2nd Aus v NZ ODI also abandoned

What a God forsaken place the Blacktown SportsPark is. I can think of nothing to recommend it.
To get there it is an hour on the train from Sydney and then a 30 minute walk from the station. They seem to conjure up the worst possible weather there. On my previous visit the match was also abandoned. I will not be going there again.

Players hoping that the oval will dry out

 

You have been warned

 

One of the many pitch inspections to come

 

The stand

 

Jodie Fields hitching up her tracksuit bottoms to keep them dry

 

Fighting a losing battle

 

Peewit

AUS v NZ ODI abandoned

It had the makings of a good match but then the weather intervened

I am supposed to be following the sun. Spending six months of each year in Australia and the other six months in England. I'm used to dull and wet English summer's but this time Australia seems to also be suffering from bad weather. I bought one jumper, one jacket and an umbrella with me and are wearing them out. I have already been to one cricket match that was abandoned through rain and today the same thing happened. The rain was forecast but it had remained dry for most of the morning.

The Southern Stars were playing the White Ferns at the SCG in an ODI with a 10am start.

Australia had won the toss and were fielding first with the scoreboard revealing some changes in the teams since the last T20 match just a few days before

 

Southern Stars ready for the opening ceremony

 

The teams walk out onto the SCG

 

The White Ferns

 

The Southern Stars

 

The ceremony

 

Leaving the field and thinking about their batting

 

Frances Mackay will open with Lucy Doolan

 

Southern Stars team talk

 

Almost ready to start

 

Mackay gets a four off the first ball

 

Scoreboard

 

Oh dear. Only a few overs gone and the rain arrives and the covers come out.

 

The skippers have a chance to chat during the rain. I wonder what they are talking about ?

 

After a longish delay the match resumed and Lucy Doolan started getting boundaries

 

Sarah Coyte had this strange over with a wicket, dots, wides and it ended with a run

 

The wicket had been Mackay and Amy Satterthwaite came out to replace her

 

Doolan about to nick this ball that is caught by Jodie Fields

 

The rain came back and this turned out to be the last of the play in this match

 

Raining at the SCG

 

At 4:30pm the match was abandoned and it was still raining. A shame. The next match is at Rooty Hill on Friday and if it is not raining I will catch the train to watch the match.

 

Peewit

North Sydney Oval, T20 game 3

Game 3 of the womens International T20 between Oz and NZ
Today the weather was mainly sunny but not too hot.
Having lost the first two games, the White Ferns really needed to win this one or the series will also be lost.

The start time approaches

 

Stands

 

Weed

 

Shapes

 

Cameraman

 

The Southern Stars won the toss and chose to bat first

 

Frances Mackay rides the boundary

 

Commentary box. In general the commentary was very good. It is a shame that John Hastings could never get the players names right. They were still wrong in the summaries and you would have thought that the tv production staff would have checked them. Obviously not.

 

Southern Stars clock up the runs

 

Jodie Fields gets a chance to bat

 

Ball heading for Jonassen's elbow or wicket

 

The scoreboard shows 134 runs from the 20 overs. Not a bad total but looks reachable

 

White Ferns out to bat and chase that 135 required

 

Wickets were falling quickly so pressure was increasing for the middle order

 

Amy Satterthwaite top scored with 45

 

The run chase became desperate as the required run rate rose

 

The White Ferns could not get the runs and the Southern Stars wrapped up the series

 

7 runs short and another loss for NZ. Suzie Bates must be disappointed with her batting having only scored 1 run in each of the last two games

 

POM

 

I had enjoyed the match, however the early fall of NZ wickets had made for a hard run chase and in the end the overs ran out. Losing the series must hurt for NZ and the Southern Stars must know that feeling after last summers defeat by the English girls.
Those memories must now be long gone and the Southern Stars can rejoice after a really good performance with both bat and ball.

A couple of day's break now before the first of the ODI's from the SCG. I'll be there.

Peewit