Australia's bowlers find strength in numbers



PERTH // Peter Siddle believes Australia's return to the four-pronged pace attack which has overwhelmed England in the third Ashes Test has set the hosts up for a strong finale to the series.

England slumped to 81 for five at the end of day three in Perth on Saturday, chasing 391 runs for what would be an Ashes-sealing victory.

It is a turnaround from the first half of the series when the tourists were on top with the bat and secured victory at Adelaide to take a 1-0 lead.

"I don't think there's more pressure on us (with four fast bowlers) — I think it probably eases a bit of the pressure," Siddle told reporters.

"You don't have to bowl those big long spells. We can have short sharp cracks at it, and that gives us more chance to stay at top pace.

"It's been good fun bowling with all the boys, and it's working at this stage."

Australia's three-strong fast-bowling line-up — plus spinner Xavier Doherty — conceded 1,137 runs in successive innings in Brisbane and Adelaide for a total of six wickets.

But the quartet of Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Ben Hilfenhaus have 15 wickets already at the WACA. Johnson led the way with 6-38 in the first innings, while Johnson and Harris claimed two more apiece on Saturday.

Five more wickets with two days still to play would level the series at 1-1 ahead of the fourth and fifth Tests in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

The bowlers have also stepped up their verbal barrage, landing a few choice words among the many short-pitched deliveries.

"The last couple of matches, we probably hadn't been at our best, we hadn't been getting wickets, we'd been a little bit quiet," said Siddle, a fiery redhead from country Victoria who went wicketless in the second Test.

"That's where me and Mitch talked about going in firing and having a good crack, trying to get a little bit more aggressive. It's paid off at the moment and hopefully we can continue that."

England's attack, by comparison, has been relatively listless, save for Chris Tremlett, who took 5-87 in the hosts' second innings.

Siddle suggested the series might come down to a battle of fitness, which the Australian bowlers appear to be winning.

"Hopefully we've put a little bit of damage into them at the moment after this match, and (we'll) see how they back it up for the next two Tests," he said.

"It's a matter of keeping them out in the field and batting for long periods of time and really tiring them out."

The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed

Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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The Penguin

Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz

Creator: Lauren LeFranc

Rating: 4/5

THE DETAILS

Kaala

Dir: Pa. Ranjith

Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar  

Rating: 1.5/5 

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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england euro squad

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton)

Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

A Dog's Journey 

Directed by: Gail Mancuso

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott

3 out of 5 stars

The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.


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