MS Dhoni wants top order to fire

MS Dhoni wants top order to fire

Indian captain MS Dhoni has asked his top order batsmen to fire if India are to take a lead in the ODI series, which now stands at 2-2 with three matches to play. Dhoni blamed the defeat in the third ODI in Mohali on a collective failure of the top order after the bowlers did well to restrict Australia to 250 on a good batting track.

India began briskly in their chase and were in the game till the 24th over at 113 for 3, before Yuvraj Singh was run out off a direct hit by Ricky Ponting. Dhoni was the fifth wicket to fall, for 26, and his dismissal left a lot of responsibility on the lower order.

"Top order batsmen need to bat well and not rely on the lower order," Dhoni said on the eve of the fifth game in Hyderabad. "If you are playing with seven batsmen, it's better to get a big score from six of them rather than use the seventh, who we call as a backup batsman, especially when you are chasing.

"If one among the top order gets a big score it becomes easy for us as the others can rotate around him. If we have a good start we can get on to a big score so as to dictate terms and play according to your pace."

Dhoni justified Ravindra Jadeja's position at No.7 and insisted that he was in the team as a bowling allrounder. Jadeja bowled seven overs for 27 but scored only 7 as the pressure mounted in the chase.

"He's (Jadeja) filling in the space of bowling allrounder. He's bowling really well," Dhoni said. "His batting is also important. Batting at No.7 is not about getting big fifties or 70s. It's about scoring quickly. And if we are batting second and if we lose wickets every batsman is needed to score extra runs on the board."

Dhoni, however, was happy with the way his bowlers had performed. They conceded only 27 runs and took four wickets in the batting Powerplay, which Australia took in the 44th over. They also didn't allow Australia to get off to a flier in the chase of 355 in Nagpur.

"The last couple of games Harbhajan [Singh] had bowled really well," Dhoni said. "I can't complain much. The (new ball) bowlers have always gotten off to a good start.

"Ashish Nehra has been the pick. Praveen [Kumar] has also done well. Ishant Sharma had a couple of off games for him. He's done well in a couple of them. Last game, he got targeted a bit. I'm quite happy with the performance of the bowlers overall."

With the business end of the series virtually reduced to a three-match contest, Dhoni warned his team against taking their foot off the pedal.

"Now we can see it as a three-game series. Every game is important now. It's important not to have an off day. As the number of games gets reduced there's no time to recover."

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Australia survive for tense victory

Australia survive for tense victory

If the best way to spark interest in a seven-match ODI series is to stage a brilliantly tense opener, then Australia and India achieved their goal in Vadodara. Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey set up what looked like being a comfortable Australian win until a lively, crowd-lifting partnership from Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar threatened to snatch victory for India.

In the end, nine were required from the final over and Peter Siddle held his nerve to confirm a four-run margin in Australia's favour. The key moment came when Harbhajan (49) was bowled from the second ball of the 50th, trying to launch a boundary off Siddle. Six from the last ball was too much for Ashish Nehra to produce.

The feisty 84-run stand from Harbhajan and Praveen was unexpected after India fell to 201 for 7 with ten overs remaining, when they needed more than nine an over. Shane Watson won't want to watch the replay of his final overs; he became predictable with his full tosses outside off and when he sent down the 49th of the innings it cost Australia 20 runs.

Ultimately, Australia got off the hook, largely because India had let themselves down in the field and through the middle overs of their own innings. Although Praveen, with his unbeaten 40 from 32 balls nearly got them home, his ten overs earlier in the day had cost 77 and Australia's batting contributions were even and widespread.

Ricky Ponting thinks a seven-match one-day series is too long; Michael Hussey would play cricket 365 days a year if he could. Both men looked sharp at the start of this tour in setting up the challenging total of 292 for 8. Ponting and Tim Paine built the platform before Cameron White and Hussey drove the total higher, and all four men posted half-centuries.

Australia took their batting Powerplay from the 43rd over and it brought 3 for 33 (India's would later result in 3 for 32) after the powerful White skied a catch for 51 from the second delivery. It was important that Hussey bat until the end and he did survive to the final few balls, accumulating his runs in typically anonymous and understated fashion.

One exception came in the penultimate over when he launched Praveen for a monstrous straight six that left the ground and was so impressive that Hussey was even caught by the TV cameras raising his eyebrows and mouthing "that's big" to his partner. But for the most part, Hussey pierced the field along the ground and ticked the score over with hard, tireless running between the wickets.

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Ponting upset by disrupted ODI lead-up

Ponting upset by disrupted ODI lead-up

A frustrated Ricky Ponting admitted Australia's preparations for the opening ODI against India were unsettled by New South Wales' success in the Champions League Twenty20. Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz and Doug Bollinger arrived on the eve of Sunday's match following their state side's million dollar payday on Friday.

The trio flew from Hyderabad to Vadodara and landed after Australia's team meeting for the series opener. "There's no doubt those guys playing in the final hindered our preparation," Ponting told AAP. "We had three players fly in and get to the hotel at 8.30pm Saturday night and we're leaving the hotel at 7am on match morning. There was not much time for us to get our team tactics in order - we had a team meeting after training and those blokes were not even here. It hindered our preparation and theirs."

Lee was able to deliver only six overs in the first-up win before complaining of an elbow injury while Hauritz picked up 1 for 34 off nine overs and Bollinger didn't play. Lee's problem will be examined before Wednesday's second ODI in Nagpur.

"He got a little bit sore in his elbow towards the end of his second bowling spell," Ponting said. "He came off and had it looked at then came back on and fielded for the rest of the game but right at the moment we are not sure."

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Once fit, I knew I'd return - Nehra

Once fit, I knew I'd return - Nehra

Two operations each on his right and left ankles. Stress fractures of the back. "And other freak injuries. And some other injuries that had nothing to do with fitness." Ashish Nehra has been to hell and back. For two years between his comeback and the last time he played for India, a period almost four years long, he says he didn't even watch cricket on TV.

"Half the time I was in South Africa, some time in England, some time in Australia. When India were winning the World Twenty20, I was in Munich," Nehra said. South Africa for ankle surgery, Munich for a back fracture, Australia for other treatment. "At some level it was a conscious decision too, it can get frustrating."
Nehra doesn't seem to be as temperamental now as he used to be. Peace with his body seems to have helped make peace with his mind. He has also been a godsend for MS Dhoni, who has lost the services of Zaheer Khan watched Ishant Sharma's form dip considerably. Ironically it was Zaheer, out because of injury, who used to tell Nehra, along with Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan, that he was not out on form but because of fitness.

Dhoni now has at least one go-to man in the opening overs, the batting Powerplay, and at the death. "Slowly, day by day, I have grown in confidence," said Nehra. "I am feeling good, and enjoying it more every passing day. I am enjoying the responsibility too. It's tough to bowl in the Powerplays, but I have been bowling three-three overs then. I feel good that the team is giving me responsibility, and thinks I am good enough."

Nehra has got a taste of what he had missed in the last four years, and is enjoying it fully. He doesn't want to get too excited and start thinking of Tests already. "I want to take it series by series. I could get injured tomorrow also. It's also possible I play the next eight months without any injury."

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Manou gloves up to replace hurt Paine

Manou gloves up to replace hurt Paine

Graham Manou will add some one-day international appearances to his Ashes Test after winning a promotion to Australia's team in India following Tim Paine's broken finger. Manou was due to fly to Delhi on Thursday night and will land in time for the third match of the seven-game series on Saturday.

He was watching movies instead of the cricket on Wednesday and woke up to text messages from friends hoping he would be picked. He went to state training as usual and ran into Jamie Cox, a national selector, who told him to head home and pack for his first visit to India.

"It's straight into the cauldron of one of the toughest environments in world cricket," he said. "It's going to be a fantastic challenge and hopefully I can learn from it and bring the experience back to our group." He will also be able to pass on some tips to his partner Tamsyn Lewis, the middle-distance runner, who is looking towards the Commonwealth Games in Delhi next year.

"After this experience and the Ashes, you could say you could be pretty happy, but I'll certainly be wanting more," he said. "Fingers crossed this part of the tour goes well."

Hartley has started at the top of the order in Queensland's past two FR Cup matches and posted half-centuries, but the selectors have kept faith in their original pecking order. Manou, the South Australia captain, has elevated himself to No. 4 in their limited-overs contests this summer, falling for 2 and 34.

Haddin is not quite ready for international responsibilities after finger surgery following the injury he picked up in England and will play instead in a one-day match for New South Wales on Sunday. "It is premature for Brad to resume cricket for Australia," Hilditch said, "having not played first-class cricket since The Oval Ashes Test." Paine's injury adds to a horror run for the Australians, who have concerns over Brett Lee and James Hopes, and had Michael Clarke, Nathan Bracken and Callum Ferguson unavailable for the tour.

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Big-hitting Dhoni helps level series

Big-hitting Dhoni helps level series

First, he consolidated the innings with Gautam Gambhir. Then, in tandem with Suresh Raina, he ripped the bowling to shreds. MS Dhoni's superb 107-ball 124 was the foundation for India's highest-ever total against Australia, a mammoth 354 for 7, and once Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma winkled out Australia's top three for just 45, the match was effectively over. Michael Hussey's 53 provided a lone note of defiance as India romped home by 99 runs, to leave the series all square as the teams packed their bags and headed to Delhi.
Praveen didn't start too well with the new ball, and it seemed that the mistakes of Vadodara were being repeated. But then he got a full delivery to swing and take the inside edge of Paine's bat. The leg stump went cartwheeling and India were on their way. Conscious of the asking rate, Ponting got going with a lovely off-drive off Ashish Nehra, prompting Dhoni to bring Ishant on in the 10th over.

The very first ball he bowled reared up at Watson, and was fended off the face to Tendulkar at slip. As Watson walked off, angry words were exchanged. The potentially decisive blow came from the other end, as Praveen nipped one back to strike Ponting right in front. At 45 for 3, Australia were on the ropes.

Hussey revived the innings somewhat with three consecutive fours through the off side when Harbhajan was introduced, but when Cameron White's stop-start innings ended with a tame clip to midwicket, the asking rate was on its way towards 10 an over. Ravindra Jadeja then bowled Hussey through the gate, bringing the curtain down on the contest long before the last ball was bowled.

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Lee desperate for quick recovery

Lee desperate for quick recovery

Brett Lee has set his sights on playing in the first Test against West Indies despite being sent home from India with an elbow injury. Lee has had ankle and side problems before the latest setback, but he intends to fight for his spot.

"I will be doing everything I possibly can to make sure I'm back on the cricket field ASAP," Lee said after arriving back in Sydney. "I still enjoy my cricket and I still think the way that I've been bowling, I've been really happy with my personal form. I have to make sure I stay nice and fit."

Now 32, Lee must edge ahead of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and Stuart Clark to add to his 76 Tests. Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, said Lee was sent home to give him the best chance of recovering.

"It is not a case of writing him off at all," Nielsen said in the Sunday Mail. "We are just being careful and prudent. It is only three weeks before the first Test so we want to get to the source of the problem the best way we can and get the best diagnosis."

Lee hurt himself in the opening ODI against India last Sunday after bowling six overs. He insisted the problem was not related to his appearances in the Champions League Twenty20, and he is not the only player with a recent heavy workload. Australia have been hit by a series of injuries since the Ashes tour and have less than a month before the Test series against West Indies begins in Brisbane on November 26.

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MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh lead India to victory

MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh lead India to victory

Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni shared a serene 148-run stand to help India win a battle of attrition on a sluggish track at the Feroz Shah Kotla and take a 2-1 lead in the seven-ODI series. Australia would perhaps rue the fact that they settled for 229 when they batted after winning an important toss.


"A total of 220 should be a good score on this pitch," Ponting had said and Australia's approach while batting reflected his mindset. Their bowlers did pick up three quick top-order wickets to leave India wobbling at 53 for 3 but Yuvraj and Dhoni batted with the knowledge that sufficient time spent at the crease would ensure a risk-free victory. The pitch was slow and not conducive to stroke making but it did not spin treacherously, despite the visibly dramatic wear and tear.
Before Hussey played his characteristic innings, Ponting and Watson played uncharacteristic ones to give the innings a steady start. With swing out of the question, the Indian seamers tried to win lbw decisions by bowling as straight as possible and the spinners slowed their pace and kept to an off and middle stump line. Ponting began cautiously, taking care to get his bat in front of the pads, and dealt in singles. Watson also batted in a similar vein and just when he was beginning to cut loose, he fell to Yuvraj after he was beaten by flight and turn and dragged his back foot out of the crease. Hussey came to Australia's rescue with an assured knock but it wasn't enough to stop India from going ahead in the series.

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James Hopes to return home, Clint McKay called up

James Hopes to return home, Clint McKay called up

Australian allrounder James Hopes will not take any further part in the ongoing seven-match series in India due to a hamstring injury and is set to fly back home. Cricket Australia's selection panel has confirmed that Clint McKay , the Victoria fast bowler, will join the squad as cover.

Hopes' injury is the latest setback to the team which is currently 2-1 down with four games remaining. Hopes bowled just two overs in the first ODI in Vadodara before leaving the field after pulling his right hamstring.

"James has done everything he can with medical staff to try and make himself available for the remaining games of the tour of India," Kevin Sims, the team physiotherapist, said. "However due to the compressed nature of this tour and his speed of recovery so far, we feel now we have insufficient time to have James fully fit to take part in the remaining games of this series.

"Therefore a decision has been made that James will return to Australia where he will continue his rehabilitation from this hamstring injury."

McKay, 26, was impressive for Victoria during the Champions League Twenty20, which he finished as the tournament's joint second-highest wicket-taker (with Moises Henriques) with ten wickets at an impressive economy rate of 6 per over. In the 2007-08 FR Cup, he collected a remarkable 13 wickets at 14.76 from only five games.

"Clinton is a young promising bowler who performed well at inter-state level last season and has recent very good form for Victoria in the Champions League in India," Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. "He will be very well suited to Indian conditions and we believe he is another young player who benefit from the experience of being in the Australian team set-up during this tour.

"We also feel he has the ability to perform well at the international level. With Moises having played in the last ODI game and James Hopes going home, Moises will now remain with the squad in India for the duration of the series."

Hopes joins Australia's strike bowler Brett Lee and wicketkeeper Tim Paine, who have already flown home after picking up injuries. Lee was unable to complete his quota of overs in Vadodara - he bowled six - after complaining of a sore right elbow.

Paine broke his finger during the second game in Nagpur and was replaced by Graham Manou. Before the series began, Australia had already lost Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Callum Ferguson and Nathan Bracken to injuries.

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Impressive Australia draw level

Impressive Australia draw level
Shane Watson took three lower-order wickets after scoring ...

It was India's game to lose after they restricted Australia to a par total of 250 on a good batting pitch, especially after the fiery start provided by Virender Sehwag. However, Australia won the vital moments during the chase to level the series in Mohali. Like in Vadodara, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar threatened to pull off a heist; like in Vadodara they failed.


It was a roller-coaster of a chase and whenever India appeared to be getting ahead, Australia fought back with a vengeance. It wasn't necessarily great bowling that did the trick but it was disciplined enough to force mistakes from under-pressure batsmen.


India were off to a cracking start. Sehwag looted 30 runs from 14 deliveries from Mitchell Johnson but no one took ownership of the chase and India slowly lost their way. The first turning point came when Ricky Ponting introduced spin in the 17th over. Nathan Hauritz stuck in his second over, earning an lbw decision against Sachin Tendulkar but the ball appeared to be missing leg stump.
Australia's task was made harder by the discipline of all the bowlers except Ishant Sharma. The new-ball bowlers, Praveen and Ashish Nehra, found enough movement to keep the top order quiet and both returned to choke the batsmen in the end overs. The spinners, too, found enough bite to cover up for Ishant's wayward spells. Harbhajan put in his best performance of the series, slowing up the pace and flighting on off and middle stump line. Harbhajan tried with the bat too but it was always going to be a tough for him to pull off the improbable.

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Patient Bollinger grabbing his chance

Patient Bollinger grabbing his chance

Doug Bollinger is desperate to prove himself as international cricketer after stepping in to Australia's injury-depleted attack in India. And Bollinger made a good start, grabbing 3 for 38 in Monday's ODI in Mohali to help Australia level the series with a 24-run victory.

Bollinger has had to show immense patience over the past couple of years after going on Australia's Test tours of the West Indies, India and South Africa without breaking into the team. His only Test was against South Africa at the SCG this year and before this tour, three ODIs in the UAE completed the list of his games for Australia.

But a run of injuries to Australia's key fast men has given Bollinger an opportunity in India, and he intends to make the most of it. The squad began without Nathan Bracken and then lost Brett Lee and James Hopes mid-series, which meant Bollinger has had to step up over the past two games.
"Nobody wants to see anyone injured, especially Brett who's got 300 Test wickets and 300 one-day wickets ... but someone's injury is someone's opportunity," Bollinger told AAP. "I wish him all the best but I've tried to put my best foot forward and say 'this is my time', and I've tried to grab it as much as I can to try and make my own way through."

Bollinger bowled tightly in Delhi, where his ten overs cost 26 runs, and his three wickets in Mohali have helped make him a key member of the attack for the remainder of the series. It helped that he was already accustomed to the Indian conditions after playing for New South Wales in the Champions League Twenty20.

"The Champions League was a great stepping stone to this tournament because I'd bowled a bit over in Delhi and Hyderabad," he said. "I'm fit and well at the moment and I think I'm starting to climb a bit higher with my confidence in international cricket, and just in cricket in general."

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India v Australia

India v Australia
Australia survive terrific Tendulkar

Nobody does solos better than Sachin Tendulkar, nor, perhaps, has anyone endured as much heartbreak during those solos. It was India of the 90s all over again: Tendulkar almost chased 351 on his own but, with the target in sight, he got out and the rest choked, falling short by three runs with two balls still to go. In Chennai in 1998-99, Tendulkar, having played an innings as incredible as this, left the last three wickets 17 to get; tonight he left them 19 off 17.
Then Australia were let to get their foot in. Them opportunistic Aussies. Raina top-edged and Graham Manou took a special catch running behind. Harbhajan went in the same over. Tendulkar and Ravindra Jadeja added 32 for seventh wicket, and with the Powerplay going on it seemed a matter of Tendulkar's staying there till the end. But with Australia, it always seemed a matter of getting Tendulkar out. There seemed more men around than there were before, more attempts at stumps ensued, Tendulkar started misjudging singles.

On came Clint McKay, the Victorian debutant, to bowl the 48th over with just 19 required. Tendulkar went to clear short fine leg. It was a slower delivery. He found Hauritz. It was all over. Jadeja ran himself out, Ashish Nehra holed out to long-on, and Praveen was run out in the final over.
After Watson's dismissal, Australia slowed down a bit, but picked off again in the 34th over. Australia didn't go wild slogging, yet managed at least a boundary hit each in the Powerplay overs, taken in the 35th. Forty-four came in those five, Marsh soon reached his maiden century, his strike-rate crossed 100 as he did so, suggesting a smartly paced innings.

For the innings as a whole to be considered smartly paced, Cameron White and Hussey added 79 in the last seven overs. And as it turned out, they needed every single one of them to survive Tendulkar.

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India v Australia

India v Australia

'One of my best' - Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar has rated his dazzling 141-ball 175 in the fifth one-dayer against Australia as "one of his best" innings. While orchestrating a stiff chase of 351, Tendulkar looked on course to break the record for the highest individual score in an ODI innings but was undone by a slower ball from debutant Clint McKay in the 48th over, after which India ended four runs short.

"It was one of my best innings, I was striking the ball very well and we were chasing 351 so there was constant pressure," Tendulkar said. "We maintained the run rate and brought the game close, but in the end it was very disappointing."

After sliding to 162 for 4, India were put back on track for what would have been the second highest target achieved in one-dayers by a 137-run stand between Tendulkar and Suresh Raina. India were favourites after 42 overs, needing only 52 runs with a Powerplay still in hand and Raina and Tendulkar in top gear. However, a combination of clever bowling and tigerish fielding from Australia, and some inept running from India handed the visitors a 3-2 series lead.

One bright spot for Tendulkar was that on 7, he became the first to reach the 17,000-run mark in one-dayers. When asked how he stayed motivated over the course of an international career which is days short of being two decades long, he said: "The passion - I care about playing for India. It's always been a dream and I'm absolutely honoured that I've been able to do that for the past 20 years."

Sourav Ganguly, with whom Tendulkar formed the most prolific opening partnership in one-dayers, lauded Tendulkar for reaching the milestone and hoped there was more to come. "It's really a remarkable achievement", Ganguly said. "I wish he scores another 2000 runs by 2011 World Cup. Sachin knows best how to accumulate runs. Once he gets going he becomes unstoppable."

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UN relocating about 600 staff after Afghan attack

KABUL – The United Nations said Thursday that it will send more than half its international staff either out of Afghanistan or into more secure compounds following last week's deadly Taliban attack against U.N. workers — the most direct targeting of its employees during decades of work in the country.

About 600 nonessential staffers will be affected by the move, the U.N. said. The announcement came as the head of the U.N. mission issued a stern warning to newly re-elected President Hamid Karzai that he must crack down on corruption and initiate reform or risk losing international support.

The U.N. is still reeling from the pre-dawn assault on a guesthouse in the capital that left five of its staffers dead.

The world body insists it remains committed to Afghanistan, but its actions show how much security has degraded in the country and raise questions about the future of its work if attacks continue.

The relocations follow a U.N. decision on Monday to suspend much of its work in the volatile northwest of neighboring Pakistan because of increasingly targeted attacks.

The 600 U.N. employees will be moved for three to four weeks to more secure locations both within and outside of Afghanistan while the world body works to find safer permanent housing, spokesman Aleem Siddique said. He said they did not know how many would actually be leaving the country.

"We are not talking about pulling out," the head of the mission, Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide, told reporters. "We are not talking about evacuation."

He said a number of options were being considered for those who have to leave the country, including Dubai — a typical destination for international workers in Afghanistan on rest breaks.

Still, Eide made clear that the U.N. is concerned about the deteriorating situation in the country and the government's failure to stamp out corruption which helps fuel the insurgency.

"There is a belief among some that the international commitment to Afghanistan will continue whatever happens because of the strategic importance of Afghanistan," Eide said during a news conference in Kabul. "I would like to emphasize that that is not correct. It is the public opinion in donor countries and in troop-contributing countries that decides on the strength of that commitment."

The majority of the U.N.'s 1,100 international staff in Afghanistan lives in the capital, spread out in more than 90 guesthouses.

The plan is to consolidate those living arrangements to better protect staff, Siddique said. He stressed this was not a pullout or a scale-down in operations. About 80 percent of the U.N.'s staff in Afghanistan are Afghan citizens, and they will not be moved or halt their work, he said.

"We've been here for over half a century, and we're not about to go any time soon," Siddique said.

Much U.N. work in Afghanistan has been put on hold since the attack and employees have been given the option to take leave while officials consider how to better protect them.

Eide stressed that most of those who will be relocated are support staff, not those doing humanitarian work or leading urgent programs.

"We are doing everything we can do to minimize disruption of our work during this period," Eide said.

In the Oct. 28 attack, gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed a private guesthouse where dozens of U.N. staffers lived, killing five U.N. workers and three Afghans. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault, saying they intentionally targeted U.N. employees working on the recent presidential election.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon requested an additional $75 million to help with security improvements and crisis preparation in Afghanistan after the attack, spokesman Adrian Edwards said.

"There is no going back to the previous situation we were in. Our security clearly isn't up to the job of dealing with these kinds of attacks," Edwards said.

In Pakistan, the U.N. has suspended long-term development work — projects with a five-year or longer time frame — in the tribal areas and the North West Frontier Province, regions that border Afghanistan and have large areas under Taliban control.

The U.N. has lost 11 staffers in attacks in Pakistan this year, including last month's bombing of the World Food Program's office in Islamabad that killed five people.

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New jobless claims drop to 512K, lowest since Jan.

WASHINGTON – The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in 10 months, evidence that job cuts are easing as the economy slowly heals.

Still, companies are reluctant to hire and economists expect the unemployment rate will tick up to 9.9 percent when October's figure is reported Friday. The jobless rate hit a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September.

The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 512,000. That's better than economists' estimates of 523,000.

Economists closely watch initial claims, which are considered a gauge of the pace of layoffs and an indication of employers' willingness to hire new workers.

The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, dropped to 523,750, its ninth straight decline. That's 135,000 below the peak for the recession, reached in early April.

Despite the improvement, initial claims remain well above the roughly 400,000 that economists say will signal job creation.

The economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual pace in the July-September quarter, the government said last week, ending a record four straight quarters of decline and providing the strongest signal yet that the recession is over.

But economists worry that growth will slow early next year as various government stimulus programs wind down. That uncertainty has made many employers reluctant to hire.

On Wall Street, the better-than-expected jobless claims report gave investors hope that the monthly unemployment report also might beat expectations. The Dow Jones industrial average added more than 130 points in morning trading, and broader indexes also gained.

Many companies also are squeezing more production from their existing work forces. Productivity, the amount of output per hour worked, jumped 9.5 percent in the third quarter, the Labor Department said in a separate report. That's the sharpest increase in six years, and it enables companies to produce more without hiring extra workers.

Some economists were encouraged by the productivity report, saying that eventually companies will have to add jobs, rather than simply push their existing work forces harder.

Economists expect the nation lost a net total of 175,000 jobs last month, adding to the 7.2 million lost since the recession began in December 2007.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits for more than a week fell by 68,000 to 5.75 million, above analysts' estimates but the eighth drop in nine weeks. The continuing claims data lag initial claims by one week.

Another 4.1 million people claimed extended unemployment benefits in the week ended Oct. 17, the latest data available, an increase of about 100,000 from the previous week. Congress has added 53 weeks of emergency aid on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states.

Still, as roughly 7,000 Americans run out of extended benefits every day, the House is expected to approve legislation that would add another 14 to 20 weeks. The Senate unanimously approved a similar proposal Wednesday.

The National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group, estimates that up to 1.3 million people would exhaust their benefits without the extension.

Many analysts expect the unemployment rate could rise as high as 10.5 percent before the recovery gains enough steam to start pushing it down next summer. The concern is that the recovery and consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, could falter if households remain squeezed by layoffs, stagnant wages and depleted savings.

The Federal Reserve pledged Wednesday to keep interest rates low for an "extended period," which central bank policymakers can do because wage and general inflation pressures have vanished during the steep downturn.

Some companies are still announcing job cuts. Microsoft said Wednesday that it will eliminate 800 jobs on top of 5,000 layoffs that it announced in January. And Johnson & Johnson said it could cut up to 8,300 jobs as part of a restructuring.

Among the states, California reported the largest increase in claims, with 14,394, which it attributed to layoffs in the construction, services, manufacturing and agriculture industries. North Carolina, Oregon, Georgia and New York had the next largest increases. The state data lag initial claims by a week.

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