Big boys arrive in Chennai

Chennai: Australia’s key batsman Michael Hussey along with New Zealanders Stephen Fleming and Jacob Oram arrived here this morning to join the training sessions of Chennai Super Kings team that is preparing for the Indian Premiler League tournament commencing on April 18.

The arrival of the three “big boys” created an immediate buzz at the MA Chidambaram Stadium where the trio joined the rest of the bunch for a two-hour net session besides some fielding practice.

Hussey, in particular, showed little signs of a jet lag despite the long flight from Australia. Having checked into his hotel at about 2 pm, Hussey was down in the lobby within half-hour, ready to take the transport to the stadium for the training session.

Fleming, the former Black Caps captain and all-rounder Oram landed in the wee hours of today, and were “exempted” from the morning training.

Meanwhile, Australia’s opening batsman Matthew Hayden is expected to join the team on April 15 while Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan is likely to arrive in Chennai on Monday.

The other foreign import of the Chennai Super Kings team, Makhaya Ntini, is presently doing duty for South Africa in the Test match at Kanpur and he would be joining the “Kings” at a later date.