Plays of the day

Plays of the day
A newbie in a happy daze, and SCG in the pink
Peter English at the SCG
January 3, 2009
Pink is in at the SCG © Getty Images

The cap fits, but not the helmetNot even a bouncer that removed Andrew McDonald's helmet was enough to stop him from smiling. The allrounder McDonald was a surprise selection and over the past two days has been in a happy daze. Even Morne Morkel's short ball, which McDonald turned his head on before it struck the base of his lid, could not ruffle him. By the time the helmet had hit the ground - and missed the stumps - he was looking at the bowler and grinning, while thinking about tightening his chin strap.
Are you Ishant in disguise?The nightmares Ricky Ponting has involving Ishant Sharma reappeared at the SCG, with Morkel sparking the cold sweats. Tall right-arm fast bowlers who can bring the ball back into Ponting provide him with so much trouble and Morkel welcomed the captain with a nasty offcutter. Ponting pushed forward to the lifting delivery with an angled bat and the inside edge went to Mark Boucher. The big cheer the under-siege Ponting received when he walked out had stopped and Ponting left with his second golden duck of the series.
In the pinkThe SCG took on a psychedelic feel with pink splashed throughout the stands and on the ground to raise awareness of breast cancer. The colour was everywhere: on stumps, signs, advertising boards, caps, shirts and bandanas. Glenn McGrath's charity foundation was the beneficiary of more than A$50,000 and he was on the square at the time of the toss.. He didn't agree to the crowd's comeback calls.
New stand not for standingThe Victor Trumper stand was gleaming on its first international day and the bronze statue of the late and famous barracker 'Yabba' was in position in the front row. But the new area provided a first-over problem for Matthew Hayden, who stopped play because of the people walking through an entry way just next to the sightscreen. Like the building of the stand, the problem was fixed over a couple of stages.
Clarke on his kneesJacques Kallis was uncomfortable to face late in the day and earned some plays-and-misses as well as delivering a ball that hit Michael Clarke in the groin. Clarke went down immediately and after a few breaths started to crawl along the pitch in an effort to deal with the pain. Kallis stared at Clarke like he was a drama queen, Brad Haddin smiled as he went to offer help and the crowd groaned and laughed at the same time. Clarke eventually regained his feet and showed no problems with the next ball, which was driven down the ground.
Oh my, AmlaHashim Amla did some amazing things in the field, particularly when diving to stop Matthew Hayden's drives, so his drop of Clarke 12 minutes before stumps was a huge surprise. Clarke was on 69 when he pulled to midwicket and the ball seemed to dip as it reached Amla, but it was a chance that should have been taken, and one of the few missed by both teams in the series.
Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo

Australia v South Africa, 3rd Test, Sydney, 1st day

South Africa finished a strong first day with six Australian wickets but already their thoughts are turning to producing a significant total to limit the difficulties in the fourth innings. Australia's Simon Katich expects the pitch to become lower and slower as the match goes on and there are already cracks that are being noticed by hopeful bowlers and wary batsmen.
After Australia ended the day at 6 for 267 the, visitors were intent on limiting them to 350 at the worst. "It's very, very important to get a big, big total in the first innings to take a bit of pressure off the second innings," the assistant coach Vinnie Barnes said. "The wicket does get a bit slow and lower, and the spinners come into play."
Barnes said his side was slightly ahead but felt it could have been a "fantastic day" if Hashim Amla had held on to a relatively easy catch when Michael Clarke was 69. Clarke ended the day on 73 as he lifted the side from another uncomfortable start from the misfiring order.
Katich began strongly by racing to 47 off 52 balls, but Australia were struggling at 5 for 162 before Clarke and Brad Haddin put on 75. "We fought back really well in the last session," Katich said. "South Africa had their noses in front and then with that partnership between Clarke and Haddin we got ourselves in a position where we could get to 350 and put some pressure on them."
Katich, the New South Wales captain, has plenty of experience on the ground and said it looked like a dry wicket and "runs on the board are always vital". "This one will deteriorate differently to the Melbourne wicket," he said, "so hopefully this gives us a bit of an advantage over the next few days."
Clarke has not scored a Test century on his home ground and Katich said the signs were good. "You can tell he's keen for a big one here," Katich said. "The way he played today was very, very good and hopefully he can carry on that in the morning with Mitchell Johnson. If we get one or two really good partnerships we'll get ourselves in a reasonably good position."

Aussies are lily-livered cowards: PCB

Pakistan's anger over Australia's decision to proceed with its Indian tour despite the serial blasts in New Delhi were so seething that a PCB official called the Aussies "lily-livered cowards", according to a report.

"To talk simply of double-standards would be to understate what we feel. My personal view is that your people are a bunch of lily-livered cowards," a senior PCB official was quoted as saying by ‘The Australian’.

"You use one set of rules when it comes to poor Pakistan and another when it comes to India and the rich pickings to be made from the Board of Control for Cricket in India and playing in the Indian Premier League," he fumed.

PCB Chief Operating Officer Shafqat Naghmi had also accused Cricket Australia of "double standards" by deciding to proceed with the India tour while cancelling their Test tour to Pakistan early this year and objecting to Champions Trophy due to security reasons in Pakistan.

"I think if Australia tour India it will only highlight their double standards on security issues," Naghmi had said. But Cricket Australia and Australian Cricketers' Association rubbished such accusations, saying the security situation in India and Pakistan were different.

"We rely on the independent people to give us the advice and it is nothing about India or Pakistan over this, it is about the situation in any given country. The threat assessment for India has been considerably lower than that of Pakistan," he said.

"I've been in touch with a couple of players and they just wanted to know what the process was. There's no panic within the group. There's just some general concern," he added.

A CA spokesman said security had already been upgraded for the current Australia A tour and would remain in place for the senior team.

He said the decision not to tour Pakistan and to go to India was based on the available security information. "Dispassionately we have received different information on those different countries," the spokesman said.

There were also conflicting reports in Australian media over PCB's threat to take legal recourse on this matter. ‘The Australian' said PCB was contemplating suing CA if it goes ahead with next month's tour of India while ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ reported the denial of such a move.

India-Aus series no less compelling than Ashes: Gilchrist

It may not have the aura of an Ashes but an India-Australia cricket series is no less compelling, feels retired Aussie wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. Gilchrist said if the Ashes has the long history of a famous rivalry, the competition between Australia and India has evolved into its own special status.

"It has been a fantastic series in the past 10 to 12 years whenever the two teams have locked horns. It has lived up to the tag of an iconic series. As far as history goes the Ashes are important but this (India vs Australia) has its own status," he said in Mumbai.

Gilchrist predicted the upcoming India-Australia Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy would be a hard fought one though the visiting side is "relatively inexperienced."

"The (Australian) team this time is relatively inexperienced but it does not mean they don't know the conditions here. They should do well," said Gilchrist who was in Mumbai as a brand ambassador for the Australian Wollongong University.

"Cricket Australia has been sending A teams and other teams to India over the years purely to allow cricketers gain experience about conditions here. India though would be a tough opponent since they are one of the most experienced teams in world cricket with an exciting fast bowling attack and an experienced batting line-up," said Gilchrist who retired early this year after playing 96 Tests.

When asked about the alleged racism incident during the Sydney Test in India's tour of Australia affecting the upcoming series, Gilchrist said, "I don't think relations between India and Australia were damaged permanently due to the incident. I think the IPL came at the right time to ensure that relationships were mended," he said.

Speaking about Australian players to watch out for in the upcoming series, Gilchrist said captain Ricky Ponting was one of them since he had not performed to his potential in India.

"Shane Watson is also brimming with confidence after his stint in the IPL and fast bowlers Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson are also expected to do well," he said.

"Despite personal problems, Lee is a committed player and would do a good job. Johnson if he gets some reverse swing could also play a major role.

"New face Bryce McGain was also a good choice for the series. But don't compare him with Shane Warne. I have played once against him (McGain) and he got me out in both innings. I was very impressed with his control and discipline," Gilchrist said.

BCB rejects resignation by 'rebels', hints at possible ban

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has hinted at a possible ban of the 13 cricketers who have aligned with Indian Cricket League (ICL), saying that it would act according to ICC's decision about unauthorised competitions while dealing with them.

"Everything will be decided in line with the ICC's decision taken in last March about unauthorised competition," BCB's cricket operations committee chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain said.

The ICC does not recognise ICL and most countries do not permit their contracted players to join the unofficial league. The BCB has also rejected the resignation by its contracted players who have joined ICL, on the ground that they violated terms of contract with the Board.

"We are not accepting their retirement letters. They didn't give us any prior notice before submitting the letters which is a clear violation of contract.

"Also they didn't mention when their retirements would be effective from. It was also totally unacceptable the way they talked with the media and hence they breached the code of conduct," Ashraf was quoted as saying by 'Daily Star'.

He said a final decision on the 'rebel' players will be taken after an emergency Board meeting on Wednesday.

"The cricket operations committee will table their recommendations to the emergency meeting and they will ultimately take the decision," he said.

Ashraf said there was still time for the players to return to BCB fold and they would the Board would welcome them if they do so.

"Still our door is open for them and we have extended our hands to welcome them back, but they must come to us before we have taken the final decision. It's true we will miss their international experience but we have players in the pipeline," said the former skipper.

Asked about a former BCB official's claim that current captain Mohammad Ashraful was the brain behind the exodus, Ashraf refused to add more fuel to the fire on the issue.

"I know there is lot of talking about his involvement but we should talk with him first. We don't know about his link with the whole thing. He (Ashraful) however informed about the offer he got from ICL. And you know he is the player who will definitely get the highest offer and it's no joke to refuse 15 crore taka," said Ashraf.

Ten Bangladesh players to join ICL

Former skipper Habibul Bashar is among at least 10 leading Bangladesh players who will join the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL), a league official said on Tuesday.

"There will be more than 10 players, that includes Bashar," the official, who did not wish to be identified, said.

The ICL were due to make an announcement at a news conference on Tuesday after at least seven Bangladesh players surprised their national board by seeking early retirements.

Pay fine or forget T20 Championship, PCB tells Shoaib

The Pakistan Cricket Board has told Shoaib Akhtar to forget about playing in next month's National Twenty20 Championship unless he pays the Rs seven million fine imposed on him for indiscipline or gets a favourable ruling from the court.

Confusion prevailed at the launching ceremony of the prestigious tournament when Shoaib's name was missing from the list of players from his region, Islamabad.

Later a PCB spokesman confirmed that Shoaib's name was submitted by the regional team as the 16th player of the side.

"They gave us a list of 16 players but in the slides only the names of 15 players were shown. That is why there was some confusion about whether Shoaib was part of the Islamabad side or not," Raza Rashid, the spokesman, said.

But he said as per the board's policy, Shoaib was required to first pay the fine of seven million rupees or get a ruling from the court against the fine before he can play in Pakistan's premier domestic event.

"The board's policy is very clear on this," he said.

Shoaib had a five-year ban imposed on him by PCB's disciplinary committee, which was subsequently reduced to 18 months by an appellate tribunal in June which heard his appeal against the ban for disciplinary violations.

But the tribunal, while reducing the ban, also asked him to pay the fine of seven million rupees.

Shoaib has filed a writ petition in the Lahore high court against the ban and fine but the court, while suspending the ban, have given no order on the payment of fine.

Ponting has lot to prove in India

For a man who has scored over 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Ricky Ponting's meagre tally of 172 in that glut of runs on Indian soil is a baffling fact.

Australia's skipper, who has recovered following wrist surgery, will be keen to set right his poor record when he leads the team to India later this month in a best-of-four Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Ponting, by and far, has had an outstanding international career, having led Australia to two World Cup triumphs, in 2003 and 2007, and been part of the triumphant 1999 squad, led by Steve Waugh.

He appears as the only current batsman capable of overtaking Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar in the number of Test hundreds when both finish their careers.

The Tasmanian stroke-maker has 35 hundreds in 119 Tests compared to Tendulkar's 39 in 150, and the former, who is also two years younger, currently holds a superb average of 58-plus, nearly four points more than that of the Indian champion.

But all these records may count for little for Indian fans if the Aussie fails to deliver with the bat in the Test rubber unlike on previous visits to this country.

Ponting, who has struck two double hundreds against India in home conditions, has not crossed 60 in eight previous Tests played in India, his best knock having come at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on the 1998 tour.

Somehow, an Indian visit has seen him unable to stamp his authority on the bowlers, his abysmal average of 12.28 being ample proof of his past struggles.

In contrast to his poor display in India, the 33-year-old Ponting has amassed 1349 runs in 11 Tests at home against the Indian attack, a feat that has helped him average close to 80 per innings in Australia.

So what has prevented the predominantly front-footed batsman from replicating his success on Indian soil against the same set of bowlers?

Former India captain Chandu Borde says Ponting, who has made four visits to India for Tests, hasnt shown the requisite patience to do well in the country.

'He's a player who prefers to play on the rise and on the front foot. In Australia the bounce is truer than on Indian wickets, where the ball keeps low and also turns a bit more. He has not shown enough patience, but on good wickets can still perform well,' the former Test middle-order batsman said

Borde also believes that the Australians are generally more susceptible to off-spin, as indicated by the success enjoyed Erapalli Prasanna (57 wickets in 13 Tests), Shivlal Yadav (55 wickets in 13 Tests) and Harbhajan Singh (64 wickets in 11 Tests, the break-up being 55 in seven Tests in India and the rest on Australian soil).

'Our off-spinners have generally done well against the Australian batsmen and I'm particularly happy with the way Harbhajan bowled in Sri Lanka. He seems to have recaptured his former self,' the ex-chief selector said.

To make matters interesting in the build-up to the Australian team's visit is the fact that Harbhajan has dismissed Ponting eight times in his career while Anil Kumble has done it on seven occasions.

The Aussie skipper definitely has a big battle on his hands to set right his dismal past record in India.