All posts tagged: Perth

On her comeback trail, Pratika Rawal shows grit, but India’s Australia tour ends with Perth hammering in Alyssa Healy’s farewell | Cricket News

On her comeback trail, Pratika Rawal shows grit, but India’s Australia tour ends with Perth hammering in Alyssa Healy’s farewell | Cricket News

Published by Webster

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 8, 2026 06:03 PM IST Early in the morning on Day 3, Pratika Rawal became the first Indian batter to face 100 deliveries in this match, shortly after playing a stylish pull shot – the front leg off the ground, the backfoot firmly planted, and the timing perfect. A few minutes later, as she cut the ball to point and took a single, she reached her first half-century in Test cricket. Almost reluctantly, she lifted her bat as the stadium announcer confirmed the milestone, evidently not too keen on celebrating the milestone, given the grim match situation. But deep down, it must have been a deeply satisfying moment, and a vindication for the hard work. Alas, that was India’s only bright spot on Sunday in Perth, as the multi-format series against Australia came to a tame end after such a bright start in the T20Is. India’s tour unravelled after that, as they were blown away in the three ODIs and the one-off Test in Perth. Pratika’s 63 off 137 balls …

India Women lose Test by 10 wickets as Australia complete dominant win in Perth

India Women lose Test by 10 wickets as Australia complete dominant win in Perth

Published by Webster

India Women suffered a 10-wicket defeat against Australia in the one-off day-night Test in Perth, as the hosts completed a comprehensive victory on Sunday. Australia sealed the result after bowling India out for 149 in their second innings and comfortably chasing the modest target of 25 in just 4.3 overs without losing a wicket. The result capped a dominant performance by the hosts across the three days and marked a memorable farewell in Test whites for captain Alyssa Healy. India resumed Day 3 at 105 for six, with Pratika Rawal and Sneh Rana at the crease. The pair added valuable runs to take the total to 132 before Rana was bowled by Ashleigh Gardner. Rawal showed resilience during her innings and top-scored with 63, but wickets fell quickly after Rana’s dismissal. Gardner and Player of the Match Annabel Sutherland wrapped up the innings, with Sutherland completing a catch off Rawal to end India’s resistance. Australia’s openers Georgia Voll and Phoebe Litchfield faced little trouble while chasing the small target, completing the run chase quickly to …

IND vs AUS | The woman averaging 89: Annabel Sutherland is putting India to the sword in Perth | Cricket News

IND vs AUS | The woman averaging 89: Annabel Sutherland is putting India to the sword in Perth | Cricket News

Published by Webster

4 min readMar 7, 2026 11:19 PM IST It hasn’t quite been a one-woman show in Perth, but there is no doubt as to who has been the star of this Test for Australia. They posted 323 in their first innings and then reduced India to 105/6 at stumps on Saturday — still trailing by 20 runs — in the one-off Test at the WACA. The sheer weight of Annabel Sutherland’s numbers tells its own story. After her impeccable 129, her Test batting average stands at a Bradmanesque 89.37. In 10 innings across seven Tests, she has crossed 50 four times and converted every single one of those starts into a century. And to complement all of that, she holds a bowling average of 23.26, having picked up six wickets against India in this match alone. But beyond the statistics, Sutherland’s brilliance lies in the aesthetics of her game. With the bat, she is textbook-perfect in her drives, cuts and pulls, and she barely put a foot wrong during a 171-ball knock studded with 17 …

India vs Australia Women’s Test: Teenager Lucy Hamilton dismisses Smriti Mandhana with a peach for first international wicket

India vs Australia Women’s Test: Teenager Lucy Hamilton dismisses Smriti Mandhana with a peach for first international wicket

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 6, 2026 12:11 PM IST In her first spell as a Test cricketer for Australia, Lucy Hamilton picked up the prized wicket of India opener Smriti Mandhana with an absolute peach on Day One of the Pink-ball Test match at WACA in Perth on Friday. Hamilton, 19, made her ODI debut in the recent 50-over leg of the multi-format series against India, but went wicketless in Hobart in the third match of that series. But trusted to take the new ball at WACA, Hamilton came up with a sensational fuller-length delivery in the sixth over of the first morning. It moved in ever so slightly into Mandhana, who was beaten in equal measure by the extra pace and the angle in from the leftie – with not many left-arm pacers around in the women’s game, it’s not a prospect Mandhana is used to facing on a regular basis. It was early vindication for Australia captain Alyssa Healy who won the toss and opted to bowl, wanting to unleash the pacers on this …

Perth Scorchers secure record-extending 6th BBL title after crushing arch-rivals Sydney Sixers in final

Perth Scorchers secure record-extending 6th BBL title after crushing arch-rivals Sydney Sixers in final

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Perth Scorchers continued their dominance and further cemented their legacy by defeating arch-rivals Sydney Sixers in the 2025-26 Big Bash League (BBL) final, claiming a record-extending sixth BBL title in front of their home crowd at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Sunday. Murphy’s Law played out for the Sixers, for whom nothing went their way in the final. After losing the toss, Moises Henriques’ side was invited to bat first by Scorchers captain Mitchell Marsh. The Sixers managed an underwhelming 132 in their 20 overs. Scorchers’ Jhye Richardson and David Payne were the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets each to bundle out the Sixers for an under-par total in Perth. Scorchers’ openers Marsh and Finn Allen stitched together 80 runs for the first wicket, and the Men in Orange had little trouble chasing down the total and won the game by six wickets with 15 balls to spare to lift the trophy. The Scorchers were clearly the best side in BBL 2025-26, having finished at the top of the points table with 14 points …

Steve Smith extends support to Usman Khawaja, says criticism during Perth Test was ‘unfair’ | Cricket News

Steve Smith extends support to Usman Khawaja, says criticism during Perth Test was ‘unfair’ | Cricket News

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Australia captain Steve Smith has said that he supports Usman Khawaja’s stand on the criticism the latter received for his preparation for the first Test of the ongoing Ashes in Perth. Khawaja said in a lengthy, and rather fiery, press conference, in which he also announced that he will retire after the upcoming the fifth Ashes Test,  that he felt he was unfairly picked on and that the criticism that came his way for not being able to play in Perth at the start of the series had racist connotations. Khawaja mentioned the the media and former players pointing out that him playing golf didn’t help him prepare for the Perth Test. While Smith chose not to be drawn into commenting on Khawaja speaking about feeling discriminated against on the basis of his identity, he concurred that some of the criticism that came at that point was unfair. “I’m not going into the mind of Usman Khawaja. He’s had a great career,” Smith said in a press conference. “In terms of preparation, I think he’s …

Jason Gillespie reacts to Usman Khawaja’s comments about preparation and playing golf ahead of first Ashes Test at Perth

Jason Gillespie reacts to Usman Khawaja’s comments about preparation and playing golf ahead of first Ashes Test at Perth

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Former Australian paceman Jason Gillespie said that he experienced “a tinge of disappointment” watching Usman Khawaja’s press conference on Friday, where he announced he would retire after the fifth and final Ashes Test at Sydney. Gillespie referenced the criticism from some quarters surrounding Khawaja’s golf hit prior to the Ashes opener at Perth as being valid. “I’m not questioning the racism that Usman has faced throughout his life,” he told ABC Sport. “I’ve actually always admired him and applauded him for speaking up because racism is a big stain on our society, and it always needs to be called out. He referenced racism when he was talking about the criticism that he received. A few former players came out and quite rightly questioned whether that [playing golf] was the best possible preparation.” “Being questioned over that and being held to account over your choices, that’s not bullying, it’s not abuse, that’s all part and parcel of being a professional. You can’t really throw a temper tantrum when asked to take accountability for the job you’re …

‘Might drop the word ‘very’ from the ‘very good’ that Madugalle gave for the Perth pitch’

‘Might drop the word ‘very’ from the ‘very good’ that Madugalle gave for the Perth pitch’

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The MCG Test was the second game in the ongoing Ashes series, which was completed in two days. The first one was in Perth. Both the surfaces have had excessive movement for seam bowlers, and batters have had a difficult time surviving on those wickets. However, the pitch at Perth was rated “Very good” by the match referee. After the Boxing Day Test ended, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar sarcastically remarked that this pitch, too, might be rated “good.” “Another Test match in Australia has finished in less than two days of cricket. The Australian Cricket Board’s CEO says it is not good business, and most, if not all, cricket fans in the sub-continent (read India) are screaming blue murder about the quality of the pitch given in Melbourne. They were astonished when the first Test match pitch in Perth was given a very good rating by the match referee Ranjan Madugalle,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar. “Since there is a new match referee, Jeff Crowe, for the Melbourne and Sydney Test matches, …

2025 Reimagined: What if…Bazballers didn’t go chasing the ball in Perth | Cricket News

2025 Reimagined: What if…Bazballers didn’t go chasing the ball in Perth | Cricket News

Published by Webster

It was early afternoon on November 22 in Perth and the Barmy Army was in good voice. After bowling out Australia for 132 at the start of Day 2, England were 65 for one in their second innings, effectively 105 ahead with Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope at the crease on a pitch that had seen 19 wickets fall on the first day. Another hour of their partnership would have effectively taken the game conclusively towards Ben Stokes’s side. But the game turned in a matter of three overs as Duckett, Pope, Harry Brook and Joe Root were dismissed in quick succession. Duckett fell to a regulation outside edge caught in the cordon, but the other three scripted their own downfall. Driving on the up through the offside is a fraught exercise on bouncy Australian pitches, especially at the Perth Stadium. But all Scott Boland had to do was bowl a hard length outside off-stump for Pope to go chasing. Brook didn’t learn his lesson and did likewise on only the third ball he faced. …

‘Travis Head century took away any chance of Perth pitch being rated shit’: Sunil Gavaskar

‘Travis Head century took away any chance of Perth pitch being rated shit’: Sunil Gavaskar

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England’s 8-wicket annihilation by Australia at Optus Stadium in Perth received a lot of attention, both for the extraordinary level of cricket and the surface on which 32 wickets fell in just two days. While ICC rated the pitch “very good,” Australian opener Usman Khawaja called the strip a “piece of shit”. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that it was Travis Head’s gobsmacking 69-ball ton that took away any chance of the strip at Perth being rated “shit” by anyone else. In his column for Sportstar, he wrote, “Mind you, 13 wickets fell on day two also, but that century took away any chance of the pitch being rated ‘shit’ by anybody else.” Gavaskar then lamented that the pacer-friendly pitch is never “bad”, but the strip that offers turn is a “disgrace”, a sentiment shared by many around the world. “Their narrative that a pitch with bounce and danger to life and limb is never bad, but that a pitch where the ball turns and keeps low is a disgrace, is sadly still believed …