Haha yeah I agree about Hussey and Ponting and Hayden. I'm just saying I think Ponting should choose his words more carefully when he's not making many runs at all himself. But I think they should drop Johnson :P

__________________
The more you bet the more you win

December 25, 2008

ANDREW Symonds and Nathan Hauritz have been included in Australia's XI for the crucial Boxing Day Test against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Victoria paceman Peter Siddle kept his place in the team despite a moderate showing in the Perth defeat, but all-rounder Shane Watson was again overlooked with Tasmania swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus cut loose from the 13-man squad.

Symonds has been suffering from knee soreness but on Wednesday night was cleared to play. It was thought he would face a challenge from fellow Queensland all-rounder Watson with Australia short of bowling strike power.

But national selectors opted to stick with the same pace attack, choosing only to swap Jason Krejza for fellow off-spinner Hauritz.

"We have only made the one change in the side and that's Nathan Hauritz will come in for Jason Krejza,'' Australia captain Ricky Ponting said.

"Otherwise we are pretty happy with what most of the rest of the guys did in Perth.

"He (Symonds) has trained well in the last couple of days. In the last three or four days it has improved dramatically from where it was at the end of the Perth game.

"He does feel a lot better with it. He has had a number of scans. It is really now just about management through this game and then through the next (Sydney) Test match.''

Symonds didn't bowl in South Africa's second innings in Perth and will be able to bowl off-spin in Melbourne but not his medium pacers, Ponting said.

Australia trail 1-0 in the three-match series and will lose top ranking to the Proteas if the go down 3-0. They are bidding to avert a first home Test series loss since 1992-1993 against West Indies.

Ponting said Australia had considered going into the game with an all-pace attack plus part-time spin from Symonds and Michael Clarke, but decided to play Hauritz, who took four wickets in the second Test against New Zealand in Adelaide last month before making way for Krejza in Perth.

South Africa have retained the same side which won in Perth by six wickets, with vice-captain Ashwell Prince missing out again after failing to prove he has overcome a thumb injury.

Both sides trained at the MCG on Thursday before having family lunches for Christmas Day. A crowd of 70,000 is expected on Boxing Day, and fine and sunny conditions have been forecast.

Teams Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle.
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Jean-Paul Duminy, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini.

26 December, 2008

Ricky Ponting emphatically answered critics of his captaincy with a gutsy ton but his team remains in a dogfight to square the series against South Africa after the opening day of the second Test at the MCG on Friday.

After yet another failure from opener Matthew Hayden, who made eight, vice-captain Michael Clarke will be entrusted with the task of steering Australia to a total in the vicinity of 400 on Saturday when it resumes on the second morning on 6-280.

Guilty of rash dismissals in Perth, Clarke has batted with more caution this time, taking more than three and a half hours to reach 36.

While not the best of his career, Ponting's 37th Test century, and fourth at the MCG, was particularly sweet, coming after a week of intense criticism following his side's six-wicket loss in the first Test.

Given a life on 24, Ponting made the Proteas pay, delighting the 63,263 fans with an entertaining 101 off only 126 balls before being dismissed with the last ball of the second session.

Scratchy early in the face of an excellent but unrewarded spell of outswing bowling from Jacques Kallis, who made the Australian captain play and miss several times, Ponting gradually improved as his innings wore on.

His innings hit top swing during the middle session when he plundered Makhaya Ntini for three consecutive boundaries, the first one seeing him past 50.

He raced through the 90s, taking just five balls to leap from 87 to three figures, but his innings came to an end when he was caught at short leg by Hashim Amla off the bowling of Paul Harris.

Unlucky in Perth, Hayden had nobody to blame but himself this time when he attempted to drive Ntini but succeeded only to hit it straight to JP Duminy at point.

Katich, in contrast, appeared at ease in the middle and was in magnificent touch.

Batting with the assuredness lacking in his opening partner, Katich was largely untroubled by the Proteas attack.

So it came as a surprise when Katich, on 54, played on to an innocuous delivery from Steyn, who had earlier not threatened with the new ball.

With his confidence lifted, Steyn started to build some menacing pace and, with the aid of movement in the air, resembled the demon quick whose stocks have risen significantly this year.

Michael Hussey, who had no trouble playing the disappointing Morne Morkel, succumbed to his first delivery from Steyn.

Unable to withdraw his bat in time, Hussey feathered one to Mark Boucher, completing his third duck from his past five innings.

Andrew Symonds and Brad Haddin both made bright starts but could not curb their natural aggression and were both victims of outstanding slips catching.

Coming in the penultimate over of the day, Haddin's dismissal, for 40, was particularly bitter for the Australians, who had batted with tremendous application against the second new ball.

26 December, 2008

Makahya Ntini South African paceman Makahya Ntini has a habit of breaking records.

The 31-year-old, who was discovered herding cattle as a youngster in his home village of Mdingi in the Eastern Cape, is poised to leapfrog his hero Malcolm Marshall's record for most Test wickets when play resumes on day two of the second 3 Mobile Test at the MCG on Saturday.

After snaring the wicket of Matthew Hayden for the ninth time in his career, Ntini captured Brad Haddin's scalp late on the first day to draw level with the West Indian great on 376 wickets in 12th place on the all-time list.

"As a bowler if you equal your hero it makes a huge difference, and then at least it shows … that you are someone," Ntini said after the opening day's play.

"And then you become one of those heroes as well. Whoever comes behind you he has to pass your name. Those are the kinds of things you have to enjoy."

With the remainder of this Test and the third match in Sydney still to come, Ntini could move past England all-rounder Ian Botham (383) by the end of this series and set his sights on chasing Shaun Pollock (421), who is the leading South African wicket-taker of all time.

Ntini is no stranger to the headlines.

In 1998 he became the first black man to play Test cricket for his country and he was the first South African to take 10 wickets at Lord's in 2003.

Two years later, he smashed the West Indies in Trinidad in 2005 with 13-132 - the best-ever match figures by a Proteas bowler.

But controversy has never been far away. In 1999, just as his career seemed to be hitting its stride after being named in South Africa's 15-man squad for that year's World Cup, the then 22-year-old was charged and convicted of rape.

He strongly maintained his innocence and after the conviction was later overturned on appeal, Ntini returned to the national side with a renewed focus.

Now, as one of the world's leading strike bowlers, Ntini has his eyes on winning this Test and the series for South Africa, having helped reduce the hosts to 6-280 at stumps.

"We've done very well not to let them pass 300 in the first day," he said. "If you say to every team you can be in the same position as we are, you'd be very delighted."

27 December, 2008

Peter Siddle and Nathan Hauritz, Australia's two least experienced bowlers, justified selectors' faith in them on Saturday when they wrecked South Africa's middle order to turn the second Test at the MCG on its head.

The Proteas - who will resume on Sunday on 7-198, still trailing by 196 - will be forced to spend the hours leading into day three fending away demons many thought they had exorcised a week ago.

In contrast, the Australians will be buoyed after an excellent day in which their tail, led by an unbeaten 88 from Michael Clarke, again wagged to allow the home side to reach 394, and their bowlers turned in their best showing for many months.

After a torrid week in which Australia's attack was pilloried for lacking venom, Ricky Ponting's bowlers gave their critics a liberal serve of humble pie.

Leading the charge was a pair of third-gamers in Siddle and Hauritz.

Hauritz claimed two wickets, including the prized scalps of Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher, while Siddle removed the hapless Neil McKenzie and Perth centurions Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers in two high-class spells of pace bowling.

Siddle bowled with fire and, more importantly, control, finishing the day with figures of 3-24.

In what proved an inspired move by Ponting, Siddle was thrown the new ball by his captain in preference to Mitchell Johnson - Australia's best bowler in the first Test.

Encouraged by 42,814 fellow Victorians whose enthusiasm hit fever pitch later in the day, Siddle broke through in his opening over, bowling McKenzie after softening him up with several balls which fizzed off a good length.

But it was his second stint which roused his home crowd into a lather.

Relieving Johnson, who had removed Hashim Amla with the new ball for 19, Siddle delivered what could well be remembered as his coming-of-age spell.

He induced Smith, then the cornerstone of South Africa's innings, into driving a wide one and had the Proteas captain caught behind for 62 then bowled de Villiers with a ball that beat him for pace.

Not knowing he had rattled de Villiers' furniture, Siddle pleaded for an lbw only to be told by jubilant team-mates he had no need to appeal.

Hauritz, in contrast, relied on dip and subtle variation for his wickets.

He had Kallis tied down and was rewarded when the South African veteran played a false sweep shot and was caught behind with the final ball prior to tea.

Boucher was his second victim when he was beaten in the air and swept Hauritz straight to Michael Hussey at square leg.

Johnson, too, came to the party.

He ended Amla's innings with his first over of the game then bowled Morne Morkel for 21.

Dale Steyn grabbed 5-94 to be the only positive on a dismal day for the tourists.

28 December, 2008

A maiden Test century to Jean-Paul Duminy and a record-breaking ninth-wicket partnership has seen South Africa snatch the ascendancy from Australia on a remarkable third day of the second Test at the MCG.

Duminy made a chanceless 166 while Dale Steyn, gifted three reprieves, made a career-best 76 to allow South Africa to reach 459 - a total which seemed fanciful at the start of the day.

Thankfully for the home side, Matthew Hayden, fighting for his career, and Simon Katich survived a testing two-over spell prior to stumps to push Australia to 0-4, a deficit of 61.

It took Australia, missing paceman Brett Lee all day due to a foot injury, until 20 minutes prior to stumps to claim the last of four wickets it needed to end South Africa's innings.

After a comeback not dissimilar to those led by VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid in Kolkata in 2001 and Adelaide in 2003, the Proteas, who resumed on 7-198, are dreaming of a stunning victory just 24 hours after staring at a heavy defeat.

And they have second-gamer Duminy, Steyn - whose previous Test best was 33 - and some uncharacteristic poor fielding from the Australians to thank for the stunning turnaround.

Duminy had shared stands of 43 with Morne Morkel late on day two and added 67 with Paul Harris before uniting with Steyn.

The pair's epic 180-run stand was the highest ninth-wicket partnership in Tests between the two countries and the third-highest overall - only 15 short of the previous mark set by Mark Boucher and Pat Symcox in 1998.

Duminy, who last week kept the Australians at bay with a nerveless half-century on debut, was again a thorn in the side of Ricky Ponting's men.

Batting with the maturity of a veteran, Duminy, the last man out, stamped himself as a future Test star with an innings of pure class.

It was only late in his 448-minute stay when he was well into triple figures that the Australians found the edge of the 24-year-old's bat, though he momentarily lost rhythm after lunch when, with Steyn dominating strike, Nathan Hauritz kept him pinned.

But he pushed through that lull and, upon reaching the 90s, was handed a priceless five from four overthrows by the tiring Australian fieldsmen.

He recorded his century with a glorious cut shot and, after rubbing salt into the wounds by edging Mitchell Johnson for consecutive boundaries, posted his 150 with an exquisite on-drive which found the rope.

Despite batting with a maligned tail, Duminy's faith in his partners did not waver until he was joined by No.11 Makhaya Ntini, and they repaid him in spades.

Harris was the first to prosper, hitting a brisk 39 before the part-time medium pace of Michael Hussey brought his downfall.

That wicket fell at 11.12am and it was not until 4.20pm - when No.10 Steyn was eventually dismissed - that the Australians would huddle again in joy.


Steyn was spared on 32 by Ponting, who grassed a relatively simple chance at second slip from the bowling of Johnson, and a run later by Hussey, who failed to even lay a finger on a high ball after losing it in the sun.

Hauritz, the victim of the second chance, then had nobody to blame but himself when he failed to complete a return catch from Steyn on 57.

Three minutes shy of four hours at the crease, Steyn lost concentration, and his wicket, when he was bowled by Peter Siddle, the pick of Australia's bowlers with 4-81.

Duminy fell to a tired shot - caught by substitute fieldsman Shane Watson, whose bowling Ponting would dearly loved to have at his disposal - but not before adding another 28 with Ntini.

28 December, 2008

Brett Lee is unlikely to play in the Sydney Test after scans showed he is on the verge of suffering stress fractures in his left foot but may bowl again in Melbourne.

Lee, who faces four to six weeks on the sidelines, did not take the field on the third day as Australia's inexperienced attack was plundered by the Proteas' tail after pulling up sore from play on Saturday.

Scans on Saturday night showed the 32-year-old was suffering a stress reaction in the fourth metatarsal bone in his left foot, but x-rays on Sunday revealed the bone was not broken.

It is not the first time Lee has injured his left foot. He missed Australia's World Cup success in 2007 in the Caribbean after injuring his left ankle in New Zealand in February.

The injury is another setback to Lee - who has series figures of 1-200 against South Africa and has taken only 21 wickets at 45.5 since the start of Australia's ill-fated series against India.

Team physio Alex Kountouris said it was 'inevitable' that Lee would require rest, possibly as soon as after the completion of the Test in Melbourne.

"I don't think he'll be able to play the Sydney Test. We'll wait and reassess at the end of the game," he said.

"If he's got what we think he's got and it's been confirmed by scans that he's got a stress fracture brewing we're going to rest him for a period of time to get it to settle."

But Kountouris said Lee will be given every chance to bowl in the second innings.

"Short-term future is we're going to try and get him to bowl in the second innings," Kountouris said.

"We're doing everything we can to settle it down, have one good go at it at the second innings."

"He might bowl one ball, he might bowl 10 overs or 15 overs and that's what we're looking at the moment for the game."

Kountouris said there was a risk Lee, who will not be given painkillers to see out the match, could end up breaking the bone should he bowl in the second innings.

"But in some people's opinion that might be a better scenario because the bone heals better," he said.

"If you have a tiny crack it can take a long time for it to heal. That's not what we're aiming for but there is a risk of that happening. Pain will guide us to where he is."


"There was so much pain he couldn't bowl today, he wouldn't bowl if he was in the same pain the second innings."

Should Lee not be fit to bowl again in the match, Australia will be left with only three frontline bowlers to dismiss South Africa a second time and level the series.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see whether he can bowl firstly. But no doubt losing Brett Lee out of your attack will certainly have an affect on your team," said Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke.

29 December, 2008

Ricky Ponting falls agonisingly short of his second century for the match South Africa was 153 runs from becoming the first touring team in 16 years to post a series victory in Australia after the home side, with the exception of Ricky Ponting, failed to fire at the MCG on Monday.

Ponting, who fell one run short of reaching a century in each innings of a Test for a fourth time in his career, played a solo hand while his team-mates, many of whom were unable to curb their attacking instincts, wilted on the fourth day.

Dale Steyn made another heroic contribution, taking his second five-wicket haul of the game - and his 150th Test scalp - to go with his invaluable 76 as the home side was dismissed for a mediocre 247.

Chasing 183 for victory and the keys to the fortress, the Proteas were 0-30 at stumps but should have lost the wicket of Neil McKenzie, who was bowled off a no-ball from Brett Lee.

That was a cruel blow for Lee, who is nursing an injured foot.

Unless Ponting's bowlers can rouse themselves off the canvas it seems rain will be Australia's only saviour.

If Mother Nature does not intervene, Ponting's men will become the first Australian team to suffer a series defeat at home since 1992-93 when the mighty West Indies willed itself to a come-from-behind victory.

That occasion also marked the last time Australia succumbed to back-to-back Test defeats at home.

A day after surrendering control of the match to Jean-Paul Duminy and the South African tail, Australia again endured a torrid time in the middle.

Only Ponting and, to a lesser extent Mitchell Johnson, who made an unbeaten 43, managed to hold the South African bowlers at bay for any length of time.

The 19,149 fans, desperately needing something to celebrate, were stunned as Ponting was heartbreakingly denied a second century in the game by Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith.

After not even coming close to offering a chance throughout his 257-minute stay, Ponting's eyes lit up at a wide ball from Morne Morkel but he succeeded only to slice a drive to Smith at short cover.

It ended a defiant innings punctuated by fluent drives and his trademark pulls.

Unfortunately, his dismissal continued a trend of questionable get-out shots by the hosts.

Only Michael Hussey and Andrew Symonds had cause to be spared a serve from coach Tim Nielsen.

Hussey, in his first form slump in his international career, was befuddled by a brutal bouncer from Morkel but deserved to live another day.

Replays showed the ball beat his bat and gloves, instead ballooning off his helmet to the on-side where Hashim Amla pouched a dolly.

Symonds was unable to negotiate a full-pitched ball from Steyn, edging into the safe hands of Kallis at second slip.

The other frontline batsmen had only themselves to blame, all falling to poor strokes.


Hayden failed to produce the innings his fans had been hoping, caught driving for 23 in a dismissal not dissimilar to that of his first innings.

Rather than grind his way back into form like he did in the fifth Test of the 2005 Ashes series when he was last under pressure to retain his place, Hayden went down swinging.

The formula proved unsuccessful and the opener, a shadow of the batsman at the start of 2008, must surely be low on credits in the bank.

Fellow opener Simon Katich, vice-captain Michael Clarke and in-form wicketkeeper Brad Haddin also lost their wickets driving at wide deliveries.

Unlike the first innings, the tail was unable to come to the rescue, though Johnson at least offered some resistance.

.

30 December, 2008

Shane Watson's horror injury run continued on Tuesday with the all-rounder diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back that will stop him from bowling for six months.

Tipped as a chance to play in the third Test in Sydney starting next week, the news is a cruel blow for Watson who has been plagued by a series of injuries over his career.

He is expected to resume batting in four to six weeks but will be unable to bowl until the middle of next year.

"Unfortunately I got diagnosed yesterday with stress fractures in my back. It's been over the last month my workload, especially during the Sheffield Shield games I played for Queensland, really spiked in my workload so that's an unfortunate indicator that if my back gets sore it could be stress fractures and that was confirmed yesterday. It's unfortunate but it's the way things go," he told ABC Radio on Tuesday morning.

"My back has been sore for the last three weeks. I knew something wasn't exactly right when bowling in the nets and my back was really sore. Unfortunately it's part and parcel of what I'm trying to do, building up my workload and bowling overs that I wanted to but unfortunately I just went over the edge a little bit too much."

Australia is already facing the prospect of being without paceman Brett Lee for the third Test with a foot injury, while Andrew Symonds has been hampered by a knee complaint.

Watson, who is 12th man in Melbourne, said he was eyeing a return to the Australian team by the 2009 Ashes series in England.

"Definitely, yeah. That's probably our best point in time from what I've been told already," he said.

"That's definitely my goal to be able to make sure I'm up and firing before the Ashes so that's my goal as an all-rounder."

It is not the first time Watson has suffered from stress fractures in his back, with a similar injury preventing him from playing in the 2003 World Cup.

The 27-year-old made his Test debut against Pakistan in Sydney in 2005 but has played just eight matches since, scoring 257 runs at an average of 19.76 and taking 14 wickets.

"When you get injured it's never a good time because at times there can be opportunities that are just about to come," Watson said.

"It's just unfortunately the way it goes. I've been really happy with the way things have progressed over the last 10 months to a year the way my game has been able to improve."

"I'm happy with the things that have been evolving and it's just another little setback but I'm going to be really excited when I'm back bowling and back playing full pelt."

30 December, 2008

Greame Smith South Africa is just one win away from officially being the new No.1 Test nation after sending Australia plummeting to its first series loss on home soil in 16 years with a nine-wicket victory in the second Test at the MCG on Tuesday.

On a pitch showing few of the gremlins expected on a fifth day, the Proteas - led by a fluent 75 from captain Greame Smith - overhauled Australia's modest target of 183 for the loss of only one wicket.

Hashim Amla, a man not burdened by scars from previous defeats to Australia, stroked the winning runs shortly after lunch as the Proteas became the first team to breach Australia's seemingly impenetrable fortress at home since the West Indies in 1992-93.

That was also the last occasion Australia lost back-to-back Tests at home.

The days of South Africa losing to Australia from any position appear gone. So too, it seems, Australia's 13-year reign at the top of world cricket.

In the past three months, Australia has suffered series defeats abroad and at home at the hands of the second- and third-ranked nations.

Another loss in Sydney would see Ricky Ponting's side officially unseated in the world rankings.

The Proteas were never under any trouble in their run chase. In fact, they did not even flirt with danger.

Needing a flurry of wickets early on the final day to have any hope of winning, Australia did not break through until 16 minutes before lunch when Smith was trapped in front by a Nathan Hauritz arm ball.

By then, Smith had dominated a 121-run opening stand with Neil McKenzie. Australia's death rites had well and truly been read.

It was a shame for Smith, with the pinnacle well within sight, that he could not be the one hoisting the South African flag at the top of cricket's equivalent to Mount Everest.

Throughout this tour, and again in this run chase, he has shown the leadership befitting a man who was made captain of his country at the tender age of 22.

He cashed in on Australia's all-out offence, striking seven of his 10 boundaries with cuts and deflections to a vacant third man region.

It was somewhat of a surprise Smith was the first man out as the captain had been untroubled, and his partner McKenzie appeared the most vulnerable of the pair.

While unconvincing, McKenzie - who had made scores of two, 10 and zero in his three most recent innings - rolled with the punches to eke out an unbeaten 59.


He survived strong lbw shouts from Brett Lee, who was bowling despite nursing an injured foot that is likely to keep him out of the Sydney Test, and Mitchell Johnson.

Poignantly, he reached his half-century with a boundary after being missed by another out-of-form opener Matthew Hayden at first slip off Johnson's bowling.