The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Australia sitting pretty

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 28, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Australia sitting pretty

MELBOURNE: Australia gained the ascendancy on the second day of the second cricket Test against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here.

The Australian tail wagged in Michael Clarke’s company, taking the home side from its shaky overnight score of 280 for six to a competitive 394 before being bowled out.

Then Peter Siddle, who shared the new ball with Brett Lee, grabbed a wicket in his first spell and returned to add two more to cripple South Africa’s reply to 198 for seven at stumps on Saturday.

Earlier, Clarke’s unbeaten 88 (330m, 208b, 4x4, 1x6) glued Australia’s bottom half together.

The Australian vice-captain was more fluent than he was on Friday, but was stranded short of a deserved, gritty century, as paceman Dale Steyn finished with a five-wicket haul.

South African captain Graeme Smith made 62, but the Australian attack – barring Lee – bowled with discipline to trigger errors in judgment from the tourist’s batsmen.

Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz’s dismissal of Jacques Kallis at the stroke of tea – a stage when South Africa was on 102 for two – changed the course of the innings.

Jaarsveld included

Meanwhile, South Africa has flown in uncapped batsman Martin van Jaarsveld as a back-up for the injured captain Graeme Smith, whose availability for next week’s Sydney Test is uncertain.

Van Jaarsveld, a hard-hitting left-hander, will arrive in Australia on Sunday.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport