Watson can start season with a bang
Champion trainer saddles leading chance in feature race at Jebel Ali opener
Australia skipper Aaron Finch and coach Justin Langer have plenty to ponder ahead of the must-win second T20 to be held at the Dubai International Stadium today.
Australia’s tour to the UAE so far has been marred with batting collapses in the Test series and they are in need of immediate attention if they are to salvage something from the T20 series.
Finch admitted his boys were blown by Pakistan in the opener.
Australia could only manage 89 all out in response to Pakistan’s 155 for 9 and suffered a humiliating 66-run loss.
His top six batsmen were in and out in a flash — scoring just 22 runs between them in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night. “We knew a lot about their bowling attack and felt it was a chase that was gettable,” said Finch. “That power play was horrific, it was like a car crash in slow motion. Opening the batting, it’s my responsibility to get us off to a good start and set up the chase there.”
Finch added that as the skipper he takes responsibility for the setback. “I think any time that you’re chasing a total like that it’s important you have a solid start and for me to get out in the first over and not give us that, was not good enough,” he said. He was, however, confident of his team bouncing back strongly in the second outing today.
“Yes, absolutely,” he said. “We ■ ■ have a lot of experienced and good players. One bad day with the bat goes out of the window and it’s important that we go back to basics and when we get to Dubai, hopefully, we can come back stronger.”
Out for a duck
Finch was bowled for a duck by Imad Wasim and that immediately triggered the slide. Wasim finished with exceptional figures of 3-20 in his comeback match after a gap of over a year. Faheem Ashraf, too, was equally destructive and his two wickets broke the back of the Australian side.
“That was a huge momentum shift,” said Finch. “The way we bowled in the end of the innings, we carried a lot of momentum and executed really well. To go two down in the first over, he [Imad] definitely got the upper hand on us.”
The Australia skipper did not rule out some changes in the ■
side for the second outing. Babar Azam, who top-scored for Pakistan with 68, said that the victory is a huge shot in the arm ahead of the second T20.
“Our confidence was high after the Test win and the way we won the first T20 match has also further boosted our morale,” he said. “We were low in confidence following the Asia Cup setback, but players have put in a lot of effort. The management has also supported us well.” Azam said the team’s ploy was to bowl in the right areas on Wednesday night. “Imad [Wasim] bowled well on his comeback and Faheem also gave good support and that combination did well,” he said. “What we wanted we got early, four quick wickets and then we started to put pressure on them.”
With Shoaib Malek back in the side for the second T20, the middle order will have more depth. Malek is likely to come in the place of Hussain Talat.
“The absence of Shoaib Malek did hurt and though Hafeez bhai filled in that void, he couldn’t finish it,” said Azam.
Seven-time UAE champion trainer Doug Watson will be looking forward to continuing his dominance of the UAE flat when the 20182018 racing season kicks-off at Jebel Ali Racecourse today.
From its base in the centre of Dubai, Watson’s Red Stables sent out 48 winners last season while amassing prize money in excess of Dh12 million.
Eleven of those came at Jebel Ali, a happy hunting ground for the affable American, who can begin with a bang should Cosmo Charlie run out a winner of the day’s feature event, the Dh120,000 Shadwell Handicap over seven furlongs.
A four-year-old son of Ashford Stud’s Stay Thirsty by Bernadini, Cosmo Charlie won the Dh250,000 Jebel Ali Classic at Jebel Ali’s final meeting of last season in March, on his only appearance at the track.
A consistent performer, the Ramzan Kadyrov-owned gelding has also posted a pair of wins at Meydan Racecourse where he has done most of his racing, having raced 11 times on the dirt.
Cosmo Charlie also has a pattern race victory to his credit following his victory in the Listed Al Bastikya during the 2017 Dubai World Cup Carnival. He faces 12 rivals, including the Ali Rashid Al Raihe-trained Daily Bulletin, the only other course winner in the field.
The Shadwell ■ Handicap ■ is one of seven races on the card, the first time that a seventh race is run at the popular Garden Party racecourse, and a trend that will continue during all 12 meetings hosted at Jebel Ali.
“We are happy to announce that Jebel Ali Racecourse will this season host seven-race meeting as opposed to the six in previous years,” Mohammad Al Sheha, the venue’s dynamic new manager, said earlier.
“We realised there has been a call out for more races in the UAE during the season from owners and trainers, so with the support of the Emirates Racing Authority (ERA), we have decided to host an extra race at every meeting this season.
“We promise more developments and initiatives will take place at Jebel Ali Racecourse as the season progresses,” he added. “We have a new trainer, Nicholas (Bachalard), new staff and some new horses.
“These are exciting times as Jebel Ali, now we just have to win some races for Major General Shaikh Ahmad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Chief of Dubai Police and Public Security.
“We are hopeful of having a good season all around, on the track and with our many patrons.”
We have a lot of experienced players. One bad day with the bat goes out of the window and it’s important that we go back to basics and when we get to Dubai.” Aaron Finch» Australian skipper