Hopes,
Hogg in for next ODI
PERTH,
Feb 14: After
the five-wicket loss to India in Melbourne,
Australia is looking to add more variety in the
squad for the next CB Series One-Dayer against
Sri Lanka at Perth tomorrow by inducting
all-rounder James Hopes and left arm spinner Brad
Hogg.
"I had a look
at the wicket out there and it looks hard and
very flat so I think some change of pace with
those guys coming into the side will help us
out," Ponting said.
"I’ll
probably use the other part-timers as well
otherwise the quicks out there will be the
easiest bowlers to face," he added.
However, Clark is
the unlucky omission after bowling superbly
against the Indians in the last match. The
32-year-old paceman snared 1-26 from his 10
overs.
Ponting admitted
it was a tough decision to drop Clark but said
Hopes deserved a slot straight back into the
playing XI.
"Hopes
deserves his position in the side," he said.
"He’s
done very well in most games that he’s
played in the last six or eight months. Having
him back fit and in the side gives us really good
balance. That all-rounder position in any team is
really important," he added.
Meanwhile,
WACA’s match will be Adam Gilchrist’s
last international match at his home ground and
his skipper would like to give him a winning
farewell.
"It’s a
big motivation for us as the series goes
on," he said of the retiring wicketkeeper.
"We were
disappointed by the way we played in Melbourne
the other night so we want to make sure we do the
right thing by Gilly as a team and hopefully we
can win enough games to make it through to the
finals and send him off appropriately,"
Ponting said.(UNI)
S Africa
aims to adjust to conditions in B’desh
DHAKA,
Feb 14:
South Africa must adapt to the slow, spinning
pitches of Bangladesh if it is to continue its
successful run in Test cricket on approaching
tours, captain Graeme Smith said today.
South Africa plays
two Tests against Bangladesh, with the first
beginning February 22, ahead of a tour of India
in March.
"We have come
here after a successful home series," Smith
said after arriving in the Bangladeshi capital.
"We are
looking forward to another good and successful
series."
South Africa
recently won home series against the West Indies
and New Zealand.
Smith said South
Asian pitches - characteristically slow and
aiding spins - would be the challenge for his
team.
"We are used
to playing in any condition," Smith said.
"But we still have to work on a few things
here, to adjust to the conditions and
climate," he added.
South Africa
white-washed Bangladesh in all previous Tests.
Bangladesh only managed to beat the Africans in a
One-Day International game in last year’s
World Cup in the Caribbean.
The first Test
begins February 22 in Dhaka, while second starts
February 29 in Chittagong. The One-Day matches
will take place from March 9, 12 and 14. South
Africa last toured Bangladesh in 2003. (AP)
Sledging
within limit fine with Irfan
ADELAIDE,
Feb 14: The
BCCI may be adamant to stamp out sledging from
cricket but India’s left-arm seamer Irfan
Pathan says he is comfortable with some chit-chat
as long as those are within the limits.
A day after BCCI
secretary Niranjan Shah said the board would seek
a ban on sledging in next week’s ICC Chief
Executives Committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur,
Irfan was pleasantly inclined in favour of
sledging.
"Sledging has
been a part of the game and carries a certain
charm about it. As a fast bowler, personally, I
don’t think staring down at a batsman or
similar such stuff is bad," he told
reporters, adding a rider "But it should be
within limits."
The left-arm
paceman, who has not looked back since his
heroics in the Perth Test, is absolutely
delighted with his form and fitness.
He also want fans
not to worry too much about a few youngsters who
haven’t been getting their chances.
"Their time
would come. So far only four matches have been
played. Quite a few games are still left. I
don’t think there is need to worry too much.
They would have their opportunity," Irfan
said.
He also spoke in
defence of Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh,
while his word on Ishant Sharma’s rise was
predictable.
And the seamer
also had a special Valentine’s Day message
"Happy Valentine’s Day to all; send me
a lot of roses."
Meanwhile, manager
Vimal Soni clarified that team physio John
Gloster had indeed resigned a couple of weeks ago
and thus implied that it wasn’t as if the
physio had decided to leave out of the blue.
Among the Indian
players, Sachin Tendulkar stayed away from the
outdoor and went for the indoor nets, which has
been his routine since the One-Day series began
at the start of this month.
He apparently has
come to terms with the bounce and movement of
Australian pitches and believes all that remains
for him to do is to hone a few of his shots in
the indoors.
The outdoor nets
though held interest for the intensity and
ferocity of a few batsmen. Robin Uthappa, who has
batted in only two of his four innings so far and
in one of them didn’t come to face a single
delivery, batted as if to take the cover off
every delivery.
He seriously put a
few running for cover. He kept moving from one
net to another before Yuvraj ticked him off to
take a break.
Yuvraj himself
tried very hard to rediscover his form. He hit
big and long but in between there were those
usual swishes outside the off-stump and awkward
fending off short-pitched deliveries. Irfan and
Munaf Patel tested him out in all seriousness.
Captain Mahendra
Singh Dhoni was another who unfurled a few of his
brutal strokes and so did Manoj Tiwary. Sehwag
and Gautam Gambhir, in contrast, took it easy.
They have less reasons to worry about their
places than a few others in the team. (PTI)
New
Zealand look to wrap up England series
AUCKLAND,
Feb 14: New
Zealand will be pushing to wrap up their One-Day
cricket series against England early and complete
a remarkable transformation when the third match
is played here tomorrow.
After being
comprehensively outplayed in the earlier Twenty20
games, New Zealand have turned their fortunes
around to convincingly go 2-0 up after the
opening two One-Day matches.
Should New Zealand
win the third game here, the rest of the five ODI
series becomes academic ahead of the three Tests
next month.
It is a far more
determined New Zealand side than that which
crashed against South Africa and Australia before
Christmas, while England have lost the
ruthlessness that saw them come from behind to
beat Sri Lanka 3-2.
Part of the reason
is the new-look New Zealand opening partnership
with 23-year-old Jesse Ryder given his chance to
head the batting order with the dashing Brendon
McCullum.
Ryder was seen as
a cricket prodigy whose "wild-child"
approach to life had kept him out of the New
Zealand team, but selector Sir Richard Hadlee
said the hard-hitting batsman was now in the side
because his attitude had improved.
His unbeaten 79 in
the second match against England, coupled with
McCullum’s 80 not out, carried New Zealand
to a 10-wicket win and raised serious questions
in the England camp.
And it’s not
just an inability to contain the New Zealand
batsmen that bothers England, it’s also an
under-performing top order and three run-outs in
each of the two matches.
However, England
coach Peter Moores does not believe his side
should be counted out.
"I think we
can still win the series," he said, adding
it was difficult to explain the lapses in
performance. AFP)
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