OZ STRUGGLE
Head hits hundred but Australia find runs hard to come by
London, June 9: Travis Head's century was the cornerstone of Australia XI’s 283/ 6 as the world champions found runs hard to come by against Middlesex in a one- day tour match at Lord's on Saturday.
Head made 106 and Australia vice- captain Aaron Finch 54.
But for the second match in a row, following their 277/ 9 in a 57- run tour- opening win over Sussex at Hove on Thursday, the Australians failed to reach the now 50- over par total of 300.
It was a concerning sign for Australia ahead of a five- match one- day international series against number- one ranked England, the 2019 World Cup hosts, that starts across London at The Oval on Wednesday.
Once again, spin bowlers put a brake on Australia XI's run- rate despite an extremely short boundary on the Tavern side of Lord's.
Off- spinner Max Holden returned miserly figures of 1/ 29 in a full 10- over spell.
Head opened alongside D'Arcy Short as Finch dropped down the order after his 78 against Sussex.
Short fell for 18 when a mistimed pull off Thomas Barber was brillianly caught one- handed by a leaping Nathan Sowter — born and brought up in western Sydney — at midwicket.
Shaun Marsh, playing his first match of the tour after Marcus Stoinis was left out following his hundred against Sussex, made 49 off 64 balls before falling short of a fifty when he was well- held at midwicket by Middlesex captain Steven Finn, the England fast bowler, to give Holden a deserved wicket.
For the second match in a row, Glenn Maxwell fell in single figures to a spinner, the all- rounder lbw for three trying to sweep leftarmer Ravi Patel.
Maxwell's exit left the Australians at 150/ 3 in the 31st over.
Finch launched Patel for six while the patient Head, who has been playing English county cricket for Worcestershire this season, had the satisfaction of scoring a century at the ' home of cricket'.
But the fact it took him 133 balls was evidence of the Australians' struggles on an occasionally twopaced pitch.
They could have done with Head ' going on' but instead he was caught behind cutting off leg- spinner Sowter.
Australia XI's Hilton Cartwright, an overseas player with Middlesex, suffered the embarrasment of dropping a simple catch in the deep to reprieve Finch on 46.
Finch smashed Barber for six to go to fifty before he holed out off the paceman, who took 3/ 62. It was a concerning sign for the Aussies ahead of a five- match one- day international series against number- one ranked England, the 2019 World Cup hosts, that starts across London at The Oval on Wednesday