John Buchanan, the Australia coach, has warned his players not to get too complacent in the Ashes later this year against an England side hampered by injury worries to key players. His comments follow the news of Michael Vaughan pulling out of the tour due to a knee injury.Besides Vaughan, Simon Jones too is likely to miss the Ashes after the ECB confirmed last month that he will need five months to recover from his knee injury knee. Ashley Giles is yet to recover from a hip injury while Andrew Flintoff is currently nursing a crocked ankle, which has ruled him out of the first Test against Pakistan at Lord’s next week.However, with the tour still four months away, Buchanan was well aware of the likelihood of the players recuperating in time to defend the Ashes. “England would probably be really relishing this sort of challenge, trying to beat us without him [Vaughan],” Buchanan told . “However, they will have months to prepare and plan for not having him for the Ashes and there are plenty of other dangermen in their side.”Buchanan added that England’s recent poor form could make them more determined to beat Australia. England lost all five one-day matches to Sri Lanka at home after drawing the Tests 1-1 and will be up against a strong Pakistan side for the rest of the summer.”Have a look at the way they have approached things, you can’t read too much into the way they are playing,” he said. “A number of their best players aren’t on the field, but one would suspect that 90% of their players from last year’s Ashes will be here this summer.”
South Australia maintained their dominance of their ACB Cup match with Western Australia in Perth yesterday and left the home side battling to avoid the follow-on.The breakthrough for Western Australia came in the 12th over of the daywhen Shane Deitz was cleverly deceived by Michael Clark who held back on the delivery enough to have the ball played back to him and he held on with delight.Deitz had spent five hours at the crease amassing 140 runs with 16 fours and ahuge six. His defence was impenetrable, the array of his shot selectionvast. South Australia working up to an imposing first innings total of 347with six wickets gone.Together Deitz and Callum Ferguson put on 179 runs in three hours and 20 minutes to form the backbone of the South Australian firstinnings.Clark finally got some reward for his patience and diligence. Lookingmuch better from the River end as opposed to the Canning Road end where hehad bowled all throughout the previous day.John Davison didn’t last long at the crease. He became Clark’s second victim14 balls after the fall of Deitz – shaping to play toward off and beingstruck on the pad and ajudged leg before wicket. South Australia were 7/355.Ferguson hit a huge six off Karppinen when the bowler delivered the firstball of his fifth over of the day a bit short down the leg-side andFerguson pulled the ball four metres over the boundary backward of square legand it almost rolled through the door of the green keeper’s hut.Ferguson struggled a little bit through the nervous 90s but eventuallybrought up his maiden century at this level of competition after four and aquarter hours at the crease having faced 195 balls and striking theboundary 10 times while going over it once.Cleary opened the shoulders to the fourth ball of Casson’s third over ofthe day – a long hop – that Cleary dispatched with a forward pull (slog)shot that landed 10 meters over the boundary behind mid wicket.Having just posted a fifty-run partnership with Ferguson, Mark Cleary looked tobe getting on with the job of scoring when he lofted a straight drive offthe bowling of Beau Casson straight down the throat of Callum Thorp standing in off the boundary at long-off. The third wicket of the session saw South Australia eight wickets for a total of 409 runs and at that point lunch was taken at which point South Australia declared their innings.Seventeen-year-old Callum Ferguson remained unbeaten on 108, a much bettershowing than his pair in grade cricket for Prospect the weekend before.Neither Thorp (one for 49) nor Michael Thistle (one for 52) were bowled today. Casson (one for 60) and Clark (two for 63) were rewarded at last. Despite spells of fiery quick bowling, Stuart Karppinen (one for 77) and Andrew James (two for 96) were unable to add more scalps.Craig Simmons and Brett Jones opened the batting for Western Australia. TheSouth Australian attack was led by Mark Harrity from the Canning Road end andTrent Kelly at the River end.With a half-hearted push at the ball outside off from Kelly, Craig Simmons13 (20) feathered an edge through to Deitz who took it well down. WesternAustralia’s first wicket fell after 22 minutes had elapsed in the inningsand with 19 runs on the scoreboard.Brett Jones pulled a short ball on the line of leg stump from the third ballof Trent Kelly’s sixth over (the first of a new spell) for six that travelledover the boundary behind backward square leg.Geoff Cullen 13 (38) went to drive at Kelly but instead he edged into thegully where Cosgrove took a safe catch and the second wicket for WesternAustralia fell with the score on 63 in the 19th over.The aggressive innings of Brett Jones was tragically ended on 49 (67), whenbacking up at the non-striker’s end. He was out of his crease after adelivery from Harrity was driven by the striker Shaun Marsh, back at the bowler,who deflected the ball with his left foot into the non-striker’s stumps.Western Australia had 86 on the board but with three wickets down.At the tea-break, the score was 97/3 after 30 overs with Shaun Marsh 16 (42) and Adam Voges one (16). Kelly was the only successful bowler of five bowlers used by SouthAustralia.Cutting Davison toward backward point, Voges six (43) nicked the ball into Deitz’s gloves. Western Australia were in trouble at 4/118.Davison grabbed his second wicket when he had Casson trapped in front andleg before wicket after he had scored only five (29). At 5/121 Western Australia were under serious threat of having to follow on if the wicket of either Marsh or Luke Ronchi (the last of the recognised batsmen) were to beremoved.With trademark aggression, Ronchi set about hitting the ball hither andthither making the bowling look ordinary. Then with the last ball of hisfirst over Jamie Marsh delivered arguably the only poor ball of his overand was delighted to see it hit down the throat of Davison just back of midon. Western Australia had lost all hope with 166 on the board and only fourwickets remaining.With only his second ball faced, the WA captain Karppinen hit JamieMarsh out of the ground over the long on sending the ball crashing into thesecond story of the Melville CC pavillion scoring a six – his first scoringshot.His third, off the 12th ball he faced and the last ball of Marsh’s third over disappeared straight back over the bowler’s head, over the sight screen and into the pavilion car park, again scoring six behind long on, bringing wows and applause from the small crowd gathered.With his fourth scoring shot and the 14th ball faced, Karpinnensent the second ball of Marsh’s fourth over into the wall of the players’rooms at the side of the pavilion again scoring six over long on.Dancing down the pitch in an attempt to put the second ball he facedfrom Davison into the river behind the bowler, Karppinen missed and wasstumped. His entertaining knock contained the three sixes, a two and asingle for the total of 21 (17). Western Australia had slumped to 7/189 in the 64th over with stumps looming.At stumps Western Australia Marsh was unbeaten on 64 (156) and lookingvery solid. Callum Thorp, newly-arrived, was on two (5). The WA first inningstotal was 7/202.For South Australia, Davison was the best of the bowlers with 10 maidensduring his 21 overs gathering three wickets for 30 runs. Kelly bowled fromboth ends taking two wickets for 65 from 15 overs, Mark Harrity, Cleary, Wes Thomas and Marsh all bowled without success.The tail-end will have to wag for Western Australia to survive thefollow-on target of 259. But with a night’s rest and a new ball due just 14overs away, South Australia should easily achieve this mission. The mettleof the Western Warriors youngsters is sure to be tested.
The Indian board has announced that it will participate in a three-nation warm-up tournament with Australia and Pakistan in the Netherlands in August ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in September.India were due to play two Tests and three ODIs in Bangladesh in August, but these have now been indefinitely postponed. Announcing the decision, SK Nair, the board secretary, said that he hoped that the series could be rearranged for 2005.”The board was very keen to send a full-strength team to Bangladesh but have decided against it as we don’t want our cricketers to suffer burnout before an important four-match Test series against Australia in September,” Nair explained. “Our cricketers will get hardly a month’s break after the Pakistan tour. Major tournaments this year include the Asia Cup in June-July, the tri-nation tournament in Amsterdam from August 22-27, followed by three one-day matches in England before the Champions Trophy.”He added that South Africa are likely to tour India to play seven one-day matches in November this year. “If the South African Board agrees then we will invite them for a Test series in the beginning of next year.”
CENTURION-All roads around this small town, all the way from nearby cosmopolitan Johannesburg and other towns in the vicinity, led to the cricket ground. A profusion of Indian and Pakistani supporters, clogged the roads and entrances which ended up filling the Supersport Park to capacity, with each of its 20,000 seats taken.This smallish ground neither had the atmosphere of the Wanderers’ famous bullring nor the picturesque aura of Newlands, under the majestic shadow of Table Mountain, in Cape Town. But the cacaphony of a highly boisterous partisan crowd made the ambience electric in the extreme, and to the two teams it must have looked like a cauldron.The Indian tri-colour outnumbered the Pakistani green by around 10 to one. That there weren’t serious scuffles between the protagonists of the two sides and peace was maintained was mostly because of the strong presence of security.As a gesture of goodwill the two sides lined up before the start of the match for handshakes, and Waqar and Ganguly presented each other their team ties.This was a first of a kind ceremony during the 2003 World Cup. “Once again cricket is demonstrating its power to bring together people of different cultures, religions and races and we would like to congratulate both the Indian and Pakistani teams on their gesture to strengthen ties between their two countries”, said Dr Ali Bacher, executive director of the World Cup.But if the gesture was meant to pacify the crowd, it didn’t work as throaty slogan-mongering went in overdrive as soon as the battle was joined.
On June 19, 2001, during the seventh one-day match (no. 1725) of the NatWest series between Pakistan and Australia at Trent Bridge, Pakistan captain Waqar Younis took six wickets for 59 runs, This is the best performance by any Pakistani bowler against the Aussies after Wasim Akram’s 5/21 at Melbourne on February 24, 1984. It was his fifth six-wicket haul in ODI’s and the 23rd instance overall, in ODI history. Waqar’s figures are the best by any captain against Australia. Just for record, Waqar has now taken 13 wickets in his last two games, the most by any bowler in successive ODI’s.Here is a detailed statistical look on all such great bowling performances.
All 23 instances of bowlers taking six or more wickets in an ODIFigures Bowler Fixture Venue ODI #10-1-30-7 (B2) M Muralitharan (SL) SL v Ind Sharjah* 165010-0-36-7 (B1) Waqar Younis (Pak) Eng v Pak Leeds 172410-1-37-7 (B2) Aaqib Javed (Pak) Pak v Ind Sharjah 68510.3-0-51-7 (B2) WW Davis (WI) WI v Aus Leeds 2036.2-2-12-6 (B2) A Kumble (Ind) Ind v WI Calcutta* 85810-2-14-6 (B1) Imran Khan (Pak) Ind v Pak Sharjah 32112-6-14-6 (B1) GJ Gilmour (Aus) Eng v Aus Leeds 319-4-15-6 (B2) CEH Croft (WI) WI v Eng Kingstown 11510-2-18-6 (B2) Azhar Mahmood (Pak) Pak v WI Sharjah* 15178.2-3-19-6 (B2) HK Olonga (Zim) Zim v Eng Cape Town* 155110-2-20-6 (B2) BC Strang (Zim) Zim v BD Nairobi (Aga) 12429-0-23-6 (B2) AA Donald (SA) SA v Ken Nairobi (Gym) 112410-1-26-6 (B2) Waqar Younis (Pak) Pak v SL Sharjah 6279.4-0-29-6 (B2) BP Patterson (WI) WI v Ind Nagpur 4819.5-0-29-6 (B1) ST Jayasuriya (SL) Eng v SL Moratuwa 8189.4-1-30-6 (B2) Waqar Younis (Pak) Pak v NZ Auckland 89410-2-35-6 (B1) SM Pollock (SA) WI v SA East London 139311.5-3-39-6 (B2) KH Macleay (Aus) Aus v Ind Trent Bridge 2079.4-0-41-6 (B2) IVA Richards (WI) WI v Ind Delhi (FSK) 58210-1-44-6 (B1) Waqar Younis (Pak) NZ v Pak Sharjah 114410-0-49-6 (B2) L Klusener (SA) SA v SL Lahore (GS)* 12529-0-50-6 (B2) AH Gray (Aus) Aus v WI Port of Spain 67210-0-59-6 (B2) Waqar Younis (Pak) Aus v Pak Trent Bridge* 1725
Key:Team in Bold indicates winner match tied * – day/night match (6) B1 – bowling first (17 instances) B2 – for bowling second (6 instances)
Notes:
Gary Gilmour was the pioneer of the six-wicket club
In the 23 instances registered by 19 bowlers, only Jayasuriya and Gilmour are left-armers
Waqar is the only one who has done it more than once, five times in fact
Muralitharan’s (7/30) and Kumble’s (6/12) are the all-time best for an off-spinner and leg-spinner respectively
Waqar’s (7/36) and Aaqib Javed’s (7/37) are the finest for any genuine fast bowler and fast-medium bowler respectively
The best for any left-arm pace bowler and left-arm spinner respectively are Gary Gilmour’s (6/14) and Sanath Jayasuriya’s (6/29)
Only twice has a team still lost after one of its bowlers took six wickets (Imran Khan 6/14 v India & Shaun Pollock 6/35 v West Indies)
Kumble took 6/12 in just 6.2 overs (38 balls)
There have been eight (the most) instances by Pakistan and six instances by any team against India (the most)
Ex-BBC pundit Noel Whelan has claimed that if West Ham United can secure European football for next season, they could seal a move for Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans.
The Lowdown: Leicester could sell Tielemans
According to a report by The Telegraph on 31 March, the Foxes are willing to sanction a £25m exit for the 24-year-old, whose contract expires in the summer of 2023.
The Irons have made it a top priority to sign a central midfielder when the transfer window reopens. David Moyes hopes to add competition to his squad, which will allow for the rotation of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek; and as a result, the Hammers have been linked with a move for the Belgium international.
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The Latest: Whelan’s claim on Tielemans
Whelan, who regularly used to feature as a pundit for the BBC, believes that West Ham could sign Tielemans if they are to maintain European football next season.
Speaking with Football Insider, the ex-Leeds striker claimed: “I think they could [sign him].
“He’s got everything, hasn’t he? Goals from outside the box, creativity, works hard, dictates the game, very competitive. And he’s at a good age – the best is yet to come.
“Leicester will be forced to let him go because players like Tielemans deserve to be playing in Europe.
“If West Ham could offer him that, then him joining really would not surprise me.
“With the likes of Benrahma around him, David Moyes could have some really good options next season.”
The Verdict: Would be a very good signing
The Belgian ranks in the 95th percentile for shot-creating actions, the 93rd percentile for total shots and the 92nd percentile for progressive passes (via FBRef). Therefore, it is clear to see why Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers hailed him as “one of Europe’s top midfielders”, which furthers his cause to be playing regular European football.
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With a current Transfermarkt value of £49.5m, signing Tielemans for a mere £25m would prove to be a fantastic piece of business by GSB.
However, at this price, a myriad of other Premier League clubs will likely be queuing to secure the midfielder’s signature, so this could prove to be a tricky deal for West Ham to get over the line, especially if they miss out on a place in Europe for next season.
In other news: Sky Sports pundit drools over ‘important’ West Ham star with 94% passing accuracy v Everton
Fourteen objections were raised against the candidates for the Sri Lanka Cricket elections and those against K Mathivanan and Asanga Seneviratne running for vice-president were upheld on the grounds that they had not served on the executive committee for a minimum period of two years. Easman Narangoda’s nomination for treasurer was rejected for the same reason.According to the SLC constitution, only those who had represented Sri Lanka in Test and ODI cricket are waived of this requirement. So Arjuna Ranatunga’s candidacy for vice-president is safe. The former World-Cup winner is bidding for one of two posts along with his brother Nishantha Ranatunga and Shammi Silva, who is also now the sole contestant for the treasurer’s post. The elections take place on January 3.The two frontrunners for the post of Sri Lanka Cricket president – Nishantha and Thilanga Sumathipala – were given the green light to contest after objections were filed against them by rival candidates.Director-General of Sports Ruwanpathirana said that the objections raised against Sumathipala, Nishantha and a third candidate Jayantha Dharmadasa were overruled by a committee headed by him after a careful study.Sri Lanka Cricket is holding elections after a period of seven months during which time their affairs were looked after by a nine-man interim committee headed by former Sri Lanka Test cricketer Sidath Wettimuny.
The 30 probables for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa will be picked by the selection committee at Mumbai on July 7, according to the Indian board (BCCI).The selectors, headed by Dilip Vengsarkar, will also pick the India A team that will tour Zimbabwe and Kenya later this month, said Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the BCCI.The list of 30 probables for the Twenty20 World Championship will then be pruned to a squad of 14, to be announced a month before the start of the tournament on September 11.India are scheduled to play their first match of the Championship against Scotland on September 13 at Kingsmead, Durban.
It’s been a long time coming, so I guess being a West Indian, I share the joy of people of my region. It’s a series triumph which nobody had foreseen, certainly not by a 4-1 margin.It adds to the zing if you remember that in the last nine or 10 matches West Indies have won, Brian Lara has contributed only one half-century. For long, people have held that this team cannot do without Lara’s hand. Now others too are beginning to make a difference.I would not rush to say this team is a world-beater yet, but certainly they have men who can perform more than just one role. There are a growing number of allrounders in the side and senior batsmen are putting up their hands more often. The string of wins is beginning to bring the best out of these guys.I have watched this Indian team from close quarters in the last few months and I can sense the disappointment of millions of their fans. There is now a pointed concern if they have gone about preparing for the World Cup in not the most ideal way.I personally feel that looking at the World Cup at this stage could complicate things. India needs to worry about the forthcoming Tests and not lose sleep over a tournament which is still nine months away.India needs to look at the balance of its Test side. I worry if they have the right blend of youth and experience and whether they could pull it off. It would be a major cause to cherish if Rahul Dravid’s men emerge victorious in Tests. It still is the booty which is closest to cricketers’ hearts.The win in Tests could also restore the sense of well-being in this side. This is the one-day side which has been the toast of the nation in the past few months and there is no reason why they cannot still be the darling of the masses. But they need to do a few things differently than they have been doing at home.It is not a major ask. If you are a good cricketer, you should be able to make that sort of adjustment. Otherwise, perhaps you were not good enough in the first place.I can understand if the bowlers’ find themselves at their wits’ end in these games because you cannot overnight find an alternative to seam and swing which these conditions do not support. But there is no excuse for the batsmen. These are still slow wickets and they ought to find a way of manoeuvring the ball rather than attack it all the time.This, I think, has been the most disappointing aspect of the Indian team on this tour. It might be unfair to pick on somebody like Suresh Raina who is young and undeniably talented but, for the second game running, he perished trying to play that stupid shot. He came in in a situation when, just by pushing the singles in the gaps, India could have come closer to victory.In that sense, even Harbhajan Singh cannot escape the blame. He had brought India into a situation where, if the eighth-wicket pair had continued to pick its singles and brought the matter to a head in the final two overs, India would have been deemed favourites. Instead, he tried a mighty loft when a long off fielder was perfectly positioned for such indiscretion.Still, I would say that India has missed the experience of someone like VVS Laxman on this trip. India needed men who could play long innings and experience is the key in such issues. Laxman is the kind of batsman who can work the ball around and consolidate the score without having to take recourse to big, indiscreet hitting. He is like Rahul Dravid in this regard.If India wants to be positive in this defeat, they can look at it as part of the learning curve. Defeats are only terminal if you do not have the mettle and I do not think that is the case with these young Indian boys.Men with less talent and weak minds can be shattered by setbacks but in the Dhonis and Rainas, the Sreesanths and Pathans, hopefully, that is not a worry.
Mark Richardson and Lou Vincent ensured that Rahul Dravid’s first day as Test captain was an utterly forgettable one. They piled on 231 runs for the first wicket, apart from the misery for the Indians, and took New Zealand to a commanding position at the end of the first day. India’s bowlers worked hard on a wicket that kept them interested, but Richardson and Vincent were unimpeachable. From 247 for 1, New Zealand would be hard pressed to lose.The tale of two centuries was a study in contrast. Vincent was the belligerent aggressor, the often scraggly batsman who gave the bowlers a whiff of hope without relenting. Despite the two chances he gave, Richardson was composed to begin with, and blunted the bowling with patience that would have done a trappist monk proud. Vincent planted his foot down the wicket, smiled like a pirate and swept Kumble to the square-leg fence to reach his hundred. Richardson, hobbling around with acute cramps flashed Anil Kumble between the wicketkeeper and first slip to notch up his century.You can forgive Dravid for not appreciating the difference in styles of the two batsmen. The day began quite brightly after he lost the toss and was sent out to field. Zaheer Khan and L Balaji relished bowling on a wicket that aided seam bowling. There was good bounce and carry to the keeper and the ball moved laterally both in the air and off the wicket. Balaji in particular looked a different proposition altogether from the bowler he was at Ahmedabad. His propensity for slipping deliveries down the leg side was shelved and the ball moved both ways, beating the bat repeatedly.The ball doing a bit on the first morning of a Test match is nothing to get excited about though – unless you’re coming from a Test match at Ahmedabad, of course. Vincent and Richardson, used to conditions where patience is a necessity rather than a virtue, saw off the new ball with quiet confidence. Balaji will feel he had Vincent trapped plumb in front in just the second over of the day and most people, other than David Shepherd, would agree with him. Dravid will feel he has a lot to make up for when he bats, for he dropped a relatively straightforward offering from Richardson at slip in the third over. At the end of the day though, the only feeling that translated into performance was the relief Richardson and Vincent would have felt at having survived the first hour.From there on, it was a numbing experience of blunting the bowling. Richardson used his high left-elbow and soft hands, Vincent the sweep and quick shuffle of the feet. Kumble toiled manfully, sending down over after over of brisk spin. His control was excellent and the solitary wicket of Vincent was a poor return considering his 28 overs went for a mere 57 runs.It is always dangerous to sweep a spinner who sends the ball down as fast and flat as Kumble does. When you are attempting the shot to a ball on the stumps, off balance, it is lethal, as Vincent (106, 227 balls, 14 fours, 2 sixes) discovered. By then, though, India had gone wicket-less for more than two and a half sessions. The fall of Vincent’s wicket (231 for 1) ended New Zealand’s best Test partnership against India. The 231 that Vincent and Richardson added bettered the 222 that Bert Sutcliffe and John Reid put on for the third wicket at Delhi in 1955-56.Soon after, Richardson provided a moment of hilarity when he overbalanced and fell in the process of pulling a delivery. Flat on the wicket and in some pain with cramps, Richardson grimaced, but waved off the stretcher that the authorities at the Punjab Cricket Association so optimistically sent out. This man was going nowhere. Even a swarm of bees flying low into the ground did not distract him. When stumps were drawn, Richardson was unbeaten on 102 (284 balls, 14 fours) and will be back to fight another day.Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo in India.