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Australia not to take match lightly

By S. Sabanayakan

New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming (left) and Scot Styris keenly watch the proceedings during the team's practice session. (Right): Australian coach John Buchannan and captain Ricky Ponting (second from left) inspect the wicket along with the members involved in the pitch preparation, on Saturday, the eve of their TVS one-day match in Guwahati. — Photos: Ritu Raj Konwar

GUWAHATI NOV. 8. In a vast country like India, teams encounter newer playing and climatic conditions. The Nehru Stadium here in the north-eastern part of India, poses its own challenges.

It is against this background, that the TVS Cup tri-series day game against World champion Australia and New Zealand will be played and it promises to be different in more ways than one. The 8-30 a.m. start, fog permitting, will give the team fielding first an advantage at least for the first hour owing to heavy atmosphere.

The conditions will ease by the hour going by previous experience and the tweakers may get some assistance towards the end of the game.

There can be other possibilities as well if the sky is overcast, like on the eve of the match. As revealed by the Australian captain Ricky Ponting, a team's strategy is also based on the conditions and not only on the strength of the opposition.

Australia, having garnered 18 points so far and sitting pretty at the top of the table, preferred to give nets a skip. When asked by the media during the pre-match briefing whether it was over confidence that made the team skip nets, Ponting clarified, "net practice on the eve of the game is optional as far as we are concerned. We do not take any opposition lightly and we will give our best to win the game.''

Australia suffered only one loss in this tournament to India and since then has won every match. "The last game we played against New Zealand was close. We did lose a few quick wickets but then Michael Bevan, Michael Clarke and later on Andrew Symonds ensured we won the match,'' he said.

New Zealand has not been having an easy time but the team's fortune seems to have turned around in the last two games. It ran Australia very close at Pune and then beat India at Cuttack to gain a tremendous boost to its confidence. Going into Sunday's match, New Zealand and India are tied with nine points each.

"We are certainly a confident lot and this will definitely show in tomorrow's game,'' opined coach Ashley Ross. The Kiwis think Sunday's game is very crucial for their survival and are planning accordingly. "We are taking it game by game and our aim is to win against Australia,'' he said.

Captain Stephen Fleming is worried about the team's bowling especially at the death. "We need to improve here as well as in our batting, notably in the top order. There is also room for improvement in our fielding,'' he said.

Australia is certain to miss Ian Harvey, laid low by back strain. There is also a question mark on the fitness of Andrew Symonds, suffering from a knee injury. Ponting said Symonds would undergo a fitness test before the game.

The skipper hinted that opening batsman Jimmy Maher would certainly get a look in and Michael Kasporwicz, who has recovered from an injury, could also be fielded.

On the New Zealand front, Chris Cairns and Paul Hitchcock are still doubtful. The Kiwi coach said Cairns would undergo a fitness test in the morning. In all probability New Zealand will retain the side which won the last game against India if Cairns fails to make it.

The Trans-Tasman clash has upped the interest level in this old city, known as the gateway to the north-east. Elaborate security arrangements have been made and the venue resembles a well guarded fortress with machine gun totting special police and para-military personnel teeming all over the place.

The previous one-day international here was between India and Zimbabwe that decided the series in favour of the home team. Then there was palpable tension in the air. This time around, the spectators will have no such feelings. A well-contested game is what everybody is looking forward to.

The teams (from): Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn, Michael Bevan, Andy Bichel, Nathan Bracken, Brad Williams, Brad Hogg, Michael Clarke, Jimmy Maher, Michael Kasporwicz, Andrew Symonds and Ian Harvey.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Lou Vincent, Chris Niven, Craig McMillan, Chris Harris, Scott Styris, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Daryl Tuffey, Kyle Mills, Daniel Vettori, Iran Butler, Chris Cairns and Paul Hitchcock.

Umpires: Messrs David Shepherd (England) and K. Hariharan; Third: I. Sivaram; Fourth: C.R. Mohite. Match Referee: Ranjan Madugale (Sri Lanka). Hours of play: 8-30 a.m. to 12 noon; 12-45 p.m. onwards.

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