Australia might be employing a fresh opening-bowling combination in an inexperienced attack, but Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken are not setting small goals in South Africa. The pair wants to match the efforts of immediate predecessors Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath, who is missing to look after his sick wife.Lee will lead the fast men in McGrath’s absence and he wants to embrace the role without giving up any of his speed. “I’m really looking forward to the challenge and I don’t see it as any more pressure,” he said in . “Glenn is ‘Mr Consistent’. He has the line and length to make my job easier, but I won’t be changing anything and I’ll be trying to lead from the front.”Bracken will help his junior, state and international team-mate as they try to lift a raw band of back-up options with Mick Lewis, Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson playing only 16 matches between them. “The way to keep improving is to know each other’s games better and try to get to where Glenn and Jason were as partnership bowlers,” Lee said in the . “Sometimes Glenn would go on the attack and Jason would pull it back a bit, and vice versa. Now we have to work out for this particular one-day tour how to get to know each other a lot better.”Bracken said he and Lee were complementary players. “Brett’s the sort of bowler that’s going to be attacking and at the batsman, which probably suits me a bit more than other guys because I’m trying to get the ball to swing,” he said. “If Brett’s attacking and being aggressive at one end and I’m doing the right thing at the other, it’s a good combination.”Ponting is happy for Lee to try to frighten South Africa’s batsmen, which he did on a couple of occasions in taking 15 wickets in the VB Series. “In England at different times he enjoyed it when Glenn wasn’t playing because he knew he was the guy who was the spearhead of the attack,” Ponting said in . “It’s important he remains that for us. When he’s bowling fast and swinging the ball it’s very difficult for any batsman.”We need him to keep doing that. We’ll have other guys around him that can do the tight job at the other end.”
Pakistan made a shaky start on the first day of their tour game against the Board President’s XI in Dharamsala, closing on 165 for 5 after their batsmen failed to lay a solid foundation. Afterwards, Asim Kamal blamed the bleak conditions and the state of the wicket for their slow progress.”This wicket is slow and has a low bounce and the batsman can’t play many shots easily,” said Kamal, who was Pakistan’s leading batsman on the day with an unbeaten 43. But he acknowledged the fact his team would have to be ready for such slow wickets when the Tests gets underway next week. “Looking at it [the Dharamsala wicket] all of us are ready for the slow turners for the rest of the tour.”However, Kamal agreed that when on tours players have to be ready for these kind of varied conditions. “You’ve to be prepared to face different kind of wickets and situations when on a foreign tour.”Asked about the Board President’s bowling attack he made a dismissive remark, saying: “There was nothing extraordinary about the bowlers.”Kamal is fighting for a berth in the lower-middle order with Shoaib Malik, whose bowling action is currently under scrutiny from the ICC. But, according to their coach Bob Woolmer, he has a definite chance of making into the XI solely as a batsman. Kamal, who feels he comes up trumps when under pressure, left it to the team management to decide who was the best man for the job.Meanwhile, the Board President’s team suffered a setback when their offspinner, Ramesh Powar, suffered a finger injury on his bowling hand, while attempting to take a caught-and-bowled. He was treated by the Pakistan physio and is not likely to take any further part in the game.
A scintillating 195 from Virender Sehwag propelled India to a position of strength on a riveting first day’s play at the MCG. India posted 329 for 4, though once again without any contribution from Sachin Tendulkar, whose horror run with the bat continued. Sehwag dominated the first two sessions and much of the third, putting on 141 for the first wicket with Akash Chopra and 137 for the second with Rahul Dravid, but Australia fought back strongly in the last session, taking three wickets for 33 to check India’s progress.Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman weathered a hostile spell from Brett Lee at the end of the day’s play with the second new ball, and Australia could have actually had a fifth wicket when Ganguly spooned a catch back at Lee, only for the bowler to put it down. India would be satisfied with their position at stumps, and delighted with Sehwag’s majestic effort, a contribution that went beyond anybody’s expectations.Sehwag’s innings was one utterly characteristic of him, but on a scale much larger than anything seen from him in international cricket thus far. It included, on the credit side, 25 fours and five bludgeoned sixes, and on the debit side, two hits on the helmet, a reprieve off a run-out chance in the fifth over of the day, and further escapes just before lunch when the third umpire gave him not out off a close line decision, and just after the break when Simon Katich at point put down a chance off Nathan Bracken.Sehwag made the best of his good fortune, and batted with greater patience and discipline than he had previously in the series. His batting early in the morning was watchful, and marked by a number of excellent leaves against Bracken, his tormentor of the last few months. He played the quick bowlers almost exclusively off the back foot, cutting past point or over the heads of the slips, and driving down the ground when the ball was pitched up to him. The pick of his shots was a soaring six off Stuart MacGill’s second ball of the day, played inside-out over extra cover with a free and easy swing of the bat.His fifty came right on the stroke of lunch, with a flashing cut off Lee, and by the time he brought up his hundred, powering Brad Williams through midwicket, he had hit 16 fours and a six. After getting to the landmark, he upped the tempo without doing anything excessive – by his standards – hitting another six off MacGill and clubbing Steve Waugh into the stands in the last over before tea.The Indian batsmen followed the basic rule of giving the first hour of the day to the bowlers and then imposing themselves on the opposition. They made less than 30 runs in a testing first hour after Ganguly had won the toss and elected to bat, but they were 89 for no loss by lunch, and added another 130 runs in the post-lunch session, as Sehwag ran amok against some increasingly ragged bowling. Even though they lost three wickets in the last session, they added another 110 to the score. Sehwag made more than half the runs scored in each of these sessions.The only wicket to fall in the first two sessions was that of Chopra, popping a catch off bat and pad to Katich off MacGill when just three short of a well-deserved fifty. A sentry at the gates of a city under siege could not have been more watchful than Chopra, who took the sting out of the Australian attack with his three-hour long vigil, mixing patient defence with nudges and deflections.The Australians wasted a number of chances and half-chances through the day, most notably in the fifth over of the morning with Sehwag on just 4, when Lee missed the easiest of chances to run him out at the striker’s end, with both batsmen stranded on the other half of the pitch.If Australia were still in the game at the end of the day, it was partly due to luck, but also to a crucial breakthrough made by Waugh, playing his penultimate Test on the ground where he made his debut against India in the Boxing Day Test in 1985.Waugh gave himself an extended spell after tea, but India progressed to 278 for 1, with Sehwag the cynosure of all attention as he rattled along merrily and Dravid, coming off his two splendid knocks at Adelaide, having worked his way unfussily to 49. Then, against the run of play, Dravid was suckered by Waugh into aiming a shot at a ball well outside leg stump, and chipped a catch to a fielder precisely positioned for that stroke just in front of square leg (278 for 2). Since Waugh had spent a good part of his spell bowling short balls at the two batsmen with a fielder on the square-leg boundary, Dravid possibly failed to note, and adjust his play for, the fielder coming up.Waugh wasted no time in taking himself off and bringing on Lee to attack Tendulkar. Lee’s first ball to Tendulkar was a loosener down the leg side. Trying instinctively to work it to fine leg, Tendulkar appeared to get the faintest of touches with the bat as the ball brushed his pad, and was caught down the leg side by a diving Gilchrist (286 for 3). The only Tendulkar-like stroke seen during hisbrief stay at the crease came from Sehwag, who whipped a Williams delivery to the square-leg boundary with the distinctive flourish common to him and Tendulkar.Sehwag’s response to the loss of two quick wickets was to swing the first ball of a new spell from MacGill over midwicket for six. Waugh was now prompted into bringing on the left-arm spin of Katich, bowling with several fielders on the boundary. Sehwag, on 189, lashed a full toss beyond the boundary for his fifth six, and moved to within one stroke of his double-hundred. The next ball was another full toss, and in trying to repeat the stroke, Sehwag holed out toBracken at the long-on boundary (311 for 4). It was an utterly captivating innings, the highest score ever by an Indian batsman at the MCG.Wisden Asia Cricket
England are struggling to avoid a serious batting crisis going into the first Test of their three-match National Bank series with New Zealand.Two collapses suffered against State Championship minnows Otago, their late arrivals from England all struggling for form and time in the middle, their leading batsman on the last day of their game against Otago, Marcus Trescothick, complaining of concentration problems and the prospect of no respite against a stronger Canterbury team in their next game starting on Thursday at Hagley Oval.The only point in England’s favour going into the Test has to be that New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond is still on the injured list.Trescothick admitted after today’s drawn game with Otago that he was tired after having played all of England’s one-dayers against India and New Zealand and in most of the other games on the Test section of the Indian tour.He was hopeful that he might be spared duty when Nasser Hussain returns to lead the side against Canterbury.”I find I’m not mentally switched on when I’m going out to bat.”I found that in the last two or three one-day games,” he said.It was a problem that needed to be assessed as soon as it happened to find out what was going wrong and try hard to put it right.”I’ve found it very tough to concentrate. I’ve been going out and working really hard in the nets, almost twice as hard as I normally do, trying to get it right but the mental side of it has been the problem and being able to concentrate properly,” he said.Trescothick said he had a similar problem last summer when scoring five centuries in six innings just before the first Test against Australia. He took a week off before the second Test and scored a century in the second innings so on that occasion the break had worked.It was a fact with the amount of cricket being played that this sort of thing happened.”If anything I need a bit more of a break than the constant cricket,” he said.However, his innings of 68 today in England’s second innings had been of some comfort to him as he found his batting rhythm returning and he was pleased with his shot selection.His newly-arrived team-mates from England did struggle to make an impact however and it would be tough for them to be ready in time for the Test.”Two games to warm up is all right for those who were here for the one-day games, the rest of the guys, I don’t know. Having come from England where there was no outdoor practice, it will be tough for them,” he said.While not dominating Otago, England had managed to “cover” them, he said and there had been some good opportunities for the bowlers to have a good, long bowl.”We should have batted a lot better than we did, we still came out of it OK,” he said.Leading bowler Andy Caddick did pick up seven wickets during the game and he had a good work out.”He’s still got a little bit of work to do – his rhythms were coming back the more and more he bowled. He came back right at the end bowling five overs, sometimes I’ve seen him and that’s the best time he bowls, when he is quite tired. Sort of running him into the ground almost, as he tends to get a bit more rhythm,” Trescothick said.
After winning the toss in the First Test and deciding to bat, we needed to bat well as it was a very good wicket, and a poor start would put us on the back foot straight away. In fact, we put up a very feeble batting display and 173 on a good pitch put us right behind the 8 ball. The bowlers responded well and at one stage it looked as though they might only get 50 or so ahead of us but Harbhajan Singh with bat in hand this time made a very important 66 to give India a lead of 145.We batted a little better second time around – Andrew Flower aided by brother Grant to the fore again. India needed 184 at the conclusion of our second innings, but injuries to Heath Streak (knee problem) and Henry Olanga (hamstring ) put paid to any realistic chance of us winning the game. In the end a comprehensive eight-wicket win for India was just reward.However, as the saying goes, it’s no use crying over spilt milk; we cannot dwell on the poor performance of our batsmen in the First Test, but make sure we get it right for the second one which starts on Friday. As happens very often when an innings goes wrong, there is over-analysis of technique and opposition. In this case there was none of that as we realised that we were dismissed by innocuous deliveries playing very poor shots, commonly referred to as soft dismissals.The Indians must feel very confident at this stage. They played some good cricket in patches and one thing I have noticed is that their fielding and intensity in the field has improved dramatically.It is common knowledge worldwide that when the Indians get on a roll it is very hard to stop them. It is getting to that stage now and we have to do something to combat this – watch this space.On a serious note, though this is a very important Test Match for us and probably more important for the Indians to collect their first away series win in something like 15 years. They are not going to get it without a fight and we are ready for battle!
Liverpool pair James Milner and Kostas Tsimikas have been out of the Reds’ crucial Premier League clash with Arsenal because of illness.
The Lowdown: Reds face huge game v Arsenal
Jurgen Klopp’s men face one of their biggest matches of the season on Wednesday night, making the trip to face a Gunners side who have taken control of the battle to finish fourth.
Manchester City’s 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday means that Liverpool can get to within one point of their title rivals with a win at the Emirates Stadium, although it will be no easy task.
Mohamed Salah looks set to be available for the game despite suffering a knock away to Brighton last weekend but two other players are missing for the trip to north London.
The Latest: Milner and Tsimikas ruled out
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, journalist Carl Markham confirmed that Milner and Tsimikas have been ruled out of tonight’s clash in north London.
He tweeted: “Klopp says Konate is back fit. Milner and Tsimikas are out with illness.”
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The Verdict: Milner’s experience will be a miss
While neither Milner nor Tsimikas are regular figures in this magnificent Liverpool team, they have been important squad members this season, starting seven league matches apiece.
In terms of who will be the biggest miss, the English veteran’s vast experience could have been so important in a match of such magnitude, coming on in the second half to help manage the game, especially if the Reds are winning at that point.
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The hope is that Liverpool still have enough midfield depth to alleviate that issue, both in terms of quality and nous, while Andy Robertson is clearly first-choice over Tsimikas at left-back, so the Greek might not be a devastating miss for one game.
In other news, Liverpool have been linked with a hugely exciting move for one midfielder. Read more here.
Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, is optimistic that his hamstring injury will heal in time ahead of the first Test against South Africa starting December 26.”It’s improved a lot the last couple of days,” Gayle said. “The physio has been doing a terrific job and hopefully it improve over the next couple of days. I’ve been feeling pretty good, batting in the nets, but there’s still uncertainty. We’ll assess it finally on match day. It’s coming on pretty good.”Gayle, who was named captain in Ramnaresh Sarwan’s absence, will be replaced by Dwayne Bravo if he misses out. Bravo, who, like Gayle, has never captained West Indies in a Test match, has an unbeaten record in ODIs – leading them to victory in his first three ODIs in charge against Zimbabwe.West Indies’ main area of concern is their batting, after they lost a warm-up game against South Africa A in East London inside three days. “We have to put that behind us and try and get into the right frame of mind ahead of a very important game,” Gayle said.”We know where went wrong and we know there’s a lot of work to do. We know what we’re capable of. We just have to play basic cricket and get the job done, and if we get a start, we have to capitalise on it. You can’t allow the South Africans in, because once they get an opportunity then definitely we’re going to be up against it.”John Dyson, the West Indies coach, also remained positive. “I’ve been very impressed with the professionalism and enthusiasm the players have shown in the nets,” he said. “If we can take that forward to the middle we’ll be very competitive.”Meanwhile, Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, said that he had fully recovered from a virus that ruled him out of the recent ODI series against New Zealand. “I started training about a week ago and I am feeling energised again.”South Africa go into the match at St George’s Park as strong favourites on the back of consistent performances in their recent matches. They have won three out of their four Tests this season – one against Pakistan and a brace against New Zealand, and have the likes of Dale Steyn, the right-arm fast bowler who took 20 wickets in the series against New Zealand, as well as Jacques Kallis, one of only two batsmen to score 1000 runs this calendar year, in their ranks.
A report in Jamaica’s Gleaner newspaper has suggested that visitors to the island for the World Cup face having to pay massively inflated prices for hotel rooms, with many being almost double the standard rate.A survey by the newspaper’s business section revealed variations in price of between 63 and 133% above the normal rate, something that hoteliers put down to supply and demand at an already busy time of the year.Horace Peterkin, the president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, explained that the higher costs were justified by additional expenditure needed to cope with the extra tourists expected on the island.He added said that during the initial planning for World Cup, hotels were told the matches would occur in April and May, the to the tourism sector’s summer season and the point at which its rates are generally lowest.The Jamaica Pegasus, which will be the base of match officials and other cricket personnel, has rates of US$300 per room/night, compared to the US$167 it currently charges.”The bookings were made way in advance. There are going to be four teams officials and the press,” general manager Eldon Bremmer told the Gleaner. “We are fully booked and because of who are staying here it will work out cheaper. We have not had a change in rate since last year.”
Zimbabwe’s players are preparing to go to court in a bid to extract their unpaid salaries and match fees from their cricket board, having set a deadline of January 31for the dispute to be resolved.The players, who last week ended their strike action in the hope that a softening of their stance would ease the way for a resumption of negotiations, are owed about US$200,000 in total, including vehicle and fuel allowances, and most have not been paid since last August.Now they have enlisted the services of a leading lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, and intend to take the case to the Harare High Court and pursue Zimbabwe Cricket for an index-linked sum of more than US$700,000.”I have been engaged by the players to act for them in their claims,” said Mtetwe,”but I am naturally waiting to see what happens in the next six days.”Even if the board was willing to resolve the situation, which seems unlikely, it appears that they have no funds available to do so. One of the major stumbling blocks is the exchange rate. The money owed was calculated at a rate of Zim$25,000 to the dollar, but that rate has since spiralled to Zim$85,000.Zimbabwe Cricket’s original contract offer made no allowance for index linking, but in a country with runaway inflation, that was never likely to be acceptable.The renewed militancy will be a problem for ZC as it is considering ICC-driven proposals to play in a tri-series in Bangladesh which would feature Kenya as the third side. On Tuesday, Cricket Kenya also announced that it was in talks to host three ODIs against Zimbabwe, possibly as early as next month.
Graeme Smith will be rested for the final one-day international against Zimbabwe, and Nicky Boje will be his replacement as captain. He was rested due to a persistent ankle problem. South Africa also announced a full-strength Test squad, including Jacques Kallis, who was rested from the one-day side after a busy – and prolific – season.Smith was replaced by AB de Villiers, whose 47 in four one-dayers stand in stark contrast to his burgeoning Test career, in which he has accumulated 362 runs in 10 innings. Andrew Hall was replaced by Monde Zondeki, and Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel were also left out to recuperate before the first Test, which begins on March 4. Ashwell Price was also brought into the side for the final one-dayer.Squad for third ODI Adam Bacher, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Mark Boucher (wk), Nicky Boje (capt), Albie Morkel, Charl Langeveldt, Monde Zondeki.Squad for first Test Graeme Smith (capt) Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Rudolph, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher (wk), Shaun Pollock, Nicky Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, Charl Langeveldt.