Harris Included In 12-Man Australia Squad For 2nd Test

Melbourne, Dec 30: Swing bowler Ryan Harris was today included in Australia’s 12-man squad for the second cricket Test against India starting on January 3 in Sydney, while the eleven who played in the opening match here retained their places.

Pacer Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Daniel Christian were left out from the 13-man squad for the opening Test which Australia won by 122 runs at the MCG.

The 32-year-old Harris from New South Wales has picked up 35 wickets from eight Tests at 21.37 average before a hip injury during the Cape Town Test against South Africa last month put him on a rehabilitation programme.

“Harris has been included in the eleven that played the first Test in Melbourne. Ryan has had carefully monitored preparation, which has gone to plan,” said national selector John Inverarity.

Apparently skipper Michael Clarke is a great admirer of Harris’ quality seam and swing bowling. The quick bowler was extremely successful in Sri Lanka and South Africa before he suffered a hip injury in Cape Town.

The much-vaunted Indian batting line-up’s failure in the first Test -- 282 and 169 in the two innings—could mean Australia opting for an all-pace attack at the SCG, a prospect captain Clarke had hinted after winning the first Test.

As expected, Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey keep their places and so does wicketkeeper Brad Haddin despite his failure in the two innings of the first Test.

All-rounder Shane Watson continues to be sidelined as he has not fully recovered from his calf injury.

“Shane has not fully recovered from his right calf injury and is therefore not available for Sydney Test,” Australian team physio Alex Kountouris said.

“He will continue his rehabilitation and hopefully be available for one of the remaining Test matches.”

Sri Lanka Grabs Breakthrough Win In South Africa

Durban, Dec 29: Rangana Herath took 5-79 as Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 208 runs in the second test Thursday for a breakthrough win in the country.

Spinner Herath wrapped up Sri Lanka's first ever test victory in South Africa late on day four as the Proteas slumped to 241 all out, well short of their victory target of 450.

Herath broke a stubborn 99-run stand between A.B. de Villiers (69) and Dale Steyn (43) and then removed Steyn and Marchant de Lange in three balls to wrap up a series-leveling victory for the tourists with a day to spare.

Herath had De Villiers lbw after his battling partnership with Steyn delayed Sri Lanka's march to victory and lifted South Africa from 133-6 in its second innings.

Sri Lanka also ended a run of 15 tests without a win.

Australia Defeat India By 122 Runs In First Test

Melbourne, Australia, Dec 29: Peter Siddle claimed three wickets, including the prize scalp of Sachin Tendulkar for the second time, as Australia beat India by 122 runs before stumps on the fourth day of the first test.

Set the imposing victory target of 292, India could manage just 169 as its top order offered little resistance in the face of a formidable Australian pace attack.

Man of the match James Pattinson led the attack with 4-53, while Ben Hilfenhaus, who completed his first test five-wicket haul in the first innings, had 2-39.

Tendulkar, who top scored for India with just 32, was denied yet another chance to claim cricket’s first ever 100th international century.

Australia’s fast bowlers worked in harmony throughout most of the afternoon, applying constant pressure rewarded by regular wickets.

“I’ve got to give full credit to our bowlers,” Australia captain Michael Clarke said. “We all know how dangerous India’s batting lineup is and for our bowlewrs to be able to restrict them in both innings, full credit to them.”

Hilfenhaus made an early breakthrough before lunch when Virender Sehwag was caught by Hussey for 7 and Siddle (3-42) removed Gautam Gambhir caught by Ricky Ponting in the slips for 13 in his first over of the afternoon session.

Pattinson bowled first-innings danger man Rahul Dravid for 10, then had V.V.S. Laxman, traditionally a big scorer on Australian wickets, caught by Ed Cowan for 1 after making 2 in the first innings.

Virat Kohli was out first ball, trapped lbw by Hilfenhaus.

Tendulkar showed his intent from the first ball, driving for three runs after the crowd of more than 20,000 rose to cheer him to the crease in what is almost certainly his last test innings at the MCG. They rose again as he walked from the field with India at 81-6.

Out for 73 to Siddle in the first innings, Tendulkar batted assuredly before offering a thick edge to Hussey in the gully. The batting great has been stuck on 99 centuries since March and will next attempt to reach the 100th century milestone in the second test at Sydney next week.

Ravichandran Ashwin made a quickfire 30 runs off 35 balls before popping up a Siddle ball to give Cowan a simple catch shortly after tea.

Zaheer Khan drove Pattinson for a boundary to backward point before smashing a six over long on, only to give Cowan his third catch of the innings at short leg off the next ball.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (23) played the ball onto his stumps off Pattinson’s next over to leave tailenders Ishant Sharma (6) and Umesh Yadav (21) to bat out the innings. Yadav was the last man out, caught on the boundary by David Warner off spin bowler Nathan Lyon.

Earlier, Pattinson (37) and Hilfenhaus (14) shared a defiant 43-run partnership for the last wicket to frustrate the Indian bowlers.

Hilfenhaus sent an outside edge to Laxman off an Ishant Sharma ball to end Australia’s second innings on 240.

Zaheer Khan claimed the breakthrough wicket of Australian top-scorer Hussey, who made 89 with nine boundaries before offering an outside edge to wicketkeeper Dhoni.

Hussey and Ponting made an innings-saving 115-run partnership Wednesday after Australia’s top-order collapsed into disarray at 27-4.

Former captain Ponting was Australia’s most consistent batsman in the test, with innings of 62 and 60, including a first-innings partnership of 113-runs with new test opener Ed Cowan, who topped the first innings with a watchful 68.

Australian Fans Should Lower Their Expectations : Barry Richards

Melbourne, Dec 15: As Australia gear up to take on India in a gruelling four-Test battle, South African batting great Barry Richards said fans Down Under should “lower their expectations” from the home team which is in transition.

“Australia’s come right back to the pack. Fans are just going to have to lower their expectations of what their team is capable of.

That’s taking a bit of time, isn’t it?” Richards was quoted as saying by ‘The Age’

India and Australia will play a four-Test series starting December 26 and given the home team’s struggles, the visitors have got a good chance of upstaging them.

Asked to comment on the future of out-of-form senior batsmen Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey, Richards said, “If someone is there to take their place, they should go. And therein lays the problem.”

Speaking on the overall state of the game, Richards criticised the Twenty20 format, saying it is too commercial a format.

“The size of the fields, the pitches and the power of the bats are so different from what we know as cricket that they should actually invent another name for it,” Richards said.

“It’s so commercially driven in batsmen’s favour that Stevie Wonder could go out and hit 50.”

“It’s not just Australia, it’s everywhere in the world, where you have cricket people wanting to defend the interests of the national team against commercial and marketing people who may not be very familiar with cricket but have a job to bring it to the people and maximise its commercial potential,” Richards added.

The South African said Twenty20 is good for an “independent contractor.”

“Someone like Chris Gayle is not wanting to be tied to the West Indies for 12 months. He’ll play for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash, then go to play for the Dolphins in South Africa, the IPL and somewhere in the UK, too, and he’ll virtually negotiate match by match who he’s playing for.

“Because the money’s so good -- who can knock back $700,000-$800,000 for sitting on the bench in the IPL and not having to hit or bowl a ball? -- we’re going to see a lot more of these players. If we eventually see two IPL competitions a year, for the guys playing in that why would they bother with representing their country?” he asked.

Indian Team Arrives In Australia

Melbourne, Dec 14: The remaining members of the Indian cricket team, led by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, today arrived in Australia for the gruelling Test series starting later this month.

The players, including Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Zaheer Khan and coach Duncan Fletcher left Chennai for Australia yesterday.

As soon as they landed in Melbourne, the team left for Canberra on a bus.

India are scheduled to play two warm-up matches against Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra— first on December 15-16 and the second a three-day game from December 19 to 21.

“Different vibe in Australia. Lovin it though! Off to Canberra 3 hour drive. Not good after 13 hours of travelling,” tweeted Kohli.

The batsman even posted a rather tired-looking picture of himself on his account. “ On the way to Canberra!!! Sleepy as you can see,” he wrote.

Seven members of the Indian squad—Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha and Pragyan Ojha—are already in Australia in a bid to get acclimatised to the conditions ahead of the gruelling Test series which begins on December 26.

They had left India on December 8 and were training in Melbourne.

India are scheduled to play four Test matches, beginning from December 26, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, besides two Twenty20 Internationals and a triangular ODI series involving Sri Lanka.

The remaining Test matches are going to be held in Sydney (Jan 3-Jan 7), Perth (Jan 13-Jan 17) and Adelaide (Jan 24 to Jan 28).

Australian Keeper Tim Paine Out For 4 Months

Melbourne, Dec 14: In yet another setback for an Australian test squad depleted by injuries, backup wicketkeeper Tim Paine is expected to be sidelined for a further four months after surgery on his finger.

The 27-year-old Paine has not played any first-class cricket for Tasmania this season after re-injuring his right index finger during a warmup match.

Cricket Australia doctor Trefor James on Wednesday said Paine's recovery had been slower than anticipated.

"It is clear that the fracture has not healed as expected and the best course of action is for Tim to undergo further surgery," James said.

Paine, who has played four tests, was to undergo surgery later Wednesday.

Australia starts a four-test series against top-ranked India at Melbourne on Dec. 26 and is in upheaval after a seven-run loss to New Zealand on Monday cast doubt over the immediate international futures of opener Phillip Hughes, No. 3 Usman Khawaja and veterans Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin.

The lack of experienced backup for Haddin takes pressure off his selection as wicketkeeper.

After winning the first test against New Zealand by nine wickets, Australia had to settle for a drawn series following the loss in Hobart on Monday. No. 8-ranked New Zealand captured its first test win on Australian soil since 1985 when Doug Bracewell inspired a batting collapse and finishing with 6-40 as Australia slumped from 159-2 to be all out for 233 chasing 241 to clinch a 2-0 series win.

Pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson is out for four months and 18-year-old fast bowler Pat Cummins isn't expected to return until late in the series against India. Allrounder Shane Watson, top-order batsman Shaun Marsh and veteran

Familiarity With Indians Won't Mean Less Intensity : Warner

New Delhi, Dec 13: The familiarity with each other following IPL stints will help Indian and Australian players understand one another better but it will not take any of the competitiveness away when the two sides clash in a Test series later this month, feels Aussie opener David Warner.

“That some of us have played in DLF Indian Premier League over the last four years will surely help the players understand one another better but I don't think that this familiarity will take the edge away when we are on the field,” Warner, who represents Delhi Daredevils in IPL, said.

“Lots of things were going on when India toured Australia the last time in 2007-08 but that is what makes cricket. Everyone likes to play very seriously and that alone should ensure that none changes the attitude on the field,” he added.

The 25-year-old, who made his battling maiden Test century and was named man-of-the-match against New Zealand at Hobart yesterday, said he was disappointed that his knock could not help Australia win the match.

“It was nice to get to the milestone of a Test hundred but it was disappointing not to be able to help Australia over the line,” said Warner after New Zealand registered seven-run victory over Australia in the second Test.

Even as wickets kept falling at the other end, Warner finished on unbeaten 123 off 170 balls with 14 boundaries.

Warner remembered the encouragement he received from his Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag and other teammates.

“Playing for Delhi Daredevils has obviously helped me as I worked with a set of world class players. I will not forget when I joined the Daredevils, Sehwag told me that I would be a better Test cricketer than a T20 player when I had not even played first-class cricket. When I asked him how he could predict that, Sehwag shared his theory of how everyone would be in the slips and I could play my shots freely,” revealed Warner.