Warne confident of facing Hurricanes

Updated December 14, 2012 16:28:25

The Melbourne Stars are confident captain Shane Warne will overcome hamstring soreness to lead them in Saturday night's Big Bash League clash with the Hobart Hurricanes at the MCG.

The 43-year-old felt a twinge during Wednesday night's win over the Perth Scorchers at the WACA ground and did not train with team-mates at the MCG on Friday.

"My preparation for tomorrow's game will be stretching and leg swings in the pool," Warne tweeted.

"(The) hamstring will hopefully pull up well tomorrow and be ready for our big game against the Hobart Hurricanes."

Opener Rob Quiney expected the skipper to play.

"He saw the physio and it should be right to go," Quiney told reporters after training.

Regardless, deceptive Sri Lankan quick Lasith Malinga is expected to be the biggest threat to the in-form Hurricanes batsman after his stunning 6 for 7 against the Scorchers.

Quiney hoped Malinga would get an early crack at Hobart's middle-order star pair Travis Birt and Owais Shah.

Birt was the competition's top-scorer last season and Englishman Shah fourth, with the pair again combining to steer the Hurricanes to a comfortable win over Brisbane in their opening match this season.

"It would be nice for Malinga to have a couple of overs against those two because I think those two are the key to their batting line-up," Quiney said.

The Hurricanes will welcome retired Test great Ricky Ponting into their team after he missed their opening match through illness.

Shah said Ponting would be a big asset in numerous ways but particularly to give some tips on how to handle Malinga.

"He was amazing the other night," Shah said of the Sri Lankan.

"He's a class act, but at the end of the day he's a bowler and we've just got to try and cope as well as we can against him and use our experience.

"We've got the likes of Ricky Ponting in our team now who can share some experience on how he would have played Malinga over the years that he's played.

"He's probably faced him the most out of all of us, so we're looking to Ricky."

Stars: Shane Warne (capt), Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb, Scott Henry, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Clinton McKay, Lasith Malinga, Glenn Maxwell, Rob Quiney, Cameron White, Luke Wright.

Hurricanes: George Bailey (capt), Tim Paine, Doug Bollinger, Travis Birt, Xavier Doherty, Evan Gulbis, Michael Hogan, Jason Krejza, Ben Laughlin, Ricky Ponting, Owais Shah, Scott Styris, Jon Wells.

AAP

Tags: sport, cricket, twenty20, melbourne-3000, hobart-7000

First posted December 14, 2012 16:28:25

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Hughes confident he's a new Test man

Updated December 13, 2012 10:23:58

Phil Hughes is confident his attention to detail in improving his leg-side play will pay off as he makes his return to the big time in Friday's opening Test against Sri Lanka at Bellerive.

The 24-year-old, with 17 Tests to his name, was dropped after the Hobart Test against New Zealand a year ago and has been recalled for the Sri Lankan series, with a likely role at number three instead of his usual opening gig.

Criticised in the past for poking catches to the slips cordon, the NSW product has averaged more than 50 in Sheffield Shield cricket with his new side South Australia this summer.

"It's a great feeling. I'm really excited about it," Hughes told a Hobart news conference on Tuesday.

"This is the ground where things probably didn't pan out perfectly on a personal note.

"Twelve months down the track, I feel like I'm in a better place now."

Hughes put his head down and did extra work on his batting last summer once he was removed from the Test side, turning his back on the domestic Twenty20 Big Bash League.

"I feel like I've done a lot of work," he said.

"I knew I had to make sacrifices along the way and that was definitely one, to pull out of the Twenty20 comp last year, to work on my technique and become a better player."

The pull shot is the big weapon for Hughes these days, after relying heavily on the square-drive and cut in the past.

"It is a lot different. Probably 70 to 80 per cent of my scoring options were on the off side," Hughes said.

"I feel now I've got both sides of the field covered and that's something I had to go away and work on.

"The leg-side play was something big in my mind that I had to focus on.

"I'm free-flowing now. It's easier when they do bowl straighter that I can work off my hip and off to the leg side."

AAP

Tags: cricket, sport, hobart-7000, tas, australia

First posted December 11, 2012 13:51:51

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Ireland confident of causing T20 upset

Updated September 19, 2012 15:32:21

Ireland captain William Porterfield says his side is well capable of downing a 'transitional' Australian side when their World Twenty20 clash gets underway at 8pm (AEST) tonight.

Ireland are ranked 10th in the world but Australia, runners-up in the previous tournament in 2010, have slipped to ninth themselves and were actually below the Irish earlier this month.

Ireland beat Bangladesh in a warm-up game in Colombo and is full of confidence with a balanced attack led by young spin sensation George Dockrell, 20.

To reach the knockout stages, Ireland will have to defeat either Australia or the West Indies in Group B - something Porterfield feels is not beyond his side.

"Irish cricket has been evolving for the past number of years and in the last five years we have been growing," Porterfield said.

"We want to get wins more regularly and this tournament is no different.

"We think we've got a good as chance as any (against Australia).

"We're coming up against a team that is going through a bit of transition themselves but they're a good team.

"They have a lot of lads who are game-changers especially in this format of the game, but the way we've been playing, we've prepared for this tournament and we're confident in what we can do and we're just looking after our game really."

Australia's high-profile side is led by opening batsman David Warner and Shane Watson, two of several Indian Premier League stars featured in the Aussie line-up.

The Irish in contrast have no IPL players, although they do have former Australia bowling coach Craig McDermott on their books.

"A lot of their players and a lot of their coaches are involved the IPL so that will give them a lot of experience in Twenty20 cricket in their off-season," Porterfield says.

Ireland's former NSW seamer Trent Johnston, who captained the side in their 2007 one-day World Cup upset win over Pakistan, is hoping to bring out his chicken dance again if he can claim an Aussie victim with the ball.

"We've got our plans for them but they've got quality players all the way through and we know we will have to be at our best if we are to cause an upset," the 38-year-old said.

"We're very capable of doing that."

AAP

Tags: sport, cricket, twenty20, ireland

First posted September 19, 2012 15:09:09

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Bailey confident ahead of T20 opener

Updated September 05, 2012 09:24:57

Australia Twenty20 captain George Bailey says his side will carry winning momentum into its series against Pakistan in Dubai following Australia's 2-1 victory in their one-day international clashes.

But the skipper is unsure how far that momentum will carry his side in the three-game Twenty20 series, which starts on at 2am tonight (AEST) in Dubai.

The series is an excellent warm-up for the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka starting on September 18.

Bailey said there was a great feeling in the Aussie change rooms after their three-wicket win in game three of the ODI series on Tuesday morning and it was heartening to see key members of the Twenty20 squad show some form.

"It was nice to see Davey Warner start to hit a few boundaries, David Hussey scored some runs, Glenn Maxwell performing as well as he did under pressure," Bailey told a press conference.

"Mitchell Starc is performing well.

"As well as the team performing really well and getting the victory, for those guys to perform well for us is also a real confidence-booster.

"It was particularly nice to bounce back after the loss in game two and show some real fighting spirit last night. Our T20 team will take a lot out of that.

"I'm not sure if it flows on to the Twenty20s. If we win you could probably look back and say momentum played some part."

Bailey is keen to get some game time into new arrivals Ben Hilfenhaus, Clint McKay and fellow pace bowler Pat Cummins, as well as Watson, middle-order batsman Cameron White and Brad Hogg.

Hogg's fellow frontline spinner Xavier Doherty, who was left out of the side for the one-day series, is also a likely selection.

Bailey said slow bowling would be an important factor in the World Cup and playing against Pakistan's spin-dominated attack would be good preparation for his side.

"As difficult as it is, perhaps T20 might be able to free us up a little. We'll have to be a little more aggressive," Bailey said.

Pakistan (from): Mohammad Hafeez (capt), Imran Nazir, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanveer, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hasan, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Sami.

Australia (from): George Bailey (capt), Shane Watson, Dan Christian, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Cameron White, Alistair McDermott.

Tags: sport, cricket, twenty20

First posted September 05, 2012 09:24:57

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Marsh confident of Boxing Day fitness

Updated December 22, 2011 18:40:22

A change in rehab has given top-order batsman Shaun Marsh renewed confidence he will be fit for selection in the Boxing Day Test against India at the MCG.

The Western Australian has been fighting to recover from an ongoing back injury which flared dramatically during last month's series in South Africa.

But he has been boosted by a recent change in treatment after a sluggish start in his battle to regain fitness.

"I was struggling a fair bit for the first month," Marsh said.

"Every time I tried to increase my training schedule or load I just couldn't do it.

"But I've worked hard with my people back home in Perth and we've changed a few things around in the last three weeks which have helped a lot."

Marsh said his back had improved significantly in recent weeks and was no longer troubling him following several days practising in the nets.

"It's actually pulled up fine. Probably a week-and-a-half ago it was a little bit stiff and sore still.

"I've worked very hard and I've had extended net practice.

"Obviously it's been a big build-up for me the last few weeks to try and get myself in this position.

"The last few days have been really good."

Marsh was included in Australia's 13-man squad for Monday's series opener even though he has not played for six weeks following the November tour of South Africa, where he locked up in the first Test in Cape Town.

He missed the Chairman's XI match against India in Canberra this week and was expected to be sidelined until after Christmas.

His first match will be for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League at Docklands on Thursday night against the Melbourne Renegades.

Scorchers team-mate Brad Hogg commented on Twitter that the match was not the best preparation for a Test batsman.

"Interesting, Shaun Marsh proving his fitness in a T20 for a Test match. Bit like Moneghetti doing a 100m proving himself for a marathon," Hogg posted.

Marsh said he was in excruciating pain and was barely able to move in South Africa when his back first gave in.

"It wasn't too pleasant," he said.

"The night that I did it I had Michael Beer, Michael Hussey and (physiotherapist) Alex Kountouris picking me up and taking me to the toilet.

"Every time I did move I was struggling ... I couldn't get out of bed and stuff like that.

"It was tough there for a few days and it was tough for a month for me to try and overcome it."

Marsh and all-rounder Dan Christian are vying for the spot in the Australian batting line-up which became vacant following the axing of Usman Khawaja.

Ed Cowan will replace the dumped Phil Hughes as David Warner's opening partner against India.

AAP

Tags: cricket, sport, australia

First posted December 22, 2011 13:52:38

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