Ajmal working on secret delivery for Eng series

Pakistan offspinner Saeed Ajmal says he's working on a secret delivery to surprise England's batsmen in this month's Test series. Ajmal took 50 wickets in eight Tests last year and often surprises batsmen with a doosra, a ball that drifts away from right-handed batsmen.

He did not reveal his newly developed delivery on Friday, but said he would definitely try it out against England. "We are working on a special delivery, it's not very far, you will know it," he said.

The three-Test series begins in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on January 17, and Ajmal hopes the pitch will suit spinners. He grabbed eight Sri Lanka wickets in a Test at the same venue in October 2010.

The offspinner has not targeted any specific batsmen but has been watching videos of the Englishmen.

"We are going (for the series) fully prepared," he said. "We have special plans and we are working on that."

Ajmal took 12 England wickets at Birmingham, The Oval and Lord's in 2010, including a five-wicket haul in the first Test which Pakistan lost by nine wickets. However, the series was marred by the spot-fixing scandal after which three Pakistan players were jailed.

Pakistan has overcome the loss of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir from the scam over the past 18 months with Ajmal playing key roles in series victories over Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The offspinner, who has 83 wickets from 17 Tests since his 2009 debut, has the ability to keep batsmen guessing with a variety of deliveries and hardly allows batsmen to come out of the crease on flighted deliveries.

"If I bowl flighted deliveries, I simply cannot bowl," Ajmal said. "If I take 90 percent of my wickets while bowling doosras and off breaks, there's no harm in it."

Ajmal is the top bowler in the one-day international rankings, but did not want to be compared with England offspinner Graeme Swann.

"He has his own variety and I have my own variety, but he is a good bowler because he has remained the world No. 1 bowler in Test matches," Ajmal said.

Except for Sri Lanka, Pakistan's victories in Tests have been against lower-ranked teams West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in 2011.

England, the No. 1 Test team, will be Pakistan's first real challenge.

"Whosoever you play against, you have to take wickets," he said.

"Sri Lanka was the top team and I was man of the series against them. West Indies was not a bad team as we hadn't won a series against them, Bangladesh was not that good a team but I took only eight wickets against them."

Pakistan's training camp will end in Lahore on Saturday and the team is scheduled to fly out to Dubai on Monday.

Pakistan will play three Tests against England, followed by four ODIs and three Twenty20s before the series ends in late February.

Heat upset Hurricanes in thriller

Brisbane Heat 4 for 201 (Hayden 76, Robinson 44) beat Hobart Hurricanes 4 for 198 (Birt 74, Owais Shah 69) by 3 runs

The Brisbane Heat have pulled off the upset of the season by holding on for a nail-biting three-run victory over the previously undefeated Hobart Hurricanes at the Gabba.

It was top playing bottom leading in to the game but it looked anything like that as the winless Heat got off to a flyer, scoring a season-best 71 off the Powerplay, thanks to Matthew Hayden's 76 off 51 balls and Andrew Robinson's 44 off 28.

The pair put on 100 for the opening wicket in just 8.4 overs before Robinson was run out by an athletic piece of fielding from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.

Part-timer Rhett Lockyear removed the dangerous Daniel Christian for 8 before skipper Peter Forrest's 33 off 18 helped the hosts reach the highest score in the competition this season, 201.

Jonathan Wells scored 24 off 18 and Phil Jaques got 27 off 22 to get the visitors off to a steady start, but several tight overs late in the Powerplay from Roelof van der Merwe and Michael Neser had the Hurricanes well behind the required-rate, which peaked at more than 14 runs per over.

Nathan Hauritz then dropped a simple catch that Travis Birt had looped up to him at long-off when on just 31. Birt went on to make the Heat pay, scoring 74 off 36 balls, and combining with England international Owais Shah (69 off 44) for a blistering 141-run partnership to give the Hurricanes a chance at victory.

The visitors required 16 off the last over and when Shah hit youngster Alistair McDermott for a boundary followed by a six, the impossible run-chase looked like it might just come off; the Hurricanes needed just four off two balls.

But McDermott had other ideas, fielding brilliantly off his own bowling to dismiss Birt, who had been backing up, before dismissing Shah off the last ball of the innings, caught by Christian on the rope, to leave the visitors agonisingly short of an unlikely victory.

The Hurricanes remain in top spot, with Shane Warne's Melbourne Stars to visit Tasmania on Monday, while the Heat - despite their victory - remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder with an away fixture to the Melbourne Renegades their next challenge.

Wicketless session keeps South Africa waiting

Lunch Sri Lanka 220 for 4 (Samaraweera 64*, Mathews 58*) and 239 trail South Africa 580 for 4 decl. by 121 runs

Sri Lanka's batsmen enjoyed their first wicketless session of the series, but with five more to go in the Test, it was unlikely to affect the final outcome. Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews survived without much strife on the fourth morning, giving credence to curator Evan Flint's tongue-in-cheek prediction about the state of the pitch. Sri Lanka's tame surrender in the first innings, however, meant the odds of them saving the Test remained long.

As on the third evening, South Africa were persistent with their lines of attack, but the rewards were not so readily available. The closest they came to dislodging the overnight partners was when Samaraweera was stranded mid-pitch after a misunderstanding with Mathews. Alviro Petersen picked up rapidly in the covers and had a good sight of the stumps as he threw, but missed. A little later, Mathews came close to being run out himself, but this time Hashim Amla's throw went wide. Barring those two scares, it was mostly smooth sailing for Sri Lanka.

As is his wont, Dale Steyn began the day by probing away at pace on full lengths, but the rest of the attack was guilty of bowling a touch short, and too straight. Samaraweera got going with a neat flick through square leg off the day's second ball, and a couple of controlled edges through the off side. Thereafter, he settled down to wait and pick off the leg-stump offerings that came his way. Imran Tahir showed good control and hurried the batsmen with bounce and spin out of the rough on a few occasions, but wasn't able to make the breach. Samaraweera got to his fifty by steering him to third man as the first hour drew to a close.

Mathews' reluctance to leave balls outside off stump will always leave him vulnerable to nicks, but today he was mostly efficient in covering the line. His first boundary came off a thick edge that flew past the cordon, but he gradually buckled down to seal his end. Progress came through dabs and tucks, until Tahir slipped up a full toss on the pads that Mathews whipped expertly to the boundary.

With the pitch slowing down and seam movement absent, Graeme Smith moved the cordon from behind the wicket to front. Armed with the old ball, Jacques Kallis sent down an energetic spell of fast bumpers, with slip, short leg, short cover, silly mid-on, and later leg slip, in place. Samaraweera stayed firm, pressing down a snorter headed to his ribs away from the reach of all the prowlers. Smith summoned the new ball for the last over of the session, and Vernon Philander duly elicited Mathews outside edge with his customary swing. It was a timely warning that Sri Lanka couldn't afford to get too carried away with their morning's work.

Injured Pattinson out of series

Australia's young fast-bowling spearhead James Pattinson is out of the remainder of the Test series against India after scans revealed the early signs of stress fractures in the metatarsal bone of his left foot.

He has been replaced in the squad for the Perth Test by Mitchell Starc - the only change to the squad that was selected for Sydney. Ryan Harris is favoured to win a recall to the XI after making his own return to fitness.

Pattinson bowled throughout the Sydney Test but complained of pain in his left foot towards the end of the match. Scans revealed the injury, which the team physio Alex Kountouris called an "early stage bone stress injury of the metatarsal bone of the left foot".

"He will be managed carefully over the next few weeks and will not be available for the remainder of the Test series," Kountouris said.

John Inverarity, the national selector, said his panel had already considered resting Pattinson for the WACA Test after he played four Tests in little more than a month since his debut against New Zealand in Brisbane.

"The intention of the National Selection Panel was to rest James from the Perth Test match as this young man has played in four Test matches over a period of just five weeks," Inverarity said. "This intention has become a necessity after post-match scans have revealed James' foot injury."

Pattinson's injury is a serious blow to Australia, given that in those four Tests he has taken 25 wickets at 18.12, while also impressing considerably with the bat. It also continues an unsettling run of injuries for young fast bowlers. Pat Cummins, who made an equally remarkable introduction against South Africa in Johannesburg in November, is missing the entirety of the home Test summer due to a heel injury.

At the other end of the age scale is Harris, who would now appear certain to return to the XI for the Perth Test, after battling a hip problem and then building up his fitness for Test cricket with an intensive training regimen through December.

Before Pattinson's injury was known, Clarke said Harris' recall as part of a pace quartet was a genuine option - he had also flirted with the idea before the Sydney match.

"It is an option, there will certainly be at least four fast bowlers in our squad for Perth, and we'll assess conditions once we get there," Clarke said. "I'm hoping that wicket is similar to what we played on against England last summer, where it's got a lot of pace and bounce and some sideways movement. If that's the case there's an option there [to play four quicks], but I always love to have a spinner in the team, and I continue to say that I think Nathan Lyon is doing a really good job for this team."

Clarke's run as captain has been made far more agreeable by the presence of an effective pace attack, and he said the group's collective ability to place pressure on India's batsmen had been significant to the results so far.

"We have [several] guys who can get a breakthrough, that's one of the most pleasing things for a captain," he said. "You can turn to any one of our bowlers to try and take a wicket, so that makes life easier for me. We're able to build up pressure - at the moment, we're bowling a lot of dot balls, bowling a lot of maidens, we're restricting the scoring and I think that is what's getting us wickets.

"It's not necessarily a one-off delivery that is getting somebody out. Against very good players you have to be able to build up pressure - if you think one-off balls are going to get six or seven of the best batsmen in the world out, you're in for a rude shock. So you need the whole team and the whole bowling attack performing, and that's what we're doing at the moment."

Hilfenhaus takes five in Australia's innings win

Australia 4 for 659 dec beat India 191 and 400 (Gambhir 83, Tendulkar 80, Laxman 66, Ashwin 62, Hilfenhaus 5-106) by an innings and 68 runs

This was supposed to be India's best chance to win a Test series in Australia. It has taken only eight days of cricket for Michael Clarke's men to deny them that goal. On the fourth afternoon in Sydney, an attack led by Ben Hilfenhaus deconstructed India's formidable batting line-up, bit by bit, to secure an unbeatable 2-0 series lead with victory by an innings and 68 runs, Australia's first innings win over India in 12 years.

The last such result also came at the SCG, in 2000. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were all part of that side, as they were members of the outfit that lost this time around. It is unlikely they will have another chance to beat Australia at home. For now, India still hold the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and should they win in Perth and Adelaide they will retain it. But their grip on it is as weak as Chris Martin's forward defence.

This was an Australian victory that will be remembered for Clarke's unbeaten 329. But on the fourth day, it was a second consecutive five-wicket haul from Hilfenhaus that was the highlight. Hilfenhaus completed the success with the final wicket when R Ashwin, who had made a fighting 62, skied a pull and was caught by Nathan Lyon running around from mid-on.

The Australians were overjoyed. Clarke especially was thrilled. His declaration on the third day, when he could have chased personal milestones like Brian Lara's world-record Test innings of 400, was designed to ensure Australia would win the match. They did so with three and a half sessions remaining. Clarke is not the kind of man to harbour any regrets. The win was everything.

He knew better than anyone that batting on the SCG surface was not particularly difficult, and as Tendulkar and Laxman put on a 103-run stand his mind might have flicked back eight years, to a 353-run partnershipbetween the same men at the same ground. Fittingly, it was Clarke with his left-arm spin that ended the partnership, and India's hopes of saving the Test.

Tendulkar had reached 80 and seemed to be on track to register his long-awaited hundredth international hundred in the SCG's hundredth Test when Clarke changed the course of the day. He produced a delivery that was accurate enough to draw Tendulkar into a stroke and turned just enough to catch the edge, which ricocheted off Brad Haddin's gloves and was snaffled by Michael Hussey at slip.

When the new ball arrived, the other architect of that one threatening partnership, Laxman, on 66, fell to a near-perfect delivery from Hilfenhaus, who finished with 5 for 106. The ball angled in and then nipped away to beat the outside edge of Laxman's bat, clipping the edge of the top of off stump, and the batsman could scarcely believe his fate, confident as he appeared that he had covered his wicket.

From there, the wickets fell steadily. MS Dhoni (2) chipped a return catch to Hilfenhaus, who seemed to think it was a bump ball. But the umpire's decision to have the third official check on the shot revealed it had lobbed cleanly back to Hilfenhaus without touching the ground, surprising some of the Australians.

Virat Kohli was lbw to James Pattinson for 9, a fraction unlucky as the ball kept low, but there was no question over the decision. Peter Siddle joined in by removing Zaheer Khan, who had made an entertaining 35 when he slashed hard at a delivery outside off and was taken by Shaun Marsh running back from extra cover.

Briefly, Ishant Sharma and Ashwin staved off the Australians with a 42-run stand, but Ishant (11) was lbw to the offspin of Nathan Lyon. That was the only breakthrough of the match for Lyon, who also collected just one in Melbourne and has not removed a top-six batsman since the first Test of the summer, against New Zealand at the Gabba. Though usually loath to change a winning side, Australia might consider replacing him with Ryan Harris at the WACA.

There are far more questions for India. For a while it looked like they might take the match into the fifth day as they worked through the first session for the loss of only one wicket, that of Gautam Gambhir. He missed the chance for his first Test century in nearly two years when, on 83, he stood on the crease and reached his bat a long way forward to the bowling of Siddle, who found a leading edge that was snapped up by David Warner at point.

Tendulkar and Laxman continued to fight. Laxman played some of his trademark wristy flicks through the leg side, against the fast men and also the offspin of Lyon, and Tendulkar showed off some wonderful cover-drives early in the morning. Shortly before the lunch break, Tendulkar upper-cut a frustrated Pattinson over the sole slip for another boundary.

But it was all a big tease for the Indian fans. In a match where three Australians made tons, including one triple-hundred, India needed more than a handful of pretty half-centuries. There are questions over their batting and their bowling as the Perth Test approaches. They have a week to sort out their problems.

ICC ODI Championship Ranking

ICC ODI Ranking12/28/2011

 

ICC ODI Championship
Rank Team  Rtg  
1 Australia 130  
2 India 117  
3 South Africa 115  
4 Sri Lanka 112  
5 Pakistan 109 
 6 England 106  
7 New Zealand 87  
8 West Indies 79  
9 Bangladesh 62  
10 Zimbabwe 47  
11 Ireland 41  
12 Netherlands 15  

ICC Test Championship Ranking

ICC Test Ranking12/28/2011

 

ICC Test Championship
RankTeam  Rtg  
1 England 125 
 2 India 118 
 3 South Africa 116  
4 Australia 103  
5 Pakistan 99  
 6 Sri Lanka 99 
 7 West Indies 88  
8 New Zealand 83 
 9 Bangladesh 8