Australia

Ishant Sharma: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Ishant Sharma Negates Team Australia’s Mind Games

What he said (via Espn Cricinfo):

“They (the Australians) are better at playing mind games than they are at playing the game.”

India pace spearhead Ishant Sharma has sensible words of advice for Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav for the upcoming tour of Australia.

Speaking to Mail Today, the lanky fast bowler expressed satisfaction with his performances this year. Sharma missed out on Team India’s ODI World Cup party.

Sharma said:

It has been a very good year for me. I am happy with my rhythm and pace. Even though I didn’t get wickets on some occasions, I am pleased with the way I have bowled this year.But the learning process never stops. Even someone like Sachin Tendulkar says he is still learning about the game after 22 years. So I am always learning to improve. For me, every day is a new day.

Sharma will lead the inexperienced Indian attack if Zaheer Khan does not fully recover from his ankle injury.

Sharma said:

Obviously, having Zaheer would be a huge bonus. But if he is not there, it would be an honour to lead the attack in Australia. It would be a great responsibility. Every fast bowler dreams of leading the attack for the country.Australia is going to be very exciting. But the key would be not to put pressure on yourself. If you keep thinking about results and wickets, it would only add to the pressure. So I would look to just enjoy myself. This time in Australia, patience will be the key.The thing is that Australian batsmen don’t like to be tied down and if you bowl patiently at them, you can pick wickets. So bowling tightly would be the best strategy.

Sharma looks forward to bowling in tandem with pace prospects, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron.

Sharma said:

Bowling with Umesh and Varun is quite exciting. They have the pace and the best thing is they are willing to learn. The more they bowl, they more will learn to exploit the conditions.

What he really meant:

“Cricket’s played more in the mind than anything else and ,boy, don’t the Aussies know it.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Sledge me if you can.”

Ross Taylor: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Ross Taylor Wishes For More Catching Practice From Philip Hughes

What he said (via ESPN Cricinfo):

“I’d love him to be in the team.”

Kiwi skipper Ross Taylor cannot hide his glee at Philip Hughes’ performance in the first Test at Brisbane.

The belligerent opener scored 10 and seven in his two outings in the middle.

The New South Wales batsman’s troubles outside the off stump continue.

Taylor said:

If Hughes plays in Tasmania then obviously Chris Martin will be bowling at him and hopefully Martin Guptill takes a third catch too.We had a lot of video footage of all the Australian players and Hughes got caught at second, third slip and gully a lot in the Ashes and in South Africa. That was definitely an area we wanted to target, and with the way Chris Martin bowls, he bowls across the left-hander.

Chris Martin bagged Hughes in both innings.

Michael Clarke put his hand up in defense of his young team-mate.

Clarke said:

I look forward to a press conference where I don’t get asked about Phillip Hughes.Once again, not concerning for me. I have confidence that Hughesy will come out in Hobart and perform. He got a hundred not that long ago, 80-odd not that long ago. I’ve seen Hughesy cut that ball for four a number of times. I’m sure he would be disappointed personally that he hasn’t made any runs in this test match, but I’m confident he can put his hand up in Hobart and get a big score for us.

Clarke believes that Hughes can deliver the goods and is a much improved batsman since his Test debut.

Clarke added:

I think his technique has improved out of sight.Every one of us has deficiencies in technique. And these days with the footage you can get on players, it’s very easy to find out what those deficiencies are. It’s no different for any batsman. I have seen a lot of improvement. I continue to see him scoring runs. Probably not as consistent as he would like, but he’s still scoring them. His record for NSW is better than any 23-year-old in this country. He’s scored three great hundreds for Australia and I’m confident he can score a lot more.

What Ross Taylor really meant:

“More slip catching practice for us.”

What Ross Taylor definitely didn’t:

“I’d love to have Hughes bat for my life.”

Ben Cutting: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Ben Cutting Cannot Find Much Luck In The Corner Stores

What he said :

“If you could buy luck in a corner store, I’d throw my life savings at it.”

Young Aussie paceman, Ben Cutting, is cut up with his side strain that effectively ended his chances of playing the second Test against New Zealand at Hobart.

What he really meant:

“Good fortune,like gold and oil,is in short supply—even more so for pace bowlers.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I wonder what the odds are on my recovery at Ladbrokes?”

Chris Cairns: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Chris Cairns Is Elephantine In His Pronouncements

What he said (via Sydney Morning Herald):

“And there’s an elephant in the room at the moment in Ricky Ponting that nobody is really addressing.”

Chris Cairns begins the mind games prior to Australia’s tour of New Zealand.

The Kiwi all-rounder believes that Ricky Ponting’s shelf life has neared its expiry date and called for his retirement.

Cairns said:

I don’t think you can have two years averaging 27 as a No.3. I think it’s his time. And when you look at the likes of Mark Taylor, [Ian] Healy, Mark Waugh – they were told it was their time. And there’s an elephant in the room at the moment in Ricky Ponting that nobody is really addressing.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got the utmost respect for Ricky Ponting but there’s a time and a place. And for me, his time and place is Hobart in the second Test against New Zealand. That’s to say, ‘Thanks very much’.

Australian selectors have been kind to Ricky Ponting in comparison to his predecessors, none of whom were retained.

Cairns said:

And whilst [the Ponting saga] continues on, the media circus will go with it and the guys will just be surrounded by that talk instead of just getting on and playing cricket.

Absolutely [Cricket Australia are avoiding the tough decisions]. They’ve allowed Ricky to keep going because of his stature in the game and who he is. But why should he have to make the call? At the end of the day, for me, Australia has always been about the team and what’s best. He is behind Bradman, Australia’s greatest batsman, so they’re managing it. But I just think it’s an elephant in the room. I really do. Australia has got rebuilding to do.

What he really meant:

“Australia have one captain too many in the dressing room—a non-performing one to boot. They all know what needs to be done. The question is ‘who’s going to bell the cat?’”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Ricky Ponting has to be nursed along much like Sachin Tendulkar. Treat him with kid gloves.”

Michael Clarke: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Michael Clarke Waits Out While Teammates Complete Win

What he said:

“I was dying to go to the bathroom for an hour and a half but I was too scared to move.”

Australia skipper, Michael Clarke, controls his bladder until his team completes a stunning victory over South Africa in the second Test at Johannesburg.

What he really meant:

“And I had no liquids (beer) either for those 90 minutes.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“If we’d lost, it’d have taken the p**s out of me.”

Ian Chappell: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Ian Chappell ‘Clubs’ Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle

What he said:

“The problem is they also bowl plenty that could be hit to the boundary by a proficient club batsman.”

Ian Chappell diagnoses the ills plaguing Australia’s pace bowlers.

Chappell wrote:

Both Johnson and Siddle bowl deliveries good enough to dismiss any Test batsman.The problem is they also bowl plenty that could be hit to the boundary by a proficient club batsman. Johnson’s problem is one of confidence. Consequently, he’s often running up to bowl half expecting something to go wrong and is fighting a battle with himself as much as the batsman down the other end.

What he really meant:

“Siddle and Johnson are quite capable of bowling balls of this century—to club players.”

What he definitely didn’t:

Dale Steyn: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Dale Steyn Has Wickets, Not Names, On His Mind

What he said:

“Listen, I got your name wrong, but you didn’t have to drop the catch.”

Dale Steyn is disbelieving that Under-19 substitute fielder, Dale Deeb, could put down a sitter denying Steyn a fifer in the second Test of the ongoing home series against Australia.

Deeb dropped Nathan Lyon, Australia’s No.11 batsman, in the covers.

What he really meant:

“Listen, hold catches. You’ll be gratefully remembered.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’m superstitious. Catches have names too. “

Rudi Koertzen: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Rudi Koertzen Questions Adam Gilchrist’s Walking Ability

What he said:

"Would he do that if it was a World Cup final and he was batting with a No. 11 and Australia needed one to win?"

Former Test umpire, Rudi Koertzen, advocates the use of Decision Review System (DRS), simultaneously commending “walkers”.

Koertzen said:

It will stop batsmen from blatant cheating and encourage them to walk. If he has edged it and the umpire misses it and the hot spot and TV replays suggest the batsman has nicked it, he will be caught out. I really respect players like Kumar Sangakkara and Sachin Tendulkar who walk the moment they think they have edged the ball.

Koertzen , though, would not endorse Adam Gilchrist, a known walker, preferring to sally back the aforesaid query.

What he really meant:

“I know I wouldn’t.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’d want to be the third umpire—in this scenario.”

Morne Morkel: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Morne Morkel Highlights The Blur

What he said:

“The whole second innings thing is a blur. Luckily, there are highlights, so you can see it every ten minutes on television.”

Morne Morkel enjoys catching the highlights of Australia’s dramatic second innings collapse in the first Test at Newlands.

Australia were shot out for 47.

What he really meant:

“It all seemed like an action movie—fast forward.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’d have enjoyed watching the highlights more—had the Aussies won.”

Greg Matthews: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Greg Matthews Fumes Over Punches Not Thrown

What he said:

“One thing he got wrong was that he did not put one on Clarke when he should have.”

Former Australian off-spinner, Greg Matthews, opines on the spat between Australian opener Simon Katich and current skipper Michael Clarke.

Katich and Clarke were involved in an altercation in 2009 during which Katich grabbed Pup’s throat.

Cricket Australia have summoned Katich to a disciplinary hearing for claiming that Clarke was responsible for his Test sacking. Clarke denies the accusation.

Speaking to Foxsports, Matthews said:

"Can anyone truly, and I don’t care if the press are here or not, can anyone just truly say to me what did he get wrong?”

Matthews added:

If a guy speaks his mind, wouldn’t you rather hear what’s really going on in there, the way it really was?
Who would you rather go into war with? This cat (Katich) or Clarke? Or Andrew Symonds for that matter? Everyone forgets about Andrew Symonds getting flicked as well. Truth doesn’t happen in this game anymore.

Matthews feels that Katich would have made a better skipper:

"Pick this guy (Katich) as captain, get (Tim) Paine in as vice-captain I tell you what, we’d be doing a lot better than how we’re doing today."

The disciplinary hearing is scheduled for November 21, 2011. Katich is represented by sports lawyer, Darren Kane.

In related news, Australian radio broadcaster, Alan Jones, threw his voice behind the disgruntled opener.

Speaking to the Sun Herald, Jones said:

These people want robots. Cricket Australia don’t employ Simon Katich. What’s he guilty of? He’s guilty of having an opinion … There’s not one sporting person in Australia who would agree with what’s being done to Katich.

[Cricket Australia] could not justify dismissal on merit. Now, is he a bad example? Has he behaved badly? He’s a role model to all cricketers. His standards, his manner, his values and courtesy have shone and they’re the reasons why he was touted as a future Australian cricket captain and why he was brought from Perth to captain NSW.

And now he’s being presented as some sort of pariah. It won’t wash … Cricket Australia are playing with fire.

What Greg Matthews really meant:

“What’s a punch-up without a punch?”

What Greg Matthews definitely didn’t:

“Who’s punch-drunk?”