Australia

Cricket Australia chairman Jack Clarke has said that chief selector Andrew Hilditch and captain Ricky Ponting have been unfairly criticised.

Clarke chose to draw on Australia’s past success as World Cup winners and Test cricket’s top ranking in his attempt to defend Hilditch and Ponting, whose field settings and bowling tactics have been questioned, The Herald Sun reported.

“Both men have been crucial to the Australian men’s team’s success during this period, and I believe that they have recently received unfair criticism,” Clarke said in a statement released on Saturday.

Sydney Cricket Ground is set to witness a ‘Pink Test’ match in a bid to raise funds for McGrath foundation, a charitable organisation dedicated to Breast Care Nurses in Australia.

Jane McGrath, who was known for her tremendous efforts as a cancer support campaigner, lost her battle with the deadly disease on June 22, 2008, leaving behind hubby Glenn and their two kids.

Aussie vice-captain Michael Clarke and fiancé Lara Bingle showed their support for the cause by posing for pictures to promote her legacy - Sydney''s "pink Test", The Daily Telegraph reports.

Infecting dengue virus-carrying mosquitoes with bacteria that halves the insects'' lifespans can significantly help limit the spread of the fever that effects millions around the world, say researchers.

Conventional methods for controlling the spread of disease caused by Aedes aegytpi mosquitoes, such as using bed nets and draining wetlands, often prove ineffective as they bite during the day and flourish in urban areas.

Researchers in Australia have discovered that growth rates among corals on the Great Barrier Reef have slumped to their slowest in at least four centuries and growth is expected to cease within 26 years, which spells disaster for the reef.

According to a report in The Times, the process of calcification, which gives the reefs their structure and strength, has slowed by 14.2 per cent in less than 20 years.

Late Aussie actor Heath Ledger, who has been nominated for a posthumous Oscar, has taken the lead in an Internet poll in the US, along with his blockbuster, ‘The Dark Knight’.

Ledger was selected in many categories, marking him as the choice for the best supporting actor gongs at the two big pre-Oscar award ceremonies, the January 11 Golden Globes and the January 25 Screen Actors Guild Awards, reports News.com.au.

Proteas pace spearhead Makhaya Ntini has said that it’s a war between South Africa and Australia after Boxing Day landed him another couple of wickets.

After dismissing Australian opener Matthew Hayden for the ninth time, Ntini said the Proteas deserved first-day honours in the second Test at the MCG.

“You must understand this is a war between two countries. Every single country wants to win every day,” The Age quoted Ntini, as saying.

Spin legend Shane Warne has advised under pressure Brett Lee to go into the Boxing Day Test and just let all hell break loose.

Lee was well below his match-winning potential in Australia’s record loss to South Africa in Perth, and Warne through hi column in the Daily Telegraph, is the latest player to give Lee a vote of confidence ahead of the second Test.

Australian players participating in the second edition of the Indian Premier League, which starts on April 10, could suffer greatly, because the postponed tour of Pakistan has been rescheduled to overlap with the event.

Franchise owners will see little value in signing a player who is not available for the entire series, having now lost the contingency of replacement options, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Social networking site Facebook has come under fire from Australian users for ignoring racial vilification on the site and allowing in racist groups which have been marked as offensive.

Alex Gollan, a Sydney-based Facebook user, who campaigned against the racist groups, has been threatened with violence, and he now fears that the site will be used to rally people for violence.

This week the site permanently banned one offender, but only after the racism issue came under the spotlight after revelations that Scots College and Kambala students had created anti-Semitic groups on the site.

A backlog of postponed tours and tournaments has made Australia’s cricket team embark on their busiest year on record in 2009, and skipper Ricky Ponting will struggle to spare a weekend for a barbecue. For about a year.

Ponting’s Test, one-day and Twenty20 sides will play up to 140 days of cricket across six countries and be on the road for a whopping 318 days in a gruelling itinerary.

The year includes a four-month tour of the United Kingdom from June to September, in which the ICC Twenty20 World Championship precedes an anticipated Ashes series.