Monthly Archives: October 2009

Lee ruled out of series

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brettlee_australlia_0Aussie pace spearhead Brett Lee will not take any further part in the ODI series in India. His elbow injury has meant he will fly back to Australia. Moreover, Lee is in danger of missing the home Test series against West Indies as well.

The fast bowler managed to bowl only six overs in the first ODI in Vadodara and had to sit out of the second game at Nagpur. Earlier, Lee couldn’t take part in this year’s Ashes as well, since he was unfit.

“Brett’s elbow injury has not responded as well to treatment as we would have liked and therefore a decision has been made to send him home to consult with an elbow specialist,” Cricket Australia’s physiotherapist Kevin Sims told the media and added, “With an accurate diagnosis we can determine how best to manage the injury and give Brett the best chance of being available for selection at the beginning of the Australian summer.”

The other injured member of the team, all-rounder James Hopes, who is still suffering from a hamstring problem isn’t going back home, but will miss the third ODI in Delhi as well after sitting out of the Nagpur ODI. “We hope he will be okay for Mohali,” Ricky Ponting was quoted as saying in the press.

Thankfully for Australia Tim Paine’s replacement, wicketkeeper Graham Manou, is expected to reach Delhi in time for the third ODI. Paine picked up a broke finger, yet managed to pull off some great catches in the loss at Nagpur. He is likely to be replaced at the top of the order by IPL 1 hero Shaun Marsh. However, Lee’s absence has undoubtedly dealt a severe blow to Australia’s chances.

Wet welcome for Aussies

As if they weren’t enough problems facing the Australian team, their preparations were further hampered when their net session at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi had to be put off owing to wet practice pitches. Apparently, the curator had no idea of what time the team was going to train and thus watered the pitches. In the end, the Australians had to be content with some light practice.
“I am very disappointed. It seems everybody in the world other than the grounds man here knew what we were going to train. To turn up here and find the wickets completely unusable is disappointing. We only had one training day, and I am sure by the time the Indian team comes down here, the wickets will be fine. So it’s a bit of a disadvantage for us,” an extremely frustrated Ponting told the media.

Without Lee, Aussie bowling lacked venom

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brett_lee_australlia-jpgIndia‘s near-ruthless win at Nagpur can be attributed to a number of crucial factors. Indian skipper MS Dhoni’s knock undoubtedly stood out. But he got excellent support from some of the other batsmen and the bowling too looked a lot more potent with a mammoth score on the board. For Australia, their bowling lacked sting and the batsmen could do little after they lost early wickets in the chase.

Brett Lee’s absence in the Australian side stuck out like a sore thumb. Without their main wicket-taker, the bowling was highly impotent on a batting beauty. Mitchell Johnson, who was expected to take on the lead role in Lee’s absence, was particularly disappointing. The death overs exposed the entire Aussie bowling line-up. While Johnson sprayed it all over, the likes of Ben Hilfenhaus and Shane Watson failed to get the ball into the block hole, as a result of which Dhoni and Raina could swing their arms freely.

Amidst all the carnage, it was only Peter Siddle who stood out, keeping the ball right up to the bat and not allowing the Indian batsmen free runs. Unfortunately, his good performance was not well-reflected in his final bowling analysis. Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz managed to keep things tight. To India’s credit though, they ensured he did not get among the wickets. On rare occasions, the Aussies were slack in the field as well, with Ricky Ponting spilling a skier from Dhoni. That can be safely considered as an aberration and the Australians must be focused on improving the other two aspects of their game.

It can be said that, with a mountain to climb, they had very little chance of succeeding in the chase. Still, the batting performance could have been better. A majority of their batsmen got starts, but none among them converted it into a big one. If your highest score chasing a 350-plus target is 53, it is clear you haven’t been too smart. Here again, some praise needs to be reserved for the Indian bowlers.

Praveen Kumar showed a lot of heart in the manner in which he came back after the battering at Vadodora. The quick cameo he played towards the end in a losing cause must have helped his confidence. And he repaid the faith placed in him by shining in helpful conditions. The dismissals of both Tim Paine and Ricky Ponting were of classical in-swinging deliveries, which Kumar specializes in. It is great to see a bowler still willing to stick to the basics of swing bowling and succeed. The only problem with it is that he gets too predictable and ineffective when the pitch has nothing to offer. This is an aspect he has to work on if he desires to attain greater heights.

Even as Kumar was penetrative, Ishant Sharma’s ‘back to form’ performance was equally heartening. There were ample signs of it in the opening match, but he was still dishing out some loose. At Nagpur, however, he was closer to his best. Getting the wicket of Watson with his first ball must have certainly given him a lot of confidence. He used his height to great effect and the opener had no answer to his rising beauty. Despite his success, India would still do well to restrict his ODI appearances and have him play more Tests so that he can remain fresh for key contests. If there is one big worry for India in the bowling department, it has to be Harbhajan Singh. The Indian offie was yet again far from penetrative. It has been a while since Harbhajan has been going through such a patch. And India cannot afford it to continue for too long, especially with a deserving replacement like Amit Mishra in the wings.

Thanks to the super show by Dhoni and co with the bat at Nagpur, the batting is looking strong once again. And with conditions likely to remain pleasant for the batters throughout the series, they can put beyond their woes at least for the time being. For the Aussies, their top priority will be to try and get their bowling in shape. Brett Lee’s return will definitely help, but Johnson and Hilfenhaus must also realize that they are way better bowlers than what their figures displayed on Wednesday. The batting needs improvement as well though it’s not as big a worry as their bowling. All said and done, let’s not forget that they are indeed the number one team in the world. Nagpur is history and Delhi will be a fresh beginning for both teams.

Life’s a beach for Rafa’s boys

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Rafael Benitez Liverpool Football Club ManagerRafael Benitez faces the biggest task of Liverpool managerial. Bigger than the motivational speech he had to deliver at half-time in Istanbul. Bigger than overhauling a 3-1 second-half deficit away to Luton Town on a wretched Kenilworth Road pitch on a cold January evening on FA Cup weekend. Bigger than convincing the Anfield faithful that Peter Crouch was fit to wear the famous red shirt. All of which he successfully achieved.

His latest task is to halt a run of four straight defeats for the supposed title challengers, starting with no less than champions, and bitter rivals Manchester United on Sunday. Defeat to Alex Ferguson’s men would leave Liverpool ten points adrift of the title favourites and all but finished with their aspirations of winning it – and it’s not even Halloween yet.

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Yet victory over United would only represent the first hurdle of many more to come if Benitez is rescue Liverpool’s season, plus his reputation (and quite possibly his job?). The Reds’ next three fixtures following the Anfield date with United are each just as crucial as halting their enemies from down the M62.

On Wednesday night it’s a daunting trip to the Emirates to face a talented young Arsenal side in the Carling Cup. Next up, it’s Fulham away on Halloween, where Roy Hodgson’s men won’t be needing masks to cause Liverpool some discomfort.

After the tricky Craven Cottage encounter, it’s the return fixture to Anfield conquerors Lyon, who sent the Reds into major crisis with a smash and grab 2-1 win there on Tuesday night. Take one second to recap on those four upcoming fixtures, and I’m sure you’ll agree each and every one are very, very losable for Benitez’ currently fragile side.

You have to admire the Spaniard’s perception on the controversial 1-0 defeat to Sunderland last weekend though. It would have been all too easy for Benitez to moan about the manner of the Black Cats’ winner, which clearly should have been disallowed for finding the back of the net via an ‘outside agent’ in the form of a big red beach ball. Those damn agents are everywhere these days aren’t they?!

Instead, Benitez chose to ignore the controversial incident and concede that his side were largely second best, only conjuring up their first shots on target in one passage of play in injury time. Simply not good enough from a team, many will now be too embarrassed to admit, greatly tipped to finally land the elusive Premier League crown.

If Darren Bent’s early winner at the Stadium of Light had been disallowed, Steve Bruce’s men surely would have eventually found a legitimate way of breaking down the Liverpool defence which, bar Pepe Reina, have been completely out of sorts all season.

When Fabio Aurelio saw his first-half header saved by Lyon keeper Hugo Lloris on Tuesday night, you sensed what was coming. Inevitably, not even Reina’s heroics could prevent an equaliser from substitute Gonalons amid a near-static Reds defence.

And when Cesar Delgado steered in the injury-time winner, Benitez cut a disillusioned figure on the touchline. God only knows what must have been going through his mind but I’m sure he was anticipating the headlines of “no Torres or Gerrard equals no team”, just as much as the rest of us.

Anyone who watches Liverpool often enough will know that is not the case. Indeed they beat Man United at Anfield last season without the pair of them, who are once again doubts ahead of this season’s fixture.

The reality is, Liverpool were not playing well with Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard in the team before the deadly duo got injured on international duty. Yes, they have both been on the score-sheet a few times this season, but the only displays of note to date this season are the 6-0 and 4-0 home drubbings of minnows Hull and Stoke respectively.

Returning to the future of Benitez in charge of the club. The Liverpool board have been notoriously lenient with under-performing managers, as Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier will both testify to. But under American ownership, the club has yet to face such a crisis, and who is to say they will not push the panic button if Benitez does not produce the goods in the upcoming four difficult fixtures.

If Benitez can get through United, Arsenal, Fulham and Lyon relatively unscathed, he will have jumped the first four hurdles of his biggest test as Liverpool boss.

If he can somehow overturn his team’s abysmal start to both the domestic and European campaigns to land either of the much coveted trophies, in particular the Premier League, then it will represent the biggest achievement he could only dream of before this all-important date with nemesis Ferguson.

It would be bigger than coming from 3-0 down to Milan to win the European Cup in Istanbul. Bigger than winning 5-3 in 90 minutes when up against it against a dogged Luton Town and going on to win the 2006 tournament in an epic FA Cup final with West Ham. It would be bigger than almost doubling Peter Crouch’s market value to £13million, and guiding him towards a successful international career with England. Something the lanky forward could never have predicted when he was relegated with Southampton. Landing one, or both, of the major honours from the position they currently find themselves in would top all these previous feats bundled together. Rafael Benitez would become untouchable, surely all the motivation he needs to turn this season around.