IND v AUS 2020: When did Moises Henriques play his last international match?
Australia were forced to make one change for the second ODI of the three-match series against India at Sydney on Sunday. All-rounder Moises Henriques was brought into the playing eleven in place of Marcus Stoinis, who missed the game owing to a niggle he picked up in the first match at the same venue.
In the build-up to the second match at Sydney, there were reports that the young Cameron Green could come in for Stoinis. While admitting at the toss that Green was indeed in consideration, Australian skipper Aaron Finch explained:
“It's about the number of overs Moises can give us.”
Moises Henriques’ first international match in three years
Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques has been around for a while. He made his international debut way back in February 2009 in a T20I against New Zealand at Sydney itself. Since then though, he has only featured in four Tests, 11 ODIs and as many T20Is for Australia.
However, do you know when was the last time Moises Henriques featured in an international match? It was more than three years back, on October 10, 2017, at Guwahati, India. It was a T20I against Australia’s same opponents on Sunday -- India.
Moises Henriques had quite a significant role to play in the match. In a tiny chase of 119, Australia found themselves in early trouble as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah combined to send back dangerous Aussie openers Aaron Finch and David Warner, respectively.
Moises Henriques, however, played a blistering knock of 62 not out from 46 balls in Australia’s impressive eight-wicket triumph. The all-rounder slammed four fours and as many sixes in his innings to stall India’s fightback. It is surprising that it has taken him three long years to feature in his next international game.
Looking specifically at ODIs, Moises Henriques featured in one in the same year, 2017. It was the 10th match of the Champions Trophy against arch-rivals England at Birmingham. Moises Henriques was dismissed for 17 from 19 by Adil Rashid. England were victorious in the match by 40 runs (D/L) method, courtesy of Ben Stokes’ unbeaten century.
While Australia were forced to bring in 33-year-old Moises Henriques for the injured Stoinis, India went in unchanged for the second ODI at Sydney, backing their combination despite being thrashed in the first game.