Malinga vows to be fast and furious

Brisbane: Sri Lanka pace spearhead Lasith Malinga has vowed to go hammer and tongs at the Australian batsmen in the two-Test series getting underway here Thursday. Malinga will make his first tour appearance in the three-day match against Queensland at the Allan Border field starting here Friday. The Australians named four fast bowlers in their 13-man Test squad on Thursday, but Malinga believes he can generate more pace than he did on Sri Lanka’s last tour here in 2004. “I have more pace now than last time we played here. I think maybe I can hit around 140kmph now — I want more pace,” Malinga said. “All fast bowlers are fond of the bouncer. I am the same. We are going to be very attacking.”

Captain Mahela Jayawardene has promised his side would give as good as the got from Australia his summer.

“That’s important… That you don’t lose your cool. That’s the seniors’ responsibility to guide the guys through periods in difficult situations,” Jayawardene said.

Jayawardene warned of a new and improved Malinga for the Australian tour.

“He’s learned a lot in the last three years since he has been here,” he said.
“He has learned to adjust to different conditions. Now he’s got the ability to control his aggression, which is a good thing.

“Malinga is one of our attacking options, but we don’t want to put a lot of pressure on the young guys,” he said.

Book traces bonhomie

Sydney: The Indian subcontinent has transformed from a cricketing afterthought in Australia to a financial powerhouse increasingly important to players and officials Down Under, a history of Cricket Australia (CA) reveals. The book, Inside Story, by Gideon Haigh and David Frith examines the archives of CA, formerly the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), to present a warts-and-all account of the game’s history.

Until the 1950s, the book says, Australian cricket administrators “manifested little interest in the cricket world beyond the ‘Anglosphere’,” — England, New Zealand and apartheid-era South Africa. Relations with India were almost non-existent. However, as a sign of changing times, Australia this year altered their traditional Test schedule to accommodate India’s visit beginning on December 26.

MSK to lead

Vijaywada: M.S.K. Prasad will lead the Andhra Ranji team in the Elite B trophy matches for the season 2007-2008. Y. Gnaneswara Rao will be his deputy for the season, V Chamundeswaranath, general secretary, Andhra Cricket Association, said in a press release here. Andhra will play against Punjab at Amritsar from November 3-6 and against Uttar Pradesh at Anantapur from November 15-18, according to a release.