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45th over New Zealand 331-7 (Neesham 28, Henry 4) Two runs from Cummins’ first three balls, but then Neesham fetches a wide ball back over his head for four. Seven from the over, which will do nicely for Australia.
44th over New Zealand 324-7 (Neesham 22, Henry 3) Yet again Zampa has produced for Australia. He finishes with 10-0-74-3, and the three wickets all came at crucial times. New Zealand need 65 from 36 balls.
WICKET! New Zealand 320-7 (Santner c Maxwell b Zampa 17)Six and out for Mitchell Santner. He belted Zampa to cow corner and tried to repeat the stroke two balls later. This time it was the googly and he could only pick out Glenn Maxwell, who took a nerveless catch. I’ve said this a few times tonight but that, surely, is the game for Australia.
43rd over New Zealand 314-6 (Neesham 21, Santner 11) Neesham makes it back-to-back boundaries by cuffing a short ball from Cummins to midwicket. Marsh gets his knee stuck in the turf while making a vital stop at short fine leg. He looks sore but okay to continue.
Talking of injuries, apparently Lockie Ferguson will bat if needed. He’ll be needed.
Cummins has an LBW appeal against Santner turned down. It pitched outside leg and Australia have no reviews left anyway. He ends the over well, though, with only four from the last five balls.
42nd over New Zealand 306-6 (Neesham 15, Santner 10) Zampa almost gets through his penultimate over unscathed, only for Santner to late cut the last delivery for four. New Zealand desperately needed that.
41st over New Zealand 296-6 (Neesham 14, Santner 1) Neesham gets lucky, slicing Cummins over the cordon for a couple. This is surely done now: New Zealand need 93 from 45 balls with only three wickets remaining (Lockie Ferguson won’t bat because of injury).
It was clever bowling from Cummins, a wide slower ball that Ravindra tried to drive over wide long-off. He didn’t quite get hold of it and Labuschagne steadied himself to take the catch.
Ravindra drags himself from the field, barely cognisant of the standing ovation he is receiving. He played the most charming, skilful and intelligent innings: 116 from 89 balls with nine fours and five sixes. And that was after having no rhythm for the first 30 balls. To see a kid play an innings like that almost brings a lump to the throat.
WICKET! New Zealand 293-6 (Ravindra c Labuschagne b Cummins 116)Pat Cummins has made what will surely be a match-winning breakthrough!
40th over New Zealand 292-5 (Ravindra 116, Neesham 11) Hazlewood is fractionally full to Ravindra – fractionally full – and is driven exquisitely past mid-off for four. There’s an eerie calmness to Ravindra’s batting. He simply doesn’t have a clue that New Zealand could be about to obliterate the record for the World Cup’s biggest runcahse. They need 97 off 60 balls.
“Could we have another of these?” says Gary Naylor. “Take a look at win percentage to the right of the scorecard.”
39th over New Zealand 283-5 (Ravindra 111, Neesham 9) Jimmy Neesham joins the party, lifting Maxlwell over midwicket for six. That was superbly timed. Ten from the over, so New Zealand need 106 from the last 11.
38th over New Zealand 273-5 (Ravindra 108, Neesham 2) Hazlewood returns and is immediately pulled round the corner for four by Ravindra. Imagine what his father, who named him after Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, is experiencing right now. His soul must be signing in G major.
Four singles complete a decent over for New Zealand, who are hanging in there – and keeping the run rate in single figures.
37th over New Zealand 265-5 (Ravindra 102, Neesham 0) That was the last ball of an extremely eventful over. New Zealand need 124 from 78 balls.
WICKET! New Zealand 265-5 (Phillips c Labuschagne b Maxwell 12)Ravindra survived but now Phillips has gone! He tried to launch Maxwell into outer space and mistimed it horribly. Labuschagne backpedalled at mid-off to take a cool catch. It’s Ravindra or bust for New Zealand.
A tale of two Glenn’s. Photograph: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images36.2 overs New Zealand 263-4 (Ravindra 100, Phillips 11) Ravindra is dropped by Maxwell! The ball after reaching his hundred he spooned the ball back towards the bowler – but somehow it went straight through Maxwell’s hands. It was almost like he couldn’t believe Ravindra played such a tame stroke.
RACHIN RAVINDRA MIGHT BE A GENIUS!36.1 overs: New Zealand 262-4 (Ravindra 94, Phillips 11) Ravindra reaches a glorious 77-ball hundred with a monstrous slog sweep for six off Maxwell. I swear, my whole body is shivering. Nothing in sport stirs the soul like the emergence of a great young talent, and this has been an astonishing innings from the breakout star of this World Cup. He was 24 not out from 31 balls, in danger of playing a match-losing innings, but he held his nerve and trusted his talent. With talent like that, why wouldn’t you: he has hit 76 off the last 46 balls.
36th over: New Zealand 256-4 (Ravindra 94, Phillips 11) Phillips pulls Zampa through the legs of Hazlewood at short fine leg for four. That might be a costly misfield.
A single brings Ravindra on strike, and he clubs a flat six back over Zampa’s head. This kid is wonderful.
“With the fall of every ‘important’ wicket, like you Rob, I feel the game is done and dusted,” says Dean Kinsella. “But this Kiwi team just keep coming.”
I can’t believe how well Ravindra has played. The strokeplay isn’t especially surprising but the ability to stay patient under this pressure, when he barely middled anything for the first 30 balls, is not normal for a 23-year-old.
35th over: New Zealand 244-4 (Ravindra 87, Phillips 6) Inglis appeals/celebrates a caught behind when Ravindra misses a pull shot. Australia have no reviews left, but it missed the outside edge anyway. It’s a good over from Cummins regardless, four from it. The required rate is about to go into double figures for the first time.
34th over: New Zealand 240-4 (Ravindra 85, Phillips 4) New Zealand know Zampa is the dangerman. Even with the required rate above nine, they’re happy enough to take him for four singles. They need 149 from 96 balls, and a kid most of us hadn’t heard of six weeks ago is the key to everything.
33rd over: New Zealand 236-4 (Ravindra 83, Phillips 2) In Cummins’ first spell, Ravindra was struggling to lay bat on ball. That was then and this is now. He picks Cummins’ slower ball and drives it elegantly over wide mid-off for six, because that’s what you do when you’re 23 years old and the timing of your strokeplay verges on the otherworldly. A cracking back cut for four takes Ravindra to 83 from 67 balls; he’s scored 59 off the last 36.
“Amen, Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “Everyone should watch The Bear, not just because it’s an utterly brilliant piece of claustrophobic drama (my god, the family Christmas, shudder), but that its soundtrack is almost faultless. It leans on New York bands (and has the temerity to play the mighty LCD Soundsystem, the late Gen Xers Talking Heads, in the background!) but it’s a celebration of music as narrative.
“When they play Let Down I had to take a few deep breaths. Modern TV has managed to take classic cinema’s best examples and apply them across hours of viewing. Like watching Jimmy bowl on a green top, we’re lucky to live in this era.”
Amen to that. It even introduced me to the sound of a tension headache.
32nd over: New Zealand 224-4 (Ravindra 72, Phillips 1) Zampa is now the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup with 15.
“Good afternoon Rob,” says Krishnamoorthy V. “What would your words of comfort be to a Man United fan who also follows cricket for tomorrow.”
Erm, there’s a new series about John Gotti on Netflix?
WICKET! New Zealand 222-4 (Latham c Hazlewood b Zampa 21)Adam Zampa’s timing is impeccable. For the umpteenth time he has taken a vital wicket at a crucial time. Tom Latham tried to reverse sweep his second ball but top-edged it straight to Hazlewood at short third.
New Zealand’s captain Tom Latham trudges off after losing his wicket. Photograph: Ashwini Bhatia/AP31st over: New Zealand 221-3 (Ravindra 70, Latham 21) Hello! The first ball of Mitchell Marsh’s second spell is pulled thrillingly into the crowd by Ravindra. “This is a quality player we’re seeing here,” says Ricky Ponting on commentary.
He almost falls later in the over, dragging the ball just past off stump, but he’s earned a stroke of luck with his batting in the last half an hour or so.
Latham completes an excellent over for New Zealand – 13 from it – with a lovely straight drive for four. That also brings up the fifty partnership from 44 balls. I thought Australia were safe when Mitchell was dismissed but it’s in the balance now.
30th over: New Zealand 208-3 (Ravindra 62, Latham 16) Ravindra pumps Starc over mid-on for four more. Two wides make it seven in the innings for Starc, who is having a tough night. His figures are 6-0-56-0.
And so to the last 20 overs. New Zealand need 181 from 120 balls.
29th over: New Zealand 198-3 (Ravindra 57, Latham 13) Latham gets his first boundary from his 14th delivery, dragging Maxwell round the corner. Then Ravindra steers a gorgeous late cut betwen backward point and short third for four more.
At one stage Ravindra was struggling on 24 not out from 31 balls. But he held his nerve and since then he has stroked 33 from 22. When a load of nerds do a retro 2023 World Cup draft in 20 years’ time, Ravindra will be a plum pick.
28th over: New Zealand 187-3 (Ravindra 52, Latham 7) Rachin Ravindra pulls Starc for six to reach an increasingly fluent 49-ball fifty. His early struggles make this innings even more impressive; it would have been so easy, as a young batter facing the big bad wolf for the first time, to slog one up in the air and get it over with.
“You should also know that Sky Arts regularly features Pink Floyd concerts from across the years, along with entries in the Classic Albums series,” writes John Starbuck. “Atom Heart Mother, by the way, was the principal soundtrack for the film Pink Floyd At Pompeii. Roger Waters’ version of The Wall is notable for actually building a wall, then dismantling it, during performance, including at Berlin, while their gig in Venice was notorious for going badly wrong.”
Rachin Ravindra sweeps on his way to 50 of 49 balls. Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images27th over: New Zealand 177-3 (Ravindra 45, Latham 4) In the context of such a high-scoring game, Maxwell’s figures are outstanding: 7-0-32-0. The required rate has leapt to 9.22 per over. It feels like we’re done here.
“The only band my wife and I and our three adult kids all like is Radiohead,” says Dean Kinsella. “We got tickets to go see them a few years ago in Dublin. Everyone was excited. Then I heard about Thom’s man bun…. No, sorry, I mean their breaking of the cultural boycott against Israel. I took the tickets to Dublin and sold them at face value. My family are left-leaning enough but I’ve never truly been forgiven for my executive decision making.”
Latham is not out Yep, outside the line. Australia have wasted both their reviews.
Australia review against Latham! Maxwell has an LBW appeal turned down when Latham misses a flick to leg. It looked very close but Latham was so far down the track that I suspect he’ll get away with it. Might have been outside the line too.
26th over: New Zealand 175-3 (Ravindra 44, Latham 3) It does feel like New Zealand have a bit of a mental block against Australia. They’ve won only three of their 11 meetings at ODI World Cups, and two of those victories counted for little because Australia went on to win the tournament.
Then again, New Zealand effectively knocked Australia out of the T20 World Cup last year, so who knows.
25th over: New Zealand 171-3 (Ravindra 42, Latham 1) Maxwell replaces Marsh, whose single over allowed Zampa to change ends. Just three from the over; the net is closing around New Zealand.
“Just listen to who inspired Radiohead,” says Chris Copping, “and put Spirit of Eden on by Talk Talk.”
He’s another one whose back catalogue I need to explore.
24th over: New Zealand 168-3 (Ravindra 40, Latham 0) Earlier in that Zampa over, Ravindra lashed successive boundaries over mid-off. He’s looking more confident now, though the wicket of Mitchell feels like a decisive blow.
Zampa, incidentally, changed ends rather than being taken out of the attack.
“Meddle,” says David O’Keeffe. “I started with this having seen the video for ‘One of These Days’ on OGWT. Perfect album. Then DSOM then WYWH. Good period in music.”
GPIM?
WICKET! New Zealand 168-3 (Mitchell c Starc b Zampa 54)Game, set and match Australia (probably). Mitchell charged Zampa and launched the ball down the ground. He turned on his heels straight away, knowing he hadn’t middled it, and Mitchell Starc took an easy catch at long on.
Mitchell played with style and authority to make 54 from 51 balls, but his departure puts New Zealand in big trouble.
Adam Zampa and Josh Inglis high-five after Daryl Mitchell holed out in the deep. Photograph: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images23rd over: New Zealand 157-2 (Ravindra 31, Mitchell 54) Mitchell Marsh replaces Adam Zampa, whose three-over spell went for 22. Australia want to keep as many of his overs as possible for the business end. Marsh’s first over is a good one – four singles and a wide. The required rate is now above 8.5, and Australia have the game under control. I think.
“Wish You Were Here is also one of the very few albums (by anyone) to soundtrack an aerial display by two Tiger Moth (I think) aircraft,” says John Starbuck. “In the 1980s there was an act doing this at various fairs across the country.”
I didn’t have David Gower down as a Pink Floyd fan. On that Tiger Moth incident, I love a quote from Gower about the tour manager (I think) Peter Lush. Gower had buggered off for dinner, knowing he was in trouble, and when he returned to his hotel room there were a load of notes that had been shoved under the door by Lush. Gower said, “You could see the mounting fury in his handwriting.”
22nd over: New Zealand 154-2 (Ravindra 29, Mitchell 52) Mitchell reaches a 42-ball fifty in style, smoking Starc past extra cover for four. This is a world-class cricketer we’re watching, and Australia won’t feel comfortable until he’s gone.
“As a 53-year-old man, Radiohead is my Radiohead,” says Pete Salmon. “Can I just suggest to these naysayers that all they need to do is get a time machine and go back to 1997, take a substance where you get the rush at about the 20-minute mark, and listen to OK Computer – ait for that bit where Let Down looks like it’s finished BUT IT HASN’T. The rest is easy.
“On another note I met Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd once. I managed to say ‘You’re Dave Gilmour’. He said ‘Yes I am’ and we went our separate ways.”
Have you watched The Bear? I was euphoria on legs when Let Down kicked in.
21st over: New Zealand 149-2 (Ravindra 29, Mitchell 47) Ravindra skids back to back cut Zampa classily for four. That’s his first boundary in nine overs and the best shot he’s played today, so maybe it will get him going.
“Whilst admittedly not a big fan of Pink Floyd, Rob, I have to politely disagree with John Starbuck. Wish You Were Here is their best album. Period. Coincidentally released in 1975, just after the inaugural cricket World Cup. I’ll play it tomorrow after the England v India match, and weep.”
I hope it’s shorter – and more purposeful – than Sunil Gavaskar’s infamous innings in that tournament.
20th over: New Zealand 142-2 (Ravindra 24, Mitchell 45) Daryl Mitchell is a serious cricketer. He greets the return of Mitchell Starc with successive, emphatic boundaries, crashed past mid-off and then back over Starc’s head.
This is an expensive return for Starc. Two wides are followed gy a pull for two by Ravindra, which makes it 13 from the over. While Mitchell is there, New Zealand have hope. They need 247 from 30 overs.
“Everyone seems to forget Atom Heart Mother, the one about the cow getting hit by a train – superb,” writes Andrew Collins. “And Meddle, two great early Floyd albums…”
Thanks everyone, my playlist for next week is sorted. Or until 10.12am on Monday, if it turns out I can’t stand them.
19th over: New Zealand 129-2 (Ravindra 22, Mitchell 36) Zampa’s second over is much tighter, with just four singles from it. Ravindra hacked an impatient slog sweep but it didn’t beat deep square leg. He has 22 from 29 balls, Mitchell 36 from 31.
“Prompted by Nick Parish, can I opine that regardless of the dubious political leanings of one of its cast, the prospect of Frasier without Niles would be like reforming the Beatles without John,” says Brian Withington. “I’m still coming to terms with the idea of Jimmy bowling without Stuart, so forgive me for not rushing to embrace this one.”
18th over: New Zealand 125-2 (Ravindra 20, Mitchell 34) A let-off for Ravindra, who hooks Cummins just short of Zampa at fine leg. He’s really struggling against Cummins, with four four runs from nine balls now, and it’s hurting New Zealand.
“With just five tracks,” says Vibhanshu Bisht, “I would think Wish You Were Here is the easiest Pink Floyd album to start with.”
But how long are those tracks? I’ve heard the rumours. I’ve done the work.
17th over: New Zealand 120-2 (Ravindra 18, Mitchell 32) Adam Zampa replaces Maxwell. New Zealand would love to sit on him at five an over, but that’s not an option today. After three dot balls, Mitchell gloves an attempted sweep round the corner for four – and it’s a good thing he did because he would have been plumb.
If that was scruffy, Mitchell’s next shot was magnificent. He ran down the track and carted Zampa back over his head for a big six. That’s drinks.
“The Wall of course!” says Krishnamoorthy V. “(You should follow up with the excellent film by Bob Geldof too). You can later try The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. Are you back in the evening for the clasico?”
Thankfully not. Taha Hashim is covering it as part of the usual Saturday clockwatch.
16th over: New Zealand 109-2 (Ravindra 18, Mitchell 21) Ravindra is beaten by a bit of extra bounce from Cummins, drives a cutter just wide of short extra cover and then plays and misses at another slower ball. A superb over from Cummins, just two from it.
Ravindra is nowhere near his fluent best, and his scoring rate is starting to put pressure on Mitchell. In normal circumstances 18 not out from 23 balls would be fine; a target of 389 is not normal.
“My selection would be 1) Dark Side of the Moon; 2) Wish You Were Here; 3) Obscured By Clouds; 4) Saucerful of Secrets and 5) The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, if only to discover how it all got going. Animals and The Wall are less favoured, while the more recent ones such as The Division Bell and Endless River are OK but not great,” says John Starbuck. “One thing which favoured them was the engineering, which was so good people bought these LPs to test their sound systems, just as Quad was coming in during the 1970s.”
15th over: New Zealand 107-2 (Ravindra 16, Mitchell 21) Ravindra slices Maxwell just short of Head at short third. The ball spins past him for a couple of bonus runs. Maxwell is doing a fine job here: 5-0-27-0.
“You should listen to the first Pink Floyd album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), the only one with Syd Barrett,” says Martin Crookall. “Then pretend the band never released anything after that. Of course, if you’d rather be bored to tears…”
Daryl Mitchell gets one away as New Zealand seek to bounce back after losing both openers. Photograph: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images14th over: New Zealand 101-2 (Ravindra 12, Mitchell 19) Cummins replaces Hazlewood, who bowled an important spell of 6-0-41-2. Mitchell drives pleasantly through extra cover for two, then belts Cummins back over his head for four.
I was going to say Mitchell is in glorious form but he’s been playing like this for 18 months, so maybe it’s just his level.