The Northern Territory news Fri 14 Dec 2012
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2012-12-14
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English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
Darwin
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Nationwide News Pty. Limited
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/243531
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/602617
52 NT NEWS. Friday, December 14, 2012. www.ntnews.com.au P U B : N T N E W S D A T E : 1 4 -D E C -2 0 1 2 P A G E : 5 2 C O L O R : C M Y K SPORT l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l ntnews.com.au Strike keeping pace with SA THE Territory under-17 cricketers are on the verge of another big upset at the national championships in Hobart. Fresh from a stunning one-run win over Western Australia on Wednesday, the young Strike are 15 runs away from beating South Australia. Lachlan Griffith and Kyle Scrimegour bowled the Croweaters out for 135 at Queenborough Oval in south Hobart. Southern Districts quick Griffiths scattered the Crows with 5-25 from 13 fiery overs. But the left-arm swing of Scrimegour destroyed the SA top order when he grabbed three of the first four wickets to fall. The Territory was struggling in its turn at the batting crease, reaching 9-121 when stumps were drawn on Day 1. Will Ansteys 31 at the top of the order stood out like a beacon as the Strike batsmen succumbed to SAs line and length bowling. Tailenders James Tate (4no) and Dylan Fuller (8no) need another 15 runs to snare first innings points. Strike coach Rob Elliott said putting together another 15 runs was a priority. Forget about what happens after that, the boys have to get our noses in front and well take it from there, Elliott said. Its not a minefield out there even if the low scores might indicate that was the case. The ball zipped around all day but poor shot selection had a lot to do with the low scores. Play continues today. GREYMORRIS Legends fear Ashes fiasco LEGENDS Jeff Thomson and Doug Walters fear Australia will have its arse kicked in next years Ashes unless it finds quality batsmen in a hurry. Speaking at a Melbourne Corporate Club lunch yesterday, the pair warned the old enemy would start warm favourite to retain the prized urn with back-toback Ashes series next year. Were in a bit of (batting) disarray at the moment. . . the only bloke whos doing OK is Clarkey (captain Michael Clarke) himself, Thomson said. And our bowlers have shown flashes, but keep dropping out and in. England, meanwhile, is beating India . . . on their own dungheap and doing it really well. Theyre coasting, theyre getting runs, theyre getting wickets and were going to get our arse kicked if we keep doing what we are at the moment when we have to front up to them in a double-whammy Test series. Top three under gun CRICKET TEAMS Australia:Michael Clarke (capt), Ed Cowan, DavidWarner, Phil Hughes, Shane Watson, Mike Hussey, MatthewWade, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson (12thman). Sri Lanka:Dimuth Karunaratne, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene, Nuwan Kulasekara, ChanakaWelegedara, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath. AUSTRALIAN captain Michael Clarke has told his toporder trio to start owning their positions. Ex-opener Phil Hughes has been recalled following a year out of the side and will bat at No. 3 against Sri Lanka in the first Test starting today, which marks the beginning of the post-Ricky Ponting era. Openers Ed Cowan and Dave Warner failed to give Australia a solid start in the three-Test series against South Africa, which ended earlier this month. While Warner and Cowan both averaged over 40 in the series, Australias first-innings starts of 3-40, 3-55 and 3-34 put the home teams middle order under enormous pressure. Ex-Test quick Rodney Hogg has labelled Sri Lankas pace attack as the worst to play in Australia, but anything resembling line-and-length bowling could prove to be a challenge for the home side if it bats first on a lively deck at Hobarts Bellerive Oval. Clarke is averaging a staggering 104.66 in nine Tests in 2012 but the No. 5 can hardly be expected to keep up those Bradmanesque stats for much longer. Warner has been given a licence by his skipper to continue to play his shots as Clarke revealed he had told his new-look top three to simply back themselves. There is plenty of talent there. It is about owning your position, making the most of it, Clarke said. Warner was caught behind for 13 and caught at slip for 29 in Australias 309-run loss to South Africa in Perth earlier this month. Sometimes he doesnt look great when he gets out, but the other side is hes got that X-factor, Clarke said. He can take a game away from any team in the first session of a Test match. Not too many players in the world have that talent. Allrounder Shane Watson, who made 25 and 10 at No. 3 in Perth, has been moved to No. 4. Clarke said he considered moving himself to No. 4. I always as a kid wanted to bat No. 4 for Australia, he said. I guess the older you get and the wiser you get, you work out that the number is irrelevant where you bat. Malinga not part of Test plans, says Jayawardene By ADAM SMITH SRI Lanka will not send an SOS to Lasith Malinga for the Test series against Australia, which starts at Bellerive Oval today, despite the super slingers record-breaking Big Bash performance on Wednesday night. Skipper Mahela Jay awardene who confirmed yesterday he would step down at the end of the Australian tour said the only way the coloured clothing specialist could feature in the series was if he put his hand up to play. Playing for the Melbourne Stars against the Perth Scorchers, Malinga took a stunning 6-7 from his four overs the best T20 bowling performance in Australia. While drawing praise from Jayawardene, the captain raised concerns whether he could bowl prolonged spells. Malinga played the last of his 30 Tests against India in 2010 and now concentrates on one-day and T20 cricket. I think Lasith has made up his mind. With the injuries he had in the last two, three years, it is pretty unfair for us to ask him to come and play Test cricket, Jayawardene said. If he feels he is 100 per cent, he will probably make the call by himself. He is doing something right now which is good for us. He is in our one day and Twenty20 teams and contributing a lot. Do we risk all that by playing Test cricket? Because Test cricket is about bowling 25 overs, we saw what (Peter) Siddle did the other day, he bowled 60. Can Malinga do that? I dont think so. Thrilling finish sees Adelaide struck down by Heat Brisbane Heats Joe Burns hits a six during his sides run chase against the Adelaide Strikers last night Picture: GETTY IMAGES BIG BASH LEAGUE SCORES BrisbaneHeat 7-186 (L Pomersbach 65, J Burns 37) d Adelaide Strikers 8-185 (C Ferguson 52, K Pollard 48; A McDermott 3-48, T Perera 3-27) by threewickets at Adelaide Oval. WEST Indian whirlwind Kieron Pollard played a cracker for the Adelaide Strikers, but Brisbane Heat pinched a dramatic last-ball win in last nights Big Bash League match. A day after arriving in Adelaide, Pollard smashed 48 runs from just 23 balls as the Strikers posted 8-185 from their 20 overs. The Trinidad star then took two clutch wickets and fluked a run out as Brisbane were left with four runs to win from the final ball. Brisbanes Chris Hartley hit the ultimate delivery from Striker speedster Gary Putland over cover towards the boundary and the batsmen ran three as Callum Ferguson dived to stop the ball. But replays showed Ferguson failed to halt the ball and, after an agonising minutelong review as players stood mid-pitch awaiting the verdict, the Heat were winners, finishing at 7-186. Brisbanes Luke Pomersbach exploded with the bat, making 65 from 39 balls. Pomersbach hit eight fours and two sixes to propel Brisbane to 1-105 in the 12th over. But in the next 14 balls, Adelaides Pollard claimed Joe Burns (37 from 30 balls), Pomersbach fell to spinner Cameron Boyce, and Pollard struck again to dismiss Sri Lankan allrounder Thisara Perera. The Heat required 14 runs from Putlands final over, with Peter Forrest blasting a six before Hartleys last-ball heroics.