Humanitarian gesture by Aussies

Sachin Tendulkar almost turned the clock back here on Wednesday when he defied another four-pronged Australian pace attack to put together a polished — if cheeky — 71 before he was done in by yet some more poor umpiring.

Eighteen years ago, he had indeed gone on to the three-figure mark, moving some of those in the fielding side to mark him down as one for the future. In 1991-92, he had faced up to Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Paul Reiffel and Mike Whitney as against Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark and Shaun Tait this time round.

The second innings however, continued an old bogey. Against Australia, Tendulkar averages 16 in second innings efforts, and as India desperately battled to build a big enough lead to stop the Aussies, he chose to play across the line and was trapped plumb leg before by Lee. For the record, Tendulkar did not disturb the statisticians as he fell for 13, still under that average dismissal rate of 16.

The maestro will now have to wait for the home series against South Africa to get to Brian Lara’s world record 11,953 runs as he has two Test innings left here in Adelaide and is 350-odd runs adrift of the Trinidadian genius.

As Australia battled to dig themselves out of a hole in this ongoing third Test for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the WACA ground here after having set off in chase of their world-record 17th consecutive Test, Ricky Ponting’s men have also been doing their bit for a good cause, this time for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Shirts worn by the Australian players on the first day were signed and donated to the RFDS, with the auction kicking off during the first over of play. The auctions, which close at the completion of the match, have sparked interest from cricket fans in Australia and around the world, Cricket Australia said.

Nearing the close of Day 1, the top bids on each of the twelve shirts had totalled over $16,000 — an encouraging result for the Flying Doctors. All proceeds go from the auctions will go to the RFDS, providing much-needed funds for their Australia-wide service.

The most popular players so far have been the captain and vice captain, with bids of over $2,500 for Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist-worn shirts, while Andrew Symonds has also attracted bids of over $2,000. Another item of interest will be the first shirt worn in the Test career of Chris Rogers.

Royal Flying Doctor Service national chairman, Tim Fischer, said the service was both excited and honoured to have its logo displayed on the shirts. "The baggy green cap and Royal Flying Doctor Service are totemic symbols in Australian history," Fischer said.

"It is apt that a cricket match played in one of the world’s most remote cities should commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which provides medical services to some of the world’s most isolated communities.

"Australians are justifiably proud of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Aussie cricket side; they are both uniquely Australian and great success stories.

Shane Warne has preoccupations other than cricket on his mind these days. Though he has quit international cricket, Warne is English county side Hampshire captain but they will have to start the 2008 season sans their skipper as Warne has signed up to play in a number of tournaments for an online poker company, according to reports here.

The former world record holder for Test wickets taken will compete in Britain, the US and New Zealand, but Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove was quoted as saying, "We’re confident he will back, but we’ll have to start the season with someone different. I’ll chat with Shane and work out a sensible cricket programme for both of us."

News Source : Samachar