Hodge seeks to consolidate middle-order place

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, Mar 4 (Reuters) Brad Hodge, one of the smaller men in the Australia cricket side, is the only member of his side so far to loft the ball out of the Arnos Vale practice grounds on to the tarmac at the adjoining airport.

Now his goal is to consolidate a place in the Australian middle order for the World Cup when the defending champions open their campaign with a warmup match against Zimbabwe on Tuesday.

''I managed to clear one on to the tarmac, I think I'm the only player to do so,'' Hodge told reporters after practice on Sunday, this time at the tiny Stubbs ground set in the side of a hill on the volcanic island.

''It was a pretty strong breeze, I managed to put one across, it was a pretty good hit, actually.'' Hodge is the form batsman in the Australia side after reaching the nineties twice this year, including an unbeaten 99 against New Zealand.

BEST FORM But he needs to strike his best form immediately if he is to retain his spot when all-rounder Andrew Symonds returns after injury.

''I think I'm good enough to be in the top 11,'' Hodge said.

''I think I'm playing well enough to bat somewhere in the Australian cricket team. I'm in form, so that's the main thing.

''I'm just going to play the best way I can possibly play, the way I have played in the last three or four games for Australia, that's the recipe.'' Hodge, 32, is one of the batsmen who have suffered from the high quality of the players available to the Australian selectors for the past decade.

He has played only 13 one-day internationals and averages 58.42 in his five tests, a figure admittedly inflated by an unbeaten double century against South Africa.

''This is the first time I have been here, so it's an unknown,'' he added. ''I don't know what the conditions will be like here, I'm only going on what the experienced players have told me.'' The Australians, aiming to become the first team to win the World Cup three times in a row and claim their number world ranking back from South Africa, practised with their customary intensity at Stubbs, losing at least half a dozen balls in the tropical forest surrounding the ground.

Shaun Tait worked up a menacing pace from his long run, rapping captain Ricky Ponting painfully on the right thumb, after which he immediately cut his approach back.

Matthew Hayden, who is recuperating from a broken bone in his foot, again confined himself to a number of brisk walks around the ground before ice treatment while Symonds, who has a injured right bicep, had throwdowns in the nets, this time with a hard ball.

Adam Gilchrist, who will join the team late after the birth of his third child, is also unlikely to play against Zimbabwe, giving a rare chance to his understudy Brad Haddin.

REUTERS SP RAI2350