B-G Trophy 2008 : Build-up

[Dravid]

LETS CALL THEM TRAITORS TOO!

[DomainK]

Well, its alright. To give some tips to a batsman who is eager to learn is not bad. Doe not matter if he is Australian.

[fineleg]

Teaching Yuvraj to play quality spin is like asking a spaniel to sing in French. Never gonna happen.

spot on.

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Patient perseverance Michael Hussey and Stuart Clark are all set to stamp their presence in the Test series in their typically unfussy manner. More... Indian Board President's XI v Australians, Hyderabad, 3rd day Patient perseverance Sriram Veera in Hyderabad October 4, 2008 A last-wicket stand of 96 between Stuart Clark and Michael Hussey helped the Australians avert the follow-on © AFP "In India things can meander for a while, without anything happening, before suddenly the action starts," Matthew Hayden said on the eve of this game. It happened in reverse today. Australia lost five wickets in frenetic fashion when day three began before last-man Stuart Clark hung on with Michael Hussey for 40.1 overs to push his side ever so slowly past the follow-on mark. The pitch got slower, the bowlers grew tired and the Australians prospered because the two stars of the day played the waiting game. Patience, perhaps, comes easily to both. Hussey and Clark had to wait till they were 30 to get their baggy greens. Clark was an estate agent, selling houses for five years before he decided to buy wickets for life. "On this cap there's an emu and a kangaroo and none of them can go backwards, make sure you don't, though we know you won't," Merv Hughes told Clark when he handed the debutant his Test cap. Clark certainly hasn't backtracked with the ball, as 81 wickets at 21.46 in 18 Tests indicates, and today he didn't take one backward step even with the bat. His was not a classical tailender innings. There were no joyous heaves across the line, no flirts outside off stump, and no nervous giggles at short-pitched deliveries. It was almost a serene innings. Clark used his height to reach the pitch of the turning ball, presented the full face of the bat and achieved the same effect tailenders aspire to: irritate the opposition. The spinners grew tired, the second new ball lost its shine, and the spinning pair had one more unsuccessful spell before Clark finally gave his wicket away to Yuvraj Singh. But he had done his job of holding one end while Hussey steered the Australians out of troubled waters. You don't usually remember a stand-out shot from a Hussey innings. What you take away, as a viewer, is the perception of the scientific mind behind those tickles to square, those cuts, the sweeps and marvel at how he never allows his ego to get out of control. And that is Hussey's strength; the total self-awareness he has of his game and its limitations. Today was no different. He hung in there, grinding his way in singles and twos and slowly getting out of a troubled phase. "The two spinners bowled really well in tandem," he said later. "They bowled with lot of pressure and patience. It made scoring difficult. I just wanted spend a little bit of time at the crease." But what has been going inside that impassive face during all the numerous vigils at the crease? "To be honest I feel like my batting's been a real battle for two years,'' he said recently. "Even in good conditions where I felt like other guys were able to play their shots quite comfortably and hit down the ground and drive and pull well, I still felt like I was struggling for timing a fair bit." Hussey averaged 62.42 in that period. Did he say struggle? So it's not idle self-criticism but the supreme desire to keep improving that drove him to meet the Western Australia coach Tom Moody and his assistant Trevor Penny. "Moody helped me to tighten my technique," Hussey said. "Just to get the access to the ball a little bit better and help me drive the ball down the ground more." However, he has not turned his quest into a negative obsession. When reminded that he scored 95 of his 126 runs square of the pitch today he laughed, "There you go. I need more practice". Mr Cricket and the estate agent are all set to stamp their presence in the Test series in their typically unfussy manner.

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'Team up to Kumble-Bhajji challenge' : Ponting Australia is evidently helpless against spin bowling but Ricky Ponting refuses to panic, asserting his team is up to the challenge of facing Kumble and Harbhajan in the upcoming Test series. More... Ponting not panicking, says team up to Kumble-Bhajji challenge Press Trust Of India Hyderabad, October 05, 2008 First Published: 18:23 IST(5/10/2008) Last Updated: 18:37 IST(5/10/2008) Australia is evidently helpless against spin bowling but skipper Ricky Ponting refuses to panic, asserting his team is up to the challenge of facing Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the upcoming Test series. Nine Australian batsmen surrendered to either Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha or Yuvraj Singh in the first innings of the warm-up match in Hyderabad. In the second, only two wickets fell and that included Matthew Hayden -- perceived as one of the better players against spin bowling -- who was trapped by Chawla. Ponting said it was not a case of surrendering before opponent's spin might. "When spinners bowl 75 per cent of the total overs, chances are more that you would lose wickets to them," he said, as a matter of fact. "No doubt they (Chawla and Ojha) bowled well and we disappointed in the first innings. But I think it was a good opportunity for all players to get some good practice (against spin bowling) before we reach Bangalore (for the first Test)," Ponting explained. "Not everyone can be among runs in every game," he added. Ponting, however, admitted that facing Kumble and Harbhajan would be the real challenge for the batsmen. "Look both Kumble and Harbhajan are world class spinners, especially Kumble. He has been around for quite a long time and that's talking about the challenge that lies ahead. We have to play well against these guys" he said.