Archive for Australia
Clarke starts with the winning series
Posted by: | CommentsAustralia captain Michael Clarke speaks good about the man he replaced, Ricky Ponting, to be a positive influence after securing a 3-0 win over Bangladesh in his first series in charge.
Ponting, who stepped down as skipper after the recent World Cup quarter-final exit, opened the innings with Watson in the absence of Brad Haddin and only missed out on a half-century by three runs.
Michael Hussey’s 108 and another fine all-round display from Shane Watson (72 runs and two wickets) saw the tourists prevail by 66 runs in a high-scoring series finale in Mirpur on Wednesday.
Clarke singled out Watson – who won the man of the series award – for special praise and hoped his run of good form continued.
Australia’s new captain leads from the front
Posted by: | CommentsFirst test passed as Australia’s full-time captain for Michael Clarke, leading from the front with a century before his bowlers backed up the effort to complete a 60-run win over Bangladesh. Australia has a 1-0 lead in the three-match series and while the results might seem inconsequential after the World Cup, the subplot of Clarke taking over the leadership from Ricky Ponting has created some interest.
Clarke’s 101 suggested that the responsibility could sit well with him, and he needed to anchor the innings after Australia lost three wickets in their first 14 overs having been sent in on a good batting pitch. He helped get the Australians to a strong total of 270 for 7 and Bangladesh, who only twice in their ODI history have successfully chased totals of that size, were not up to the task.
They stumbled to 9 for 2 in the fourth over of their pursuit and although Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan both made half-centuries, the result was all but certain by the halfway point of their chase. It was a strong all-round performance by Australia in the field, seven bowlers being used, including the rediscovered legspinner Cameron White, and five men claimed a wicket each.
Brett Lee got things started when he had Imrul Kayes caught behind in the third over and in the next over, Shahriar Nafees fell for a golden duck when he got his pad in the way of a Mitchell Johnson delivery that would have hit the stumps. Raqibul Hasan followed for 7 when he drove John Hastings to short cover, where Shane Watson took an Aussie rules-style mark, leaping high to his left, and the hosts were in trouble.
Shakib also holed out for 51, but by that stage Bangladesh needed to score nearly 14 an over, which was as likely to happen as Australia calling on the commentator Greg Matthews for a few overs of offspin. The crowd cheered a few late boundaries from Mushfiqur Rahim (44 not out) and Mahmudullah (28 not out), but it was too little too late.
Australia to have new captain
Posted by: | CommentsAustralian captain Ponting is now the former captain of Australia as he steps down as Australian captain’s in both in Test and ODIs following their quarter final exit. But Ricky will continue as a batsman in the team. Michael Clarke is to take over the leadership of Australia.
Ponting said he took his own decision after world cup exit and no one asked him to go.
Ponting wants to travel to Bangladesh in the limited over match. The team will not be selected until Wednesday, but Ponting’s announcement should allow Clarke to assume the captaincy on the tour, before difficult assignments against Sri Lanka and South Africa later in the year.
On his arrival home from an unsuccessful World Cup defence, Ponting had said he was prepared to give up the captaincy and also move down the batting order if it was in the interests of the Australian team. With the benefit of a day’s reflection, he decided that now was the best time to go. At 36, Ponting believed he can still enjoy the type of renaissance that has sustained Sachin Tendulkar in recent times.
Ponting held the Australian Test and one-day captaincy since he took over from Steve Waugh. He led Australia in 77 Tests of which 48 were wins, the most for any captain. He also captained Australia in a record 228 ODIs and won 164, including two World Cups in 2003 and 2007.
Ponting’s fortunes as captain, however, waned along with those of the team as a series of retirements weakened its resources. His Test captaincy culminated in the 3-1 home Ashes defeat in 2010-11 and his one-day reign ended after the elimination from the World Cup
Ponting plans to play on though he is under fire
Posted by: | CommentsAustralia captain Ricky Ponting confirmed his intention not to retire from one-day international or Test cricket but admits that his fate is now in the selectors’ hands.
Australia relinquished their 12-year grip on the World Cup with Wednesday’s quarter-final defeat by India, while the 36-year-old Tasmanian also skippered the side to their third Ashes defeat under his leadership earlier this year.
Ponting’s detiant century during Australia’s loss to India showed he can still perform at the highest level, but questions remain over his future as administrators undertake a comprehensive review into the national teams’ performance. He said it was “safe to say” he had played his last one-day World Cup match, but reiterated that he has no plans to retire from either Test or one-day cricket.
Selectors will decide Ponting’s Future
Posted by: | CommentsAfter Australia’s quarter-final exit from the World Cup, Ricky Ponting has said he wants to continue playing but that his fate is in the hands of the selectors.
Ponting, 36, scored a measured century in the game against India in Ahmedabad but it was not enough to lead the three-time defending champions to victory, thereby relinquishing the trophy they have held since 1999.
Ponting’s leadership has also been criticised since Australia lost the Ashes to England at home in January – making him the first Australian captain to concede the urn three times in over a century – and there have been reports that the selectors are contemplating replacing him at the helm. Ponting, however, said he is focused on getting Australia back to the top as quickly as possible.
The loss to India marked Australia’s earliest exit from a World Cup since 1992, and while Ponting admitted to being “shattered”, he thinks a knee-jerk reaction to the poor results of the last few months will do more harm than good.
India meets Pakistan in the SEMIS
Posted by: | CommentsSometimes, they say, one four can change things around. That cliché came alive today, in the final ball of the 39th over, with India needing 72 from 67 deliveries, when Yuvraj spanked Shaun Tait for a stunning four over backward point. It oozed of skill, impishness and dare under fire. Until then, in the preceding few overs, India choked and spluttered badly to almost hand the game to Australia. That Yuvraj hit over point sensationally turned the game on its head.
An awe-inspiring Ricky Ponting dazzled and Sachin Tendulkar hit a delightful fifty but it was the imperious Yuvraj Singh who stole the show to lead India to an exciting semi-final encounter against Pakistan. On a dry pitch, aiding turn, India couldn’t remove a wonderfully solid Ponting, but found a way around him to hold Australia to a competitive 260. Tendulkar set the base and the middle order threatened to choke, but Yuvraj played a blinder to charge India to a famous win.
The next over proved to be the game-breaker as Brett Lee was looted for 14 runs: Suresh Raina played the most assured pull of his life to crash the first delivery to the boundary and Yuvraj carved the final delivery over point, but it was a shot in between that really reflected the enthralling contest. It was a screaming yorker from Lee, from around the stumps, and Yuvraj crouched, opened the bat-face and stabbed it through to the third man boundary. Lee looked stunned, and you felt that was the moment when India affected the jail break.
Retirement report is a rumor: Ponting
Posted by: | CommentsRicky Ponting has quashed reports that he will retire after the World Cup, confirming that he has no plans to end his playing career or give up the captaincy. Ponting said the story was untrue, and has still not ruled out being part of the 2013 Ashes tour. However, there was some truth to the report, with Ponting’s management having scouted around the county circuit in an attempt for Ponting to secure a first-class deal in the lead-up to Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka in August. Ponting said the county option had fallen through due to the timing of the English domestic competitions.
The retirement rumour came a day after a report, in which an unnamed Cricket Australia official was quoted as saying that Ponting faced a challenge at board level to retain the captaincy. Ponting said he was keen to play on in Test and ODI cricket and if he was asked to step aside as leader to make way for Michael Clarke, it would not be an issue.
After the 2009 Ashes defeat in England, Ponting was bullish about his chances of returning for the 2013 trip. He will be be 38 by then, but if he regains his form, he still believes he has some chance of fulfilling that goal.
Quarter will be played as MINI FINAL
Posted by: | CommentsIndia have played Australia in 15 one-days at home in the last five years, and Australia have won nine of those matches. Both teams have lost a game each in the group stages of this World Cup, and though India will be hoping home advantage can buoy them to a victory, Nielsen warned it could also be a hindrance to them. Nielsen said he remember the pressure Australia faced playing the World Cup at home in 1992, and things would be no different for India. Playing at home ground is a huge factor for India. There’s some pressure there and Australia can start the game well and maybe quieten the crowd that will play on the mind of the Indian team.
Tim Nielsen, Australia’s coach, has said his team were hoping to meet India in the final of the World Cup, and would be treating their quarter-final against the tournament co-hosts in Ahmedabad on Thursday as a “mini-grand final”. He said that Australia is aware the atmosphere at Motera would be electric, and the players were looking forward to that.
The attention on India will also help lessen the hype that usually surrounds any Australian team at a World Cup. This time around, the defending champions are not the out-and-out favourites to win the tournament, and the end of their unbeaten World Cup streak, against Pakistan in Colombo, has further lessened the aura of the side. Nielsen looks at that as an advantage, saying all the pressure was on India.
Pakistan end Australia’s run to finish top
Posted by: | CommentsAfter their batting subsided with 20 balls unused, Australia’s only chance was to bowl Pakistan out, but in the event it required Lee himself to do most of the damage. He removed both openers in a fiery new-ball burst before returning to claim Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq with consecutive deliveries in 23rd over, leaving Pakistan wobbling on 98 for 4.
Despite not having either team’s progression at stake, the final group positions determine quarter-final opposition while momentum is also a factor. Both teams were hyped for the contest, and it came to an early head when Umar and Brad Haddin almost came to blows in the field. Australia were desperate not to relinquish a proud record dating back to May 23 1999.
Pakistan were the last team to overcome Australia at a World Cup and it was they who brought Ricky Ponting’s 34-match unbeaten run to an end with a four-wicket victory in Colombo to secure top spot in Group A. An impressive display in the field laid the foundations as the reigning champions were bundled out for 176 on a difficult surface, their lowest total in a World Cup since 1992, and despite a mighty effort from Brett Lee Pakistan were guided home by Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq.
However, support for Lee was too late in coming which didn’t leave enough runs for Australia to play with. Mitchell Johnson had Asad Shafiq taken at slip off the glove for a composed 46 and Shahid Afridi brainlessly carved to long-on against Jason Krejza. Surprisingly, Lee wasn’t immediately recalled with 34 runs still needed and by the time he came back the target was down to 10. Umar played one of his most composed innings yet, and Razzaq finished the chase with consecutive boundaries.
Australia wins easily over Canada
Posted by: | CommentsWhen Bagai chose to bat, the probability of an early finish in Bangalore increased significantly, but Australia’s inevitable supremacy was delayed by an extraordinary attack from 19-year-old Hiral Patel, who batted fearlessly to score a rapid half-century off the world’s fastest bowlers. After the labour against Kenya, Ponting had said he wanted to win this convincingly but it wasn’t until the 29th over, by which time Canada had reached 150 for 2 that Australia began to dominate.
By the time Shane Watson and Brad Haddin were launching the ball with frightening regularity into sparsely populated stands at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Australia had taken control of a game that extended their unbeaten run in World Cups to 34 matches, and vaulted them from fourth to first in Group A. Though the margin of victory – seven wickets with 91 balls to spare – was huge, they did not have it easy throughout. Canada ambushed them with the bat, and then created some chances with the new ball. Australia’s pace and power eventually swamped them but Ashish Bagai’s team exceeded expectations in their final World Cup appearance.
