CLARKE NETS DOUBLE CENTURY
The Australian captain, Michael Clarke scored a fine double century in the first test match against South Africa which is being played at Brisbane Cricket Ground. Apart from Clarke, Ed Cowan also scored a century and with the help of the contribution of these two batsmen, the Australian team was in a very good position at the end of the fourth day of the test match.
At the start of the fourth day, the Australian team was under a bit of pressure and the first priority of the team was to pass the score of 250 and save the follow on. The two not out Aussie batsmen started a bit cautiously, but, after the first hour, they started playing their shots fluently. There was nothing much in the pitch for the fast bowlers. There was no swing out there and the pitch was a flat one, so, there was not much seam movement either. Morne Morkel bowled some wonderful deliveries in the first session, but, none of those deliveries managed to take the outside edge of the bat.
Ed Cowan played some fantastic shots off the back foot. He was very severe on the short pitched deliveries. The pitch was a bit on the slower side, so, the ball was not rising as much as the South African bowlers were expecting them to be. That’s why; the short pitched deliveries were not having that much effect on the batsmen.
Michael Clarke also played some glorious pull shots. The South African skipper, Graeme Smith definitely missed Imran Tahir. Tahir’s leg spin might have been handful on this deteriorating pitch. After completing his maiden century, Ed Cowan got run out in an unfortunate fashion. Michael Clarke played a straight drive. Dale Steyn tried to stop the ball in his follow through, but, the ball went behind after touching his finger tips and hit the wicket. Ed Cowan was out of the crease on the other end and he had to return to the pavilion.
However, Clarke kept playing beautifully and completed his third double century. Mike Hussey came to bat after the fall of Cowan’s wicket and he also looked in an aggressive mood. He completed his half century in a very quick time. At the end of the fourth day, the score of the Australian team was 487 runs for the loss of four wickets. Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey were not out on 218 and 86 respectively.
