TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015 SPORTS Australia’s Khawaja says hamstring injury woes over MELBOURNE: Usman Khawaja said yes- Stars. “I’m very happy I got through the for a month since injuring his hamstring than they’ve been in the last three years. because I know that’s not what Boof terday he was confident his recurring game. I feel really good today,” Khawaja during Australia’s second Test against “I did a lot of hard work over the last four (Lehmann) wants.” hamstring problems were behind him as told reporters. New Zealand in Perth. He has spent weeks, the trainers up at the training Khawaja has been sidelined since the batsman works towards a recall to “Just normal general soreness, the most of his time out at Cricket Australia’s base pushed me pretty hard. That’s what scoring 174 and 121 in the first two Tests the Australia team for the second Test hammies feel really good.” The 29-year- training base in Brisbane, focusing on I needed to do.” Test coach Darren against New Zealand last month. During against the West Indies. old is expected to return to Australia’s the troublesome tendons and muscles. Lehmann said last month that Khawaja his absence, replacement Marsh made a Khawaja returned from a spell on the Test side against the West Indies at the “My hamstrings are definitely stronger must “get fit and strong and faster first strong case for his retention with his sidelines in Sunday’s Big Bash League Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, than they have been in the last three and make sure we don’t have another highest Test score of 182 during the first Twenty20 match, scoring an explosive at the expense of either Joe Burns or years. The last testing I had to do on injury.” “I pushed myself pretty hard,” Test against the Windies in Hobart. That 109 off 70 balls for the Sydney Thunder Shaun Marsh. Friday was a hamstring strength test,” he Khawaja admitted. “I couldn’t go there could leave Burns as the possible fall in their one-run win over the Melbourne Pakistan-born Khawaja has been out said. “My hamstrings came up stronger and try to nurse it or not go 100 percent guy. — AFP SCOREBOARD PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa: Close of play scores on the second day of a three-day first- class match between South Africa A and the touring England team at City Oval yesterday. South Africa A, first innings, 136 Cook 5-0-13-0 England XI, first innings (overnight 64-0) Did not bat: M. Ali, S. Broad, S. Finn, M. Footitt A. Cook c Paterson b Maharaj 126 South Africa A, second innings A. Hales b Paterson 56 S. Cook lbw b Broad 1 N. Compton lbw b Maharaj 29 R. Hendricks lbw b Ali 19 J. Root c Ramela b Maharaj 117 R. Rossouw not out 13 J. Taylor b Maharaj 15 M. de Lange not out 0 B Stokes c Maharaj b De Lange 66 Extras (lb1, w1) 2 J. Bairstow not out 2 Total (2 wkts, 11 overs) 35 Extras (lb2, w1) 3 Fall of wicket: 1-10 (Cook), 2-34 (Hendricks) Total (6 wkts dec, 97.5 overs) 414 Bowling: Broad 3-1-10-1, Footitt 3-1-13-0, Fall of wickets: 1-112 (Hales), 2-178 (Compton), Stokes 1-0-5-0 (1w), Finn 1-0-5-0, Ali 2-2-0-1, 3-241 (Cook), 4-291 (Taylor), 5-395 (Stokes), 6- Root 1-0-1-0 414 (Root) Match situation: South Africa A trail by 243 Bowling: Morris 25-3-93-0, De Lange 21-4-99-1, runs with eight wickets Paterson 20-3-78-1 (1w), Maharaj 26.5-3-129-4, remaining in the second innings. Cook, Root centuries put England in charge PIETERMARITZBURG: Alastair Cook and continued to show impressive form ahead Joe Root hit centuries yesterday as the of the first Test against South Africa, which touring England team played themselves starts in Durban on Saturday. into a dominant position on the second Cook made his runs off 194 balls with 16 day of a three-day match against South fours and two sixes, while Root needed just Africa A. 125 deliveries in an innings which included Skipper Cook hit 126 and Root made the same number of boundaries as his cap- HAMILTON: New Zealand players pose with the trophy after they defeated Sri Lanka by 5 wickets on the fourth day of the second international 117 in an England total of 414 for six tain. Root and Stokes hammered 101 in a cricket test in Hamilton, New Zealand, yesterday. —AP declared-a first innings lead of 278 runs. 91-ball fifth-wicket stand, with Stokes rac- South Africa A lost both opening batsmen ing to 66 off 47 balls before he was caught as they limped to the close on 35 for two, on the boundary. Williamson ton steers NZ to still needing 243 to make England bat With South Africa having been trounced again. 3-0 in a recent Test series in India, the play- With James Taylor and Ben Stokes hav- ers next in line generally failed to impress. ing hit centuries against an Invitation XI in Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj was the five-wicket win over S Lanka Potchefstroom, four of England’s likely Test only bowler to shine, taking four for 129, top six have hit centuries in the first two while opening batsman Stephen Cook, HAMILTON: Kane Williamson scored matches of the tour. who carried his bat for an unbeaten 53 in his fifth century in eight tests in 2015 Alex Hales, the only specialist batsman an otherwise dismal first innings for the to guide New Zealand to a five-wick- to miss out in Potchefstroom, hit 56 in an South Africans, was out for one in the sec- et victory over Sri Lanka before lunch opening stand of 112 with Cook as England ond. — AFP on the fourth day of the second test at Seddon Park in Hamilton yester- day. The victory gave Brendon West Indies spinner Bishoo McCullum’s side a 2-0 series sweep over the tourists after they won the in frame for Melbourne start first test in Dunedin by 122 runs. “It was definitely hard fought and MELBOURNE: West Indies are consider- After his breakthrough year, however, I thought the improvement of the Sri ing a recall for leg-spinner Devendra he lost his mojo in two series on the Lankan side was pretty evident Bishoo as they look to fight their way unforgiving tracks of India and throughout the test series,” back into the series in the second test Bangladesh and the second test against McCullum said in a TV interview. against Australia later this week. England earlier this year was his first in “Credit to Angelo and Sri Lanka The tourists’ bowlers were flogged to three years. for putting us under immense pres- all parts of the Bellerive Oval during the Another heavy workload against the sure (in Hamilton) and thankfully we innings and 212 run defeat in Hobart English in Grenada — 51 overs in the were able to withstand it through an which opened the three-match series. tourists’ first innings-took its toll on innings of sheer quality.” Left-arm orthodox spinner Jomel more than his enthusiasm, leaving him Williamson finished 108 not out, Warrican, playing only his second test, with virtually no skin on his spinning fin- taking his run tally in 2015 to 1,172 took three wickets in Australia’s only gers. — the most by a New Zealander in a innings but they came at the cost of 158 He was fit again when the Australians calendar year — at an average of runs as the home batsmen ran rampant. visited in June and his six victims in 90.15. Bishoo took 6-80 against the Roseau included Brad Haddin, who was The hosts reached their victory Australians in the Caribbean earlier this dismissed by a wonder ball that pitched target of 189 with five wickets down, year and again showed his class in the on leg, turned sharply and crashed into wicketkeeper BJ Watling finishing drawn tour match against a Victoria XI at the top of the wicketkeeper’s off stump. unbeaten on 13 alongside the weekend, even if his two wickets Comparisons were made with the Williamson and scoring the winning came at a cost of 60 runs. “He bowled Shane Warne “Ball of the Century” to dis- run with a sweep for a single off Milinda Siriwardana. better,” West Indies coach Phil Simmons miss Mike Gatting in 1993 and the deliv- Sri Lanka fast bowler told reporters in Geelong. ery illustrated that Bishoo can get as Dushmantha Chameera took 4-68 to “There was a lot more drive in his much turn from the ball as any world go with his first innings haul of 5-47. deliveries and everything like that. “We’ll class spinner. New Zealand held a slight advantage see what happens over the next three The drop-in wicket at the Melbourne when they resumed on Monday on days and we’ll see what the MCG wicket Cricket Ground (MCG) is unlikely to offer 142-5 but both sides had the chance is like, then we can make a decision too much for the spinners but even if to win the match with Williamson about the combination we’re going the 30-year-old does not get the nod for always the player most likely to with.” the Boxing Day match, he could get the determine the outcome.