Injured Lee unsure for first Test against Windies

November 14th, 2009 SYDNEY - The overused argument that only by excelling for a national side can a player become valuable in an auction of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), is fast losing credibility, at least in the Australian context. Australia's current Test players are being identified as the poor cousins of fellow players like out of favour all-rounder Andrew Symonds, who continue to rake in the moolah because of their association with the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).

November 7th, 2009 more images more imagesSYDNEY - Australian wicket keeper Brad Haddin has said that he had received a call from chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch, which confirmed that he was the first-choice wicketkeeper despite Tim Paine and Graham Manou performing well during his absence. "This is when Tim Paine broke down after a couple of games in India.

November 5th, 2009 more images more images SYDNEY - Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke's back injury is healing slowly and there is a doubt over him taking his appointed place in the national squad for the first test against the West Indies, which starts from November 26. Australia's team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris last night could not guarantee he would be fit for the first Test.

November 4th, 2009 SYDNEY - Noted cricket columnist Peter Roebuck has criticised the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for re-appointing Jamiacan star Chris Gayle as the team's skipper for the tour Down Under, saying that he was an undeserving candidate for the post, and that Trinidadian Darren Ganga would have been a better choice. In a scathing article for the Sydney Morning Herald, Roebuck takes Gayle to the cleaners for what he calls his unprofessional approach to matters cricket in the Caribbean.

November 3rd, 2009 SYDNEY - Australia's wicketkeeper Brad Haddin returns to first-class cricket today and the injury-enforced break might be a blessing in disguise for him. Haddin is also planning to play in the Indian Premier League next year for Mumbai Indians who are most likely to secure his services.

October 27th, 2009 SYDNEY - The chairman of the Australian cricket selection committee, Andrew Hilditch, has given New South Wales opener Phillip Hughes hope about making a comeback to the Test squad for the Australian summer series against the West Indies. Hughes returned to Sydney yesterday to be told that Hilditch had informed incumbent Test opener Shane Watson to be prepared to bat anywhere in the top six against the West Indies next month.

October 14th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian leg-spinner Bryce McGain has criticized the Australian team's game plan of an all pace attack, saying that the selectors need to consider a change. Australia's all pace attack has recently lost Test matches against India, New Zealand, South Africa and a modest England side during the Ashes series.

September 23rd, 2009 SYDNEY - Skipper Ricky Ponting is worried at the prospect of facing an under strength West Indies side during the opening game of the Champions Trophy, which would be followed by the start of the Australian cricket season against the same team. The Australians' opening pool game of the Champions Trophy is against a Windies line-up severely weakened by a contract dispute, which will give the world champions a look at what side could arrive this November.

September 17th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian legend Sir Don Bradman, the country's sporting idol at the height of the Great Depression, has been completely ignored in the new citizenship test introduced by the Kevin Rudd Government. In the new test material unveiled by Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans, potential citizens would not be quizzed about Bradman, rather they would be quizzed on their understanding of their civic duty and the responsibilities of citizenship.

August 27th, 2009 SYDNEY - Former Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath has told left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson not to overdo or over think things and keep things simple if he wants to reach his considerable potential as a Test match bowler. McGrath, who has high hopes for Johnson and the other two members of Australia's Ashes pace attack - Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle, feels Johnson's potential, will be reached only through a clear head uncluttered by countless theories about his bowling technique.

August 8th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australia's fast bowler Brett Lee should take a lesson from England all rounder Andrew Flintoff, and think about dignified retirement from Test cricket, according to a former cricketer and renowned newspaper columnist. "Lee lost pace and even his temper as his captain looked elsewhere for wickets.

July 25th, 2009 SYDNEY - Former Australian Test opener Justin Langer has expressed his desire to play for the national team once again, saying he is ready to comeback from retirement to play in the third Ashes Test. Langer, who recently broke Don Bradman's record of scoring most first-class runs, said he is ready to play the third Ashes Test against Australia "for nothing".

June 25th, 2009 SYDNEY - Fomer Australian vice captain Adam Gilchrist has called for a drastic reduction in the number of Test matches in a bid to help preserve the five-day format from the Twenty20 challenge. Gilchrist insists the Test schedule must be culled, and that the ICC chiefs meeting this week should consider it.

June 14th, 2009 MELBOURNE - In a brutal assessment of fast bowler Brett Lee's form,ex-Australian cricketer and former coach of the Pakistan cricket team, Geoff Lawson has said that the 32-year-old quick wasn't up to Test standard and would have been dumped from the Australian team if injury hadn't forced him out of the game at the end of last year. The Daily Telegraph quoted Lawson as saying that he was stunned that Lee had even made the 16-man touring party.

May 27th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australia will play six Tests, 10 one-day internationals and three Twenty20s against the West Indies and Pakistan in 2009-2010. According to the Herald Sun, the summer will open with three Test matches against the West Indies, followed by three against Pakistan, the first in Australia since 2004-05.