Australia winning the Ashes

A ruthless Australia rattled through England’s final four wickets on Monday to complete an emphatic 218-run victory in the second Ashes Test and push the tourists to the brink of a humiliating series defeat.
The crushing win at Adelaide Oval puts Australia 2-0 ahead in the five-Test series, a stunning turnaround from the 3-0 Ashes defeat they suffered in England in August.
The hosts will fancy their chances of securing the famous urn in Perth, where England have not won since 1978 and where man-of-the-match Mitchell Johnson looms as an even greater threat on the WACA’s bouncy wicket.
‘It’s not a fluke that we have won the first two Test matches,’ Australia captain Michael Clarke told reporters after his team tore through England’s tail in less than an hour.
‘We’re finally getting the results for the hard work and commitment over a long period of time.
‘(Realistically) that’s our second Test win in the past 12 months. There’s a lot of work for us to get back to the number one position.’
The win proved Australia’s victory in Brisbane was no flash in the pan, while confirming a seismic shift in the balance of power between the teams.
Any hopes England had that rain might save them were quickly dispelled when a shower cleared to allow play to start only 10 minutes late.
Pacemen Peter Siddle (4-57) and Ryan Harris (3-54) combined with aplomb to seal the win in less than an hour on a gloomy morning at the re-developing ground.
In reality, however, England lost the Test on Saturday when their batsmen failed to stand up to another withering spell of extreme pace bowling from the resurgent Johnson.
The red-hot Queenslander took 7-40 in England’s first innings of 172 and twice dismissed their talismanic captain Alastair Cook cheaply to win his second successive man-of-the-match award after his nine-wicket performance in Brisbane.
Cook’s second innings dismissal, hooking Johnson to a man in the deep, was emblematic of his team’s poor shot selection throughout.
He has little time to restore his team’s battered self-belief before the third Test gets underway on Friday.
‘The only guys who can change it are the guys in the dressing room,’ said a shell-shocked Cook, who has gone from Australia’s tormentor in the 2010-11 series to becoming merely tormented.
‘No one else can change it for us. We can’t sit there moping around about it. It’s hurting us like hell but we’re the only guys who can change it.’
Having restored some pride on Sunday after managing to bat through a day under extreme duress, England resumed on 247-6, still 284 runs shy of their victory target.
Any sense of self-satisfaction would surely have been quashed, though, when Stuart Broad pulled the fifth ball of the day from Siddle straight to Nathan Lyon at deep square leg to be out for 29.
Matt Prior notched his first half-century to end a wretched run of scores, but appeared determined to get himself out by hooking at almost every short ball.
In the end he did just that, succumbing to Siddle for 69, with Harris taking a simple catch in the deep.
In between, Clarke threw the ball to Harris who dismissed Graeme Swann for six runs with his third delivery, the spinner driving at a short one moving away that he nicked straight to the Australian skipper in the slips.
Harris returned to seal the match by having Monty Panesar caught at short extra cover by Chris Rogers for a duck, and Australia embraced to a noisy ovation from the sparse fifth-day crowd.
Outplayed with bat and ball, England were also largely dismal in the field, with a rash of dropped catches during Australia’s first innings costing hundreds of runs and allowing the hosts to declare a mammoth first innings total of 570-9.
As holders of the urn, England need only level the series 2-2 to retain it, but Cook was under few illusions about the scale of the task.
‘A lot of people who’ll be sitting in this room and outside will probably give us no chance,’ he said. ‘But if we don’t believe that in our dressing room that the urn’s gone, then it might as well have gone.’

Warne, Clarke face off in All Star Twenty20

Australian spin legend Shane Warne and Michael Clarke are all for a Twenty20 showdown when they lead their respective teams in an All-Star match in Brisbane today. Warne will captain the Australian Cricketers’ Association All-Star XI, while Clarke, who has recovered from a nagging back problem, will play his first Twenty20 match since being appointed the national T20 captain by leading a KFC-sponsored Australian squad. ‘For what promises to be a fantastic opening to the Australian international season, the National Selection Panel has picked a very exciting team to take on the Johnnie Walker ACA All Stars in the game on Sunday,’ Cricket Australia NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch said in a statement. ‘In selecting the team we have not considered any of the Test players who have been heavily involved in the recent one-day campaign in India to allow them to prepare for the first Test. ‘The side does however feature Michael Clarke in his first Twenty20 game since being named captain, Brad Haddin and Peter Siddle as these players have not had the same amount of cricket as the other Test players leading into Brisbane,’ he added. Hilditch said the match would also serve as good preparation for next year’s Twenty20 World Cup. ‘While the emphasis will be on entertainment, the NSP sees the game as a great opportunity to continue our preparation for the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies next year,’ Hilditch said. The star-studded ACA All Star team has retired legends like Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath. ‘We are honoured that four legends of the game in Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Glenn McGrath have made themselves available and have no doubt they will shine for the All Stars,’ ACA President Darren Lehmann said. Teams will be allowed 12 players, however, only 11 will bat and 11 are available to bowl. The KFC sponsored Australian squad: Michael Clarke (captain), Cameron White (vice-captain), George Bailey, Brad Haddin, David Hussey, Andrew McDonald, Clint McKay, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Shaun Tait, Adam Voges, David Warner. The Johnnie Walker ACA All Star Team: Shane Warne (captain), Travis Birt, Lee Carseldine, Adam Gilchrist, Daniel Harris, Matthew Hayden, Jason Krejza, Rhett Lockyear, Graham Manou, Glenn McGrath, Nathan Reardon, Nathan Rimmington.

Hussey named Australia vice captain for India ODI

Australia have named Mike Hussey as deputy to skipper Ricky Ponting in their 15-player squad for a one-day series in India starting on Oct. 25.

Hussey's elevation follows a back injury to fellow batsman Michael Clarke, who was forced to withdraw from their Champions Trophy squad in South Africa.

Australia will also miss first choice wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, undergoing rehabilitation after finger surgery, as well as left-arm paceman Nathan Bracken (knee), Cricket Australia said in a statement.

Attacking left-handed opener Shaun Marsh returns to the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury.

The World Cup winners enter the seven-match series on a high, having swept to a 6-1 ODI series win against England ahead of the Champions Trophy.

"We're really pleased with the progress the ODI squad has made recently," chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said.

"To reclaim our number one ICC world ranking was recognition of this squad's recent achievements but we recognise we have to continue to improve and to establish a winning culture within this young group of players on tough tours, like this, to India."

The matches will be played in Baroda (Oct. 25), Nagpur (Oct. 28), New Delhi (Oct. 31), Mohali (Nov. 2), Hyderabad (Nov. 5), Guwahati (Nov. 8) and Mumbai (Nov. 11).

Squad:

Ricky Ponting (captain), Mike Hussey (vice captain), Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wicketkeeper), Adam Voges, Cameron White, James Hopes, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Peter Siddle.

Ashes win

England's Ashes win is front-page news, August 24, 2009

South Africa Seals First Test Cricket Series Win in Australia

South Africa clinched an historic Test series win in Australia to leave the Baggy Greens facing an uncertain future after years of domination.

Fresh from their series defeat in India, Ricky Ponting's Aussies were expected to return to the routine of smashing opponents around on home turf – notwithstanding the talent of the current South Africa side.

A 2-0 series win against New Zealand had the train back on the rails before the arrival of Graeme Smith's saboteurs, with two gutsy fightbacks by the Proteas in each of the two Tests so far have leaving the hosts with some hard questions before their Ashes tour of England in the summer.

Hashim Amla hit the winning runs on Tuesday as the tourists reached their target of 183 to win by a massive nine wickets.

Captain Smith stroked 75 before falling just before lunch as Neil McKenzie, with 59 not out, and Amla saw South Africa home.

Dale Steyn, who took five wickets in the Aussies' second innings and hit 76 in South Africa's first, was voted man-of-the-match.

Ponting must deal with the reality of becoming the first captain in 16 years to cede a series defeat at home, while question marks hang over the futures of batsmen Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey – giants of their craft currently going through torrid spells.

Where paceman Brett Lee used to provide the support for Glenn McGrath in the attack, he now holds the cutting edge without which his own support bowlers look lacking.

And after Jason Krejza's promising start in India, it now looks like there will be a long, hard search for a replacement capable of hitting half the heights of spin legend Shane Warne.

Ponting said there were few positives to be taken from his side's performances.

"South Africa have outplayed us in all the big moments of these two Test matches," he said. "There are some positives there for us, but not many. This is a series win for them that's well-deserved." The sides now travel to Sydney for the third and final Test, with Australia needing to turn their big starts into a win. They had set South Africa a huge run chase of 414 in the first match in Perth, only to see their opponents whittle it down with little fuss. And on day two at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground the tourists were 198-7, almost 200 runs behind Australia, before Steyn and rookie Duminy shared an incredible ninth-wicket partnership of 180 to get the Proteas back in the match.

Australia make clean sweep

Australia 5 for 198 (M Hussey 57*) beat Bangladesh 125 (Tamim 63, Hopes 3-30) by 73 runs
To tell the truth Bangladesh team donot have the ability to score 200 runs in Australia soil. But great effort by bowlers and Tamim.

Australia v Bangladesh, 2nd ODI, Darwin

Australia 2 for 118 (Marsh 69*) beat Bangladesh 117 (Johnson 3-17) by eight wickets

Atleast Bangladesh team cross 100 mark. Hopefully they will score 200 in the next match.

Bangladesh tour to Australia 2008

I hope Bangladesh team will show better performance today.

Bangladesh tour to Australia 2008

In the 1st One-Day International, Bangladesh in Australia, 2003 Bangladesh scored 105. In 2008 Bangladesh scored 74. There is some similarity.

2003 1st One-Day International Bowling card
Bowling O M R W
Gillespie 10 3 23 3 (3w)
Lee 8 1 25 4 (3nb, 2w)
Bichel 5 0 24 2
Hogg 10 0 27 0
Symonds 1 0 5 0


2008 1st One-Day International Bowling card
NW Bracken 6 1 23 0 3.83
SR Clark 7 1 18 1 2.57 (4w)
MG Johnson 6 1 10 2 1.66 (1w)
MJ Clarke 2 0 7 1 3.50
B Geeves 5 0 11 2 2.20
CL White 1.4 0 5 3 3.00

In 2003 the bowlers are Gillespie, Lee, Bichel, Hogg, Symonds all are famous. And most importantly they play more on International arena than in the Australian domestic league. So in 2003 both teams were foreign to the Darwin. But now MG Johnson, B Geeves, CL White are the new prospects of Australia and they are quite familiar with Darwin field and pitch. You can argue that MG Johnson is not a new bowler for Australia. But he only plays 9 tests and 40 ODIs. So I fear that this series will be more difficult and tiresome for Bangladesh. More frustrations may wait for them ahead.

Bangladesh tour to Australia 2008

They are looking very worried ahead of the First ODI against Australia.
http://www.banglacricket.com/

Bangladesh tour to Australia 2008

If you have time then visit this forum.
http://www.banglacricket.com/alochona/showthread.php?t=27589&page=2

Australians arrive in Darwin for Bangladesh series

The Australian Cricket team has touched down in Darwin ahead of its three one-day matches against Bangladesh.

The series opener is this Saturday at Mararra Stadium.Despite captain Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden being ruled out of the series through injury and Brett Lee through personal circumstances, the side is still confident of winning the series 3-0.But swing bowler Nathan Bracken says the home side is also well aware their minnow opponents are capable of staging an upset.

"They've done it before so, yeah, we've got to go out and play well," he said.

"We're off a break, we're I guess under a bit of pressure and it's up to these guys now ... it's up to us to put our hands up and perform well and basically if they play good cricket we have to match it."

Bracken admits the loss of Lee from the series puts him under more pressure, but he says the Darwin humidity should result in extra swing.

"The Australian A team said it swung up here a bit early in the morning," he said.

"So hopefully it we get the chance to bowl early we can utilise that and it would actually give me more of a chance to get a few early wickets and hopefully just bowl well."The World one-day champions will take on the Australian Institute of Sport side tomorrow.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/27/2348352.htm

Tigers lost the last game Bangladesh tour to Australia 2008

It is not total surprising that AIS which is not even a first class team beat Bangladesh cricket team in four ODIs. Although Batsmans have some practice but the bowlers may lost all their selfconfidence. The Bowlers are struggling from the day one. The main Bowling power is spin but unfortunately, we still have not find any replacement of Rafiq. Abdur Razzaq plays well in ODI but his performances is not acceptable in the Test. Saqib is allrounder and we should not expect that he will bring important breakthrough. He is a support Bowler. Same goes to Alok and Mahamudullah. Unless we get a quality spinner, there is a big trouble is waiting.

Northern Territory News gives news about Bangladesh Cricket Team

Bangladesh shrugs off 'practice' loss

PETER TIFFEN August 19th, 2008 BANGLADESH coach Jamie Siddons played down yesterday's one-day cricket loss to the AIS in Darwin. "It's practice. Winning is not the most important thing at this stage," Siddons said.
Because I come here to get my compensation related my shoulder injury from CA. Where is my lawyear?
The AIS smashed the Bangladesh attack all over Gardens Oval, scoring 4-330 in its 50 overs after being sent in to bat.
Thank God. It is only 4-330 not 4-440.
It then held its nerve to win by 14 runs despite a daring assault on the daunting target by opener Tamim Iqbal Khan and Tigers batting maestro Mohammad Ashraful. Siddons said Bangladesh was still recovering from its "horrendous" 35-hour series of flights to Darwin and its main focus was the international series against Australia at the end of the month. "Hopefully we will be full of steam by the last game and ready for the ODIs. They are the important ones not these," he said. But AIS captain Moises Henriques said it was a big payoff to get a win over an international side. "This is the tour that we have been training for for the past four months," Henriques said.
And Bangladesh training for the past four months to play game against Australia team.
"We batted really well and although we were under the pump early on in the field we brought it back well." Left-arm orthodox spinner Jon Holland starred for the AIS taking 4-43 from his 10 overs. With Bangladesh threatening at 3-238 he bowled dangerman Ashraful for 71 to start a Tigers' slide that saw them lose 4-14. The Tigers rallied again, but 15 runs in the last over proved beyond the final batting pair. Henriques had a great all-round match taking 3-38 including the scalp of Tamim who, batting with a runner after injuring a leg, blasted 85 from 65 balls inluding 16 fours and two sixes to put Bangladesh well ahead of the required run rate. Earlier, Henriques clobbered 69 from 41 deliveries twice lifting the ball into the Botanic Gardens. Wicketkeeper/opening batsman Michael Wade got the AIS off to a Gilchrist-like start crashing 55 from 39 balls with four sixes. And NSW's Peter Forrest was superb in making 83. He shared in a stand of 139 for the second wicket with a patient Greg Moller (74). AIS 4-330 (Peter Forrest 83, Greg Moller 74, Moises Henriques 59, Shakib Al Hasan 1-45, Abdur Razzak 1-5) d Bangladesh 316 (Tamim Iqbal Khan 85, Mohammad Ashraful 71, Jon Holland 4-43, Henriques 3-38).
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2008/08/19/5311_ntsport.html

Bangladesh in Australia 2008

Junaid Siddique makes a return to the ODI side after four months. He is very lucky. Read about his life from wikipedia.

Mohammad Junaid Siddique (born 30 October 1987 in Rajshahi) is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He is sometimes referred to by his nickname Imrose. A left handed batsman and occasional right arm off break bowler, he made his debut for Rajshahi Division in 2003/04 and played through the 2006/07 season. He made his Test and ODI debuts during the tour of New Zealand in 2007/08.

Siddique has scored one first-class century, a fine unbeaten knock of 114 against Khulna Division and also has a limited overs ton to his credit, 104 against Chittagong Division. He appeared for Bangladesh A in 2006/07.

Siddique made his debut for Bangladesh in the Twenty20 International World Cup during September 2007. He made 71 on debut, against Pakistan, an innings filled with wristy strokeplay, striking 6 fours and 3 sixes. Siddique scored a half-century against New Zealand as part of a Bangladeshi record stand between him and Tamim Iqbal.

In December 2007 Siddique was selected in the Test and ODI squads for the tour of New Zealand. On 26 December 2007 he made his ODI debut, opening the batting he scored 13. On 4 January 2008 he made his Test debut, he scored 74 in Bangladesh's second innings sharing in a 161 run opening stand with fellow debutant Tamim Iqbal. The stand is a first wicket record for Bangladesh ^[1] and the third highest set made by debutants. Siddique scored a patient 74 against South Africa in a test match in February.^[2] and it is also the second highest partnership for debutant openers^[3]

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	4	8	0	183	74	22.87	429	42.65	0	2	24	0	3	0
ODIs	6	6	0	41	15	6.83	115	35.65	0	0	5	0	1	0
T20Is	1	1	0	71	71	71.00	49	144.89	0	1	6	3	0	0
First-class	22	41	1	1038	114*	25.95	2180	47.61	1	6			19	0
List A	29	29	0	685	120	23.62	925	74.05	2	4			6	0
Twenty20	2	2	0	83	71	41.50	59	140.67	0	1	8	3	0	0

Australia announced the team Bangladesh tour to Australia 2008

Australia Matthew Hayden, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Brad Haddin (wk), Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, James Hopes, Cameron White, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken.

Wrist problem hurts Ponting while Hayden battles heel injury. Lucky for Bangladeshi Bowlers. Is not it? Michael Clarke will be a captain. Ha! Ha! another Ashraful :)

Bangladesh announce final squad Bangladesh in Australia 2008

I believe opening will remain the main problem for the team. Shahriar Nafees prove his capability but it seems to me that he lost inspiration to play cricket. The middle order looks flimsy. Is Alok Kapali be the answer? I donot know. Raqibul Hassan may be but Australia is surely a different place. Nowadays the lower order becomes really the LOWER order. But in the past it many times helps the team. Where is Pilot? The pace bowling is very weak. Mashrafe Mortaza is only one bowler. Shahadat Hossain is remains the big question.

Squad: Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Raqibul Hassan, Shakib Al Hasan, Alok Kapali, Dhiman Ghosh (wk), Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Farhad Reza, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Nazmul Hossain, Dolar Mahmud.

Bangladesh preliminary squad Bangladesh in Australia 2008

Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Shakib Al Hasan, Raqibul Hasan, Alok Kapali, Mahmudullah Riyad, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Farhad Reza, Dolar Mahmud, Mosharraf Hossain, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Nazimuddin, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Dhiman Ghosh (wk), Syed Rasel, Nazmul Hossain, Naeem Islam, Junaid Siddique

Capacity 15,000 (5,000 seated)
Floodlights Yes
End names McMillans Road End, Airport End
Home team(s) Northern Territory
Other sports Australian Rules Football
Current local time 09:25, Mon Aug 04, 2008 (UTC +0930)

Marrara Stadium is the premier outdoor stadium in Northern Territory, and watching cricket there is an engaging experience. Few grounds in Australia can match its intimacy and proximity to the action. The ground is flat and green, its superb condition attributable to Darwin's unique climate. Marrara is also one of the country's first outdoor venues to use a 'drop-in' pitch.

To reach standards required for international cricket, the stadium underwent a $3million renovation, giving the contrast of an impressive modern stand on one side of the ground and a rural-style hill area on the other.

In 2003 Darwin hosted its first Test as part of Australia's experimental "Top End Tour", hosting matches in the normal close season, although attendances were disappointing. (From cricinfo)

The Northern Territory

Darwin's history is a colourful mix of aboriginal skirmishes, gold rush, Japanese WW II bombings and cyclone devastation. For more than a century Darwin was Australia's pioneering outpost in the isolated north, but today with Indonesia only a short flight away, it is our northern gateway to South East Asia and beyond.

The Northern Territory is roughly divided into two areas the "Top End" in and around Darwin which receives heavy rainfall for three to five months of the year and "The Centre" in and around Alice Springs which has low rainfall and no permanent rivers. Few people live in the vast areas in between with more than half of the Territory's population living within a 40km radius of Darwin.

Today, Australia's only tropical capital boasts a population of 77,000 who, like the city itself, are younger on average than the rest of Australia. The relaxed lifestyle, magnificent sunsets, near-pristine natural environment, multicultural mix and tropical splendour, all create a unique experience and as the advertising catchcry says: "you'll never never know if you never never go".