Johannesburg, Nov 20 (IANS) Australian all-rounder Shane Watson admitted that he is doubtful against New Zealand in the two-Test series at home and even if he plays, he wouldn't bowl.
The all-rounder hinted there is a question mark on whether he will play in the first Test of the summer which begins December 1.
Watson tore his hamstring bowling on the first morning of the ongoing second Test against South Africa.
Watson was not confident of his chances of bowling in the first of the two Test against New Zealand.
"Most probably bowling will be out in Brisbane, but we will just have to wait and see. I am going to get a scan done after this test to see what extent but hopefully it wont be a real significant one that wont put me out for a little while, when I've done hamstrings in the past its taken a little bit of time to build up my work before I can begin bowling again, so hopefully it wont be too long," Watson was quoted as saying by The Australian.
Watson said he was trying to find a balance between batting and bowling and conceded that batting was further damaging his future prospects.
"I am trying to find a balance to get through this Test match and contribute as much as I can even if it is only with the bat and try not to do too much damage to give myself a chance of playing in Brisbane," he said.
2011/11/4 12:09:32 Sydney, Nov 4 (IANS) Australian vice captain Shane Watson feels cricketers found guilty of corruption should be banned for life.
Watson's comments come in the wake of a landmark judgement by a London court Thursday when Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer became the first cricketers to be jailed after being found guilty of spot-fixing during a series in England last year.
"In the end, I think a life ban is surely enough to be able to say to people that it is the wrong thing to do. It is challenging the integrity and taking the game of cricket down," Watson was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
"Whether it is jail, whether it is a life (playing) sentence, there is no doubt that the punishments are very severe for doing the wrong thing.
"Since I first started playing, you know that if you do something wrong in that regard you won't be playing cricket ever again.
"For me personally, it has (cricket) given me an amazing life and something I only ever dreamed of, so I would never want to do anything that even questioned the ability for me to be able to play the game that I love so much."
Watson was sad to see the punishments meted out to the Pakistani cricketers but said they deserved it.
"It is very disappointing when you see the things that have happened in England with the Pakistan guys and, in the end, they deserve the punishment."
Former captain Butt was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, while Asif and Aamer were given a one-year and six month term respectively.
Questions are also being raised on the instances of spot-fixing during Australia's victory over Pakistan at Lord's Test last year.
Watson, who took a five-wicket haul in that match, said he did not suspect any wrongdoing.
"No, not at all actually. I didn't think anything untoward at all apart from trying our best and them trying their best to win the game," he said.
"We have played quite a bit of cricket against them throughout the last two or three years as well, with the Test series in Australia as well as over in England and some one-day series as well.
"I definitely didn't suspect anything of what has come out over the last year or so.
"Hopefully, we as international cricketers can continue to build the game back up for people to continue to love the game and know that we are out there just giving our best every time and providing entertainment that people hopefully enjoy."
Fanie de Villiers offers help to struggling Mitchell Johnson
2011/11/20 20:35:26 Sydney, Nov 20 (IANS) Former South African swing bowler Fanie de Villiers is ready to help out-of-form Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson.
Johnson has hardly troubled the South African batsmen in the ongoing Test series in South Africa. He ended up with match figures of 1-144 in the second Test and is in danger of being axed for the upcoming series against New Zealand and India.
In a bid to recapture his form, Johnson shortened his run-up midway through the second Test in Johannesburg but that too proved futile as the Proteas played him with ease.
De Villiers, now a renowned bowling analyst, has kept a keen eye on the South Africa and Australia series and believes the Queenslander can bounce back from his recent slump in form with right mentoring.
"I would like to help him, I was a swing bowler for 19 years ... guys like myself and (Pakistani pace legend) Wasim Akram used to spend hours and hours analysing swing bowling," de Villiers was quoted saying by the Courier Mail.
"I can give him good advice. I really hope Mitchell gives me a ring. If he rings me, I can tell him what he needs to do. He needs to change.
"He needs to understand the way you run in, the way you bowl, how to use angles, and I don't think he understands it," he added.
Time to introduce reforms in Pakistan cricket: Sohail
2011/11/2 13:02:13 London, Nov 2 (IANS) Former Pakistan captain and opening batsman Aamer Sohail fears if the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) does not learn from the latest incident of spot-fixing, such things will continue to happen.
Sohail, who played 47 Test matches, said it was time for the PCB to make wholesale changes in the national team.
"We have seen similar episodes in the past. It all happened, but the net result is that it is happening again. Until you learn and introduce reforms and proper strategy, I am afraid it will continue to happen in the future," Sohail was quoted as saying by BBC.
"It is a very sad thing for Pakistan cricket. These three were very talented. People were expecting they would do well for the country. The loss of talent like this is really sad," he said.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq also added that the team was not distracted with the news of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif found guilty of spot-fixing by a London court.
Misbah said the team was fully focused on their current series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Misbah, who replaced Butt as the captain since the Lord's Test, has led the Test side admirably, ensuring that Pakistan went undefeated in series against South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies. Pakistan lead the Test series against Sri Lanka 1-0 after two matches.
"We have a good bunch of boys and everyone is focusing on their own performance and the team's performance. There's a good spirit. We know each other well and that's the key. The country's name comes first, people come and go, every player needs to remember that," he said.
2011/10/26 6:50:33 Dubai, Oct 26 (IANS) World champions India climbed to the third position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI rankings with a 5-0 win over England.
South Africa can leapfrog Sri Lanka and India into second position if it beats Australia in Durban Friday. Zimbabwe earned three ratings points for a historic victory against New Zealand in third ODI.
A clinical India has moved into third position in the ICC ODI Championship table after producing a world champion-like performance against England, which has helped it to wrap up the series 5-0.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni?s side started the series in fifth position on 112 ratings points. After winning all five ODIs, it has 118 ratings points.
In a sharp contrast, Alastair Cook?s side has slipped from fourth position to fifth after dropping from 112 ratings points to 106.
It now leads sixth-placed Pakistan by just five ratings points whose five-ODI series against Sri Lanka starts here from Nov 11.
However, India will slip to fourth if South Africa wins the third and last ODI against Australia in Durban Friday.
A South Africa win will put Hashim Amla?s side in second place on 120 ratings points, one ratings point ahead of India. In case of Australia?s victory, the Proteas will stay in fourth position but will drop to 115 ratings points.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe?s historic victory over New Zealand in Bulawayo Tuesday has earned it three ratings points.
Zimbabwe, which successfully chased a 329-run target to win by one wicket, moved up to 47 ratings points.
On the contrary, New Zealand dropped three ratings points and are now on 87 ratings points - nine points ahead of the West Indies.
Rankings: 1. Australia 129 rating points 2. Sri Lanka 119 3. India 118 4. South Africa 117 5. England 106 6. Pakistan 101 7. New Zealand 87 8. West Indies 78 9. Bangladesh 63 10. Zimbabwe 47 11. Ireland 41 12. The Netherlands 15 13. Kenya 0
2011/3/24 10:13:57 Watson to Sehwag, OUT, Sehwag is gone. He hasn't looked his best through this innings. Watson has got him with a bouncer that wasn't very high on pace, but was spot on with its direction. It angled in from outside off, cramping Sehwag for room as it came in, but he still looked to pull. The top edge ballooned up and landed in Hussey's hands at square leg, running back inside the circle. Huge wicket for Australia. I reckon, the huger one is at the other end though.
2011/11/18 19:49:47 Dubai, Nov 18 (IANS) Indian batting great Rahul Dravid moved four places to eighth in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for Test batsmen released Friday while teammate V.V.S. Laxman gained five places to the 13th spot following their centuries in the second Test against West Indies that ended in Kolkata Thursday.
Dravid scored 119 and Laxman hit 176 as the home team cruised to an innings victory over the West Indies at the historic Eden Gardens.
Another stalwart of world cricket, West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul (37), slipped in the other direction following his side's defeat. The Guyanese left-hander lost four places to settle for 10th.
Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara retained the top spot.
Pragyan Ojha is the main mover in the bowlers' rankings as the left-arm slow bowler gained six places to 26th position, the highest ranking of his career to date.
The 25-year-old took six wickets in the second Test, helping to give India an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
South Africa's Dale Steyn continues to be the top-ranked bowler.
Rankings:
Batsmen: 1 Kumar Sangakkara SL 2 Jacques Kallis SA 3 Alastair Cook Eng 4 Ian Bell Eng 5 Sachin Tendulkar Ind 6 Graeme Smith SA 7 Hashim Amla SA 8 Rahul Dravid Ind 9 Jonathan Trott Eng 10 Shivnarine Chanderpaul WI
Bowlers: 1 Dale Steyn SA 2 James Anderson Eng 3 Morne Morkel SA 4 Graeme Swann Eng 5 Stuart Broad Eng 6 Zaheer Khan Ind 7 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 8 Daniel Vettori NZ 9 Mitchell Johnson Aus 10 Shane Watson Aus
2011/9/30 4:34:37 India Friday successfully test fired the nuclear capable Agni II missile from a defence base in Orissa.
The surface-to-surface missile with a range of over over 2,000 km was test fired in Bhadrak district, said S.P. Dash, director of the Integrated Test Range at Wheeler's Island, about 200 km from here.
"It was a perfect launch," Dash told IANS. He added that the missile was tested at about 9.30 a.m.
The launch of the missile was postponed Aug 29 due to a technical snag.
The Agni II missile is part of India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
India had May 17, 2010 test fired intermediate range Agni II missile, with a range of over 2,000 km after two successive failures in 2009.
The failed tests did not meet the mission's desired objectives as on both the occasions the missile lost its speed and deviated from its flight path.
The Agni II version of the Agni series of missiles was first test fired in 1999.
2011/11/6 0:15:14 (IANS) West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss and opted to bat against India in the first Test of the three-match series at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Sunday.
Yuvraj Singh makes a comeback to the Test side while pacer Umesh Yadav and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be making their debut for India.
2011/10/4 11:29:49 The stage is all set for the inaugural Lanco International Super Series, which pits the best of contemporary hockey talent against one another.
The showpiece event will be held from October 20-23. It is expected that it will create media hype like no other for India’s national game like no other in recent times.
Hockey Australia has already tied up with premier broadcaster ESPN-Star Sports for exclusive live coverage of the championship. The Lanco International Super Series is a newly-created tournament, which has a revolutionary new format and new rules to make the game faster and more exciting. It is already being hailed as hockey’s answer to cricket’s Twenty20 format and has been named as Hockey 9’s.
Fresh from their Asia Champions trophy triumph, India will be fielding its full-strength men’s and women’s squads to the tournament. The men will take on Australia, New Zealand and arch-rivals Pakistan while the women will play Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.
Hockey Australia Chief Executive Mark Anderson is hopeful that the excitement will come as a welcome breather for the game. Kookaburras coach Ric Charlesworth said continual promotion of hockey in India was of benefit to the continual growth of the game. (INN)
2011/11/3 5:37:07 Mirpur (Bangladesh) Nov 3, (IANS/CMC) Devendra Bishoo continues to flourish as a legspinner of immense promise. The wiry little Guaynese Wednesday bowled the West Indies to a rare victory overseas with a career-best five-wicket haul against Bangladesh here.
Bishoo returned with five for 90 as West Indies won the second Test by a massive 229 runs to claim the two-match series 1-0.
Bishoo, the ICC Emerging Player-of-the-Year, ended with match figures of eight for 152, the best by a West Indies spinner in an overseas or neutral Test since his compatriot Lance Gibbs collected nine for 143 against India 36 years ago in Mumbai.
"As the main spinner in the team, I knew I would be called upon to do the job on the final day of the Test match," said Bishoo, who celebrates his 26th birthday Sunday, the day West Indies begin their three-Test series in Delhi.
"Spinners usually come into play later in the match, so I figured out what my game plan would be. I came to the ground prepared to do what was required and I'm very happy it all worked out in the end."
He said: "The captain kept on telling me to believe in myself and all my other teammates gave me a lot of support. That gave me the confidence to go out and do the job.
"I gave the ball a good 'rip' and also used my variations. We didn't just win the match, but we also won the series and this feels great for me as well as all the others in the team. As a cricketer the best feeling is winning."
Bishoo said he knew before coming on the tour that he would have plenty of work to do on spin-friendly pitches in the sujbcontinent.
"Before we left the Caribbean, we knew the pitches would favour spin bowling, so I expected to have a lot of work in this series," he said.
"No matter what the ball is doing for you as a bowler, you still have to be deadly accurate, otherwise the batsmen will pick you off and you would go for runs."
He said: "The captain kept reminding me of the team plan and he also kept telling me a wicket was always around the corner.
"My best wicket was that of the captain (Mushfiqur Rahim). He was playing well and we needed that at the time. When I saw the ball hit the stumps, I said 'yes'! I knew once we got him we could get through the rest and that's exactly what happened."
2011/11/17 12:33:02 Johannesburg, Nov 17 (IANS) The Wanderers Test here, the second of Australia's current tour of South Africa starting Thursday, will have added colour as it turns pink in support of the McGrath Foundation and the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA).
As an acknowledgment of the success of the Sydney Pink Test, now into its fourth year, the third day of the Wanderers Test will see venue, players and fans demonstrate their support for the cause by bathing the match in pink.
During the Wanderers Test, the Australian team will again wear the McGrath Foundation logo on their playing shirts, sign and donate them to the McGrath Foundation, and the Wanderers Ground will be covered with pink signage, shave and spray stations and pink breakfasts.
The Sydney Test during the 2011-12 Vodafone Test Series against India in January will again turn pink to support the McGrath Foundation.
The partnership between Cricket Cares, Cricket Australia's community action program, and the McGrath Foundation has raised more than $2.2 million since the inception of the Pink Test three years ago and has become one of Australia's most iconic fundraising events. The late Jane McGarth and her husband, former cricketer Glenn McGarth, had set up the Foundation after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland said the Pink Test has helped set a precedent around the world.
"The Pink Test concept has grown phenomenally in Australia since 2008 and the Wanderers Test turning pink is recognition of what Cricket Australia and the McGrath Foundation have achieved with the event," Sutherland said.
"It shows that, as well as the $2.2million the organisations have raised, the awareness for women's health created through the Pink Test reaches worldwide. I know the guys will proudly wear the McGrath Foundation logo on their shirt during the Wanderers Test and again during the Sydney Test against India in January when the Sydney Cricket Ground will again be covered in pink," he said.
McGrath Foundation ambassador and director Tracy Bevan is in South Africa as part of the Wanderers Test activities and is looking forward to seeing fans embrace the pink movement.
"To think we are about to head into our fourth year of the Sydney Pink Test is just incredible and it's been so amazing to see how the Pink Test concept has really been embraced by everyone in the cricketing community," Bevan said.
Brahmanandam is the most successful comedians in the Telugu film industry. So one may be a little surprised with the heading. What ‘Big’ test could this be?
The big test for Brahmi is that his son Gautham is coming up to test his luck a second time on January 29. The film is ‘Vareva’.
Gautham made an unsuccessful attempt with the film ‘Pallakilo Pellikoothuru’ some seven years ago.
So it is Brahmanandam who is all tensed up, more than his son Gautham. Hope Brahmi’s son passes the test this time.
Final scoreboard: India vs West Indies, Second Test
2011/11/17 12:36:30 Kolkata, Nov 17 (IANS) The final scoreboard of the second cricket Test between India and the West Indies at the Eden Gardens here Thursday.
India first innings 631/7 declared
West Indies first innings 153 all out
West Indies second innings (overnight 195/3) Adrian Barath c Laxman b Sharma 62 Kraigg Brathwaite c Dhoni b Yadav 9 Kirk Edwards lbw n Sharma 43 Darren Bravo c Dravid b Ojha 136 Shivnarine Chanderpaul b Yadav 47 Marlon Samuels lbw Ashwin 84 Carlton Baugh c Dravid b Ojha 3 Darren Sammy b Yadav 32 Kemar Roach b Ashwin 1 Fidel Edwards not out 15 Devendra Bishoo b Yadav 0 Extras (b 9, lb 4, w 1): 14 Total (all out in 126.3 overs) 463
Toss: India, who chose to bat Result: India win by an innings and 15 runs, lead series 2-0 Player of the Match: V.V.S. Laxman (India) Umpires: Bruce Oxenford (Australia) and Rod Tucker (Australia) TV umpire: S.Ravi (India) Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)
Going from child star to teenager on the big screen doesn't, it seems, guarantee a charmed life with the opposite sex. Harry Potter actress Emma Watson has revealed that despite her success, she has difficulty finding a boyfriend.
Sixteen-year-old Emma, who plays Hermione Granger in the hit films, told The Sun: “People say to me, ‘Oh it must be so easy for you — dating and boys. They must be lining up for you”. “It’s really not easy. It’s really not. I suppose guys are either kind of intimidated by me and have their defenses up, or they like to take the p*** out of me.”
And she doesn't have the time to embark on any serious boy-hunting with the next Harry Potter installment — The Order Of The Phoenix — in production.
Perhaps her co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint could step up? It seems not. Emma said: “They just keep me laughing really. They feel like my brothers.”
As for any other potential suitors on the set... they're just too old for her. She explained: “I think, ‘Yeah he’s good looking’ — but he’s like 25! So that’s not happening.
“It's a minefield to be honest. It's stressful. I'll just have to wait. Maybe someone will find me.”
2011/11/6 4:28:49 New Dehi, Nov 6 (IANS) Scoreboard at tea on the first day of the first Test match between India and the West Indies at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Sunday.
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite batting 61 Kieran Powell lbw b Ojha 14 Kirk Edwards c & b Ojha 15 Darren Bravo b Ashwin 12 Shivnarine Chanderpaul batting 55 Extras: (lb 1, nb 1) 2 Total: (3 wickets; 64 overs) 159
Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Powell, 11.6 overs), 2-45 (KA Edwards, 23.3), 3-72 (Bravo, 32.5)
2011/8/29 12:20:33 Andhra Pradesh Teachers Eligibility Test Director Sheshu Kumari on Monday stated that the results of Teachers Eligibility Test would be hosted on the official website http://aptet.cgg.gov.in Tuesday afternoon.
In a press release, Director Sheshu Kumari said that the pass certificates would be dispatched to the respective candidates within the next twenty days.
Sheshu Kumari said that around six lakh candidates had appeared for the test, which was held on July 31. This is the first time the test has been overseen by the Education Department in the state. (INN)
2011/10/21 10:53:40 The Indian cricket team is riding a new high and the revival roadmap has been in tune with the abundant talent that exists in the country. The fact that Mahender Singh Dhoni’s boys have been thrashing the visiting English team in the ongoing ODI series, without the seniors, demonstrates that the bench strength has arrived fully well. The good augury was that there would be vibrant competition for each spot in the squad.
This was the opinion shared by former Test players Saba Karim and Venkatapathi Raju during an interaction with the media here on Friday.
The former stumper opined that the recent whitewash at the hands of the Englishmen had come as a wake-up call for the entire team. He said the fact that the team has been paying back England at their game indicated that the Indian think tank has worked out on the team’s strengths and weakness to robust levels.
Karim said that the ongoing series has come as Godsend for the young players, who can capitalize on the golden opportunity to cement their place in the national squad even after the seniors return to action.
Describing Ajinkya Rahane and R Ashwin as finds of the series and singling out Virat Kohli for special praise, he, however, cautioned that although the youngsters were coming in handy, only time would tell if they could dish out consistent performances at the top.
Raju, endorsing Karim’s views, pointed out that though the ensuing home series against the visiting West Indian team could be a cakewalk, the biggest challenge lay when India plays a full-fledged series against Australia Down Under.
The former spinner said that the way the team had regrouped itself in the home series against England reflected that the recent nightmarish experience had been off their minds. He said it was time to move on and work out strategies to regain the top ranking in both the Test and One-day formats.
The most refreshing aspect has been that the youngsters were both capable of successfully chasing 300 plus targets and also containing the opposition batting strength, which was also a measure of the bowling and batting depth prevalent in the country.
Speaking about his state-mate Pragyan Ojha, Raju said that the spinner had probed that he was a match winner with his 10 wickets in the recent Irani Trophy. He said Ojha would be an asset to the Test team given his bowling talent and also his usefulness with the willow.
The message that Karim and Raju sent was similar-the team had an amazing balance and the future is in safe hands. (INN)
India look for series win and Tendulkar's 100th ton at Eden
2011/11/13 18:12:01 Kolkata, Nov 13 (IANS) India go into the second cricket Test against the West Indies here at the Eden Gardens Monday, hoping their in-form young spinners will wrap up the three-match series and, as the icing on the cake, master batsman Sachin Tendulkar would get his 100th international 100.
Up 1-0 in the three-match series, rallying after conceding a sizeable first-innings lead to put it across the Caribbeans at Delhi's Feroze Shah Kotla, the Indians would like to carry the momentum against a side that today lacks the character their predecessors had and the awe with which the cricket world looked at them a couple of decades ago.
India have won the last three Test series against the West Indies and they should make it four in a row without much difficulty.
Much will, however, depend on off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who will be out playing here barely 24 hours after getting married in Chennai Sunday, and his left-arm partner Pragyan Ojha.
The two young men picked up 16 of the 20 West Indies wickets on the slow Kotla turner, Ashwin on debut getting nine and a dozen-Tests-old Ojha seven. The chances of an encore by the two at Eden are high as the track here is also known to assist slow bowlers, particularly on the last two days.
"As long as I've known, spin has been our problem. We need to find a way to score against spin and not let it get to us," West Indies skipper Darren Sammy said.
The spin success must have come as a big relief to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has gone into the first Test with an inexperienced attack -- no Zaheer Khan, recovering from a hamstring and ankle injury, and Harbhajan Singh, who is struggling to find form in domestic cricket.
Batting does not appear to be a major problem for India, despite unaccountable collapses in West Indies and England. The top-order is still good enough to bail them out in Indian conditions. The first-innings slump in the Delhi Test got the batsmen a bit of a tongue-lashing from their captain.
There can't be a better batting line-up than Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni himself.
The match could be special for the game and Tendulkar.
The Mumbaikar raised hopes of reaching the milestone of scoring a hundred international centuries in the second innings of the first Test, but was stopped at 76 by leggie Devendra Bishoo.
Tendulkar has been a notch below his best at Eden Gardens, scoring only two 100s in 10 Test matches and local cricket buffs are hoping that the little master will make it truly special this time.
Gambhir has gone without a century in his last 12 Tests and got out after good starts in both the innings at Kotla. The home ground of Kolkata Knight Riders, of which he is captain, should inspire him to try and get his 10th 100 in his 43rd Test.
A series-clinching victory would also give the selectors an opportunity to try out other promising youngsters ahead of the tour Down Under.
West Indies, however, can take heart from their favourable 3-1 win-loss record in eight Test matches here.
Left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has a terrific record against India, should again shoulder the team, having hit the seventh century against India in the Kotla Test.
Besides, the West Indies bowlers put up a good, combined effort in the first innings when they shot out the Indians for 209.
Last but not the least, the Eden track has emerged as a major talking point. After the sharp criticism from Indian captain during the ODI and twenty20 ties against England last month, there was much speculation that the curator has been told by the board to come up with a turner for the Test.
But the strip still has some grass, with veteran curator Prabir Mukherjee promising a firm wicket where the spinners are likely to extract turn over the last two days.
2011/10/31 12:29:20 Melbourne, Oct 31 (IANS) Australia batsman Michael Hussey says the present cricket squad is happy with captain Michael Clarke's leadership and is fully behind him.
The Australian skipper has received some unwanted publicity in recent days after former opener Simon Katich suggested he played a big role in his axing from the Test squad. Clarke and Katich were involved in an infamous spat 2009.
Hussey, however, insists the players are happy to play under Clarke.
"If you want to be part of this Australian team, you've got to go with the captain and we respect the way he wants to take the team," Hussey was quoted as saying in SkySports.
"We do want to play under Michael and I think we're definitely going in the right direction.
"It's been great for him personally - he's really taken the role with a full head of steam. He's very passionate about the role and he's very clear in how he wants to lead the team."
Australia are fresh from a 2-1 ODI series win over South Africa and now are focussing on the longer format of the game as they will play two Tests against the Proteas in Cape Town and Durban.
"If we can stick together and do the basics for long, long periods of time, which is what Michael's philosophy is, then I think we can definitely come out on top," Hussey said.
"It's going to be a huge series ... it's going to be great hard Test cricket which is what we all look forward to, but I'm confident."
(IANS) West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss and opted to bat against India in the first Test of the three-match series at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Sunday.
