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England think they might have found a new fast bowler in Boyd Rankin; now the task is to keep him on the field

David Hopps09-Sep-2013England think they might have found a new fast bowler in Boyd Rankin; now the task is to keep him on the field. On a day when another Australia quick, Mitchell Starc, looked likely to miss the return Ashes series because of back trouble, Rankin revealed the lengths that England have gone to in order to build up his fitness.Starc and Rankin are at different stages of their careers. Starc, like several young Australian quicks before him, is still at the age when stress fractures of his back are the likeliest danger of a heavy international programme. Rankin’s England career has begun at the relatively ripe age of 29, when back trouble is less common, but various ailments have necessitated that England put much thought into his individual training regime.A succession of injuries over the past few years threatened to render his debate over whether he should make the switch from Ireland to England pretty meaningless, but after a foot injury early this season he has remained injury free and two strong performances in his first two England ODIs, against Ireland in Malahide and against Australia at Old Trafford, have raised the possibility that he will squeeze out the likes of Graham Onions and Chris Tremlett for a place in the Ashes Test party.Before then, and a source of excitement, is a first England appearance on his home ground when the NatWest Series resumes at Edgbaston with Australia 1-0 up with three to play.”I have been set back over the last couple of years having picked up a few injuries which has set me back from where I wanted to be,” he said. “I have got over those injury worries now and it has enabled me to get a full season under my belt.”That helps in terms of my fitness and my bowling form as well. It has all come together pretty well. I had that time off in the winter to get my body right. It has helped me to push on and hopefully I can keep going.Watch England’s budding young fast bowlers get put through their paces at the national performance centre at Loughborough and gym work is never far away. For Rankin, the individual programme drawn up in conjunction with England’s strength and conditioning coach, Huw Bevan, is rather different. Rankin’s gym bunny days have come and gone.”It has been smarter in terms of the things that I do,” he said. “It is probably the stuff that I have cut out that has helped me stay on the park. I was doing a lot of running, squatting and lunges and stuff like that – all on my feet. I have cut out a lot of that and doing more cycling and swimming and trying to take the force off my body.”For a big lad I ought to be a quicker swimmer. Swimming is more for recovery and a bit of cardio-vascular as well: short, sharp, sprint stuff. I think in the past I have enjoyed going to the gym too much and that hasn’t helped me.”At the start of the season, a foot injury struck him down, a stress response of the second metatarsal, potentially disruptive for longer periods. “But it feels good at the minute and I have pretty much played the full season,” he said. “That is one of the things that the ECB have really helped with – getting the right bits for myself like a special insole and changing my boots.”It is not to denigrate Ireland to remark that the back-up Rankin gains from England’s backroom staff is at a level he could never have imagined over the water. He does not regret for a moment his change of allegiance.”It was a difficult decision,” he said. “I had played quite a lot with Ireland over the last few years including in World Cups but for myself I always wanted to play for England and push myself and play Test cricket which is the main reason why I have done it.”Everyone wants to play at this level and test themselves and I’m no different. I had got to the stage where I had to stop playing for Ireland and concentrate on playing for Warwickshire then force my way in to the England set up with good performances for them.”No sooner has he broken into England’s one-day side, he finds himself one of the more experienced hands in an experimental and so far vulnerable attack. England’s one-day coach, Ashley Giles, who made Rankin one of his first signings, from Derbyshire, when he took over as Warwickshire coach, will have observed his solidity and been grateful for that move six years ago.”I have had quite a bit of experience with Ireland in terms of World Cup which helps whenever you come into this environment, so I suppose with myself and Steve Finn in terms of the new bowlers it puts a bit of responsibility on me,” he said. “But I think I react well to that. When I was in Ireland I was the leader of their attack and I have done quite well when given the extra responsibility.”I would hope to have the chance to push myself into Ashes contention. These ODIs are a great chance to show what I can do. I am just trying to put a good show on and hopefully that would put me in good stead for the winter. I haven’t played in Australia before but I have heard really good things in terms of the pitches which should suit me.”

Angus Fraser described himself as “chuffed to bits” after Chris Rogers was included in Australia’s Ashes squad

Alan Gardner24-Apr-2013Angus Fraser could have been forgiven the sort of intemperate outburst usually reserved by fast bowlers for fielders who drop catches but Middlesex’s director of cricket, and a man who knows what it is like to contest an Ashes series, was not going to spoil Chris Rogers’ day. Fraser described himself as “chuffed to bits” after Rogers was included in Australia’s Ashes squad and said plans were in place for the county to sign a replacement overseas player.Rogers is Middlesex’s Championship captain and opener, as well as their most prolific run-scorer for the past two seasons, but his involvement in the Ashes means he will be unavailable for at least four games – against Warwickshire, Sussex, Durham and Derbyshire – between July 10 and August 25. Middlesex have won both their opening fixtures to make them the subject of early title chatter and Fraser was confident they can cope without Rogers during a crucial period of the season.”We were prepared for it,” Fraser said. “I know Chris said he thought his international days had been over but we had given it some thought and realised over the winter, watching Australia’s results, that he could well come into contention. So we have been speaking to other people and had other things in place and we’re now following those up so hopefully we’ll be able to cater for Chris being away.”The Ashes is quite short and sharp so, looking at the County Championship, Chris would probably only miss four games, which means he would then come back for our last four fixtures, hopefully. We’ve got contingency plans in place but we’re delighted for him. Some Middlesex members might feel ‘We’ve lost our captain, someone who’s been integral over the last two years’ but we want everyone at the club to achieve what they want to achieve on a cricket field. We’re chuffed to bits for Chris and want to see him do well.”Rogers has played one previous Test for Australia, against India in 2008, but his form in England, where he has scored more than 9,000 runs for four counties, prompted Australia to turn to the 35-year-old again; two weeks ago, he made a half-century in each innings as Middlesex won at Trent Bridge, venue for the first Ashes Test. Should he be involved for the whole series, he could conceivably return for Middlesex’s Championship fixture against Somerset, which begins three days after the conclusion of the fifth Test at The Oval.While Middlesex would not be drawn on who his replacement would be. Adam Voges, who was also an outside bet for Ashes inclusion, has been signed for the FLt20 and extending that deal is a possibility. Voges bats in the middle-order, as does Eoin Morgan, who will return from the IPL towards the end of May, but Joe Denly is capable of opening, while Paul Stirling, Adam Rossington and Adam London provide options from within the second XI.”We’ve obviously had a very good start to the season and Chris has played an important role in that,” Fraser said. “We’ve got another six games before he departs, I believe, and that takes us to halfway through the season. We want to do well in those six games and the person that comes in to replace Chris while he’s away, we’ll hope he can fill the void. You can lose players through injury – we’ve got a squad and expect some of our younger players to come in and perform, should any openings appear. We’re hopeful that we’re not going to be short of a class batsman for any part of the season.”

Kyle Coetzer struck a brilliant unbeaten century as Northamptonshire thrashed Worcestershire by seven wickets to win their fifth Yorkshire Bank 40 game in arow.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2013Northamptonshire 188-3 (Coetzer 105*) beat Worcestershire 187-8 (Fell 55, Azharullah 4-38) by four wickets
ScorecardKyle Coetzer continued Northants’ fine season with an unbeaten century•Northamptonshire CCCKyle Coetzer struck a brilliant unbeaten century as Northamptonshire thrashed Worcestershire by seven wickets to win their fifth Yorkshire Bank 40 game in arow.The Royals’ innings never got going as they were restricted to 187 for 8 from their 40 overs with 19-year-old Tom Fell top-scoring with 55 off 71 balls as Mohammad Azharullah took 4 for 37.Unsurprisingly, the in-form Steelbacks chased down their target with 37 balls to spare with Coetzer hammering 105 not out from 110 deliveries to move the hosts up to second in Group A – three points behind Nottinghamshire.Fell completed the first half-century of his senior career off 63 ballsbut his innings came to an end when Azharullah’s yorker crashed into his offstump.Chasing 188, Northamptonshire lost Australia international Cameron White, who made 24 in the first game of his second spell with the county before he was caught and bowled.Kyle Coetzer then went on to reach 50 off 63 deliveries as his third-wicket partnership of 121 with captain Alex Wakely took the game away from the visitors.Coetzer completed his third century in domestic one-day cricket off 107 ballsbefore Wakely holed out at long on 43, leaving Matt Spriegel to nudge the winning run and complete a comfortable victory.

Arsenal were stunned in the dying moments of their last-16 Champions League clash, with Porto's Wenderson Galeno scoring a long-range beauty.

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Arsenal heading towards 0-0 drawGaleno scores 94th-minute stunnerGunners have it all to do at EmiratesWHAT HAPPENED?

Arsenal were heading towards a hard-earned draw on the road in a hotly-contested matchup on Wednesday evening. But Galeno took matters into his own hands in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The Brazilian picked up the ball on the left, lifted his head and curled a delightful effort out of the reach of a sprawling David Raya, in what was a stunning sucker punch to Mikel Arteta's side.

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Arsenal entered the match in stunning form, scoring 21 goals across five Premier League wins in 2024. But their European curse again came back to haunt them, with an inexperienced side on the continental stage unable to see the game out. Arteta's men now have a one-goal deficit to overturn at the Emirates in two weeks' time, as they look to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2010 – when Nicklas Bendtner was leading the line at the club.

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Before that, though, Arteta's attentions will turn to catching up Liverpool at the Premier League summit, who moved four points clear with a 4-1 victory over Luton on Wednesday evening. The Gunners will hope to bounce back from this defeat and make it six league wins on the trot when they host Newcastle on Saturday.

Ireland dominated the opening day of their Intercontinental Cup match against United Arab Emirates in Sharjah

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2013
Scorecard
Ireland dominated the opening day of their Intercontinental Cup match against United Arab Emirates in Sharjah thanks to an unbeaten 99 from Ed Joyce and half-centuries from the openers, William Porterfield and Paul Stirling.The openers were cautious against a spin-heavy attack after they were put in to bat by the home side. It was a return to form for the captain Porterfield who had three ducks in his previous five innings across formats. He and Stirling put on a patient 126 in 46.5 overs before Stirling fell lbw for 61. Porterfield missed out on a century as he edged quick bowler Mohammad Naveed onto the stumps when on 82.Joyce then took charge of the innings. His previous century for Ireland came against the same opponents back in 2005, and he could have completed his hundred on the first day if he had managed a single off the final delivery.Joyce has 28 first-class tons, and said he wasn’t too concerned over being 99* overnight. “I’m not nervous at all. I’ve never been 99 not out overnight before, but I’m just happy to have scored 99 – if I was to get that score every time I would take it,” he said. “It’s a slow and low wicket so if you stay in your crease it can be difficult to score. The lads had given us a great start so I made the conscious decision to try and score about a strike rate of 70, use my feet a bit and maybe take a few more risks than the others. I was a bit more attacking and that helped on that wicket.”

Defending champions Australia opened their Under-19 World Cup campaign with a comprehensive victory against England

The Report by George Binoy in Townsville11-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Travis Head helped Australia recover from the loss of four early wickets in the chase•ICC/GettyDefending champions Australia opened their Under-19 World Cup campaign with a comprehensive victory against England, set up by a powerful fast-bowling performance on a quick pitch in Townsville. Their top order struggled against the new ball during the chase, but that wobble was shored up by Travis Head and the captain William Bosisto, who played mature innings and shared a match-winning partnership.The tournament began in idyllic conditions. The Tony Ireland Stadium on the outskirts of town, surrounded by grass banks, trees and hills, was bathed in sunshine under a cloudless sky. A cool breeze blew through the day to take the edge off the sun. In perfect weather for cricket watching, a fair number of spectators turned up even though this tournament has had little publicity in Australia. Not many cheered when Bosisto won the toss, but that little bit of luck was important given the pace and bounce in the pitch.Australia’s opening bowlers – the left-right combination of Joel Paris and Mark Steketee – struck in their first overs. Paris, bowling with the wind, trapped Daniel Bell-Drummond, who had made 91 in the warm-up against Pakistan and is one of England’s premier batsmen, leg before for a duck with an inswinger. In this extremely professional environment, there was a reminder that the competitors are only young boys when Bell-Drummond came into the grandstand and got a consoling hug from his father, who has made the trip to watch his son play.Steketee, who ran into the stiff wind, took two balls to bowl Ben Foakes, who had made a hundred in the Pakistan warm-up but shouldered arms today to another inswinger. Paris and Steketee bowled with impressive stamina, sustaining pace and bounce through seven-over opening spells. By the time their partnership ended, England were 56 for 3 after 14.There was no let-up in intensity from Australia, though. Gurinder Sandhu, who had taken a five-wicket haul that included a hat-trick in the warm-up against Scotland, bowled faster and with more hostility than his team-mates. He was economical too and had figures of 5-1-9-1 at one stage, having induced an edge from Aneesh Kapil with a short ball.Soon more England batsmen were walking through the grandstand, not to meet family but to review their performance with the team analyst seated on the terrace: a reminder of how professional the boys have to be. Craig Overton held up one end for a while, hitting the legspinner Shane Cassell for boundaries, but the offspinner Ashton Turner broke England in two balls, dismissing Ben Duckett and Sam Wood in succession.Sandhu’s first spell was long too – it included the crucial wicket of Craig Overton for 35 – and he was quick to the very end, hitting the other Overton twin, Jamie, on the body with an accurate short ball in his eighth over on the trot.England lasted only 38.3 overs, which meant Australia were chasing before the lunch break. In those 6.5 overs, Reece Topley broke Jimmy Peirson’s middle stump, which one of the substitutes took off the ground, presumably to keep as a souvenir. Topley was fast but Jamie Overton was faster, getting balls to bounce as well. One flew over the keeper’s head. He and Topley struck again to reduce Australia to 30 for 3 by the time it was time for lunch.Australia lost another quickly after the break – the promising Kurtis Patterson – but things were about to improve. Bosisto did what was needed, to stay at the wicket, while Head scored quickly to take the pressure off. Head had made 87 off 42 balls against Scotland and today he ensured that Australia did not stagnate in a challenging situation.Head brought up his half-century off 52 balls and, shortly after measured celebrations, he lofted Craig Overton over the long-on boundary to seal victory with the first six of the match. It was no mean effort. The boundaries at the Tony Ireland Stadium are large.

Jonathan Trott has been ruled out of action for three to four weeks meaning he will miss the end of the English domestic season, after scans revealed a fracture to his right hand

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2012Jonathan Trott has been ruled out of action for three to four weeks meaning he will miss the end of the English domestic season, after scans revealed a fracture to his right hand, but is expected to be fit for the start of the tour to India.Trott took a blow from Dale Steyn during the fourth ODI against South Africa at Lord’s on Sunday and although initial x-rays did not reveal serious damage further investigation has found an undisplaced fracture on his middle finger.It means Trott will be unavailable for the CB40 final against Hampshire at Lord’s and the final round of Championship matches, although Warwickshire are on the brink of securing the four-day title with a game to spare.An ECB statement said: “Although initial X-rays were clear, a subsequent MRI scan revealed a fracture at the base of his third metacarpal. No intervention is required and the 31-year-old should be able to resume batting in 3-4 weeks and is expected to available for the tour of India next month.”Jonny Bairstow took Trott’s place for the final one-day international against South Africa at Trent Bridge and Ravi Bopara moved up to No. 3 but fell for a second ball duck to Dale Steyn.England are expected to name their Test squad for India next week before the start of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. There are a number of issues to resolve, not least whether Kevin Pietersen will be available but also the likely absence of Ian Bell for the Mumbai Test as his wife is due to give birth.

New Zealand will grasp any consolation after suffering the indignity of being bundled out for 45 in their first innings and avoiding defeat in two days will do for a start

The Report by David Hopps03-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Martin Guptill fell before New Zealand could open their account in the second innings•AFPNew Zealand will grasp any consolation after suffering the indignity of being bundled out for 45 in their first innings and avoiding defeat in two days will do for a start. They will resume the third day 133 runs behind with six wickets remaining after South Africa’s quick bowlers failed to repeat the havoc of the opening day.Their chief source of resistance came from Dean Brownlie, who struck a 44-ball half-century to be 69 not out at the close and collected a few bruises to show for his labours after goading Dale Steyn into a hostile conclusion to the second day. The bulk of Brownlie’s cricket until three years ago was played in Perth and it showed, too, as he prospered on the back foot, square of the wicket on the off side, in an enterprising post-tea innings.South Africa were architects of their own frustration as they dropped Brownlie, twice, and Brendon McCullum in the final session. Brownlie escaped twice at gully on 23, Dean Elgar and Alviro Petersen spurning opportunities presented by Steyn and Vernon Philander respectively. Jacques Kallis’ attempt to catch McCullum off Steyn at second slip was a worthier effort, but it all contributed to New Zealand adding 133 in the final session.New Zealand had batted doggedly up to tea, but they had lost Martin Guptill for nought, when he clipped Steyn to midwicket, and Kane Williamson, who looked in the mood for some prolonged blocking until a tempting short delivery from Jacques Kallis jagged off a crack to have him caught at second slip.New Zealand had lasted only 19.2 overs in the first innings and, if nobody seriously expected a repeat of that, they were vulnerable on a pitch showing signs of unreliable bounce. The strong winds which closed Table Mountain in the build-up to the game and cracked and crusted this Newlands surface threatened to have the final say.Only when Brownlie began to hit about him did McCullum’s mood lighten. For him to bear his responsibilities so heavily was unusual, but he was a new Test captain appointed in controversial circumstances, criticised in some quarters for an overly-optimistic attitude in batting first and then for placing excessively attacking fields in return. If he was ever going to begin a Test innings strokelessly, this was it.He fell lbw to Robin Petersen, his decision to review the decision owing more to his status and New Zealand’s plight than any realistic hope of overturning it. Daniel Flynn’s colourless innings ended with extra bounce from Kallis and an inside edge to the wicketkeeper.If South Africa were not hampering themselves by dropping catches, they were also making a hash of DRS. They failed to challenge umpire Ian Gould’s “not out” ruling when to have done so would have won an lbw decision while Williamson was on 4. They then wasted a review when Gould refused a catch at the wicket with Williamson on 9, the ball having brushed the batsman’s pocket.What followed almost brought DRS into disrepute. There was a delay of nearly five minutes before the third umpire, Kumar Dharmasena, gave his decision. In the background at square leg, as endless Hot Spot replays were studied, Hashim Amla’s long beard was shown as pure white and made him look like an ancient. There again, as we waited inexplicably for Dharmasena, none of us felt any younger.Final-session frustrations or not, South Africa must feel the Test is almost won. It was difficult on a summer’s day like this, with the Test entirely in command, for a South African player not to feel content, but Dean Elgar would not be happy with his world.All Elgar had to show for South Africa’s series-winning victory against Australia in Perth last month was a pair on Test debut. It was a tough ask, summoned to the tour late and expected to contribute to a series in the balance, and it proved beyond him.At Newlands, he resumed his Test career in rather gentler circumstances, but he could not take the opportunity. Five minutes before lunch, Trent Boult made one climb outside off stump and he edged it to the wicketkeeper. He walked off shaking his head, his prototype moustache accentuating a mournful countenance.Elgar got off the mark against his first ball, from Chris Martin, jabbing through square leg, but progression never really came. Two boundaries off Franklin in successive overs flew through slips and gully, one of them with only one hand on the bat. When he was 18, New Zealand could have overturned Rod Tucker’s refusal of Boult’s lbw appeal, but they failed to review.New Zealand’s seam attack had been on the short side on the first day and their ground-fielding had at times been deplorable. It would not take much to improve such standards and they did. Boult needed only one delivery to account for Alviro Petersen – the first ball of the second over. He had added three to his overnight 103 when he dragged on.At 38 years old and after 71 Tests, Martin is aware that not too many more top-order batsmen will fall his way before he calls time on his Test career. His long service was rewarded with three more good wickets. Faf du Plessis was caught at gully, searching for one, and he bowled AB de Villiers and Peterson in successive overs immediately after lunch before Smith’s declaration.Bare head glistening with sweat and thick white headband across his forehead, Martin bounded into the crease in the happy manner of a tennis coach at a private club, intent upon communicating enthusiasm before having a knock-up with the members. As far as New Zealand are concerned, the day amounted to more than a knock-up, it was one heck of a rally.

Daniel Brettig at Kensington Oval10-Apr-2012Surprise rippled around the Kensington Oval when the West Indies captain Darren Sammy, not Fidel Edwards, took the ball alongside Kemar Roach to begin the third morning. That surprise turned to admiration in the space of 10 overs of the shrewdest fast medium from Sammy, which returned the figures of 2 for 14 and set the hosts on the path to a commanding position with two days remaining.Not the fastest bowler, nor the most prominent exponent of swing, Sammy instead relies on unrelenting accuracy and subtle use of angles at the crease for his wickets. Ed Cowan was asked to play at only one of his first eight deliveries, but the ninth was delivered from closer to the stumps and on a line the opener could only nibble at for an edge behind. David Warner fell in similar fashion, pushing firmly at a ball of precise line and “in between” length and offering a catch to Darren Bravo in the slips. Shane Watson, also, could easily have been given out lbw to Sammy, who said his team had planned well.”I think the batsmen really underestimate me,” Sammy said. “They get through the quick men and see me and say ‘ah he’s not so quick’. But what I rely on is accuracy: frustrate them, frustrate them, take the ball away from them, then get a little closer, just in that little channel to play or leave. That’s what I did today and what I’ve been doing throughout my career, just putting the ball on one spot.”Warner is new to Test cricket. So is Cowan, and Watto [Watson] has just come back after not playing Test cricket for the last Australian summer. We all knew what to expect from [Michael] Hussey as we saw today, they call him Mr Cricket, he always gets Australia out from crucial positions. We stuck to our plans.”We noticed [Michael] Clarke and [Ricky] Ponting love the ball closer to them … we had our plans for bowling to them. Last night we didn’t execute properly but the plan to Warner and Cowan was to be a little fuller with the ball slanting across, and once we did that we got the results. So we did plan well for their batsmen and bowlers – we were prepared for this series.”Sammy’s decision to take the ball straight away on the third morning was also driven by the pragmatism that has characterised his captaincy. By keeping the runs tight at one end, he allowed Edwards or Roach to attack from the other, while also leaving them fresher if the visitors did not lose early wickets.”We had the two quick men, and it could have been a longer day,” Sammy said. “We don’t want both of them going at full steam, then we’ve got to make a change to myself and then the spinner, so the plan was to rotate the two early in the morning and see how it goes, and it worked well for us. [Economy] was considered as well, because they were going at four plus an over and you needed someone to pull it back.”I understand my job in the team and I just go out there and do it. Everyone will have their opinions but as a unit going forward, I know I’m a crucial member in this bowling unit. If you look at Fidel and Roach they go at around four an over in Test cricket, Bishoo goes at three and I go at two. So my contribution is crucial in the team set-up and I go out and try to do that every day.”Having top scored for his side on a third consecutive day of struggle, Clarke admitted his batsmen would need to learn to adjust their attitude and expectations to adapt to Caribbean conditions, which are slower and more awkward than they seem to have catered for. As in the tour match at the Three Ws Oval, the tourists found batting a struggle.”I think we, as a batting group, need to accept it’s going to take a long time to score runs,” Clarke said. “It’s a lot different to Australia where you can go out there and cream the ball and hit plenty of boundaries. As we’ve seen today, once the wicket does get a little bit up and down you have to be willing to bat for long periods.”Though Watson’s involvement in run-outs has become an unhappy pattern, Clarke denied it was a matter that the vice-captain needed to address as a matter of urgency, saying the run-out of Ponting was unfortunate. “It’s something we’d prefer not to talk about,” Clarke said. “It is a part of the game and it is unfortunate, you never mean to run anybody out. It was a big wicket, losing Ricky, but it’s no one’s fault. It’s a part of the game, you’ve just got to try your best not to have it in any form of the game. It’s hard enough for all the batters, especially chasing a total like that.”Every player’s different, everybody runs at different speeds and sees the game in a different light. I don’t think [Watson needs to look at it], it’s just unfortunate it happened today and that it was a good player in Punter [Ponting] who’s had a really good summer and is in pretty good nick. His runs would’ve been handy out there in the first innings but what it means is, he’s going to get a second chance.”

In a series speckled with Indian wickets, the spell Peter Siddle remembered most fondly was one that passed without reward

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval28-Jan-2012In a series speckled with Indian wickets, the spell Peter Siddle remembered most fondly was one that passed without reward. On the third evening of the SCG Test, he and Ben Hilfenhaus delivered eight consecutive maidens between them, squeezing Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir with precision pace bowling of the highest standard on the same pitch Michael Clarke had used to construct his 329.While no wickets were forthcoming during the spell, Siddle remembered it as emblematic of Australia’s bowling across the series, which at times reached heights not even the bowlers themselves might have thought possible. The bowling coach Craig McDermott has moulded the attack in his own image, and its combination of speed, swing and stamina has been a rare sight.”Just the way individually everyone has stuck to their guns and played their role perfectly at each end when bowling has been superb,” Siddle said after claiming the match award in Adelaide. “The batters have set us up at times as well and we just knew we had to go out there and be patient.”I think the best bowling spell we had was probably in Sydney when me and Hilfy bowled a partnership, we didn’t get any wickets but we bowled [eight] overs straight of maidens. I think that just summed up the summer and what we wanted to achieve. In every match that we bowled, that is what we wanted to go about it. That was perfect and showed what we were all about.”Siddle proved himself to be the rugged heart of the Australian attack, a position never more evident than on another late afternoon earlier in the series. Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid had pushed India into a position of power when Siddle burst one through Dravid’s defences, then stood crestfallen when replays revealed a no-ball. Redoubling his efforts, he proceeded to puncture Tendulkar’s defence before stumps, a mighty blow for India and source of a surge of confidence among the hosts.”I had to turn it around or else the bowling coach and captain would have really been on my back,” Siddle said, grinning. “Getting a wicket off a no ball and then getting one quickly around the corner is always pleasing, it makes everyone a little bit happier.”But I think any wicket, it doesn’t matter who you get, any Test wicket is obviously a good achievement it doesn’t matter if it’s Sachin or a Yadav at No.11, you want to get all 10 and you need to get 20 for the match, it doesn’t matter which one you get, as long as you get all 20 like we have been.”Siddle said the partnerships established by the bowlers had been a major part of the attack’s improvement on last summer, when England’s batsmen made both he and Hilfenhaus look ordinary by comparison.”There is always a lot of emphasis on batting partnerships and our big emphasis coming into this summer was bowling partnerships,” he said. “We went about that spot on and no matter what attack we had, we stuck to our guns, we did the job, and that was our plan, we didn’t steer away from that.”We knew every morning we rocked up and had to bowl in partnerships and be consistent and be patient and I think it showed in the performances. Everyone that bowled got the job done and lucky enough a few of us got the rewards.”Well as they bowled, however, Australia’s pacemen know there is room to excel further. Aiding this will be the return to fitness of James Pattinson and Pat Cummins, which would allow the national selectors choice of a fearsome arsenal for their next Test assignment in the West Indies.”The way we are going as a unit definitely but we still have room for improvement,” Siddle said. “We are going in the right direction. The good thing about the whole summer was the number of guys who played from [Mitchell] Starc and Jimmy Patto. There was a big turn around from the start of the summer to now but we never changed, we always stuck to the same game plan which was to be patient, bowl in good partnerships and we would get the rewards.”That showed no matter which line-up we put forward on game day we got the job done. At different times each individual got the rewards.”