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Siddle strikes in Australia win HOBART
sCoReboARD
AGenCIes
S
EAMERS Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc shared six late wickets to give Australia a dramatic 137-run victory over Sri Lanka in the last hour of the fifth and final day of the first test on Tuesday. Siddle, who finished the match with figures of 9104, and left-armer Starc, who took 5-63 in the second innings, caught fire in the final session to bowl the tourists out for 255 and give Australia a 1-0 lead in the three-test series. Having been stymied in similar circumstances by a brilliant rearguard action from South Africa in Adelaide last month, Australia were desperate not to repeat the experience in Hobart. It looked like it might be a case of dĂŠjĂ vu at tea, however, when some resilient batting from the Sri Lankans and a couple of rain breaks frustrated the hosts for two sessions. Siddle had already taken the key wickets of captain Mahela Jayawardene (19) and ICC Cricketer of the Year Kumar Sangakkara (63) around lunch but the tourists reached tea on 186 with six wickets still in hand. In a sign of Australia's growing desperation, wicketkeeper Matthew Wade shed his pads and gloves to bowl the final over before the break and claimed a maiden in his first spell in senior cricket. Sri Lanka, set a victory target of 393, could still conceivably have won the match but a paltry return of 42 runs in the second session clearly indicated they were
No evidence of tampering: ICC HOBART AGenCIes
ICC match referee Chris Broad has said there was no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball had been changed by Australia during the Hobart Test, after Sri Lanka had expressed concerns over alleged tampering. Broad said the umpires had reviewed the video footage and will not lay charges. "The umpires frequently inspect the ball during play, and did so again after they had reviewed the video footage in question on Sunday [third day]. They found no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball had been changed," Broad said after Australia won the first Test by 137 runs. "During the tea interval on that day, I spoke with Australia coach Mickey Arthur and told him that the umpires will continue to inspect the cricket ball regularly, and monitor the actions of all players. "I subsequently informed the Sri Lanka team management of my discussions with the Australia coach. In the opinion of the umpires, there was no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball was changed, or that the video or photographic evidence would support a charge under the Code of Conduct, so they will not be laying any charges relating to these incidents." Sri Lanka's team management had expressed concerns over footage it believed showed Peter Siddle tampering with the ball in their first innings. They alleged that broadcast cameras might have captured Siddle using his fingernails to raise the seam of the ball in the 88th over of Sri Lanka's innings, while bowling to Prasanna Jayawardene. According to the team manager Charith Senanayake, their suspicions had been raised in the dressing room as they received the video-feed in real time, in the second session on day three. However, the visitors did not make an official complaint to the match referee. "We have the footage with us," Senanayake had said. "We recorded the game and it's there for everybody to see. We saw something illegal and have reacted to that. I have spoken to the match referee informally. It's up to them to act now, but we will have to pursue it further if nothing happens."
wednesday, 19 december, 2012
AusTRAlIA fIRsT InnInGs 450-5 DeClAReD sRI lAnKA fIRsT InnInGs 336 AusTRAlIA seConD InnInGs 278 sRI lAnKA seConD InnInGs (oVeRnIGHT 65-2) 30 D. Karunaratne b starc 11 T. Dilshan c wade b watson 63 K. sangakkara lbw siddle M. Jayawardene c Clarke b siddle 19 49 T. samaraweera lbw siddle A. Mathews c wade b siddle 19 p. Jayawardene c Hussey b starc 21 n. Kulasekara c wade b starc 9 R. Herath b starc 8 6 s. eranga c wade b starc 0 C. welegedera not out 20 extras (b-10, lb-8, w-1, nb-1) 255 Total (all out, 119.2 overs) fall of wickets: 1-26 2-47 3-112 4-151 5-201 6-218 7-235 8-247 9-250 bowling: starc 28.2-7-63-5 (nb-1, w-1), siddle 26-11-50-4, watson 27-6-5-1, lyon 32-12-57-0, Hussey 1-0-5-0, warner 40-8-0, wade 1-1-0-0. second test Dec. 26-30 Melbourne Cricket Ground Third test Jan. 3-7 sydney Cricket Ground
batting for a draw rather than a first win in Australia. The Australian bowling unit, a man down after local quick Ben Hilfenhaus suffered a side strain, never gave up, even if Siddle looked like the only man who might break through for much of the day. The 28-year-old struck again on the first ball of his second over after tea to dismiss obdurate all-rounder Angelo Mathews, caught behind by Wade for 19. With the rain staying away, Siddle then removed the last of the Sri Lankan top order with a sizzling delivery which trapped Thilan Samaraweera lbw, one run short of the batsman's half century. Samaraweera almost reluctantly appealed
to the television umpire but it was a wasted appeal and removed another weapon from the tourist's armoury as they sought to bat out the day. With Sri Lanka reduced to 218-6, Siddle took a rest but left-arm quick Starc picked up the baton and had soon removed Prasanna Jayawardene for 21. A fullish in swinger nearly took the wicketkeeper's hand off and the ball flew off his glove to Mike Hussey at second slip to leave just three tail end wickets standing with around 90 minutes of play remaining. Another peach of a delivery from Starc sent Nuwan Kulasekara back to the pavilion for nine and a perfectly de-
livered yorker soon afterwards removed Rangana Herath for eight. With Siddle now bowling from the other end, it was a straight fight between the two for who would take the five wicket haul and win the match for Australia. Starc took the honours when he had Shaminda Eranga caught behind for six, sparking huge celebrations among his team mates and the disappointingly small crowd of some 2,000. Siddle was named Man of the Match but was also at the centre of a ball tampering row after a picture of the bowler apparently picking at the seam in Sri Lanka's first innings circulated on social media.
Pak team win silver medal in South west handball LAHORE sTAff RepoRT
Pakistan handball team the silver medal in the International Handball Federation (IHF) under 21 years South west Asian Handball Challenge Trophy losing the final to arch rivals India on Tuesday in Kathmandu, Nepal. Indian side won the final 40-20 taking advantage of injuries to two Pakistani players ,said the information made available here. Yemen bagged bronze whereas Afghanistan took the fourth place followed by Bangladesh as hosts Nepal finished at rock bottom sixth place. By virtue of playing the final, India and Pakistan qualified for Asian men IHF Challenge Trophy being held in 2013, said the information made available here. Pakistan won its group match against Afghanistan by 33-27
goals and 2nd match against Nepal by 36-26 goals and won their semifinal match against Yemen by 33-27 goals . Pakistan got another distinction when their key player Imran khan was declared the best player during two matches. Pakistan women under 20 years team also participated 1st time in this event and got 5th place after winning match against Afghanistan by 31-13 goals and lost matches against India and Bangladesh. Pakistan contingent will be arriving home on December 20.Khalid Rashid is the Men team head of delegation and coaches are Mr. Muhammad Akram and Irshad Ahmad whereas Dr. Shabana Naz is the head of delegation of women team and coaches are Mrs Saiqa Ehsan and Miss Aisha . Muhammad Shafiq Secretary, Pakistan Handball Federation supervised IHF Trophy as representative of Asian and International Handball Federation.
No question of calling off Pakistan-India series: bCCI
NEW DELHI AGenCIes
The BCCI on Tuesday shot down BJP's demand of cancelling the Indo-Pak limitedovers cricket series in the wake of visiting Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik "insulting" India, insisting that the matches would be held as scheduled. "There is no question of calling off the tour. All the arrangements have been made and the tour was planned much earlier. Politics should not be mixed with sports and the tour will go on," senior BCCI official and IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla said. In the Parliament on Monday, the BJP had accused Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde of remaining silent by not responding appropriately to Malik, who triggered controversy by equating 26/11 Mumbai attack with Babri Masjid demolition and describing LeT terrorist Abu Jundal as an operative of Indian intelligence agency. New Delhi has rubbished Malik's assertions. Senior BJP leader Yashwant Singh said, "The Indo-Pak cricket series (commencing on December 25) should be cancelled. "What kind of goodwill we are creating by playing cricket matches after Malik's visit," he told reporters outside Parliament House. "...our Home Minister has shown weakness by not responding to Rehman Malik in kind. He should have immediately responded, if he (Malik) used hard words, he (Shinde) should have used hard words," Sinha said.
nEW ZEAlAnD In South AFrIcA 2012-13
AB de Villiers pulls out of New Zealand T20s JOHANNESBERg AGenCIes
AB de Villiers has pulled out of South Africa's Twenty20 internationals at home against New Zealand in December, citing the need for extra rest before the Tests in January. Justin Ontong, the Cape Cobras captain, has been called into the squad. "It's been an exhausting few months and I feel that I need some extra rest before the Test series," De Villiers said. "It's for this reason that I have put in the request and I'm grateful to the team management for supporting this decision." When the squad was announced on December 13, South Africa's selectors had named Faf du Plessis as captain in order to reduce the workload on de Villiers, who was included as a player. Quinton de Kock, who was part of South Africa's Under-19 squad for the 2012 World Cup, had been designated as wicketkeeper for the T20s, and ESPNCricinfo understands he will also keep in the one-dayers after the Tests, although the ODI squad has not been named yet. De Villiers has a history of back problems that have worsened because of wicketkeeping, and this request for a break will fuel speculation that he is in trouble again. After the World Twenty20 in September, de Villiers needed three weeks of rehabilitation for his back, and South Africa's management denied the injury has recurred again. "There is nothing imminently wrong with his back, it is just about managing
workload," Mohammed Moosajee said, the team manager, told ESPNcricinfo. "The plan is to rotate players like Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla because of the schedule. Morne and Dale will probably only play one or two matches each. With AB, it's about getting his mindset right and getting him energised. It's physical and mental." De Villiers had complained of stiffness and fatigue after playing in the domestic one-day cup playoff match on December 9.
Moosajee said that could be a result of jetlag, as the team had only arrived from Australia four days before. De Villiers' role in the game could also have contributed to the fatigue. He scored a century and fielded for the entire duration of Cobras' innings because Heino Kuhn kept wicket. Three days after that match, De Villiers said the game was "hard on my body," and that he was glad he was a wicketkeeper for South Africa "because the time in the field was tiring." However, ESPNcricinfo understands
wicketkeeping is partly responsible for de Villiers' back injuries. He became the permanent Test wicketkeeper after Mark Boucher retired and wants to continue in the role. A source close to Cricket South Africa said de Villiers had been initially reluctant to take on the job but had "changed his mind" since. With Tests the focus for de Villiers, despite his role as limited-overs captain, he will be rested when the schedule allows, although he will play the IPL. De Villiers' replacement Ontong captained Cobras to the final of the domestic one-day cup. He scored 268 runs in 12 matches at an average of 44.66. He was part of South Africa's squad at the World T20, although he did not play, and will lead the A side in a practice match against New Zealand this afternoon. "Justin has been in our limited-overs plans for some time now and he has underlined his worth during the recent one-day cup, when he excelled as a finisher," Andrew Hudson, the convenor of selectors, said. "As we all know he is also an outstanding fielder with his direct hits and a more than useful spin bowler. We are fortunate to have a player of his calibre to replace AB and the loss of one is certainly an opportunity for the other." Revised Twenty20 squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Henry Davids, Quinton de Kock, Justin Ontong, Rory Kleinveldt, Richard Levi, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.