Were the Aussies overconfident?

West Indies beat Australia, enter final


The Australian cricket team is know for its never-say-die spirit and it was once again on display at the Kinrara Oval on Monday even though they ended up on the losing side.


Though the Windies managed to achieve the victory target of 273 runs with three wickets to spare but it did not come before a spirited fight back by the Australian bowlers who were earlier mauled by Chris Gayle and Brian Lara.


West Indies began the run chase with Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul opening the innings, with a daunting total to chase.


But Brett Lee, back in the Australian squad, sent back Chanderpaul for a duck caught by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin even though TV replays showed that the ball had not touched the bat.


Ramnaresh Sarwan was back in the pavilion soon perishing for 25 off the bowling of Nathan Bracken after hitting five boundaries.


Brian Lara provided some stability that was crucial for the Windies chase, while Gayle held fort from his end.


Both men, once settled, started opening their shoulders and were successful in tearing the Aussie attack apart, with Stuart Clark bearing the brunt the most.


After a punishing 79 off 92 balls, Gayle perished, but only after inflicting maximum damage to the Australian bowlers.


Australia had looked to have their backs pinned to the wall as the West Indies took charge of the proceedings, picking up wickets at crucial junctures to pull Australia’s score down.


However, it didn’t last long as Australia put grand finishing touches, ending with a big 273 for six on the board.


Stand-in skipper Michael Hussey and Haddin led the Australian revival, with Hussey coming up with a blazing century, ending up with an unbeaten 109 off a mere 90 balls.


Haddin ably supported his captain, coming up with a quick-fire 79 runs, studded with four sixes.


Australia had earlier won the toss for the third straight time in the DLF Cup tri-series and decided to bat against the West Indies at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.


Matthew Hayden and Simon Katich opened the batting for Australia.


However, contrary to their reputation the Aussie openers did not go all out against the Windies attack and the first 10 overs yielded just 41 runs.


Hussey is leading Australia as Ricky Ponting has opted for a rest.


However, Hayden on 49 and looking for his 26th ODI fifty hit a Dwayne Bravo delivery straight at the short fine-leg fielder Jerome Taylor who gleefully accepted the catch.


With the Aussies losing wickets in quick succession the possibility of a big total looked bleak.


After the fall of the fifth wicket, Hussey and Brad Haddin began the rebuilding process. The duo started slowly and after adjusting to the pace and bounce of the wicket decided to play their shots.


Soon the ball started disappearing outside the boundary on regular intervals with Haddin being the more aggressive of the duo.


Hussey was the ideal foil for Haddin and kept himself busy with ones and twos with an occasional boundary en route to his 10th ODI fifty.


The Aussies took to the field with a changed squad with Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee being recalled.


Damien Martyn and Glenn McGrath have been rested while Mitchell Johnson has flown back home.


West Indies brought in Marlon Samuels in place of Fidel Edwards in the only change to the team that beat India on Duckworth-Lewis method in their previous match.


Australia lead the points table with seven points, followed by West Indies (5) and India (2).

Ponting one temper tantrum away from Ashes ban

Following his tantrum in Australia's victory over the West Indies in the DLF cup, Ricky Ponting is one dummy spit away from possible ICC suspension which could extend even into the Ashes series. Perhaps Ponting is looking to position himself as the heir apparent to Allan Border's mantle of Captain Grumpy but it just doesn't wash in the modern PC era. Still, Ponting loses his temper over the craziest things. Getting provoked by a cheeky Duncan Fletcher and losing his cool in Bangladesh of all places. And this time was for a dodgy wide call. Pick your battles, Punter!And I don't think it's any coincidence that England are travelling to Australia with their largest ever Ashes squad. They say it's comprised of officials, medics, attendants, etc. But we all know the real reason why the squad is so large. Duncan Fletcher has stocked up on as many substitute fielders as he can squeeze onto a plane. When Ricky Ponting first comes into bat at the Gabba, he can expect to encounter Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison bowling from both ends, Geraint Jones wicketkeeping... and 8 substitute fielders. Duncan Fletcher will be leaning on the gate winking, smirking, waving... hell, probably mooning Ponting as he walks in and out of the ground.

Indian cricket association look to reschedule World Cup

Indian cricket fans never cease to surprise and impress me with their passion for the world's greatest sport. The latest news that has me shaking my head in wonderment was a legal petition from an Indian cricket association to have the World Cup postponed. Apparently, the World Cup is scheduled at the same time as school exams in India. Most people would shake their heads in sorrow and get on with it. How does that saying go? Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. In this case, any rationally thinking person would accept that a million dollar tournament scheduled months or years in advance featuring countries from all over the world would take precedence over your local school's exams. An Australian cricket fan would bitch around the water cooler about the unfortunate timing or in a pinch, complain on their blog. But that's not enough if you're an Indian cricket fan! No, they think the ICC should up and reschedule the whole event just to make sure your kid doesn't miss out on valuable study time! What's more, they took it to the next level, actually bringing the matter to the Supreme Court in India. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the petition was withdrawn. Still, you have to admire the chutzpah that got it that far in the first place.

Greg Chappell a possibility to coach Australia

John Buchanan's term as Australian coach is due to run out after next year's World Cup and apparently he's expected not to renew his contract. A few names are being thrown into the hat to replace him and surprisingly, Greg Chappell is a possibility to replace him. Chappell's term as Indian coach ends at the same time and I'd be surprised if he was asked to stay on (or if he wanted to). I know if I was getting my effigy burned every time I turned up to my workplace, I'd probably be looking for another job (I work from home with my wife so that only happens every other week). There are a lot of other names in the mix such as Bennett King (West Indies coach) and Dav Whatmore (Bangladesh coach). I don't know what it is about poaching ex-pats from other countries but hey, it worked with Troy Cooley so why not again?Still, what I'd really like to see is a reality TV show that documents the entire process of weeding out the duds and selecting the final coach. You'd start with the audition process. Crucial to this would be the selection of the panel who judge the applicants. You'd have a feel-good Marcia Hines style judge who encourages every applicant ("Mr Whatmore, I think you've done a bang up job with Bangladesh"), the grumpy judge who hates every applicant (I'm imagining David Boon sitting back with his arms crossed, with the occasional "Nah, mate" or "Get real") and the overbearing Mark Holden type with his signature "touch down" manouvre (D.K.Lillee jumping to his feet with his index fingers in the air crying 'Howzat'). Hmm, 'Howzat' could be the name of the show.The next stage would be to narrow it down to a group of finalists and assign them each a team of inept youngsters. Over a period of 8 weeks, the coaches must shape their team into a finely tuned band of professional cricketers. They'll teach all the skills - bowling, batting, fielding, sledging... and with absolutely no mention of Sun Tzu's Art of War. The show will end with a Twenty20 tournament between the teams. The coach of the winning team gets the job. Upon reflection, the sad fact is the concept actually sounds a lot better than many of the reality TV shows on offer at the moment.

Dean Jones sacked for calling Muslim cricketer a terrorist

A media storm has followed Dean Jones the last few days as he's been sacked for calling Muslim cricketer Hashim Amla a terrorist. Yes, it was an "off the cuff joke" and was intended to be off-air. Jones has basically fallen on his sword and you can imagine it'll be several years before he's allowed back on the television. In a way, I can't help but feel sorry for the guy. That doesn't excuse the gaff though. Hearing Jones talk about how he respects the Muslim faith and is friends with the Pakistan team, it reminds me of a similar incident recently - Mel Gibson's drunken anti-semitic rant and subsequent claims of not being racist. Jone's gaff is nowhere near as virulent - he comes off as more buffoon than bigot. Nevertheless, in Australia (and I'm guessing the rest of the world), there is a climate of bigotry and association of Islam with terrorism even if they have very little to do with each other. So people in the media are especially responsible for their conduct and Jones deserves censure for his words. I only wish current affairs shows would receive the same kind of punishment when they stir up racist sentiment with their inflammatory anti-Muslim reports.