Dhawan ruled out of Delhi Test

India's latest batting sensation Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the fourth and final Test against Australia due to a fracture on his left hand. Dhawan will be out of action for six weeks after sustaining the injury while fielding during the third match at Mohali. 

The BCCI said in a statement that Gautam Gambhir, who was omitted from the initial squad for the four-match series due to a prolonged form slump, was included in the team but he too also was unavailable due to jaundice. The selection committee then picked Suresh Raina to join the team. 

"Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the fourth Test against Australia, scheduled to be played at Delhi from 22 March 2013 to 26 March 2013, after sustaining a fracture in his left hand. He will be out of action for six weeks," the BCCI said in a statement. 

"The All India Senior Selection Committee then added Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina to the squad for the fourth Test. However, Gambhir has been diagnosed with jaundice, after undergoing a blood test, earlier on Tuesday. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54801/dhawan-ruled-out-of-delhi-test

CA need to be less formal: Warne

Australia's selectors need to adopt a less formal approach to bring the best out of the players even if it means allowing one or two to sort out their differences behind closed doors, according to Shane Warne. 

Team management have been criticised for disciplining Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja for failing to carry out a 'homework' task set by coach Mickey Arthur on the tour of India. 

Australia were crushed in the first two matches and Watson, Johnson, Pattinson and Khawaja have now been suspended for the third test. 

"If you wind back the clock to the old days it was about going to a pub or locking yourselves in a room with a few beers in a relaxed environment and making it all informal," former leg-spinning great Warne told Britain's Talksport Radio on Tuesday. 

"With everyone just having a chat, it always leads to something. The more formal you make things, it makes people not want to express themselves. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54720/ca-need-to-be-less-formal-warne

Dhoni was more assertive in Chennai: Gavaskar

Former skipper Sunil Gavaskar said captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become more assertive and added that the faith shown on him by the Board and the selectors will spur him to do better. "If the captain has the confidence of the board and the selectors, it gives him confidence to employ tactics on the field. It's a huge plus. Now that he is doing so well, it will give him even more confidence," Gavaskar said. 

Dhoni stroked a maiden counter-attacking double hundred to lead India to a comfortable eight wicket victory over Australia in the first cricket Test. "He has changed a bit from the England series. He is more assertive. Towards the end of England series in Nagpur, he was trying to be more assertive, showing displeasure at the lack of efforts by the players and we have seen that in Chennai as well," Gavaskar told a news channel. 

The legendary opener also tried to reason what Dhoni meant when he said that he never dreamt about representing India. "He (Dhoni) came from a place where cricket was not the number one sport. That might have given him a thought that he would not play for India," Gavaskar reasoned. Gavaskar felt that being a bit detached from the game has also helped him remain a "secure person". "He is a very secure person within himself. He is a very confident man. If tomorrow, he wasn't playing cricket, I dont think he would be regretting anything. He would say I had my time and I enjoyed it. If you have such kind of an attitude, you tend to put on less pressure," he said. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54560/dhoni-was-more-assertive-in-chennai-gavaskar

India race to 1-0 lead with Chennai victory

India took one hour and 15 minutes on the fifth morning of the first Test against Australia in Chennai to race away to an eight-wicket victory. 

There were some minor hiccups on the course to victory with both openers perishing in the course. While James Pattinson removed Murali Vijay, who could not clear his lofted drive mid-off, Virender Sehwag was done in by Nathan Lyon. However, Sachin Tendulkar, who joined Cheteshwar Pujara at the fall of the second wicket was in no mood to wait and smashed the off-spinner for two consecutive sixes as India inched closer to victory. 

Ravindra Jadeja ended a stubborn last-wicket stand between debutante Moises Henriques and Nathan Lyon as Australia managed to add just nine runs to their overnight score. With Henriques left stranded on 81, 19 runs short of a hundred on debut, India had to chase a mere 50 to go 1-0 up in the four-Test series. 

Pattinson extracted good bounce off the deck and even troubled Vijay in the first over - how Australia wished they had a few more on the board to defend to give the Indians a run for their money. However, with Sehwag finding the fence three times during his innings, the 50-run target never seemed too daunting anyway. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54554/india-race-to-1-0-lead-with-chennai-victory

Gambhir's absence a 'positive' for Australia: Hayden

Gautam Gambhir's exclusion from India's squad for the first two Tests against Australia is a "positive" development for the tourists, feels former cricketer Matthew Hayden. Hayden said Gambhir formed a "potent" opening combination with Virender Sehwag and the left-hander's exclusion will be a welcome relief for the Australian bowlers. 

"The fact that India has dropped Gautam Gambhir is a positive step for Australia," Hayden said about the diminutive left-hander, who struck a century for India A against Australia in a warm-up game on Saturday. 

"He always rallied when playing Australia and that combination of Virender Sehwag and Gambhir was a very potent one ... Gambhir relishes the niggle and returning fire. It was a big surprise they left him out," he was quoted as saying. 

Hayden, who turned out to be a nightmare for the Indian spinners during the 2001 series, came up with a list of dos and don'ts for the touring Australian contingent in order to achieve success on Indian soil. 

He also gave advise to the Australian batsmen on how to tackle the turning ball on Indian pitches. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54460/gambhirs-absence-a-positive-for-australia-hayden

Australia state broadcaster dumps India Tests

Australia's public broadcaster said it will not broadcast or report live from the upcoming Test series in India after deciding not to pay inflated rights fees. 

The ABC said it could not afford the broadcast rights fees demanded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), understood to be much higher for the four-Test series beginning February 22 than previous Australian tours. 

It had still intended to send veteran radio commentator Jim Maxwell, but the BCCI refused him accreditation. 

"It is really disappointing," an ABC spokeswoman told AFP. 

"It will result in it being covered through the news just like a news item but there won't be any feeds, certainly not ball-by-ball coverage." 

As a general rule, ABC covers Australia's Test matches in India, although it did not broadcast the 2010 series as it clashed with the Commonwealth Games. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54400/australia-state-broadcaster-dumps-india-tests

Don't want to waste opportunities: Shikhar Dhawan

Consistency has always been a problem with Shikhar Dhawan since his first-class debut back in 2004 but after his maiden call-up to the Indian Test squad, the Delhi left-hander is determined not to let this chance go abegging. 

"I can't blame anyone for not being able to cement my place in the India squad when I was touring West Indies last year. I wasn't consistent enough and that's why couldn't play more than five ODIs. I guess, it's all in the mind and I am not going to let this opportunity go," the 27-year-old said. 

Dhawan has played five ODIs scoring 69 runs with a half-century that came in the West Indies. 

"No excuses for not delivering but pitches in West Indies were extremely slow and the ball wasn't coming onto the bat. I should have scored more runs," Dhawan, who has scored 5679 runs in 81 first-class matches, said. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54394/dont-want-to-waste-opportunities-shikhar-dhawan

Gambhir dropped, Dhawan picked for Australia Tests

Gautam Gambhir was dropped for the first two Test matches against Australia while Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay were named in the 15-man Indian squad. 

Apart from Dhawan, who received his maiden Test call-up, Uttar Pradesh seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was rewarded for his good showing in the recent limited over games against Pakistan and England with a place in the Indian Test team for the first time. 

Gambhir, who was left out after a string of poor performances, will now captain the India A side in the 3-day practice match against Australia on February 16. 

Virender Sehwag, who has been given an extended run, might play in the middle order in case India decide to open with Vijay and Dhawan while Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja will also be vying for a place in the middle order. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54388/gambhir-dropped-dhawan-picked-for-australia-tests

Pacers will have a big role in India: Siddle

Australia's pacer Peter Siddle feels that their pace attack will have a huge role in the tour of India, despite the pitches known to be favorable for spinners. India's famed batting line up struggled against England's spinners in the recent Test series but Siddle felt that each team should stick to its own strengths and not copy the others. 

"The best way of attacking India is with whatever your best line-up is. The way we've won Test matches for years now has been with our pace and I think that is going to play a big role," he said. 

However, he also added that Nathan Lyon, Australia's lead spinner, will be a very important part of the attack. 

"But Nathan (Lyon) is going to play a big role at the other end, and his game is going to flourish even more with the pressure we build at our end. Combined, we'll do well and definitely be able to take 20 wickets. We're strong, we've got a good set of quicks going over and we've got good back-up for Nathan over there with spin," he said. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54363/pacers-will-have-a-big-role-in-india-siddle

Clarke wins fourth Allan Border Medal

Australian captain Michael Clarke won his fourth Allan Border Medal for the nation's cricketer of the year at a gala ceremony in Melbourne on Monday. Clarke, 31, and his predecessor, Ricky Ponting, are the only players to win the medal, considered Australian cricket's most prestigious individual prize, four times. 

The Test and one-day skipper won for the second straight year with 198 votes, ahead of joint runners-up Mike Hussey and two-time winner Shane Watson, who each polled 165 votes. 

Clarke also comfortably won the Test cricketer of the year award, again for the second year in a row, after scoring 1,080 runs at an average of 77.14 in the nine Tests covered by the voting period, from February 25 last year to January 28 this year. 

Watson won the Twenty20 award and also polled well for the one-day honour, which was won by paceman Clint McKay. 

Make Stephen Fleming the coach: Warne

Shane Warne has revealed his plan to put Australian cricket back on track. In Part 1 of a detailed document released on his website, the legendary spin bowler makes a number of recommendations, among which is the suggestion to make the former New Zealand captain, Stephen Fleming as the coach of the Australian national cricket team, raising quite a few eyebrows across the cricketing fraternity back home because of the Trans-Tasman rivalry. "I believe he brings a lot to the table, a calmness, an intelligent understanding of the game and a very good cricket brain. He's a good communicator too as well as a good leader of men," writes Warne. He further stated that Fleming was the best opposition captain he played against. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54270/make-stephen-fleming-the-coach-warne

Clarke defends rotation policy

Michael Clarke has come out in defense of the much criticized 'rotation policy' of Australia implemented throughout the summer. The Australian team management has rotated its players for the entirety of the season, resting the ones with minor niggles. Clarke, who himself was rested for the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka nursing his hamstring, felt that such a policy worked in the country's favour as Australia had an equally talented reserve bench.

"There's a lot that is spoken about within the group that people outside the group probably aren't aware of," Clarke told a few reporters in Brisbane. "We've probably seen some cases throughout the past 12 months where guys have not been 100% fit or had little niggles that probably haven't been communicated as well as they needed to be to the media, and in essence to the public. The Perth Test match was a great example. Call it resting Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus but the facts were they just weren't fit enough to perform at their best. The two guys who we brought in for Siddle and Hilfenhaus (John Hastings and Mitchell Johnson), we were confident that they could do a better job at 100% than those guys at 70 or 80%," added Clarke.

Gilbert stands down as NSW cricket chief

David Gilbert resigned on Monday after 11 years as the chief executive of New South Wales Cricket, following recent criticism of his performance in the role by veteran paceman Brett Lee.

Former Test fast bowler Gilbert, 52, said the time was right for him to step down and that his decision had not been influenced by the "recent commentary".

"After 11 successful years, I am now at the point where I am ready to take on a new challenge," Gilbert said in a statement.

"This is not a sudden decision -- it is something I have been contemplating over the past 12 months. As far as recent commentary is concerned, it comes with the job and I've never shied away from it.

India-Aus Test series schedule revised

The match-schedule of the AIRTEL series for the BORDER-GAVASKAR Trophy, to be played in February-March 2013, has been revised. As per the new programme, the first game of the four-Test series between India and Australia will now be played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, from 22 February 2013 to 26 February 2013. The venue has staged some unforgettable encounters between the two nations, including the 'Tie' in September 1986.

The teams will then move to Hyderabad for the second Test, from 2 March 2013 to 6 March 2013. The action will subsequently shift to the north.

Mohali will host the third Test from 14 March 2013 to 18 March, and Delhi the fourth, from 22 March 2013 to 26 March 2013. Delhi's Ferozeshah Kotla Ground was the venue where the teams first played for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, in October 1996.

The revised schedule of the Test matches is as follows:

AIRTEL SERIES FOR THE BORDER-GAVASKAR TROPHY

First Test - M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai - 22 February 2013 to 26 February 2013

Second Test - Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad - 2 March 2013 to 6 March 2013

Third Test - PCA Stadium, Mohali - 14 March 2013 to 18 March 2013

Fourth Test - Ferozeshah Kotla Ground, Delhi - 22 March 2013 to 26 March 2013

Starc out of ODI squad with calf injury

Paceman Mitchell Starc has calf muscle soreness and has withdrawn from Australia's one-day squad ahead of this weekend's second match against Sri Lanka, Cricket Australia said on Saturday.

South Australian quick Kane Richardson has been called up as cover for Sunday's ODI against Sri Lanka at the Adelaide Oval, after Starc picked up the injury during Australia's 107-run series opening win in Melbourne on Friday.

The left-armer took 1-25 off six overs, but his status for the remainder of the five-match ODI series remains uncertain.

The Australians are already without several fast bowlers due to injury, including Ben Hilfenhaus and Pat Cummins, although James Pattinson and Josh Hazlewood have returned from being sidelined.

Brett Lee queries Australia's rotation selection policy

Senior paceman Brett Lee on Saturday questioned Australia's contentious rotation selection policy after injury struck down fast bowler Mitchell Starc ahead of the second one-day international against Sri Lanka.

Starc's future in the five-match series is uncertain after he suffered calf soreness in Australia's 107-run thumping of the tourists in the ODI opener in Melbourne on Friday.

South Australia's inexperienced 21-year-old paceman Kane Richardson has been placed on standby in the squad but is expected to be 12th man for Sunday's one-dayer in Adelaide with Ben Cutting likely to make his debut.

With Starc out, Lee criticised the rotation policy, branding it confusing.

Former umpire Taufel to deliver Cowdrey Lecture

Australian Simon Taufel will this year become the first umpire to give the prestigious MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Friday.

The lecture began in 2001 in memory of former Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Colin Cowdrey, who played a key role in the 'Spirit of Cricket' being enshrined in the preamble of the Code of the Laws of Cricket in 2000.

The retired Taufel, who was voted the International Cricket Council's (ICC) umpire of the year between 2004 and 2008, will become the third non-player to deliver the lecture.

Warne banned, fined after ugly T20 bust-up

Australian spin legend Shane Warne was banned for one match and fined Aus$ 4,500 (US$4,700) on Monday after an ugly, foul-mouthed clash with West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels during a Twenty20 match in Melbourne.

The spin legend, captaining the Melbourne Stars against city rivals the Renegades in the domestic Big Bash tournament on Sunday, was furious that Samuels pulled back David Hussey when the batsman was turning for a second run.

And when Samuels was batting later in the game, Warne confronted the West Indian by swearing at him.

McGrath to be inducted in ICC Hall of Fame

Legendary Australian bowler Glenn McGrath will be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of fame during the third and final Test between Australia and Sri Lanka at Sydney. McGrath will be the third cricketer after Enid Bakewell of England and Brian Lara of the West Indies to be inducted in 2012-13, according to an ICC statement.

The statement also read, "Glenn McGrath will be the 68th male member of the Hall of Fame and joins fellow 2012-13 inductees West Indian Brian Lara and England's Enid Bakewell in being recognised by the ICC and the living members of the Hall of Fame."

Lara and Bakewell were inducted into the Hall of Fame during the ICC awards in September. McGrath has the honour of been inducted at the SCG, his home ground. A fourth and final inductee will be announced next year.

Michael Hussey to announce Test retirement

Michael Hussey has announced that the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the SCG will be his final Test.

Hussey, who has played a total of 78 Tests and 185 ODIs, will be available for the rest of the 2012-13 Australian summer and also stated that he will be available for Western Australia and for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. He will also review his availability for both the teams after the end of the summer.

Cricket Australia Chairman Wally Edwards said that he had followed Michael Hussey's cricket career with admiration in Western Australia. During the last 10 years where he produced his best cricket at the state level, he had also followed his progress in the Australian national team.