Melbourne, Dec 24: Captain Ricky Ponting is unsure whether all rounder Andrew Symonds, struggling with a knee injury, would be fit enough to play the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

Already 1-0 down against South Africa, Australia faces the prospect of making up to three changes for the second Test if Symonds fails to prove his fitness, The Australian reported.

Fellow all-rounder Shane Watson would play if Symonds' condition does not improve, while fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus is putting pressure on Peter Siddle and off-spinner Jason Krejza has already been dropped to make way for Nathan Hauritz.

London, Dec 24: English skipper Kevin Pietersen has said that Yuvraj Singh was a great player, and the sixes hit by him had left him dumbfounded.

The Mohali Test has been punctuated by baiting between Pietersen and Yuvraj, whose 86 was the highlight of the final day of the drawn Test.

Pietersen, who called Yuvraj a pie-chucker a couple of days ago, turned a great admirer of the Punjab batsman on Tuesday.

"The man (Yuvraj Singh) is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in world cricket. The sixes this man hits, leaves me dumbfounded. He is a very special cricketer," is how Pietersen described the Indian left-hander at the end of the Test series against India.

Karachi, Dec. 23 : Former International Cricket Council (ICC) President Ehsaan Mani has said that Pakistan is on the verge of isolation from world cricket.

Mani blamed India, Australia and England of sidelining Pakistan in the international arena.

"Currently the interests of India, Australia and England have aligned and they are completely ignoring Pakistan." he said.

Mani asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take some pro-active approach tomaintain Pakistan's status as one of the leading test playing nation.

Melbourne, Dec 23 : The curator at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Cameron Hodgkins, has said that the pitches he prepared for the two Sheffield Shield matches staged at
the ground this season offered little for spinners and doubts that the Boxing Day Test wicket would be much different.

Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz's hopes of earning an Aussie recall have been dampened by curator Hodgkins' appraisal of how the MCG pitch will play, the Courier Mail
reported.

Sydney, Dec 23 : Australian Test selectors are under heavy pressure to justify their sudden axing of spinner Jason Krejza after just one match for Nathan Hauritz.

There has been widespread support for selectors continuing with out-of-form Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee, but Krejza's dumping had former Australia Test spinners deeply concerned.

They condemned the "spin cycle" policy of constant rotation of Australian tweakers since the retirement of Shane Warne two years ago, FOX Sports reported.

Melbourne, Dec 23 : Australian cricket coach Tim Nielsen has said that the team will consider entering the crucial Boxing Day Test against South Africa without a specialist spinner.

Australia has the options of playing four fast bowlers in Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and debutant Ben Hilfenhaus, or selecting a traditional attack of three quicks and spinner Nathan Hauritz.

Nielsen said he favoured the idea of playing a spinner, but would not guarantee Hauritz a start until the Australians had assessed the conditions closer to the game.