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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Tomic fights back to down Haas

Fightback ... Bernard Tomic trumps Tommy Haas in Hopman Cup tie. Source: Justin Benson-cooper / News Limited

Bernard Tomic produced two spirited fightbacks to beat Germany's Tommy Haas 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 7-5 in Saturday night's Hopman Cup tie at Perth Arena.

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World No.21 Haas held a 6-1 lead in the first-set tiebreak, but the 34-year-old's fluency deserted him when it mattered most as the Australian reeled off the next seven points to take the vital advantage.

Haas looked to have the rubber in the bag after taking the second set and edging out to a 5-3 lead in the third set.

But Tomic refused to throw in the towel, breaking back to even the scores before putting the heat on Haas as the German attempted to send the match into a deciding tiebreak.

Tomic blew his first two match points by sending his forehand long, but he didn't have to break a sweat on the third attempt, with a Haas double fault handing Tomic the win in 135 minutes.

"It was a very tough first set. It was my first set in a few months,'' Tomic said.

"I don't know how I got out of that tiebreak.

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"I've been training really hard and extremely well. I've been training well so hopefully it will be good preparation for the Australian Open.''

Teenager Ashleigh Barty can win the tie for Australia if she can upset Andrea Petkovic in the women's singles.

Tomic, who reached a career-high ranking of 27 in June, has since slid to 52nd after a poor end to the year in which he made first-round exits at his final three tournaments.

But after embarking on a seven-week training campaign, Tomic insisted he was fresh, hungry, and ready to make amends for his list of on and off-court controversies in 2012.

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The early results appear good, with Tomic's willingness to dig in and fight his way out of the first-set tiebreak particularly heartening.

And then when Tomic appeared gone in the third set, he again displayed Hewitt-esque fighting spirit to turn the match his way.

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Scorchers end Renegades' run

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Superb ... Alfonso Thomas put on a T20 bowling masterclass. Source: Daniel Wilkins / News Limited

Perth Scorchers rocketed back into KFC T20 Big Bash League finals contention by beating Melbourne Renegades by 51 runs at the WACA Ground on Saturday night.

T20 - WACA Ground

29 December 2012 - Day 1, Session 2

Renegades 1st Innings

A. O'Brien	4	6	0	0	66.67
M. Muralidara...	1	3	0	0	33.33
A. Thomas	3.1	0	8	4	2.53

The Scorchers have won three-straight games since losing the opening two matches at home, while the Renegades have lost for the first time after winning their first four matches.

Renegades captain Aaron Finch won the toss and the Scorchers posted a league-best total of 3-187 thanks to 56 runs from 39 balls by South African import Herschelle Gibbs, 85 from 52 by Shaun Marsh and 40 from 27 by Adam Voges.

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Muttiah Muralitharan was the pick of the bowlers for the Renegades, returneing 0-29 from his four overs while Will Sheridan had 1-22.

Needing to chase down the biggest score of the season, the previously-unbeaten Renegades stumbled to 3-24 with Finch out for eight, Marlon Samuels a first ball duck and Daniel Harris seven.

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Ben Rohrer did his best to resurrect the innings with a tremendous 52 from 33 balls but, once he fell - caught behind off Jason Behrendorff - the Renegades' chances went out the window and they were all out for 136 with five balls remaining.

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Alfonso Thomas was terrific with the ball for the Scorchers with 4-8 from 3.1 overs while Jason Behrendorff picked up three wickets despite conceding 44 runs from his four overs.

He had 24 taken off his third when Rohrer took a particularly liking to his left-arm bowling.

Thomas showed the WACA pitch is perfectly suited to his type of swing bowling, taking 4-8 on the same deck that Melbourne Stars bowler Lasith Malinga exploited to take 6-7 in the last game in Perth, and he loved every minute of his first home match.

"We always knew it was going to be a tough game, but the boys batted well up front and obviously with the new ball we took wickets early, which definitely put us on our way,'' Thomas said.

"We were confident coming back to the WACA. It's obviously a bouncy wicket and that was something we looked to exploit, and it worked for us tonight."

Rohrer gave the Renegades some hope with his 52 in the chase but, in the end, the Melbourne side didn't get close and they are looking to bounce back quickly at home to Adelaide Strikers.

"The wicket was pretty good out there so the start we made was pretty disappointing," Rohrer said.

"The stats are something ridiculous like 90 per cent of the time if you lose three wickets in the first six overs, you lose and we did that tonight and couldn't fight back.

"There was a bit of swing there for both their opening bowlers and they used it well and nicked a few blokes off early which was disappointing, but that happens and we will bounce back in a couple of days time."

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India release Aussie tour dates

Dates ... Schedule released for Australia's tour of India. Source: Theron Kirkman / AP

India's cricket board (BCCI) moved a scheduled Test match in 2013 from Kanpur to Hyderabad following pressure from Australian officials.

• First Test: New Delhi, 22 Feb

• Second Test: Chandigarh, 2 Mar

• Third Test: Hyderabad, 14 Mar

• Fourth Test: Chennai, 22 Mar

The BCCI said that Australia would play a four-Test series in India in February and March in the cities of Delhi, Mohali, Hyderabad and Chennai.

"The change was necessitated because the ongoing construction activity at the Green Park, Kanpur, would not have been completed in time for the Test,'' BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said.

A recent inspection by Cricket Australia (CA) found the Kanpur venue to be below-par, while hotel amenities have also failed to satisfy the standards of CA and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA).

Association chief Paul Marsh said earlier this week that neither the ACA nor Cricket Australia was keen on the Kanpur venue.

"The change-room facilities are not up to international standard and there are various issues with the outfield and the pitch,'' Marsh said.

"The main thing is there are certain facilities they haven't got that we would expect to be in place for international cricket.''

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Rojas rocket shoots down Jets

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Top-shelf ... Marco Rojas. Source: Salpigtidis George / News Limited

Two extraordinary Marco Rojas goals saved Melbourne Victory from themselves, as they beat a spirited Newcastle Jets 3-2 at AAMI Park.

The Victory squandered a two-goal lead and total first-half dominance as the Jets fought back to level at 2-2 with 17 minutes left.

But just 60 seconds after Emile Heskey's equaliser, New Zealander Rojas produced a goal of freakish skill, controlling a ball which rebounded towards him in the box, spinning and volleying for a winner befitting a pulsating match.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Central Coast	13	8	3	2	12	27
2	Adelaide	13	8	1	4	4	25
3	Victory	13	7	2	4	-1	23
4	Western Sydney	13	6	2	5	5	20
5	Perth	13	5	3	5	3	18
6	Wellington	13	4	4	5	0	16
7	Newcastle	13	5	1	7	-8	16
8	Brisbane	13	4	2	7	0	14
9	Sydney	13	4	1	8	-11	13
10	Heart	13	3	3	7	-4	12

After league leaders Central Coast and second-placed Adelaide United both lost this week, the Victory have now climbed to outright third - just two points adrift of the Reds.

The Victory looked in total control going into halftime, with a first 45 minutes oozing with magic and menace which would have made both the Mariners and Reds as uncomfortable as it did the Jets.

Rojas, who had been dangerous on the left, launched a stunning strike on 33 minutes for the opener.

His unstoppable 20-metre strike with the outside of his right foot bent away from Newcastle goalkeeper Mark Birighitti at warp speed to find the net.

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Rojas then teamed with the excellent Billy Celeski to present Archie Thompson an easy finish for Victory's second right on halftime.

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But Victory's first half of magic was followed by a second half of illusion.

The Jets kept working hard, and winger James Virgili forced Victory's makeshift centre-half Leigh Broxham - outstanding all night - to make a vital clearance off the line early in the second half.

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Then skipper Ruben Zadkovich belted a 25-metre strike past Victory keeper Nathan Coe in the 64th minute to give the Jets a lift.

When Heskey took advantage of some dithering Victory defence on 73 minutes, the Jets were back in business, before Rojas donned his cape.

Newcastle had a great chance to equalise with just two minutes left, but Coe made a superb point-blank save from substitute Adam Taggart's shot.

Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou was agitated that referee Kris Griffiths-Jones had not noticed his team trying to make a substitution in the breakdown of play prior to Newcastle's opening goal.

Midfielder Jonathan Bru, who failed to get across to cover Zadkovich, was struggling and was the player Postecoglou wanted to take off.

"I assume they spend a lot of money on miking officials up, unless they're listening to music with those things.'' Postecoglou said.

"I was pretty disappointed the message didn't get across.''

But Postecoglou believes his side are steadily improving and developing, though he admitted he could do with less excitement in their games - following on from their last-gasp derby win over the Heart last weekend.

"Teams keep saying they want to make their home ground a fortress. Ours has become an amusement park - thrills every week,'' he quipped.

"But there's plenty to be positive about. We're becoming a really, really dangerous team going forward.''

The Jets slid out of the top six for the first time this season with the loss, but coach Gary Van Egmond remained upbeat with the performance in defeat.

"We still held our own, and in the second half we thought if we scored first, we were definitely back in the contest,'' Van Egmond said.

"We did that. It's just little things we have to get better at.''

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Heat continue Thunder agony

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Struggles ... Sydney Thunder's Chris Gayles reacts after getting out against Brisbane Heat Source: Mark Evans / News Limited

Brisbane Heat overcame a controversial catch to down a hapless Sydney Thunder by five wickets in their KFC T20 Big Bash League match at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.

T20 - ANZ Stadium

28 December 2012 - Day 1, Session 2

Heat 1st Innings

C. Lynn	51	37	2	4	137.84
P. Forrest	12	11	1	1	109.09
S. Abbott	1.4	0	16	0	9.60

Dan Christian starred for the Heat, taking five wickets as the home side were bowled out for just 126 before the runs were chased down with 20 balls remaining.

The Heat were made to work for the win which at one point looked a formality.

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The visitors were cruising at 0-26 after three overs when Thunder import Matt Prior claimed a suspect catch to remove Heat skipper James Hopes for eight.

Prior, normally a wicketkeeper, was fielding at a widish first slip when he claimed a catch off Dirk Nannes (2-31) though replays suggested the ball had hit the grass before it reached him.

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Hopes appeared to query the validity of the catch on the field before accepting Prior's word and trudging off while replays were shown on the big screen.

The jovial 30-year-old admitted he cringed when replays flashed up on the big screen but insisted he'd spoken to the umpires and that it was most certainly a fair catch.

"I looked up and thought `ooh, crikey, it doesn't look good','' Prior said.

"But I do think the cameras can sometimes make it look a little bit dodgy.

"I genuinely felt I caught it. I felt my finger underneath the ball and that's the thing you can't pick up on camera.

"I spoke to the umpire immediately and he agreed it looked absolutely fine to him. That's good enough for me.''

It's not Prior's first controversial moment on Australian soil.

In 2011 he claimed Australian batsman Mitchell Johnson had been clean bowled in a one-day clash, despite knocking the bails off with his gloves.

The dismissal sparked a mini collapse as the Heat lost 4-31 on a tricky wicket before an impressive unbeaten 51 off 38 balls from right-hander Chris Lynn secured just their second win of the season.

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The loss keeps the hapless Thunder, who slumped to their 10th defeat on the trot dating back to last season's horror show, rooted to the bottom of the ladder.

Even the free-hitting Chris Gayle, despite top-scoring, failed to reach any great heights - scoring 28 at a run a ball, a relatively pedestrian rate for the man proclaimed as the best Twenty20 batsman in the world.

He put on 35 with Prior (18) before both were dismissed in Christian's first over - a massive turning point in the game.

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"They were looking dangerous,'' Christian said.

"Obviously Chris had taken his time early on and with these short boundaries you know it's not hard for him to hit them over.

"It was nice to get him and then obviously Matt straight after put the breaks on a bit.''

Christian's figures of 5-26 are the best ever by a Heat bowler and the second-best from anyone this summer, trailing only Melbourne Stars firebrand Lasith Malinga's exceptional 6-7 against Perth.

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Sir Alex slams 'hypocrite' Pardew

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No charge ... Sir Alex Ferguson avoids scrutiny for his contact with referees. Source: Jon Super / AP

Sir Alex Ferguson has criticised Newcastle manager Alan Pardew for his claims that the Manchester United manager should have been sent off after a verbal exchange with referee Mike Dean during their clash on Wednesday.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Man United	19	15	1	3	20	46
2	Man City	19	11	6	2	18	39
3	Chelsea	18	10	5	3	20	35
4	Tottenham	19	10	3	6	9	33
5	Everton	19	8	9	2	9	33
6	West Brom	19	10	3	6	5	33
7	Arsenal	18	8	6	4	14	30
8	Stoke	19	6	10	3	4	28
9	Swansea	19	6	7	6	4	25
10	Liverpool	19	6	7	6	2	25
11	Norwich	19	6	7	6	-8	25
12	West Ham	18	6	5	7	0	23
13	Sunderland	19	5	7	7	-4	22
14	Fulham	19	5	6	8	-5	21
15	Newcastle	19	5	5	9	-7	20
16	Aston Villa	19	4	6	9	-21	18
17	Southampton	18	4	4	10	-11	16
18	Wigan	19	4	3	12	-16	15
19	Reading	19	1	7	11	-16	10
20	QPR	19	1	7	11	-17	10

The United manager called Dean over just before the beginning of the second half of the 4-3 Barclays Premier League encounter at Old Trafford to argue over a decision in the opening period and he also had words with an assistant referee and fourth official Neil Swarbrick.

Ferguson was unhappy that Dean overruled his assistant referee, Jake Collin, who flagged Papiss Cisse offside when Jonny Evans turned in an own goal and the goal was given.

The Reds manager was criticised in the media for his outburst but because Dean has opted not to include the incident in his referee's report means Ferguson will escape any punishment from the Football Association.

Pardew claimed on Thursday that Ferguson should have been sent to the stands but the United manager responded angrily on Friday.

Ferguson also joked that the only man who has not been asked for his opinion is American president Barack Obama but his defence was serious.

He said: "The problem for me and Manchester United is that the profile of the club is huge.

"Alan Pardew has come out and criticised me. Alan Pardew is the worst at haranguing referees - his whole staff every game. He was at it for the whole game on Wednesday.

"He shoves the linesman and laughs about it and he has to cheek to criticise me. It is unbelievable. He forgets the help I gave him by the way.

"The press have a good field day. They have addressed every possible angle, the only one they have not asked is Barack Obama - he is too busy.

"It's unfortunate that I carry that, because I'm the manager of the biggest club in the world. I'm not like Newcastle - a wee club in the North East.

"That is the facts of life. I was demonstrative but I was not out of order. That has been overplayed by the press.

You've all had a field day.

"Some managers shove linesman on the pitch and make a joke of it. I'm not making a joke of this. I think it should have been disallowed, I really do."

Ferguson has also defended his actions of encroaching onto the pitch and stands by his assessment of the incident - but did not criticise Dean.

"I thought the first hand was on Evans from Cisse. The rule book says if an opponent is interfering with defender then he is offside, it says it clearly in the rule book.

"The interpretation is from Mike Dean is that he was not interfering, I think he was. I think that is reasonable. I thought Mike Dean handled it well. He is an experienced referee, mature.

"The interpretation is from Mike Dean is that he was not interfering, I think he was. I think that is reasonable. I thought Mike Dean handled it well. He is an experienced referee, mature."

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Emerton strikes late for Sydney

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Tussle ... Trent Sainsbury and Nick Montgomery pressure Blake Powell. Source: By Dean Lewins / AAP

A resurgent Sydney FC stunned A-League leaders Central Coast with Brett Emerton grabbing a late winner to seal a 1-0 victory on Thursday.

Emerton's 89th-minute winner secured the three points to lift the Sky Blues off the bottom of the ladder into ninth place.

The Sky Blues looked a different side to the one that was thumped 7-2 by the Mariners in their last encounter in what was an end-to-end clash at Allianz Stadium.

Sydney showed a sense of urgency from the start with Yairo Yau creating a chance for stand-in skipper Emerton a minute in.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Central Coast	13	8	3	2	12	27
2	Adelaide	13	8	1	4	4	25
3	Western Sydney	13	6	2	5	5	20
4	Victory	12	6	2	4	-2	20
5	Perth	13	5	3	5	3	18
6	Wellington	13	4	4	5	0	16
7	Newcastle	12	5	1	6	-7	16
8	Brisbane	13	4	2	7	0	14
9	Sydney	13	4	1	8	-11	13
10	Heart	13	3	3	7	-4	12

But the Mariners attack soon began to create headaches for Sydney, easily getting past the Sky Blues defence with both the league's leading goal scorer Daniel McBreen and Joshua Rose forcing saves from Vedran Janjetovic.

Alessandro Del Piero showed his impressive skills to win the ball and go on a defence-busting run, with Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan saving his shot.

The Juventus legend looked like putting the hosts in front just before the break, causing a goal-mouth scramble with a curling corner that Trent Sainsbury did well to clear off the line.

The Sky Blues continued to pepper the Mariners goal with shots in the second half. Both Adam Griffiths and Blake Powell got the 16,887-strong crowd on their feet with dangerous strikes.

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The match was briefly interrupted in the 63rd minute when a streaker took to the field.

McBreen had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock in the 74th minute when he found himself one-on-one with the the keeper, but Janjetovic saved the strike from point-blank range.

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Tomas Rogic could have stolen a win in the dying minutes when late substitute Mitchell Duke supplied him with a perfect cross into the box but the Mariners playmaker sent his shot over the bar.

Sydney's Rhyan Grant replied with a fierce strike that was only denied by the woodwork. Ali Abbas then played a perfect ball to Emerton with the Socceroo heading home the winner.

Frustration boiled over for the Mariners with John Hutchinson sent off in injury time after earning his second yellow card.

It got worse for the Mariners with Rogic getting a straight red card for a tackle on Grant.

"Of course we believed we could win that game,'' Sydney coach Frank Farina said. "You've got to believe that otherwise there's no point turning up.

"It was pleasing to get the result, but even more so the work ethic and the fighting they showed out there tonight.''

Graham Arnold was full of praise for the much-improved Sydney side.

"It wasn't one of our better displays,'' he said. "But give credit to Sydney, I thought they played very well tonight. It was probably the best they've played all year.

"So we have to get used to the fact that we're sitting at the top of the table and teams will lift against us.

"You saw tonight they were prepared for the fight and I think they were still hurting from the 7-2 loss and they wanted some revenge and they got it.''

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Hodge stars in win over Strikers

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Field day ... Hodge smashed the ball to all parts of Adelaide Oval. Source: Sarah Reed / News Limited

A top-shelf showing from vintage batsman Brad Hodge inspired Melbourne Stars to an eight-run victory against Adelaide Strikers in Thursday night's Twenty20 match in Adelaide.

T20 - Adelaide Oval

27 December 2012 - Day 1, Session 2

Strikers 1st Innings

K. Pollard	65	43	5	4	151.16
M. Johnston	8	8	0	0	100
C. Rose	3	0	32	0	10.67

Hodge cracked a sparkling 88 from 58 balls as the Stars posted 8-175, with the Strikers finishing 4-167 in reply.

The Stars, with their fourth-consecutive win, took second spot on the KFC T20 Big Bash League ladder from Adelaide.

The Strikers never seriously threatened to reel in their target despite a star turn from Kieron Pollard (65 from 43 balls) and solid contributions from Callum Ferguson (35 from 28) and Tim Ludeman (30 from 21).

Adelaide's hopes of pinching a win before a sell-out 15,344 home crowd hinged on their gun import Pollard.

But the West Indies giant couldn't engineer a big-hitting miracle despite whacking four sixes and five fours in his unbeaten knock.

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The Strikers needed 27 to win from the final over and Pollard smashed two sixes - the biggest of the tournament so far - and a four to add respectability to his side's score.

Melbourne's import Lasith Malinga was instrumental in restricting the home side, the Sri Lankan paceman taking 1-29 from four shrewd overs.

Fellow paceman James Faulkner also claimed an important 2-32 from four overs but his teammate Hodge was the hero with a sensational performance with the bat.

Hodge underpinned the Stars' innings with the veteran dominating scoring - when dismissed in the 15th over, Hodge had made 88 of the visitors' 129 runs.

Two days shy of his 38th birthday, Hodge was vicious on all bowlers and plundered 10 fours and three sixes.

Hodge's assault set the Stars on a path towards a massive total, but when he was dismissed they lost momentum - his wicket started a slump of 6-32.

Hodge's opening partner Rob Quiney made 22 from 12 balls but no other Stars batsman passed 17 runs, while Adelaide quick Shaun Tait (2-36 from four overs) was the only multiple wicket taker for the home side.

Hodge said his match-defining innings was pleasing.

"The thing that drives me is performance, it doesn't matter what age you are," Hodge said.

"My job is to go out there and perform every time I play."

Strikers captain Johan Botha said the Stars were likely title threats.

"It wasn't our best performance and we still only lost by eight runs against a team that will be one of the contenders," he said.

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