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Australia Vs Pakistan 2nd Test 3 Jan Live, Australia skipper Ricky Ponting admits Danish Kaneria poses an even greater threat than he originally thought after taking a close look at the Pakistan leg-spinner ahead of the second Test at the SCG.
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Kaneria, who is set to return to the tourists’ line-up following a finger injury, has taken 245 wickets in 56 Tests to sit fourth on the list of Pakistan’s all-time wicket-takers.

During Pakistan’s last Test series in Australia in 2005, the wrist spinner took 15 wickets in three Tests, eight of them at the SCG.

“I was a little bit surprised when I saw his record,” Ponting said.

“He’s a very good bowler but I saw his record come up against some of the great spinners over the last 10 years and it stacks up there against the best of them.

“His record’s actually better than Abdul Qadir and everyone knows how highly regarded he was.

“He’s taken 240-odd wickets in 50-odd Tests, so he’s got a very good record.

“We’ve played him here before and he’s bowled well. Leg-spinners have that knack of being able to take wickets and that’s one area from last week that they will look to strengthen for this game.”

Australia are expected to name an unchanged XI for the match, although Simon Katich’s injured elbow was causing him some discomfort following a net session on Saturday.

NSW team-mate Phillip Hughes has flown to Sydney as standby for Katich.

Regardless of any last-minute disruptions, Ponting has set his team the task of matching the levels reached in the opening Test, when they posted a 170-run victory.

“It was our best and most disciplined effort and the challenge for all of us now is to make sure we keep those standards up for the remainder of the summer,” he said.

“I have spoken about each game being a step forward in the right direction and last week we set ourselves some very high standards that we’ve got to keep maintaining.

“Teams are probably at their most dangerous when they’ve come off a heavy loss like last week. The challenge for us is not to get carried away with what we’ve done.

“I keep reinforcing to the guys how important it is we don’t sit back and expect things to happen for us in this game.

“We’ve got to get out there and make the running like we did last week.”

Pakistan will be looking to start 2010 on a positive note after a rather grim 2009 when they became the outcasts of the cricket world due to unfortunate circumstances in their country.

The tourists’ fielding and batting will have to improve drastically if they have any hope of emulating the result achieved at this ground over 15 years ago: a victory over Australia.

Key Players:
Australia: Nathan Hauritz proved during the first Test at the MCG that he is fast becoming a key in the Australian line-up. Not only did he go above and beyond the duty of nightwatchman – scoring 75 – but he also bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket, and on a ground which aids spinners he could again produce a match-winning spell.

Pakistan: Danish Kaneria’s record speaks for itself. A hardworking bowler, Kaneria may partner Sadeed Ajmal in a leg and off break combination that could cause some difficulties for the Australians on a ground which is notorious for aiding the slower bowlers.

Prediction:It’s hard to see an under-practiced Pakistan pipping one of the world’s strongest teams in their own backyard. Australia will have to do more than just show up, mind, but victory for the hosts is almost a certainty.