2 weeks ago
1 Cricket fans have been left with a bitter taste in their mouths after a barrage of bouncers targeted No. 11 Australia A batsman Harry Conway late on day one.
With the SCG wicket proving to be difficult as 20 wickets fell on the first day of the tour match for 302 runs, the SCG wicket had some demons, particularly with the pink ball under lights causing headaches.
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Conway copped the brunt of the assault from the Indian bowlers and despite not displaying concussion sypmtoms on the field, he has now been ruled out for the remainder of the match after being assessed after play. He will be replaced by Mark Steketee.
He joins Will Pucovski and Cameron Green on the injury list in what has been a nightmare build up to the first Test for the Aussies.
Australia A had earlier bowled India out for 194 following a 72-run tenth wicket stand between Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
While the Indian middle order didn’t stand up to the pressures of the pink ball during the day, the Indian quicks tore through the Australia A line up with Joe Burns, Ben McDermott, Sean Abbott and Will Sutherland all getting ducks.
When Alex Carey was dismissed to make it 8/97, it was all but over for Australia A, with Mitch Swepson following nine balls later, before Conway came out for a cameo.
Conway averages just 7.83 in first-class cricket with a highest score of 31 but the Indian quicks tactics saw bouncers whizzing around Conway’s ears.
Kerry O’Keeffe said “These are the toughest yards in cricket, pink ball, after 10 o’clock at night.”
Both O’Keeffe and Brendan Julian were calling for the declaration, rather than putting the bowlers up to face the bouncers under lights at the SCG.
Navdeep Saini was letting loose at Conway have a bouncer barrage with the number 11 copping it.
Julian couldn’t believe Australia A hadn’t declared despite being 95 runs behind India.
“It’s all about just getting hit at the moment and that's why you just declare, bring them in and say, ‘alright, let’s have a crack at them’,” he said.
“There’s plenty of time to deal with that sort of stuff towards the end of this game but if you’re going to be copping that, you’d want to be dishing that out to the Indian top order, not tomorrow.”
O’Keeffe added: “Somebody could get hurt here.”
Julian also criticised Saini’s tactic of bowling short to Conway.
Australia had already seen Will Pucovski felled by a bouncer while Cameron Green copped a ball smashed back at him, glancing off his head.
While Conway fended several balls away, it was just a matter of time before he was hit, with a bouncer hitting his helmet before gestured to the Australian dressing room to get checked by the doctor.
The commentators said Conway seemed shaken up with Julian calling the Indians out.
“From India’s point of view, I don’t really see any reason why you’ve got to keep doing that,” he said referring to the bouncers.
Conway was at the nonstrikers end looking wobbly with Green’s concussion substitute Patrick Rowe clipping a ball off his pads.
The pair took a single but Conway looked for a second standing a few paces down the pitch as India whipped the bails off.
The umpires called stumps on the day but fans were quick to comment on the uncomfortable finish to the day.
Conway was seen speaking with medical staff after the innings.
Day two will start with the beginning of India’s second innings.
English (United States)