Australia rub salt in India's wounds, nominate Darrell Hair as umpire

Australia rub salt in India's wounds, nominate Darrell Hair as umpire
AGENCIES

HOBART, DEC 17: Australian umpire Darrell Hair was named on Friday to officiate in their third and final Test against Australia.

The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) announced that the controversial Hair and Zimbabwe's Ian Robinson would be the umpires in the third Test, starting in Sydney on January 2.

Hair officiated in India's ill-tempered match against New South Wales earlier this month, in which he and acting Indian captain Ganguly clashed.Englishman David Shepherd will officiate in the second Test starting in Melbourne on December 26, alongside Australia's Steve Davis.

Vishy's advice for Miller: Off-spinner-cum-seamer Colin Miller will use some advice given to him by Indian batting great Gundappa Viswanath in Tasmania's four-day cricket match against India currently under way here.Miller, who played a vital role in Australia's win against Zimbabwe in the Harare Test in September this year, said Viswanath was very helpful with his advice in Harare. ``He gave me a few ideas. Those ideas I'll try outin Hobart. It's a bit unorthodox but I am keen to try them out,'' Miller said without specifying the ideas.

Viswanath was making his debut as an international match referee when he supervised the Harare Test.

Miller was rated the best bowler for Australia in that match by skipper Steve Waugh, but would be lucky to make it to any of the matches for his country the remainder of this season.

Steve Waugh has already tipped New South Wales paceman Brett Lee to be Australia's fourth bowler in the second Test.

No end to Mark woes: Mark Waugh's hopes of finding form ahead of Australia's second cricket Test against India faltered on Friday with another failure in an Australian inter-state match.

Playing for New South Wales against Western Australia in Perth, Waugh departed with just one run to his name after a nervous, 23-ball innings.Waugh, who only decided to play the match in the hope of scoring some runs to boost his confidence, was out when he top-edged Matthew Nicholson behind with a wild cutshot.

Waugh is under pressure to keep his place in the Australian team for the second Test starting in Melbourne on December 26. The team will be announced next week.

Warne is a genius, says Lillee: Australia's record wicket-taker Dennis Lillee says Shane Warne is ``a genius'' and deserves to break his mark of 355 Test scalps.

Warne has taken 349 and is likely to break the Australian record inside the next two Tests against India.

Lillee said Warne was one of the few players who thrilled him. ``Few bowlers get me excited by what they do, but with Warne it's a case of pull up a chair and stay glued to the TV,'' Lillee wrote in his newspaper column.``He has that X-factor, or whatever it is, and from the moment he burst on the scene I've always felt the same way when he is bowling. I could not wish for a more worthy person to relieve me of the record.''

ACB cracks the whip: Shane Warne and any other Australian cricketers wanting to join English county sides from next year will have to undergomandatory fitness tests. The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) has laid down that players must be fit when they leave on county engagements and when they return.