Australia completes a White Wash of Pakistan in Test Series

Australia has once again proved that in their home soil, they can demolish any cricket team. Before the beginning of the test series, Australia was surely the hot favorite but very few people could perhaps predict that they could do a whitewash in this fashion. In the third test, Australia won by 231 runs. The only consolation for Pakistan is perhaps that they did not lose by innings.

In their second innings, Pakistani batsmen got all out for just 206 runs. Khurram Manzoor scored 77 and Mohammad Aamer got just 30 and except them the other batsmen just came and went. For Australia, with this win, their test ranking may see some improvement. The two teams will again play against each other in ODI series after few days.

Australia Makes it 5-0 in ODI Series

Australia won the fifth of the seven-match ODI series against England yesterday. A captain’s knock of 126 runs off 109 balls from Ricky Ponting helped Australia make a successful chase for a 300-run winning target. England scored 299 runs batting first thanks to Eoin Morgan’s 41-ball 58, Denly’s 45, Strauss’ 35, Prior’s 37 and Shah’s 31 runs. In the absence of Brett Lee, Australian bowlers did not look impressive. Johnson, Watson and Hauritz took 2 wickets each.

Australia had a very good start thanks to two openers Watson and Paine. However, Ponting and Clarke contributed 133 runs for the third wicket and that was instrumental behind Australian victory. Clarke scored a well-played 52 off 64 balls. On his way to 126, Ponting showed some of his masterstrokes, hitting 14 boundaries and 3 over-boundaries. In the end, Cameron White’s quick fire 24 and Johnson’s 12-ball 18 guided Australia to victory.

Related article:

The Canadian Press

Australia Named 15-Men Squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2009

Australian selectors declared the 15-men squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 recently and it seems that they decided to show some faith on the senior players. In fact, 9 of the 15 players of the squad are currently playing in the ongoing fifth Ashes test against England. There are 6 players who are at their 30s and only 2 players are under 25.

Over the last few series and tournaments, Australian selectors were very much interested in bringing new faces in Australian squad, citing an approach to make a balanced team in the long run. However, this time national selection panel took a different stance, providing chances to experienced cricketers like Mike Hussey and Brett Lee, and thus, leaving out the young players like Phillip Hughes and Stuart Clark.

Actually, I think that a team should have a much-needed balanced of experience and youth and I appreciate the recent stance of Australian selectors. Young talented players should be given some time to nurture their talent in domestic cricket and they should not be rushed to the national team just after one good season.

Related article:

Reuters

3-mobile to sponsor Australian cricket for another four years

(This entry was originally published on Sunday, January 4th, 2009)

For the last eight years, 3- mobile has been sponsoring Australian cricket or Cricket Australia (CA). Now, they have extended their sponsorship contract with the Australian cricket team until 2013. They have decided to stay with Cricket Australia despite the fact that Australia is now suffering from a bad economic recession. These days, we have seen that many sponsorship deals got scrapped in many parts of the world in different sports. Even high profile players like Tiger Woods lost sponsorship deal. Now, that is why I am surprised to see that 3-mobile decided to extend their sponsorship deal. Well, cricket is a popular event in some countries and it is generating a lot of money especially in India. So, I have a suspicion that mobile may want to enter the Indian market. Or it may be seriously considering to enter in the South Asian market as well.

McGrath foundation becoming popular

(This entry was originally published on Sunday, January 4th, 2009)

Glenn McGrath is out of cricket action but he is now very busy with his charity organization, McGrath foundation. He is working to raise money for supporting breast cancer patients. He has received huge support in Australia and in the last few days, he has been able to raise nearly $100,000. It is nice to see that he is trying very hard for a noble cause. Even there is a website for this and its address is http://www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au/.

I wish that other cricket players also join this kind of cause. They can easily make a difference. I remember that Steve Waugh of Australia was also engaged in a charity program for supporting Indian children. However, I am yet to see these kinds of initiatives from Indian players like Sachin Tendulkar or Sourav Ganguly who earn a huge amount of money from cricket. I think that they should learn from Australian cricketers in this regard.

Ricky Ponting Insists Australia to Remain No. 1

(This entry was originally posted in this blog on December 4, 2008 and the information is based on that time.)

Australian captain Ricky Ponting said that his team would remain at the top of the world ranking at the end of this year, even though they were beaten by South Africa in the upcoming test series, beginning from 17 December. Australia lost the test series 2-0 in India before defeating New Zealand at home. However, the upcoming test series against England is considered to be a tough test for the world champions. There is no doubt, India is eyeing on the top spot in the ranking, while South Africa also wants to bag the no. 1 place in test ranking now, given Australia’s recent inconsistency.

Cricinfo reported:

“It has taken us a long time and a lot of great wins in different conditions around the world to get us to that No. 1 spot,” Ponting told AAP. “If South Africa beat us 3-0 I don’t know if that gives them enough points to get over us.

“But if they won the series 1-0 or 2-1, I don’t think that would mean that they deserve to take over that mantle. It’s a bit the same with India last series. Just because they beat us, the No. 1 team, doesn’t necessarily mean they go from the No. 4 or No. 5 in the world to No. 1 in the world, because it’s something that’s accrued over a long period of time.”

South Africa has been in an excellent form now. They recently demolished Bangladesh in the home series and even before that, they pulled off a historic test series victory in England. So, South Africa will take on Australia full of confidence, while Australia will try to forget the bitter experience of their India tour and seek inspiration from their recent home victory over New Zealand.

Australia Named 14-Member Squad for South Africa Tour

Considering the future of Australian cricket, Australian selectors have recently named an inexperienced squad for the upcoming three-match test series against South Africa. Following their recent test series defeat at the hands of South Africa at home, Australian team is now under huge pressure and their no. 1 spot in test ranking is now under serious threat. If they lose the test series in South Africa, Australia would lose the no. 1 place to South Africa. In fact, South Africa has recently replaced Australia at the top of the ODI ranking, following their 4-1 triumph in ODI series.

Australian selectors called up uncapped batsman Phillip Hughes for the South Africa tour as the replacement for recently retired Mathew Hayden. The New South Wales batsman has had an excellent domestic season recently. Captain Ricky Ponting thinks that Hughes deserves a chance after his impressive domestic record for New South Wales. He has the ability to make big score under pressure, a quality badly needed for the Aussies in difficult condition in South Africa.

Brett Lee and Stuart Clark are missing the tour because of injuries. All rounder Shane Watson is also injured out for the series, while veteran all rounder Andrew Symonds is under suspension following his involvement in a spate of off-field issues over the last few six months. However, Andrew McDonald has been included as the all rounder, but he might have to go head-to-head with another uncapped player Marcus North to get into the final line up.

Here, I am giving the names of the 14-member Australian squad for the South Africa tour from Canadian Press:

Australia

Ricky Ponting (capt.), Michael Clarke, Doug Bollinger, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Andrew McDonald, Bryce McGain, Marcus North, Peter Siddle.

US Open 2007: Live in Fox 2 TV Channel in Australia

I guess that timing of US Open Tennis is not very good for many Australians. However, there are no shortage of Tennis fans in Australia and many fans would stay awake whole night and watch matches of US Open Tennis 2007. If you live in Australia and you want to watch the matches of US Open Tennis 2007 live then you better have Fox 2 TV channel because this is the TV channel in which you can watch your favorites players in action. This time, no one is expecting any Australian player to win the title of male or female singles event in US Open 2007 but that really does not matter to most tennis fans in Australia.

If you want to know more about this matter then visit this link:

http://www.foxsports.com.au/tvguide

Rugby World Cup 2007: Australia Squad

Rugby World Cup 2007 is going to be started from 7 September. Twenty teams will play in four groups of five teams. This time, France will host Rugby World Cup 2007 and in the opening match France will face Argentina. Rugby World Cup 2007 is going to be sixth edition of this tournament.

Now, ahead of the tournament, the competing countries are now unveiling their final squads. Players and officials are busy with final preparation for the most prestigious tournament of the Rugby world. Now, I am going to write about the Australian side of the tournament.

Australia is the most successful team in the history of Rugby World Cup as they won two world cup titles yet. Australia will play in Group B where Canada, Fiji, Japan and Wales will play in the group stage. Australia will play their first match against Japan on 8 September.

In the 30 men Australian squad the surprising inclusion is Berrick Barnes. The 21 year old fly half plays for Queensland in domestic Rugby. He impressed with his performance for Australia A in IRB Pacific Nations Cup tournament. Berrick Barnes has not play any match for Australia. So, his debut for Australia will be something special as his debut is going to be in world cup.

Australian squad seems to be a combination of both youth and experienced players. Australia’s George Gregan is the most capped Rugby player in the world. His experience of playing in 134 international rugby matches will definitely help Australia for their third world cup title campaign. Stirling Mortlock remains as captain in the Rugby World Cup 2007. Chris Latham has come back to the team after his six months struggle with knee injury.

The Official Rugby World Cup reported:

“Stirling embraced the captaincy role during the Tri Nations and really led from the front with his performances on the field. He’s a player that the other players enjoying playing with and his leadership has grown immensely during the season,” Connolly said.

“A number of selections were very tight and you feel for the players that have missed out [on the squad], but we are very comfortable with the squad we have selected and we’re certain they will acquit themselves well in France,” Connolly added.

I think, Australia is favorite for the 2007 Rugby World Cup and they will try to win their third Rugby world cup. I am giving the 30 men Australian squad from the official website of Rugby World Cup below:

Forwards (17): Alistair Baxter, Mark Chisholm, Matt Dunning, Rocky Elsom, Adam Freier, Sean Hardman, Stephen Hoiles, Greg Holmes, David Lyons, Hugh McMeniman, Stephen Moore, Wycliff Palu, Nathan Sharpe, Guy Shepherdson, George Smith, Dan Vickerman, Phil Waugh.

Backs (13): Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes, Sam Cordingley, Mark Gerrard, Matt Giteau, George Gregan, Julian Huxley, Stephen Larkham, Chris Latham, Drew Mitchell, Stirling Mortlock (Captain), Scott Staniforth, Lote Tuqiri.