Finch ton sees MCC defeat Rest of World XI
Australia's Aaron Finch upstaged India's Yuvraj Singh, as the Marylebone Cricket Club trumped the Rest of the World XI by seven wickets in Saturday's limited-overs showpiece in London.
Australia's Aaron Finch upstaged India's Yuvraj Singh, as the Marylebone Cricket Club trumped the Rest of the World XI by seven wickets in Saturday's limited-overs showpiece in London.
The fixture, which was organised to commemorate the bicentenary of Lord's, saw cricket's superstars – past and present – entertain an appreciative, near capacity crowd.
Captained by ex-Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne, the Rest of the World XI amassed a formidable total of 293 for seven on the back of Singh's outstanding 132. The fine vigil featured eight boundaries and six fours, spanning 134 deliveries.
Singh enjoyed solid support from all-rounder Paul Collingwood, as a 131-run alliance for the sixth wicket rescued the tally from a precarious 68 for five, orchestrated by Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal's early four-for.
Fast bowler Brett Lee, meanwhile, broke Warne's left hand with a very full toss. Warne was unable to bowl later, with countryman Adam Gilchrist handed the captaincy and South African veteran Shaun Pollock used as a replacement fielder.
The prestige of the occasion, too, was damaged by erstwhile Andrew Strauss' obscene remark during a television commentary stint. Strauss has since apologised for calling former England team-mate Kevin Pietersen a "c**t".
"I apologise unreservedly, particularly to Kevin. I am mortified and profusely sorry," said Strauss, whose unsavoury comment occurred during a break in Sky Sports' television coverage – but was heard by listeners abroad on an audio feed.
The MCC's reply was swift, as Finch and Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar aggressively confronted a visiting attack spearheaded by West Indian Tino Best, Aussie Peter Siddle and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan. The remainder of the bowling ranks were hardly more than part-time, as Pietersen, Yuvraj and Collingwood endured collective expense.
Finch's crusade climbed to a hefty 181 not out, with the last of six sixes ensuring triumph with all of 25 deliveries to spare. Other notable contributions – or lack thereof – saw the West Indies' Brian Lara gather 23 and India's Rahul Dravid and Pakistan's Shahid Afridi perish for ducks.
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