Aussie Clark misses Mohali Test
Friday, 17 October 2008
MOHALI, Oct 16 (BBC): Australia paceman Stuart Clark will miss the second Test against India starting Friday after failing to recover from an elbow injury.
Peter Siddle, a 23-year-old fast bowler, will make his Test debut.
The news is a blow to the Aussies as Clark, who made his debut against South Africa in 2006, is currently ranked the second best bowler in Test cricket.
For India, captain Anil Kumble expects to be fit after a shoulder injury to captain his side in the Mohali match.
Kumble, who is 38 on the opening day of the match, strained his shoulder in the drawn first Test, which prevented him from bowling in the latter stages.
Leg-spinner Kumble, meanwhile, was wicketless in the first match for only the third time in a Test in his long career, which began in 1990 and spans 131 matches.
When the questions about when he might retire arose again, no doubt intensified by his lack of success at Bangalore, he said: "The belief that I have in my team, and the belief that the team has in me is what matters the most.
"When I decide to make a final bow, I'll go on my own terms," added the skipper, who strained his shoulder after bowling 40 overs in the first innings.
Kumble also defended his star-studded batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who are all approaching the end of their careers, with Ganguly definitely to retire at the end of the series.
"We all, especially the Australians, know what these men are capable of and I believe that when our main batsmen come to the party fully it will fetch us big scores and hopefully a winning platform," he said.
"What people sometimes forget is that cricket is a team game. At different times, different people play a decisive role.
"For instance, I definitely didn't have a good game as a player, but then again I'm the only player in current cricket to have over 100 Australian scalps."
Australia captain Ricky Ponting suggested the fact that Kumble was India's skipper forced the home team to play with just two fast bowlers.
"They're in a bit of a predicament I think with Anil being their captain," he said.
"If you had to look at someone who was going to go out to make way for a quick, it would probably have to be him. Harbhajan [Singh, India's other spinner] has a great record against Australia."
India (probable): G Gambhir, V Sehwag, R Dravid, S R Tendulkar, S C Ganguly, V V S Laxman, M S Dhoni (wk), A Kumble (capt), Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, I Sharma.
Australia: S M Katich, M L Hayden, R T Ponting (capt), M E K Hussey, M J Clarke, C L White, S R Watson, B J Haddin (wk), B Lee, M G Johnson, P M Siddle.
Peter Siddle, a 23-year-old fast bowler, will make his Test debut.
The news is a blow to the Aussies as Clark, who made his debut against South Africa in 2006, is currently ranked the second best bowler in Test cricket.
For India, captain Anil Kumble expects to be fit after a shoulder injury to captain his side in the Mohali match.
Kumble, who is 38 on the opening day of the match, strained his shoulder in the drawn first Test, which prevented him from bowling in the latter stages.
Leg-spinner Kumble, meanwhile, was wicketless in the first match for only the third time in a Test in his long career, which began in 1990 and spans 131 matches.
When the questions about when he might retire arose again, no doubt intensified by his lack of success at Bangalore, he said: "The belief that I have in my team, and the belief that the team has in me is what matters the most.
"When I decide to make a final bow, I'll go on my own terms," added the skipper, who strained his shoulder after bowling 40 overs in the first innings.
Kumble also defended his star-studded batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who are all approaching the end of their careers, with Ganguly definitely to retire at the end of the series.
"We all, especially the Australians, know what these men are capable of and I believe that when our main batsmen come to the party fully it will fetch us big scores and hopefully a winning platform," he said.
"What people sometimes forget is that cricket is a team game. At different times, different people play a decisive role.
"For instance, I definitely didn't have a good game as a player, but then again I'm the only player in current cricket to have over 100 Australian scalps."
Australia captain Ricky Ponting suggested the fact that Kumble was India's skipper forced the home team to play with just two fast bowlers.
"They're in a bit of a predicament I think with Anil being their captain," he said.
"If you had to look at someone who was going to go out to make way for a quick, it would probably have to be him. Harbhajan [Singh, India's other spinner] has a great record against Australia."
India (probable): G Gambhir, V Sehwag, R Dravid, S R Tendulkar, S C Ganguly, V V S Laxman, M S Dhoni (wk), A Kumble (capt), Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, I Sharma.
Australia: S M Katich, M L Hayden, R T Ponting (capt), M E K Hussey, M J Clarke, C L White, S R Watson, B J Haddin (wk), B Lee, M G Johnson, P M Siddle.