Ferguson blasts FA over Rooney

Sir Alex Ferguson has attacked the Football Association over their handling of Wayne Rooney.

Notoriously distrustful of the media, Ferguson has had both Nani and Ben Foster making sheepish visits to his office to clarify comments made in interviews during the recent international break.

In both cases, the player made his unhappiness known at Ferguson's selection policy.

It is something the Manchester United boss has grown used to and, after listening to the explanation and delivering a stern rebuke in response, tends to forget them.

However, the Rooney situation is causing more consternation.

A previous dispute with the FA over their treatment of his long-time advisor Paul Stretford has now been brought to an end, which means the Manchester United player has agreed to do interviews again while on England duty.

That has resulted in Rooney doing extensive media work before the last three internationals, including Saturday's defeat to Brazil in Qatar when he was named skipper by Fabio Capello following the withdrawal of usual captain John Terry.

The arrangements have not gone unnoticed by Ferguson, who feels too much pressure is being applied to United's star man.

"Every time England go on a trip, who goes on TV? Wayne Rooney, every blinking time," grumbled Ferguson.

"It must get boring asking the same player to do it every time.

"That is because they have sponsors. That is the FA, they love that kind of thing.

"But it is not fair on the player to continually have to do the press all the time. It is the same one all the time."

Shane Bond welcomes recall surprise

Shane Bond says it's been a case of taking it "one step at a time" since returning from exile following his stint with the ICL.

The fast bowler has already made his return for New Zealand in the limited-overs arena but is poised to don the whites again for his country for the first time in two years next week when the Black Caps take on Pakistan in the first of three Tests.

Bond's last Test match against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2007 was cut short when he broke down injured and then his decision to join the ICL forced him into international exile.

"To get back into the Test arena and hopefully get another chance to play a Test is something I never thought would happen. I'm delighted," the 34-year-old told Press Association Sport.

"I didn't really think I'd get another opportunity to play for New Zealand so once the India stuff finished and I made myself available again I've never really wanted to get too far ahead of myself.

"I just wanted to play and work hard and see what happened.

"Now that I've been back it's gone really fast and things have gone really well. I've just got to keep doing those things I've been doing and hopefully the season continues on in the same vein."

Bond made his international comeback in the Twenty20 and one-day component of the tour to Sri Lanka in September.

Since then he has been involved in the Champions Trophy and the recent one-day series win over Pakistan played in the United Arab Emirates but he has always indicated he wanted to be involved in all three forms of the game.

"I've been taking it one step at a time," he said.

"But in saying that, even in Dubai I was trying to bowl more overs and doing batting more accustomed to four-day cricket in preparation in case I got picked so I'm pleased I've done that hard work."

His efforts have paid off and his place in New Zealand's 13-man squad was assured when he came through Canterbury's four-day Plunket Shield match against Otago taking six for 148 off 40 overs - his first four-day game since June last year.

"It's been good preparation. I suppose for your own peace of mind you want to get out and play a four-day game and bowl plenty of overs," he said.

"To get through 40 overs on a pretty flat wicket - I felt like I bowled pretty well and chipped a few wickets out as well.

"Now going to the Test match I know I've had that good body of work behind me and I'm pretty confident about where things are for me and I'm looking forward to the next game."

Bond and 34-year-old Chris Martin look likely to share the new ball at the University Oval in Dunedin, where the first Test starts on Tuesday.

That leaves Iain O'Brien, 33, and Bond's fellow ICL Twenty20 rebel Daryl Tuffey, 31, to battle it out for the spare berth - as they did in Sri Lanka in August.

The last of Tuffey's 22 Test matches was against England in June 2004 and while O'Brien is the incumbent, Tuffey's track record against Pakistan of 24 wickets in six Tests at 26.50 could be enough to give him the nod.

Jordan expects Schumacher comeback

Former Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan believes Michael Schumacher will replace Jenson Button at the newly-named Mercedes team for next season.

World champion Button joined Lewis Hamilton at McLaren earlier this week after the Brawn team with which he won the drivers' title was renamed Mercedes.

Speculation has mounted that seven-time champion Schumacher, who could not replace the injured Felipe Massa on a short-term deal at Ferrari last season because of a back injury picked up racing motorcycles, could be drafted into the team run by former Benetton and Ferrari colleague Ross Brawn.

Jordan, who ran an F1 team under his own name, said: "I believe the Brawn team will have Michael Schumacher in it next year.

"And my reasons for believing that is that at Abu Dhabi, the grand prix, the last race Dr (Dieter) Zetsche - (chairman of the Daimler board) - Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher were deep in conversation and I believe it was to do with possibly joining the team as driver for the 2010 championship," Jordan told Radio Five Live.

Sachin crosses 30,000-run mark

Sachin Tendulkar has become the first batsman to score 30,000 runs in international cricket.

Tendulkar crossed the milestone on Friday while batting in the second innings on the final day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad.

The Little Master added the latest feather to his cap when he reached 35 in the last day of the opening Test.

Player Ratings

Tendulkar at 30,000 runs is followed by Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who had recently crossed 24,000 runs.

Sachin Tendulkar, during the course of his match-saving innings, has completed 30,000 runs in international cricket - the first player to achieve the distinction.

It's all about numbers

Tendulkar, during the course of his 100 off 211 balls, has taken his run-aggregate against Sri Lanka to 1512 at an average of 58.15 in 20 Tests. He regaining his record for the highest runs' tally in India-Sri Lanka Tests, surpassing Mahela Jayawardene's tally of 1436 (ave.79.77) in 13 Tests.

Sachin (577) also became the second batsman after Rahul Dravid (666) to complete 500 runs or more at Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad.

Tendulkar has scored 17,178 runs at an average of 44 in 436 ODIs and 10 runs in the lone Twenty20 match that he has played, against South Africa. In Test cricket, he has aggregated 12,773 runs at 54.46.

India need their batsmen to fire

With the series poised 2-2, India will have to overcome their batting shortcomings against a spirited but depleted Australia.

The Indians, seeking to dethrone Australia from the number one spot in world rankings, go into the fifth cricket one-dayer on Thursday, strengthened by the expected return of Gautam Gambhir, who had to skip last match due to a neck injury.

Although the left-hander Gambhir's presence will lend solidity to the top order, the worrying factor for the hosts has been the lack of good starts in the series so far.

Bats to do the talking

Clearly the onus is on the Indian batsmen to deliver the goods on a track which according to the curator has plenty of runs to offer but will also aid the bowlers.

Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar have put on stands of 25, 21, 37 and 40, and the home team would be hoping this can be extended to something closer to the hundred mark which would be the ideal platform for Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni and Raina to launch a blitz later on.

Tendulkar is on the verge of reaching another milestone in his glittering career as he his just seven runs short of touching the 17,000 run-mark and the champion batsman would take inspiration from the moment to score big.

"We failed as a batting unit. We should have batted the full 50 overs but that was not possible because we kept losing wickets at regular intervals," India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had said after the defeat in the previous match.

While the Indians have their task cut out for the flood-lit encounter the Aussies have been grappling with a spate of injury problems ever since the series began.

The latest to join the casualty list is Peter Siddle, who has returned home because of a side-strain. They have already lost the services of pace spearhead Brett lee, stumper Tim Paine, and all-rounder James Hopes.

Taking advantage

Dhoni's men did a remarkable turnaround after narrowly losing the first ODI at Vadodara but a shoddy batting display in the fourth match saw the hosts handing back the advantage to Ricky Ponting's outfit.

Another batting failure could spell disaster in Thursday's match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium at Uppal as the team that wins the clash is sure to hold a huge advantage in the final outcome of the rubber, with the last two ties scheduled at Guwahati (day) and Mumbai (day/night).

Gambhir's presence in the line-up has become a crucial one as he brings in the virtue of patiently working the ball into the gaps and rotating the strike to the other stroke-makers in the team.

As per the needs

The Delhi left-hander can change gear as per the needs of the situation and has been the calming influence in the top-order while skipper Dhoni has taken over this job in the latter part of the innings.

What the Indians would be hoping for is explosive opener Sehwag's longer stay at the crease as he has rocketed off with a flurry of boundaries but continues to lose way in the 30s and 40s.

If he and Tendulkar, can give a better start than what they had done thus far, the others can cash in on the inexperienced and injury-hit Australian bowling attack.

India's bowling has been a mixed bag with Ishant Sharma, in particular, blowing hot and cold.

The pick has been left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra whose display in the beginning as well as the end of the Australian innings has been outstanding.

Praveen Kumar has been steady while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has also shown improved form after an indifferent start to the series.

The visiting team's pace attack has lost a bit of bite after losing very impressive Siddle and they would hope Mitchell Johnson, who has been inconsistent, to put up an improved show.

Doug Bollinger has impressed in the absence of his seniors colleagues and off-spinner Nathan Hauritz has also done well though he lacks support in the middle overs.

The teams:

Australia (from): Ricky Ponting (C), Michael Hussey (VC), Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White, Clint McKay.

India (from): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.

India look to boost batting against Oz

Bolstered by the return of dashing Yuvraj Singh, India would look to wrest the initiative when they go into the second ODI against Australia.
Meanwhile, the visitors have been hit hard by injuries to three key players.

The home team sorely missed left-handed Yuvraj's explosive batting in the middle overs as well as his left-arm slow bowling since he was forced out of cricket after sustaining a finger injury in South Africa before the ICC Champions Trophy.

The hosts will also seek to exploit the injury-induced absence of Australian pacers Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson as well as all-rounder James Hopes who have been ruled out of the day-nigh encounter.

Down 0-1 in the seven-match rubber following their narrow four-run defeat in Vadodara on Sunday, the hosts would be keen to put an end to their inconsistent run in the 50-over format since their short tour of the West Indies in June-July.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men have won only five out of a dozen matches they had played from the series in the Caribbean, losing an equal number while two ties have ended in no result.

The home team were outplayed by Australia in Vadodara but with the visitors' pace department severely depleted due to unavailability of Lee and Johnson, besides all-rounder Hopes, due to injuries, Dhoni's men will be fancying their chances.

But for that to happen, the Indian top-order batting, that failed to click in Vadodara, needs to buck up while their bowlers, especially off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, will have to improve a lot.

The availability of Yuvraj, who missed the first ODI, would enormously lift India's hopes of restoring parity as he is capable of scoring at a fast clip that will ease the burden on the other middle order batsmen, especially Dhoni.

With a strike rate of close to 90, Yuvraj, whose last ODI innings was 56 not out off 41 balls against Sri Lanka, provides the major thrust in the middle overs when the ball becomes a bit soft and, with him back, the Indian batting wears a much different look.

He's expected to come into the side at the expense of either Suresh Raina, who flopped with the bat at Vadodara, or Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled very well in the first ODI but failed with the bat.

On the plus side for the home team in bowling was the performance of Ishant Sharma who, after a couple of nervous overs, settled down to show the rhythm with which be burst on the international scene spectacularly in 2007-08.

Australia, on the other hand, are a severely depleted side with three players ruled out. Moises Henriques has been named as reserve as cover for James Hopes whose injury is more serious than those of Lee (mild right elbow strain) and Johnson (left ankle inversion strain).

The visitors will have to test their bench strength tomorrow as Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger, who represented Victoria in the AirtelChampions League Twenty20, are certain to be called up.

Opener Shaun Marsh or rookie Jon Holland are in the running for Hopes replacement.

The visitors have come for the series without Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and Nathan Bracken and the latest injuries to other key players have only added to their difficulties.

However, they would be encouraged by the tight bowling of Nathan Hauritz in Vadodara which was a big plus for the visitors who would be hoping for a repeat show from the off spinner.

Near perfect Aussie batting

The Australians have also had not put any foot wrong in their batting with the top-order firing in Vadodara.

Captain Ricky Ponting, who made 74 in his well-known fashion, and vice captain Michael Hussey, who was there till close to the end of the innings making a superb 73 that won him the man of the match award, especially looked good.

Indian bowlers have a hard task to do in curtailing this duo and to make matters intriguing would be the dew factor that might come into play for the team that bowls second at the VCA stadium in Jamtha that?s to host its first ODI.

The venue made its international debut by hosting the last Test of the India-Australia rubber last year.

A capacity crowd of around 40,000 is expected for the first day/night match in this Orange City, that would be a far cry from the dismal attendance for the Test in November, 2008.

To minimise the problem created to the side which bowls second, the organisers have decided to spray some chemicals which they said would reduce dew by around 40 per cent.
The Teams (from):

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges, Shane Watson and Cameron White.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.

Approaching milestones

- Sachin Tendulkar (16917) needs 83 runs to become the first batsman to aggregate 17,000 runs in ODIs.

- Sachin, in case of a hundred, would become the first batsman to register 9 hundreds against one opponent. He already has eight hundreds to his credit against two opponents - Australia and Sri Lanka.

India's ODIs at Nagpur

Played: 12

Won: 6

Lost: 6

Winning % 50.00


Hours of play: 2:30 pm to 6 pm; 6 40 pm till close.

More than their inconsistency, a loss tomorrow would put them in trouble as they will have to win four out of the remaining five matches to win the series.

Dhoni rules out batting up the order

MS Dhoni ruled out the possibility of batting up the order, saying there is no vacant slot for him in top four positions.

"It's a difficult choice to make. We have Viru (Virender Sehwag) and Sachin (Tendulkar) opening the innings, Gauti (Gautam Gambhir) at no. 3 and Yuvraj at no 4. The next slot available is no. 5," Indian skipper Dhoni said ahead of the second one-dayer against Australia on Wednesday.
"I float at times and bat at different slots. More often than not we have a fixed batting line when it comes to these four guys playing the game. If there are more off spinners in the attack we may shift Yuvraj to no. 5 and we have done that.

"But to say I have to bat every time at no. 3 or 4 is difficult for me (to do)," he said.

Earlier in the day, former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist said that he would like to see Dhoni bat up the order, which would enable him to play as many overs as possible.

Dhoni also said that death bowling continues to remain a major concern for him and would like to see his bowlers conceding lesser runs in the final overs.

"It's been a worrying thing for us for the past few months. We had not been great with out death bowling. If you see the last game, the first few overs and 42nd over onwards - it was good and in the 50th we gave away one run", he said.

"In between there was a span of four overs when we gave away 50-52 runs. If we can bring that down, say by two to five runs it can count at the end," the wicketkeeper batsman said.

"Looks like a good wicket"

The India skipper also said that he was not too concerned about injury scares of the visitors, who will miss James Hopes, Brett Lee and possibly Mitchell Johnson in Wednesday's encounter.

"When we came for the practice sessions, we had a few areas we needed to work on. We concentrated on that. We are quite specific with death bowling and new ball bowling. We are concentrating on areas that can affect us in a direct way.

"(Am) Not really worried about that (their injuries). They have a squad of 15," he said.

The Indian captain said the team would have a look at the amount of dew fall on Tuesday night and decide on the composition of the side for Wednesday's tie.

"Looks like a good wicket. There is a little bit of grass cover that will help in binding the wicket. I don't see too much of a change in the condition of the wicket (through the match). Dew will be a factor, but (by) how much we will see at 8.30 tonight and accordingly decide (on the team composition)," he said.

Dhoni also backed out-of-form Harbhajan Singh and said he has the full support of the team and was confident that the off-spinner would bounce back strongly.

"We have confidence in Bhajj"

"He's an experienced bowler. He's not bowling at his best but is still bowling well. Everyone goes through such a patch. The kind of individual he is, he always bounces back and loves changes.

"We have confidence in him. He's batting well but we would like to see him bowling better than what he's doing but we are not too much worried about that," he said.

He welcomed Yuvraj Singh's return to the squad after recovering from the finger injury sustained in South Africa just before the commencement of the Champions Trophy and pointed out that the left-hander offers him the choice of an extra part-time bowler in the playing eleven.

"Yuvi has been the backbone of our batting at no 4. It's an important slot, as important as no. 3 is. Especially with the second Power Play coming in, you have some time to settle down once the ball change happens after the 34th over. More often than not you take it as soon as it's available if you are batting first," Dhoni said.

"It is of great help if you have an individual like Yuvraj who can capitalise on that.

"His bowling too helps as you have one more part-timer who has been bowling well. We have lost the luxury of three or four part time bowlers because of injuries and a few players going out of the side. With Yuvraj there's the luxury of three. If one has an off day you have others to fall back on," he said.