Australia tour of South Africa

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Fixture

[Sadaf Gondal]

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa skipper Graeme Smith commenting on his counter-part Australia captain Ricky Ponting said that his team would play for maintaining his team’s number one position and not the hosts but the tourists would be under pressure during the series in south Africa.

Australia arrived here on Monday to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals on a two-month tour.

On arriving in Johannesburg, Ponting said that hi steam is still number one and the hosts would play under pressure in the series.

Replying to him, Smith said that South Africa would be favourites after winning both the Test and one-day series in Australia recently.

It is a position with which the host nation will be comfortable, Smith told a local daily, although warning that he expected an Australian backlash.

"It's going to be an unusual place to be for a South African team," said Smith.

"It's a great feeling and a reward for all the sacrifices everyone has made. But we know that Australians are very competitive people and they don't like to be on the back foot.

"The only way we can keep them there is by playing better cricket again."

The side Ricky Ponting will lead is one of the most inexperienced Australian touring parties in recent history, and Smith said they would lack the confidence that previous sides had on the second leg of back-to-back tours that have been the norm for South Africa-Australia contests.

The first Test between the two countries will begin from February 26 at Johannesburg.

[Sadaf Gondal]

Ricky Ponting is hoping Australia will be able to regroup and beat South Africa in the manner that his team reclaimed the Ashes from England in 2006-07 after losing in 2005. South Africa recently won their first Test series in Australia and Ponting said the pressure would be on the hosts as the teams battled for the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings.
"We want to be recognised as the best and being No. 1 does mean a lot to us," Ponting said on arrival in Johannesburg. "We were a long way off our best cricket in Australia and our worst cricket was very bad. We need to maintain a level of consistency but I am looking forward to the challenge.

"I remember at the end of the 2005 Ashes in England, when we lost for the first time in a long time, we went back to Australia and regrouped. England then came to Australia as favourites but they did not live up to expectation and could not handle the pressure."
South Africa captain Graeme Smith, however, felt his team would wear the favourites' tag comfortably. "It's going to be an unusual place to be for a South African team," Smith told the Sunday Times. "It's a great feeling and a reward for all the sacrifices everyone has made. But we know that Australians are very competitive people and they don't like to be on the back foot.
"On previous tours they have come here with confidence having had the foot on us right through the summer there and they've just carried it on. Now, even their experienced guys will come here in a different frame of mind, while the younger players are coming here for the first time. They're a touring team under pressure and it's never easy."
Australia open their tour with a warm-up game against South African Board President's XI in Potchefstroom from February 20 and their only fitness concern for that match is Michael Clarke, who sat out of the Twenty20 international against New Zealand on February 15 with a back problem. "We'll have to see how Michael's back is after the flight," Ponting said. "Hopefully he'll be okay. Everyone else is fully fit."
Australia go into the first of three Tests against South Africa in Johannesburg on February 26, three days after the end of the practice game.

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hmmmmm

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Australia reach 254-5 at close vs. South Africa

JOHANNESBURG: Half centuries by captain Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke bailed Australia from a shaky start against South Africa to finish at 254-5 on the opening day of the opening cricket test on Thursday.

Ponting and Clarke came together at 38-3 before lunch and lifted the Australians'' mood with a stand of 113 at more than four per over.

Ponting made 83 and Clarke 68. Marcus North, on debut, was 47 not out with Brad Haddin on 37 when play was halted early because of poor light at Wanderers.

Umpires Steve Bucknor and Billy Bowden offered the light to the batsmen 17 overs after the tea break. Shortly after the players left the field, it began to drizzle and play was called off for the day.

Dale Steyn, the Proteas'' main weapon with 3-82, said Australia held a slight edge but he hoped the new ball will pay dividends on Friday.

``If we had got another wicket, it would definitely have been an even day, and another two wickets would have swung it our way. It was that even a contest,'''' Steyn said.

``If we can break through early in the morning we can restrict Australia to a reasonable total. The new ball is just around the corner and a couple of early wickets would allow us to get into their tail.''''

Australia, which lost its home series 2-1 to South Africa just last month, could hardly have started any worse.

Phillip Hughes, stepping into the shoes of the retired Matthew Hayden as opening batsman, was back in the pavilion for a duck after facing the first four balls from Steyn. Hughes played an ungainly attempted cut off a ball which he could easily have left alone, and got a bottom edge to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.

Fellow opener Simon Katich hung around for 42 minutes in making3, and fell to a superb, diving one-handed catch by Neil McKenzie off Steyn.

When Michael Hussey was well held by Jacques Kallis at second slip on 4 to give Morne Morkel his 50th test wicket, Australia was in a spot of bother on 38-3.

Ponting and Clarke started the recovery under immense pressure from South Africa. Immediately after lunch, though, the experienced pair took advantage of some loose bowling to add 58 runs in the first hour.

Ponting rode some luck. He was struck on the right forearm by fast bowler Morkel before lunch and was fortunate to be dropped on40 by Proteas captain Graeme Smith. After racking his 45th half century, he survived an appeal to the television umpire in his 70swhen the ball was shown to have hit his trouser pocket and not his bat.

But after hitting 11 fours and a six, he was out to a peach of a delivery from Makhaya Ntini on 83 with the total on 151. Ponting did not offer a shot to the swinging delivery which cut back off the pitch and brushed his pads before crashing into the stumps.

Moments before tea, Clarke was out to an extravagant drive off Steyn and caught behind after hitting 10 fours in his 13th half century.

North had hit two half centuries in a warm up game which ended on Sunday, and he looked comfortable on Thursday in hitting six fours in his innings. Haddin, who also shot six boundaries, joined North at 182-5 and the pair cruised to early stumps.

Steyn said the Proteas let Australia off the hook because of alack of first-class cricket for the first-line bowlers since the test series in Australia but remained hopeful.

``Once we got the ball in the right spot it just showed there is something out there for the bowlers,'''' Steyn said.

South Africa all rounder Jacques Kallis bowled four overs in the first session, but was sidelined with a back strain. He was cleared to bowl on Friday.

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Test cricket: Australia all out for 466 v South Africa 85-3

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa struggled to handle Australia''s seam attack on a tricky Wanderers pitch, limping to 85 for three at the close of the second day of the first test on Friday.

The visitors were bowled out for 466 and South Africa''s reply got off to the worst possible start when captain Graeme Smith went for a duck in the first over, edging an away swinger from Mitchell Johnson to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

Fellow opener Neil McKenzie finished unbeaten on 35 after watching from the other end as Hashim Amla made one and Jacques Kallis 27. AB de Villiers was 13 not out.

Ben Hilfenhaus claimed his first test wicket, in the second over of the innings, when Amla edged another away swinger into the hands of skipper Ricky Ponting at slip.

Kallis became the eighth batsman to score 10,000 test runs, and the first South African, before going on to hit three successive boundaries off Peter Siddle.

Siddle had the last laugh, though, as Mike Hussey caught the all-rounder in the gully. Left-arm paceman Johnson finished with an outstanding return of one for eight from nine overs.

Earlier, a debut century by Marcus North and a ferocious onslaught from Johnson lifted Australia.

[LoViNg IrFaN]

esi pitches honi chahyen maza aya kal dekh kar match

[Sadaf Gondal]

Tasmania fast bowler Brett Geeves has been called into Australia's Test squad in South Africa as cover for Doug Bollinger, who suffered an abdominal strain while training during the Wanderers Test. Geeves will join the touring party on Monday for what will be his first overseas trip with the Australian team, while Bollinger will remain with the squad for the time being.
The left-armer Bollinger, who made his Test debut in Sydney, has been ruled out of the second Test in Durban but will be monitored over the next few days to determine if he has any chance of playing the final game in Cape Town. Bollinger was not chosen for the first Test in Johannesburg with the allrounder Andrew McDonald being preferred instead.
"Doug Bollinger sustained an abdominal muscle strain on day two of the Test during a training session," Australia's physio Alex Kountouris said. "An MRI scan confirmed the presence of a moderate size muscle strain that will effectively rule him out of contention for the second Test against South Africa in Durban."
Geeves, 26, got his first taste of international cricket in August when he was included in the squad for the one-day series against Bangladesh in Darwin, where he played one of the three games. He has been in strong form for Tasmania and in a match that finished this weekend, he collected 6 for 47 in the second innings, finishing with eight for the game.
He is third on the Sheffield Shield wickets tally with 37 at 23.86 each. Geeves has also been in excellent batting form and twice this season has run out of partners on 99 while looking for his maiden first-class century.
"Brett performed well during his time with the Australian one-day team in Darwin last year and we are looking forward to seeing another young player with an opportunity to perform at the next level," Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. "He has been consistent again for Tasmania this season. The national selection panel will work closely with the team's medical staff over the next few days to assess if Doug will remain with the squad or return to Australia to continue his recovery."

[Sadaf Gondal]

Steve Magoffin, the Western Australia fast bowler, will fly to South Africa as cover for Australia's struggling attack following niggling injuries to Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle. The squad has already been expanded by Brett Geeves, who is there in case Doug Bollinger fails to recover from a stomach problem in time to be considered for Friday's second Test in Durban.
Siddle and Hilfenhaus played key roles in Australia's opening victory in Johannesburg as the inexperienced line-up out-gunned the home team. However, Siddle's left foot is aching following the game - he spent most of January out with a similar injury - and Hilfenhaus, who made his debut, has lower-back soreness.
"With such a short turnaround between the first and second Test, the panel has taken the precaution of adding another bowler to the squad," the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said. "Steve Magoffin has been added as a stand-by player, but that being said he has been a consistent cricketer in the Australian interstate competition for a long time now."
Magoffin, a tall bowler capable of gaining uncomfortable bounce, currently sits second on the wicket list for the Sheffield Shield with 38 and has 191 first-class victims at 27.90. "I can't quite believe it's happened," Magoffin told AAP at Perth airport. "I'm over the moon and can't wait to go over there.
"At the moment I'm just going over as cover for Peter Siddle. I haven't been given too much of an indication of whether I'll be playing or not, I'll just make my way over and see what happens when I arrive."
Siddle and Hilfenhaus will continue to receive treatment in the lead-up to the second game. The young attack was chosen for the tour due to long-term injuries to the regulars Brett Lee and Stuart Clark.

[Sadaf Gondal]

DURBAN: South Africa's bowlers will be under the spotlight in the second Test against Australia which starts at Kingsmead here on Friday.

South African captain Graeme Smith blamed the bowlers who he said were "not
precise enough" in the first Test in Johannesburg, which Australia won by 162 runs.

By contrast, an inexperienced Australian bowling attack were superb, maintaining consistent accuracy and not allowing South Africa's batsmen to get on top.

The Johannesburg defeat left South Africa needing to win both remaining matches to take over Australia's mantle as International Cricket Council Test champions.

It is a predicament from which South Africa have extricated themselves twice in the past two home seasons, however.

In 2006-07 South Africa lost the first Test against India but won the next two Tests to take the series. They did the same against the West Indies last season.

Australia, though, are likely to be a tougher proposition. Stung by losing a home series against South Africa earlier in the same season, they belied their underdog status with a clinical performance.

Captain Ricky Ponting said his team had worked hard and "talked a lot" after the home defeats.

With only three days between matches, it was the turn of the South Africans to do some hard talking.

Wicketkeeper Mark Boucher revealed that there had been a no-holds-barred discussion in the Wanderers dressing room after the game.

"We spoke for more than an hour about how we had performed as a team and how we had performed as individuals."

Boucher said the bowlers had been too loose in conceding 466 runs in the first innings, which was far too big a total on a lively pitch.

"Maybe we didn't stick to our game plans when we saw the ball flying around. You could say that we tried to bowl too many million-dollar deliveries instead of building pressure like we did Down Under."

Kingsmead groundsman Wilson Ngobese said he had been able to prepare what he expected would be a good, hard pitch with an even covering of grass.

The wicket has usually favoured fast bowlers and barring injuries Australia are likely to field an unchanged team, again without a specialist spin bowler.

But the tourists have injury concerns, with two fast bowlers flown in to bolster their squad. Tasmanian Brett Geeves arrived as cover for Doug Bollinger, who was not picked for the Wanderers Test but suffered an injury while practicing.

Cricket Australia announced Wednesday that Steve Magoffin of Western Australia would also be joining the squad because Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle, who provided excellent support for strike bowler Mitchell Johnson in Johannesburg, had minor injuries.

According to a statement, Hilfenhaus was suffering from soreness in his lower back and Siddle had pain in his left foot.

Squads:
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Simon Katich, Phil Hughes, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North, Brad Haddin, Andrew McDonald, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brett Geeves, Steve Magoffin, Nathan Hauritz and Bryce McGain.

Umpires: Asad Rauf (PAK), Billy Bowden (NZ), TV umpire: Steve Bucknor (WI).
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ).