Ashes 2013: Michael Clarke century puts Australia on top

 


Captain Michael Clarke scored a vital century as Australia breathed life into their Ashes campaign by dominating the opening day of the third Test against England.

Trailing 2-0 and needing a win to have any chance of regaining the Ashes, Australia won the toss and reached 303-3 by the close at Old Trafford, with Clarke unbeaten on 125 and Steve Smith 70.

The pair put on an unbroken 174 for the fourth wicket after opener Chris Rogers set the tone for Australia's first successful batting display of the series with a positive 84.

Drawing on all his expertise against spin bowling, Clarke got the better of off-spinner Graeme Swann in a fascinating duel on a wicket that turned from the start as he posted the first century by any Australian in six Tests.

But once again, in a series blighted by controversies, the day featured several contentious umpiring decisions, with both teams given reason to bemoan the decision review system.

Australia's leading Test centurions

41: Ricky Ponting (168 matches)
32: Steve Waugh (168)
30: Matthew Hayden (103)
29: Donald Bradman (52)
27: Allan Border (156)
24: Greg Chappell (87), Michael Clarke (95)

When Usman Khawaja was given out caught behind off Swann on the stroke of lunch - a decision upheld on review despite Hot Spot revealing no mark on his bat - even Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd weighed in on Twitter to criticise the call.

After the interval it was England's turn to feel aggrieved. Bowler James Anderson, wicketkeeper Matt Prior and the slips went up in unison to claim a catch off the edge of Smith's bat but umpire Marais Erasmus remained unmoved. Once again Hot Spot showed nothing and the umpire's decision stood.

England used up their second referral when Swann's lbw appeal to Smith was rejected, and were therefore powerless to overturn Tony Hill's decision not to raise the finger when Stuart Broad trapped the same batsman in front of middle stump.

Amid the turbulence, Clarke remained a picture of calm. Purposeful in defence and attack, he drove elegantly down the ground and through the covers and twice crashed the ball over Swann's head for four.

A nibble at an outswinger from Broad that almost caught the edge of his bat was as close he came to offering a chance, and when he brought up his 24th Test century off 169 balls in the evening session he was given a standing ovation by the 25,000-strong crowd.

Clarke's superb innings also helped ease the pressure on David Warner, who was shown on camera fidgeting nervously on the team balcony as he prepared for his first Test innings since he was suspended for punching England's Joe Root.

Warner's recall was one of three changes for Australia, who brought in off-spinner Nathan Lyon and left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc for Ashton Agar and James Pattinson. Kevin Pietersen passed a fitness test to take his place in an unchanged England side.

The Ashes

1st Test: England won by 14 runs, Trent Bridge
2nd Test: England won by 347 runs, Lord's
3rd Test: 1-5 August, Old Trafford
4th Test: 9-13 August, Chester-le-Street
5th Test: 21-25 August, The Oval

After Clarke won the toss for the first time in the series, Australia's under-pressure openers put on 76 for the first wicket to lay down an ideal platform for a solid total.

Rogers, twice dismissed softly and cheaply by Swann in Australia's 347-run defeat at Lord's, took the attack to the England bowling as he brought up his fifty off 49 balls with his third four in the space of four deliveries from Anderson.

Shane Watson was the first to fall to a fine piece of bowling by Tim Bresnan, who got a ball to shape away from the right-hander, inducing a thick edge to Alastair Cook at slip.

Khawaja had just survived a big lbw appeal by Swann when he drove lavishly at a ball that turned sharply away from him and was given out caught behind by Hill. The batsman instantly sent for a review and looked astonished when it failed to deliver the reprieve he was clearly expecting.

Rogers emerged from the lunch break a different player. Gone was the confidence and timing he had displayed before the interval and in their place were nerviness and uncertainty.

He played and missed several times at Broad and Bresnan before swiping across the line at Swann and getting struck low on the pad in front of leg stump.

At 129-3, England sensed another Australia collapse, but Clarke's brilliance and Smith's good fortune ensured the day took a very different course.

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Ashes 2013: Chris Rogers praises centurion Michael Clarke

Australia opener Chris Rogers hailed Michael Clarke's century on day one of the third Ashes Test as a "massive" moment in the series.

Skipper Clarke made an unbeaten 125 at Old Trafford as the tourists finished the day on 303-3, Rogers making 84.

"For him to get big runs is massive for us - if he scores runs it makes it easier," said Rogers, whose side are 2-0 down in the series.

"We need him scoring runs because a lot of the guys are still learning."

Rogers had scored only 89 runs in his first four Ashes innings but the normally cagey left-hander played positively from the outset on Thursday, after Clarke had won the toss for the first time in the series.

"I wanted to show people I can play an innings like that, that I'm not just a guy who will try and eat up time," said the 35-year-old, who passed 20,000 first-class runs during his knock.
"My performances haven't been anything to write home about and I knew if I'd had a bad Test I would have been under a lot of pressure.
"As a batting side we've been under a lot of pressure and copped a lot of criticism. But the pressure was off us a little bit and we could go out and play with a bit more freedom and it worked out much better for us.
"I needed a couple of days after the last Test to deal with the criticism. To have guys you respect criticising you, and justifiably so, it hurts. But it strengthens your resolve."
Australian legend Shane Warne spent time with the tourists before the third Test, offering technical and tactical advice, and Rogers said a change of approach against England spinner Graeme Swann paid off.
"We tried to rotate the strike and frustrate him a little bit," said Rogers.

 He's an excellent bowler and he doesn't give you much so you have to find a way. So we tried to be positive against him."
Nevertheless, Rogers said he was surprised by how much the pitch turned on day one, adding that this could play into the hands of visiting spinner Nathan Lyon, back in the side in place of Ashton Agar.
Meanwhile, England bowler Tim Bresnan, who took 1-51 from his 20 overs, believes England can be fairly pleased with their discipline in the field.
"We didn't think they would [roll over] - we stuck to our task well but they've played pretty well," said Bresnan, who dismissed opener Shane Watson for 19.
"The ball's not really done a lot off the wicket, it swung for periods but when the sun's good and the wicket's flat there's not a lot you can do, you've got to stick to your areas and I thought we did that."

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Laura Robson swept aside by Petra Kvitova in California

Laura Robson's progress at the Southern California Open came to an abrupt end when she suffered a 6-1 6-2 third-round defeat by third seed Petra Kvitova.

The British number one, who beat Kvitova at the Australian Open earlier this year, landed only 41% of her first serves in the opening set.

Robson found her rhythm in the second but could not keep up as Kvitova broke twice late on to win in 75 minutes.

Robson, 19, will continue her US Open build-up at Toronto's Rogers Cup.

Former Wimbledon champion Kvitova will play either Carla Suarez Navarro or Virginie Razzano in the last eight.

Robson has risen from 53rd to 32nd in the world rankings on the back of form that included a run to the last 16 at Wimbledon and victories elsewhere over Agnieszka Radwanska, Maria Kirilenko and Venus Williams.
However, she looked short of the quality needed to bridge the gap to the very top of the game as her serve misfired badly in the opening set.
Robson swapped breaks with the Czech at the start of the second, but was soon overwhelmed by her fellow left-hander to complete a disappointing follow-up to her victory over Japan's Ayumi Morita.
Kvitova said: "I didn't know exactly what to expect from myself because the first match after preparing for the US hard courts is always difficult, plus I lost to her at the Australian Open.
"But this is tennis, and every day is different, and that's how I approached the match. I played well and my serve was great today. We practised very hard on my serve back home after Wimbledon."
World number three Victoria Azarenka played for the first time since withdrawing from Wimbledon with a knee injury, and the Belarusian eased past Francesca Schiavone 6-2 6-3.
"Just going on the court and competing was so much joy for me," said Azarenka. "I missed playing and I was just happy to be able to do something I've been training for."

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Martina Hingis wins doubles match on return to competitive tennis

Former world number one Martina Hingis made a winning return to competitive tennis with victory in a doubles match at the Southern California Open.

The 32-year-old Swiss retired in 2007 but accepted a wildcard invitation to partner Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova.

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“After the first set, it was pure pleasure”

Martina Hingis

The pair took just 51 minutes to beat Julia Goerges and Darija Jurak 6-1 6-1 in the first round in Carlsbad.

"It was awesome," said Hingis. "To play with Daniela, it had to take her a lot of courage to dig me out of the grave."

The five-time Grand Slam champion added: "I'm very happy to have a partner like her. It makes it much easier.

"I was really nervous going into the match, but she was so solid and that gave me so much more confidence.

"After the first set, it was pure pleasure."

An ankle injury forced Hingis to retire in 2003 aged 22, but the sport's youngest Grand Slam singles winner made a comeback three years later.

She ended her comeback in November 2007, revealing she had tested positive for cocaine at that year's Wimbledon.

Hingis, a winner of 43 WTA singles titles, said she had "never taken drugs", but did not appeal against the two-year ban.

Hingis and Hantuchova, who are scheduled to play in in warm-up events in Toronto and Cincinnati before competing at the US Open, now face American third seeds Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears.

Asked earlier in the week if she was considering a return to playing singles, Hingis said: "Not at this point, no."

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Heather Watson loses to Alize Cornet in Washington

British number two Heather Watson went out of the Citi Open in Washington with a straight-sets defeat by French fourth seed Alize Cornet.

Watson, ranked 45 places lower than Cornet at 76 in the world,  lost 6-4 6-4 in the second round.

The 21-year-old Briton has been working with American Chip Brooks in Washington after recently splitting with coach Mauricio Hadad.

Watson is still in the doubles with Anna Tatishvili of Georgia.

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Doncaster sign One Direction star Louis Tomlinson

The singer has been handed the No.28 shirt at the Keepmoat Stadium for next season with the club hoping he will make an appearance for the Championship side

 Doncaster Rovers have confirmed they have signed One Direction star Louis Tomlinson as a non-contract player.

The club have signed the 21-year-old for the 2013-14 season and he has been handed the No. 28 shirt.

Doncaster hope Tomlinson will make an appearance for the club this season with the aim of raising money for the Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice.

Tomlinson, who is an avid Doncaster fan, says he is thrilled to be signing for the Championship side.

"This has always been a childhood dream for me," he told the club's official website.

"I feel very honoured to have been asked to sign for Rovers and being able to help both the club and the amazing charity Bluebell Wood is what it’s all about."

Chairman John Ryan, meanwhile, explained the reasoning behind allowing Tomlinson to wear the No. 28 shirt.

"I am honoured to let Louis play in my number to help raise money for the charity," he said.

"I wore this in 2003 for my record-beating appearance at Hereford and this is the first time I have allowed it to be used since but I felt this was a good cause."

The move follows on from last season when Tomlinson appeared at a charity match at the Keepmoat Stadium Doncaster with the club eager to continue their fund-raising efforts.

"Louis and I organised last season’s charity game, in aid Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, which was a big success with over 9000 fans attending," said media manager Steve Uttley.

"It was natural to follow on from that and Louis wanted more involvement to raise the profile of his home town club and Bluebell Wood.

"What started out as light hearted banter on text has moved on to reality, which is a great coup for the club. Our next step is to get Louis on the pitch again in a Rovers kit."

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Hilario signs new one-year deal at Chelsea

The Portuguese goalkeeper has agreed to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge and says he is looking forward to working again with manager Jose Mourinho

Chelsea goalkeeper Henrique Hilario has signed a new one-year deal at the club, the Blues have confirmed.

The Portuguese goalkeeper was brought to Stamford Bridge in 2006 from Nacional by Jose Mourinho, in his first stint at the club.

The 37-year-old has gone on to make just 39 appearances for the Blues but says he is happy to remain in west London.

“It feels really good to sign a new contract for another year at the club, I'm very proud,” he told the club’s official website.

“I'm really pleased to be part of this great squad and I'm looking forward to working once again with Jose Mourinho.”

Hilario's new deal means Chelsea are well-stocked for goalkeepers having signed Mark Schwarzer from Fulham as back-up to first choice Petr Cech and youngster Jamal Blackman also in the squad.

The Blues have also sent out Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois on-loan to Atletico Madrid for a third straight season.

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