Injury rules Herrick out of BBL

Injury ... Fast bowler Jayde Herrick is hopeful of lining up for the Melbourne Renegades. Source: Colleen Petch / News Limited

Melbourne Renegades will be without key paceman Jayde Herrick after scans showed his foot injury was worse than expected.

Herrick wore a moon boot to Monday's team launch and was hopeful scans would show only minor damage but he conceded his campaign was over on Saturday.

He will be replaced by 26-year-old Jake Haberfield, a right-arm quick from South Australia.

Melbourne Renegades coach Simon Helmot said on Saturday the team had explored all avenues before ruling Herrick out of the competition based on medical advice.

While Helmot said it was a blow to lose Herrick, he was confident in the ability of Haberfield to make an impact for the Renegades.

"He had scans after (Wednesday's one-day cup game against South Australia at the MCG) and there was some serious swelling at the top of his foot and maybe some bone bruising,'' Helmot said.

Helmot said he would look to Victorian quick and ex-England Test player Darren Pattinson to spearhead the pace attack, with Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan leading the spin-bowling stocks.

"Darren is an accomplished new-ball bowler in this format. He has really shown his stuff in England in the last few seasons in T20 cricket,'' Helmot said.

"Now that he has become an Australian local player, we grabbed him straight away.

"Last season we had a strong pace attack. It's still important to have pace but we just need more versatility.

"We have some good spinning options with Murali and Aaron O'Brien.''

The Renegades opened their BBL|02 campaign with a convincing win over cross-town rivals Melbourne Stars on Friday night.

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Senden sizzles to lead Aussie Open

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Aus Open ... Australia's John Senden fires a 70 to take a two-shot lead into the final round. Source: Rob Griffith / AFP

Once bitten but not twice shy, John Senden is relishing the prospect of a final-round Australian Open duel with English star Justin Rose.

www.foxsports.com.au/golfSenden is the Open's third-round leader for the second year running after a brilliant eagle three on the par 5 11th helped the Queenslander to a two-stroke buffer at seven under par for the championship.

His workmanlike round of 70 at the windswept Lakes layout on Saturday was a far cry from his spectacular course record-equalling 63 on moving day 12 months ago at the same Sydney golf venue - but still enough to set up a Sunday showdown with Rose (70), the world No.4 and top-ranked player in the field.

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"Look, Justin Rose has had a fantastic year this year and is a proven player," Senden said.

"He's a tough competitor so I feel like I'm going to enjoy that moment tomorrow.

"That's why we're here. That's what we practise hard for. We want to be in this position to get the experience to know if you're going to be able to handle it and tomorrow's going to be a test - it's a test for every golfer out there.

"But sitting on the lead, to be honest with you, I'll be anxious teeing off, but then it's about doing the job."

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Last year, Senden was unable to convert his third-round lead, narrowly missing a snaking, 35-foot birdie putt on the last to fall by a shot to Greg Chalmers.

This year, Senden - after enjoying his most consistent season on the US Tour - is aiming higher and considers his last-group shootout with Rose the ultimate rehearsal for a genuine shot at the majors in 2013.

"This is what we want to get into position for so that leading even into the major championships next year, this is good experience for me," he said.

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Along with Rose, Senden - the 2006 champion - has a swag of players on his tail.

On a high after his success at Qualifying School in the United States last week, Matt Jones (70) also eagled the 11th in an impressive round of 69 to share third place at four under with rookie Kieren Pratt (70) and veteran Peter Senior (69).

Rejuvenated 2001 champion Stuart Appleby (70), Cameron Percy (72) and American Kyle Stanley (70) share sixth spot at three under.

Appleby briefly seized the lead before a back-nine stumble, but was nevertheless chuffed to be in the mix after a dreadful season in America.

"I feel like I'm coming back," Appleby said. "My game is definitely on the uptake."

Most of the field went backwards on Saturday, including halfway leader Marcus Fraser, whose 76 left him in a tie for ninth at two under with pre-tournament favourite Adam Scott and seven others.

Scott is five shots adrift of the lead after eking out his second successive 71 and the Australian Masters champion figured he probably needed to fire a 65 on Sunday to lift the Stonehaven Cup for a second time.

Scott Gardiner (68) and teenage amateur Cameron Smith (69) both reeled off four consecutive birdies coming home to be at one under alongside defending champion Chalmers (69).

But American great Tom Watson crashed out of contention after leaking shots everyw

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Golgol strikes late to stun Glory

Heart-stopper ... Golgol Mebrahtu's late goal stuns Perth Glory at AAMI Park. Source: Salpigtidis George / News Limited

Sudanese-born refugee Golgol Mebrahtu has come off the bench to score a late winner in his Melbourne Heart debut and deliver his A-League club a much-needed win over Perth Glory.

Saturday night's victory lifted the Heart, who started the round in ninth spot, above the sixth-placed Glory, who are on a five-match winless streak and yet to win away this season.

Mebrahtu, 22, had played 26 A-League games with Gold Coast without scoring.

But it took just 12 minutes with the Heart to break his duck, the youngster replacing his captain Fred in the 77th minute and scoring in the 89th.

While Mebrahtu did the finishing, it was Josip Tadic who deserved much of the credit, making a penetrating run through the Perth defence down the left flank then easing the ball in front of Mebrahtu, who had only to tap it past advancing keeper Danny Vukovic.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Adelaide	10	7	1	2	8	22
2	Central Coast	9	6	2	1	9	20
3	Victory	10	5	1	4	-3	16
4	Newcastle	9	4	1	4	-3	13
5	Wellington	9	3	3	3	2	12
6	Heart	10	3	3	4	0	12
7	Perth	10	3	2	5	-1	11
8	Brisbane	9	3	1	5	1	10
9	Western Sydney	9	3	1	5	-3	10
10	Sydney	9	2	1	6	-10	7

It was sweet relief for the Heart, who had earlier squandered some good chances in an at-times heated contest.

Tadic wasted the best of them in just the third minute, after a delicate touch from teammate Nick Kalmar gave him ample time and space to beat Vukovic, but his initial touch was poor and his shot off-target.

Perth's best early chances came in the air, with star striker Shane Smeltz just off-range with two first-half headers.

Tempers flared at halftime when Heart coach John Aloisi, who had said pre-game his side had allowed themselves to be bullied by Perth in the past, exchanged angry words with Glory skipper Jacob Burns on the sidelines then in the players' tunnel.

It was sparked by an incident just before the interval which ended with Tadic lying on the turf after a tangle with Perth's Dean Heffernan.

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Re-live all the highlights from the Glory's clash with the Heart at our A-League Match Centre, with video highlights and key stats.

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The spice continued after the break when Burns, who was on return from a suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards, picked up another for bringing down Tadic off the ball.

Perth's best scoring opportunities came soon after, a Chris Harold shot blocked by a Heart defender before Travis Dodd forced a brilliant save from Heart keeper Clint Bolton.

Fred then wasted two good chances for the Heart, before being pulled to the bench for Mebrahtu's decisive introduction.

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Sri Lanka hit back after Henry's 207

Good knock ... Tillakaratne Dilshan notched a hundred against the Chairman's XI. Source: Eranga Jayawardena / AAP

Sri Lanka restored some pride in their Australian tour on Friday as they churned through the Chairman's XI attack to post 4-276 on a placid day-two Manuka Oval wicket.

On Inside Cricket this week, the most talked about player in the game right now, Ricky Ponting, joins the show.

Ricky sits down with host Brendon Julian, Allan Border & Damien Fleming as they discuss and revel in one of the most storied & celebrated careers the game has seen.

Also on the programme News Limited writer, Robert 'Crash' Craddock, helps us preview the Hobart Test against Sri Lanka, plus we take a look at the start of the Big Bash and all the action from the opening games of the competition.

Watch Inside Cricket - Monday night at 8.30pm (EDT) on Fox Sports 2 and 2HD.

Sri Lanka's batsmen have done what their bowlers couldn't - get the better of an Australian outfit boasting almost as many teenagers as Test caps.

Unheralded NSW batsman Scott Henry completed his double century on the morning of day two, bringing the Chairman's XI innings to a close at 6(dec)-439 from 100 overs and highlighting a disastrous bowling display from the tourists.

But by stumps on Friday, led by a composed 101 from veteran opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, the tourists had fought back and restored some pride after Sri Lanka's batsmen made themselves comfortable in the middle of Canberra's Manuka Oval.

Dilshan was ably supported by star batsman Kumar Sangakkara (55) as the Lions reached 4-276 by stumps, still 163 in arrears after 78 overs.

Dilshan retired at the tea break, deciding his 152-ball knock, which included 15 boundaries, had been sufficient batting practice for the 36-year-old ahead of the three-Test series with Australia, which starts at Bellerive next Friday.

Dilshan said it had been important to not only regain some ascendancy in the match, but simply to spend some time on Australian wickets before the first Test in Hobart.

"We only have one practice game, I needed to spend some time in the middle," he said.

"... The thing is the wicket is really slow. There's nothing for the bowlers.

"I spent some time trying to bat as long as possible, to have as long a period in the middle.

"I'm really enjoying the start of the tournament like this. I'm hoping to finish as strong as well this tournament."

Teenage off-spinner Ashton Turner (1-54) made the first breakthrough, ending the 105-run opening partnership between Dilshan and Dimuth Karunaratne when he had the young left-hander caught at mid-on by Marcus Harris for 40.

Fellow spinners Glenn Maxwell (1-73) and, surprisingly, captain Usman Khawaja (1-22), claimed the big scalps of Mahela Jayawardene (36) and Sangakkara respectively.

Maxwell (1-73) came in for some punishment from Dilshan and in particular Jayawardene, whose first scoring shot was a booming six over long-on, before exacting some revenge with a simple caught and bowled.

Chairman's XI coach Troy Cooley said it was to be expected that the Sri Lankans would fight back in their three-day practice match, such was the strength of their batting line-up.

"History's shown they are a good batting line-up,'' he said.

"We held them quite well I thought, and I look forward to taking a couple more wickets in the line-up."

Earlier, the Chairman's XI added 49 runs to their overnight score as Henry belted six more boundaries to finish unbeaten on 207.

"When you come to Manuka we all know it's a good place to bat and you need to bowl well to get results," Cooley added.

"I thought we batted really well and Scotty batted extremely well and was well supported by the other boys.
"... (It was) a good opportunity from Scott. He took advantage there and batted superbly."

Dhammika Prasad, who endured a terrible time in the middle on Thursday, picked up the wickets of Travis Head (35) and Sam Whiteman (4) to finish as the only multiple wicket-taker for Sri Lanka with 2-128.

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A-League still needs help: Gallop

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Gallop's warning ... Scott Chipperfield , David Gallop (CEO) and Allan Vessy. Source: Annette Dew / News Limited

David Gallop has warned the A-League is far from ready to become independent from Football Federation Australia despite calls from clubs for a self-governed national competition.

The FFA's ongoing running of the A-League contributed to Australian representation being reduced in next year's AFC Champions League.

Concerned club owners will meet on Thursday, with reportedly the first item on the agenda being A-League independence, a long-standing AFC requirement that FFA is yet to meet.

But FFA chief executive Gallop yesterday said it was not financially viable for the A-League to be a separate entity from the sport's national governing body.

"It's sustainable for (Australian) football to be able to share some costs between the various pieces of the games - the national teams, the A-League and the grassroots," Gallop said at yesterday's FFA Hall of Fame lunch in Brisbane.

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Is the FFA being influenced by the AFC? See what Postecoglou had to say.

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"To completely create new organisations around those three pillars of the business would be expensive and not easily achievable with the game's current financial picture."

Gallop honoured Hall of Fame inductees Scott Chipperfield, Alison Forman and Alan Vessey.

"Their stories are part of the game's rich history in Australia," the former National Rugby League CEO said in his address to the audience at Gambaro Restaurant.

"In my role in rugby league, we used to say those who drink now must remember who dug the well.

"We need to share the history of Australian football. I am on a crash course on that myself."

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Wollongong product Chipperfield made 68 appearances for the Socceroos, played in two World Cup finals tournaments and won seven Swiss first division titles and six Swiss Cups with FC Basel.

"I set out to play football because I enjoyed it, not to get accolades but to be recognised for this, and to see the names on the list, I feel really proud," said Chipperfield, who was presented with his medal by former Socceroos teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Craig Moore.

Forman - who was unable to be at yesterday's presentation - is a former Matildas star who represented Australia 95 times in a stellar career that included a club stint in Denmark.

Vessey enjoyed a decorated 34-year stint in football administration.

Vessey's roles have included Soccer Australia chief executive, Brisbane Strikers general manager and chairman of the Brisbane segment of the 2000 Olympic Games football tournament.

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Fraser rides form to lead Open

In front ... Fraser holds a clubhouse lead during the second round of the Australian Open. Source: Greg Wood / AFP

An ace one day, Australian Open leader the next - such is life for globe-trotting golfer Marcus Fraser.

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Yet two years ago, golf was such a pain in the neck for Fraser that he almost gave the game away.

"I picked up my son over my head and felt something go in my neck," Fraser recalled on Friday after posting successive 69s to advance to six under par for the championship and a one-stroke lead at The Lakes Club in Sydney.

Remarkably, it was at The Lakes during the 2010 Open that Fraser's kidding around led to the 34-year-old requiring career-saving surgery.

"It was a pretty basic operation," he said, tongue in cheek.

"The surgeon replaced a disk in my neck, put an artificial disk in there, a carbon fibre cage around the disk and also a metal plate."

Fraser, who leads John Senden (73) and Brendan Jones (71) by one and Nic Cullen (70) by two, said the pain was unbearable at times.

"The amount of pain I was in leading up to that operation is something that I never want to experience again. I nearly blacked out from the pain every time I stood up.

"If I had not had the operation, there is no way I would have played again - no chance at all."

The major setback also proved a wake-up call for Fraser, who has recovered to be on the cusp of the world's top 50 after enjoying a career-best year in Europe.

"I realised how much I loved the game and how much I enjoyed being out here," he said.

"Sometimes you take it for granted. You need something like that to give you a kick in the butt."

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Apart from getting his hands on the Stonehaven Cup, Fraser is all too aware of the bonuses involved in winning the Open and edging closer to the top 50.

For one, a coveted first-time ticket to next year's Masters at Augusta is at stake.

"That top-50 world ranking by the end of this year is pretty important," he said.

"I am already in the British Open for next year after finishing top 30 in Europe this year.

"Hopefully I can sneak a few more WGC events and the US Open. If I play well this week and next week (at the Australian PGA), the Masters is a chance."

Fraser, after playing on three continents in the past three weeks, on Friday rode the momentum of his magical first-day hole-in-one all the way to the halfway lead.

While he was unable to repeat his first-round ace on the 184-metre par-3 15th, Fraser's five birdies were enough as his heavyweight rivals stumbled.

Senden had a rollercoaster round, while English world No.4 Justin Rose is three shots off the pace with a bunch of players at three under after leaking four shots on the back nine.

Their pedestrian performances left a host of players in the mix.

Marc Leishman, Australia's only winner on the 2012 US PGA Tour, is two under after a 72, while pre-tournament favourite Adam Scott is one under after a scratchy round of 71.

After feeling embarrassed by his first-day 78, American drawcard Tom Watson thrilled fans with a brilliant bounce-back 68, the day's equal best, to survive the halfway chop.

Defending champion Greg Chalmers (75) is also at two over with Watson.

But fellow two-times champion Robert Allenby (+6) missed the cut after racking up a 77.

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Tomic denies David Cup dumping

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Hitting back ... Bernard Tomic denies being dropped for the upcoming David Cup tie. Source: Cameron Spencer / AFP

Bernard Tomic hits back at reports he was left out of Australia's Davis Cup team due to attitude issues.

Tennis Australia director of tennis Craig Tiley was quoted as saying Davis Cup captain Pat Rafter won't consider Tomic for the tie against Taiwan while questioning the 20-year-old's commitment to representing his country.

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But Tomic refutes the claims, insisting he told Rafter he was never available for the February clash and would instead be focusing on ATP events in the United States.

"I was never meant to play that Davis Cup tie,'' Tomic said.

"I spoke to Pat (about that).

"I'm going to use that time for training and to prepare for tournaments in America.''

Australia's most recent grand slam winner, Sam Stosur, believes it's time for Tomic to "knuckle down'' if he's going to have any chance of fulfilling his enormous potential.

When asked what advice she would give the under-fire Tomic, Stosur said he must ask himself some tough questions if he's going to bounce back from a dismal end to the year when his ranking slid from No.27 in June to No.52.

"What are you doing? Are you wanting to play tennis?,'' Stosur queried in Sydney.

"If you are, then give it 100 per cent because you only get one crack at it.

"He's going to have to decide what he wants to do and how he's going to approach his career.

"Until that improves in a lot of people's eyes, he's going to have to deal with things like being dropped out of the Davis Cup team.''

Stosur added it would be unfortunate to witness Tomic's undoubted talent go to waste.

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"That's probably the most disappointing thing for a lot of people on the outside - that he's got this unbelievable tennis ability and he's not really using it at the moment,'' said the 28-year-old world No.9.

"So I think everyone would like to see him knuckle down and do his best and see where that gets him.''

Tomic responded positively to the words of wisdom from the 2011 US Open champion, who is about to head into her 14th year on the WTA tour.

"I'm young and I'm learning. You get to a point where you need to stop and I think it's a good bit of advice,'' said Tomic.

"I'm working really hard and trying to push myself to become the best tennis player I can be.

"I've had a slippery slope the last year. It's changing me and I'll prove I'm going to be the best-ever player one day to play this game.''

Tomic will get the chance to start proving the doubters wrong when he represents Australia at the Hopman Cup in Perth later this month.

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Doolan, Khawaja miss golden chance

Missed chance ... Doolan was dismissed for just six on what looks to be a perfect wicket. Source: News Limited

A whirlwind 91 from Glenn Maxwell and a terrific unbeaten 172 to Scott Henry helped the Chairman's XI turn the opening day of Sri Lanka's Australian tour into a nightmare.

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The hosts piled on 390 for the loss of just four wickets by stumps on Thursday at Canberra's Manuka Oval, as Sri Lanka's toothless attack spent most of the day chasing balls to the boundary in the hot sun - with little reward.

There will be very little to smile about for the tourists, with this match their only preparation for a three-Test series against Australia starting in Bellerive on Friday week.

With star spinner Rangana Herath, No.1 pace bowler Nuwan Kulasekara and vice-captain Angelo Mathews rested, Sri Lanka's bowlers faced a tough initiation on Australian soil.

Henry started the rout early, reaching his 100 off 154 balls with a mix of classical cover drives, powerful straight drives and two calculated hook shots into the stands.

At times, the 23-year-old, who scored a pair of half-centuries for NSW in a Sheffield Shield game against Victoria a fortnight ago, treated the visiting attack with contempt.

He offered only one chance - a difficult one on the boundary which slipped through the fielder's fingers, and tumbled over the rope for one of his 22 fours.

Maxwell came in at the tea break and threatened to "do a Dougie" - emulating champion Australia batsman Doug Walters's feat of scoring 100 in a session - but fell nine runs short after an explosive knock.

Maxwell smacked 11 fours and two enormous sixes in his 77-ball innings while putting on 125 with Henry. But he threw a century away when he was bowled while charging fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep.

The brilliant batting from Henry and Maxwell masked the twin disappointments of Usman Khawaja (56) and Alex Doolan (6).

Not only did the pair miss out on selection for Australia's 12-man Bellerive squad, they also threw away golden opportunities to remind selectors of their talents.

Khawaja had a century beckoning and looked in tremendous touch before he found Mahela Jayawardene at short midwicket while trying to whip Chanaka Welagedara (1-72) through the leg side.

Doolan managed just six runs before becoming off-spinner Suraj Randiv's only victim of the day.

Sri Lanka's No.2 spinner had a day to forget, with Khawaja and Maxwell both taking the long handle to the 27-year-old who finished with figures of 1-121.

The only bright spot for the visitors was opening bowler Shaminda Eranga, who had the economical figures of 1-22 off 13 overs.

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Chipperfield shocked by honour

Honoured ... Scott Chipperfield is inducted into the FFA Hall of Fame. Source: Craig Greenhill / News Limited

Having a bar named in his honour at Swiss football powerhouse FC Basel used to blow Scott Chipperfield's mind.

Now the retired Socceroo has something else to get his head around after being inducted into the Football Federation Australia Hall of Fame.

Chipperfield, 36, looked shocked when he was honoured in Brisbane on Thursday along with fellow inductees, Matildas legend Alison Forman and long time administrator Alan Vessey.

It seems Chipperfield's head has not stopped spinning since leaving hometown Bellambi near Wollongong.

Working fulltime as a bus driver, Chipperfield still emerged as the key to Wollongong's back-to-back National Soccer League titles from 2000-01.

"As a joke I drove the team bus the last 500m to the Wollongong clubhouse for the fans," Chipperfield laughed when reflecting on their initial 2000 triumph over Perth after trailing 3-0.

Then the left winger's eyes were truly opened when he took up a left field offer from FC Basel.

"As a Bellambi boy I never thought I would leave the area let alone go to Basel probably because I had never heard of it before," Chipperfield.

"I am very happy I did."

No wonder - he helped spark a golden era for the Swiss heavyweights.

In his first season there they won the championship for the first time in 22 years.

Next season they qualified for the elite Champions League.

And on Champions League debut, Chipperfield scored in the first 45 seconds against Manchester United.

It couldn't get any better than this - or so he thought.

When his 11-year stint ended featuring six Champions League campaigns he emerged as FC Basel's most successful player, winning a remarkable seven league titles and six Swiss Cups.

His reward? "They named their bar after me, which was appropriate," Chipperfield laughed.

But of course Australians know him more for his Socceroos heroics in two World Cup campaigns.

In all, he earned 68 international caps over 12 years including the 2005 qualifying triumph over Uruguay that ended Australia's 32-year World Cup drought.

His only regret was not playing in the A-League although he kept his fingers crossed he would one day return as a coach - for a revamped Wollongong.

"But at the moment I have a life in Switzerland," said Chipperfield, who is a trainer for a fifth-tier club.

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Siddle should be furious: Lee

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Rotated ... Brett Lee says Peter Siddle should have played in Perth. Source: Sarah Reed / News Limited

Brett Lee believes the Australian selectors' decision to rest bowlers has put them in an awkward situation ahead of Thursday's squad announcement for the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Hobart.

Peter Siddle, who was Australia's best bowler in the second Test at Adelaide, and Ben Hilfenhaus were left out of the side that lost to South Africa in the final Test in Perth.

The decision was taken following their heavy workloads on the final day in Adelaide on the preceding Monday due to James Pattinson's side strain in the draw with the Proteas.

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Mitchell Johnson, Mitch Starc and debutant John Hastings were selected at the WACA ground and enjoyed mixed fortunes as Australia were defeated by 309 runs to go down 1-0 in the series.

Victorian Hastings is almost certain to miss out on a second call-up, but Starc and Johnson performed respectably, taking 14 wickets between them in the match, with the NSW bowler taking 6-154 in the tourists' second innings and then clubbing an unbeaten 68 off 64 balls.

However, with Tasmanian Hilfenhaus available to play at his home ground, the selectors might opt to leave Starc or Johnson out in Hobart, and former Test quick Lee said resting bowlers is not something he's comfortable with, despite Siddle saying he agreed with the decision.

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"If I was Sidds, I would have been blowing up," said 76-Test veteran Lee, who'll play for Sydney Sixers in Saturday's Big Bash League opener against Sydney Thunder.

"He bowled so well in Adelaide. They say it's because of back-to-back matches, but that's Test cricket.

"It's nothing to do with the planning. That's what Test cricket's about - a test of character, a test of courage and backing up within a couple of days.

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"If you're Peter Siddle and you see Mitchell Starc come in and take a five-for, it makes for an awkward situation."

Josh Hazlewood, who was also called up for the squad in Perth but did not play, was ruled out for up to six weeks on Wednesday due to a foot problem.

The promising NSW paceman has endured a litany of injuries over the past two years and joins fellow speedsters Pattinson and Pat Cummings on the sidelines.

Dennis Lillee was critical of how fast bowlers are trained last week and Lee urged Cricket Australia to take heed of the man who took 355 wickets in 70 Tests at an average of 23.92.

"I reckon there's too much cotton wool .. with all the preparation they do going into Tests," Lee said.

"Dennis has 355 Test wickets and they should listen to what he is saying. He's a class act and been my mentor for 20 years.

"To be a fast bowler, you have to be a good athlete and a good runner - less time in the gym, more time out training and working on a guy's fitness.

"Injuries can happen and you have to be so careful ... but there is a huge emphasis on guys doing their rehab as opposed to doing the actual hard work.

"As Dennis has said, running is such a big aspect for a fast bowler and I would like to see a lot of young guys doing that."

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