Date-stamped : 22 Nov94 - 14:26 England v Australian XI, Tour match Hobart, 18-21 November 1994 ====> Prematch Report, 17 Nov 94 Atherton Complains About Schedule England cricket captain Mike Atherton said Thursday that his team`s build-up to the five-Test Ashes series has been ham- pered by the schedule drawn up by Australian officials. Atherton said the tourists would have preferred to play a warm-up match in Brisbane before the first Test, which starts on Nov.25., rather than facing an Australian XI in cold and windy Hobart from Friday. England will instead play a warm-up match in Queensland as its preparation for the crucial second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Atherton said he felt the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) had deliberately made life difficult for his team. ``It happened to us last time in 1990-91,`` he said. ``I don`t think it`s any coincidence. You just put up with these things. ``It would be nice to play a game in Brisbane before the Test match, but if you`re not given that, you just have to get on with it.`` England was defeated 3-0 on its 1990-91 tour when its itinerary was similar to this season. England is guaranteed a testing workout against the Australian XI, which includes several players on the fringe of Test selec- tion. Merv Hughes will lead the Australian attack, while the batting is built around Test hopefuls Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Damien Martyn, along with local hero Ricky Ponting. ``We`re ready for the bigger game now, but this one has a bit of added spice because of the kind of team they`ve picked,`` Ath- erton said. ``It means it will be a competitive game.`` England vice-captain Alec Stewart will return to his opening position after a three-week layoff with a broken finger, while the tourists have rested fast bowler Devon Malcolm and Phillip DeFreitas and batsman Graeme Hick. Former England captain Mike Gatting was left out of team and his omission makes it almost impossible for the 37-year-old to be considered for the Test side. Instead, the selectors have decided on a final eliminator between John Crawley and Craig White for the No. 6 spot. Teams: Australian XI: Matthew Hayden, Greg Blewett, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn (captain), Ricky Ponting, Stuart Law, Gavin Robert- son, Paul Reiffel, Merv Hughes, Mark Atkinson, Jo Angel. England: Mike Atherton (captain), Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe, Graham Gooch, John Crawley, Craig White, Steve Rhodes, Darren Gough, Martin McCague, Joey Benjamin, Phil Tufnell. Source :: AP Worldstream Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 1, 18 Nov 94 Martyn Scores Century As Australian XI Takes Charge Damien Martyn staked strong claim for a place in the Aus- tralian team for the first cricket Test when he scored a centu- ry Friday, first day of the day match between an Australian XI and England at Bellerive Oval. Martyn scored 103 and 19-year-old Ricky Ponting added 71 from 118 balls as the second-string Aus- tralian team carved up the England attack. The Australian XI was 327 for five wickets at stumps after four players had passed the half-century mark. Stuart Law was un- beaten on 54 at stumps, with Mark Atkinson on 25. The match is England`s last warm-up for the first Test of the five-Test Ashes series, which begins Nov.25 in Brisbane. England has pinned much of its hopes for the Ashes series on the sheer pace of Devon Malcolm and Darren Gough but Gough was caned by Martyn and Ponting during the middle session. The Yorkshireman`s five overs cost him 35 runs, including six boundaries, four com- ing from the bat of West Australian Martyn. Martyn was a star of the Australian team in the 1992-93 summer but lost his way last season, caught between his natural aggres- sion and the need to be patient. ``You have to find your game and I analyzed everything I was doing during the winter,`` Martyn said. with a century for the day.`` Martyn struck 14 boundaries from the 153 balls he faced and the fourth-wicket pair dampened England`s hopes of a good perfor- mance after the score slipped to 99 for three in the first 30 minutes after lunch. Matthew Hayden (eight) and Justin Langer (10) both failed to make an impact while Greg Blewett made 53. Hayden fell to Martin McCague in the first 15 minutes of play, while Langer struggled for an hour before he edged a catch to wicketkeeper Steve Rhodes from the bowling of medium-pacer Craig White. Blewett was out after lunch, bowled by the dangerous McCague, but then Martyn and Ponting began to take charge, sharing a stand of 132 off just 32 overs. Martyn fell to spinner Phil Tufnell after tea when he advanced down the pitch and aimed towards wide long-on. He was was bowled leg-stump. Ponting became McCague`s third victim, caught behind by Rhodes _ although he was clearly unhappy with the decision. McCague finished with figures of three for 89, but his team- mates were less impressive. Source :: AP Worldstream Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 2, 19 Nov 94 Jo Angel and Paul Reiffel grabbed three and two wickets respec- tively while Merv Hughes` haul of 3-46 from 15 overs should have included the wicket of reprieved Tufnell. At the start of the tour, captain Mike Atherton said he felt Australian crowds were dismissive of English cricket. Saturday`s performance did little to dispel the opinion the tour- ists will be hard-pressed to compete for the Ashes. Only Graeme Hick was missing from the likely top six for the first Test. Atherton (2) and Alec Stewart (27) both fell before lunch while Graham Thorpe (19), Gooch (50) and John Crawley (14) made starts without building an innings. Gooch`s half-century contained six boundaries and one six but the former captain ended a bright innings with probably the worst shot played all day. The veteran 41-year-old swung across the line at Reiffel and lost his middle stump as he tried to hit the ball through mid-wicket. Atherton tried to blast a drive through cover and was brilli- antly caught low to his left by Reiffel at third slip, leaving England 18 for one. Hughes added two wickets late in the day but his form was patchy and it remains to be seen if the Test selectors will gam- ble on his record of 212 Test wickets -- including 31 in the last Ashes tour -- for next week`s opening match of the series. Of the other specialist batsmen, Stewart flicked a catch to mid-wicket while Thorpe lost his middle stump to a swinging delivery from Angel. Crawley was stumped off the spin of Pakistan tourist Gavin Robertson and the first six batsmen were all back in the pavilion with just 152 runs on the board on a pitch rated one of the best in the country. Source : AFP Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu) ====> Day 4, 21 Nov 94 Stewart`s innings was the highlight of a drab final day that was frequently interrupted by rain. The Australian XI had enforced the follow-on when test discard Merv Hughes removed Steven Rhodes in the third over of the morn- ing following a gutsy innings of 50 by the wicketkeeper which in- cluded four fours in 169 minutes. That gave Hughes, who was overlooked by the Australian selec- tors for the Brisbane test, figures of four for 51, whilst fellow pace bowler Jo Angel finished with three for 36. Stewart and Atherton were aided by five breaks for rain during the afternoon, England batted in much more accomplished fashion in their second innings. Atherton miscued a pull at medium-pacer Greg Blewett to be caught by Hughes at mid-off for 49 after facing 137 balls and hitting five fours. Graham Thorpe, who finished on 48 not out then took the oppor- tunity for some valuable batting practice as he and Stewart put together an unbroken stand of 76. Atherton said England`s batting order would be decided later in the week. ``Alec looked in good touch and he timed the ball well,`` Ath- erton told reporters before hinting that it would be Stewart rather than Gooch who would get the opener`s berth. ``I thought Alec looked in good nick in the first innings as well - it just shows what a little rest can do.`` Atherton was relieved his side had forced the draw and com- mented: ``Once they had enforced the follow-on, if they got a few early wickets they would be going for the win so we had to make sure we played with some pride. ``Keith Fletcher expressed his thoughts on our performance on Friday and Saturday and it`s not an effort we want repeated too often as it was sub-standard.`` But he added: ``We`re looking forward to the test match now and I hope that with the big crowds and the fact that it`s the first Ashes test of the series means there`s no need for motiva- tion and that it will draw some extra out of our players - I`m sure it will. ``We`ve got to play as though our lives depend on those five days of test cricket. `` Source :: Reuter Contributed by Ram.Krishnan (rkrishna@garnet.acns.fsu.edu)