The Hindu : Sport : Australia intends to start off strongly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007
ePaper

Sport

Sport

Australia intends to start off strongly

Scotland coach talks of setting a few nerves jangling and causing a few problems

BASSETERRE: Playing his final tournament, Glenn McGrath has one remaining personal target. The Australian fast bowler will try to edge closer to Wasim Akram's record for most World Cup wickets when he takes on Scotland in a Group A match on Wednesday.

``'Wassie,' who I think is one of the best paceman of all time, is on top with 55 wickets,'' McGrath said Tuesday. ``I'm 10 behind and it would be nice to get somewhere close to that, and maybe a couple in front, by the end of the tournament.''

Pakistan paceman Wasim took 55 wickets in 38 World Cup matches. McGrath played 28 matches in his three previous World Cup campaigns, taking 45 wickets at an average of 20.77 and an economy rate of 3.81 per over.

McGrath, who has an Australian record 355 limited-overs international wickets, played against Scotland at the 1999 World Cup but knows little about Wednesday's opponent _ other than the potential for a massive upset.

``That was the first game of the '99 World Cup,'' he reminisced. ``It was an interesting game: the Australian team didn't play that well, but we still got away with the win.

``It probably would be one of the biggest upsets the cricket world has ever seen, hopefully that won't happen. I've played a little bit against a the few of the Aussies in the (Scotland) team, but apart from that I don't know a great deal.''

Australia held a light training session Tuesday with Matthew Hayden (toe) batting extensively in the nets to confirm his participation, while Andrew Symonds (biceps) continued his rehabilitation with a fielding drill to test his throwing arm. Former West Indian batsman Keith Arthurton is the groundskeeper at Warner Park, and he said that the pitch, without a lot of grass cover, will be consistent for batsmen and hold up throughout the match.

That indicates that Australia's attack is likely to comprise only three specialist quicks _ Shaun Tait, McGrath and Nathan Bracken _ plus allrounder Shane Watson and left-arm wristspinner Brad Hogg. Left-arm fingerspinner Michael Clarke and offspinner Brad Hodge will offer slow-bowling support. While Hayden will return to open with Adam Gilchrist, relegating Watson back down the order to No. 7. Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been using Tait to open the bowling in short spells in partnership with Bracken, but McGrath is comfortable with his new first-change role.

``To me, it's what's best for the team,'' he said. ``Now there are 20 overs of power-plays, they change the game a lot. Shaun Tait will probably only bowl two or three overs at the start and it'll be nice to pick up a wicket or two with his express pace, and then I'll come on and hopefully tie things up.

``With the wickets over here, the quicker you bowl the easier it is for the batsmen. So for my pace hitting the deck, it will probably suit me very well, and then come back with a bit of reverse swing with the old ball and a few off-cutters, leg-cutters, a few slower balls, it'll suit my style of bowling very well.''

Australia lost five successive one-day matches last month for its worst run in 10 years, before beating Zimbabwe by 106 runs and England by five wickets in warm-up games on St. Vincent last week.

However, McGrath, in his fourth World Cup and chasing a third consecutive title with Ponting and Gilchrist, is under no illusions about the hurdles the Australian team will have to clear.

``We've lost five games in a row, so we start from the bottom and hopefully we'll finish at the top. Our aim is to peak for the final.''

Scotland coach Peter Drinnen delayed naming his lineup until Wednesday morning in order to assess any moisture in the pitch and decide whether to play four fast bowlers.

``Obviously, it's going to be an incredible challenge for us tomorrow, we have to be realistic,'' Drinnen said. ``We're not going to say we're going to blow Australia out of the water. It's very, very important for us to maintain our standards, and maybe raise the bar a little bit more.''

Lineups:

Australia (from): Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting (captain), Brad Hodge, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Shane Watson, Brad Hogg, Nathan Bracken, Shaun Tait, Glenn McGrath, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson.

Scotland (from): Craig Wright (captain), John Blain, Dougie Brown, Gavin Hamilton, Majid Haq, Paul Hoffmann, Douglas Lockhart, Ross Lyons, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Glenn Rogers, Colin Smith, Ryan Watson, Fraser Watts.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor, West Indies, and Asoka de Silva, Sri Lanka.

Third umpire: Tony Hill, New Zealand. Match referee: Javagal rinath, India.-- AP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport