Australian cricket team's plane returns to Nagpur

THE Australian cricket team was involved in a minor emergency yesterday when its plane was forced to return to Nagpur Airport after hitting several birds, believed to be eagles.The birds were sucked into both engines just after the 8.55am take-off.Ricky Ponting's men knew they were in a spot of bother after the plane's captain announced there was "some bad news"."We have hit a number of birds and this may have damaged an engine. We will need to return to Nagpur for maintenance," the pilot said.The Jet-Airways plane was carrying a full load en route to Mumbai, including both the Indian and Australian squads and touring media.Passengers were served breakfast as the plane sat on the tarmac for 30 minutes as attempts were made to repair the engine.The Australians eventually took to the skies at 1.30pm local time.It was another twist in an eventful tour for the Australians, with Andrew Symonds racially abused by spectators and players embroiled in sledging controversies.