Nielsen deals with defeat

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Australian coach Tim Nielsen is not getting carried away with his team's loss in the opening match of the one-day series final. More... Tim Nielsen's maiden season as Australian cricket coach has been plagued by hurdles although his biggest obstacle might be avoiding getting caught up in the emotion of defeat. Australia lost for only the third occasion this series in Sunday's Commonwealth Bank final opener in Sydney, handing the touring Indians the initiative in the three-match decider. However, the wash-up to a successive one-day beating has been dominated by captain Ricky Ponting's post-match outburst at his underperforming team-mates. Nielsen conceded Ponting had some choice words for his colleagues after Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten century guided India past a modest 8-239 with 25 balls to spare. But he cautioned about reading too much into that spray and its effect on a series Australia can salvage with wins in Brisbane and Adelaide. "We certainly had a chat last night and Ricky put pretty clearly what he expected from the group, not just about playing the cricket but the way we present ourselves and the way we go about our things," the Australian coach said. "(But) the biggest challenge for all of us is not to get too carried away by one loss." "We spoke about it quickly. We made sure that everything was put on the table last night so the players had all day today to recover and get themselves organised individually for tomorrow." Another 48-hour turnaround meant the players were relieved of training on Monday but Nielsen's comments suggest there will be plenty of soul-searching before the crunch second match at the Gabba. The world champions are well aware that not competing for the full 100 overs is costing them against a fired up Indian outfit intent on replicating England's tri-series success 12 months ago. Nielsen, speaking to the media soon after stepping off the plane from Sydney, has also counselled his middle order about gifting their wickets away. Ponting has averaged 21.1 in the nine-match series, Andrew Symonds just 16.5. But he maintained the ongoing frosty relationship between India and Australia had not been a major distraction for his side. Instead he echoed Ponting's earlier comments about the mental tiredness which comes with a summer schedule that began with the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last September. Australia is also booked in for a three-Test, six ODI tour of the West Indies between May and July later this year. "Our challenge at the moment is to keep these blokes up and get them in a state of mind that gives them every opportunity tomorrow," said Nielsen. "We're doing the best we can. We're doing a lot of work. It's one of those funny situations where they feel as though they're hitting the ball quite well in their preparation but as Ricky said last night it's probably the mental side of the game which has let us down a little bit over the last couple of games."

[manoj_admlab]

India leave champs low on confidence! Posted on Mar 03, 2008 at 15:33 Brisbane: Australia's coach Tim Nielsen on Monday admitted that his team's star-studded batting line-up is low on confidence before the second final of the tri-series against India here on Tuesday. "You would be inhuman not to have a little bit of a hit with the confidence when you are not getting the results you are looking for," Nielsen said at a press conference on the eve of the match. Nielsen said the main challenge before his side would be to get rid of the mental block against the Indian bowlers. "That is the challenge of elite sport. You are not always going to get the result you want. We are playing against a bowling attack who are bowling very well. Our challenge at the moment is to keep these blokes up and get them in a state of mind which gives them every chance Tuesday. "While we are not playing as well as we would have liked, we have 24 hours to sort it out," he said. Nielsen said the recent reverses in hands of India had created self-doubts in the minds of the Australian players. "It's one of those funny situations where they feel as if they are hitting the ball quite well and going about things pretty well," he said. "It is the mental side of the game which is letting us down a little bit over the last couple of games," Nielsen said. Nielsen's first year as a coach has involved a few off-field controversies which have caught him off guard. "There have been a couple of things I probably have not expected and it certainly added to the whole dynamics of the job. "One of the great things about the job has been rolling with the punches. Understanding each of these incidents has been different. It has been a big challenge, working forward and trying to get the best out of our team on a daily basis," he said. http://www.cricketnext.com/news/india-leave-champs-low-on-confidence/30068-13.html

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Nielsen said the main challenge before his side would be to get rid of the mental block against the Indian bowlers. We are playing against a bowling attack who are bowling very well. Our challenge at the moment is to keep these blokes up and get them in a state of mind which gives them every chance Tuesday.

Wah, made my day! A decade ago, I never thought i'll hear this in my life time!

[King Tendulkar]

Mental block:hysterical:Crapthan is terrorising them:hysterical:

[suraj]

Aussies always come back strong so we really have to play well in the next one I hope Ishant is able to play