Australia yesterday dropped Nathan Hauritz from the squad for Thursday’s first Ashes encounter, leaving fellow spinner Xavier Doherty virtually assured of a Test debut against England in Brisbane.
The selectors also removed young middle-order batsmen Callum Ferguson and Usman Khawaja, as well as fast bowler Ryan Harris, who is returning from knee surgery, from the 17-man squad.
Off-spinner Hauritz, who played in the last Ashes series in England and has taken 63 wickets in 17 Tests, struggled on the recent tour of India and was only able to bowl one over in Sheffield Shield action this week.
Left-armer Doherty impressed with four wickets on his international debut in a one-day match against Sri Lanka two weeks ago, which Australia still contrived to lose from a dominant position.
“Nathan Hauritz is one of these players omitted and he can consider himself unlucky, as his Australian record has been very good over the past 12 months,” said Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors. “However, the panel believes the left-arm orthodox variety Xavier Doherty provides against a predominantly right-handed English middle-order is the better option in this game.”
Leg-spinning all-rounder Steve Smith was also retained in the 13-man squad for the first Test, although the 21-year-old is most likely to be in contention for the 12th-man berth.
“If we play a specialist spinner, which I am pretty sure we will be, it will be Xavier,” Hilditch told reporters.
Harris’ omission still leaves four fast bowlers — Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and Doug Bollinger — in the squad, although only three of them are likely to start the first Test on what is likely to be a lively pitch at the Gabba.
“We felt Ryan Harris needed further time to recover from his knee injury, and also believe the four fast bowlers we have selected are in good form and will be key weapons for us winning the Ashes series this summer,” Hilditch said.
The dropping of Ferguson and Khawaja means a reprieve for 35-year-old Mike Hussey and Marcus North.
“Callum and Usman are both wonderful young players, who we believe will play a big role for Australian cricket moving forward, but on this occasion the experienced middle-order has been preferred,” Hilditch said.
Vice captain Michael Clarke, who suffered a recurrence of a back problem last week, and Simon Katich (shoulder) are also retained.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
RSS