McGrath inducted into Hall of Fame

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Inductee ... Glenn McGrath the latest Australian to enter the ICC Hall of Fame. Source: Phil Hillyard / News Limited

Fast bowling great Glenn McGrath will be the latest Australian to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

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The ICC announced on Monday the right-arm speedster, who claimed 563 Test wickets in 124 Tests from 1993-2007, will become the third inductee in 2012-13 after West Indian maestro Brian Lara and Englishwoman Enid Bakewell were honoured in September.

The ceremony for McGrath will take place on Friday during the lunch break of the second day of the third Test between Australia and Sri Lanka on his home ground of the SCG.

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The 42-year-old will become the 68th male member of the Hall of Fame in recognition of a career that also included 250 one-day internationals and playing in three straight ICC World Cup-winning sides in 1999, 2003 and 2007.

McGrath took more Test wickets than any other seam bowler - current or retired - while he sits second behind leg-spinning legend Shane Warne (708 wickets) as Australia's leading wicket-taker.

"I am very much looking forward to celebrating the occasion with not only my friends and family, but all those at the SCG which is of course like a second home to me,'' said McGrath in a statement.

Alan Davidson, Fred Spofforth and Belinda Clark were inducted into the Hall of Fame last year to join fellow Australians including Don Bradman, Richie Benaud, Allan Border and Dennis Lillee.

The SCG will be bathed in pink in support of cancer charity the McGrath Foundation on the third day of the Test.

A fourth and final Hall of Fame inductee for 2012-13 will be announced next summer.

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vidosic helps Reds cruise on NYE

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Class above ... Adelaide were far too good for Sydney on New Year's Eve. Source: David Mariuz / News Limited

Adelaide United maestro Dario Vidosic scored twice to orchestrate a 3-0 drubbing of an off-key Sydney FC in Monday night's A-League match.

Vidosic's first-half brace, and a second half tap-in by Iain Ramsay at Hindmarsh Stadium, ensured the Reds keep snapping at the heels of ladder leaders Central Coast Mariners.

Second-placed Adelaide remain two points shy of the Mariners, who earlier on New Year's Eve downed Perth Glory 1-0.

Vidosic's double took his tally to eight goals in an influential season - he also hit the cross bar with an audacious curling 20 metre free kick, and struck the post with another hat-trick attempt.

But more importantly for the 10,934-strong Adelaide crowd, Vidosic helped break the Reds' two-game losing sequence, opening his account with an 18th minute header.

Creative Marcelo Carrusca delivered a nifty pass which Iain Ramsay wisely let run for teammate Cassio, streaming down the left. Cassio's cross found an air-borne Vidosic, whose header floated into the top right corner of the net.

Just 11 minutes later, Vidosic sliced through slack defence before passing to frontman Bruce Djite, who was felled by a tackle from behind by defender Sebastian Ryall.

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Relive the action with our A-League Match Centre, featuring video highlights and all the key stats.

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Vidosic calmly slotted the penalty and the Sky Blues were on their way to a ninth loss in 14 matches.

Adelaide winger Ramsay rubbed salt into Sydney's wounds in the 61st minute after Djite outmuscled Ryall, charged at goal, and aimed a low left-footer at goal.

The shot was well saved by diving goalkeeper Vedran Janjetkovic but the rebound fell kindly into Ramsay's path and he tapped in from two metres.

Sydney, without injured star Alessandro Del Piero, were hampered by the loss of midfielder Adam Griffiths who hobbled off in the 12th minute with a leg injury.

The Sydneysiders have now conceded a whopping 30 goals this season and will return to the bottom of the ladder should Melbourne Heart defeat or draw with Newcastle Jets on Tuesday.

Adelaide coach John Kosmina said the Reds could have scored seven or eight goals, such was their weight of scoring chances.

"It was a really good, solid performance," he said.

Reds defender Nigel Boogard was substituted with tightness in a hamstring as Kosmina warned of a challenging January including away matches against Newcastle, Melbourne Heart and Central Coast.

"We have a tough month in January ... it's not going to be easy," he said.

Sydney coach Frank Farina agreed his side could have copped eight goals, saying the match turned into a "virtually a training run" for the Reds.

"To be brutally honest, we were outplayed," he said.

Midfielder Griffiths' early exit was caused by knee medial ligament strain suffered last week, but Farina expected Del Piero to return against Perth on Saturday.

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Stosur crashes out in Brisbane

Disappointing ... Stosur got her Australian summer campaign off to a poor start. Source: Dan Peled / AAP

Australian tennis fans must be braced for another deflating home summer for Samantha Stosur following a worrying first-up failure at the Brisbane International.

In a terrible blow to her Australian Open preparations, an off-key Stosur crashed 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 to Swede Sofia Arvidsson to be the second top-10 star upset on Pat Rafter Arena on Monday.

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The Queenslander followed former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who lost to Ksenia Pervak, out of the tournament in a disappointing one hour and 44 minute display.

Underdone heading into the 2013 season following a minor ankle operation five weeks ago, Stosur moved freely but her groundstrokes were rusty and judgment off.

While she showed plenty of fight to save five first-set points, the world No.9 leaked 48 unforced errors, including seven double faults.

Stosur had enjoyed a 3-1 head-to-head advantage over world No.41 Arvidsson and had swept the tall Swede aside in the first round of her 2011 US Open triumph.

However the writing was on the wall in the seventh game as she lost her serve with a string of poor groundstrokes.

The 28-year-old seemed to produced her best when it most mattered - breaking Arvidsson twice when she served for the set - but paid for her inconsistency.

She did her best to hang in in the second set, as Arvidsson held serve with ease, before producing a forgettable last service game to fall on her sword.

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Stosur's inability to cope with local expectations has been well documented and the loss continues a poor run at her "home" tournament where she's never progressed past the second round.

It will heap even more pressure on her as she just has the Sydney International to fine-tune her game for the Australian Open.

Last summer, as the reigning US Open champion, she only mustered one win Down Under, beating little-known Belarussian Anastasia Yakimova in Brisbane before crashing in Sydney and Melbourne Park.

In more bad news for local fans, Australia's top-ranked male player Marinko Matosevic went down to Japanese No.5 seed Kei Nishikori 7-5 6-2.

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Beckham family London based: Mirror

DAVID Beckham and wife Victoria have enrolled their children in London schools, increasing speculation the former England captain will sign with a club close to home, a British tabloid reports.

One-time Real Madrid midfielder Beckham, 37, has been linked with QPR in England and French club Monaco, as well as teams from China and Australia since his departure from LA Galaxy in early December.

The couple's sons Brooklyn, 13, Romeo, 10, and Cruz, seven, will attend an exclusive London school in the new year, while baby daughter Harper is also destined for a nursery in the English capital, the Daily Mirror said on Monday.

"David is coming to the end of his career and needs to consider his move carefully. A transfer to a top European club makes sense and as David has never played in France, a move to Paris would be ideal," an unnamed source told the Mirror.

A spokesman said before Christmas that Beckham plans to weigh up his options over the holiday period and isn't concerned about making a quick decision.

"There are a number of serious proposals on the table from a host of clubs across the world," the spokesperson said.

"David is no hurry to make a decision, the key is making the right one as he has always done successfully in his career.

The transfer window closes at the end of January.

Meanwhile Mrs Beckham has been busy house hunting in London's southwest, according to several media outlets.

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Croatian star turns German for day

Distraught ... Andrea Petkovic's injury paves the way for Donna Vekic to make history. Source: Tony Ashby / AP

Luckless Andrea Petkovic has been ruled out of the Australian Open after suffering a knee injury in the Hopman Cup - which inadvertedly creates an unusual piece of tennis history.

With no German players available to take her place in the team, she is expected to be replaced by Donna Vekic of Croatia, the first time in the 25 years of Hopman Cup that a player has been asked to represent a nation other than their own.

The German had powered into the top 10 in the world last year when she suffered back and ankle injuries which forced her out of action for seven months, her ranking tumbling to 126 as a result.

She had to retire after winning the first set of her match in Perth against Australia's Ashleigh Barty, and scans have revealed she has ruptured her meniscus which means a month of recuperation and no trip to Melbourne.

"I had an MRI this morning and they found out it is a rupture of the medium meniscus," Petkovic said.

"They don't know yet if they have to trim it. If they do it will be fine and I will only be out for a month. I could probably be playing already after two weeks, hitting balls. That would be really great.

"My team and I are able to take it as tragically funny. People are strange and actually get used to chaos in their life, and I got used to a lot of mess this year.

"Every bad thing that could happen has happened to me so there's nothing there to surprise me anymore. I'm just hoping I can have a quick recovery."

Read more: http://www1.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/8371944/Luckless-Andrea-Petkovic-creates-small-piece-of-tennis-history

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Ref red-faced over yellow error

Mistake ... Referee Mick Russell booked a player twice but failed to send him off. Source: By Joe Castro / AAP

An English referee is in hot water with football bosses after booking a Sheffield Wednesday player twice - but failing to send him off.

Jeremy Helan, on loan from Manchester City, had already been shown an early yellow card for diving in The Owls' Championship game against Huddersfield when he was booked again after 26 minutes for a foul.

Referee Mick Russell was surrounded by furious Huddersfield players who tried to point out the error, but the official restarted play and the game continued.

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Huddersfield manager Simon Grayson described the blunder as "staggering".

"The players were aware and, at half-time, people pointed out to him what had happened, including the assessor. I spoke to the referee after the game and he apologised. He said he had written down the wrong number - which is staggering," he said, following the 0-0 draw.

"The linesman should be helping out. He's not done it deliberately but you can't make mistakes like that."

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited have launched an investigation into Russell's blunder.

"The official has subsequently admitted making a genuine error and PGMOL need to determine why this arose and what sanction, if any, should be administered to the match officials," the organisation said in a statement.

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Video: Haddin, Gayle in sledge-fest

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The man ... Chris Gayle does know how to celebrate a wicket. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited

Brad Haddin and Chris Gayle ensured there would be plenty of spice in next season's Sydney derby after engaging in a war of words during and after Sydney Sixers' clash with Sydney Thunder at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night.

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Gayle greeted Haddin when he walked out to bat and the pair looked to be on friendly terms as they jovially chatted in the middle of the field.

But somewhere along the line the rivalry became more than just a friendly one, as Gayle repeatedly taunted Haddin for not playing a shot to balls bowled by the West Indies star.

This eventually frustrated Haddin into playing a rash shot that resulted in the former Australia wicketkeeper being caught in the deep, prompting an eye-popping Gangnam Style celebration from Gayle.

But Haddin wasn't done yet, saving some choice words for Gayle during his boundary interview with Fox Sports' Jessica Yates.

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Watch the video at the top of the page to see Gayle's interesting celebrations and Haddin's post-innings sledge.

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"He's been all talk so far this tournament and they haven't won a game," Haddin said.

"It's disappointing to get out then, I was feeling pretty good but at least the Thunder fans have seen Chris Gayle do something for his money."

Gayle laughed off Haddin's comments as friendly banter - and pointed to his growing list of scalps this tournament that includes retired Test great Ricky Ponting as well as Haddin.

"I've done a lot for (the Thunder) from last year," Gayle said.

"(Haddin) is going to be in my pocket just like Ricky and the rest of the big names who I got out."

Relive all the action from the Thunder v Sixers game with our Match Centre, featuring videos of every wicket and boundary.

22.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jamshed ton helps silence India

Nasir Jamshed ... his unbeaten century helped Pakistan defeat India. Source: AFP

Opening batsman Nasir Jamshed's century guided Pakistan to a six-wicket win over India in the opening match of the ODI series in Chennai.

1st ODI - MA Chidambaram Stadium

30 December 2012 - Day 1, Session 2

Pakistan 1st Innings

N. Jamshed	101	132	5	1	76.52
S. Malik	34	35	3	0	97.14
A. Dinda	9.1	0	45	1	4.91

Jamshed's 101 not out ensured India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's rescue act earlier in the day went unrewarded.

Dhoni came to the crease with his side on 5-29 after Pakistan left-arm seamer Junaid Khan (4-43) had run through the top order and struck 113 not out to guide them to a final total of 227-6.

Pakistan's run chase also got off to a poor start, India debutant Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowling Mohammad Hafeez with the first delivery of his ODI career.

Kumar also removed Azhar Ali (9) to leave Pakistan on 2-21 but Younus Khan counter-attacked to the tune of 58 off 60 balls to ensure the required-rate was always under control.

Jamshed went to his second ODI hundred from 127 balls in the 47th over and finished off the job alongside Shoaib Malik (34no) with 11 balls to spare.

A bad day for India got worse when Virat Kohli left the field injured. Kohli slipped in his delivery stride while bowling the 41st over and appeared to twist his right knee. He was able to walk off the field but did not return.

Junaid had earlier done the damage for Pakistan with the new ball, bowling Virender Sehwag (4), Virat Kohli (0) and Yuvraj Singh (2), and following up by having Rohit Sharma (4) caught at third slip in his opening spell.

Suresh Raina helped his skipper repair the innings with a 79-run stand spanning 33.4 overs, Dhoni enjoyed a life on 17 when Misbah-ul-Haq put down a catch at midwicket off Hafeez's bowling.

Off-spinner Hafeez (1-26) did eventually pick up a wicket, bowling Raina for 43 with the second delivery of the 34th over - the first of the batting powerplay - before Ravichandran Ashwin (31no) helped Dhoni up the tempo.

Dhoni brought up his eighth ODI century from 118 deliveries - the second 50 of which came from 32 balls - and finished with seven fours and three sixes in his undefeated 125-ball contribution.

The three-match series continues at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on January 3.

Read more: http://www.skysports.com/cricket/match_report/0,,11066_13783_1,00.html

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Hussey Jr, Bailey in for Mr Cricket?

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Cavalry ... Could either Dave Hussey or George Bailey replace Mr Cricket? Source: Brett Costello / AFP

Mike Hussey's retirement from international cricket is set to leave a big hole in Australia's batting lineup, but could also open the door for younger brother David to make his Test debut.

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The senior Hussey announced on Saturday that the New Years Test against Sri Lanka will be the last time he wears the baggy green, and Fox Sports cricket commentator Damien Fleming says selectors don't have to look far to find the 37-year-old's replacement.

"Mike Hussey has been a truly great player for Australia in all forms of cricket, but what about his brother David?', Fleming asked on Fox Sports News.

"This (Hussey's retirement) could open the door for him. He's a great player who can bowl a bit too."

While the likes of Usman Khawaja, and to a lesser extent, Rob Quiney and Glenn Maxwell, appear to be ahead in the pecking order, fellow Fox Sports commentator Greg Blewett said the experience of George Bailey could prove invaluable for the Aussies.

"The India tour will be very interesting. Maybe it opens the door for George Bailey," Blewett said.

Tom Moody agreed, insisting Australia's Twenty20 skipper could provide Michael Clarke with the much-needed deputy currently lacking in the side, with an Ashes series against in-form England on the horizon.

"They're big shoes to fill for Australia. But George Bailey has experience, and an older and mature head to support Michael Clarke for the next few years," Moody said.

Blewett said that while the news of Hussey's retirement probably came as a surprise to Cricket Australia, it leaves plenty of time to bed in Hussey's replacement before the Ashes.

"It's probably knocked the selectors around a little, who thought Michael Hussey would be around for another year at least," Blewett said.

"The timing is probably right for a player like him to go out on the top of his game. He's had a great summer.

"He was under pressure 12 months ago but really turned it around. I like the timing, there is a chance to rebuild."

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Warner, Cowan captaincy options?

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Leadership material ... opening partners David Warner (L) and Ed Cowan. Source: Greg Wood / AAP

Australia coach Mickey Arthur expects Michael Clarke to be fit to play in next week's Sydney Test, but the question remains who would lead the side in Clarke's absence.

Vice-captain Shane Watson has already been ruled out of the January 3-7 third Test against Sri Lanka with a calf-muscle injury.

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All-rounder Watson's latest setback means he'll only play three of a possible six home Tests this summer, which also raises the question is it wise to have such a player as the captain-in-waiting?

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Watson's suggestion that he may consider playing as a batsman only in the future could help solve his injury problems, although that issue won't be clarified until after the third Test.

If something happened to Clarke, as it could have done this week when the skipper scored a magnificent 106 in Melbourne but risked further injury by carrying a hamstring complaint into the match, Australia's leadership stocks would be stretched - especially given the retirement of veteran batsman Michael Hussey at the end of the summer.

"I don't think it will be an issue because I do think Michael will be playing in Sydney but there would need to be some extra discussion around that so there's no firm decision," Arthur said on Saturday.

Cricket Australia's high-performance chief Pat Howard mentioned the names of openers Ed Cowan and David Warner as possible captaincy options.

"Michael Clarke's hamstring is well-documented, so we have planning in place," Howard said.

"There's no obvious answer at the moment. We have a young team in transition, but many people have captained.
"David Warner captained the Sydney Thunder last year, you had Ed Cowan take Australia A away, David Warner captained the Chairman's XI the year before.

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"I can't really speculate (on a stand-in captain) unless I've got that green light from the board.''

Howard says while any suggestion from Watson about playing as a batsman-only will be duly considered, selectors are keen on multi-skilled players.

The inclusion of uncapped Victorian allrounder Glenn Maxwell in place of Watson in a 13-man squad for the Sydney Test could be the answer to Australia's hopes of finding a batsman capable of contributing 10 or 15 overs per innings.

"He brings quite a lot. He can bat for us in the top six or seven," Arthur said.

"We're really keen to develop his offspinners.

"The important thing there is that he replaces an allrounder so we need to be able to get some overs."

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