SYDNEY: Sidelined Australian opener Simon Katich says his Achilles injury is recovering quicker than expected, putting him on track for a possible surprise comeback in the final Ashes Test. Katich, 35, said he was “really happy” at how the partial tear was reacting to rehab and physio after he hobbled through the second Test in Adelaide and was ruled out for the rest of the series. “It’s hard to say when I will come back but it’s tracking quicker than we thought it would at this stage,” Katich said, according to AAP news agency on Wednesday.
“But I can’t give any definites until I start running and see how it pulls up after that, and that may be in the not too distant future. “So I don’t know if I’ll be ready in time for the Sydney Test. And then it’s a decision for the selectors and the ball’s out of my court in that respect.” Katich was replaced by New South Wales’ Phillip Hughes, who scored only two and 12 in last week’s Perth Test. The fifth and final game in Sydney starts on January 3. Meanwhile, the boss of Australia’s cricketers’ union has blamed a crackdown on sledging, or on-field insults, for poor performances after the team roared back to form during the testy Ashes encounter in Perth. Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive Paul Marsh said curbing aggressive instincts had hindered the side, which had not won a Test since July but trounced England in the third Test amid a barrage of verbal hostilities.
Australia were ordered to tone down their sledging after the notorious 2008 Sydney Test against India, when alleged racial remarks prompted an angry public backlash against a team dubbed the “Unloveables”. “I think there’s no doubt the team’s performance has been affected,” Marsh told Wednesday’s Sydney Morning Herald.
“Hard aggressive cricket is in the Australian team’s DNA and unfortunately the players started second-guessing their natural instincts in the heat of battle for fear of reprisal from CA (Cricket Australia) or a public backlash from the vocal minority.” Both teams have acknowledged raised temperatures during Australia’s crushing 267-run win in Perth, which they wrapped up on Sunday, with England fast bowler James Anderson notably sparring with opposite number Mitchell Johnson.
“The series is certainly full-on now. There was plenty of chirp flying around between the players in the third Test and I think that was because the pitch was lively,” England’s Graeme Swann wrote in The Sun newspaper. And Australia’s Shane Watson spoke of his delight at seeing Paul Collingwood dismissed with the last ball of day three after Anderson failed to take a quick single that would have shielded the batsman from the strike. “It was one of my best moments on the cricket field,” said Watson. “It was so enjoyable because of the banter that’s been going around over the last three Tests.” Australia, in transition after the retirement of a golden generation including Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, were toppled from the top Test ranking after last year’s Ashes defeat in England and recently fell as low as fifth.
