All posts by h716a5.icu

Brendon McCullum has been appointed New Zealand’s captain in all three formats after Ross Taylor declined an offer to stay on as leader of the Test side in a split-captaincy scenario

Brydon Coverdale06-Dec-2012Brendon McCullum has been appointed New Zealand’s captain in all three formats after Ross Taylor declined an offer to stay on as leader of the Test side in a split-captaincy scenario. Taylor has also chosen to make himself unavailable for the upcoming tour of South Africa, although New Zealand are hopeful he will be back in the side for the home series against England early next year.The confirmation of the change came at a press conference in Auckland on Friday morning where David White, the New Zealand Cricket CEO, said he regretted the way the captaincy debate had played out in the public spotlight. McCullum, who has previously led New Zealand in eight ODIs and 12 Twenty20s, will become the country’s 28th Test captain when the series against South Africa begins on January 2 in Cape Town.There had been much speculation this week about the future of Taylor since the squad returned from Sri Lanka despite their impressive series-leveling victory in Colombo. In that match Taylor, who took over as captain in 2011 after being preferred to McCullum for the role, scored 142 in the first innings, but it was one of few highlights in a disappointing year for New Zealand, whose only other victory came in the first Test of the year against Zimbabwe.They lost Test series against South Africa, West Indies and India before the draw in Sri Lanka while they have slipped to ninth in the one-day rankings below Bangladesh. They were also knocked out in the Super Eights of the World Twenty20. It was after the review of that tournament, as well as the tours of India and Sri Lanka, that the coach Mike Hesson recommended splitting the captaincy.”Mike Hesson proposed a split captaincy that was endorsed by me as CEO and agreed by the board,” White said. “The original recommendation was for Ross Taylor to be retained as Test captain and Brendon McCullum to be short-form captain. We regret that Ross Taylor has declined the opportunity, therefore Brendon McCullum has been appointed as Black Caps captain for all three forms of the game.”I met with Ross … for about three hours yesterday and we considered a number of different options. One of them was … for him to go to South Africa and even just play the Test matches if he wanted to do that. But he thought about it long and hard and he said that he would like a break and to spend time with his family and we’ve agreed with that and we respect that. It’s not ideal and we would be a stronger team with Ross Taylor in it.”Despite the change in captaincy, White said he did not believe Taylor had lost the support of his players. “I don’t believe he lost the dressing room,” White said. “He is well respected.”Hesson, who took over from John Wright as New Zealand’s coach in July, said he wanted Taylor to stay on as Test captain and his main concern was that the leadership in all three formats was a lot for anyone to take on. Hesson said split captaincy had worked for other countries and he believed McCullum would have been the best man for the job in the shorter formats.”Brendon certainly reads the one-day game well and is very adaptable and changes quickly,” Hesson said. “The one-day game and the T20 game move very quickly. I think Brendon McCullum has attributes to really add value to our team in that area.”Split captaincy is something that works and with the high volume of cricket around the world at the moment, for one person to take on all three forms of the game is an extremely difficult task. It’s very difficult for anybody to be up to that.”We play ten months of the year. In terms of planning from series to series it’s extremely difficult, to look after your own game and worry about that of the team. Therefore my recommendation was for Ross to stay on as Test captain and focus on that, and also focus on his batting in all three forms, and for Brendon to come in as leader of the one-day and T20 squads.”

Derby County are set to receive a further EFL imposed nine-point deduction.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a recent report by John Percy for The Telegraph, with the journalist revealing that, after the Rams were hit with a 12 point deduction for entering administration, Wayne Rooney’s side will shortly be handed a further nine-point penalty for the club’s breaching of EFL financial rules.

It is also reported that the league’s governing body are set to impose a business plan on the Championship side, which the club’s administrators will have to follow resolutely in their operations going forwards, or else face being hit with further sanctions by the league.

Fans will be livid

Considering the fact that Derby’s recent 12-point deduction saw them plummet to the bottom of the Championship table, the additional nine-point penalty could all but confirm the club’s relegation to the third tier of English football come the end of the current campaign – something which will have left their fans feeling livid.

Indeed, with the latest deduction seeing the club fall to -11 points, 15 behind Nottingham Forest in 23rd and 18 behind Peterborough United in 21st, Derby’s fate would very much appear to be sealed unless Wayne Rooney masterminds what would undoubtedly be the greatest escape of all time.

However, perhaps more concerning for those involved with the Rams are the various predictions surrounding their current financial state, with one source stating to The Athletic that the club’s chances of surviving liquidation are 50/50, while another claimed that they could not see a way out for Derby.

As such, perhaps a scenario in which the Rams find themselves playing their football in League One next season is actually quite a desirable outcome, as the other possibility is simply unthinkable for Derby fans.

In other news: Fresh report emerges on Derby County’s chances of liquidation, fans should be worried

Some Liverpool supporters are excited after Brentford striker and Reds fan Ivan Toney said he would like to move to Anfield one day.

Jurgen Klopp had a quiet summer in the transfer market last time around, only bringing in Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig.

There is perhaps a feeling that another attacker or midfielder was needed, in order to provide more competition in the squad – The Liverpool Echo recently pointed to a lack of depth in the latter – but Liverpool decided against it.

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It could be that more business is done next summer, however, and someone who appears to be putting himself in the shop window is Toney.

The 25-year-old Brentford striker has made an impressive start to life in the Premier League, scoring and assisting twice apiece, and the Liverpool fan told  Total Media [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter] that, “if they come knocking who knows? Who knows.”

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Liverpool fans love Toney comments

These Reds supporters took to Twitter to react to Toney’s remarks, urging him to move to Merseyside.

“Anyone know where Ivan lives? Asking for a German friend”

Credit: @Jordanwilkes_2

“How much more obvious does it have to be, just sign him blud”

Credit: @SirXabi

“Bringing in Ivan Toney in January wins us the league, no gas”

Credit: @VastSpecter

“Great Origi replacement when he leaves”

Credit: @Urdadsfc

“Please @LFC”

Credit: @zimmy_09

“All day long”

Credit: @joshwilkes7

In other news, a pundit has claimed that one hugely exciting player could be moving to Liverpool. Find out who it is here.

The ICC’s prestigious annual awards appears to have run into a controversy with Gerald Majola, the national cricket board’s chief executive, criticising the final selection process for not including a single South African player

Ajay S Shankar17-Sep-2009The ICC’s prestigious annual awards appears to have run into a controversy with several high-profile figures from South Africa, including Gerald Majola, the national cricket board’s chief executive, criticising the final selection process for not including a single South African player. Majola questioned the credibility of the awards – which will be presented in Johannesburg on October 1 – and said it appeared to him that the only way to get on the shortlist was to play the Ashes.Majola’s views have been echoed by Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, who said the “very disappointing” nominations shortlist would motivate his players to perform better in the ICC Champions Trophy starting on September 22. Allan Donald, the former South Africa fast bowler and a member of the awards voting panel, admitted that he was surprised by the shortlist. Journalist Neil Manthorp, the only other South African on the 25-member panel, wrote that the honour of being on that jury had turned into an embarrassment. Cricinfo has also received angry emails from readers complaining about the omissions.When contacted, an ICC spokesperson said that the awards nomination “is a completely independent process in which the ICC has no say whatsoever”.”To me, it looks like the only way to get on these nomination lists is to play the Ashes,” Majola told Cricinfo. “Unfortunately, our players don’t play for England or Australia. That seems to be the criteria to select these awards. I don’t know what the criteria are for these nominations but I simply can’t believe that this has happened to South African players. My personal opinion is that this doesn’t lend credibility to this year’s awards, for sure. To rub salt to our wounds, the awards ceremony is being held in our country.”I am totally dismayed and disappointed. The last season was one of the best ever for South Africa and there were a lot of outstanding performances by our players. In my personal opinion, there were at least three South African players who should have figured on the shortlist. But I am not going to name them because I don’t want to drag our players into this issue when they are preparing for the Champions Trophy. I haven’t spoken to them about this either.”Donald revealed that he had nominated two South African players for the shortlist. “But I am surprised to see that there is no one from South Africa in the final list,” he told Cricinfo.The long list of nominations for the individual awards was prepared by a five-member ICC panel headed by Clive Lloyd, the ICC’s cricket committee chairman, and including Anil Kumble, Mudassar Nazar, Bob Taylor and Stephen Fleming. The performance period taken into account was August 13, 2008 to August 24, 2009. This list was then sent to the ICC’s independent panel of 25 members – including two South Africans, Allan Donald and Manthorp – to vote for the shortlist of the top four contenders in each category.The independent panel included former players Ian Healy, Ramiz Raja, Athar Ali Khan, Allan Donald, Bob Willis, Sidath Wettimuny, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Ian Bishop, Jeremy Coney, Dave Houghton, Roland Lefebvre. The media was represented by Jim Maxwell (Aus), Osman Samiuddin (Cricinfo’s Pakistan editor), Sayeed Uzzaman (Ban), Neil Manthorp (SA), Scyld Berry (Eng), Ramil Abeynaike (SL), Sharda Ugra (Ind), Fazeer Mohammed (WI), Richard Boock (NZ), Enock Nuchinjo (Zim) and Jon Coates (Associates). The officials were ICC referees elite panel representative: Alan Hurst; ICC umpires elite panel representative: Billy Bowden and chairman of the ICC cricket committee: Clive Lloyd.While the shortlist was announced on Tuesday, the category winners will be known only on awards night. The votes have already been collated by Ernst and Young, who acted as independent auditors.South Africa are currently the No. 1 Test and ODI team on the ICC rankings and the long list, reflecting this, featured four South African players. Graeme Smith, who led his team to their first Test series win ever in Australia, and AB deVilliers, who hit two match-winning centuries against Australia – one of them set up that historic away series win – were nominated for Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year; Dale Steyn, who was ICC’s Test Player of the Year in 2008, also featured on the long list for the best Test player; and Wayne Parnell, the left-arm fast bowler, was nominated for the best Twenty20 International Performance of the year.None of them made it to the final four in their categories.Writing on the SuperSport website, Manthorp said the fault lay not with the ICC but with the system used for determining the award winners. The 25-member panel has to select the final nominees from a dozen or more names on the long list, which, he said, was simply too time-consuming to be done thoroughly. There were “plenty of Proteas” on the long list, he said, but not having played for three months meant they were “out of sight and out of mind.”Andrew Strauss, the England captain, and Mitchell Johnson, the Australian fast bowler, figure in both the shortlists (of four players each) for Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year. MS Dhoni, the India captain and Gautam Gambhir, the India opener, are the other shortlisted nominees for Cricketer of the Year; Gambhir and Thilan Samaraweera, the Sri Lankan batsman, are also in the race for the best Test player.However, South African players can still be part of the awards night by featuring in the best Test and ODI teams for the last year that will be announced at the ceremony. Smith, for instance, was named captain of the best Test selection last time in a team that also featured Jacques Kallis and Steyn. Herchelle Gibbs was part of the best ODI selection last year.

Liverpool currently have a number of players in their senior squad that have made their way through the youth ranks at the Merseyside club such as Curtis Jones, Caoimhin Kelleher and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

One other player that has worked his way through the youth sides at Liverpool to become a member of Jurgen Klopp’s squad is Neco Williams.

Williams made his senior debut for the Reds back in October 2019 in a Carabao Cup victory over Arsenal after racking up a total of 33 appearances for Liverpool’s U18 side and 25 for their U23 side, scoring two goals and providing two assists in the process.

Since making his senior debut, Williams has only managed to make 28 appearances for the Reds across all competitions, which can be put down to the fact that the Welshman has had to compete with Alexander-Arnold for the right-back spot, who has managed to score 11 goals and provide 50 assists in 191 appearances.

However, with Liverpool set to temporarily be without Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane during the upcoming AFCON tournament, journalist Ben Bocsak has recently suggested that Klopp could utilise Williams in a more attacking position with Mane and Salah away.

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Bocsak also said that if this were to happen, Liverpool could well “discover their very own Gareth Bale in the process,” who played as a left-back in the early stages of his career before becoming one of Europe’s top attacking talents.

Given how Williams will have spent time with Bale during their time with Wales during the Euros over the summer, the 20-year-old, who is currently valued at £7.2m according to Transfermarkt, will have some knowledge of knowing how Bale plays and trains.

Moving forward, while it would be a gamble to play Williams in a more attacking position this season while Mane and Salah are away given how he’s only played in the full-back positions for Klopp’s side, it could be a gamble that would be worth taking if it pays off and Williams manages to be a useful attacking threat for the Reds.

However, with Liverpool having the likes of Diogo Jota, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino in their squad to fill in for Mane and Salah while they’re away, who are predominantly attacking players, it would make sense for Klopp to utilise those players before taking any risks.

In other news: LFC gem who’s “out of this world” has just shown in 122 touches why he’s Klopp’s hero – opinion

The morning after England’s 2005 Ashes victory, Andrew Flintoff could barely stand. Fast-forward four years and it was a much more sober and mature Flintoff who reflected on his second series triumph over Australia

Andrew McGlashan24-Aug-2009The morning after England’s 2005 Ashes victory, Andrew Flintoff could barely stand, having enjoyed an all-night vigil at the bar which continued well into the following day. Fast-forward four years and it was a much more sober and mature Flintoff who reflected on his second series triumph over Australia and prepared himself for another long period of rehabilitation.With England securing the Ashes in four days, Flintoff’s knee operation has been brought forward to Monday evening and by the time he left his press conference he was already nil-by-mouth. There’ll be no more champagne or beer, at least until the general anaesthetic has worn off. Four years ago he wouldn’t have needed any drugs to get through major surgery.Flintoff’s morning-after feeling this time was more to do with the realisation that he faces another painful round of recuperation from his latest surgery. When news of his operation was first reported last week a nine-month lay-off was one figure bandied around, but the man himself will wait and see how the procedure goes and hasn’t ruled out a return for the one-day series in Bangladesh next February.”The fortunate thing about winning a day early is that they have brought my op forward,” he said. “I can get that done tonight – then it’s all about getting fit. The harsh reality is now that I need to get my knee sorted out. It’s made me more determined to get back to playing fit. Last week was a hard one for me, lots of talks with the surgeon but the incentive is wearing the three lions and I desperately want to wear them again, albeit in one-day matches and Twenty20s.”The surgeon has a good idea of what he’s going to find. I think it’d be wrong for me to speculate on that. Then, like I say, the rehab… we’ll see when I wake up after the anaesthetic and see where I’m at with it.”Realistically I think before Christmas I’m going to struggle. Obviously I’ve retired from Test cricket but there’s a tour to Bangladesh which I desperately want to be involved in. So realistically I think that could be my first cricket after this Test. I want to be the best one-day cricketer in the world and I can set my sights on that.”While Flintoff repeated his desire to be the best limited-overs player on the planet he wants the Test team that he leaves behind to learn from the mistakes of 2005 and build on their success to become the top side in the world. That was Michael Vaughan’s aim, but the victory and the subsequent lengthy celebration wasn’t used in the right way and the team went backwards over the next four years.”What I think we need to do is, if there’s any lesson to learn from 2005 now, it’s to go for domination, to try to get number one in the world,” Flintoff said. “We’ve got the talent, we’ve got the side to do it. It’s just a case of believing it and putting it into practice. One comforting thing is, having seen yesterday and the past five Test matches, is that I’ll disappear and the England side will be in good hands”The likes of [Jonathan] Trott coming in and everybody’s forgetting about KP. Our best player has not played the bulk of this Test series. So the future of the side is in good hands. There’s no reason why we can’t be the best in the world. We’re a very talented team – but we can’t get carried away.”What makes this victory even more remarkable was that at the beginning of the year the team was in turmoil with the fall-out between Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores which led to both losing their jobs. That was followed by the 51 all-out demise at Sabina Park and at that time no-one would have believed this team would be even be able to challenge for the Ashes. For that stunning turnaround, there can be no praise high enough for Andrew Strauss, the man who managed to glue a fractured side together and make them play for each other again, as they did in 2005.Strauss formed the type of team spirit that was absent in 2006-07 when the Ashes we handed back with the 5-0 whitewash down under, when Flintoff was preferred as captain and he struggled to combine the roles of leading player and leading man. He has admitted it was a role too much for and that Strauss was the right man all along.”I think in a roundabout way we got to the right man for the job,” he said. “There was lot of speculation [about who would be captain] between me and him for the last Ashes series in 2006-07. I said before, I probably took one for the team there. We got beat but it’s enabled Straussy through different circumstances to take over.”Straussy leads by example, not just with his batting but with the way he conducts himself. He’s a popular lad. I’m sure in four or five years’ time when someone else is sat in this chair being asked what Andrew Strauss was like as a captain… he was a belter.”

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) are now reportedly ‘ready to spend’ to bring Aaron Ramsey to Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Midfield targeted

Given that the likes of Florian Wirtz and James Ward-Prowse have been linked with a move to St. James’ Park over the last few days, it is clear that the new owners are looking to strengthen the midfield position.

New players will certainly need to be brought in in the January transfer window, given that the North East club are currently in a relegation battle, sitting in 19th spot in the Premier League table before today’s round of fixtures.

The Latest: Ramsey ‘courted’

As per Tuttosport (via Sport Witness), Ramsey is being ‘courted’ by the Tyneside outfit ahead of a potential move.

PIF are now ‘ready to spend’ on the Juventus midfield player, despite his €14m (£11.8m) yearly wages.

They are ‘not scared’ to pay his salary, and the Old Lady are ‘keen’ to get them off of their books, meaning that a move back to the top flight, and more specifically the Magpies, is now possible.

The Verdict: Avoid

While money is no object to the new owners, Ramsey is a player that they should be avoiding.

Even if they are willing to pay his astronomical wages, it would lead to other players in the squad wanting their pay package to go up, which could leave them in a sticky situation.

Wales international teammate Joe Allen claims that he can be ‘world-class’ on his day, and that is true, given his goals and assists record throughout his club career, but he is 30 years of age now, and has been suffering with injury problems as of late.

Nonetheless, the Toon already have plenty of midfield options in the squad already, and thus should be focusing on strengthening other areas of the pitch first of all, and certainly not splashing out big wages on an injury-prone player in his thirties.

In other news, find out who NUFC have been ‘alerted’ to the possibility of signing in January here!

Western Province and Easterns took advantage of batting paradises whileNortherns, Gauteng, North West and Natal had to watch the rain spoil theopening rounds of the SuperSport Super Sixes and Shield.

Wisden Cricinfo staff03-Jul-2009Super Sixes Day Two Reports
Griqualand West 185 (Bosman 34, Bossenger 68, Dawson 6-55) vWestern Province 300 for 3 (Bassage 48, Puttick 120, Ferreira 50)
ScorecardAlan Dawson made short work of the remaining batsmen to return the figures of 6 for 55, as Griqualand were skittled for 185. They managed to add just 56 runs to their overnight total of 129 for 4, with the only resistance coming from Wendell Bossenger, who produced a hard-earned 68.In stark contrast, Western Province made the ideal start to their innings with 100-run partnerships for the first and second wickets. Derrin Bassage and Andrew Puttick put on 118 for the first, before Puttick and Lloyd Ferreira added exactly 100 for the second. At the close Western Province had reached 300 for 3, a lead of 120.Border 153 and 126 for 6 (Gamiet 39, Bruyns 38) v Free State 196(Henderson 4-46, Langeveldt 3-42)
ScorecardFree State managed to hang on long enough to build up a 43-run first-innings lead, before being bowled out for 196. As was the case with the Border innings, it was the quick bowlers who held the upper hand. Tyron Henderson finished with 4 for 46 and Charl Langeveldt with 3 for 42.The Border second innings started much the same as the first with wickets tumbling at regular intervals. Mark Bruyns and Laden Gamiet both scored in the thirties, but that left a lot of work to be done on Day 3 if Border are to have any say in the outcome. When bad light stopped play, Border led by 83 runs with four wickets remaining.North West 255 v KwaZulu-Natal 159 for 4 (HM Amla 46, AM Amla45*, Roe 3-35)
ScorecardOnly 56 overs were possible in Durban before the rain came down with Natal on 159 for 4, still 96 runs short of North West’s 255. The two Amla brothers, Hashim and Ahmed, contributed scores in the forties to carry Natal through some difficult moments, as Garth Roe extracted plenty from the pitch to be rewarded with three of the four wickets.Shield Day One Reports
Easterns 313 for 4 (Seymore 102, Koenig 71, Z de Bruyn 84, P deBruyn 37*) v Eastern Province
ScorecardEasterns’ batsmen totally dominated the first day as they won the toss and elected to bat on a batting paradise that had the bowlers toiling all day. Sven Koenig eventually fell for 71 (135 for 1) and was later followed by Andre Seymore who struck 17 boundaries in his 102. A further 100-run partnership between Zander (84) and Pierre de Bruyn (37*) took the score to 313, before Easterns accepted an offer for badlight with five overs remaining.Northerns v Gauteng
ScorecardPlay was washed out without a ball beingbowled.

A number of Wolves supporters have reacted negatively to a rumour linking the club with a move for Juventus and Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

Bruno Lage’s side have found their feet after a disappointing start to the season, picking up consecutive Premier League victories against Southampton and Newcastle United.

There is still plenty of work to do, but it does feel as though Wolves have turned a corner.

It is always important that the club look for potential new improvements, however, and according to Corriere dello Sport [via Talking Wolves on Twitter], they have shown an interest in signing Ramsey.

The Welshman has fallen out of favour at Juve, making just one Serie A start this season, and a fresh challenge could appeal to him in January.

Wolves fans unhappy with Ramsey rumour

Despite Ramsey’s pedigree, these Wolves fans don’t want to see him head to Molineux.

“Nowhere near good enough”

Credit: @DavidCarless1

“Reasons not to sign Aaron Ramsey: 1. Horrific fitness record 2. Monstrous wages 3. A very attack-minded central midfield with little to no defensive output or mobility is NOT what we should be targeting Reasons to sign him: 1. He had a couple decent seasons at Arsenal?”

Credit: @SamJGollings

“No”

Credit: @PedroBackOfNeto

“Hopefully we won’t sign him”

Credit: @robinmarchesi

“Not a chance of this happening. He’s injury-prone as well”

Credit: @WWFC09

“Joke! Why would we want him”

Credit: @pbradburn4

In other news, some Wolves fans have hailed one player’s international performance. Find out who it is here.

Andrew Miller previews England’s clash with South Africa at Trent Bridge

The Preview by Andrew Miller10-Jun-2009Match factsThursday June 10
Start time 17.30 (16.30GMT)Big PictureIn their contrasting styles, England and South Africa have each displayed two sides to their Twenty20 character in the opening rounds of this competition. England veered from complacency in their first-night humiliation against the Dutch to determination in their subsequent demolition of Pakistan; South Africa steamrolled Scotland by 130 runs on Sunday, then struggled to manage even a run a ball against New Zealand.The subtle difference, of course, is that even when South Africa were off the boil, they still managed to emerge victorious. Graeme Smith’s men have been on a roll during a memorable year on the road, and as the end of their odyssey draws nigh, they’ve forged themselves a unit that can cope with all conditions. Clinical is the word that best describes their approach, and it’s not without good reason that they start this match as favourites.Nevertheless, England have good reason for optimism going into the Super Eights, not least because there was a point midway through the weekend when they thought their tournament was over before it had begun. The manner in which they responded to their Dutch disaster was encouraging if not outright impressive, as they put a distracted Pakistan side in its place and progressed with aplomb.Humiliation has a habit of sharpening one’s focus for future engagements, and there’s little question that England are now taking this competition deadly seriously. As has been shown on numerous occasions already in the past week, Twenty20 is a format in which any team can win on its day. An upset can never be ruled out, not even against the most disciplined team in the tournament.Form guideEngland WLLWW
South Africa WWWWLWatch out for…AB de Villiers is a fearsome striker of a cricket ball. Against Scotland on Sunday, his 79 not out included 11 boundaries from 34 deliveries, six of which sailed clean over the ropes. Combining balance and timing with a followthrough as extravagant as his appetite for runs, he is the kingpin of South Africa’s middle-order, and the man most likely to shred England’s prospects in the closing overs. Had he not been bumped down the order to allow his team-mates valuable practice against New Zealand, South Africa would surely have mustered more than 128 for 7.He may be rattling with painkillers, but Kevin Pietersen is also rattling with resolve. His dodgy Achilles was not risked against the Dutch, but with their tournament on the line, England had not option but to whistle their main man back off the bench against Pakistan. He did not disappoint with 58 from 38 balls, an innings that included a vast drilled six over long-off. For a man who professed to being “70% fit” it was an impressive effort. What will he produce when he’s back at the peak of his form and fitness?Team newsAfter foolishly omitting most of their kingpin players against the Dutch, England didn’t come close to repeating that mistake against Pakistan. It seems fair to assume that they’ll pick something approaching the same line-up again, with perhaps Adil Rashid dipping out in favour of Ryan Sidebottom (or, conceivably, Graham Napier) if the Trent Bridge wicket is deemed to favour the pacemen.England (probable) 1 Luke Wright, 2 Ravi Bopara, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Owais Shah, 5 Paul Collingwood (capt), 6 Dimitri Mascarenhas, 7 James Foster (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Ryan Sidebottom, 11 James AndersonCurious selection scuppered their prospects on home soil at the 2007 World Twenty20, but South Africa have picked their most potent line-up available this time around. From Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis through to de Villiers and Albie Morkel, they have batsmen for all occasions, and in Dale Steyn, Johan Botha and Wayne Parnell, bowlers for all conditions.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Jacques Kallis, 3 Herschelle Gibbs, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Wayne Parnell, 11 Dale Steyn.Pitch and conditionsA firm and true surface has been prepared at Trent Bridge – firm enough for Sanath Jayasuriya to swipe 81 from 47 balls in Sri Lanka’s victory over West Indies – but it is the overhead conditions that will be of most interest to the bowlers. With further filthy weather anticipated overnight, swing may be the thing for bowlers on both sides.Stats and TriviaEngland and South Africa have only faced each other once in T20Is internationals – at the 2007 World Twenty20, when Albie Morkel’s late acceleration proved the difference between the sides. They did have another match scheduled for August 2008, but that was rained off.Quotes”We are tactically quite astute and calm under pressure. We’d rather look at executing good skills rather than get into scrambles that don’t really need to be there.”

“We went out for a burger.”
Paul Collingwood reveals how he raised the spirits of Stuart Broad ahead of his matchwinning performance against Pakistan.