Cricket: Moises Henriques smashes 150, Test spinner Nathan Lyon begins preparation for red-ball summer
After Moises Henriques pounded out 150, Test spinner Nathan Lyon began his preparation for the red-ball summer, wearing sunglasses too.
Australia’s Test preparation stepped up in steady fashion in Adelaide as Mitchell Starc had a long bowl in the nets, Tim Paine batted for more than an hour against South Australia, and Nathan Lyon had his first red-ball spell since early March.
It came after Moises Henriques fanned his faint hopes of a Test recall by converting his century against West Australia into a daddy hundred as NSW took hold of the clash with Western Australia.
Lyon bowled away the cobwebs to finish with 0-35 from 12 overs. Spinners prospered last week on the wearing Adelaide wickets, so Australia’s Test off-spinner will be relishing days three and four at Park 25 No 1.
His NSW team is bossing the game as, led by Henriques, the reigning Shield champions piled up the runs while the Adelaide sun flattened the Park 25 track into a plum batting wicket.
Henriques’ 167, his 11th first-class century, came in 276 balls and included 20 fours and a six.
The mighty hand powered the Blues to 6-443 declared and kindled Henriques chances of adding to his tally of four Tests, all in the subcontinent.
He hardly bowls these days, so making the Test side as an all-rounder is unlikely, but the way he’s going he could be picked as a specialist batsman.
The 33-year-old shared the joint 2019/20 Sheffield Shield player of the year with Nic Maddinson so his big hundred builds on a strong formline.
To this point the pitch has been chock-full of runs and the West Australian attack which destroyed South Australia in game one was put to work for nearly a day and a half.
Even after Henriques and Daniel Solway (86) were out, the Blues continued to grind the WA bowlers into the Adelaide Parklands dust until, at last, skipper Peter Nevill invoked the mercy rule at 6-443.
Sean Abbott thumped four sixes in his unbeaten 60, adding 118 in quick time with Nevill (56 not out).
After losing Cameron Bancroft for 23, as he remains as far from the Test team as he was in sandpaper-gate exile, and Shaun Marsh for six, WA was 2-152 at stumps, with Sam Whiteman not out 81 and Cameron Green unbeaten on 31.
Century last game, only six today for Shaun Marsh.
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 20, 2020
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