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Daniel Vettori performed his familiar rescue act with bat and ball as most of New Zealand’s batsmen again struggled at the SCG

Cricinfo staff15-Nov-2008
Scorecard
Daniel Vettori was in good batting form in Bangladesh recently and he posted another half-century at the SCG © AFP
Daniel Vettori performed his familiar rescue act with bat and ball as most of New Zealand’s batsmen again struggled at the SCG. Vettori finished off the New South Wales innings and then had batting support from Daniel Flynn but that was about it on a day when Moises Henriques destroyed the top order with 5 for 29.New Zealand were undermanned once again; the ill Jesse Ryder did not bat and Brendon McCullum, who had battled back problems, dropped down the order to No. 7. When rain forced an early stumps, McCullum was on 5 and Vettori was unbeaten on 61 but the visitors had at least claimed a lead of 62 runs with their score on 5 for 157.The efforts of Vettori and Flynn were especially important after Henriques rattled the visitors by taking 3 for 0 from 11 balls shortly after lunch. It left New Zealand at 4 for 35 and there was a slim chance they would fail to make New South Wales bat again.But the pair combined for a 113-run fifth-wicket partnership that eventually ended when Flynn was caught at slip off Henriques for 55. It continued a terrific match for the allrounder Henriques, who posted his maiden first-class half-century on the second day and has a chance to register his best bowling in an innings when play resumes on the final morning.New South Wales will be hoping to finish off the New Zealanders as quickly as they themselves were bundled out in the first session. But the home side did manage to add 52 to their overnight score as Steven Smith (68) copied Henriques in passing fifty for the first time.Smith was the last man out, caught behind by Aaron Redmond, who retained the gloves with McCullum off the field. Vettori ended up with 4 for 71 but New Zealand need his team-mates to also find form ahead of the first Test, which begins in Brisbane on Thursday.

West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Jonson Clarke-Harris to The Hawthorns this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Darragh MacAnthony, with the Peterborough United chairman revealing in a post on Twitter that the centre-forward looks set to remain at the Weston Homes Stadium next season.

Clarke-Harris has been heavily linked with a move away from the newly-promoted Championship side this summer, with West Brom, Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Rangers all thought to be keen on the 27-year-old.

However, it would appear as if this reported interest could have hit a dead end as, in response to Posh a fan suggesting that the forward would need replacing in the summer transfer window, MacAnthony said: “No he won’t.”

Fans will be fuming

With Mbaye Diagne having returned to Galatasaray upon the expiry of his loan deal at West Brom at the end of last season, and with the club so far having failed to replace the 29-year-old with a new centre-forward signing this summer, that a deal for Clarke-Harris now appears to be dead in the water is sure to have left Albion fans fuming.

When taking into account the success Brentford enjoyed after signing Ivan Toney from Peterborough 12 months ago – with the striker bagging 33 goals over 48 Championship appearances on the way to the Bees’ promotion – West Brom signing Clarke-Harris could well have replicated Thomas Frank’s move for the 25-year-old.

Indeed, over his 44 League One appearances last season, the £900k-rated marksman scored a whopping 31 goals, provided three assists and created 11 big chances for his teammates, taking 2.9 shots and making one key pass per game.

These returns saw the £6.1k-per-week centre-forward earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.24, ranking him as Darren Ferguson’s second-best performer in the third tier of English football.

It may have been something of a gamble for a team with Premier League aspirations such as West Brom to sign a player who is relatively unproven at Championship level. However, considering that the same thing could have been said about Brentford’s signing of Toney last year, and that the £25.2m-rated man is now worth more than five times the £5.04m fee the Bees paid for the striker, Clarke-Harris would seem to have been a risk worth taking for Valerien Ismael and his side.

In other news: West Brom agree deal for £20k-p/w “leader” which will leave Ismael over the moon

Former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor believes that John Lundstram is a superb signing for Rangers and will make them even more formidable.

The Lowdown: Rangers seal Lundstram signing

Steven Gerrard will be looking to make his Gers side stronger ahead of next season as they look to seal back-to-back Premiership titles.

He has already made significant progress in that respect, signing Lundstram on a three-year deal from Sheffield United earlier this week.

The 27-year-old made 120 appearances for the Blades and was a key midfield performer during their time in the Premier League.

The Latest: Agbonlahor excited about move

Speaking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor was hugely positive about the move, believing that Lundstram’s quality could take Rangers up a further gear. He said:

“That’s the sort of business that Steven Gerrard’s good at.

“Steven Gerrard’s name, winning the Scottish Premiership and being at a big club like Rangers means they’re going to be able to sign these sorts of players.

“Lundstram, for me, was outstanding for Sheffield United. If they play to his strengths that’s a great signing.

“It just shows Rangers are getting stronger and stronger.”

The Verdict: A top-quality acquisition

Lundstram is an outstanding signing, considering he is still very much in the prime years of his career and has been playing in the Premier League.

He possesses the all-round quality to add a great deal to Gerrard’s team, scoring five league goals and chipping in with three assists in the 2019/20 season as Sheffield United finished in an impressive ninth position. Chris Wilder, his manager at Bramall Lane, has described him as “a fantastic example of how you should be as a professional footballer”.

Rangers will know that Celtic will be desperate to regain the Premiership title next year, but signings of Lundstram’s quality could help to ensure it remains at Ibrox for another 12 months, at least.

In other news, a Premier League reportedly wants to sign one Rangers star. Find out who it is here.

Kris Srikkanth will head India’s first-ever paid national selection committee which will be officially appointed during the two-day annual general body meeting starting in Mumbai tomorrow

Cricinfo staff26-Sep-2008
Kris Srikkanth will head a new selection committee © AFP
Kris Srikkanth, the former India opener, will head India’s first-ever paid national selection committee which will be officially appointed during the two-day annual general body meeting starting in Mumbai tomorrow. In another significant development, a new post – vice-chairman of the IPL – has been created to accommodate Niranjan Shah, the outgoing secretary of the board.The rest is a formality after senior officials of the ruling group, headed by Sharad Pawar, wrapped up two days of informal meetings during which they decided on the reshuffle.As expected, the selection committee will also comprise Yashpal Sharma (North), Narendra Hirwani (Central), Surendra Bhave (West) and Raja Venkat (East). The selectors will be paid Rs 25 lakh (US$53,625) per year after the BCCI’s working committee announced new eligibility norms which automatically rules out the present group headed by Dilip Vengsarkar.Pawar, the BCCI president, makes way for Shashank Manohar, the lawyer from Nagpur, as agreed upon previously and it has become clear that the ruling group’s nominees across the board will be elected unanimously. N Srinivasan, the previous treasurer who also heads IPL finalists Chennai Superkings, will take over as secretary from Shah, who has been the public face of the BCCI, in India and abroad, and has represented the board at various ICC meetings. MP Pandove, the joint secretary from Chandigarh, is the new treasurer.”We received only one nomination (each) for the post of Secretary, Joint Secretary, Treasurer and five Vice-Presidents. Their names would be announced only tomorrow at the AGM as per the constitutional procedure,” Pawar told reporters in Mumbai.An interesting sidelight of the day’s discussions were the hectic meetings that were held over the appointment of the new national selectors. Apparently, there were attempts to get at least one of the new eligibility norms, which bars selectors from holding posts with state associations, amended to let Vengsarkar stay on.”But a majority of the officials who discussed this issue were against such an amendment, as it was a paid job,” the sources said. “Besides, Vengsarkar had made it clear that he was not willing to give up his post as vice-president of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). There was no way out.” The New Regime The ruling group of the BCCI, headed by Sharad Pawar, has finalised its list of nominees who are expected to be elected unanimously to the Indian board during its AGM on September 27 and 28: Secretary: N Srinivasan; Treasurer: MP Pandove; Joint Secretary: Sanjay Jagdale; Vice-presidents: Arun Jaitley (North), Lalit Modi (Central), Chirayu Amin (West); Shivlal Yadav (South) and Arindam Ganguly (East). According to the new rules, the selectors should also have played for India, or more than 25 first-class matches. The officials, however, have tweaked another rule to accommodate Hirwani, the former India legspinner, who retired from first-class cricket two years ago. The BCCI had earlier specified 10-year gap from the time a cricketer retires for him to be eligible as a national selector but this cut-off now applies to international cricket in the case of those who have played for India. Hirwani last appeared for India in 1996, in a Test against South Africa in Kolkata.In the event, Srikkanth takes over at a crucial time – his new panel will select the team for the Australia home series starting on October 9 – when the Indian team enters a transitional phase with senior players like Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman in the final stretch of their careers.”This is his first stint as a selector and there is a lot of hope and some apprehension,” said the sources. “But he has proved himself previously as coach of the India A team, and has been in touch with the game at the highest level as a media figure.”Srikkanth will not be able to continue with his media assignments now, though officials have decided that his celebrity brand endorsements “will not be a problem”.The board has also finalised the heads of some of its crucial committees, and Lalit Modi, who heads the IPL and Champions League, will head the marketing arm. Rajiv Shukla, who will be replaced as vice-president, will head the finance committee that oversees the board’s revenues. Manohar is expected to retain control over the important fixtures committee that decides on match venues and schedules.What this essentially means, the sources said, is that “the negotiations and meetings are over, and what will happen now at the AGM is just a formality”. Apart from these appointments, the AGM will also endorse a series of internal reports, including its annual report for the previous season.

The contest between the Lahore Badshahs and the Ahmedabad Rockets was one of those rare occasions when the bowlers dominated a Twenty20 match

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera in Ahmedabad19-Oct-2008
Scorecard
The contest between the Lahore Badshahs and the Ahmedabad Rockets was one of those rare occasions when the bowlers dominated a Twenty20 match. Lahore were restricted to 136 but their bowlers put in a disciplined performance and shot out Ahmedabad Rockets for 105 to clinch their first win of the tournament.Lahore went into the game without Inzamam-ul-Haq, who suffered from back pain, and were led by Azhar Mahmood. Their batsmen failed once again, setting a target that was neither here nor there, but their bowlers rose to the occasion.It was Sami and Azhar Mahmood who began the defense. Ryan Campbell, who had played an explosive innings in Ahmedabad’s last game, failed to connect with a slog and was bowled in the first over. Mahmood followed up with a low offcutter that breached Damien Martyn’s defences.Ahmedabad scored only 29 off the first six overs, their best batsmen were gone and, despite strong support from a vocal home crowd, the chase was always going to be tough. Naved-ul-Hasan struck with his first ball when Murray Goodwin flashed straight to point and more trouble awaited Ahmedabad in form of Saqlain Mushtaq.Saqlain’s doosra isn’t a secret anymore but tonight he produced another unique delivery. With his palm facing midwicket – as opposed to the off side when he bowls the conventional offbreak or doosra to a right hander – Saqlain rolled his fingers over the seam and delivered a ball that went straight through, and quickly at that. S Sriram was lbw while attempting a reverse sweep and Jason Gillespie was bowled.The match ended when Rakesh Patel holed out at deep square leg and Lahore got into a celebratory huddle as fireworks lit up the sky. The crowd trudged back home disappointed after having a great time in the first half of the game when Sumit Kalia, the left-arm spinner, ran through Lahore.Kalia’s only error today was his drop off Imran Nazir in the first over of the game. Everything else clicked seamlessly for him. His success with the ball began in the eighth over with Lahore comfortably placed at 62 for 1. Kalia got Naved-ul-Hasan stumped before striking twice in his next over: he lured Shahid Yousuf into a mis-hit towards long-off and used the arm-ball to trap Imran Nazir lbw for a run-a-ball 25. By the time he finished his spell – 4-0-19-3 – Lahore had lost their early momentum.Naved Latif and Khalid Mahmood tried to regroup but Parvez Aziz restricted the damage by removing both in the 17th over. At the innings break it looked like Ahmedabad’s bowlers had done enough. Unfortunately for them, their batsmen fell 31 runs short of doing enough to secure the victory.

Paul Collingwood is rated 50-50 to be fit for the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town

Andrew McGlashan in Cape Town01-Jan-2010Paul Collingwood is rated 50-50 to be fit for the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town, after testing out his injured left index finger for the first time since he dislocated it during practice prior to the fourth day’s play at Durban.If Collingwood doesn’t recover in time Michael Carberry, the Hampshire left-hander, is the likely replacement and would make his debut just four days after arriving from the UK. However, England coach Andy Flower remains optimistic that Collingwood will be available after he managed a more extensive work-out than had been planned during the nets session at Newlands.”He did more today than I thought he’d do,” Flower said. “I told him to take it easy, and we’d test it out properly tomorrow. He had a net, did some fielding and a bit of slip-catching and his finger felt better than he thought it might. That’s positive news, but we’ll do a final fitness test on him tomorrow. I’d say at the moment it’s probably 50-50.”Collingwood has been one of England’s in-form players throughout the tour and was named Man of the Series for the one-day internationals. In the Tests he made 91 at Durban to follow his match-saving 26 off 99 balls at Centurion, where he also contributed 50 in the first innings.After a poor finish to the Ashes series, Collingwood’s place was coming under scrutiny, but the management forced him to rest for a couple of ODIs against Australia and he returned revived. He was outstanding during the Champions Trophy, proving a revelation with his previously unseen powers of six-hitting in the middle order, and has since carried that form forward. He will be tough to replace.”What Collingwood has done recently is he’s used to good effect some of the vast amount of experience he’s got over the last six or seven years,” Flower said. “He’s repaying England for all that investment in him. If he goes out, we’ll lose some of that experience.”But you gain in another way if the debutant comes in and kicks off his international career. We’re not worried. If he can’t play, he can’t play. We’ll get on with it.Carberry was part of the England Performance Programme based in Pretoria until shortly before Christmas where he scored a hundred against a Gauteng team. There also remains the option of drafting in Luke Wright, but he has slipped down the pecking order after England’s successful policy of playing six frontline batsmen.”He’s [Carberry] been scoring runs out here in South Africa, so we’re quite comfortable with that situation,” Flower said. “The way he batted in the nets this morning, I’d feel very confident when he strode out to the middle. The allrounder option is always there, has been for the first two Tests and is again for this one.Flower’s opposite number, Mickey Arthur, has been doing some hasty research on Carberry in case he makes his debut on Sunday but added Collingwood will be tough to replace. “I’ve done my homework on Carberry last night,” he said. “If he plays we have had a look at him. He looks a very good player, very leg side and tries to score there a lot.”Collingwood has been instrumental, he has played unbelievably well through the whole tour. He’s almost the heartbeat in the middle order and it will be a loss. But England have played some very good cricket so I’m sure they are comfortable that they won’t weaken their team.”Although England’s starting XI remains uncertain, one message coming from Flower is crystal clear. The team won’t be getting carried away after Durban. It’s the message he – and Andrew Strauss – preached after the Ashes and despite the crushing nature of the victory two days ago nothing has changed.”It was a confidence-building performance in Durban,” Flower said in typically understated fashion. “Our bowlers did a good job again. It was nice to see some of the batsmen go on to substantial scores. That changed the momentum of the game.”All round, it was a great performance from our side. We’re one up – a great position to be in – but we’re only halfway through a Test series. That means there’s a lot of hard work to do in this Cape Town Test. But I know that our guys are looking forward to the challenge of taking South Africa on here.”I think the guys’ feet are firmly on the ground. We reflected well on the Durban victory, but now they’ve drawn a line under that.”

Brett Lee, the Australian fast bowler, feels pitches around the world are getting harder for fast bowlers, and wants tracks to have a bit of assistance

Cricinfo staff31-Jul-2008
Brett Lee has been in the wickets lately, but he wants more assistance from the pitches © Getty Images
Brett Lee, the Australian fast bowler, feels pitches around the world are getting harder for fast bowlers and wants tracks to have more assistance.”The wickets these days are getting hard to bowl on,” Lee told . “I say it tongue in cheek about there being no pitches in the world conducive to fast bowling. But there are hardly any pitches in the world which are green and juicy and encourage fast bowlers.”I am not asking for a pitch that moves the ball three or four feet both ways but I am talking about giving the bowler a bit of assistance and encouraging young lads to bowl fast.”Lee, who has taken 289 wickets in Tests and 303 in ODIs, was in red-hot form in Australia’s recent series. He took 53 wickets in his last eight Tests, and was Player of the Series in the Tests against Sri Lanka and India.Recently, Viv Richards rated him as good as the fast bowling greats of the 1980s and the early 90s. “It was a great feeling … to be praised by somebody like him is certainly special. Those were lovely comments that Viv made and I felt humbled.”Lee also took part in the Indian Premier League and was pleased with his stint for the Kings XI Punjab. “The thing that impressed me most was playing in a team made up of a whole lot of cultures,” he said. “I think we will have to wait and see what happens on that. However, IPL has been brilliant and I am looking forward to the next season.”Test cricket is my favourite but I like playing Twenty20. It’s fast and brings different kinds of people to the game.”The Test series between Sri Lanka and India has the umpire review system but Lee said it took away a bit of the game’s charm. “I still like the human element there,” he said. “I like an umpire’s presence, I think it’s important to cricket.”It’s good for stumping and run outs but I believe the human element should always be there. For leg before decisions, I like the [on-field] umpire to take the call and I think most times they do get it right.”

Newcastle United have not held any talks over potentially re-signing Valentino Lazaro, Shields Gazette journalist Liam Kennedy insists.

The lowdown

It was reported by Gazzetta Dello Sport (via Sport Witness) on Monday that negotiations over a potential comeback were underway.

Inter Milan’s Lazaro spent the latter half of the 2019/20 campaign on loan at St James’ Park, earning four Premier League starts and nine substitute appearances.

He remains on the Serie A champions’ books but was sent to Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach last term.

Lazaro, who played one game for Austria at the European Championships, still has three years left on his Inter contract and is valued at £9million by Transfermarkt.

The latest

Kennedy reports that Newcastle are yet to open talks with Inter over a deal, nor have they made contact with the player and his representatives ‘so far this summer’.

He does, though, corroborate the claim that Lazaro would be open to returning to Tyneside.

Still, there ought to be ‘scepticism’ over whether Newcastle’s stance has changed 12 months on from deciding against a permanent move.

The verdict

Interestingly, Gazzetta’s report mentioned that Lazaro had ‘admirers’ in Germany on the back of his stint at Monchengladbach. Perhaps these believable rumours have been spun by his agent in an attempt to draw a better offer from the speedster’s Bundesliga suitors.

But what if Newcastle are genuinely considering it? Well, a report from The Mirror (via The Mag) suggested that Matt Ritchie was keen to leave this summer, and Lazaro could be viewed as both a sensible and familiar replacement.

Like Ritchie, he is valuably versatile, capable of operating up and down the flank, so perhaps we could yet see a move if Ritchie does depart.

In other news, Steve Howey has placed a value on Joe Willock.  

Zimbabwe Cricket has denied that Robin Brown was sacked as coach, insisting that his contract was up at the end of July and had not been renewed

Steven Price in Harare08-Aug-2008Zimbabwe Cricket has denied that Robin Brown was sacked as coach, insisting that his contract was up at the end of July and had not been renewed.The net result is that Zimbabwe now have to look for their third coach in a year, but few doubt that Brown has paid the price for not doing as influential figures inside the board demanded.Rumours of heated exchanges between Brown and senior ZC officials over selection have been circulating for some time. Almost inevitably, race is at the heart of the dispute, with Brown accused of favouring white players by elements inside ZC who are pressing for more black cricketers in the side.What is clear is that Brown did not pay for bad results. Early in his tenure, Zimbabwe beat Australia in the World Twenty20, and while they failed to win subsequent one-day internationals, performances had been marked better than under his predecessor, Kevin Curran. Zimbabwe’s last international outing was in February.Brown was seen as a calming buffer between players and board at a time the relationship between the two was poor. The exodus of experienced cricketers has continued, however, and the actions of board officials has been at the heart of that.Although no official statement was made, a carefully-leaked source looked to blame the players. “The issue is his bad working relationship with the players,” the source told the Independent. “He also treats players differently. We decided were not going anywhere with him.”That was denied by one player speaking to the same newspaper. “We were used as smokescreen. It’s not fair on the players and on ZC itself because they keep being as projected as being weak and succumbing to player power.”There were no major issues with Robin in the players’ camp. After all, it’s not the players’ prerogative to chose who they want as coach. If there were issues with Robin it wouldn’t be justified because we’ve had the same problems with the last three coaches and what has changed? The common denominator here has been the players. Player power is not desirable in a situation as ours where we have a very weak international team.”It is hard to see where Zimbabwe look for Brown’s replacement. No credible international figure would want to take charge of a side which plays increasingly rarely and be subjected to pressure from the board. The shredded economic and social climate inside the country is almost certain to deter almost all foreigners who might otherwise have still been tempted.Few experienced coaches remain inside the country, and the Independent suggested that former Under-19 coach Walter Chawaguta was being lined up to replace Brown. He had been in the frame when Curran was appointed in 2005, and is regarded as a promising young coach, although he lacks experience both in that capacity and as a player. Whether he has what it takes to stem the decline of the national team, or to stand up to powerful influences such as ZC managing director Ozias Bvute, is also a major uncertainty.

The fragile Ashes urn will never be handed to Australia despite pleas from cricket fans including Prime Minister John Howard

Paul Mulvey04-Dec-2002The fragile Ashes urn will never be handed to Australia despite pleas from cricket fans including Prime Minister John Howard.The Marylebone Cricket Club said it would refuse to part with the original 120-year-old urn even after Australia’s eighth consecutive Ashes series win.”The Ashes urn is not and never has been a trophy competed for between Australia and England,” MCC spokesman Iain Wilton said on Tuesday.”The trophy is the Waterford crystal trophy which will be presented to Steve Waugh at the end of the series.”But Mr Howard renewed calls for the Ashes urn to be put on display in Australia, describing it as the most treasured sporting trophy in the eyes of most Australians.”While the location of the Ashes trophy is certainly not going to strain diplomatic relations between Australian and the United Kingdom, I strongly support the Australian Cricket Board’s efforts to allow the nation’s cricket fans to view the hallowed trophy,” he said.”It would be a real gesture on the part of English cricket authorities for it to come to Australia. It would be a welcome piece of symbolism that would not be lost on the cricketing world.”Opposition Leader Simon Crean also backed the calls for the Ashes urn to come to Australia, saying it was no different to any other sporting trophy.”It should have been here for a long time,” he said. “Just about every other great sporting activity operates on the basis that the winner claims the trophy and houses the trophy.But the MCC owns the 10-centimetre tall urn which was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh in 1882-83 and displays it in its museum at Lord’s in London.It had planned to take the urn on a tour of Australia this summer but was advised it was too fragile and could suffer irreparable damage if it was moved and subjected to changes in humidity and pressure.Australians may still get a chance to see the wooden urn briefly next year, but Mr Wilton said it would never be held permanently in Australia or used as a trophy for series winners.”We remain committed to displaying the original urn in Australia,” Mr Wilton said.”We are hoping in a year’s time to take it to Australia to commemorate the centenary of the first MCC tour.”The urn has only once left London when it was taken to Australia for the 1988 bicentennial celebrations.A large crystal trophy based on its shape was commissioned in 1998 even though Australian teams have regularly held up a life-sized replica urn after winning recent series.Waugh’s team paraded one of the two replicas in existence around the WACA ground in Perth after winning the third Test last Sunday.After Australia beat England at The Oval in London in August 1882, the Sporting Times newspaper ran an obituary to English cricket saying “The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia”.Later that year, when England won the series 2-1 in Australia, a group of Melbourne women burned a bail used in the third Test, put the ashes in an urn and gave it to Bligh.