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NEWS & SPORT
Watson leads way in Mohali
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Australian opener Shane Watson made the highest score of his Test career in the first Test against India, his knock of 126 anchoring the tourists’ first innings.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat, before producing the kind of patchy performance that has become all too common in recent times. Simon Katich went early before Ricky Ponting combined with Shane Watson for a 141-run stand. But when Ponting was run out for 71, the wheels fell off. Including Ponting’s wicket, Australia lost 4-68, with Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey out cheaply. After managing just 36 runs from four innings against Pakistan during the past English summer, Marcus North is the Australian under the most pressure to retain his spot for the Ashes and a sixball duck would surely not have helped his cause. When Watson fell to
Harbhajan Singh, Australia were teetering at 6-275 but were again delivered by some vital lower-order runs, with stand-in keeper Tim Paine making a composed 92 before falling painfully short of his maiden Test century. Mitchell Johnson also got in on the act, clouting a brutal 47 to propel Australia to 428 all out. In reply, India got off to a flying start, romping to 1-106 in the 20th over before Virender Sehwag fell for 59. The tempo of India’s innings slowed from there, but experienced middle-order batsmen Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar ensured Australia never seized any real momentum. As day three wore on, with India steadily gaining ground on Australia’s firstinnings total, only a dramatic reversal in the struggle between bat and ball seemed likely to deliver a result other than a draw.
Shane Watson made a crucial century
Skepticism plagues new format James Hopes
icc boss snubs revamp ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat does not believe one-day cricket needs a reduction of overs. “I am still a strong supporter of 50-over cricket,” Lorgat told the Sydney Morning Herald. “The important point is structure, schedule and context. A championship league would give context to every match.”
New South Wales captain Stuart Clark said the idea will need to prove itself this season. “Over the last couple of months there’s been a lot of talk about whether it’s right or not,” Clark said. “At the end of the year it will either be a real success or maybe we’ll have to go back to the drawing board.”
Legendary former spinner Shane Warne has conceded Australia are more vulnerable at home than they have been for a generation, but still tipped a 2-1 victory in the upcoming Ashes series. “Given that there’s not much between the two teams, you think the next thing to weigh up are the Australian conditions,” he said. “Australia have only lost a couple of series in 20 years in Australia. “This is England’s best chance since 1986,” Warne added. “With Australia in transition, they are not playing as well as they can, while England are playing pretty well and with a settled squad. “They need Graeme Swann to take 30 wickets in the series, and if he does that, they can probably win.”
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Cricket Australia’s radical new domestic one-day format, which kicks off this week, is yet to be fully embraced by the players, with many apprehensive about the overhauled state competition. In a bid to rejuvenate the dying one-day game, CA have created the National One-day Cup. The new format includes 45 overs per team with split innings of 20 and 25 overs. “The tactics will be a bit weird to start off with,” Queensland captain James Hopes said. “I think some teams will just try to play it straight down the line the first few games until they get a handle on what stages you can go hard. “But you’ve got to keep the momentum in a game that you keep stopping.”
Warne predicts Ashes victory