MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2015
S P ORTS
‘Dad’s Army’ Australia must wield the axe NOTTINGHAM: Australia railed at suggestions their team resembled a “Dad’s Army” but the evidence supplied by the first four Ashes tests against England suggests it was not an unfair moniker. Immediately after a crushing defeat in the fourth test on Saturday which gave the Ashes back to England, Australia captain Michael Clarke announced that he will be standing down after the final match of the series. He will not be the only eminent Australian player to leave the international arena. All-rounder Shane Watson, 34, and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, 37,
were dropped during the current series while opener Chris Rogers, 37, has already said this one will be his last. England’s new-look team had too much skill and energy for Clarke’s side in favourable home conditions. Only at Lord’s were the Australians able to thrive after winning the toss on a flat pitch that nullified the threat of an England attack with less pace but more guile than their opponents. At Cardiff, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge Australia were blown away, their batsmen unable to cope with the swing and seam movement generated by James
Anderson, Steven Finn, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes. Rogers started well in Cardiff with 95 and made a superb 173 at Lord’s where Steve Smith contributed a double century. David Warner racked up four half-centuries without going on to three figures but the other batsmen failed to adapt to the conditions. Clarke, Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh and Shaun Marsh struggled in the middle order and although Peter Nevill made a battling fifty at Edgbaston, England knew that once they were through the top order a collapse was not far away.
toothless. Smith looks certain to replace Clarke as captain and the future of coach Darren Lehmann is also in doubt. The laid-back matey style that brought much success in the past two years, including a World Cup victory, was exposed in the cauldron of an Ashes series going badly. Former opening batsman Justin Langer is favourite to succeed Lehmann and it would be no surprise if Cricket Australia opted for a new coach to build a young team under Smith’s captaincy, much as England have done since their Ashes humiliation just 18 months ago.—Reuters
Australia’s much-vaunted pace attack also failed to fire. Mitchell Johnson, the scourge of England in Australia’s 5-0 Ashes whitewash on 2013-14, was neutered by the pitch at Cardiff. He did bowl a hostile spell at Lord’s which propelled Australia to victory but he failed to make a sustained impact at Edgbaston or Trent Bridge and, at 33, his best days must be behind him. Mitchell Starc struggled for control in the first three tests before claiming six wickets at Trent Bridge and with Josh Hazlewood proving steady but none too penetrating the Australian attack was
Australia to review foreign flops MELBOURNE: Australia’s cricket board has promised a review of the Ashes debacle after the dead rubber test at The Oval and will seek answers to the team’s continued flops on foreign pitches. Eighteen months after blitzing England 5-0, Australia’s rout in Nottingham to surrender the Ashes 3-1 has again exposed the team as home-track bullies. Australia have won four out of five of their past test series on home soil, but have been thrashed in away series against India, Pakistan and England in the last two years. “After every series we will sit down and review, and I think there is an opportunity for a reflection on (our) style of play,” Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland told reporters in Melbourne. “It’s not easy playing away but it’s something we have to get better at. We want to be the best cricket team in the world and to do that we have to be better at playing away.” Losing the coveted urn to arch-rivals England is depressing enough in cricketmad Australia, but the manner of the team’s capitulation after entering the series favourites and pumped-up with confidence has prompted criticism from all quarters. Most of the blame has been heaped upon the batsmen, who struggled to adapt to English conditions and appearing inept when facing the moving ball.
Selectors, including coach Darren Lehmann, have also been roasted for a number of surprising decisions, including the omission of long-serving wicketkeeper Brad Haddin for most of the series and for failing to pick an all-rounder in the decisive loss at Trent Bridge. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said he believed up to seven players apart from Clarke may never play another test after the tour wraps up at The Oval, with the ageing team in dire need of regeneration. Steven Smith is all but certain to take the reins from Clarke for the team’s twotest tour of Bangladesh in October but critics have suggested a new coach should also be brought in to help the young skipper rebuild the team. Sutherland, however, said 45-year-old Lehmann, who has now lost two out of three Ashes series in charge, was safe in his role. He also said Smith, who lead Australia to victory against India in the home summer, was more than ready to fill Clarke’s shoes despite the 26-year-old’s disappointing Ashes with the bat. “We have someone in waiting who has had experience as a captain,” he said. “In recent months he has been rated as the best test cricketer in the world. Steven is ready for this challenge but no one is ready-made to just walk into it.”—Reuters
Root on top of the world NOTTINGHAM: Joe Root has replaced Steven Smith as the world’s number one ranked batsman in Test cricket after playing a key role in England regaining the Ashes. The 24-year-old Yorkshireman struck a superb 130, his second hundred of the series, in England’s innings and 78-run win in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge on Saturday. Victory, completed inside three days, gave England an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. Root has scored 443 runs in the series, with two hundreds and two half-centuries, at an average of 71.79. The latest edition of the International Cricket Council’s rankings published yesterday saw Root on top of the batting standings, with Australia’s Smith, out for six and five in Nottingham, dropping down to third place. South Africa’s AB de Villiers was second in the standings. Meanwhile the equivalent bowling rankings saw England’s Stuart Broad climb to a career-high second place on the back
of a stunning first-innings return of eight for 15 on his Nottinghamshire ground that was behind Australia’s collapse to 60 all out. The 29-year-old pacemen’s ninth wicket of the match, taken in the second innings, saw him edge past fast bowling great Fred Trueman into fourth place in England’s list of all-time leading Test wicket-takers. Broad has taken 308 wickets in 83 Tests to date and is 17 behind former England fast bowler Bob Willis. A combination of Broad’s form and the absence at Trent Bridge of the injured James Anderson has seen the Lancashire paceman drop to third in the ICC standings, still headed by South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn. Australia fast bowler Michell Johnson moved down two places to seventh. Victory at Trent Bridge also produced a statistical landmark for Alastair Cook as he became only the third English captain, after W.G. Grace and Mike Brearley, to twice win the Ashes on home soil. —AFP
HARARE: New Zealand batsman Colin Munro plays a shot during the Twenty 20 cricket International match against Zimbabwe.—AP
NZ outclass Zimbabwe HARARE: George Worker hit an aggressive halfcentury on his New Zealand debut as Zimbabwe were severely outclassed in yesterday’s one-off Twenty20 international at Harare Sports Club. The left-handed Worker smashed 62 from just 38 balls as New Zealand posted 198 for five, equalling the highest score in a T20 international in Zimbabwe, before the hosts limped to 118 for eight to lose by 80 runs. With their top three all posting quick runs after they lost the toss and were asked to bat, New Zealand were dominant from start to finish in an entirely one-sided match, giving them the perfect send-off as they head to South Africa for two Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals. “The way the boys batted today was outstanding everyone played their role and George Worker was outstanding on debut,” said New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. “The bowling performance was also the best of the tour, so I think we’ve progressed nicely with a new outfit and hopefully we can continue that in South Africa.” Worker came in at No. 3 after Williamson had ensured a brisk start, and added 49 with opener Martin Guptill in 33 balls, before putting on another 49 with Luke Ronchi for the fourth wicket at an even quicker rate. The 25-year-old had topped the run-scoring charts in last season’s Ford Trophy, but was a late addition to the New Zealand squad for the tour after Mitchell Santner was ruled out by a thumb injury. After striking four sixes and three fours, Worker finally perished when he advanced down the track and was bowled by Sean Williams, who was the only
Zimbabwe bowler to escape major punishment as he took 3 for 28 in four overs. The New Zealand total matched Pakistan’s 198 for four at the same ground in September 2011, while Worker’s score was the eighth highest by a player on T20 international debut and the third highest by a New Zealander. Zimbabwe’s reply never made it off the ground, with four of their top five failing to reach double figures as they slumped to 34 for four in
the opening seven overs. Craig Ervine was the only batsman capable of taking on a threatening New Zealand bowling display, but his 42 made little impact on such a hefty target. Fast bowlers Adam Milne and Mitchell McClenaghan were menacing even on a relatively placid pitch, with Milne recording figures of 2 for 10 from four overs in his first game for New Zealand since the World Cup quarter-final against West Indies in March. —AFP
SCOREBOARD HARARE: Full scoreboard of the one-off Twenty20 international between Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Harare yesterday: New Zealand M. Guptill c Sikandar Raza b Williams 33 K. Williamson c Ervine b Muzarabani 20 G. Worker b Williams 62 G. Elliott c Masakadza b Cremer 8 L. Ronchi c Ervine b Williams 29 C. Munro not out 23 N. McCullum not out 18 Extras (4lb, 1w) 5 Total (5 wkts, 20 overs) 198 Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Williamson), 2-75 (Guptill), 3-93 (Elliott), 4-142 (Worker), 5-157 (Ronchi). Did not bat: James Neesham, Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Ish Sodhi. Bowling: Utseya 2-0-30-0, Muzarabani 3-0-34-1, Mpofu 3-0-24-0, Chibhabha 2-0-18-0, Williams 4-0-28-3, Cremer 3-0-28-1, Sikandar Raza 3-0-32-0. Zimbabwe H. Masakadza c Ronchi b Milne
6
C. Chibhabha b Neesham 6 C. Ervine b Elliott 42 Sikandar Raza c Ronchi b McClenaghan 8 E. Chigumbura c Neesham b McCullum 2 S. Williams c & b Sodhi 16 R. Chakabva c Ronchi b Milne 13 G. Cremer c Neesham b McClenaghan 5 P. Utseya not out 2 C. Mpofu not out 6 Extras (4b, 3lb, 5w) 12 Total (8 wkts, 20 overs) 118 Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Masakadza), 2-12 (Chibhabha), 3-25 (Sikandar Raza), 4-34 (Chigumbura), 5-64 (Williams), 689 (Chakabva), 7-101 (Cremer), 8-108 (Ervine). Did not bat: Taurai Muzarabani. Bowling: Milne 4-0-10-2, McClenaghan 4-0-33-2, Neesham 3-0-21-1, McCullum 4-0-25-1, Sodhi 4-0-15-1, Elliott 1-0-7-1. Result: New Zealand won by 80 runs.
McIlroy prepares for PGA
NOTTINGHAM: England’s Joe Root raises his bat in this file photo. —AP
WHISTLING STRAITS: Rory McIlroy arrived at Whistling Straits for 18 holes of practice on Saturday as he bids to return to competitive golf from an ankle injury and defend his PGA Championship title at the linksstyle venue next week. Reuters exclusively reported on Monday that the four-times major champion had scheduled a practice round at the site for Saturday, a report that proved accurate despite being denied by the golfer’s publicist. The Northern Irishman, out of action since he ruptured a ligament in his left ankle while playing soccer with friends on July 4, does not have to commit to the tournament, which starts on Thursday, until his official tee time for the opening round. World number one McIlroy has been grouped with Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth and British Open winner Zach Johnson for the first two rounds of the year’s final major at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. “Great 18 holes this morning with haza136 @ Whistling Straits Golf Club,” McIlroy tweeted, referring to his good friend and playing partner Harry Diamond. According to Golf Channel, McIlroy said after his round that he has now played 90 holes of golf since
recovering from his ankle injury. Should he tee off as expected on Thursday, it would be just 40 days since he suffered an injury that some medical experts said might take about three months to heal. It also would be more than seven weeks since McIlroy tied for ninth in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay and would give the PGA Championship a huge boost as he and Spieth share top billing. The 26-year-old Northern Irishman withdrew from the July 9-12 Scottish Open after suffering the ankle injury and was unable to defend his British Open title the following week at St. Andrews. TEASING TWEETS Over the past week, McIlroy has posted a string of teasing videos and messages on Twitter and Instagram highlighting his recovery progress. On Thursday, he posted on his Instagram account a video of himself pounding a driver on a practice range in Portugal, accompanied by the comment: “Feels good to hit the driver again!” He also posted two pictures of his left foot, the first showing a very swollen ankle soon after he had suffered the injury and the second revealing a bruised but greatly improved ankle. “4 and a half and 3
and a half weeks ago respectively...I’ve come a long way since,” McIlroy tweeted. On Friday, McIlroy hinted strongly at his journey to Whistling Straits by posting a picture of the interior of a private jet with a British passport front and centre on a table. After a strong start to the 2015 season highlighted by three wins, McIlroy showed signs of fatigue
when after a runaway victory at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, he missed the cut at two European Tour events in May. Those missed cuts came at the end of a run of five successive tournaments. McIlroy won last year’s PGA Championship by one shot after a final-round shootout that finished in near darkness at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.—Reuters
WASHINGTON: In this Thursday, June 18, 2015 file photo, Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his tee shot. —AP
