Australia to go into 'quarantine' before Boxing Day

Updated December 20, 2012 01:45:54

Australia have put their squad into 'quarantine' before next week's second Test against Sri Lanka to make absolutely certain there are no additions to their already lengthy casualty list, according to coach Mickey Arthur.

Captain Michael Clarke and pace bowler Ben Hilfenhaus were injured in the first of the three matches against the tourists, which Australia won by 137 runs in a dramatic finish at the Bellerive Oval on Tuesday.

Clarke and Arthur are confident the captain will recover from his hamstring injury for the Melbourne Test, which begins on December 26, but Tasmanian Hilfenhaus' side strain means he will miss out.

Mitchell Johnson, who should replace Hilfenhaus in the starting line-up, and Usman Khawaja, brought in as back-up for Clarke, were withdrawn from matches in the Big Bash League Twenty20 competition when they were called up to the Test squad.

"That's always going to be a conundrum for us, who do we play? Who don't we play?" Arthur told reporters.

"We feel the Test match on Boxing Day is massively important, we want to quarantine the 13 players. We're sitting with enough injuries as it is.

"We just think it's in the best interests of those 13 players to get ready for Boxing Day."

Hilfenhaus joins young quick bowlers Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and John Hazlewood in the treatment room, resulting in Tasmanian paceman Jackson Bird getting his first call-up to the Australia squad.

"All I can say is we've had a list of bowlers leading into our summer, and we're well down the list at the moment," Arthur said when Hilfenhaus was first injured.

Bird is the highest wicket-taker in Sheffield Shield cricket this season but Arthur indicated he was likely to be the fast bowler to miss out, with Michell Starc and Peter Siddle certain starters after taking five-wicket hauls in the opener.

"We've got a week to freshen up, which is important," he said. "And then to have the quality of Mitchell Johnson back. He was perhaps unfortunate to miss out here, it was touch and go whether he played or not.

"And then we get an opportunity to have a look at a new face, and that's always exciting. It brings a freshness and really looking forward to catching up with Jackson and seeing what he can offer.

"I haven't seen enough of him play ... but if he's bowling consistently at 140 (kph) then he's got huge potential."

More good news for Arthur was that his top order looked solid in Hobart with Phil Hughes returning after a year in the wilderness to hit a solid 86 in the first innings.

Clarke, the most prolific runmaker in the world this year, has been the mainstay of Australia's team but Arthur said that if he was not fit, Khawaja had earned his right to a recall.

"I don't think we would have picked him if we didn't think he was showing that continued improvement that we wanted from him," he said.

"Uzzy's done well, it's no coincidence that Phil Hughes and Usman Khawaja are one and two in the amount of Shield runs.

"They've thoroughly deserved their chance to come back after losing their place in the side here a year ago."

Australia would be facing a very different run-up to the second Test had they failed to take six wickets in the final session and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

"You really want to win close games, we thought we played really good cricket over the five days so to finally get the reward was massive for the side," Arthur said.

Reuters

Tags: sport, cricket, australia

First posted December 20, 2012 00:28:40

View the original article here

Panesar shines before Pakistan rallies

Updated January 28, 2012 08:59:29

Monty Panesar ripped through Pakistan's top order to reduce the hosts to 4 for 125 in their second innings at the close of the third day of the second Test, 55 runs ahead of England in an interestingly poised match.

Left-arm spinner Panesar, playing his first Test since 2009, dispatched opener Mohammad Hafeez (22), captain Misbah-ul-Haq (12) and Younus Khan (1) to end the day with 3 for 44 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Panesar's exploits left Pakistan struggling on 4 for 54 with England looking well-placed to avenge its 10-wicket defeat in the series opener last week.

However, batsmen Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali dug in, roared on by the team's passionate support as they put on an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 71.

"I think Monty bowled really well - the different angle has been important with their right-handed batsmen because he can trap them on the crease and get the lbws and bowled," team-mate Stuart Broad said.

"He was nervous the first day, but today he grew and grew and I think he's going to be important holding them tomorrow and then attacking later on.

"We're two (wickets) from their tail and we know with the new ball we can mop them up if we need to."

Security problems have forced Pakistan to play home matches in the Gulf, but with more than a million Pakistanis living in the United Arab Emirates the Abu Dhabi crowd was firmly behind Misbah's men.

Pakistan's raucous supporters filled the stands, the attendance swelling to an estimated 14,000 after midday prayers.

Every run brought exuberant cheers as England's bowling menace waned as the session end drew near.

Shafiq (35) and Ali (46) upped Pakistan's run rate from just 73 in the first 40 overs of the innings to 52 from the final 21 overs.

Their only real scare was when Kevin Pietersen fluffed a run-out opportunity, missing the stumps with Shafiq flailing in no-man's land as Pakistan attempted a quick single.

"We are very confident, we are fighting back into this game," Ali said.

"We lost four wickets, but we both were determined - we didn't want to give up.

"There was support for both teams - there were a lot of Pakistanis and there is English support as well, so it was a fantastic crowd."

When asked what sort of target Pakistan needed to set England, Ali said: "150 would be very good and above that would be excellent."

Earlier, Broad's unbeaten 58 helped England achieve a 70-run first innings lead.

His knock was vital after Matt Prior and Ian Bell both disappointed with the bat, England losing its final five wickets for 120.

For Pakistan, all-rounder Hafeez finished with 3 for 54 while Saeed Ajmal ended with 4 for 108.

Reuters

Tags: sport, cricket, united-arab-emirates, united-kingdom, england

First posted January 28, 2012 00:22:46

View the original article here

WACA staff invade pitch before Test

Updated January 13, 2012 14:06:04

Cricket Australia (CA) is playing down Indian media claims that protocols have been breached by officials drinking alcohol on the WACA pitch, ahead of the third Test between Australia and India.

Vision has been broadcast on Indian television of more than a dozen WACA officials standing or lying on the pitch last night.

Some of the group took the covers off the wicket and sat on the pitch drinking beer for several minutes before replacing the covers.

The ground staff were barefooted, but uncovering the pitch before play violates ICC guidelines.

Indian media claim the 'pitch party' violates the ICC's code of conduct, but a spokesman for the WACA says it is a tradition for the ground staff to toast the pitch.

He says the curator Cam Sutherland was there last night and does not believe the pitch has been affected.

A CA spokesman says the WACA has given a 100 per cent guarantee that the pitch will be good to go and the match will proceed as planned.

The umpires will inspect the pitch this morning.

Indian TV stations filmed the incident while preparing previews for Friday's crucial Test match.

India's BCCI has urged CA to investigate the issue with senior official Rajeev Shukla quoted by Indian media as saying: "It's a serious matter and the Australian cricket board should look into it.

"It is the responsibility of the host cricket board to maintain the wicket. It is their prime responsibility."

Tags: cricket, sport, perth-6000, wa, australia

First posted January 13, 2012 08:42:53

View the original article here

Sharma lifts India before more rain

Updated July 1, 2011 09:23:00

Indian paceman Ishant Sharma mopped up the West Indies tail to capture his 100th Test wicket before the fickle weather threatened the chances of a result after a rain-interrupted third day of the second Test in Barbados.

Sharma bowled superbly on a lively Kensington Oval pitch that suited the quicks to finish with career-best figures of 6 for 55, including the last two wickets in successive balls to remain on a hat-trick.

The lanky paceman took the last three wickets to restrict West Indies to 190 and give India a narrow first innings lead of 11 runs before the foul weather brought play to an early halt.

The visitors, who have never won a Test in Barbados, extended their advantage to 34 runs by the close after reaching 23 without loss in their second innings.

Abhinav Mukund was unbeaten on 8 with Murali Vijay on 3 after their innings was delayed first by a tropical storm, then bad light as the umpires called an early end to proceedings.

West Indies' Marlon Samuels, who replaced sacked vice-captain Brendan Nash, repaid the selectors' faith by scoring an unbeaten 78, only to run out of partners.

He also shared a vital sixth wicket stand of 77 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, dismissed for 37 in the penultimate over of the morning session, after the home side slumped to 5 for 57 and were in danger of falling well short of the tourists' total.

Resuming on 5 for 98, Samuels and Chanderpaul adopted a cautious approach, eliminating any risky shots as they looked for a first innings lead after West Indies lost a tight first Test in Jamaica.

They reached their 50 partnership off a painstakingly slow 136 balls but were looking more and more comfortable at the crease when Chanderpaul suddenly dragged a short-pitched ball from Abhimanyu Mithun back on to his stumps with the total on 134.

West Indies went to lunch at 6 for 138 but lost their remaining four wickets before tea with captain Darren Sammy (15) and Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards (both no score) all falling to Sharma.

-Reuters

Tags: sport, cricket, barbados, india

First posted July 1, 2011 09:00:00

View the original article here