape for a big innings on day three.

Australia 1st Innings 459 all out (119.4 overs)
A Symonds 92, MEK Hussey 79, PA Jaques 65, AA Noffke 63*, BJ Haddin 59
MW Wilson 3-76, GM Thomas 3-127

Cricket Web XI 1st Innings 211-1 (58 overs)
H Mørk 96*, T Mamesh 55, AP Cloete 53*
MJ Clarke 1-23

Cricket Web XI trail by 248 runs with 9 first innings wickets remaining.
 
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Mr Mxyzptlk

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Vintage Cloete sets Stadium alight
4th Test - Day 3 - CWBCC Stadium

It was a return to days of old for Andrew Cloete as he stuck into the Australian attack to the tune of 205. It was an innings of obviously epic proportions and kept alive the unlikely possibility of a Webber victory that would claim a series win. Cricket Web XI piled on an enormous 574-5 and they will resume on day four in the lead by 115 runs with half their wickets intact.

The first point of interest on the day was the approach of Håkon Mørk to his third century of the series. He achieved the milestone with a most unusual shot over the extra cover boundary for six. From that point on the headlines were Cloete's for the taking. Mørk padded up fatally to Michael Clarke on 120 and then Chris Butler had only scored 20 when he hit a low catch to mid-off. The score was still well placed at 331-3 so Alex Blackman took guard with the freedom to play some shots as he had in the recent tour match. But unlike at the small CW Bar Ground, his execution was not quite sound. He hit 3 fours in 16 and then shuffled across the stumps and was lbw to Andrew Symonds.


SHOT! - Cloete plays a stunning innings (Getty Images)

Threats of a collapse bore little substance on such a tame surface and with Cloete well on his way. Both he and Will Kerr offered difficult chances, but nothing that the Aussies felt particularly aggrieved at missing, and CW XI romped into the final session. There Kerr notched a welcome second Test fifty, going some way to establish himself at the top level. And the next milestone was the clear highlight of the day- Cloete pushed to the right of mid-off for his 200th run. The appreciative titan that he is, he threw his hands up and looked to the heavens, then kissed the turf. Order was restored eventually and then Haddin found time to spill a sitter to reprieve Kerr on 72. The Aussies looked to be in store for a very grim final hour, but Ashley Noffke picked up the big fish early into it. Cloete played a tired cut shot and was caught chest high by Mike Hussey. He walked off to a standing ovation.

Heading into stumps Will Kerr pressed into the 90s with a determined look on his face. He will resume tomorrow just 10 away from his maiden Test hundred and aided by Mike Wilson (30 not out).

Australia 1st Innings 459 all out (119.4 overs)
A Symonds 92, MEK Hussey 79, PA Jaques 65, AA Noffke 63*, BJ Haddin 59
MW Wilson 3-76, GM Thomas 3-127

Cricket Web XI 1st Innings 574-5 (150 overs)
AP Cloete 205, WA Kerr 90*, H Mørk 120, T Mamesh 55, MW Wilson 30*
MJ Clarke 2-66

Cricket Web XI lead by 115 runs with 5 first innings wickets remaining.
 

Travis_Teh

International Regular
Nice, a first innings lead :)

Now we just need the bowlers to work as a unit, and keep that **** Symonds from scoring more runs.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Bowlers toil on dead pitch
4th Test - Day 4 - CWBCC Stadium

Only two wickets fell on day four and the deciding Test match looks en route for a drawn result. In the first half of the day Cricket Web XI extended their lead 225 for the loss of two more wickets and then declared. One of those wickets was Will Kerr, but not before he scored a maiden Test match hundred. He was lucky to get so far, dropped by Katich close in on 95, but made the best of his opportunity in due time. Mike Wilson raised his bat in celebration of a half-century shortly before, and the 6th wicket stand was only ended at 94 by a poor umpiring decision. For the second time in the series Wilson came up on the wrong side of a bad decision and was given out lbw for 62.


A dejected Greg Thomas comforted by Will Kerr

Kerr managed to bat on with Nick Borcich long enough to add a further 65 in relatively quick time. Borcich (28) finally charged after Michael Clarke and was stumped neatly by Haddin, but on 684-7 Neil Pickup was afforded a declaration. That left Kerr unbeaten and soaking in warm applause while he walked off for a career best 136. The spin of Clarke was by far most effective for Australia- 3 for 74.

The Webbers took to the field again to try to round out an historic series win with some disciplined and purposeful bowling. Demeza was held back from the new ball given his miserable series, but when he came on as first change his rotten luck hardly varied. In his first 6 overs he had two close lbw shouts turned down and a simple catch spilled by Mørk behind the sticks. The first wicket did not arrive until Mike Wilson entered the attack. He surprised Katich with pace and Nick Borcich ran around at deep square leg to complete a simple dismissal. The breakthrough came shortly before tea so CW XI were hopeful to make inroads in the final session.

In particular Ricky Ponting was under pressure, having had a moderate series to the date. But he understood the importance of his union with Jaques and set out to battle. He was lucky enough to be dropped by Cloete on 26, and the celebrated a Jaques century less than 5 overs later. Wilson returned to the attack and promptly had both batsmen dropped in the closing minutes of the session. Australia went in leading by 9 runs with 9 wickets still to play and CW XI may have dropped their chance of a series success.

Australia 1st Innings 459 all out (119.4 overs)
A Symonds 92, MEK Hussey 79, PA Jaques 65, AA Noffke 63*, BJ Haddin 59
MW Wilson 3-76, GM Thomas 3-127

Cricket Web XI 1st Innings 684-7 (179 overs)
AP Cloete 205, WA Kerr 136*, H Mørk 120, MW Wilson 62, T Mamesh 55
MJ Clarke 3-74

Australia 2nd Innings 234-1 (61 overs)
PA Jaques 140*, SM Katich 43, RT Ponting 41*
MW Wilson 1-45

Australia lead by 9 runs with 9 second innings wickets remaining.
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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1-1: Webbers stutter to draw
4th Test - Day 5 - CWBCC Stadium

Australia took the better share of the final day, but their trip to CWLand ended in a 1-1 drawn result. The tourists batted to set a target of 250 from 33 overs, but although CW XI lost 5 wickets, they managed to reach the close with ease and composure intact. Chris Butler ended his series with a solid innings of 40 not out to arrest a potential middle order slide.

The initial push of Australia revolved around the batting of Phil Jaques and Ricky Ponting. The latter was run out 14 short of his century, but Jaques went on to score a fine 152. Andrew Symonds then continued to torture the CW XI bowlers with another quickfire knock. He counted 3 sixes and 7 fours in 73 from 79 balls and helped push the score from 295-2 at his arrival, promoted to number four, to 474-6 at Ponting's declaration. That meant that CW XI faced just over a session and a near impossible total.

It was a tempting target for the Webbers to attack, and Thamba Mamesh launched after it in the final innings of his professional career. His was a stylish attack and featured a six off Lee before tea, then four more boundaries off him after the break. But on 30 he hit his 23rd ball back at Lee to surrender the last laugh. The match got interesting soon after, when first innings heroes Cloete (10) and Mørk (17) perished for not many. The game was still in the balance at 68-3 and Alex Blackman belted three fours and then threw away his wicket for 14 at the start of the final hour. Australia were still a far shout to take the final 6 wickets in less than 15 hours, but when Will Kerr (2) pushed at Johnson outside offstump it was not out of the question.

Ponting realized that his bowlers were a wicket away from the CW XI tail and placed attacking fielders to suit. The fielders continually chirped at the batsmen and tried to amplify whatever pressure they could spark. But Butler was well entrenched and Wilson played responsibly at his side. All the Australian firepower could not topple them.

Australia 1st Innings 459 all out
Symonds 92, Hussey 79, Wilson 3-76, Thomas 3-127
Cricket Web XI 1st Innings 684 for 7 dec.
Cloete 205, Kerr 136*, Clarke 3-74, Lee 2-162
Australia 2nd Innings 474 for 6 dec.
Jaques 152, Ponting 86, Pickup 2-118, Borcich 1-73
Cricket Web XI 2nd Innings 142 for 5
Butler 40*, Mamesh 30, Noffke 2-28, Johnson 1-7
Test Match Drawn.

Man of the Match: AP Cloete (CW XI)
 

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