05 January 2004	Monday	12 Ziqa'ad 1424

SYDNEY, Jan 4: Australia's batsmen say they will not curb their natural instincts despite the prospect of having to bat through two days to save the final Test with India. Australia were facing their first series loss at home in a decade.

Justin Langer, who made 117 on Sunday, said the task of trying to force a draw was as great a challenge as anything the world champions had faced in recent years. But the left-hander said his compatriots would not be lured into abandoning their traditional aggressive batting tactics to save the match. "It's not in our nature to bat defensively," he said.

Langer said he was still hopeful his team mates could grant retiring captain Steve Waugh one of his wishes in his farewell match. "One of the things (Waugh) said when he took over the captaincy five years ago was that one of the areas he wanted us to improve on was to fight out hard draws," Langer said.-Reuters