Katich vows Aussie fight back in Oval Test

October 11th, 2009 LONDON - With his smashing 136 for the club side Sutherland, forgotten opener Phil Jaques hopes to register his presence with Australian selectors. It was Jaques' second century in as many innings since making a comeback from a career threatening back injury.

August 30th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australia needs a street fighter like Simon Katich to trigger a revival, after calls for sacking of Ricky Ponting in the wake of the Ashes loss under the Tasmanian's captaincy for the second time in four years Australian cricket has lost the ruthless cutting edge cultivated by Steve Waugh that made them one of the most feared teams, according to former players. Former Test wicketkeeper Steve Rixon said Ponting is a magnificent batsman, but he will never be regarded as a great captain, and added that Australia have lost their killer instinct under him.

August 23rd, 2009 LONDON - England's debutant batsman Jonathan Trott, who scored 119 runs in the second innings of the fifth and final Ashes Test match at The Oval, is related to a former Australian Test batsman, who played at the turn of the 19th century. Trott is related to Albert Trott, who played for both Australia and England and once managed to hit the ball over the Lord's pavilion.

August 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Australian opener Simon Katich, who top scored for his side in the first innings of the Oval Test (50) and is batting in the second innings with 42, admitted on Saturday that the visitors have an uphill task before them, but added that the will to fight to the end is still there. ''You never know, you just have to keep believing and keep fighting.

August 21st, 2009 LONDON - Australian captain Ricky Ponting has said that he hasn't thought about the final Ashes Test match at The Oval being his final Test match against England on their soil. Ponting is unlikely to play in the next Ashes series on English soil, which would be held in 2013, but he avoided declaring The Oval Test as the last.

August 21st, 2009 LONDON - England batsman Ian Bell has said that there is no need to panic, and pleaded with England fans to cling on to their Ashes dreams in the fifth and final Test match at The Oval. "I don't think we have thrown it away.

August 20th, 2009 LONDON - England off-spinner Graeme Swann believes the fifth and final Ashes Test starting today at The Oval will be awesome, sensational, brilliant, and a match that will be remembered as Andrew Flintoff's farewell Test. "You name it, it will have everything.

August 20th, 2009 SURREY - England captain Andrew Strauss reckons that the Freddie Factor will inspire his team to do well in the fifth and final Test match at The Oval. Strauss believes the script has already been written for all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who will retire from Test cricket, to produce another epic show in his farewell Test.

August 19th, 2009 LONDON - Australian vice captain Michael Clarke has said that his side has no intention of chasing a draw in the decisive Ashes Test that starts tomorrow at The Oval. "I don't think we should start that way, no," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Clarke, as saying.

August 18th, 2009 LONDON - England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff says his retirement from Test cricket will not be a distraction for the team in the last Ashes Test at the Brit Oval. FLintoff expects to be fit for the fifth Test against Australia that starts Thursday as he continues to battle with the knee injury that forced him to call time on his Test career.

July 10th, 2009 CARDIFF - Australia captain Ricky Ponting and opener Simon Katich, who scored unbeaten centuries on Thursday to take their team to a formidable 249 for one at stumps in reply to England's score of 436, said they were inspired by the painful memory of the 2005 Ashes series loss. Both veterans combined for an unbroken 189-run partnership in an attempt to bat England out of the first Test.

July 8th, 2009 LONDON - Australian batsman Simon Katich, who is Phillip Hughes's captain at New South Wales, has said that he had initially doubted the then 18-year-old's Hughes talent in 2007 Katich said he and Cricket NSW chief executive David Gilbert had heated arguments over Hughes in 2007, where Katich believed that Hughes was not ready for first-class cricket - as he could not handle the short ball, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. However, when Hughes scored an undefeated 51 on Sheffield Shield debut, Katich's fears were dispelled.

July 7th, 2009 CARDIFF - For Australian opener Simon Katich, participating in an Ashes tour is all about fighting back. Revealing that captain Ricky Ponting and coach Tim Nielsen have introduced a ritual within the Australian team, in which each player is asked to tell his teammates why the Ashes is special, Katich recalls that he has been telling his mates of a past that has left deep scars, but one that has helped him to become a more resilient character.

June 16th, 2009 LEICESTER - A spot in Australia's pace-bowling attack, it seems, is a more pressing issue for the team than strategizing plans to overwhelm the Poms in the Ashes. That's what pacer Stuart Clark says.

June 12th, 2009 SYDNEY - After helping Simon Katich sharpen his batting skills for the last Ashes tour, former Australian captain and coach Bob Simpson can again be seen helping the left-handed batsmen improve his leg spin for this year's series starting next month. Katich, Marcus North and vice-captain Michael Clarke have all been told to work on their part-time spin for the Ashes.