CMYK

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SPORT15THE HINDU FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2015

NOIDA/DELHI

Lampard to stay at Manchester CityEnglish Premier League champion Manchester City announced ithad secured the services of Frank Lampard until the end of theseason despite the midfielder signing for New York City in June

Button ties the knotBritish former world champion Jenson Button confirmedvia Twitter that he has married his long-term girlfriend,Japanese-Argentine model Jessica Michibata (in pic)

Telecast scheduleSouth Africa vs West Indies, third Test,TEN Cricket, 2 p.m.

A mind game and a puzzle

that you solve with

reasoning and logic. Fill in

the grid with digits in such

a manner that every row,

every column and every

3x3 box accommodates

the digits 1 to 9, without

repeating any. The

solution to yesterday’s

puzzle is at right.

su ldo lku

SYDNEY: Footwork is the es-sence of batsmanship. It’s thatprecious ability of a batsman tojudge the length of a deliveryand respond with appropriatefeet movement.

In Australia, successful bat-ting, unless the length demandsotherwise, is a lot about goingback and using the depth of thecrease. This not only enablesthe batsman to shorten thelength but also gives him moretime to play the horizontal batshots — the cut and the pull —that can be so effective inAustralia.

This method could also forcethe paceman to pitch the ballfurther up and then the bat-sman, unless the ball is swing-ing, can get on to the front footand essay the drive.

Good footwork — that altersthe length of a bowler — is a lotabout decisiveness.

Cheteshwar Pujara’s foot-work though has been indeci-sive. The team-management’sdecision to send him at No. 6 inthe second innings at the MCGwas a reflection of Pujara’s lackof confidence.

He has appeared tentative,been unsure of his off-stump,and subsequently paid theprice. He is getting into half-cock positions — neither fullyforward nor back — and beencaught in no-man’s land.

Balance is a critical necessityfor a batsman and there is noway Pujara’s weight can be welldistributed if he is half forwardto deliveries demanding a dif-ferent footwork pattern.

The bowlers have been find-ing him out, often pitching be-tween six to eight metres beforethe stumps, just outside the off.Pujara, neither forward norback, has been nicking thesedeliveries.

Pujara has not really movedhis feet to cover the swing fromthe pacemen in the manner aNo. 3 batsman should.

Crouching stanceOne also gets the impression

that Pujara has been crouchinga tad too much in his stance.This is precisely why the right-

hander is finding it hard to geton top of the bounce on the sur-faces here.

This might have been the rea-son why Pujara, unable to swayaway, ducked right into aMitchell Johnson bouncer atthe MCG. In the instance, thehelmet grill saved this batsman.

Because of his stance, his leftelbow is not high enough as thebat meets the ball. Consequent-ly, he has struggled to cope withlift.

Pujara’s grip — while he is notbottom-handed in true sense ofthe term, his right hand stilldominates — can actually en-able him to play the cut and thepull on these wickets. The right-hander, however, has to stayupright and travel back in hiscrease to execute these shots.

The batsman could also begripping the bat too hard. Puj-ara has not been defending therising deliveries with softhands.

There are two sets of move-ments that have been success-fully employed in Australia.Being classically back andacross, as the legendary SunilGavaskar was against fastbowlers.

The other, one that has againfetched batsmen plenty of runsdown under, is the back andback movement.

Considering the ball does notkeep low here for most part, thistechnique has its admirers.

While the bouncing deliveryremains a distinct threat forsub-continental batsmen downunder, the Aussie pacemen dopick up wickets aplenty withtheir swing or seam movementon or just outside off.

Actually, they disrupt foot-work with bounce and then findthe nicks with deviation.

Coming into the series, Puj-ara averaged 15.00 in two Testsin New Zealand. In England, itwas 22.20 from five Tests. Thebatsman needs to have a closelook at his technique.

A determined cricketer withold-fashioned values, Pujarastill has interesting possibili-ties. He has to sort out his foot-work first.

High time Pujara sorted out his footworkCRICKET / His lack of confidence might have prompted the team-management to send him at No.6 at the MCG

CAUGHT IN NO-MAN’S LAND: Cheteshwar Pujara fails to read this delivery from Mitchell Johnson in the third Test at the MCG onFriday. — PHOTO: SCOTT BARBOUR/GETTY IMAGES

S. Dinakar

SYDNEY: The touring Indiancricketers and the Australianteam were, on Thursday, host-ed by Prime Minister Tony Ab-bott for an afternoon tea at hisofficial residence on NewYear’s Day here.

Players from both sidesposed for the official photo ses-sion with Abbott at KirribilliHouse, his second officialresidence.

Dressed in their casual TeamIndia T-shirts and trousers, theplayers were photographedwith Abbott, with the BCCIposting the pictures on itsTwitter handle.

“The Indian cricket team washosted for afternoon tea byAustralian Prime Minister To-ny Abbott on the first day of thenew year, on Thursday,” theBCCI said. There was anotherphotograph of the newly-ap-pointed India captain ViratKohli, his Australian counter-part Steve Smith and Abbott.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni wasnot seen in any of the photosposted. It remains unclearwhether he attended the eventor not. — PTI

Australia Prime Minister hosts tea for Indian players

ONE FOR THE ALBUM: Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott poses fora photo with the Indian cricket team on Thursday. — PHOTO: BRENDON THORNE/GETTY IMAGES

SYDNEY: Former Australia all-rounder Greg Matthews has aninteresting suggestion for ViratKohli on dealing with Austra-lian sledging.

Matthews told The Hindu,“He (Kohli) should tell themback, ‘Yes, I am a spoilt brat,and I have a big house, and Idrive a Ferrari, and I have agreat insurance. What’s yourproblem?’ That will put theAussies back.”

The former off-spinner andleft-handed batsman, said, “In-stead, he (Kohli) is talkingabout it at press conferences,it’s bothering him and willeventually affect his game.

Focus on the game“You have to let go and focus

on your game. I think what’ssaid on the ground should stayon the ground.”

The 55-year-old Matthewsrepresented Australia in 33

Tests in the ’80s and early ’90s,scoring 1,849 runs and pickingup 61 wickets.

His First-Class record as aleft-handed batsman and anoff-spinner — 8,872 runs and516 wickets from 190 matches— makes him among the mostsuccessful cricketers from NewSouth Wales, a powerhouse inAustralia’s tough SheffieldShield.

Bad boy reputationIn his playing days, Mat-

thews had the reputation of be-ing Australia’s ‘bad boy’.

He has no regrets. “I wasabused with all kinds of words,the kind of stuff you cannotimagine or publish.

“In my time, every team inworld cricket, apart from theWest Indies, sledged.

“I took it in my stride... and Igave it back. But I never carriedit with me when I left the field.”

Matthews, who played a keyrole for Australia in the tied

Test in Madras (1986) with a10-wicket match haul, re-vealed, “It was a tense game,and I was called names by asection of the crowd, I remem-ber.

“I also gave ChandrakantPandit, who had hit me overmid-on earlier, a proper send-off, going almost half way backto the pavilion with him.

“Wicketkeeper Tim Zoehrerasked me, ‘What’s the matter,you just got him out. But Iwanted to give him (Pandit) asend-off.”

The former all-rounder saidhe crossed the line only once inPakistan in the 1983 Test at theMCG.

“I went to the Pakistanidressing room in the evening.Imran Khan opened the doorand I said to him, “I am sorryabout that,” and guess whatImran’s answer was. He said,“Don’t worry, you said the rightthing.”

Matthews claimed he couldeasily get his former NewSouth Wales teammate SteveWaugh worked up. “I’ve shared

rooms with him. I knew everybutton in his body and knewexactly what to say to him. Iwas amazed when others toldme Steve was unflappable onthe field.”

The former all-rounder re-vealed he once got MervHughes to bowl 11 successivebouncers at him in a domesticmatch.

“After every ball, I would runup to Merv and say things tohim like, ‘You know Merv, Ilike your friendly moustache!’He would run in angrily andbounce at me again.

Bouncers rarely

get you out“The bouncer rarely gets you

out and it allowed me to playhim more easily. I wanted himto do just that.”

When Matthews talks, thereis rarely a dull moment. Per-haps, there is a message inwords to the Indians.

What’s said on the ground should stay there: Matthews

Greg Matthews. — PHOTO: AFP

S. Dinakar

MUMBAI: Ravindra Jadeja’s se-lection for the ICC World Cupin Australia-New Zealand fromFebruary 14 has become uncer-tain following a shoulder injuryhe suffered while practising inAustralia.

The experienced 26-year-oldall-rounder provides perfectbalance to the team in theshorter version of the game andhis non-availability for selec-tion on January 6 — when theselection committee will meetto pick the team for the Tri-series (Australia, India and En-gland) and the World Cup —could turn out to be a setback toIndia’s campaign.

Undergoing rehabAccording to reliable sourc-

es, Jadeja suffered a shouldertear while throwing during apractice session in Australiaand returned home for diag-nosis and rehabilitation. Jadejais now undergoing treatment atthe NCA rehabilitation centreat SRMC, Chennai.

Realising the value Jadejabrings to the team, the Board ofControl for Cricket in India(BCCI) is in the process of ob-

taining clarity on replacementrules for ICC events. Over thenext three days, it will also seekopinion from medical expertson the extent of recovery Jade-ja has made since returninghome and the time it will takefor him to resume playing.

Usually the selection com-mittee is given a fitness reportof players and it would be in-teresting to see the positionBCCI takes after getting allopinions and, most important-ly, ODI captain M.S. Dhoni’sview.

India is slated to play the firstwarm-up game against Austra-lia on February 8 and the sec-ond against Afghanistan onFebruary 10 at Adelaide.

It needs to be seen whetherthe BCCI will give the greensignal to the selection commit-tee to choose Jadeja hopingthat he will be fit to play by thefirst warm-up game.

The selection committeepicked Gujarat all-rounder Ax-ar Patel as replacement for Ja-deja in the Test squad and hecould become a straightawaychoice in the event of the BCCInot receiving favourable re-ports on Jadeja’s fitness.

Will Jadeja be able towin the fitness race? G. Viswanath

SYDNEY: As the cricket caravanmoved to Sydney, the mood inthe Australian camp was som-bre despite the excitement ofthe New Year.

It was here that PhillipHughes lost his life after beingfelled by a short-pitched deliv-ery at the SCG.

Brad Haddin played in thatmatch, representing New SouthWales against South Australia.And it is at the SCG that Austra-lia meets India in the final Test,beginning on January 6.

Those traumatic momentscould play out before his eyesagain.

Haddin would need to keep alid on his emotions when thematch gets underway. He said,“It’s a very difficult moment forus.” But with the Test series on,

it’s business as usual for thecricketers.

Asked about M.S. Dhoni’sshock retirement from Tests,Haddin said, “The great thingabout Dhoni was his temper-ament. No matter where thegame was going you wouldn’tknow. He had a pretty even tem-po through whatever situationwas going on and that’s why he’shad such longevity in the game.”

Haddin added, “I was verysurprised at his retirement. He’sbeen a great servant of Indiancricket, the way he handles him-self and the team, the calmnesshe brings to a very, very big job incaptaining the Indian cricketteam.

“He was great to play againstand a true gentleman of thegame. I think he’s left Indiancricket in a better place than itwas when he took over.”

On Indian pacemen’s short-pitched ball tactics against himat the MCG, Haddin said, “It waspretty easy to get a plan becausewe knew what was coming. I hittwo fours and they went back toconventional bowling. If that’stheir plan, I’ll combat themwhatever way I see fit. If theirbowlers want to bang it downhalfway for an hour-and-a-halfthen go for your life.”

Talking about Australia’s de-layed declaration on day five atthe MCG, Haddin said, “We wonthe series, that’s the main thingwe took out of it.

“I think we earned the right toplay the way we did in Mel-bourne. We’ve played India to-tally out of the series. ComeSydney, if we get ourselves intothat situation, it’d be differentbecause we’ve taken India out ofthe series.”

Sombre mood, but business asusual for the AussiesSpecial Correspondent

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu qualifiedfor the knockout stages of theCol. C.K. Nayudu Trophy (un-der-23) after drawing its matchagainst Maharashtra here onThursday.

At Malappuram, Keralamoved into the quarterfinalswith a three-wicket win overSaurashtra.

Kerala topped the pool with15 points from four games,ahead of Tamil Nadu (13).

At New Delhi, seamer AnkitSingh Kushwah’s five for 19helped Madhya Pradesh regis-ter a massive 198-run victoryover the host.

The scores: At Chennai: Tamil Nadu 216 & 226

for four in 67 overs (B. Rahul 65, M.Shahrukh Khan 59, N. Jagadeesan 38n.o., J. Kaushik 47 n.o.) drew withMaharashtra 131. Points: TN 3, Mah-arashtra 1.

At Malappuram: Saurashtra 164 &284 lost to Kerala 330 & 121 for sevenin 48 overs (Akshay Chandran 37 n.o.,Sagar Dodia four for 28). Kerala 6,Saurashtra 0.

At New Delhi: Madhya Pradesh304 & 228 for five decl. bt Delhi 217 &117 in 41.3 overs (Gagan Bhatia 60,Ankit Singh Kushwah five for 19, May-ank Jain three for 39). MP 6, Delhi 0.

At Muzaffarnagar: Uttar Pradesh542 & 142 for two in 35 overs (AlmasShaukat 69, Rakhshan Faraz 60 n.o.)drew with Himachal Pradesh 466 in128 overs (A.K. Rana 121 n.o., P.S.Chopra 110, A. K. Kaushik 86, AnkitRajpoot three for 114). UP 3, HP 1.

At Barwala: Haryana 214 & 321 btAssam 251 & 196 in 67.4 overs (Ma-nasjyoti Gogoi 32, Jogeswar Bhumiz30, R.K. Tewatia three for 75). Harya-na 6, Assam 0.

At Nagpur: Vidarbha 489 & 263 forsix in 48 overs (D.D. Ahlawat 101 n.o.,J.M. Sharma 84, Tabrez Khan threefor 103) drew with Railways 309 fornine in 125.4 overs (A.P. Yadav 137,A.P. Bawa 65, P.S. Singh 57, Sidd-hesh Neral three for 61, ShahnawazKhan three for 61). Vidarbha 3, Rail-ways 1.

At Hyderabad: Bengal 223 & 371for five decl. in 164 overs (WrittickChatterjee 98, Sandipan Das 97, AnkitKeshri 77, Purab Joshi 52) drew withHyderabad 233 & 18 for no loss in 10overs. Hyderabad 3, Bengal 1.

At Jaipur: Mumbai 374 & 246 forseven decl. in 44 overs (Armaan Jaffer67 n.o., S.M. Yadav 64, ShashankSingh 56) drew with Rajasthan 300 &205 for eight in 57 overs (A.N. Garhwal70, S.S. Dobal 56, Sagar Trivedi threefor 43, T.U. Deshpande three for 61).Mumbai 3, Rajasthan 1.

TN and Keralaqualify