TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2016 SPORTS New-look Aussies ‘copped a lot’, says Lehmann

ADELAIDE: Australia coach Darren “Well, we won,” he said, when asked group together-if that is possible, with ‘DAMNED IF YOU DO’ rest them for the upcoming, three-match Lehmann said his players “copped a lot” of what the difference was compared to the varying playing conditions and peaks Lehmann’s coaching role was under ODI series against New Zealand-although criticism before they emphatically halted a first two Tests, which left Australia on the and troughs in form. “You’d love to have the spotlight during the run of defeats, he wasn’t sure if they would play every run of Test defeats against South Africa, verge of their first ever home Test series continuity all the time (but) in this day which prompted chairman of selectors game. “(They will) play. We get in trouble if adding that he’d love to keep his new-look whitewash. “I’m just pleased for the play- and age sometimes that’s not possible,” Rod Marsh to step down calling for some we don’t play (them)... They’re going to team together. ers. The players have copped a lot over the Lehmann said. “But you’d love to keep a “fresh thinking”. play. At some stage,” he said. Lehmann said he was delighted for the last few weeks and they’ve responded group together, a younger group espe- One key criticism was the decision to Lehmann added: “We gave them a experimental side, which featured five really well. Obviously a change of players cially with David Warner being our old- rest fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and John break, didn’t we? So they should get changes including three debutants, as as well. “You feel sad for the blokes who est at 30. “If you can keep the group Hazlewood for the 5-0 ODI defeat in South through the (Australian) summer. Australia’s selection gamble paid off in the missed out in this Test match but the guys together for five years or so, or whatever Africa, with Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis “But we got in trouble for that as well. third Test against South Africa. who came in did a really good job... a new it is until the older guys go-it makes it suggesting it gave his side a mental edge. You’re damned if you do, damned if you The Australians ended a five-Test losing young group going forward, really pleased easier. “But then you’ve got different In Adelaide, Starc and Hazlewood hit don’t.” Straight-talking Lehmann also streak with a commanding seven- for them.” conditions and blokes in and out of form as they took 12 between brushed off high performance manager victory over the Proteas, after being well Lehmann said the door wasn’t closed form. So you just have to sum it up them to bowl Australia to victory in the Pat Howard’s call for him to “reinvent”, say- beaten in the previous two games of the for the players who were dropped, but along the way, but yeah it’d be lovely to day-night third Test in Adelaide. ing: “I was going to wear a suit to the press three-Test series. added that he’d like to keep the new do that.” Lehmann said there were no plans to conference. I didn’t. “I chose not to.”—AFP Focused Taylor helps set Pakistan big target

HAMILTON: Ross Taylor shrugged off his him to his century. eye problems to score a superb unbeaten Earlier Tom Latham laid the foundations century as New Zealand set Pakistan a for- for the declaration with a battling 80 in a midable 369-run target to win the second welcome return to form and Williamson Test yesterday. Taylor finished 102 made 42. Pakistan made an early break- despite only being cleared to play two days through when they dismissed Jeet Raval for before the Test after scarring on his left eye two with the New Zealand score on 11, but threatened his vision. He was due to have they struggled to assert themselves despite surgery tomorrow. the wicket continuing to show life. New Zealand declared late on the fourth day in Hamilton at 313 for 5 and Pakistan SIDE-ON SUCCESS were one without loss after facing three Williamson and Latham fell in the mid- overs before stumps. Both sides vowed dle session, and Henry Nicholls (26) and there would be no holding back on the Colin de Grandhomme (32) went after the final day with Pakistan needing to win to tea interval. New Zealand, having won the keep their world number two ranking and first Test, need only a draw to beat Pakistan New Zealand looking to improve on sev- for the first time in 13 Test series dating enth place. back to 1985. Taylor and Latham had both “All going well that last session could be struggled for runs through recent South really entertaining,” said Taylor, who was Africa and India tours as well as the first pleased he made the decision to play. Test against Pakistan. Taylor showed no “There were definitely thoughts going sign of his vision problems when he through my mind not to play so it was nice opened his account with a four off Imran to draw on a bit of experience-I’ve been in Khan, setting the tone for an innings that that situation before-and put the team in a contained 16 boundaries. good place. He survived an lbw appeal on 16 in what “Probably for the past year, for the first was otherwise a chanceless knock. Taylor five to 10 balls of the innings I haven’t said he had changed his technique to allow picked up the balls as I would have liked.” for his vision problems and it paid off. “I wanted to get a bit more side on. I WIN OR BUST didn’t go out there to play the cut shot any Pakistan quick Mohammad Amir dis- more than I have in the past. It’s just sur- missed talk of playing for a draw. “We like prising how I was a little more side-on that to be among the top teams in the world shot came naturally.” and we will try our best to retain that,” he Latham lived on the edge. He survived a said. “We will definitely try to go for the tar- runout appeal and had a moment of appre- MOHALI: India’s Ajinkya Rahane, left, and , center, make a successful appeal against England’s Ben Stokes, right, on the third day of get. The first session will be very important.” hension when the big screen mistakenly their third test match in Mohali, India, yesterday. —AP The tourists will have to better the record put up the word “out”. On 41 he was fourth-innings succesful run chase at dropped by Sami Aslam. Seddon Park of 212 for 4 by Australia in But his luck deserted him trying to fend 2000 to win on Tuesday’s final day and save off a Wahab Riaz bouncer and the ball the two-Test series. looped off his gloves to Sarfraz Ahmed Ashwin’s triple strike The highest fourth-innings total on the behind the stumps. ground is 344 for 6 by Sri Lanka in a drawn The wicketkeeper also snapped up Test nearly 26 years ago. New Zealand skip- Williamson who feathered a good-length per Kane Williamson declared after a trade- Imran to break a 96-run stand with leaves England reeling mark cut to the boundary from Taylor took Latham. — AFP

MOHALI: Ravichandran Ashwin’s fine all-round 271-6, were bowled out for 417 in the afternoon. pinned India’s impressive lower-order perform- SCOREBOARD performance put India firmly in control of the “They have won today. I think up until this ance. The left-handed Jadeja, who started the third Test yesterday, as he followed up a domi- morning, it was evenly poised... they played well day on 31, took over responsibility for piloting HAMILTON, New Zealand: Scoreboard at the end of the New Zealand innings on the fourth day of the nant innings of 72 with three wickets to leave this morning. Give them credit,” said Bairstow. the innings after the fall of his overnight partner second Test against Pakistan at Seddon Park in Hamilton on yesterday. England reeling on 78 for four. Ashwin. Ashwin’s wicket ended a 97-run sev- New Zealand first innings 271 (J. Raval 55, B. C. de Grandhomme c Azhar by Imran 32 The visitors, who conceded a 134-run first- BOWLERS FRUSTRATED enth-wicket stand between him and Jadeja. The Watling 49 not out; Sohail Khan 4-99, Imran 3-52) B. Watling not out 15 innings lead, trailed their hosts by 56 runs with Ravindra Jadeja top-scored with 90 while pair had lifted India after the loss of four wickets Pakistan first innings 216 (Babar Azam 90 not Extras: (lb6, w6, nb2) 14 six second-innings wickets remaining at stumps Jayant Yadav’s 55 — his maiden fifty in only his in the final session on Sunday. out, Sarfraz Ahmed 41; Southee 6-80, Wagner 3-59) Total (5 wkts dec; 85.3 overs) 313 on day three in Mohali. second Test-gave the England bowlers a frustrat- “Any team will have a plus point if its lower- Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Raval), 2-107 (Williamson), 3- Joe Root (36) and nightwatchman Gareth ing two sessions of play. middle order is contributing. If the last 7-11 New Zealand second innings 159 (Latham), 4-219 (Nicholls), 5-254 (de Batty (0) were at the crease. Root opened with Seam bowler Stokes claimed his third Test (batsmen) can give 50 to 100 runs extra for the J. Raval lbw b Amir 2 Grandhomme) Alastair Cook in the absence of teenager Haseeb five-wicket haul while leg-spinner Rashid took team it’s a bonus,” said Jadeja. T. Latham c Ahmed b Riaz 80 Hameed with a hand injury. four wickets. Jadeja, who registered his career- Skipper (62) and Cheteshwar K. Williamson c Ahmed b Imran 42 Bowling: Amir 22-4-86-1 (2w), Sohail 17-2-69-0, R. Taylor not out 102 Imran 20.3-4-76-3, Riaz 19-3-53-1 (2nb), Azhar 6-0- He will bat later in the innings but could miss best Test score surpassing his 68 at Lord’s in Pujara (51) also contributed half-centuries. India H. Nicholls c Ahmed b Imran 26 19-0, Shafiq 1-0-4-0. the rest of the series, depending on what X-rays 2014, fell 10 runs short of his maiden Test ton. lead the five-match series 1-0 with one game reveal. Ashwin drew first blood by getting Cook But his 80-run stand with Jayant Yadav under- drawn. — AFP bowled for 12. The England skipper had been liv- ing dangerously, with two lbw calls against him going for reviews, first by India and then by the SCOREBOARD batsman himself. But he survived only to see his stumps shattered later on. Ashwin kept up the MOHALI, India: Scoreboard at stumps on day three of the third cricket Test between India and England in Mohali pressure from his end as he bamboozled Moeen on yesterday. Ali (5) with a flighted delivery, causing the bats- England 1st innings 283 (J. Bairstow 89, J. Buttler 43; M. Bowling: Anderson 21-4-48-0, Woakes 24-7-86-0, Ali 13- man to give away a catch to mid-on. Shami 3-63) 1-33-0 (nb1), Rashid 38-6-118-4, Stokes 26.2-5-73-5 (w3), Root sought to steady the innings with Jonny India 1st innings Batty 16-0-47-0. Bairstow, but the wicketkeeper-batsman’s resist- M. Vijay c Bairstow b Stokes 12 ance did not last long. Off-spinner Jayant Yadav P. Patel lbw b Rashid 42 England 2nd innings got Bairstow, who top-scored with a dogged 89 C. Pujara c Woakes b Rashid 51 A. Cook b Ashwin 12 in England’s first innings of 283, caught behind V. Kohli c Bairstow b Stokes 62 J. Root not out 36 A. Rahane lbw b Rashid 0 M. Ali c J. Yadav b Ashwin 5 for 15. An unrelenting Ashwin, the world’s top- K. Nair run out (Buttler) 4 J. Bairstow c Patel b J. Yadav 15 ranked Test bowler, then trapped Ben Stokes lbw R. Ashwin c Buttler b Stokes 72 B. Stokes lbw b Ashwin 5 for five as the visitors slipped further. R. Jadeja c Woakes b Rashid 90 G. Batty not out 0 “We’ve lost a few wickets this evening, which J. Yadav c Ali b Stokes 55 Extras (b 4, lb 1) 5 was not ideal, that was not the plan,” Bairstow U. Yadav c Bairstow b Stokes 12 Total (4 wickets; 38 overs) 78 told reporters. “However, we still got Root out M. Shami not out 1 Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Cook), 2-39 (Ali), 3-70 (Bairstow), 4- there in the middle, we still got Jos (Buttler) to Extras (b8, lb4, w3, nb1) 16 78 (Stokes) come, we still got Woakesy (Chris Woakes) to Total (all out, 138.2 overs) 417 Bowling: Shami 7-2-17-0, U. Yadav 1-0-7-0, Ashwin 12-3- come and (Adil) Rashid scored a heck of a lot of Fall of wickets: 1-39 (Vijay), 2-73 (Patel), 3-148 (Pujara), 4- 19-3, Jadeja 12-4-18-0, J. Yadav 6-1-12-1. 152 (Rahane), 5-156 (Nair), 6-204 (Kohli), 7-301 (Ashwin), To bat: H. Hameed, J. Buttler, C. Woakes, A. Rashid, J. runs. There’s still a lot of batting within the shed.” 8-381 (Jadeja), 9-414 (J. Yadav), 10-417 (U. Yadav) Anderson Earlier India’s first innings saw five half-cen- turies before the hosts, who resumed the day on

Pakistan resist change in squad for Australia

KARACHI: Pakistan resisted the temptation to They were set a daunting 369-run target by New change and retained the same 16-man squad Zealand in the second Test in Hamilton yesterday. which is currently on tour in New Zealand for their Inzamam said a lot of names were considered but upcoming series in Australia, their chief selector after consultation with Misbah-ul-Haq and said yesterday. coach Mickey Arthur the same squad was retained. The two-Test series in New Zealand will be com- Former Test wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, pleted today, and the Pakistan team will leave for Usman Salahuddin and Asif Zakir were unlucky to Australia a day later where they play the first of not be in the squad after scoring big in an ongoing three Tests-a day-night affair in Brisbane-from domestic tournament. December 15. Chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said Akmal, who played the last of his 53 Tests at continuity is necessary. “We have kept the same 16- Lord’s in London in 2010, has piled up 826 runs, member squad for the tour of Australia because we while Zakir has 811 and Salahuddin 813. believe in continuity and think that the same team The remaining two Tests will be played in has done well in England so it will do well in Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January Australia as well,” Inzamam told AFP. 3-7). Pakistan will also play five one-day interna- Pakistan drew a four-match series 2-2 in England tionals in Australia, a squad for which will be in August this year, which briefly lifted them to announced later. Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), number one in the Test rankings for the first time in Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Younis Khan, HAMILTON: New Zealand’s Ross Taylor takes a quick run during day four of the sec- their history. However, they are in danger of losing Asad Shafiq, Sharjeel Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed, ond cricket Test match between New Zealand and Pakistan at Seddon Park in their first Test series against New Zealand in 31 Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Hamilton yesterday. — AP years after failing the first Test in Christchurch by Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, eight wickets. Imran Khan, Sohail Khan. —AFP Misbah-ul-Haq