Aussies bow out of Hong Kong Sixes tournament

Hong Kong, Nov 11 (UNI) Even as the Australians are tipped to win their Ashes battle against England, their seven-member team here for the Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong Sixes tournament bowed out of the knockout stage without a whimper, losing both their group matches today.

Coach Tim Nielsen, however, held out some promises in the remaining games for the minor places in this nine-nation tournament as he talked about the upcoming Ashes series and his prospects as the national coach in place of John Buchanan, who would be retiring after the World Cup in the West Indies next year.

Agreeing that he was very much in line for the coveted job, Nielsen said it was up to Cricket Australia to pick up.

''Yes, any day it is a great honour to coach such a competent side. Who doesn't want to become the coach of this team?'' he asked.

But, Nielsen said, he was satisfied with the current job as chief coach of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. He took up the job last year after serving a three-year stint under Australian coach Buchanan as his assistant.

''I am perfectly ok with the academy. We have a lot of boys who are doing well and ready to take on the mantle of seniors as and when they leave the scene,'' he said.

That inevitably brought another question as to what happens after the ageing players in the current lot leaves the stage. But Nielsen said there was no problem about replacements as their supply line was very strong.

''As far as I am concerned, if the seniors keep themselves physically fit and mentally strong, there is no need to look beyond them at the moment. In case a few of them retire, we do have players of calibre to replace them,'' he said.

Talking about the Ashes, Nielsen said Australia are desperate to winback the series after their loss in England last time.

''We are geared up for the challenge and the best thing is we have the home advantage. It's always difficult to win the Ashes in away series. But at home the conditions are different,'' he added.

Nielsen said the England would be strengthened once Michael Vaughan returns to the squad.

''He is a fine player and a very good captain. When he was in Australia for the Ashes last time, he was their best batsman, scoring over 600 runs in the series. Once he returns to lead England, Freddie (Andrew Flintoff) will be able to concentrate on his batting and bowling. That will help the team so much,'' he said.

He, however, said the success of Australia this summer would depend on the batting form of their top three batsmen _ Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden and skipper Ricky Ponting.

''It's necessary for the three to fire at the top of the order,'' he said.

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