Michael Clarke backed up his unbeaten double century

Clarke became the first person in the history of Test cricket to post four 200s in a calendar year as Australia ended Day 1 at Adelaide on 482 for 5.

Michael Clarke posted a successive double century and David Warner and Michael Hussey unleashed whirlwind hundreds as Australia demoralised South Africa in the second Adelaide Test on Thursday.
Clarke backed up his unbeaten double century from last week's drawn Brisbane series-opener with another overpowering innings, becoming the first person in the history of Test cricket to post four 200s in a calendar year.

Warner and Hussey compounded the misery for the Proteas with quickfire tons as Australia romped to 482 for five on the opening day.

It was just the fifth time in all Tests that Australia have scored more than 400 runs in a day's play.
Unchallengeable Clarke has yet to be dismissed in this series and has amassed 483 runs. He is also this year's highest-scoring Test batsman with 1,265 runs at 140.55. At the close he was unconquered on 224. Hussey was bowled by Dale Steyn in the final over for 103 after raising his 18th century with a six off dispirited legspinner Imran Tahir.
South Africa looked far from the world's best team as their bowlers were hammered, after having the home side in trouble at 55 for three in the morning session.
Warner wrested back control with a belligerent 119 off 112 balls and Clarke and Hussey carried on the run plunder.
It was a thoroughly miserable day for the Proteas with three of their leading bowlers having injury concerns -- Vernon Philander withdrawing before the match with a back problem and Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn leaving the ground during the day with hamstring trouble.
Clarke survived a referral on 73 and made the Proteas pay dearly with another commanding knock. He is averaging over 70 with the bat since he became captain last year.
In one Morkel over the sublime Clarke hit five boundaries to raise his 150 and earn a standing ovation from the home crowd.
The home side seized control with a blistering 178 runs off just 26 overs in the middle session.
Warner was in belligerent mood after lunch, smashing spinners Tahir and Faf du Plessis and racing to his third Test century off 93 balls. He reached his hundred with a six and a four off successive Tahir deliveries.
But Warner perished on 119 when he attempted to glide Morne Morkel through the slips, only to edge to Graeme Smith at first slip. He had crashed four sixes and 16 boundaries, putting on 155 runs with Clarke in 24.2 overs.
It was a rousing fightback by Australia after they lost three wickets in the morning session as South Africa suffered two injuries.
Ed Cowan was caught and bowled for 10 off Kallis's third ball, an attempted yorker which struck him on the boot and spooned up off the bat for a dolly return catch. Rob Quiney, who kept his place when Shane Watson failed to recover from a calf injury, went for an eight-ball duck when Morkel enticed him to edge to Smith at first slip.
Ricky Ponting's woes continued when he was bowled third ball for just four, playing inside Kallis.
The former Test skipper was out for a five-ball duck in Brisbane for his third duck in four Test innings against the Proteas. He fared little better in Adelaide, stumbling and losing his footing.

Pakistan Taliban vow to attack Indian targets over Mumbai gunman

Pakistan's Taliban movement threatened on Thursday to attack Indian targets to avenge the country's execution of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of the militant squad responsible for a rampage through Mumbai that killed 166 people in 2008.
Kasab was hanged on Wednesday amid great secrecy, underscoring the political sensitivity of the November 26, 2008, massacre, which still casts a pall over relations between nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India.
"We have decided to target Indians to avenge the killing of Ajmal Kasab," said Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan by telephone from an undisclosed location. Ehsan demanded that India return Kasab's body.
"If they don't return his body to us or his family we will capture Indians and will not return their bodies," he said, adding that the Taliban will try to strike Indian targets "anywhere".
The Taliban, who are close to al Qaeda, are seen as one of the biggest security threats in Pakistan and are blamed for many of the suicide bombings across the country. They have not carried out major attacks abroad.
The sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks was executed on November 21 to the relief of survivors and victims' families, nearly four years after 166 people died in the three-day rampage.

Kasab was charged with 86 offences, including murder and waging war against the Indian state, in a charge-sheet running to more than 11,000 pages.
It was the first time a capital sentence had been carried out in India since 2004. There was celebration on the streets of Mumbai and other cities as news of the execution spread, but militant groups in Pakistan reacted angrily, as did residents of his home village of Faridkot.
People set off fireworks and handed out sweets in Indian cities. Some held up photos of Kasab with a rope noose superimposed over his head.

South Africa In Australia Test Series Schedule

1st Test 09 Nov  - 13 Nov 2012 Brisbane 
2nd Test 22 Nov - 26 Nov 2012 Adelaide Oval
3rd Test 30 Nov  - 04 Dec 2012 W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth

Skipper Michael Clarke wants Australia's batsmen to blunt the vaunted South African pace attack by waging a war of attrition.
The Proteas boast Test cricket's two top-ranked bowlers -- Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander -- but Clarke says Australia's best chance of dethroning the number one ranked South Africans is to wear down their strike weapons.

The tourists have only brought four pace bowlers to Australia and Clarke senses an opportunity to erode their effectiveness throughout the three Tests.
Clarke, who has still to decide on his own bowling attack, wants batsmen to occupy the crease for long periods to test the physical endurance of Steyn, and Philander.
"It's certainly the hardest time to bat against the bowler's first spell," Clarke told a Test-eve press conference in Brisbane on Thursday.
"The longer they are out in the field the heavier their legs become so as a batting group we're really keen to spend as much time out in the middle as possible.
"They have only four fast bowlers in their touring party and if we can make them spend as much time in the field as possible, hopefully that we will put us in good stead for the next two Tests."
Steyn, 287 wickets in 57 Tests, and Philander, 63 wickets in just 10 Tests, are likely to be backed up by Morne Morkel, all-rounder Jacques Kallis and leg-spinner Imran Tahir in South Africa's first Test in Brisbane in 49 years.
"They are experienced and they have a very good attack," Clarke said.

Andhra High Court lifts the ban on Azharuddin

The Andhra Pradesh High Court Thursday struck down the life ban imposed on former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) 12 years ago.
A division bench of the high court set aside the order of a lower court which had upheld the ban.

It was on December 5, 2000, that the BCCI banned Azhar from playing cricket for life after being found guilty of match-fixing.
The Hyderabadi had challenged the Indian cricket board's decision in the City Civil Court, which upheld the ban. He then moved to high court against the lower court's order, his lawyers arguing that the BCCI imposed the ban without any evidence.
The 49-year-old is currently a member of parliament from Moradabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
Azhar, one of India's successful captains, played 99 Tests scoring over 6,215 runs during his career. He also played 334 One-Day Internationals scoring 9,378 runs in his 15-year international career.
"I am a relieved man. I fought this battle for so long with patience. It has been a tough battle and I am grateful to everyone who has supported me during this difficult period," Azhar told reporters at a press conference at his residence here shortly after the high court order.

How College Students Spent Election Day

The presidential campaigns are over, political ads no longer lead each commercial break, and Election Day 2012 has come and gone with one candidate standing: President Barack Obama has been re-elected for a second term.
While the youth vote—which includes voters between the ages of 18 and 29 years old—made up a large piece of the voting pie in 2008, these voters comprised 19 percent of the electorate in 2012, up 1 percent from 2008.

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), an independent youth research organization based at Tufts University, announced today that roughly 22 to 23 million youth voters, or at least 49 percent of all Americans in this age group, voted in the presidential election, based on results from national exit polls, demographic data, and current counts of votes cast.
"Young people are energized and committed voters," said Peter Levine, director of CIRCLE, in a press release. "Youth turnout of around 50 [percent] is the 'new normal' for presidential elections. Considering that there are 46 million people between 18 and 29, this level of turnout makes them an essential political bloc."
Obama won the majority of votes among youth voters—receiving 60 percent of the votes, compared to Governor Mitt Romney's 36 percent, according to the national exit polls conducted by Edison Research.
"The role young people would play during this election has been a major question in American politics for over a year, and it seems the answer is that they have been as big a force at the polls in 2012 as in 2008," Levine noted.