Michael Clarke aims for top Test ranking

ADELAIDE: Michael Clarke says his Australia still have plenty to do if they want not only to win back the Ashes from England but also to become the world's top Test team.

Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series following a 218-run trouncing of England in the second Adelaide Test on Monday and are poised to retrieve the Ashes they lost in 2009 should they win the third Test in Perth starting on Friday.

The Australians have proved dominant on the usually pacy WACA wicket with victories against England in their last six Tests there. England's only win in Perth came in 1978.

Captain Clarke urged his players to keep grounded as they look for one more victory to seal the series in the remaining three Tests in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

"I think we have to be realistic. That's our second Test win the past 12 months and that is not acceptable as an Australian Test team so our feet are certainly well and truly cemented on the ground," he said.

"There's a lot of work for us to do to get back to being the number one team in the world and that's our goal."

Australia are currently ranked fifth on the International Cricket Council rankings behind number one South Africa, with England third, and Clarke cautioned against over-expectations in Perth.

"It's obviously exciting that we're going to a ground that we feel so comfortable playing at," he said.

"But in saying that I have also experienced some defeats in my career in Perth so I'm more concerned about making sure we play the same brand of cricket that we have played so far in this series.

"I don't think it matters the conditions we play in, if we continue to play the brand that we have played.

"The positive is, we know the conditions and guys like Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle love bowling when there is a bit more pace and bounce, but I think the main focus is making sure we play the same brand and we're as well prepared as we were for this Test."

Clarke described Johnson, who has been man-of-the-match in both Test wins, as having the "X-factor".

Johnson took seven for 40 to destroy England in the first innings and has taken 17 wickets in the series at 12.70.

"He has always been an X-factor, with bat and ball. He's as good an athlete in the field as you'll see," Clarke said.

"Mitch has always had that. It's just about working out how to use him best in your team.

"Our attack right now really complements each other so it allows Mitch to be used the way I feel is best for our team.

"He's been our new-ball bowler, he's bowled first-change, he's bowled 12-over spells. Whatever's required, he can do that. He's been outstanding."

Clarke said Australia's two comprehensive wins had their origins in the last series in England in July-August, which they lost 3-0.

"In our opinion it's not a fluke that we have won the first two Test matches. It's hard work that we put in the UK and we thought we were so close but we didn't get over the line and we were disappointed not to have success in England," he said.

"So we as a team believe the work we have been putting in for a long period of time, now we're seeing some results."

England need greatest fightback,Matt Prior said

England are "in a dark place" after two "horrendous" Ashes thrashings but are capable of achieving one of the greatest fightbacks ever, wicketkeeper Matt Prior said.

After losing to Australia by 218 runs in Adelaide to slip 2-0 behind in the five-match series, a performance Prior labelled "embarrassing", England's chances of retaining the Ashes are fading fast.

With team manager Andy Flower calling for the squad's senior players to stand up, Prior said this week's third Test in Perth will be the ultimate Test of their resolve.

"How tough are we?" Prior said in his column in the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday. "We always ask those questions in the dressing room and in meetings.

"Now we have to prove it in the real world. We cannot run away from what is ahead of us.

"We know what we are up against. We like doing it the hard way and it does not come any harder for an English cricketer than having to go to Perth and win. But if we manage to come back it will be one of the best fightbacks ever."

Prior said some of the flak flying England's way has been hurtful, but admitted it was justified.

"People are questioning our desire and hunger and that really hurts because it means we have been giving the wrong impression but nobody wants to win the Ashes more than us," he said.

"The first innings collapse at Adelaide was as embarrassing a performance I've been involved in with England.

"We were horrendous and there have been honest chats and words spoken. Everyone in this dressing room has been in a dark place and knows the feeling of walking out to bat thinking: 'I don't know what is going on'.

"But you have to work hard and have faith it will change around."

Prior's fighting 69 and Kevin Pietersen's 53 in the second innings at Adelaide were the kind of performances Flower wants more of from his senior players.

"In these sorts of contests and series where the intensity levels are high, you do need your more experienced players, players who have been through similar situations in the past, to come through tough periods and play match-defining innings or produce pressure to create chances with the ball," Flower told reporters in Adelaide.

Joe Root, who will turn 23 at the end of this month, currently averages the highest among batsmen while senior bowlers James Anderson and Graeme Swann have been largely off-colour in the first two Tests.

"We've been outplayed in these two Tests, very obviously, and the Australians have outplayed us in all three facets," Flower said of the crushing defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide.

"We haven't been skilful enough for long enough to get into better positions in the matches. That's the crux there."

England need a quick response in Perth where Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson will again be the dangerman, having ripped England's batting apart so far.

"I wouldn't say scared," Flower told reporters when asked about the effect that Johnson has had on the batsmen's minds.

"He's bowled at good pace but that's what you expect in Test cricket. One thing I would say about playing fast bowling is that our batsmen have to display the combination of skill and determination to bat long periods against it."

Spinner Swann said Johnson had been the main difference between the sides so far.

"He has struck a purple patch and is bowling very fast," Swann told The Sun. "He might not be the most skillful bowler with what he does with the ball but he has that raw pace and is causing us problems."

Saina Nehwal says I have worked hard and prepared well for the tournament

KUALA LUMPUR: Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal and Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China have been put in same group for the BWF Super Series Finals, that will be played here Dec 11-15, after the draws were announced at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium on Tuesday.

Japan's Minatsu Mitani and Yeon Ju Bae of South Korea are the other players in Group B besides Saina, who is seeded second, and Xuerui.

"I have worked hard and prepared well for the tournament. I feel I am ready to challenge in Kuala Lumpur," said Saina in a statement.

Saina's first match will be relatively easier as she will face World No.13 Minatsu against whom she has a 3-1 record and they too will be meeting for the first time this year.

Next up will be Olympic champion Xuerui. Saina has a 2-5 record against the top-rated Chinese. The 23-year-old Saina will have a tough outing against the Chinese in their first match of 2013. Their last meeting was in the 2012 edition of the Finals.

Saina will finish her group encounter against World No.7 Yeon, against whom she has a 5-4 win-loss record.

Saina said there won't be any easy matches.

"Whatever the draw is, there will be no easy matches in the Superseries finals and I am completely prepared for it. I will take each match as it comes and give my best," said Saina.

China's Shixian Wang, Thai Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, South Korean Ji Hyun Sung and Chinese Taipei's Tzu Ying Tai are in Group A of the year-ending $500,000 showpiece event. The top two from each group will progress to the semi-finals.

Though Saina has not won a single tournament this year, she has maintained the No.2 position in the Super Series rankings this season, enabling her to qualify for the Dec 11-15 tournament.

With three Super Series semi-final appearances in the 12-leg calendar, Saina, an Olympic bronze medallist qualified quiet for the tourney where she finished runners up two years ago in 2011.

Saina, who is also a two-time semi-finalist here, does have a good chance if she finds her footing and form at the event which pits the eight best players of the current year.

Chinese Taipei's Tai, who won the Malaysia Open, is lucky to enter the event because tournament regulations stipulate a maximum of two players per country, automatically ruling out No.8 Yihan Wang with compatriots Shixian and Xuerui ahead of her.

Ashes second Test Australia thrash England

ADELAIDE: Australia wrapped up a comprehensive 218-run victory over England on Monday to take a 2-0 series lead, leaving them on the brink of reclaiming the Ashes from their fierce rivals.

The home team claimed the four remaining wickets in just under an hour on the final morning in Adelaide and are now just one victory away from winning back the famous urn after three consecutive series defeats.

It was a second emphatic defeat for England after they lost the first Test in Brisbane by 381 runs and the tourists must regroup before the third match of the series, which starts in Perth on Friday. England have only won once in 12 Tests on the traditionally pacy WACA pitch.

"I think that something that is most pleasing is we are finally getting some results," said Australian skipper Michael Clarke.

But he added: "I think we have to be realistic. That's our second Test win in the past 12 months -- certainly not a record we're proud of.

"There's a lot of work for us to do to get back to being the number one team in the world and that's our goal."

England captain Alastair Cook admitted his side lost the game on the first day when they were guilty of several dropped catches, allowing Australia to pile up an imposing 570 for nine declared.

"On that first day we had an opportunity to a put a bit of pressure on Australia. We let a few chances go, and they really made us pay for that," he said.

Cook said England's first innings total of 172 was not good enough. "You don't get too many chances on good wickets and we had the opportunity then and we didn't take it. I thought that was the main difference. Australia took their chances very well," he said.

"It's been a tough five days and we've got to look at ourselves, look at our performance and come back stronger," Cook added.

Under overcast skies, wicketkeeper Matt Prior showed defiance with 69 off 102 balls, before he became the ninth batsman to go.

Peter Siddle finished the best of Australia's bowlers with four for 57. Stuart Broad fell to the fifth ball of the final day after losing his battle of wills with Siddle.

Broad defiantly pulled Siddle's fourth ball for six and then repeated the shot on the next ball only to find Nathan Lyon at deep square leg and fell for 29.

England's Barmy Army supporters attempted to get under Mitchell Johnson's skin, but the pacer, named man of the match for his decisive seven wickets in the first innings, ignored them and instead peppered Prior with a couple of short-pitched deliveries.

Prior saw off Johnson and was looking to reprise his fighting unbeaten 110 off 182 balls to bat England to a draw in the third Test against New Zealand in March.

The wicketkeeper reached his 27th Test half-century off 88 balls with a pulled shot to the boundary off Siddle and he was severe with Johnson.

Graeme Swann was caught at second slip off Ryan Harris for six with the England spinner swinging his bat angrily at the stumps for playing at a ball he should have let go.

And Prior's resistance ended when he fell hooking Siddle to Lyon on the boundary rope.

Monty Panesar was the last England wicket to fall, hitting to Chris Rogers at short extra cover to give Harris his third scalp of the innings.

South Africa beat India by 134 runs in second Ind vs SA ODI

DURBAN: Batting prodigy Quinton de Kock hit his second successive century to set up a convincing, series-clinching 134-run win for South Africa in the second one-day international against India at Kingsmead on Sunday. 

South Africa 280/6 (49.0 ov)

India 146/10 (35.1 ov)

South Africa beat India by 134 runs

 

Man Utd slump to Newcastle loss by 0-1

Manchester United slumped to their second home Premier League defeat in the space of four days as Yohan Cabaye's goal gave Newcastle a first league victory at Old Trafford since 1972. 
The home side struggled to break down the Magpies, other than a flurry of chances at the start of the second half, with Patrice Evra heading against the post before the ball rebounded against Vurnon Anita's arm.
Newcastle struck on the break when Cabaye fired home Moussa Sissoko's cross.
Robin van Persie had a header disallowed as Manchester United tried to respond, but Newcastle held on for a famous victory which means home form that had been cause for concern for boss David Moyes is now turning into a crisis.
The Scot's side have dropped 13 points out of 24 in front of their own fans this season and suffered back-to-back league defeats at Old Trafford for the first time since the end of the 2001-02 season.
Wednesday's loss to Everton meant Moyes's side came into this game already trailing
eaders Arsenal by 12 points and in danger of being out of the title race by Christmas. At this rate, a top-four place will also be beyond them.
Old Trafford has been the site of many a late goal to deny visitors victory in the past but large numbers of home fans had left before the end, clearly believing an equaliser was beyond their side.
The same problems that have haunted Moyes all season were present here - a lack of creativity in midfield, and a vulnerability on the break at the back.
Chances were thin on the ground in a cagey first half, as Newcastle's five-man midfield worked hard to keep their hosts quiet.
With Wayne Rooney suspended, Van Persie's return after four games out was a welcome boost for Moyes and the Dutchman was expected to provide the spark in attack.
There was little inspiration in that department, however, and a tame Phil Jones shot from the edge of the area was the only time Krul had to make a save in the first half.
In fact it was Newcastle who had the best effort before the interval, when Mathieu Debuchy found space to fire in a shot from the right of the area that was pushed away by David De Gea.
Manchester United looked more like their old selves at the start of the second half, when Javier Hernandez tested Krul and Evra's
header was only kept out by a combination of the post and Anita.
But Newcastle survived and hit back in style just after the hour mark when Sissoko escaped down the right and found Cabaye waiting to fire home from his pull-back.
And, for the third time on home soil this season, there was to be no Manchester United comeback.
Van Persie had a goal ruled out for offside, Adnan Januzaj was denied by Krul and substitute Wilfried Zaha curled a shot wide but, in truth, Newcastle did not face anything like a late onslaught. Van Persie was otherwise anonymous, and this was a largely insipid display.

Feeble England could lose 5-0 - Michael Vaughan in Ashes 2013-14

England are in grave danger of being whitewashed 5-0 in the Ashes after a "pathetic" batting display during the second Test match against Australia, says former captain Michael Vaughan.

The tourists crumbled to 172 all out in Adelaide as they finished day three 530 runs behind their dominant hosts.
"England look as if they are petrified of the ball and that is a real worry," said Vaughan on Test Match Special.
"I can't see any other result than 5-0 the way this England team are playing."
England, trailing 1-0 in the series after a heavy defeat in Brisbane, lost their last six wickets for 55 runs as Mitchell Johnson (7-40) ran through their middle and lower order. Australia then reached 132-3 by the close.
Vaughan was alarmed by the lack of fight from England's players in the face of a high-class spell of fast bowling.
"It's been pathetic, feeble - there is no way you can protect this batting today," he said. "England would have been blown away on day one if they'd batted like this. They are mentally shot.
"Even when England lost 5-0 in 2006-07, I don't remember them folding like this. This is as bad as I have seen from an England side."
Vaughan, who captained England to their first Ashes triumph in 18 years in 2005, believes there were signs their standards were slipping during the 3-0 victory over Australia in July and August.
"The last three Test matches of the summer were the warning signs for this England team," added Vaughan.
"They weren't playing great. Their brand of cricket was poor - attritional and very negative. If you can't go out and express your game when you are 2-0 up in an Ashes series on home soil, when you've doctored your own decks, there's a real problem.