Thursday, March 7, 2013

Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja in contention for Test spot ? Cricket ...

Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja in contention for Test spot ? Cricket News Update

Australian Head Coach, Mickey Arthur, has hinted at the possibility of including either Steven Smith or Usman Khawaja for the team?s upcoming Test battle against India.

The tourists have so far failed to make an impact as a unit, trailing the hosts by a 2-0 margin following the conclusion of the Hyderabad clash, where they suffered an overwhelming innings defeat.

Their problems are largely associated with dealing the spin threat of the Indian bowlers, who have so far done the bulk of damage. Ravichandran Ashwin has been the tormentor in chief, having claimed 18 wickets at an impressive 16.77 which includes three-five wicket hauls. He has been ably supported by Ravindra Jadeja, who is the second-highest wicket taker with 11 scalps to his name.

The Aussies have largely relied on the prowess of their skipper Michael Clarke as far the batting workload is concerned, who sits joint-top with his counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the top run scorer of the series (268).

With Clarke declaring his intent to come as first change in the batting order, it has opened room for the likes of Khawaja and Smith to stake a claim in the Test side. Both have not featured in the international Test setup for a while, with the former?s last game coming in November 2011 against New Zealand, and the latter?s final appearance dating even eleven months back.

However, given the poor form of Phillip Hughes, who has scored just 25 runs in four innings, Arthur said changes are likely to be made to the final lineup when the third Test kick-offs, from March 14 at Mohali.

"Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith have got to come into the reckoning at some stage," Arthur said. "When we have more of the same it will probably give us the same result. We are certainly going to have to have a look at what is our best top-six combination. We'd be silly if we didn't think about them. Whether they both play, whether one plays, whether none plays I'm not 100% sure but they've got to come very much into our thinking."

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Steven-Smith,-Usman-Khawaja-in-contention-for-Test-spot-Cricket-News-Update-a213944

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