Comments Off on Hilfenhaus to sit out playing XI

By Liam, October 23, 2014 8:13 am

It doesn’t seem Ben Hilfenhaus will be able to make Australia’s playing XI for the first test match against Pakistan which is starting this Tuesday in Dubai.

The 31-year old swing bowler from Tasmania did not get to bowl too much in the practice match against the A team of Pakistan. He, in fact, did not bowl at all in the second innings which is a clear hint that that the team management doesn’t see him as one of the first choice players for the series.

Hilfenhaus’ selection in the squad itself for this UAE tour was a big surprise as he had not played test match cricket for a long time and had not left too much of an impression in the last domestic season either. But, perhaps, because of his ability of reverse swing the ball on sluggish pitches, the Aussie selectors included him in the touring party.

The pitches in Emirates generally happen to be dusty ones because of which the ball gets roughened up quite quickly and starts tailing in the direction opposite to the conventional swing and Hilfenhaus’ low arm action helps him to make it happen more efficiently than the other bowlers.

But, with the Dubai pitch also expected to turn big from the 3^rd day onwards, Australia has to go with two spinners and that leaves the room for only two quickies in the XI. Mitchell Johnson is the obvious pick for one of those spots and considering Peter Siddle’s consistency over the years, the other spot is expected to go to him. So, Hilfenhaus might have to sit out.

The last time that Hilfenhaus had played in white clothes for Australia was in December 2012. That was a home game for the Kangaroos against Sri Lanka.

Comments Off on Cook Admits His Team Needs Work

By Liam, September 3, 2014 12:53 pm

The England captain Alastair Cook has admitted that his boys will have to find a way to score runs against the spin bowlers in the ongoing ODI series against India.

In the first two matches of the series so far, the hosts have looked impotent against spin. They have given too many wickets to the Indian spinners from over no. 15 to over no. 35 and have been bowled out for low scores both times.

They, obviously, can’t win the series now as India has gone ahead by 2-0, but, they can equalize it if they bat well especially against spin in the remaining matches.

In the press conference after the Trent Bridge game, Cook was quoted as saying, “The way we had started, there is no doubt we should have got to a big score, but, then it was a spinning pitch and once you are a couple of wickets down on such surface, it’s never easy to get the runs at a quick rate.”

“I know power hitters batting in the top order as they think we are too slow at the start, but, I don’t think that’s the case. In Cardiff as well as here in Nottingham, we were 50 for no loss in about 10 overs and that’s not a bad rate to go against the two new balls.”

“In the ODIs, a platform needs to be set for the lower middle players who can use the long handle, but, if the opposition keeps chipping away with wickets, that doesn’t happen and then, you are restricted to a modest score.”

This might be the third consecutive ODI series that the Poms under Cook. They have already lost series against Sri Lanka (at home) and Australia (away) this year.

Comments Off on First Test Ends In Draw For England And India

By Liam, August 6, 2014 2:35 pm

The first test match between India and England which was played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham ended in the form of a draw.

England needed quick wickets on Day 5 to limit India’s lead under 200 and go out there and chase it down and they got those quick wickets. The ball seamed around a little bit under the overcast conditions in the morning and Stuart Broad and Liam Plunkett gave India some body blows by bowling full in the line of the stumps.

But, India’s lower order came in the hosts’ way again. Ravindra Jadeja and Stuart Binny first and Binny and Bhuvneshwar after that, put up half century stands and made sure that there would not be enough time left for England to chase down the total lead that India would have.

England, however, could not get India all out anyway. The Indians, at the end, declared their second innings at 391 for 9 and both the captains agreed to shake hands after that.

The pitch had a big role to play in this test match. There was no juice in it at all for the quickies and neither did it deteriorate enough on the 4^th and the 5^th day to help the spinners. So, it was difficult for the two teams to try and force a result on such sort of surface.

The English fast bowlers tried hard on the last day despite having done so much of bowling earlier in the match. Now, it would not be easy for them to recover themselves for the Lord’s test match which is going to start in just a couple of days’ time i.e. from the 16^th of this month.

There are a total of 5 test matches to be played in this series.