Good news: Aussies fail to raise enough players for first wa

[King]

Good news: Aussies fail to raise enough players for first warm-up match By MIKE DICKSON All those who are eagerly looking for cracks in the Australian edifice will be pleased to know they failed to raise a quorum for their first World Cup warm-up. The 13- man per side format of the game against Zimbabwe proved too much for their currently sketchy resources and they felt able to put only 12 names down on their teamsheet. Among the 15-strong squad, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds are still injured, while Adam Gilchrist arrived late the previous evening after spending extra time at home with his new son, Archie. Those remaining were strong enough to post a total of 290-7 against the modest attack of once awkward opponents and, let us remind the world champions, a win is a win. They certainly needed a victory after five straight one-day defeats that saw their successful winter hosting England end in a surprise collapse of form. It is why Friday's match against Michael Vaughan's team will not be lacking in significance, even though it will be another unofficial encounter with two spare players on either side. There is no doubt that Australia need to regain their natural swagger fast, following the kind of criticism at home that they had come to think was the sole preserve of the Poms. The 3-0 defeat in New Zealand that preceded this tournament compounded the misery of England's triumph in the Commonwealth Bank series and former players have been quick to raise the alarm. Their biggest injury worry is the hugely influential Symonds, whose bicep muscle has had to be bolted back on to the bone following the defeat against England at Melbourne in late January that began the slide. For the past two days he has been able only to face 10 minutes worth of throwdowns in the nets and still cannot bowl or, as arguably the best fielder in the world, throw overarm. His targeted comeback appearance is between the massive group game against South Africa on March 24 (the victors' points will be carried forward into the 'Super Eights') and the third match of the next phase. The noises emanating from the camp are positive, although some experts in Australia have warned of serious consequences for his career if he is rushed back too soon. Hayden broke a toe during the drubbing by the Kiwis, but he is expected back for the opening match proper against Scotland on St Kitts a week today. Bowling is now a big worry for the Aussies with Glenn McGrath starting to creak and a lack of any genuinely high-class spin. But the biggest loss is Brett Lee for the whole tournament. Stuart Clark has been drafted in to replace him after controversially being left out of the original side.

[King]

Re: Good news: Aussies fail to raise enough players for first wa :hic: :hic: :hic: Austrlia not able to put together 13 players for the warm up game is "Good news" and is headlines for Poms (Daily Mail UK reported this one). :hic:

[yoda]

Re: Good news: Aussies fail to raise enough players for first wa should be a good game. india play wi around the same time.