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Perth Test from today
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My sacking sad day for umpires: Bucknor
Gambhir to lead North Zone
Anand held, Negi scores 1st win
Rasquinha calls it a day
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Perth Test from today
Perth, January 15 The first, because of abject failure in his last six innings; and the other, as a result of playing conditions anticipated to be in fast bowlers’ favour. Captain Anil Kumble indicated, Virender Sehwag is likely to re-enter and as an opener, with Rahul Dravid dropping down to his regular position of number three and VVS Laxman to six. Irfan Pathan is the front-runner for the third quicker bowler’s slot. Refreshingly for India, Australia’s batting bully, Mathew Hayden has not recovered from his hamstring injury and will be replaced by Chris Rogers, a 30-year-old local left-hander. But this opener’s windfall will be neutralised by the omission of Western Australia team-mate, Brad Hogg, who will make way for the South Australian express, Shaun Tait. Australia last played a home Test without a specialist slow bowler against India at this very venue 16 years ago. A lightning pitch resulted in the host winning by 300 runs, with Mike Whitney scooping up seven for 27 in the 2nd venture, as the Indians disintegrated for 141. Eleven of this left-arm fast medium bowler’s career haul of 39 Test wickets emerged in this one game. The humiliation notwithstanding, the encounter was memorable for a knock of sheer genius from Sachin Tendulkar. While other capitulated around him, this 19-year-old’s fiercely attacking 114 is one of the finest efforts of his luminous career. This Mumbaikar is the only one in India squad who has experience of a Test match at the WACA. The five-dayer here, with Australia’s superiority in the pace section, was always going to be India’s toughest examination of the tour. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) again erred in agreeing to a first-class fixture between the 2nd and 3rd Tests in Canberra, instead of at the WACA. Gary Kirsten, acting as consultant for the Test, is, admittedly, endowed with some knowledge of WACA. But how much can the tourists assimilate from him in 72 hours? Besides, the South African’s public pronouncements have been more in the nature of scaring the Indians. He has spoken of having handed over a paper to the team on how to tackle the adversity. How many in the Indian squad will bother to read this? Last but not the least, the match wicket could well be considerably faster than the practice pitches. It is, however, a little inaccurate to suggest that the WACA has been a crematorium for Indian cricket. The Indians have only figured in two Tests here in the past. Indeed, though India lost this Test by two wickets, in 1977-78, in the face of Jeff Thomson, who was as rapid as anybody in the present Australian side, Mohinder Amarnath distinguished him with contributions of 90 and 100 and inevitably, Sunil Gavaskar struck 127 in the second innings. Chetan Chauhan, now manager of the visiting party, was no less gutsy with endeavours of 88 and 32. India were defeated not because they didn’t cope with speed (and Gavaskar never ever wore a helmet), but because of the inability of their trio of spinners - Bishan Bedi (who, of course, took 10 wickets in the match), Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkaatraghavan - to capitalise on a 5th day wicket, not to mention the dropped catches. At the WACA, the ball undoubtedly ascends steeply, but consistently. It also swings as the breeze stiffens from the southern end - excitedly referred to by resident pundits as the “Fremantle Doctor”, for it comes from the south-westerly direction of the port of Fremantle. This doctor tends to visit when the temperature differential between the land and the sea is the greatest, which is normally in December and January. The clear weather on the eve of the Test is predicted to persist on the first day. So, is this when the doctor will drop by? Or when it’s forecast to be cloudy on the 2nd day? Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZ), Asad Rauf (Pak)
Third umpire: Bruce Oxenford Match referee: Mike Procter Hours of play (IST): 8 a.m to 10 a.m; 10.40 to 12.40 p.m and 1 p.m till 3 p.m.
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Oz expect Tait to ‘unsettle batsmen’
Perth, January 15 "Shaun Tait is a wicket-taking machine, it's very rare that he goes through a game without taking two or three wickets in an innings. He would be used in short spells to unsettle the batsmen," Ponting told reporters here. It's the pace attack of the Australians on a fiery pitch which was the talk at the WACA and Ponting felt it was for good reason. "This wicket more than anything else rewards when it's bowled in good areas, giving yourself a lot more chance to pick wickets. "Johnson didn't have much luck in the first two Tests. But by bowling close to 40 overs in the first innings in Sydney, he showed he could bowl long spells. "Stuart Clark is number two ranked fast bowler in world cricket. Lee and Tait are our tearaway fast bowlers who probably don't need to worry about line and length. Ponting said the grass on the pitch gives the pitch an old WACA look with lots of pace and bounce that will be difficult for the batsmen to handle.
— PTI
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We have quality & experience: Kumble
Perth, January 15 "Sure there is bounce and pace for the bowlers but we have the quality and experience. It does take some time to get used to this sort of pitch but it's more mental than in the middle," stressed the Indian captain in the pre-match press conference here. "It's important we make a good beginning in the first innings. It's about getting the runs, we have the quality and it's important we come back and keep the series alive by getting the (remaining) two Tests under the belt," he added. Indians have three batsmen who have played in excess of 100 Tests and Kumble believed it would count in this Test, which is a do-or-die affair for the visitors, who currently trail the Australians 0-2 in the four-match series. "If we can put runs on the board, I am confident we would be able to do it," he said.
— PTI
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India’s tour of Australia
The last week has been a tumultuous period for both the teams. But I am happy that most of the problems have been amicably sorted out.
A lot of the stuff, which shouldn't have happened, has happened over the last few days.
And it has sparked off some of the most vitriolic media coverage I have ever witnessed. Finally, the common sense has prevailed, which is good to see. The two good men - Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting - sat down together and sorted out all the issues. Both are passionate and matured cricketers and it was good to see them sitting down together and helping things to get back on track. I am sure that the cricket will now be played in the best possible spirit. And though two top-notch teams are playing each other in such intensifying scenario, I think the situation will not go out of hands now on. With the Australians up 2-0 and the next Test is starting in Perth, I must say they enter the match with a huge advantage of sealing the series at the end of it. There's been a lot of talk about how the Perth wicket is getting back to what it has been traditionally. Last few years it had changed to a batsman-friendly strip. However, over the last 12 months, it has started regaining its original reputation of being a very fast, bouncy and fast bowler-friendly wicket. It clearly means that Brad Hogg will make way for Shaun Tait. It's one of those easier decisions that they have had to make. With an all-seam attack, if required, Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke can bowl gentle spin. The only hiccup for Australia on the eve of the match was Matthew Hayden's unavailability due to the injury. This effectively means that Chris Rogers will come in for him. He's not pretty to watch but is a very effective player. For India, I think the batting order has to be changed. Virender Sehwag, who scored a convincing hundred in Canberra last week, has to replace Yuvraj Singh who has struggled so far. No doubt Yuvraj is a class player but he hasn't been getting his act together. On the other hand, Sehwag looked in great touch last week. Moreover, if India have to make it tough for the Australians in Perth, they need someone like him at the top of the order to just go after the bowling. Sehwag should be capitalised by asking him to play his natural game. It might not work out since he goes after bowlers straightway, but if he comes off, he will really make a huge difference. Then Rahul Dravid should be shifted to No. 3 from his makeshift opener's position. And the No. 4 batsman - Sachin Tendulkar - will yet again be the most crucial batsman for India simply because he is the only player in this team to have played a Test match at Perth. The last time India played at the WACA was 16 years ago and I saw Tendulkar scoring a splendid ton at one of the most difficult tracks to bat on for someone from the sub-continent. He had shown that it's such a track where once you get in, you earn full value for your shots. India might be tempted to play another medium pace bowler but I won't do that. Though it's a wicket which has something in it for fast bowlers throughout the course of the match, good spinners have also got rewards. And a quality bowler like Harbhajan Singh can do very well. Bowling into the breeze, the off-spinner can get a lot of bounce off the wicket. I feel the Indians would go in with a very similar attack to what they had in Sydney. Apart from the couple of quickies, Sourav Ganguly may be handy bowling into the breeze. With the series tilted 2-0 in Australia's favour, India start on the backfoot and have a lot of catching up to do. But I believe had they given themselves a bit of more time to acclimatise to the conditions prior to the beginning of the series, the scoreline would have been different. Cricket would have been better, especially in the first Test.
— PMG
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My sacking sad day for umpires: Bucknor
Montego Bay (Jamaica), January 15 A dejected Bucknor said he was disappointed by the turn of events and called it a sad day for umpires. Bucknor, however, said he respected ICC's authority in the matter. "I am disappointed that I am not continuing the tour between Australia and India, in Australia. But I respect ICC's authority in the matter," the veteran of 120 Tests said in a statement. "To err is human, to forgive divine, as the old saying goes," Bucknor said. Bucknor, who was sacked by ICC from officiating in the Perth Test after India complained against his blunders which cost them the Sydney Test, said he faced the flak for making just two wrong decisions. "However, I consider it a sad day to see umpires sidelined after making only two wrong decisions out of a record of 35 appeals," he said. The 61-year-old Bucknor, the most experienced umpire in the Elite Panel, quietly returned to his home managing to evade the press. Andrew Symonds was out caught behind when he was on 30 but the appeal was turned down by Bucknor and he went on to revive the Australian innings with a blistering 162 not out. Later Symonds' admission that he was out turned on the ire of the visitors on Bucknor, who has given several controversial decisions against India in the past. The caught behind dismissal of Rahul Dravid on the last day when India was battling to save the Test made matters worse. ICC replaced Bucknor by New Zealand's Billy Bowden after the Indian team complained and commentators and former players criticised his decisions. ICC CEO Malcolm Speed while announcing the removal of Bucknor made it clear that he will continue to officiate in international matches. Bucknor, a former FIFA referee, have stood in a record 120 Tests and five World Cup finals in his glittering career.
— PTI
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Gambhir to lead North Zone
New Delhi, January 15 North Zone
Team: Gautam Gambhir (capt), Mithun Manhas, Shikhar Dhawan, Akash Chopra, Rajat
Bhatia, Chetnya Nanda (all from Delhi), Karan Goel, Uday Kaul, Charanjeet Singh (all from Punjab), Yashpal Singh (Services), Paras
Dogra, Ashok Thakur, Vikramjeet Malik (Himachal), Joginder Sharma, Amit Mishra
(Haryana). Vijay Dhaiya (coach), Feroz Gyas (manager), Dr Pawan (physio). Reserves: Ravi Inder Singh (Punjab), S Baig (J & K), Sachin Rana
(Haryana) and Puneet Bisht (Delhi).
— UNI
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Melbourne, January 15 Venus Williams survived a strong rearguard action from Yan Zi of China before advancing to the Australian Open second round with a 6-2, 7-5 win on Tuesday. The Wimbledon champion led 5-2 in the second set only for world number 61 Yan to level at 5-5, but the American recovered her poise to clinch victory in 74 minutes. Australia's Lleyton Hewitt advanced to the second round of the Australian Open today with an easy 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Belgium's Steve Darcis. The former world number one, who had a poor buildup to the year's first Grand Slam with early exits in Adelaide and Sydney, barely needed to get out of first gear and said it was one of his best starts to a Grand Slam. The former US Open and Wimbledon champion seemingly broke the 23-year-old Darcis at will, with the Belgian only holding serve twice in the match. Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova trounced Nathalie Dechy of France 6-3, 6-1 in the first round today. The Russian former US Open champion found herself an early break down in the first set but recovered strongly to record an impressive victory. — Reuters
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Australian Open
Melbourne, January 15 The Indian beat Tulyaganova 6-4, 6-2 in little over an hour long tie to set up a clash with Timea Bacsinszky, who beat Sophie Ferguson 6-4, 6-3. The 21-year-old was rusty to start with and wasted a couple of break points besides committing 11 unforced errors in the opener.
— PTI
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Anand held, Negi scores 1st win
Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands), January 15 It was an exciting start to the game between Anand and Pavel Eljanov but the Ukrainian preferred to maintain the balance rather than try for unwarranted complications which resulted in the point being split in just 17 moves. Elajnov surprised Anand with his aggressive intentions with a king side pawn advance early on the 11th move in a Nimzo Indian defence game. Anand retained his cool and equalised just a few moves later. Anand remained 1.5 points behind the leaders and is currently at the bottom of the tables. "It's a nice idea, but sometimes these things fizzle out fast. I was never in trouble. His king can easily get weak", Anand said after the game referring to the alternative Eljanov had. World's second youngest ever Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi scored his first victory in Group 'C' at the expense of veteran GM and overnight joint leader John van der Wiel of The Netherlands. — PTI
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Mumbai, January 15 The midfielder, an Arjuna awardee, represented the country for eight years and also led the Maratha Warriors team in the Premier Hockey League from 2004 till 2007. Rasquinha said he wanted to do his Masters in Business Administration and was preparing for that for the last six months and had secured admission at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. "I wouldn't be available for the Beijing Olympics (later this year) and I have informed the IHF (Indian Hockey Federation) and Indian coach Joaquim Carvalho about my decision," Rasquinha said. He felt it was time for him to move ahead in life and face new challenges and added that he played for India with pride and dignity and wished to retire in the same manner. "I have nothing but fond memories of my association with the Indian hockey and it was an extremely hard decision for me, but now I have to move ahead," he said. — PTI
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India’s tour of Australia
Australian Open
