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Jennifer Aniston keeps fit by running around horse track

September 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 20 (ANI): Jennifer Aniston has been running hard to maintain her fitness while shooting new film ‘The Bounty.’

The actress reportedly woke up at 5a.m in the morning and ran laps around New Jersey’s Monmouth Park racecourse to the surprise of the crewmembers.

“She showed up every morning at 5am to run laps on the giant oval for a solid hour before cameras rolled,” Contactmusic quoted a source as saying.

“She’s really disciplined about keeping fit. She’d get there before everyone else and zip around that huge track like a winner!” the source added.

The ‘Break-Up’ star apparently prefers running to other fitness regimes as it keeps her thighs and calves toned.

Even earlier this year, it was reported that she woke up at 3am to work out so that she could stick to her busy shooting schedule.

A source said at the time: “Jennifer has had a totally overhaul for this film. She wants to be seriously fit, yet remain curvy.

“There are a lot of early starts on set, so she has had to get up at 3am to get two hours in the gym before getting ready for filming.” (ANI)

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Broad not keen on taking Flintoff’s place in Test team

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 8 (ANI): England’s Ashes hero Stuart Broad doesn’t want to replicate all rounder Andrew Flintoff in his life and is not even that keen on taking Flintoff’s place at No.7 in the Test team.

“No one can replace Fred. It is important that I focus on my qualities and don’t try to be someone I’m not,” Broad said.

Despite scoring five fifties in his 22-Test career, two of them in the Ashes, and having a respectable batting average of 31, Broad plays down that side of his game.

“My aim is to become a good No 8. If the top six build a platform that allows me and Graeme Swann to come and play with freedom as we did at the Oval. I just want to be awkward to bowl at,” The Times quoted Broad, as saying.

Flintoff has said that Broad’s batting is good enough to play as a specialist batsman and Geoff Boycott, praising the straight play of Broad, compared him to a young Garry Sobers, saying that Broad could make the same journey as Sobers from tailender.

“I don’t think I can average 40 in Test cricket. That’s a huge ask, even for recognised batsmen,” Broad said.

The modest Nottinghamshire all-rounder really wants is to spend a night in his own bed and maybe hang a shelf or two.

“I bought a house six months ago and I’ve only spent about 20 nights there. When we have finished with these one-day games and the Champions Trophy, all I’m looking forward to is 2-3 weeks at home and a bit of decorating before we go to South Africa.”

Andrew Flintoff is reportedly having six feet mosaics of the Ashes urn installed in the swimming pools, but Broad’s ambition extends no farther than getting house painted.

Nor does he plan to decorate his body, Flintoff-style. “My mum would never let me in the house again if I had a tattoo,” he said. (ANI)

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2,500-pound machine strapped around Flintoof’s knee to save his cricket career

August 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 30 (ANI): England all rounder Andrew Flintoff is praying that the 2,500 pound machine strapped around his knee will save his cricket career.

The Lancashire all-rounder has to strap himself to the contraption for eight hours every day as he starts his gruelling rehabilitation from his latest operation.

The state-of-the-art Continuous Passive Motion equipment was prescribed by surgeon Andy Williams and is designed to bend the 31-year-old Ashes hero’s knee up to 1,500 times a day, News of the World reported.

“I had a choice of either using this machine or doing three sets of 500 knee bends a day, so I thought the machine might be the way forward. I strap my leg into it for eight hours a day. It bends my knee up and down all the time and makes sure the movement is controlled,” Flintoff revealed.

“I will have the machine on most of the time, even when I’m sleeping. The hard part is getting used to having your leg strapped into a machine for most of the day. It’s designed to help with the healing but, inevitably, my right leg is going to waste away a bit and the muscles are going to disappear. There’s not a lot I can do about it because I can’t bear any weight on my right leg for six to eight weeks.”

Flintoff underwent keyhole surgery in London on Monday night – just a day after helping England beat Australia at the Oval to regain the Ashes.

It was the second op on his troublesome knee and the ninth of his career, following four on his left ankle, two for hernias and another on his back.

Flintoff announced his retirement from Test cricket during the Ashes after admitting his 16-stone body could no longer cope with five-day cricket.

“I have set myself a target of returning for the tour to Bangladesh, which is from mid-Febuary to the middle of March, but whether that’s realistic or not, I’m not sure,” admitted Flintoff.

“There is a possibility I may not play again. It’s something I’m going to have to be prepared for in case the operation is not as successful as I hope. There will be a question mark in my mind about whether I have played my last game until I know how the operation has turned out.

“I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind, but the success rate for an operation like this is pretty good,” the paper quoted him, as saying. (ANI)

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“I take a lot of responsibility, I misread wicket,” says Nielsen

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 27(ANI): Australian coach Tim Nielsen has accepted the blame for Australia’s Ashes defeat.

Nielsen believes the three biggest factors that contributed in Australia’s loss were their failure to take the last wicket in the first Testy at Cardiff, the batting collapse in the second Test at Lord’s, and misreading the pitch in fifth and final Test at The Oval.

“I take a lot of the responsibility, I feel as though maybe there are things I could’ve done,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Nielsen, as saying.

“Were they well enough prepared mentally before the game? Did we have a plan in place, a mindset in place that allowed them to adapt and cope with continual loss of wickets? In the end that’s what my role is, I’m not running away from that,” he added.

Nielsen further accepted that he had misread the pitch at The Oval and he was shocked to see the low and slow nature.

“The biggest thing – and maybe that is one thing I would change – I believe I misread the wicket. I didn’t think it would spin as much as it did from the first day. I thought it was going to be dry,” Nielsen said.

He further said that there was something missing and the team didn’t play the best that it could have given to a series of such historical background.

“We didn’t play our best. There’s got to be something missing. That’s what the last couple of days have been for me, searching for that answer or trying to find in my own mind what I could have done better or where we could have done things differently to ensure a different result,” Nielsen said. (ANI)

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Ponting says he’s ready to play under Michael Clarke

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sydney, Aug.27 (ANI): Australian cricket skipper Ricky Ponting has returned home and declared he would not walk away from international cricket even if he was stripped of his captaincy. He said he would be happy to play under deputy Michael Clarke.

Ponting said the stunning Ashes loss had made him more determined than ever to shine with the bat and restore Australia to its status as a world cricketing power.

Ponting, who arrived in Sydney just after 7 p.m., said he accepted responsibility for the 2-1 series defeat – team selections remained a sticking point with critics – before hinting he would play on if Cricket Australia officials elevated Clarke to the top job.

“I still think I’ve got a lot to offer the team as a batsman and captain and leader. If that’s with a ‘c’ next to my name well and good, if not, I still think I’ve got a lot to offer, particularly to the younger guys who are in and around our set-up. I’m not immune to anything, criticism, I’m trying to do the best possible job I can and at the moment I feel I’m the best person to take this team forward,” The Daily Telegraph quoted him, as saying.

“If it ever gets to the stage if I think I’m not … can I play without being captain, absolutely. love the game and every opportunity I’ve had to play and captain Australia, and that makes me more driven now to do it better next time when I get the chance,” he added.

Ponting still managed a smile as he fronted a large press contingent at the airport and was far from bitter given the hammering he had copped by the press on both sides of the globe.

He will take a couple of weeks to unwind with his family before he returns midway through the one-day series against England and then leads Australia into the Champions Trophy in South Africa later next month.

Ditching the shorter forms of the game could be one way to preserve his career, Ponting said, with the 2013 Ashes tour still an option.

Ponting said proof he was already looking to the future was a meeting he had with Clarke, coach Tim Nielsen and Cricket Australia’s Michael Brown in the team hotel a day after the loss at The Oval. (ANI)

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Clark, Katich, Haddin back Ponting to lead Australia

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sydney, Aug.26 (ANI): New South Wales Test stars Stuart Clark, Simon Katich and Brad Haddin arrived back in Sydney this morning, and immediately stepped in to defend Ricky Ponting’s captaincy credentials, though he has become the second Australian skipper to surrender the Ashes twice in England.

“Ricky Ponting has got my full support and I think he’s the best man to be captain. “I think it’s ludicrous that anyone say anything other,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Clark, as saying.

Katich stressed every player had to take responsibility for the series loss.

“There was 11 of us out there that had an opportunity to win the Ashes – you can’t just blame it on one person,” said Katich, who scored 341 runs at an average of 42.

“We had our chances throughout the whole five Tests, unfortunately when those chances came around, whether it was Cardiff, Lords, The Oval, we didn’t grab them, so everyone put their hands up for that,” he added.

The dogged left-hander also refused to use queries about the team’s preparation for the five-Test series as an excuse.

“I think our preparation was fine. You can always look for plenty of excuses, but the bottom line is when we’re out there when the pressure was on, we didn’t take our chances,” he said.

Haddin, meanwhile, will have his broken finger checked out later today and is hopeful of being fit for next month’s Champions Trophy one-day tournament in South Africa. (ANI)

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Ponting should be last off sinking ship, not first to jump in the lifeboat: Thommo

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 25(ANI): Former Australian cricketer Jeff Thomson has said that Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who is flying home for a rest, should not abandon his “sinking ship” but rather stay back and clear up the mess in England.

Thomson said that unless Ponting has some urgent personal business, he should not desert his inexperienced team, which has lost the Ashes.

“The captain should always be last off his sinking ship, not the first to jump in the lifeboat. It doesn’t look good when he loses the Ashes and then doesn’t hang around to face the music with his team-mates,” Thomson wrote in the Mirror.

Thomson also said that there should be accountability for the defeat and felt that those who were guilty should accept their fault.

“How the hell did the Aussies manage to lose the series 2-1 when they scored eight hundreds to England’s two, and the three leading wicket-takers were all Australian? Heads must roll – and you can start with the selectors,” he wrote.

He further critised Australia’s selection panel and the think tank for going in with four seamers and not including specialist spinner Nathan Hauritz in the team.
“Even the blokes in the crowd could see, from 100 yards away, that the pitch was as dry as a camel’s tongue. Yet we picked four seamers and left a part-time spinner in Marcus North to take on the workload of a specialist,” Thomson added.

Though, Thomson did praise Ponting for his individual performance, he also blasted some of his dodgy captaincy tactics, specifically the last 11 overs in the first Test at Cardiff.

“Ultimately, those overs he gave to North’s gentle off-spin at Sophia Gardens, instead of getting Peter Siddle to shove a few bouncers under Monty Panesar’s nose, proved the difference between a 2-2 draw and Australia losing 2-1. Having said all that, I thought England played a good game at The Oval,” he wrote. (ANI)

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‘Special to take final Australian wicket to clinch Ashes’ says Swann

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 25(ANI): England cricketer Graeme Swann, who took the last Australian wicket to clinch the Ashes, has said that he has never experienced anything like the surge of emotion and happiness he felt after winning the Ashes.

Swann said that he would cherish the day and the experience for rest of his life, as he has seen all the phases in his career and the experience on the final day at The Oval beats it all.

“I’ve experienced some dark days in my career when I didn’t think I’d get into my county team, let alone play for England. But, however low I felt then is not comparable to how high I have felt since we won at The Oval. I would take 364 rubbish days a year just to have one like that,” Swann wrote in The Sun.

He highlighted that it was special to take the wicket, and said that he was praying for fellow bowler Steve Harmison to miss it.

“Harmison was bowling and the crowd was going mad but deep down I was thinking, ‘Don’t get him out, I want to finish this off!’ Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded if Harmy had got it,” he added.

Swann further said that the incident was so phenomenal, that he was confusion made it hard for him to decide whether to laugh, cry or dance around.

“Paul Collingwood said to me after the game that I should cherish the moment because it might not happen again. He was right. It was the best feeling I’ve ever had playing cricket. I doubt if I’ll ever feel that good again,” he added. (ANI)

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Former Australian players slam selection panel for Ashes defeat

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sydney, Aug 25(ANI): Former Australian cricketers Shane Warne and Tom Moody have criticised the selectors, following Australia’s Ashes-losing defeat in the Fifth Test at The Oval.

Warne said that he was “staggered” by the decision to leave spinner Nathan Hauritz out of the side, while Moody said that selectors had got the decision “horribly wrong”, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“I do not know who had the final say on selection, whether it was the selectors themselves, or Ricky, or what degree of input came from Tim Nielsen, the coach. We all make mistakes and somebody, somewhere, will have to take the blame for this one,” Warne wrote in The Times.

Moody said that the decision to not pick a genuine spinner on a slow and turning pitch at The Oval was “inexcusable”.

“If anything, you would be looking to play two. But, Australia chose not to and paid the price dearly,” Moody said.

“It was quite clear to me Clark was the one that had to miss out, even though he bowled particularly well at Headingley. At the end of the day, you’ve got to pick horses for courses, and that Test wicket is a place, where you always have to employ a spinner,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has backed Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of the selection panel, and fellow selectors Jamie Cox, David Boon and Merv Hughes, and said that selectors were in no way “accountable for us losing the Ashes”.

“It was only six or seven months ago that we had a fantastic series in South Africa and beat the No.1 team in the world with a pretty similar line-up, and the selectors were hailed for their selections and the perceived risks they took in backing young talent,” Sutherland said. (ANI)

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Poor batting, not absence of spin cost Australia the Ashes: Hilditch

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Aug 25 (ANI): Chairman of Australian selectors, Andrew Hilditch, has rejected criticism for not playing spinner Nathan Hauritz in the fifth Ashes Test, and said that Australia lost the Test because they got 160 in the first innings.

Hilditch admitted that his panel was “gutted” by Australia’s 2-1 Ashes loss to England.

He said the Australian team’s failure to prevail in big moments ultimately derailed its Ashes campaign, but did not expect players or selectors’ heads to roll as a result.

The national selectors – Hilditch, David Boon, Merv Hughes and Jamie Cox – were under fire, with a host of former players saying they had erred in choosing an all-pace attack for The Oval.

But Hilditch said it was simply a matter of misreading the pitch. “We read it as a wicket that was looking like a road, which was the assessment of everybody,” he said.

“We thought it was a wicket that would suit the four fast bowlers that played at Headingley and it was a reluctance to change a winning side from the fourth Test. It would be an over simplification to say that is the reason we lost the Test. We lost the Test because we got 160 in the first innings,” The Herald Sun quoted him, as saying.

“Obviously the selector on duty has a big role in assessing wicket conditions, but in the end we all communicate and made the decision. Jamie Cox was the selector on duty but everybody misread the wicket – captain and coach included. That just happens from time to time,” Hilditch added.

Ponting agreed that “we probably got that wrong. Not before the game, we thought we were picking the right attack for the conditions that we saw. But in hindsight, a specialist spinner would have been pretty handy out there.”

Spin legend Shane Warne said that “everyone should be under the microscope” and that “someone would have to take the rap” for Hauritz not playing at The Oval.

“To win a Test match you’ve got to take 20 wickets and Hauritz would have made a difference on this wicket. England wouldn’t have made 330 in the first innings,” he added.

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell said the selectors needed to remember to “pick a team for five days, not just the first one.” (ANI)

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Ponting says consider returning to England in 2013

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug. 24 (ANI): Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has refused to rule out being back in England in 2013 after losing the Ashes here again.

Ponting has probably played his last Ashes Test in England however he conceded he could have unfinished business here.

He would be 38 at the time of the next Ashes in England.

“Who knows – with us losing here – I might even see if I can make it back for one more go,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Ponting, as saying after his side’s 2-1 series loss.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing here. It took until today for me to get a round of applause when I went out to bat. Andrew Flintoff mentioned to me that he thought I had hired a PR company for the last day of the game,” Ponting said.

In an extraordinary Ashes series, Australia dominated the statistics yet England have won the big moments.

Australia had six of the seven leading run scorers this series – and the three top Ashes wicket-takers – yet will go home empty handed.

“You look back through all the stats and you probably scratch you head and wonder how it has turned out like it has,” Ponting said.

“There has been countless opportunities through this series to put our stamp on games. But we haven’t been good enough and England have seized whatever momentum they can and run with it,” he added.

Ponting labelled the dry and dusty Oval pitch as “poor” but refused to blame the dodgy surface for Australia’s loss. (ANI)

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England’s new batting hero Trott says he just tries to be himself

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug.24 (ANI): England’s new batting hero Jonathan Trott says he’s no Kevin Pietersen, but his own man.

The 28-year-old produced a debut Test century of the finest class to catapult his career – in the cauldron of the fifth Test decider at the Oval.

“I’ve always said I don’t try to emulate anyone,” The Age quoted Trott, as saying after his 119 helped England set Australia 546 for victory.

“I try to take the good points from various other players and build my own game around that. I try and be myself,” he added.

Trott also revealed there was “nothing personal” between himself and South African coach Mickey Arthur, who said before the match that the Cape Town-born player made the correct move to England because he was not good enough to replace any present Proteas batsman.

“It was a good move [to come to England],” Trott said.

“I played against Mickey before he retired. ‘It’s nothing personal. He’s got his team, this is our team, and I’m happy as Larry right here. This is my home and I’m truly honoured to be sitting here after having a great day. It’s something you work towards your whole life,” Trott said.

“Since the age of three, batting with my dad in the nets, and all the coaches I’ve had in my career, everyone’s played their part in getting me to this position,” he added.

Trott became the 18th player to score a century on his Test debut for England, and the first Warwickshire batsman to do so. (ANI)

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Australian press and commentators react to Ashes defeat

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug.24 (ANI): The Australian press and commentators have reacted along predictable lines to the latest Ashes series defeat to England in England.

“The Australian selectors have faced serious issues right through the series and they have not been solid. The selectors need to be made answerable at the end of this campaign, said former Australian opener Michael Slater.

“Not only did they [the selectors] handcuff Ponting at The Oval with four pacemen on a palpably dry pitch, but they also, once again, resorted to the failed ploy of expecting part-time spinners to do a specialist task,” The Independent quoted Ian Chappell, as saying.

“Forget all that nonsense about criticising Ponting’s captaincy. He remains unequivocally the best player to lead the team,” said the Herald Sun.

“I really don’t think that England deserve to win this year. This is hard for me to acknowledge, since I’m South African, and it’s in my blood to hate anything Australian,” said Frost on www.cricket- blog.com.

“We’ve scored eight tons versus England’s two. He [Ponting] must go as a captain – the only captain to lose the Ashes with the invincibles will become the only captain to lose two Ashes.” virtualGaz on www.cricket-blog.com

“England don’t deserve to win the Ashes. They haven’t scored enough centuries.

Day one of the final Test said it all. England won the toss. They picked the best side while Australia may have got their side wrong. The bowlers performed modestly in the first session. England got the start they wanted. Australia were rattled. The wicket was flat. The ball was swinging a bit but hardly venomously.

Ricky Ponting was chewing his nails and looked agitated. And still no English batsman could take control. Sorry but that’s not good enough,” said Robert Craddock in his report for the Herald Sun.

“Andrew Flintoff had to produce something magnificent in his final Test, you just knew, and when he threw down the stumps to dismiss Australian skipper Ricky Ponting to end a defiant innings, the Oval faithful had their moment,” said Jamie Pandaram, The Age. (ANI)

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Daniel Radcliffe, Tom Felton spotted together at The Oval

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 24 (ANI): Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Tom Felton were seen cheering side by side at The Oval recently.

The two actors, who are rivals in the wizard films, are said to have enjoyed the game immensely, reports the Sun.

Radcliffe, 20, revealed that he loved the romance and history of the game, and that his favourite player Paul Collingwood made batting “look like trench warfare”.

While Felton, 21, joked in a radio interview that cricket had “brought us together”. (ANI)

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Despite Ashes loss, Ponting unlikely to be removed as skipper, says Roebuck

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sydney, Aug.24 (ANI): Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting is unlikely to be evicted, nor is he likely to step aside after becoming only the second skipper from Down Under to lose back-to-back Ashes series in England, feels cricket columnist Peter Roebuck.

“This is not the end of Ponting’s captaincy. In another dispensation, his sacking would be inevitable. But he knows that Australian cricket is more likely to back him. It is hard for foreigners to understand the prestige attached to the position. He survived losing the Ashes in 2005,” says Roebuck in an article for the Sydney Morning Herald.

While acknowledging the Australians fighting spirit to stave off inevitable defeat, Roebuck said Ponting was typically defiant, and fought hard to turn back the inexorable tide.

Mike Hussey, he says, chose a fine time to recover his form and displayed the tenacity required to keep his captain company.

“In any case the defeats have been close, the solitary victory was unexpected, several great players have withdrawn and the captain’s overall record remains impressive. Moreover it has been an especially tough tour. Australia have lost four out of five tosses, the last of them crucial, two senior bowlers arrived with hardly any overs under their bonnet and the tyro opener and leading bowler started badly, a combination that caused untold complications. As well, England seemed to have combed the cricketing world to raise a side,” Roebuck said.

In his opinion, Australia kept picking the wrong side.

“Nathan Hauritz’s omission at The Oval was a culpable blunder made by a think tank given the chance to examine a pitch allowed to bake under a hot sun for several days. Australia also need to put its bowling resources to better use,” he says.

“It is rare for an Australian captain to be allowed to keep playing once he has stood down. Other countries may field several former captains in their line-ups but that is not the antipodean way. Ponting knows that resignation and retirement are closely intertwined,” he concludes. (ANI)

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Freddie out for dinner with missus and family after Ashes victory

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug.24 (ANI): England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who is to go under the knife on Tuesday, will take his wife Rachael, parents and kids out for dinner, to celebrate the return of the Ashes with the 197-run victory over Australia at The Oval.

“I will take the missus out for dinner and spend the day with my family. But I’ll be ‘nil by mouth’ after midnight on Monday because of the operation,” The Sun quoted him, as saying.

Freddie hurled and hugged his son Corey and sister Holly, five, after the win, while Rachael brought one-year-old son Rocky down from the stands.

Freddie’s emotional dad Colin, 57, joined the wild celebrations, shedding tears of joy as he enjoyed the magical moment. The star’s proud mum Susan also came over to give him a hug.

Fred, who will have an operation to fix a knee injury tomorrow, said: “This is a special moment. I was nearly in tears when I saw my Mum up there. It’s like a dream, quite surreal at the moment. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

The Lancashire hero admitted he would not be repeating the boozy antics which saw him in a near-daze as he celebrated England’s last Ashes triumph in 2005.

The party mood spread nationwide last night among thrilled fans who’d seen England thump fierce rivals Australia to win the fifth and deciding Test by 197 runs.

The resounding victory ensured they clinched the summer series 2-1 and reclaimed the coveted Ashes urn they lost Down Under in 2006.

Captain Andrew Strauss said: “The guys have done amazingly. When we were bad we were very bad, and when we were good, we managed to be good enough.”

The squad headed straight from the pitch to the players’ lounge for a post-match party.

A security guard revealed two more crates of booze had to be sent in early in the evening after the stars nearly drank the bar dry.

The England squad left the Oval in a convoy of taxis just after 11 p.m. to continue their celebrations at their East London hotel.

Fans partied in pubs around the ground – many draped in England flags. England and Aussie supporters drank side by side. Downing Street also saluted the squad last night.

A spokesman said: “The Prime Minister will be writing to congratulate them on their exhilarating victory.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson, called England’s win an “incredible triumph”.

Even gutted Australians praised England in defeat. Tim Hussey, 28, from Melbourne, said: “It was an epic series. And I’m pleased Freddie went out with a bang.” (ANI)

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Aussie batsman North confident of chasing down a record 546

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 23(ANI): Australian cricketer Marcus North, who took four wickets with his part time off-spinners on the low turning pitch in England’s second innings of the final Ashes Test at The Oval, has said that his team might be able to chase down a record 546.

“History is against us. It’s too early to look that far ahead. There is still a lot of cricket to be played,” The Daily Telegraph quoted North, as saying. What you’ll see are 11 guys, who have got a lot of character to show, who are going to give everything for every contest for every over. Hopefully, that can lay the foundation to give us a chance,” he added.

North said that if past second innings scores are taken into consideration, Australia has a good chance to retain the Ashes. At Lord’s Australia scored 406 before losing and in the rain-ruined match at Edgbaston they had scored 5-375 to save the game.

“Our first objective was to get through tonight unscathed and Simon and Watto did that superbly. To walk off at 0 for 80, it’s the position we need to be in,” North said.

“We batted well at Lord’s, had some big partnerships, and laid some foundations to give us some opportunity to chase that target down. This is a different Test, different conditions. Again, we’ll have to show some character,” he added.

Australia will resume at 0-80 today, they are still 465 behind with two days to play. (ANI)

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Australia faces a long, dusty fight for survival at The Oval: Roebuck

August 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sydney, Aug. 22 (ANI): Australia faces a long struggle to survive at The Oval, believes noted cricket columnist Peter Roebuck.

According to Roebuck, an interesting few days awaits as skilful batsmen contend with fast bowlers bent on exploiting uneven bounce and modest spinners try to make the ball bite and turn.

“Far from playing hard and true, the strip was grudging and dusty from the opening hour. Evidently the curator overdid it. This match is likely to grip till the last afternoon,” he writes in his column for The Age.

“At stumps, Australia’s position was precarious. Hereafter it might need to rethink its bowling strategy by choosing horses for courses. Previously it was able to play the same blokes in all conditions. Great bowlers travel well. The current crop have varied skills. A ruthless approach may be required, with bowlers coming and going regardless,” Roebuck says. (ANI)

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Cricket legends upset over ‘overcooked’ Oval pitch

August 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug.22 (ANI): Former cricketers have criticized the curator of the pitch at The Oval for creating a surface solely for the purpose of ensuring a result in the fifth and final Ashes Test.

By the close of play on day two, 23 wickets had fallen and Australia trailed by 230 runs.

Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding was scathing in his assessment of the playing surface.

“I am very disappointed in this pitch. I have never been to The Oval and seen the ball going through the top (of the pitch) like this. Even on day one we have seen this. I played here back in 1976 – in one of the hottest summers ever in England – and it didn’t play like this. It can’t be the weather,” Fox Sports quoted former West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding, as saying.

Scyld Berry, editor of cricket ‘bible’ Wisden, took aim at a pitch “as pale as a supermodel on an unhealthy diet”.

The Oval has the reputation of being a wonderful batting strip. With consistent pace and bounce, it usually encourages attractive stroke play. It can also encourage high-scoring draws, which is just what England does not want.

Shane Warne offered the bluntest, simplest assessment, that groundsman Bill Gordon, had “overbaked it a little bit to make sure there is a result”.

Gordon should know a thing or two about pitches. He has been on The Oval ground staff since 1974. (ANI)

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Broad says England in a great position to win Ashes

August 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug.22 (ANI): Fast bowler Stuart Broad believes that England are in a great position to win the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval after bundling out the Australians for 160 and taking an overall lead of 230 runs on the second day of the game.

Broad who contributed significantly to the Australian collapse by claiming five wickets for 37 runs, said: “We are in a great position. It was a fantastic experience for me, everything we did seemed to work.”

“The first hour in the morning will be crucial. We have some big hitters with the likes of Freddie Flintoff and Matt Prior and if we can get some more runs, we can build a great platform,” he added.

While admitting that England did not want to lose wickets in its second innings, he said: “But to see what the ball is doing off the pitch gives us great encouragement. I’ll take setting them 400 to win.”

“It was great to have my family here. My mum lost her voice and I could see her in the crowd. My sister works for the ECB so I guess she played her part too. My dad has his Ashes story, I hope to have my own by Monday,” The Telegraph quoted him, as saying. (ANI)

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