Ready to bowl as much as Australia need: Marsh ahead of Brisbane Test

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Brisbane, Dec 12 (IANS) Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has confirmed his readiness to bowl as per the requirements of the team ahead of the third Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against India.

Marsh was treated cautiously before the start of the five-match series and then given careful management ahead of the Adelaide Test due to his periodic back stiffness since the white-ball tour of the UK in September.

Plans for him to bowl in the Sheffield Shield earlier in the season were shelved due to persistent back issues. In the Perth Test, he managed two wickets, delivering 17 overs across the match but experienced soreness afterwards. This raised doubts about his availability for the Adelaide Test, with Beau Webster called up as cover.

Marsh refrained from bowling in the lead-up to the Adelaide match, with Pat Cummins confirming the decision was to conserve his overs during training. However, his performance was limited in the first innings, where he bowled four overs and finished with figures of none for 26.

“We had a really clear plan before the series started. I didn’t bowl as much as I would have liked to in the lead-up to the series, but our medical staff and Ronnie and Patty (Cummins) were really clear on my lead-up. I trusted that. I haven’t had to bowl too much so far but my body is feeling really good,” Marsh said on his bowling.

The all-rounder also added to bowl at different game scenarios during the match to utilise his versatility to the fullest.

“I’ll try and be ready to bowl as much as Patty needs me. Our all-rounders haven’t bowled a hell of a lot in Australia the last few years but I am really thankful for our medical staff and Ronny and Patty, who have allowed me the space between that first and second Test to just get right for the game. I guess there was a fair bit of noise about it. I felt rather important, actually, but my body feels really good. I had an interrupted lead-in but I am really well placed. For me, it is about being able to contribute. Whether that is five overs and bowling the occasional good ball and getting a wicket or just bowling overs to give our boys a chop out, I love it,” he added.

With the series tied at 1-1, the third Test between India and Australia will be played in Brisbane from Saturday.

–IANS

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BGT 2024-25: India should bat first even if there are challenging conditions, says Hayden

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden has advised India to bat first in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia, starting on December 14, even if the conditions on offer at the Gabba in Brisbane are challenging.

The current five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is locked 1-1 after Australia beat India by 10 wickets at Adelaide Oval. The last time India played a Test in Brisbane, they outclassed Australia by three wickets to win the 2020/21 series 2-1, on the back of Rishabh Pant’s heroic 89 not out.

“Brisbane, different ball game! It’s a home game, but it’s actually a very good game for India as well because they’ve got memories of the last time they encountered Australia in the BGT!”

“India must bat better, they must bat for time. They must bat a day of test match cricket. Under a day, unacceptable. Has to be in that 350 zone. India should bat first even if there are challenging conditions,” said Hayden to Star Sports.

Hayden also spoke about how the Indian bowlers, especially the fast bowlers, can get rid of Australian batters early on by bowling mostly in the channel outside off-stump. At Adelaide, India were unable to take out Travis Head early, who went on to make a match-defining 140.

“And India, when they do get a chance to bowl, they need to rely on hovering in that fourth, fifth stump line a bit more. And most importantly, they need to use their bounce. It’s a key arsenal as part of a fast bowling unit in Brisbane. The red ball will definitely be more familiar in terms of test match cricket. Australia have the running with the pink ball, they won so much with it!”

–IANS

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World Champion Gukesh thanks parents for helping him achieve his dream

Singapore, Dec 12 (IANS) On the day of his greatest triumph, Gukesh Dommaraju, the youngest World Chess Champion, thanked his parents Dr Rajnikanth and Dr Padma for the sacrifices they made to help him in his journey as a chess player.

Soon after he climbed up to the chess summit by beating Ding Liren of China in the World Chess Championship final match in China 7.5-6.5 by capitalising on a blunder by his opponent in the 14th and final classical game, Gukesh said his parents have made a lot of sacrifices to nurture his dream.

“My parents are both sports lovers but could not pursue their dreams. So, they decided that they would do their best to help me chase my dream in whichever field I chose. We do not come from a very well-off family so they had to make a lot of sacrifices to help me in his journey,” said Gukesh during the post-match press conference.

Gukesh’s father Dr Rajnikanth is an ENT surgeon while his mother Dr. Padma is a microbiologist. They had to put their careers on hold to accompany Gukesh as he played in tournaments in India and abroad. Arranging for trainers was another big expense that his parents had to bear as they got him enrolled with Grandmaster Vishnu Prassana and then got foreign coaches for big tournaments.

Gukesh thanked his parents for all the sacrifices and said the first word his father said to him after he came out of the soundproof glass chamber where they were playing the games was “congratulations”. “I just exchanged a few words with my father. My mother is not here but she will be flying in tomorrow. They have made a lot of sacrifices and I would like to thank them,” said Gukesh.

About the day he first nurtured the dream of winning the World Championship title, the 18-year-old said the dream started when he watched five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand lose to Magnus Carlsen in the 2013 World Championship Final Match in Chennai.

“When I was watching the match in 2013, I was in the stands, I was looking inside the glass box and I thought it would be so cool to be inside one day. And then when Magnus won, I thought, I really want to be the one to bring back the title to India.

“This was the dream that I had like more than 10 years ago (and it) has been the single most important thing in my life so far. So yeah, doing this for myself, for my loved ones and my country, it’s yeah, like there’s probably nothing better than this,” said Gukesh.

He said breaking Garry Kasparov’s record to become the youngest ever World Championship means a lot to him.

“I mean it probably meant a lot to that 8-year-old then. Right now because I stopped paying too much attention to those numbers like I mean these records. But yeah, I mean there is this famous video clip of 2017-2018 when I said I wanted to be this youngest World champion and now that now that this is not just a dream but reality, it feels Very cool,” he said.

He also thanked his seconds (chess trainers) including Pentala Harikrishna of India and also praised Ding Liren for the fighting chess he played.

–IANS

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Dinesh Karthik coming to SA20 is hopefully the start of many Indians coming over, says Kallis

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) Legendary South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis said Dinesh Karthik coming to play season three of the SA20 tournament is hopefully the beginning of many Indian players taking part in the six-team competition in future.

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“The people love watching India play cricket and seeing a lot of the players in the IPL. To get to see him first-hand, I think the crowds are going to be really excited to see how his type of player comes across and does in the tournament,” said Kallis, the SA20 Brand Ambassador, to IANS in a virtual interaction on Wednesday.

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“I think every season they’ve tried to grow it and get as good quality overseas players as we can possibly get. Obviously, the first season was quite tough because it wasn’t really in the schedule. So, to get overseas players was quite tough.”

“But I think now it’s sort of in the schedule and your players from overseas sort of have an eye on it and know when it’s happening. So, they can block off that period if they want to come and play. So, again, getting good overseas players to come and join the best that we’ve got in South Africa (is big).”

“Like you said, including the whole family coming to watch cricket. It’s inclusive for all, from little kids to grandmas and grandpas. They all enjoy the entertainment and the quality of cricket that’s being played. So, I’ve no doubt it’s going to be as successful and even more successful in the first two seasons in terms of crowds.”

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“It’s going to be tough. I suppose when you’ve won the title once, you’ve sort of got that cap on the head and everybody wants to knock that cap off your head. They managed to defend it the second time, which was a great effort. To do it the third time would be tough because now everybody is really after you.

“So, I do think they’ve got the team that can do it for a third time. It will be interesting to see how they go about it. But I think their planning has been good. They’ve got a very good and calm coach who, you know, obviously has done and clicked very well with the side. So, do I think they can win it for a third time? Yes, I do,” he added.

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