2002-03 Annual R eport 2002-03 Annual R eport - Australian Sports ...

Back, left to right: Mike Walsh (Assistant Manager/Cricket Analyst), Errol Alcott (Physiotherapist), Darren Lehmann, Damien Martyn, Brad Williams, Brett Lee, Andrew
Bichel, Nathan Hauritz, Reg Dickason (Security Consultant), Jock Campbell (Physical Performance Manager), Lucy Frostick (Team Massage Therapist).
Front, left to right: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Glenn McGrath, John Buchanan (Coach), Stephen Waugh (Captain), Adam Gilchrist (Vice-captain), Stephen Bernard (Team
Manager), Mark Waugh, Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting.
TRAVELEX TOUR AGAINST PAKISTAN
IN SRI LANKA AND THE UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES, 2002
Australia made light of uncomfortable conditions to beat an
inexperienced Pakistani side in a three-Test series that took
place in Sri Lanka and Sharjah.
The series was played in neutral countries after Cricket
Australia declined to send the tour party to Pakistan following
information received from the Department of Foreign Affairs and
the Australian High Commissioner in Pakistan.
Indications were that the safety and security of the players and
officials would be compromised if they undertook the trip, but
with Cricket Australia still keen to play the series to fulfil
commitments under the International Cricket Council’s future
tour program, the Pakistan Cricket Board agreed to stage the
matches elsewhere.
The new venues still presented problems. The scene of the first
Test was Colombo, which was just moving into a period of rainy
weather, while the opposite was true of the venue for the
second and third matches, the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the
United Arab Emirates. There, the temperature on the field
exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, some of the worst conditions
most of the players had ever encountered.
Despite these difficulties, however, it was Australia that adapted
best and, in the face of the high levels of determination shown
by Stephen Waugh and his men, the Pakistan side, without many
of its more experienced players, crumpled.
After a keenly fought first match, the second Test finished inside
two days with Pakistan bowled out for 59 and 53, its two lowest
scores in Test history, and Australia completed the 3-0 success
with a three-day win. That match saw Glenn McGrath claim his
400th Test wicket in his 87th match when he trapped Pakistan
captain Waqar Younis leg before wicket. McGrath became the
second Australian player to reach the mark after Shane Warne.
67
Warne was a key figure in Australia’s success taking 27 wickets
in the series including 11 in the first match in Sri Lanka, as
Pakistan fought back after conceding a first innings lead of 188.
With McGrath taking 14 wickets in the series, the duo ensured
there was little respite for Pakistan when they batted.
Ricky Ponting confirmed his growing reputation by finishing as
the leading run-scorer on either side with 342 runs, including
two hundreds. Matthew Hayden also continued his prolific form
with 246 runs and captain Waugh, who played his 150th Test in
the second match of the series, finished the tour with his first
hundred at the highest level since March 2001, an innings that
confirmed his place in the side for the upcoming Ashes series.
Stephen’s brother Mark, by contrast, made his final
international appearance in the third Test. When he returned
home he was told he would not be selected for the first Test
against England and promptly announced his retirement from
international cricket.
Mark finished with 8029 runs at an average of 41.81 from 128
Tests including 20 hundreds as well as 59 wickets and the
record for most catches by an outfielder in Test history – 181.
In one-day international cricket he made 8500 runs at 39.35
including 18 hundreds (record totals for an Australian player),
took 85 wickets and held 108 catches.
Australia made just one change in personnel through the series
with Andrew Bichel replacing Jason Gillespie for the second and
third Tests after the latter sustained a calf injury. Brad Williams,
the Western Australian fast-bowler, joined the squad as a result.
T ravelex Tour against Pakistan in Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates, 2002