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Home > Cricket > World Cup 2003 > PTI > Report

Aussies too good for fighting Dutch

February 20, 2003 21:35 IST

Scorecard | Analysis

Holland put up another impressive performance but found Australia too good for them as the World champions coasted to a comfortable 75-run victory in a World Cup Pool A league game in Potchefstroom, South Africa, on Thursday.

It was Australia's third successive victory in the tournament.

In a rain-affected game, reduced to 36-overs a side, Holland did well to restrict Australia to 170 for two after electing to field.

Damien Martyn top-scored with an unbeaten 67 while Matthew Hayden contributed 33.

However, the Duckworth-Lewis system set Holland a revised target of 198 runs from 36 overs since the first of the two rain interruptions had come after Australia had already played 25 overs.

Holland kept trying till the end but did not have the firepower to chase a target in excess of six an over. They were bowled out for 122 in 30.2 overs.

The win gave Australia 12 points from three matches. They head the Pool A and are almost certain to make it to the Super Six stage.

India, England and Zimbabwe have eight points each from three matches.

Dark clouds were hovering over the stadium since morning and a delayed start meant the match had already been curtailed to 47-overs a side. Holland captain Roland Lefebvre had no hesitation in calling Australia to bat first, his eyes focussed on the two points in the event of an abandonment.

After thrashing both India and Pakistan in their first two matches, Australia rested some of their key players, leaving out Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee from today's line-up.

Reserve wicketkeeper Jimmy Maher opened the innings with Hayden in the absence of Gilchrist. The Aussies were never allowed to get off to the flying starts they are so used to as Lefebvre and Edgar Schiferli bowled a tight line.

Tim de Leede, who claimed both the wickets, effected the breakthrough in the 13th over, having Maher caught by Daan van Bunge in the slips. Maher scored 26 with four boundaries.

Feiko Kloppenburg almost struck with his first ball when Martyn gave him a tame return catch but the bowler failed to hold on to the chance. Martyn and Hayden put on 51 runs for the second wicket before de Leede claimed his second wicket, with Hayden being caught at midwicket by Schiferli. Hayden's 33 came off 60 balls and included four boundaries.

Australia were placed at 109 for two in the 25th over when the first of the two rain interruptions came which resulted in the match being reduced to 44-overs a side. However, just three overs had been bowled when rains came again and this time play had to be suspended for 86 minutes.

When play resumed, Martyn and Darren Lehmann, who remained unbeaten on 29, found that they were left with only eight overs. They started scoring quickly and by the end had put on 67 runs for the unfinished third wicket. Martyn's 67 came off 76 balls and included six fours while Lehmann struck two boundaries in his 39-ball knock.

Holland had a poor start to their innings with Jason Gillespie dismissing van Bunge and Bas Zuiderent in his first and third overs to reduce them to 18 for two.

With Glenn McGrath and Gillespie having shared just six overs, Australia brought in part-time spinners Lehmann and Andrew Symonds in an apparent bid to quickly complete 25 overs necessary to make it a valid match. The two spinners hurried through their overs and even though the Holland batsmen tried their best to keep up with the ever increasing required run rate, the regular loss of wickets kept pushing them back.

Tim de Leede made an important contribution with the bat too top-scoring with 24 before edging a Andy Bichel delivery to Maher. Opener Luuk van Troost was the only other batsman to have crossed 20, making 23 runs.

Lefebvre remained unbeaten on 14.

For Australia, Bichel was the most successful bowler, claiming three wickets for 13 runs while Ian Harvey took three for 25. Gillespie and Lehmann took two wickets each.

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