Tri-series: Sri Lanka win toss, elect to bowl

SYDNEY: Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bowl against Australia in the third match of the ODI tri-series here today.

Australia have not made any change to the side that beat India in their previous match.

For Sri Lanka, Sachithra Senanayake has replaced Thisara Perera.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Sachithra Senanayake, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dhammika Prasad, Lahiru Thirimanne

Australia: Michael Clarke (c), David Warner, Matthew Wade, Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey, David Hussey, Dan Christian, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty. AGENCIES

Shaun Marsh out of Australia’s ODI squad

SYDNEY: Struggling opener Shaun Marsh was Monday left out of Australia’s one-day squad to face India and Sri Lanka, while wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has been rested in favour of Matthew Wade.
  
Australia go into the tri-nations series buoyed by a 4-0 Test whitewash of India, and with players such as newcomer Peter Forrest showing strong form in the domestic Twenty20 league and Sheffield Shield.
  
Marsh, 28, put in a poor performance during the Test series, scoring just 17 runs after returning to the side following a back injury.
  
“Shaun Marsh is obviously disappointed with his own form in recent weeks and is out of the side, but remains in our thinking for the future while he works at state level,” said national selector John Inverarity.
  
“As they say, class is permanent but form can be temporary.”
  
Inverarity said Haddin will be rested after “a heavy program of Test cricket” in favour of debutant Wade.
  
“The workload for a wicketkeeper/batsman is rigorous and resting him for the start of the series will refresh him for coming international commitments, while also giving us a chance to look at Matt Wade at this level,” he said.
  
Australia have not named a vice-captain for the first three games because Haddin is resting and all-rounder Shane Watson is still unavailable due to injury.
  
Brett Lee is included in a bowling attack which also features Ryan Harris and Xavier Doherty.
  
Australia and India kick off the tri-nations tournament on February 5 with a match at the MCG.
  
Australian squad: Michael Clarke (captain), Dan Christian, Xavier Doherty, Peter Forrest, Ryan Harris, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Brett Lee, Mitchell Marsh, Clint McKay, Ricky Ponting, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

Clarke appointed Australian captain

SYDNEY: Michael Clarke was appointed Australia”s Test and one-day captain on Wednesday, a day after Ricky Ponting bowed to pressure and quit after the country”s World Cup exit.

Long seen as heir-apparent, the stylish batsman, who turns 30 on Saturday, will jump into the role immediately, leaving this week for a tour of Bangladesh.

Ponting will also be on the plane, taking orders from his former deputy, after being named in the squad to play three one-dayers.

Shane Watson will be Clarke”s vice-captain with Cameron White remaining the Twenty20 skipper.

“First of all can I say what an honour it is to be named captain and also a huge surprise to see Ricky stand down,” Clarke said at a press conference.

“I was very much unaware of where he was at and didn”t know he was going to stand down. It was a huge surprise to me.

“I know Ricky will allow me to do my job to the best of my ability,” he added. “We want to be the best team in all forms and that is going to take time.”

His Test reign will start in August when he skippers a tour of Sri Lanka.

Clarke, though, is not popular with Australian fans, and polls published Wednesday showed how cool the public are to him.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, only 26 percent of 21,000 respondents in an online poll favoured him to be the new captain.

In the Sydney Daily Telegraph, a survey of 8,500 readers placed him a distant third behind Shane Watson and Michael Hussey.

Ponting insisted Clarke was the right man for the job, and vowed to give him all the support he needed.

“He has done nothing wrong when has stood in for me over the past few years and his record in T20 cricket speaks for itself,” he said in a column for The Australian newspaper.

“I will be there in the background for him if he needs me, but from today the Test and one-day teams will be his and I will be one of many players who follow him onto cricket grounds all over the world.”

Asked how he will feel taking orders from a man who used to be his deputy, Ponting replied: “I”ve taken orders most of my life, I”m pretty used to it.”

Clarke was also endorsed by cricket legend Richie Benaud.

“I”d have Clarke, he”s vice-captain, he”s done well the times he”s been captain,” Benaud told the Nine Network.

Clarke made his professional debut for New South Wales as an 18-year-old in the 1999-2000 Australian domestic season.

He made the jump to the national one-day team in January 2003 against England at Adelaide and was chosen to make his Test debut against India at Bangalore in October 2004.

He thumped 151, helping Australia to victory, invoking comparisons to past Australian greats Doug Walters and Mark Waugh.

Since then, he has gone on to play 69 Tests, scoring 4,742 runs, including 14 centuries, with an average of 46.49. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, Clarke has captured 21 wickets.

In the one-day game, he has collected 188 caps and 5,928 runs at an average of 43.58, with 52 wickets to his name.

A part-time underwear model and a regular in the social pages, Clarke was formerly engaged to model Lara Bingle and controversially returned to Sydney during Australia”s tour of New Zealand in March 2010 for “personal reasons”.

It followed Bingle deciding to sue her former lover Brendan Fevola for disseminating naked pictures of her, which ended up in a women”s magazine.

Clarke later called off his wedding plans. (AFP)

Michael Clarke Named As Australian Captain For Bangladesh Series

Cricket Australia has announced former vice captain of Australian team Michael Clarke as new captain of Australian team. Ponting has already endorsed him as new Australian captain but now on Wednesday he is officially announced as ne captain.

Australia to field first against Kiwis

NAGPUR: Australia won the toss and chose to field first in their World Cup Group A clash with New Zealand in Nagpur.

Ricky Ponting’s defending champions have named an unchanged side after their win over Zimbabwe on Monday.

Both teams observed a minute’s silence before the match to honour victims of the Christchurch earthquake.

The Kiwis have promoted middle-order batsman Jamie How for all-rounder Jacob Oram.

The match is set to start in overcast conditions with a top temperature of 31 degrees forecast.

Teams

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Cameron White, David Hussey, Steve Smith, Jason Krejza, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, John Hastings (12th man).

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, James Franklin, Scott Styris, Jamie How, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett, Kane Williamson (12th man).

Ruthless Australia thump Kiwis by seven wickets

NAGPUR: Ruthless Australia compounded the miseries of rivals New Zealand by notching up a seven-wicket victory in their World Cup match on Friday.

Chasing an easy target of 207 runs for victory, Australia openers Shane Watson (62) and Brad Haddin (55) piled on 133 for the first wicket in just 18 overs as they punished the erratic bowling of New Zealand in the Group A encounter.

The start ensured that there were no hiccups, though both openers departed in the same over to paceman Hamish Bennett.

Captain Ricky Ponting (12) followed soon after, stumped brilliantly down the leg side by Brendon McCullum off Tim Southee.

Vice captain Michael Clarke and Cameron White saw Australia home in just 34 overs with an unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 40
runs to extend their team’s unbeaten run in World Cup to 31 matches.
The Kiwi bowlers did not help their cause by bowling 32 extras, which included 29 wides.

The match was played against a somber backdrop following the devastating earthquake in Christchurch earlier this week.

Both teams observed a minute’s silence and wore black arm-bands, while the New Zealand flag flew at half mast in memory of the victims of the earthquake, which has claimed at least 113 lives with 228 people still missing.

Some of New Zealand players struggled to keep their emotions in check as they linked arms while their national anthem was being played before the start of the match.

After the solemn start, the Australian pace duo of Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait vindicated Ponting’s decision to field first by skittling New Zealand for a 206.

Overnight rain and a little cloud cover prompted Ponting to bowl first in the day match and some fiery fast bowling saw the
Kiwis lose their first six wickets with just 73 runs on the board.
Johnson (four for 33) and Tait (three for 35) shared seven wickets among themselves, while Brett Lee and Shane Watson also chipped in with a wicket apiece.

Steve Smith was the only spinner to pick up a wicket. AGENCIES

Boxing Day Test: England rout Australia for 98

England tour of Australia, 4th Test: Australia v England at Melbourne
Australia 98
England 157/0 (47.0 ov)
England lead by 59 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
It was meant to be Boxing Day, not Boxing Australia Around the Ears Day. Within three sessions of complete England dominance at the MCG, they moved to within touching distance of retaining the Ashes by dismissing Australia for 98 and passing their total with no wickets down, leaving Ricky Ponting requiring a late Christmas miracle to avoid leading Australia to three Ashes series failures.
Chris Tremlett and James Anderson collected four wickets each, backing up Andrew Strauss’s decision to send the hosts in, before Strauss and Alastair Cook showed that with discipline, batting wasn’t that hard on a pitch with a little juice in it. The day could not possibly have gone better for England, who finished at 0 for 157 with Strauss on 64, Cook on 80, a hefty first-innings advantage in prospect and a 2-1 series lead on the horizon.
For Australia, it was up there with the opening day at Headingley against Pakistan this year, in terms of disastrous cricketing dates. Back then they chose to bat and managed only 88, but this time there was one slight difference – their dismal performance will probably cost them the Ashes. Not since 1936 had they scored a lower Ashes total at home, and that was in the days of uncovered pitches. It took Tremlett, Anderson and Tim Bresnan less than two sessions to run through the order as they hit consistent lines and kept the runs tight. They also exposed Australia’s team-wide inability to handle seam movement and swing, which is no great revelation but could not be ignored in front of 84,345 fans on the biggest day in the Australian cricket calendar. Every batsman fell to an edge caught behind the wicket, six to the wicketkeeper Matt Prior, two to slips and two to gully. Too many men played with hard hands away from their bodies, and they struggled to work out which deliveries to leave and which ones to play. The questions that the batting coach Justin Langer must consider surround not only technique, but also judgment. England picked up four wickets before the first break and in one particularly impressive patch they collected 3 for 0, as Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson all failed to make solid contact with the face of the bat. A rain delay had extended lunch by nearly an hour, but even that wasn’t enough to help the Australians survive until the scheduled tea break. But England’s bowlers certainly earned their wickets, especially the early strikes. Shane Watson was dropped twice on 0, as Paul Collingwood at slip and Kevin Pietersen at gully denied Anderson an early breakthrough. It was a sign of things to come, and Watson had only made 5 when he was surprised by sharp bounce from Tremlett and fended a loopy catch to Pietersen. Soon afterwards, Phillip Hughes (16) tried to cover-drive and edged to gully to hand Bresnan his first Ashes wicket, and without further addition to the score the Australians also lost Ricky Ponting. Again it was the rising ball from Tremlett that did the job, and this one nipped away significantly off the pitch, so much so that Ponting, on 10, did well to even get bat on ball as his edge flew to second slip. Australia’s recent saviour, Michael Hussey, joined the procession in the last over before lunch, when Anderson produced a pearler that moved away from Hussey and found a thin edge through to Prior. Then came the rain, an early and prolonged lunch, and after the break the dismissals got a bit softer, as Australia’s middle order failed to exercise due caution. The hosts want Steven Smith in the side for his energy and all-round talent, but as a Test No. 6 his technique needs a lot of work, and all it took was a probing delivery outside off stump from Anderson to draw an edge behind when Smith had 6. The top scorer Michael Clarke, who made 20, also wafted outside off at a ball he could have left, and edged behind off Anderson. And 5 for 77 soon became 8 for 77 when Haddin drove at Bresnan and gave Strauss a catch at first slip, before Johnson tickled a catch to Prior off Anderson. A few late runs came via Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle before Tremlett finished off the tail to finish with 4 for 26, a much deserved return after he was the best of the bowlers early, extracting bounce from a pitch expected to be as stodgy as leftover Christmas pudding. By the time Australia bowled, it looked like any spice in the pudding had lost its kick. In reality, they just didn’t bowl well enough, while Cook and Strauss defended solidly and left the right balls, also ticking the score along by chasing the bad deliveries, like an uppish cut to the vacant third-man area from Cook when he was given width. That Strauss and Cook both registered half-centuries before stumps was the perfect finale for the visitors, and Cook was already within sight of his third hundred of the series. Australia’s four-man pace attack had little impact – Michael Beer was made 12th man again – and by the close, Smith had tossed up a few overs of unthreatening legbreaks, including one that was slog-swept almost for six by Cook. Smith wasn’t born last time England won the Ashes in Australia, in 1986-87. He’s about to see it happen first-hand.

England seamers rout Australia top order, smell Ashes victory

PERTH: England’s seamers obliterated Australia’s top order early in the third test in Perth on Thursday to leave the hosts reeling at 65 for four at lunch and buoy the tourists’ hopes of sealing the Ashes before Christmas.

Andrew Strauss, bidding to become the first English captain since Mike Gatting 24 years ago to bring the Ashes home, landed the first psychological blow by winning the toss and sending Australia in to bat on a green-topped pitch at the WACA.

The call proved a masterstroke as towering seamer Chris Tremlett celebrated his return to the test side by bowling Phillip Hughes for two with his sixth ball and removing vice captain Michael Clarke for four in his fourth over.

In between, James Anderson clinched the key wicket of captain Ricky Ponting for 12, while Steve Finn trapped Shane Watson lbw for 13 to leave the large English contingent in the

Australia win toss and bat against Sri Lanka in T20

PERTH: Australian captain Michael Clarke won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in the Twenty20 international at the WACA Ground in Perth on Sunday.

It is the first international match of the Australian season.

Clarke, who is under pressure to retain his spot in Australia’s Twenty20 side despite being skipper, leads a home team missing many of the players likely to be key in the upcoming Ashes series against England.

It will be retiring spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s final appearance at the WACA Ground.

After the one-off Twenty20 clash, Australia and Sri Lanka play three one-day matches, starting at the MCG on Wednesday.

Teams

Australia: Michael Clarke (C), Cameron White, Brad Haddin, John Hastings, David Hussey, Clint McKay, Dirk Nannes, Peter Siddle, Dave Warner, Shane Watson, Steven Smith, Steven O’Keefe (12th

Australia win toss and bat against Sri Lanka in T20

PERTH: Australian captain Michael Clarke won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in the Twenty20 international at the WACA Ground in Perth on Sunday.

It is the first international match of the Australian season.

Clarke, who is under pressure to retain his spot in Australia’s Twenty20 side despite being skipper, leads a home team missing many of the players likely to be key in the upcoming Ashes series against England.

It will be retiring spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s final appearance at the WACA Ground.

After the one-off Twenty20 clash, Australia and Sri Lanka play three one-day matches, starting at the MCG on Wednesday.

Teams

Australia: Michael Clarke (C), Cameron White, Brad Haddin, John Hastings, David Hussey, Clint McKay, Dirk Nannes, Peter Siddle, Dave Warner, Shane Watson, Steven Smith, Steven O’Keefe (12th

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