All posts by h79snht.top

VVS Laxman, who rescued India with a sublime 85, threw his support behind Virat Kohli and the openers who haven’t done well so far in the series

Sriram Veera at the Kensington Oval29-Jun-2011VVS Laxman, who rescued India with a sublime 85 to help them reach 201, backed Virat Kohli and the openers, M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund, who haven’t done well so far in the series, and said playing county cricket will help young batsmen adapt to different conditions and hone their skills.Twice in three innings Kohli has fallen to the short ball. However, Laxman believed Kohli would be the batsman to watch out for. “Today, it was unfortunate,” he said. “Considering the bounce of the wicket, he expected that ball to rise more. It was an unfortunate dismissal. He is a fabulous cricketer and has improved as a batsman in the last two years. He has played well in various tough situations in ODIs. It shows he is improving with every match. He will be a great player to watch out for, a match-winner for the country.”The openers haven’t scored much either. Vijay, who failed in the first Test, fought hard for nearly two hours before he fell, strangled down the leg side. Mukund fell early, unable to cope with extra bounce off a delivery that jumped from short of a length. However, Laxman didn’t see any cause for concern. “We’ve got talented openers. Abhinav had an excellent domestic season and Vijay has always grabbed his opportunities. It’s tough playing in the West Indies, especially on wickets that are usually damp in the first couple of hours on the first day. They are potential match-winners.”Virat Kohli hasn’t got going in his debut Test series•Associated Press

Laxman agreed when asked whether the youngsters would benefit from the experience of playing county cricket but wondered if the tight international calendar would allow them that opportunity. “It will be a great experience for a batsman to play county cricket. I enjoyed my time with Lancashire. But given the amount of time the cricketers are already playing, it doesn’t give much opportunity. It will be great for a batsman because you get so many opportunities to play on different pitches, in different weather conditions and against different bowlers.”Laxman also praised Suresh Raina, with whom he was involved in a 117-run partnership to lift India from the depths of 38 for 4. “Raina has practiced a lot playing the short deliveries. You could see that in Jamaica and here. He has played two important knocks. He played positively when the chips were down. It was great to see the way he approached the innings.”The two batsmen didn’t talk much at lunch, Laxman said. “That’s the beauty of this Indian team. Irrespective of the situation, it’s very relaxed. Someone puts his hand up.”Laxman reached 8000 Test runs during his innings, but rued the fact that he couldn’t carry on to reach a century and take India to a more competitive total. “Had we batted on, we could have got around 250 to 300, which would have been a very good score.”It was yet another innings of substance in crisis from Laxman, who said such situations bring out the best in him. “It gets the best out of me, especially when we are in a terrible situation. The track was challenging and so was the situation. But I always regret not converting the hard work done into big hundreds. Still, I got into better rhythm especially after Jamaica.”Laxman felt the pitch had some venom in the morning session but eased out once the sun came out in the afternoon. “It was a difficult wicket before lunch because it was slightly damp. They were getting bounce. After lunch, the wicket eased out a bit and it was nice for strokeplay. Raina came out positively and changed the momentum of the innings. That partnership was important but I think we threw away the hard work done after lunch. “While Laxman appreciated the 8000-run landmark, he said he could only savour it after retirement. “So many runs seem great once you retire. At the moment I am not elated. I was just disappointed not getting a hundred. Personally, it would have been satisfying had I got the hundred as those additional 15 to 20 runs would have got us to 250. The bowlers did well to get us right back in to the game. It is an evenly poised situation.”

The Rajasthan Cricket Association and Rajasthan Royals will meet in Mumbai on Tuesday in a move prompted by the BCCI to find a solution to their public conflict

Tariq Engineer16-May-2011

The Rajasthan Cricket Association and Rajasthan Royals will meet in Mumbai on Tuesday in a move prompted by the BCCI to find a solution to their public conflict that erupted after the Sawai Mansingh Stadium pitch was switched for the game against Chennai Super Kings last week. The meeting follows RCA’s rejection of an apology offered by the Rajasthan franchise, with the state board also threatening further action if the matter was not resolved to its satisfaction.Since the pitch was changed for the May 9 game, Shane Warne, captain of Rajasthan, and Sanjay Dixit, the honorary secretary of the RCA, have engaged in a war of words that has been fought, in public, private and through the media. The dispute has grown to involve Lalit Modi, who was Dixit’s predecessor and opponent at RCA, and who has maintained good relations with Warne on Twitter.In his latest salvo on the micro-blogging site, Warne posted on Sunday to ask his fans to “wait till the end of IPL and I will say everything he promised and went back on his word about to the Royals. Unfortunately it is all about Dixit ego! RR has been fantastic for RCA – it’s about RR not Dixit.” To which Dixit replied: “I want to hear them too. Be sure to back it up with evidence, though.”Meanwhile Modi was re-posting a number of comments from other Twitter users critical of Dixit, such as one that read: “a quick way up the ladder in BCCI, is to publicly defame @LalitKModi and everyone he knows, don’t believe me ask @sanjay_dixit.” The RCA secretary was quick to respond to Modi directly, writing, “Bloody fugitive. Come back to India and I will give you your just desserts.”The Twitter exchange came after the RCA complained to the BCCI and IPL that Warne reportedly abused Dixit after his team’s loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in Jaipur on Wednesday. The reported that RCA venue director Narendra Joshi had written to IPL’s chief operating officer Sundar Raman, alleging that Warne had publicly abused Dixit by calling him “a liar and egoistic” and demanded action against Warne.Rajasthan subsequently sent an email apology on May 14 to Dixit, in which the team said it would take disciplinary action against Warne, who had also apologised for “any distress caused”. However, according to Dixit, the franchise has refused to say what that disciplinary action would be, something he considers unacceptable. “We asked them what action they were going to take, but they never divulged it,” Dixit told ESPNcricinfo. “They are playing diversionary tactics.” Rajasthan Royals did not respond to phone calls or text messages seeking comment.Dixit said there has been no communication with the franchise since Sunday and in the wake of Rajasthan’s silence, he has threatened to take further action “because we want to put an end to these kinds of incidents. We cannot have players coming and abusing senior officials just because they don’t get what they want.”Warne’s alleged tirade has its genesis in Dixit’s refusal to have the match against Bangalore played on a different pitch to the one on which Rajasthan had lost to Chennai. The pitch for both the Chennai and Bangalore games was flat, unlike the slow and low tracks for Rajasthan’s first five home games, and had a short boundary, a switch that Warne had criticised after the Chennai match, saying he had never before been told which pitch to use in the four years of the IPLAt the time, Dixit contradicted Warne, saying the BCCI has always had the final say on which pitch is to be used. “The BCCI has already clarified that the pitch comes under the purview of the pitch committee and curator. So, how could I have acceded to his demand?” Dixit told the . “His behaviour was totally unjustified and I have asked for action against him.”The BCCI ratified that in a statement after the Chennai game. “Neither of the playing teams has a choice of the wicket, on which to play the game,” the statement said. “It is the curator, in consultation with the committee chairman, who prepares the wickets.”The Jaipur pitch first became a topic of discussion after Mumbai Indians were restricted to 94 for 8 on it, and Sachin Tendulkar called the track two-paced. At the time both Warne and Dixit had criticised Mumbai for their comments on the pitch. The BCCI’s pitches committee head Venkat Sundaram attended Rajasthan’s next home game, and took the decision to switch the pitch for the Chennai game. The same pitch was then used for Rajasthan’s last home game, which was also Warne’s last match in Jaipur, and Rajasthan were once again comprehensively beaten.

MatériaMais Notícias

A derrota por 1 a 0 para o Corinthians, no último domingo, colocou um tempero extra no jogo do Palmeiras contra o Junior Barranquilla (COL), às 21h45 desta quarta-feira, pela última rodada do Grupo 8 da Libertadores. A Mancha Alviverde, que já divulgou nota pedindo a saída de Roger Machado, promete protestos na arquibancada do Allianz Parque.

O Palmeiras adotou a estratégia de deixar a turbulência do lado de fora. O planejamento de poupar alguns – ou vários – titulares nesta partida está mantido. Nove deles (Marcos Rocha, Antônio Carlos, Edu Dracena, Diogo Barbosa, Felipe Melo, Bruno Henrique, Lucas Lima, Keno e Borja) nem participaram do treino desta terça.

Devido à enorme sequência de partidas que antecedem a Copa do Mundo, já estava previsto que a comissão técnica usaria força máxima nos jogos contra Atlético-PR, América-MG e Corinthians e pouparia os mais desgastados contra o Junior. Mesmo assim, segue o discurso de que o objetivo é garantir a melhor campanha entre todos os classificados para os mata-matas da Libertadores (basta uma vitória).

Do lado externo, a pressão é grande. Começou horas depois do jogo em Itaquera, quando o elenco foi recepcionado por alguns torcedores revoltados em frente à Academia de Futebol e viu a Polícia Militar disparar tiros de bala de borracha para contê-los. No Facebook, a Mancha avisou que deixará de cantar os nomes dos jogadores e que fará cobranças antes e depois dos jogos enquanto Roger estiver no comando.

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Se antes havia alguma dúvida sobre a motivação da equipe para essa partida – que é crucial para o futuro do Boca Juniors na Libertadores -, agora a vitória é quase obrigatória para diminuir a efervescência causada pela terceira derrota em quatro Dérbis no ano.

O duelo entre Palmeiras e Junior Barranquilla é pauta de todos os veículos esportivos da Argentina porque o Boca só terá chances de classificação às oitavas de final se o Verdão tirar pontos da equipe colombiana. Se houver empate no Allianz, os argentinos precisarão vencer o Alianza Lima (PER) em La Bombonera para avançar. Se houver vitória palmeirense, bastará um empate em Buenos Aires. Os “hermanos” temem que o Palmeiras facilite a vida do Junior para eliminá-los de forma proposital.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras ainda não tomou gols fora de casa nesta Libertadores, enquanto o Alianza Lima (PER) ainda não marcou nenhuma vez na competição. Os dois vão se enfrentar às 21h30 desta quinta-feira, em Lima, mas o volante Bruno Henrique nem pensa em falar em jogo fácil.

– É um adversário que vem em dificuldade, mas vai ser um jogo difícil.
A gente sabe que quando começa o jogo isso aí não existe. Eles lutam bastante, temos que tomar bastante cuidado para não cair nessa cilada – disse o camisa 19, em entrevista coletiva no hotel em que a delegação alviverde está hospedada.

As duas vitórias fora de casa foram fundamentais para o Palmeiras chegar à penúltima rodada do Grupo 8 já classificado às oitavas de final da Libertadores. O time de Roger Machado venceu o Junior Barranquilla por 3 a 0 na Colômbia e fez 2 a 0 no Boca Juniors na Argentina. Em São Paulo, bateu o próprio Alianza Lima por 2 a 0 e empatou por 1 a 1 com o Boca.

– A gente espera fazer um jogo como temos feito fora de casa, marcando muito forte e marcando gols quando tiver a oportunidade. Nós não tomamos gols ainda fora de casa na Libertadores, então a gente espera repetir o que a gente vem fazendo – disse Bruno Henrique.

Em 2018, o Verdão soma nove vitórias, dois empates e apenas uma derrota como visitante (80,5% de aproveitamento). O time só perdeu para o Corinthians na primeira fase do Paulista, por 2 a 0, em Itaquera. Além deste jogo, só levou gol do Botafogo, no empate por 1 a 1 pelo Brasileirão.

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Cape Town will host two Test matches in the South African summer, CSA announced on Friday

Firdose Moonda06-May-2011

Cape Town will host two Test matches in the South African summer, CSA announced on Friday. The 2011-12 season sees South Africa play host to Australia and Sri Lanka. Australia will play only two Tests, one in Cape Town and one in Johannesburg, instead of the usual three, two Twenty20 internationals and three ODIs in a shortened tour in October and November.Sri Lanka, who have not visited South Africa since 2002, will play three Tests and five ODIs over December and January with the Christmas and New Year’s Tests remaining at their traditional homes of Durban and Cape Town.”Unfortunately time constraints prevent us from playing more than two Tests against Australia this time around,” CSA chief executive Gerald Majola said. “The aim is to play a four-match Test series when Australia next tour in February and March of 2014. This will make up for the extra Test not being played on this year’s tour.”Despite the culling of a Test from the series, Majola said that “Test cricket remains in our view the ultimate pinnacle of the game.” South Africa were thought to have reduced the number of Tests because of their domestic teams’ participation in the Champions League T20, but on Wednesday, Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the CLT20 was “not a point of discussion” when the fixtures were confirmed.The ODIs against Sri Lanka will be spread over the country’s smaller venues with Paarl, East London, Bloemfontein and Kimberley all hosting a match. The series will culminate in Johannesburg on January 22, before South Africa head to New Zealand.South Africa were toying with the idea of hosting West Indies for an ODI series in late January but the fixtures were not compulsory according to the current Future Tours Programme that runs to completion in April 2012. That series looks unlikely given the schedule.

ESPNcricinfo previews the crunch Group B game between Bangladesh and South Africa in Mirpur

The Preview by Sidharth Monga18-Mar-2011

Match FactsMarch 19, Mirpur
Start time 09.30 am (03.30 GMT)The Big PictureThe back-door is shut now. Had West Indies won their game last night, Bangladesh would have made it through to the quarter-finals. As it turned out, the game between West Indies and England twisted and turned, went inside-out, upside-down, before England bit another bullet and stayed alive in the tournament. Surely about a 1000 miles north, the Bangladesh players watched in hope and later in agony in their team hotel in Dhaka. Thanks to that result, Bangladesh are now a point behind England, and a long way behind every contender in terms of net run-rate. There is an upside too: Bangladesh no longer need to watch helplessly, hoping for some other team to do what is desirable for them.It’s relatively simple now: beat South Africa and go through, no who-does-what elsewhere in the group. However, just the thought and the equation are simple, not actually beating South Africa, whose pace attack – even on the slow and low pitch at Mirpur – will provide the hosts with their biggest test. South Africa have also been on a bit of a roll, their tight win against India cancelling out the close defeat to England. They will want to finish at the top of the table, and hence face the fourth-placed team in Group A. Given how this World Cup has gone, it might not be the most desirable thing to do, for it could mean they might have to face Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.There is no reason why Bangladesh shouldn’t back themselves, though. They have beaten South Africa in a World Cup before, they have the advantage of home conditions, they have had back-to-back wins, but they also know this is not going to be easy. It’s been a funny World Cup so far: Bangladesh, bowled out for 58 by West Indies, were supporting West Indies yesterday; England, great rivals of South Africa, will be supporting South Africa tomorrow, as will be West Indies.Graeme Smith certainly doesn’t want to miss a poke at England. “I think English fans are getting used to supporting South Africans these days,” he said on the eve of this game.What happens if…South Africa win: Bangladesh are knocked out, and India, England and West Indies go through
Bangladesh win: Bangladesh go through, leaving West Indies a must-win game against India
The game is tied or no-result: England go through thanks to a superior net run-rate, and Bangladesh are left hoping West Indies lose their game on SundayForm guide(completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh WWLWL
South Africa WWLWWThe Bangladesh part of the World Cup returns to Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, where Bangladesh will like a turning surface, but it is not quite possible to create a rank turner in Mirpur. The best they can manage is the low and slow pitch that they rolled out for Ireland. There is no rain forecast, and there shouldn’t be too much of early-morning freshness for this day game, because the sun is already about three-and-a-half hours old by the 9.30 am start in Bangladesh.Watch out for…Bangladesh’s best batsman, Tamim Iqbal, hasn’t had a great World Cup, and he knows how much rests on him. He will want to set that record straight, and make sure this is not his last chance in the tournament.
Graeme Smith has had his share of problems at the top of the order, but playing Bangladesh in Bangladesh provides him with a fairly good challenge before the knockouts.Team newsBangladesh won’t make too many changes to their winning combination, except that offspinner Naeem Islam is likely to replace left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo, on account of a few left-hand batsmen in the South African line-up.
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Shahriar Nafees, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Suhrawadi Shuvo / Naeem Islam, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain.South Africa are back to full fitness, and Imran Tahir may come back in place of either Johan Botha or Robin Peterson. If AB de Villiers comes back, he might not keep, which might mean that Colin Ingram, despite his 46 against Ireland, might have to sit out.South Africa (probable): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Morne van Wyk (wk), 8 Johan Botha / Imran Tahir, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne MorkelNo Bangladesh batsman has scored a World Cup century.The only time Bangladesh have beaten South Africa in international cricket was in Providence in the previous World Cup.AB de Villiers, with 318 runs from four innings, is the only middle-order batsman in the top-six run-getters of the tournament so far.Quotes”We are on the right track and moving forward to our target as we already have won three matches out of five as per our expectation. Everything is okay with the team, but still we believe that we are yet to play our best cricket in the tournament.”

“They need to win the game. We expect a very passionate crowd. They will also be the team under pressure so we hope to be able to force them into doing things they wouldn’t want to do.”

Gladstone Dainty, John Thickett, Ram Varadarajan and Dr. Asif Ahmad have been appointed by the USACA board of directors to fill the four seats from USACA on the Cricket Holdings America LLC board

Peter Della Penna05-May-2011

Gladstone Dainty, John Thickett, Ram Varadarajan and Dr. Asif Ahmad have been appointed by the USACA board of directors to fill the four seats from USACA on the Cricket Holdings America LLC board. According to Thickett, the USACA Treasurer, the four men were elected in a vote held on April 29 by the USACA board of directors.”One of the things that I believe will be good for US cricket is actually bringing in people from outside USACA and broadening the roles of involvement of people outside of USACA who have a link to cricket and who can do a lot of good work, but they don’t necessarily have to be on the USACA board,” Thickett told ESPNcricinfo.Cricket Holdings America LLC was formed as a partnership in December between New Zealand Cricket, USACA, Australian-based marketing company Insite, Top Bloom and Podar Holding International. The entity will hold the majority of commercial rights to cricket in the USA, including the formation of a Twenty20 league and the staging of international matches.One of the chief duties of the four USACA representatives on the CHA board will be deciding how to distribute USACA’s portion of any profits that come through deals signed by CHA. Thickett has sketched a plan for what he feels would be an ideal method of profit distribution among the stakeholders of US cricket.”I’m approaching this from my role as the treasurer so I know how much money USACA’s spending and needs for a robust national operation and then wanting to give enough out for the regions and leagues,” Thickett said. “This is very early days and it needs to be discussed and debated, but I’ve got it down to USACA having for its national teams and operations, 40% of the money. I’d recommend putting 20% in a reserve fund for the long term. I would put in 20% of the money for the regions and then we’ve also put down the final 20% going out for the leagues that make up the regions as well so they can do some grassroots development in the individual leagues as well.”However, Thickett would like to organise town hall-style meetings in order to explain what Cricket Holdings America is about and offer a chance for stakeholders to give their own opinions on how the money that funnels down to USACA should be used.”The question for all the stakeholders in US cricket is to how to take this money and invest it,” Thickett said. “In the 45 or 46 years history of USACA, I don’t think it’s ever really had major positive cashflow. It’s always been kind of scraping by. I call it guerilla financing. Now with the license fee coming in from the LLC, there’s a reasonable cashflow to do a number of things.”We’ve papered out some ideas that we want to share with the board and the regions, the leagues that make them up and get everyone’s input. We want a period of consultation where people can input how this money is to be invested for the future.”It is unclear who else was nominated for the four positions represented by USACA on the CHA board, but the selection of Varadarajan is remarkable from the standpoint that he ran against Dainty for the position of USACA President in the 2008 election in which Dainty defeated him by a narrow three-vote margin. It had been rumored that Varadarajan would run for the same position in this year’s election as well and his appointment to the CHA board has already had an effect on regional elections.Varadarajan was nominated and expected to win the role of North West Region representative on the USACA board of directors, but in a USACA press release sent out on Tuesday announcing election results for the newly formed North West and South West region boards, his name was withdrawn from consideration for that position. The press release also stated that Nina Ahmad, the wife of Dr. Asif Ahmad, was also withdrawn as a nominee for the position of South West Region representative on the USACA board.There is no known requirement stipulating that Varadarajan or anyone else cannot hold positions on both the USACA and CHA boards at the same time, especially considering the fact that Thickett and Dainty will be serving on each board. Thickett, who ran on the same ticket with Varadarajan in the 2008 election, is pleased to have him on the CHA board.

فجر مدرب مهاجم منتخب الأرجنتين الأول، جوليان ألفاريز، مفاجأة من العيار الثقيل حول مستقبل بطل كأس العالم الجديد مع التانجو حال الرحيل عن مانشستر سيتي.

وأنضم ألفاريز إلى صفوف مانشستر سيتي في الميركاتو الصيفي الماضي قادمًا من صفوف ريفر بليت، ورغم عدم مشاركته أساسيًا مع مدربه، بيب جوارديولا، إلا أنه كان لاعبًا مهمًا مع الأرجنتين طوال كأس العالم قطر 2022.

اقرأ أيضًا.. هالاند بعد فوز مانشستر سيتي على ليفربول في كأس الرابطة: عدنا أقوى

خضع الأرجنتيني لاختبار صيفي في عمر الـ 11 عامًا مع نادي ريال مدريد، عندما كان ضمن صفوف نادي أتلتيكو كالشين في مسقط رأسه.

بالتالي هناك علاقة قديمة بين ألفاريز وريال مدريد، وقال المدرب السابق له، رافائيل فارجاس خلال حوار مع الإذاعة الأرجنتينية “كونتينتال AM 590”: “أعتقد انه في أي وقت يمكنه ارتداء قميص الملكي”.

لكن هذا لا يعني رحيله عن مانشستر سيتي خاصة وأن اللاعب قد انضم للتو إلى النادي الإنجليزي بقيمة 18.5 مليون يورو بجانب 10 ملايين آخرين كمتغيرات.

A dominant performance by Matabeleland Tuskers saw them beat Mid West Rhinos by 177 runs and move to second position in the Logan Cup table

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2011A dominant performance by Matabeleland Tuskers saw them beat Mid West Rhinos by 177 runs at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, and move to second position in the Logan Cup table. Tuskers had a 95-run first-innings lead by early on the third day, but it was in their second innings that they really pressed home the advantage and set up the win.Openers Paul Horton and Gavin Ewing tore into the Rhinos bowlers and scored 119 each, at strike-rates of 123.95 and 83.80 respectively. The quick scoring was continued by the rest of the batsmen and Tuskers reached 335 in just 54.5 overs, giving themselves plenty of time to bowl Rhinos out.Staring at a mammoth target of 431 to win, Rhinos lost early wickets, and despite a half-century from Roland Benade at No.8, never looked like surviving. They were bowled out 42 overs into the fourth day, with seamers Thabo Mboyi and Njabulo Ncube taking three wickets each.In the first innings, most of Tusker’s top-order batsmen got starts, but it took half-centuries from Steven Trenchard at No. 5 and Tafadzwa Ngulube at No.7 to get them up to 393. Rhinos were then bowled out for 298, but it would have been much less if not for the efforts of Riki Wessels, whose 146 was the highest score in the match

While runs were aplenty in Bulawayo, they were in short supply at the Masvingo Sports Club, where table-toppers Mountaineers beat Southern Rocks by nine wickets inside three days in a low-scoring affair. Twenty-year-old seamer Tendai Chatara proved too much to handle for Rocks, who were bowled out for 177 and 94 in their two innings, with Chatara taking 6 for 33 in the first and 5 for 16 in the second.In between, half-centuries from Tino Mawoyo and Timycen Maruma helped Mountaineers reach 218 in their first innings. Rocks’ seamer Brian Vitori took 6 for 55, but there was not much he could do after his team’s batting line-up collapsed in their second attempt, leaving Mountaineers just 54 to win on the third day.

The fathers in England’s team know the excitement that Christmas Eve brought their children four nights ago, and they were feeling a similar anticipation on Tuesday evening after Tim Bresnan bowled them to within sight of an innings victory

The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale at the MCG28-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Tim Bresnan picked up three wickets, including Shane Watson lbw for 54•Getty Images

The fathers in England’s team know the excitement that Christmas Eve brought their children four nights ago, and they were feeling a similar anticipation on Tuesday evening after Tim Bresnan bowled them to within sight of an innings victory. England can expect to retain the Ashes on Wednesday after another day of dominance over Australia, with only four wickets standing between the visitors and their goal.In fact, it’s probably only three wickets, as Ryan Harris is unlikely to bat, and will miss the Sydney Test having suffered a stress fracture in his left ankle while running in to bowl during the first session. The unheralded Bresnan ran through three of Australia’s best batsmen before Graeme Swann and James Anderson chipped in and by stumps, Australia were 6 for 169 with Brad Haddin on 11 and Mitchell Johnson on 6.The hosts needed something miraculous to save them after their first-innings capitulation for 98; what they couldn’t afford was for England to make 513. Jonathan Trott finished unbeaten on 168 as five wickets fell in the first session and Peter Siddle completed a six-wicket haul in front of his home crowd, but England had a lead of 415 and the Ashes were all but in the bag.Australia needed to bat for two days to save the game; they struggled to survive for even two sessions. Bresnan found swing and hit probing lines, Swann dried the runs up as Australia’s bowlers hadn’t managed to, and the batsmen simply couldn’t settle in for the kind of long innings that Trott and Alastair Cook have been so adept at in this series.And it all started with one bad decision from Shane Watson. Phillip Hughes and Watson began positively as the runs were ticking over at a decent rate during their opening stand, while England’s fast men struggled to find any early swing under a blue sky. But Hughes, desperate to prove he is one of Australia’s best two available openers, had little hope of making his ground when Watson pushed to cover and called him for a single.Trott’s throw to Matt Prior had Hughes short for 23 and Watson’s pained look said it all. It was a year ago, almost to the day, that at the same venue Watson was involved in another horrible mix-up with his opening partner, when he and Simon Katich finished up at the same end and TV replays were needed to confirm which of the men was gone. It’s clearly a weakness in his game, as is his failure to turn half-centuries into hundreds.After Watson went to tea on 50, having played some punchy drives straight and through cover, he came out following the break and inexplicably padded up to Bresnan and was lbw for 54, a wishful review not saving him from his poor judgment. In Watson’s past 11 innings he has been out for 56, 57, 51, 57 and 54. He’s becoming as synonymous with the fifties as James Dean.Watson’s dismissal came during an outstanding spell from Bresnan, who ended the day with 3 for 26 from 15 overs. The success of Bresnan and Chris Tremlett over the past two Tests has highlighted the depth in the England squad, which Australia haven’t been able to match. Paul Collingwood is the only man struggling for England, while Australia have several passengers.Smart Stats

Australia finished the day at 169 for 6, still 246 runs away from avoiding an innings defeat. Their worst defeat at home is the innings and 230 run defeat against England at Adelaide in 1892.

Peter Siddle’s 6 for 75 was his second six-wicket haul of the series. He has 73 wickets in 21 Tests with four five-wicket hauls.

England’s total of 513 was only the sixth occasion that they passed 500 at Melbourne. The previous occasion was in 1975 when they made 529.

Jonathan Trott’s 168 is the 41st instance of an England batsman scoring an unbeaten century in Tests against Australia. It is also the third time in 2010 that an England batsman has achieved this feat.

Mike Hussey fell for his ninth duck in Tests. All his ducks have come since 2008. On seven of the nine occasions, he has been out caught.

Ricky Ponting is one who hasn’t been pulling his weight with the bat, and the questions over his future will grow louder after he played on to Bresnan for 20. Ponting was a picture of concentration during his 73-ball innings, desperate to dig Australia out of their hole, but the pressure built by Bresnan and his colleagues was destined to lead to a wicket.Bresnan followed with the key dismissal of the in-form Michael Hussey, who drove on the up to short cover while trying to get off the mark, and the pressure was all on the vice-captain Michael Clarke. Again, though, England tied the Australians down with dot balls and Clarke, who had been lucky to escaped a missed stumping on 2, eventually edged Swann to second slip on 13 from 66 balls.Suddenly, England could dream of winning within three days, but Smith and Haddin showed a little bit of fight, although Smith had been dropped on 4 when he rashly hooked Bresnan to Tremlett at deep backward square leg. His luck ran out on 38 when he tried to pull Anderson and got a bottom edge on to his stumps.By that stage, Australia were still 257 runs from making England bat again, after Trott’s unbeaten 168 created a huge advantage for the visitors. Trott saw five wickets fall around him before lunch, as England added 69 to their overnight total to be dismissed for 513 a few minutes before the scheduled break, and it was Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus who did the damage.Siddle enjoyed a hometown six-wicket haul and he began the day by removing Prior, who was caught at mid-on by Ponting for 85, and then Bresnan was caught behind for 4 soon afterwards. Swann offered some support for Trott before he gave Hilfenhaus his first wicket of the match, caught behind for 22 when he toe-edged an attempted hook that was taken by a high-leaping Haddin.The job was finished rapidly a few minutes before the scheduled lunch break when Hilfenhaus bowled Tremlett for 4 and Siddle bowled Anderson for 1. Siddle finished with 6 for 75, which was his second six-wicket haul of the series following his strong opening-day efforts at the Gabba. Just like in that match, his efforts will be in vain.