Hilfenhaus, North doubtful for second Test
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 at Lord’s but they have a couple of big fitness concerns before the start of the second Test match at Leeds in Headingley. During the first Test match itself, they had been jolted by the injury to Ben Hilfenhaus as he had failed to take field on the fourth day of the game, and that had meant that part-time bowler, Marcus North had had a long bowl in the Pakistani second innings.
Now, North himself has joined the list of injured players as he did not come out for training after having his stomach upset only a couple of days before the start of the second Test match. Both, Hilfenhaus and North did not participate in the practice sessions and that meant that their back-ups will be on a stand-by.
Already, the Aussie selectors have sent an SOS to Andy McKay, who will act as a cover for Hilfenhaus. However, if Hilfenhaus were not to play in the Test match, then, there is a good chance that Peter George, who is a part of the squad may end up getting his first opportunity at the Test level. George was drafted into the squad as a tall, fast bowler, after Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris were ruled out of the series with injuries.
The other player who could benefit from North’s illness is Usman Khwaja. Khwaja is a back-up batsman that the Aussies have in their squad and should make it to the playing eleven of the side if North does not recover on time. North had had an ordinary first Test match with the bat, but had managed to pick up six wickets in the second innings of the game with his gentle brand of off-spin bowling.
Michael Clarke, who attended the press conference after the training session said of Hilfenhaus that he did not bowl in the nets, but he was in the safe hands of the physiotherapist, Alex Konturri. Clarke also added that Hilfenhaus has had a couple of issues with his fitness over the years and would be disappointed if he missed out.
After the greats like Shane Warne, Glen McGrath, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adam-Gilchrist-c918, Damien Martyn and Matthew Hayden retired from the game, the Aussies have been struggling to get their best lot of 15-16 players. They have given out debuts to many of the Australian players, and only in the previous game, one had seen Tim Paine and Steven Smith play their first game in Tests. If George and Khwaja play, that would make the debutants’ count for Australia in this series soar up to four!
Apart from the fitness issues, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 also spoke about the fact that he will bat at the number four position in the second Test match at Leeds. However, he added that it made no difference to the way he approached the game.
Clarke explained that it was at the start of his career that he really thought of the position in which he would prefer batting, but after making his comeback to the side, it really did not matter anymore. Clarke also said that both he, and Michael Hussey were called upon by the captain Ponting and told that they would be switching spots.
Ponting had earlier explained that the reason why he wanted Clarke at four was to get in the team’s best current batsman in this format a little earlier than before. Clarke also said that he was more comfortable with the ball coming onto the bat, given that the ball is newer at that stage. That is not to say that Clarke is not a good player of spin bowling, as he has had played one of the most wonderful innings on debut against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in India – a 150 at Bangalore.
Tags: