BRISBANE: England’s deaf cricket team made history by taking an uncontested 5-2 lead over Australia for the first time at the Deaf Ashes.
In game seven of the series, the England bowlers completely dominated the Australian batting line-up as they eliminated the hosts by just 129 runs, thanks to the brilliant bowling spell of the multi-talented James Schofield, who took four wickets for only 37. .
Tyson Hay retaliated against England’s strong bowling attack with his gritty 21-run strike, but following his sacking of Jake Oakes, it dampened the hopes of the hosts who were stranded at 119-8 in the 35th.
For England, Schofield led the way with four wickets, while Henry Wainman made two scalps. Oakes and Josh Price, on the other hand, managed to bag a wicket each.
In the run chase, the tour side survived an early wobble, losing Price and Joel Harris within the first two overs. But an undefeated partnership of more than a century between Schofield and Umesh Valjee closed the doors on hope for the hosts.
The pair took their side into a rebuilding phase by rotating the strike with a no-chance display before switching gears and moving towards goal on just the 22nd when Schofield hit Sean Walsh for six.
Also on the batting charts, Schofield led the way for the tour team with an undefeated half-century; scoring 63, while veteran Umesh Valjee was not left out with 45.
After the victory, Schofield expressed his joy and described the victory as a special day for the whole team, as well as his pleasure to be able to contribute to the victory of his team.
“It was a very special day, it’s great to be involved after the stress of watching so much on TV,” Schofield said.
“I am happy that I was able to contribute in the last two games.
It is [a] reward for a lot of hard work and dedication from everyone on and off the field, and people have taken responsibility on the day to see the work at home. They are a competitive team and they have given us some tough times – it has been a very good series and a great advertisement for deaf cricket,” he concluded.
Skipper Greenway was ecstatic. “I am very proud of all the players and very grateful to all the support staff who really looked after us, especially through Covid,” he said. “It is a great team effort and a great achievement for us.
Some of us are quite emotional.
“There have been a couple of mornings where I haven’t been able to eat because of nerves, but James and Umesh put us at ease today. I am very excited with how we fought through that disappointment of losing the T20 super-over to come back and dominate.”
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