Australia names Bird in Test squad

Updated December 19, 2012 08:33:18

Australia has included injured skipper Michael Clarke in a 12-man squad for the second Test against Sri Lanka starting on Boxing Day at the MCG.

Pace bowler Ben Hilfenhaus has been ruled out with a side strain after breaking down on Sunday during Sri Lanka's first innings in the first Test in Hobart.

Uncapped Tasmania paceman Jackson Bird comes into the squad while former Test number three Usman Khawaja has been placed on standby for Clarke.

Clarke, who retired hurt on 57 after injuring his right hamstring while batting on Monday, fielded at first slip on Tuesday as Australia claimed victory by 137 runs.

"It's not too bad. I'll be having plenty of treatment and I'm confident I'll be right for Boxing Day," Clarke told his post-match news conference on Tuesday night.

Australia: Michael Clarke (capt), Ed Cowan, David Warner, Phil Hughes, Shane Watson, Mike Hussey, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Jackson Bird. (Usman Khawaja on standby for Clarke).

AAP

Tags: cricket, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia, sri-lanka

First posted December 18, 2012 19:27:38

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Adelaide makes strong defence against the Thunder

By Andrew McGarry

Updated December 20, 2012 22:44:47

Adelaide Strikers have become the first Big Bash team to successfully defend a total, beating the Sydney Thunder by 51 runs at the Olympic stadium.

The Thunder needed nearly nine an over after the Strikers scored 6 for 177, but they were always struggling after star import Chris Gayle was out for just 8.

Veteran slinger Shaun Tait was the big destroyer, taking the key wickets of Mark Cosgrove (8) and Azhar Mahmood (1) to put added pressure on Gayle.

Chris Rogers tried to keep the score ticking along but when Gayle tried to take a toll on his countryman Kieron Pollard only to hole out to Johan Botha in the deep, the Thunder were 3 for 40 in the eighth over and the game was slipping away.

Cameron Boyce ( 2 for 24) dismissed Sean Abbott (14) and Rogers (23), then Cameron Borgas was run out for 4, leaving the Thunder innings in tatters at 6 for 64.

Scott Coyte (33 off 15) went down fighting, but Kane Richardson (3 for 7) fell just short of a hat-trick after dismissing Coyte and Chris Tremain in successive balls.

Tait finished with 3 for 22. The home side were all out for 126 with eight balls left.

Earlier the Thunder had taken the safe option, winning the toss and putting Adelaide into bat - all 11 previous games in this year's Big Bash had been won by the chasing team.

The Strikers recovered after some stifling early bowling to register 0 for 46 in the six-over powerplay, and went on to be 0 for 75 at half-way.

Adam Zampa broke through in the 12th over, when his leg-break zipped past Tim Ludeman (46 off 39 balls) for a stumping by Carters and Adelaide were 1 for 81.

The key to the innings was the 16th over when Nathan Reardon and opener Michael Klinger launched into Zampa for 23 runs including two fours and two sixes.

The Strikers were then given a life when Reardon was dropped over the boundary for six by Zampa off the first ball of the 17th over, but four balls later the Thunder took one of the catches of the competition.

Reardon (42 off 20) went long and straight against the breeze - the ball looked like a six, but Cameron Borgas at long-on got both hands to it in mid-air and palmed it back over the line for Coyte to take the catch.

Twenty20 specialist paceman Dirk Nannes (4 for 17) then took over with a wicked spell, dismissing Klinger (60 off 46), Theo Doropoulos (0), Pollard (16 off 7 balls) and Callum Ferguson (0).

The result means the Thunder are winless from three games, while the Strikers have won two out of their three games.

Tags: sport, cricket, twenty20, sydney-2000, nsw, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

First posted December 20, 2012 22:42:02

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Starc and Siddle deliver Australian win

By Andrew McGarry

Updated December 19, 2012 08:04:42

Six wickets in a dramatic final session have given Australia victory in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Bellerive Oval.

Pace did the damage, as first Peter Siddle and then Mitchell Starc cut through some brave Sri Lankan resistance to clinch a 137-run victory with 10.4 overs left in the day.

As it happened: First Test, Day Five

The win - Australia's first Test victory of the summer - avoided a repeat of Adelaide, where the home side failed to take enough wickets on the final day to defeat South Africa.

Australia will go into the Boxing Day Test with a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.

Starc took 5 for 63 following on from his strong performance in Perth against South Africa.

Siddle was again crucial for Australia, taking key wickets as the final day wore on, keeping Australia in with a chance of victory.

He took 4 for 50 to go with his first innings haul of 5 for 54 and was unsurprisingly named man of the match.

Siddle told Grandstand that it was a tough challenge to prise out the Sri Lankan batting on the final day.

"Any bowling effort is going to be hard, but we knew if we kept persisting, and kept bowling in the right areas that the wickets would come," he said.

"It was just like the first innings, we dug in and kept nagging away at them ... and we got the results.

"Credit to the whole bowling unit, the way we went about it and the way we built the pressure - and getting 20 wickets for the match was outstanding."

Captain Michael Clarke had nothing but praise for his team's effort after the match.

"I think the fight the bowlers showed was outstanding, I think the way the batters went about in the second innings ... that it didn't bother them that they had to sacrifice their wicket for the team and score as quickly as they could - that takes a lot of character," he said.

Asked what he said to his team before the final session, he replied: "(I said) take six wickets, please!"

"We knew it was going to take hard work on that pitch, and consistent bowling in one area, execution of our plans - so credit to the bowlers, they certainly did that today."

Clarke joined the growing Australian injury list when he retired hurt in the second innings with a hamstring injury.

Asked if he was confident he would be able to recover in time to take his place for the Boxing Day Test, he replied: "No doubt".

The Sri Lankans had begun the day at 2 for 65 facing an uphill task to secure a draw on a deteriorating wicket.

The key to survival was the two veterans, captain Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.

The pair frustrated the Australian attack for some time, taking the score to 2 for 112 before Siddle made the breakthrough, dismissing Jayawardene for 19, caught by Clarke at slip.

The big wicket was Sangakkara, and when he was trapped in front by Siddle for 63, it looked like Australia was well on its way to victory.

A rearguard action by Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews showed Sri Lanka had other ideas, however.

When Clarke threw the ball to Matthew Wade just before tea with Sri Lanka still four wickets down, it was clear the pressure was back on the home side.

Enter Siddle, who drew an edge to the keeper to remove Mathews (19), then produced an unplayable ball that swung late and stayed low to dismiss Samaraweera for 49, leaving the tourists at 6 for 218 and the tail exposed.

Then Starc took over with a brilliant spell of bowling that accounted for Prasanna Jayawardene for 21 and Nuwan Kulasekara for 9.

There was still a chance of survival for the tourists, but when Starc sent down another yorker that pitched at Rangana Herath's toes before cannoning into the stumps, it was down to the last wicket.

Siddle had one last chance to grab the last wicket and make history with the first 10-wicket Test match haul at Bellerive, but Chanaka Welegedara and Shaminda Eranga managed to negotiate his over.

It was Starc who dismissed Eranga with a short ball feathered to the keeper to kickstart the Australian celebrations.

Sri Lankan captain Jayawardene told Grandstand things had looked positive at tea before Siddle and Starc took over.

"Siddle bowled a very good spell after tea and he got rid of Samaraweera and Angelo (Mathews). From that point on it was going to be tough," he said.

"I thought throughout the Test match we fought very well.

"(I'm) a bit disappointed but at the end of the day we were behind in this Test match, trying to save (the game) after four days of cricket, not a good position to be in.

"Losing to a better side today, we need to go back to the drawing board.

"There are positives we can take from this, (Tillakaratne) Dilshan batted very well, and the bowlers did bowl well in patches - we need to be more consistent."

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

First posted December 18, 2012 19:42:38

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Scorchers storm home in the wet

Updated December 19, 2012 00:09:55

A six-ball batting onslaught has given Perth Scorchers a nine-wicket win over the Brisbane Heat in a rain-affected Big Bash game at the Gabba on Tuesday night.

The Heat had scored 4 for 109 off 13.1 overs, before storms and heavy rain forced the teams off the field.

Brisbane had been reduced to 3 for 19 in the fourth over, before an 84-run partnership between Dan Christian (37 not out off 31 balls) and Chris Lynn (51 of 29) helped the home side get back into the match.

After an extended delay, the Scorchers were faced with a target of 51 to win off 5 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis system.

It was a poor start for Perth, with only five runs coming off the first over from Kemar Roach - the West Indies import playing his first game for the Heat since arriving in Australia.

Gibbs was dropped by Nathan Hauritz off Ben Cutting in the second over, and Perth took advantage of the let-off, taking 11 runs off the over.

Gibbs (9) tried to up the rate against James Hopes, but he skied a slower ball to deep mid-wicket where he was caught by Peter Forrest, out with Perth 1 for 17.

The visitors still needed 28 off 10 balls before Nathan Coulter-Nile rescued the situation.

He smashed Christian for a four, six and another four, before launching the Heat all-rounder into the top deck of the Gabba to complete the penultimate over.

Suddenly Perth needed just eight runs off the last over from Thisara Perera.

Cutting stopped a boundary with a flying dive on the opening ball of the over, but Shaun Marsh then hit another straight six to give the Scorchers the win with four balls left.

Coulter-Nile finished 23 not out off six balls, while Marsh was 19 not out off 11 deliveries.

Tags: sport, cricket, twenty20, brisbane-4000, qld, perth-6000, wa, australia

First posted December 18, 2012 23:21:11

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Clarke in race to be fit for Boxing Day

Updated December 19, 2012 09:12:42

Australian captain Michael Clarke begins an intensive campaign to get himself fit for the Boxing Day Test after picking up a hamstring strain in the first Test victory over Sri Lanka.

Clarke suffered the twinge while batting in Australia's second innings but took his place at slip as the home side dismissed the Sri Lankans for 255 to win by 137.

As it happened: First Test, Day Five

The prolific Clarke, back on top of the ICC's Test batsman rankings, is in a race against time to prove his fitness and have the chance to better Ricky Ponting's record of 1544 Test runs in a calendar year.

The Australian skipper needs another 55 runs to equal Ponting's record, set in 2005.

"I know I'm in great hands with (team physio) Alex (Kountouris) and I know how great a physio he is," Clarke said.

"And I know how good my physio back in Sydney is that I'll be using over the next couple of days.

"Obviously my preparation will be a little bit different to the lead-up to this Test match but I've done a fair bit of batting throughout the summer so I'm confident."

Clarke said his scans were "positive" and the injury is minor but former Test number three Usman Khawaja has been placed on standby.

Missing from Australia's 12-man squad will be swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus, who has a side strain he suffered at Bellerive.

Tasmanian medium-pacer Jackson Bird, the Sheffield Shield's leading wicket-taker, has been called into the squad.

Despite only playing 17 first-class matches in Shield cricket, Bird has already amassed 87 wickets for Tasmania to thrust himself into the national spotlight.

Read the story: Australia names Bird in Boxing Day squad

Clarke said Australia was starting to heed the lessons from its 1-0 series loss to South Africa.

"There's no doubt we've learned a lot from the South Africa series," he said.

"Having the extra bowler today compared to Adelaide played a big part.

"Watto (Shane Watson) bowled 27 overs - I would have loved those overs in Adelaide."

Australia leads the three-Test series against Sri Lanka 1-0 with matches in Melbourne and Sydney to come.

Clarke has extra incentive to make the Boxing Day Test after reclaiming the number one Test batsman spot in the ICC Player Rankings.

The Australian captain entered the Hobart Test trailing Shivnarine Chanderpaul by just one point, but now leads the West Indian by nine points.

Clarke's knocks of 74 and 57 in the Hobart Test against Sri Lanka, won by Australia by 137 runs, played a part in helping him reach the top, the ICC said in a statement.

Other big gainers were Australia's Mike Hussey, England's Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell, Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan and India's Virat Kohli.

Hussey returned to the top 10 in ninth position after rising four places following his unbeaten knocks of 115 and 31 in Hobart.

Batsmen slipping down the ladder are Kevin Pietersen in 11th (down by two), Thilan Samaraweera in 17th (down by two), Mahela Jayawardena in 21st (down by four), Sachin Tendulkar in 22nd (down by three), Virender Sehwag in 25th (down by two), Cheteshwar Pujara in 26th (down by one), Shane Watson in 39th (down by three) and Prasanna Jayawardena in 52nd (down by one).

The bowlers' table was still headed by South Africa's Dale Steyn while Sri Lanka's spinner Rangana Herath dropped two places to fourth whereas Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle, who was the player of the match at Hobart for his spells of five for 54 and four for 50, was at fifth place with a best-ever 806 ratings points.

Also moving up are England's paceman James Anderson in sixth (up by one), India's spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in 20th (up by two), Nathan Lyon in 28th (up by two), Ishant Sharma in 32nd (up by one) and Chanaka Welegedara in 34th (up by five).

The bowlers to move downwards within the top 10 include Graeme Swann in seventh (down by one), Pragyan Ojha in ninth (down by four) and Ben Hilfenhaus in 10th (down by one).

AAP

Tags: cricket, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, hobart-7000, tas, sri-lanka, australia

First posted December 19, 2012 09:05:17

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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

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Warne picked to front road safety campaign

Updated December 20, 2012 16:16:18

Victoria's road safety body is defending its decision to use cricketer Shane Warne - who was involved in a road rage incident with a cyclist in Melbourne earlier this year - in a safe driving campaign.

The prolific tweeter has been picked to front a new social media campaign for Victoria's Transport Accident Commission (TAC).

But it seems the road safety body overlooked the fact Warne was allegedly involved in a skirmish with a cyclist in Melbourne last January. 

Cyclist Mathew Hollingsworth claimed the cricketer bumped him with his Mercedes, almost forcing his leg and bike wheel under the car, causing more than $1,500 damage to his bike.

Warne denied the claim and said the cyclist had hit his car, thumped the bonnet and been abusive.

He told reporters he had nothing against cyclists but some of them think they own the road.

What do you think of the commission picking Shane Warne? Have your say

David Lee, from the Amy Gillett Foundation, campaigns for the reduction of deaths and injuries among cyclists.

"Those comments back in January from Shane only inflame the situation and we believe don’t actually go any way to making the road a safer place for everybody," he said.

"We'd like to think that, in the passing of time, Shane has come to understand [and] acknowledge that a little more.

"We'd be keen to hear his further thoughts about his attitude with regards to bike riders sharing the road with motorists."

The TAC has not addressed the issue of Warne's appointment, except to say that the TAC has a partnership with two T20 Big Bash teams, including Warne's Melbourne Stars, to engage young men in a road safety message throughout the cricket season.

The TAC says it believes everyone should be a road safety ambassador and show respect for all road users.

Mr Lee is supporting that message.

"They’re trying to get to a young age demographic, mainly of males 18 to 30, and certainly Shane has an ability to connect with that audience," he said.

"So if it means that young people take notice of the message, then we’re certainly really supportive of that.

"And hopefully Shane is also keen to support the fact that it's important that all road users get home, not just motorists."

Warne's management company did not respond to AM's request for comment.

Tags: road, cricket, melbourne-3000, australia, vic

First posted December 20, 2012 08:09:15

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