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MacGill backs Maxwell-Lyon combine for Hyderabad Test
Last updated on: March 1, 2013 11:36 IST

Australia's newly-appointed spin mentor Stuart MacGill has warned the team against bringing in Xavier Doherty for the second Test as he feels the left-arm tweaker is "not a Test bowler" and the move would boomerang on the visitors.

"Xavier Doherty is a great guy, but he is not a Test bowler," MacGill, who took 208 wickets in 47 Tests, told The Daily Telegraph.

"I'm sure he is awesome for the team dynamic and in the past five years I would say he has been in Australia's top three short-form spinners. He is a fantastic short-form bowler, but I don't think Xavier brings that to Test cricket and his first-class record supports my argument," he said.

MacGill said Nathan Lyon, who took four for 244 in the lost opening Test, should be paired with all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, the only million-dollar buy of this year's IPL players' auction, in the second Test starting in Hyderabad on Saturday.

"In India right now, we can pick Nathan Lyon and Glenn Maxwell. I wasn't convinced about Maxwell but after watching the One-day games in the UAE (last August), he thinks he belongs at this level, he is working his butt off, so let's give him a go," he said.

 

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Ashwin says Team India keyed up after clinical Chennai win
Last updated on: March 1, 2013 13:45 IST

India spinner R Ashwin says England defeat not haunting team and squad is in a positive mindset after clinical performance against Aussies in Chennai.

Memories of the humiliating defeat at the hands of England remain fresh.

- MacGill backs Maxwell-Lyon combine

Alastair Cook's team were comprehensively beaten in the opening Test in Motera back in November last year. They rebounded to win the two subsequent Tests -- at the Wankhede stadium and Eden Gardens -- to inflict upon India a first Test series defeat at home in eight years.

Even if an encore is highly unlikely, considering the fact that Australia simply doesn't have a good enough squad, doubts remain, largely owing to the fact that Team India is a very unpredictable side and not in the best of forms.

However, R Ashwin, interacting with the media in the place of his captain, expressed confidence that something similar won't happen.

He offered a proper reason to validate his point.

"If you remember England played very well in the second innings at Motera and that shifted the momentum somewhat in their favour ahead of the Mumbai Test," explained Ashwin.

"But we put in a clinical performance in Chennai and so I don't think there will be a repeat this time."

 

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How MS Dhoni remains unaffected by criticism
Last updated on: March 1, 2013 13:55 IST

The year 2012 didn't bring a lot of cheer to Team India and to MS Dhoni in particular. A string of losses saw the India captain receive a lot of flak from the media for his poor tactics and failed batting. But Dhoni insists he has remained largely unaffected by the criticism.

Read on to find out how!

It's a known, even if not accepted, fact that Indians in general do not take criticism in their stride.

And considering that cricket is a religion in the country, the players are far more likely to being criticised, seldom without reason even though at times it can be taken to extreme levels.

It is said that criticism is part of any sport and needs to be made (and taken) constructively. It goes without saying that this is one aspect of the game the players detest the most.

Over a period of time Indian cricketers have developed various defence mechanisms to handle the criticism coming their way. Some refrain from giving interviews to the media while others interact with the fourth estate only when on reaching a milestone, well aware that there would be more appreciation coming their way in such a case.

Yet another strategy is to nominate a relatively new player, usually someone not very eloquent and therefore incapable of offering satisfactory explanations, as a guinea pig to handle the media briefing at the end of the day's play.

 

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India U-19 skipper Unmukt Chand joins Pepsi bandwagon
March 01, 2013 14:07 IST

India's [ Images ] Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand has joined the list of star cricketers who endorse Pepsi after the soft drink giant roped him in as its brand ambassador on Friday.

Unmukt, who is emerging as one of the most promising cricketers in the country, will now be seen in Pepsi's Oh Yes Abhi! campaign.

Having led the Under-19 Indian Cricket Team to a World Cup victory last year, he will now be seen in the IPL in April-May.

He will feature in Pepsi's upcoming advertisement which will have a face-off between him and the captain of the India's senior cricket team MS Dhoni [ Images ] along with Virat Kohli [ Images ] and Suresh Raina [ Images ]. The campaign was aired on Friday.

 

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Lehmann favourite to become next Oz ODI coach
March 01, 2013 15:27 IST

Former all rounder Darren Lehmann has emerged as a firm favourite to become Australia's [ Images ] next limited-overs coach.

It is understood that Cricket Australia (CA) is looking at splitting the roles of Test, One-day and Twenty20 [ Images ] coach in the future and Lehmann is in the box seat to be a national limited-overs coach, News.com.au reported.

Queensland Cricket's clean sweep of domestic trophies is in no small part due to Lehmann's coaching, as he made sure the players were not only training and playing hard, but also enjoying themselves, the paper reported.

Fast bowler Ryan Harris, who surged into Ashes contention by taking 4-26 in the remarkable Ryobi Cup final win over Victoria as Australian back-up pace man Jackson Bird was breaking down, believes Lehmann would be a natural as an Australian coach. Harris said, “Lehmann is a great bloke and he would suit that role perfectly, especially if they split the coaching roles”.

He added that the former Australian all rounder just gets enjoyment out of the game and he approaches the game in the way as he played it.

 

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Clarke hints at spin tweak for second Test
Last updated on: March 1, 2013 17:04 IST

Though Australia are still undecided about the composition of their team for the second Test, captain Michael Clarke says if they go with one spinner, it doesn't necessarily have to be Nathan Lyon.

It may as well be referred to as the captain's dilemma.

When your lead spinner fails to pose problems to the opposition, on a turning track, and you don't have adequate back-up options, it doesn't inspire much confidence.

That happens to be Michael Clarke's predicament, ahead of the second Test in Uppal, starting Saturday.

Having gone into the Chennai Test with just one frontline spinner, the visitors paid a heavy price, not just because they lacked in the spin department but also because their lone option flopped miserably.

Nathan Lyon's performance, rather lack of it, witnessed him leak a massive 215 runs in the first innings, the Indian batsmen negotiating him with considerable ease.

 

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Dhoni set the tempo as a captain: Ashwin
Last updated on: March 1, 2013 17:31 IST

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's magnificent batting form reflected on his captaincy which helped India produce a clinical performance in the first Test against Australia.

"I think he pointed it out himself after the match that he isn't sure whether he would be able to replicate the performance again.

"I mean he scored two hundreds in almost two sessions which was extraordinary," Ashwin told reporters ahead of the second Test match starting in Hyderabad on Saturday.

"In fact, he (Dhoni) set the tempo as a captain and his performance reflected on his field settings and bowling changes. We didn't look back after that. If someone plays an innings like that, it can be demoralising for any opposition," he said.

 

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Don't write Australia off yet: Brett Lee
Last updated on: March 1, 2013 17:57 IST

Former Australian speedster Brett Lee said he was not surprised by the Chennai pitch and backed his country to bounce back in the four-Test series despite suffering an eight-wicket defeat in the first match against India at the M A Chidambaram Stadium.

"I am not surprised by the conditions over here. The ball does turn square in India but we all know that as foreign players coming over here we have to deal with the conditions here... because when you are playing in India, it's all about how do we deal with the spin and we know that that's what is going to happen," 36-year-old Lee said at a promotional event.

"We should choose a team that is appropriate, naturally when you have to play spin. I am not surprised with the (turning) wickets when you know it is going to happen in India," said Lee.

 

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Umesh Yadav resumes training at NCA
March 01, 2013 17:51 IST

Recovering from a back problem, India [ Images ] fast bowler Umesh Yadav has resumed training and is hoping to attain match fitness as early as possible, although he could not give a specific time frame.

"It's all better now. I started bowling this Monday, for the first time in one-and-a-half months. The pain is gone now; I have to train again and gradually start bowling at 100 percent," Yadav said.

Yadav has been out of action with what he calls "stress reaction" since the Ahmedabad [ Images ] Test against England [ Images ] last November.

He is itching to get back on the field but Yadav hasn't been given a certain time frame by which he can expect to be back in action.

"I have just resumed training so it will take time. It's not like I can start bowling immediately now that the pain is gone. I will have to take this slowly. Next week, I will start bowling in the ground, at 30-40 percent. Then we will decide how much more I should do in the week after that," he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo at the National Cricket Academy, where he is undergoing rehabilitation.

Yadav has had a stress fracture three years ago, and is glad that his condition was detected early this time around.

"This was not a stress fracture. This was what we call a stress reaction, which happens with too much load on the back, but it is good we came to know of it early because if you keep adding onto it, it can result in a fracture too. That would have taken at least six months to recover from."

The pacer is confident of not losing out on pace after he returns.

"I had a stress fracture three years ago, but I bowled at the same pace when I came back. It's more a mindset. My mindset has always been to do what comes naturally to me. I am not going to change my natural pace."

 

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