Source : the age
Australian women’s cricket stalwart Megan Schutt has been banned for two matches for a prescription medication breach.
Schutt has apologised in the wake of her ban, announced on Thursday, which isn’t related to performance-enhancements.
The 33-year-old strike bowler will serve the first match of her suspension on Thursday night when Australia meet New Zealand in a T20 fixture in Sydney.
Schutt failed to adhere to requirements under Sports Science and Sports Medicine guidelines with regard to prescription medication, Cricket Australia (CA) said.
AAP
Australia’s fight to save the second Test against South Africa has been aided by the Gqeberha weather, after light rain delayed the start of the final day.
Covers were brought onto St George’s Park around 45 minutes before the 9.45am (6.45pm AEDT) start time, with an attempt to start at 10.25am also aborted.
More rain is forecast further into the morning, with Australia to resume at 4-156 and still trailing South Africa by 170 runs after being asked to follow on.
Wednesday was one of the darkest days for Australia this decade, after they collapsed to be bowled out for 99 in the first innings.
Early lunch has been taken.
Play will start at 9pm AEDT (12pm local time), if there is no more rain.
Australia’s chances of earning a draw are getting stronger with each minute lost to rain.
But former Australian star Usman Khawaja has explained why time is important to South Africa, beyond the obvious point that they want enough time to bowl Australia out.
There is still no start time as rain keeps stopping and starting and it is forecast to continue for at least another hour.
“I think the Aussies will be quite happy right now with a bit of rain around – they’ll probably be doing a rain dance in the change room,” Khawaja said told Kayo Sports.
Rain stopped momentarily, but now it is pretty steady again.
The expectation is that it will clear up for the afternoon, so we could have another late finish here.
There is plenty of discussion around who should be in Australia’s side for the third Test in Cape Town and that is before we even have a finale for the second Test which remains delayed by rain on day five.
But former Australian star Usman Khawaja has offered his view on the decision to open with Nic Maddinson in the first two matches of the series.
“Let’s just go back to the start, everyone was shocked, I expected him to bat five. I thought 100 per cent that Renshaw was going to open, and when he didn’t I couldn’t believe it,” Khawaja said on Kayo Sports.
“You have an opener with Matt Renshaw, who’s done it for the last couple of years at Queensland. Obviously, I’ve been there, and I know he got 190 that game, but there’s nothing to say that if he opened he wouldn’t get more runs. And then Maddinson might get runs in the middle.
“I just think when you’ve got a really good opener and opening is such a hard spot, get the opener in there. They had a plan; it didn’t work. I’m sure they’re going to think about this in the next after this game’s over.”
Khawaja added that plans could also change if Cameron Green is fit to return to the side for the third Test.
Kayo Sports have just given an update to say that rain has returned, and the covers have gone back on.
The vision shown a few moments ago showed rain still falling, but the wind was blowing so hopefully it will take the clouds away.
There is no start time now. That won’t happen until they get the covers off again.
Cricket, more often than not, is a game of timing. And a little luck when you need it.
NSW batters Kurtis Patterson and Sam Konstas, at opposite ends of their careers, know that better than most. Both have worn the baggy green, only to discover how quickly a Test career can disappear.
In 2019, Patterson belted two hundreds for a Cricket Australia XI to force his way into Australia’s Test side against Sri Lanka. He averaged 144 in two Tests and never played for his country again after David Warner and Steve Smith returned from their sandpapergate bans later that year.
Five years later, Konstas cracked twin centuries in a Sheffield Shield match to propel himself into the Test side on Boxing Day. The then 19-year-old scored 60 in a stunning Test debut, but within 12 months was on the outer.
UPDATED: Play on day five is set to begin at 7.25pm (AEDT) or 10.25am local time.
The weather forecast said rain was possible between 9am and midday, so let’s hope we don’t see play stopped again, but more rain could still be possible in the windy conditions.
Daniel Brettig tells us that the main pitch square cover is coming off at St George’s Park.
Hopefully, that means play will start soon.
The Kayo Sports cameras showed Steve Smith with his pads on and other players in their gear, so it appears the players think they will be back on field soon.
