There were tributes solemn and sentimental in Cairns on Sunday before Steve Smith dominated Australia’s batting in the third and final one-day match of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series against New Zealand.
Smith made 105 from 131 balls, ensuring Australia compiled a competitive 5-267 on another slow pitch that made scoring difficult. He had a partnership of 118 in 18 overs with Marnus Labuschagne (52 off 78 balls) as the pair respected the conditions to avoid another batting collapse.
From his first 28 balls, Smith managed to glean just five runs, meaning his last 100 came in 103.
It was his 12th one-day hundred and one of his best for the way he controlled Australia’s innings before being bowled with less than six overs remaining.
Alex Carey (42 off 43 balls) and Cameron Green (25 from 12 balls with two sixes) entertained the crowd with some late hitting. Green was back in the side after fully recovering from debilitating cramps, replacing Marcus Stoinis who has a strained side. Josh Inglis (10) replaced a resting David Warner.
Before play, both teams lined up on the boundary rope and the crowd stood for a minute’s silence to acknowledge the Queen’s passing as her portrait was shown on the scoreboard. The players took the field with black armbands.
Steve Smith’s 105 came from 131 balls in Far North Queensland.Credit:Getty
To pats on the back from teammates and a hug from former housemate Glenn Maxwell, captain Aaron Finch, walked out for the final time as an Australian one-day player to warm applause.
Then New Zealand formed a line and applauded Finch, with Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson stepping forward and shaking Finch’s hand, acknowledging the decade of strong service the opener has made to Australian white-ball cricket as a dynamic batsman and captain.
That’s where the sentimentality ended as New Zealand’s quality pace attack squeezed Finch and his teammates on another slow pitch that made scoring difficult.
After the dreadfully mistimed catch to mid-off in Thursday’s game from the second ball he faced, a more careful Finch took six balls to gather his first run, squeezing a single to mid-on from the relentless Trent Boult.
Finch then survived an lbw review from Williamson off Tim Southee which showed the ball just clearing leg stump and next over advanced to Boult, placing a nice squad drive through point for three.
But a more ambitious drive at a perfectly pitched Southee off-cutter on five resulted in shattered stumps, and it was all over. After 146 one-day matches, including 55 as captain, Finch finished with 5406 ODI runs at 39 with 17 centuries.
The crowd stood and applauded as if Finch had made a century, prompting some uncertain raisings of the bat as they cheered him all the way off the ground.
Finch’s announcement of his one-day retirement on Saturday was timely. Following a second-ball duck last Thursday, Finch has seven single-figure scores in his past eight one-day innings for a total of just 31 runs and only one half-century from 14 innings this year, including five ducks.
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