42 SPORT THURSDAY AUGUST 6 2015 Voges may escape the axe BEN HORNE middle order Voges, who averages 14.6 this Australia are staring down that comes with a grand final, to the one rolled out at Edg- spot based on his series, on the back of dual hun- the barrel of an Ashes defeat but you also want the calmness baston last week that offered AUSTRALIAN selectors are years of county dreds in tour matches. for a fourth consecutive cam- and freedom to go out there plenty for the bowlers. poised to gamble on an un- cricket experi- But Voges has been fielding paign in Britain. and play like you play in any The Aussie skipper said he changed XI for tonight’s do-or- ence at the Nott- at a key position all week dur- However the Aussies fell other Test match. did not regret batting first die fourth Ashes Test despite a ingham ground. ing catching drills at training once at Cardiff this series and “The occasion will be a fan- there after winning the toss, three-day capitulation at Edg- Voges left training early and coach Darren Lehmann got back up, and Clarke claims tastic build-up for our attitude despite being skittled for 138 baston last week. yesterday with a stiff neck but has pointed to the fact he made there is no reason to overthink where we’ve got so much to on the opening day, and said There could be one change, that is unlikely to affect his a ton five Tests ago. things before this sudden- play for, but you’ve got to do he would bat first again if he with Shaun Marsh still in the chances of playing a Test most Captain Michael Clarke death clash. the business (with bat and wins the toss tonight. frame for a call-up despite had written him out of. said if he was able to find form “I don’t think you can build ball).’’ “I don’t regret batting at strong indications Adam Marsh (pictured) might be at No.4 with the bat, 35-year- it up too much,” he said. Clarke said the Trent Edgbaston, we just didn’t bat Voges could be set to retain his in line for a call-up to replace old Voges would follow suit. “You want the excitement Bridge wicket looks “identical” well enough,” he said. Lessons of London push Seebohm back to the top in Russia LAINE CLARK AS PAINFUL as it was, Emily Seebohm says lessons learned from her London Olympic breakdown helped her seal a drought-breaking 100m back- stroke gold for a resurgent Australia at the world swim- ming championships in Russia. Seebohm ended an eight- year wait by claiming the title on her fifth attempt yesterday on day three of the meet in Kazan. Rookie Madison Wilson also claimed 100m backstroke silver to mark the Australian team’s best night’s haul at a world titles since Montreal 2005. Nearing the halfway mark of the eight-day titles, Australia had three gold – already equal- ling their number of wins at the 2013 world championships. At London, Seebohm mir- rored her “toxic” team’s for- tunes when she left the pool in tears after suffering a shock 100m backstroke loss. She later blamed a fixation with social media for losing her focus after clocking an Olym- pic record in the heats. Seebohm only cried tears of joy when she was joined on the podium by Wilson on Tuesday night. However, her thoughts were still not far from her Lon- don debacle – and how much she had grown since. “I have worked really hard on dealing with the pressure of being in lane four (favourite),” she said. “I went in there tonight, I laughed, I had fun with the girls. That’s what I forgot to do in London, not take it too seri- ously.” Still, Seebohm would have again had no shortage of ex- cuses if she had bombed out at Kazan. Her coach Matt Brown departed only weeks following the selection trials and she dis- located her knee in a freak Australia’s gold medallist Emily Seebohm (left) congratulates teammate and silver medallist Madison Wilson after the women’s 100m backstroke final at the FINA World horse riding accident in May. Championships in Kazan, Russia, yesterday. Inset: Mitch Larkin reacts after winning the men’s 100m backstroke final for Australia Pictures: SERGEI GRITS and ADAM PRETTY Stroke of genius for Larkin to back himself paying dividends LAINE CLARK tralia. And remarkably his the first Australian since his come. Yet Larkin first hit a of the trials, didn’t swim a PB cruised in the 200m back- main event is yet to come. hero Matt Welsh to claim the world titles pool back in 2011 as but fortunately there was a stroke heats to be fresh for the BY RIGHTS, Australia’s Whippet Larkin, 22, dug 100m world crown since 2001 – a teenaged IM hope. 200m backstroke later that final, only to fail to make the Mitch Larkin admits he deep to hold off the over- and only the second to win the Then at the 2012 London week. semis. shouldn’t be contesting back- whelming physical presence of backstroke event since 1973. trials, Larkin’s coach Michael “Bohly said ‘see what hap- “This preparation I have stroke at the world swimming giants Camille Lacourt of He is just the third person in Bohl made what seems to be a pens’ and I made my first just looked back at 2013 and re- championships in Russia. France and the US’ defending history to hold the world short defining call. Olympics – I haven’t looked minding myself of what hap- But it appears the former champion Matt Grevers to and long course 100m back- “Ahead of the 2012 Olym- back.” Well, sort of. pened there,” he said. medley swimmer is getting the touch them out for the 100m stroke crowns. And Larkin still pics I just trained for the med- Larkin admitted he still “I was trying to do every- hang of it after sealing a rare backstroke yesterday. has his world No.2-ranked pet ley,” Larkin said. mulled over his 2013 world ti- thing in my power to make 100m gold in Kazan for Aus- Remarkably, Larkin became event the 200m backstroke to “I got caught up in the hype tles disappointment, where he sure that didn’t happen again.” NTNE01Z01MA - V1.