The weather, which ruined the opening one-day match of the series onNovember 19, is threatening to derail India’s first-ever Pro20 game onFriday evening. Late on Thursday evening, there was a heavy thunderstorm,and though it didn’t rain on Friday morning, the skies above wereominously grey.Some would have said that they reflected the mood in the India camp afterthree heavy defeats that saw South Africa wrap up the one-day series witha game to play. With Rahul Dravid out until the first Test, and MunafPatel struggling with an ankle injury, the Pro20 represents the bestchance for India to salvage some pride before packing away the bluepajamas and bringing out the whites.Apart from Dravid in the Cape Town game where he broke his finger, SachinTendulkar in Durban, and Irfan Pathan in the last game at Port Elizabeth,no batsman has shown signs of having come to grips with the conditions.And though South Africa are resting several keep players for the Pro20game, the replacements are no slouches. The team practised on Fridaymorning – India were pencilled in for an afternoon session – and GraemeSmith was determined to ensure that India didn’t go into the Test serieswith any shred of confidence.The format probably suits the likes of Virender Sehwag and Mahendra SinghDhoni, and with so much attention having been focussed on the selection ofthe Test side over the past few days, India will probably be glad of thisgame, with all the attendant Bollywood trappings that the organisers havepromised. But with the thunder rolling in, and the skies getting everdarker, another disappointing washout was the most likely outcome.
Mark Ramprakash has said he has sympathy for the player who picked the seam during a match against Nottinghamshire in the early stages of last season.The player, who refused to own up and whose identity has yet to be revealed despite an internal enquiry, cost Surrey eight points – ultimately sending the county down to the second division.”I have a lot of sympathy for the person who did it because it was naivety,” Ramprakash told the BBC. “Whoever it was did it for the right reasons.”During the game at The Oval, Nottinghamshire had amassed an enormous total of 692 for 7 declared, with the captain Stephen Fleming making 238. Ramprakash, captaining Surrey in Mark Butcher’s absence, takes up the story:”We were bowling, Notts were about 200-0, the umpires came over and said: ‘Look we feel this ball doesn’t look right and we feel something is wrong with the quarter-seam.'”This time they said we are not happy with this, somebody has obviously tampered with the ball. I had never come across someone picking the quarter-seam before.”Obviously somebody was trying to gain an advantage for Surrey and quite rightly we were penalised and punished. To this day we don’t know who did it, and of course people say those were the eight points that cost us and ensured we were relegated.”
Andy Bichel put Queensland on the verge of victory, taking 5 for 70 as Tasmania were bowled for 253 in the second innings of their Pura Cup match at Brisbane. Michael Bevan led the resistance with 93, but none of the other batsmen topped 50, leaving Queensland with a target of just 86 to chase tomorrow.At one point Tasmania were 7 for 152 after following on, 16 short of making Queensland bat again. Bevan held the innings together as wickets fell from the other end, before Bichel him caught behind seven short of his hundred.In the course of his innings, Bevan became the second active player after Darren Lehmann (11,467) to have passed 9,000 Pura Cup runs. Others who have reached the milestone include Dean Jones and David Hookes.After Bevan’s fall, Tasmania fought back with an unlikely 62-run ninth-wicket partnership between Xavier Doherty (27) and Adam Griffith (37), that took the game into a fourth day. Both fell within an over and Bichel ended the innings by having Doherty caught to complete his five-for, and took his career tally to 300 Pura Cup wickets in the process.”He’s just invaluable,” Jimmy Maher, Queensland’s captain, said of Bichel who also scored 69 on the first innings. “He just charges in no matter how hot it is or what’s going on out there. It’s hard to describe how good it is to have a bloke like him in the team. You literally need pliers to extract the ball out of his hand, he’s unbelievable.”
The Pub Charity Youth Cricket Draw – 25 October 2003:(Please Note: Colts & U14A are 2-day matches)U18 (1-day):St Bedes Red v Pap HS St Bedes 5a,Stac v St Bedes Black Stac 3,Midd G v CBHS Midd G 1,Pk v Syd Cash HS 1.Colts (2-day):25 Oct & 1 NovSection 1:CBHS v Syd Straven 2,Stac v St Thom Yellow Stac 2,St Bedes v CC St Bedes 1.Section 2:Burn HS v SBHS Burn HS 2,Pap HS v St Thom Red Pap HS 1.U16A (1-day):CBHS v CC CC 3,SBHS v Stac SBHS 2,Syd v St Bedes Cash HS 2a.U16B (1-day):CBHS v OC Malvern 1,Horn CC v Nb South Brighton Dom,Upr v Ricc HS Ricc Domain,LPW Bye.U15A (1-day):Burn HS v St Thom Burn HS 3,SBHS v CC CC 4,Stac Blue v CBHS Straven 3,Syd v Stac White Stac 3.U15B (1-day):CC v CBHS Black Straven 6,Pap HS v Pk Pap HS 3,Upr v St Bedes St Bedes 3,Stac v Burn HS Stac 5,CBHS Bye.U14A (2-day):25 Oct & 1 NovLin/Elles v SBHS SBHS 4,Stac v St Thom Stac 4a,St Bedes v Syd Halswell Domain 4,CC v CBHS Black CC 5,CBHS Blue v Burn HS Straven 4.U14B (1-day):CBHS Black v Stac Stac 6a,CBHS Blue v SBHS Straven 7,St Bedes v Burn HS St Bedes 6a,Ricc HS v CC Ricc HS 3,Pap HS v Rang HS Rang HS 1,Nb v Syd Chch South Interm.U14C (1-day):CC v SBHS CC 6,BWU v CBHS Black Straven 8,LPW Bye.
The Otago Under-21 women’s team has been named for the national tournament in Christchurch from December 27-January 1.The team is: Sarah Tsukigawa, Megan Kane, Elizabeth Scurr, Natalie Bannerman, Kirsten Spence, Katey Martin, Katherine Lynch, Kirsty Baird, Kim Smith, Alana Kane, Jenna Innes, Claire Thompson.Players are asked to attend practise at the University Oval No 2 ground on Saturday, December 22, starting at 2pm.
Somerset didn’t hang around too long at Southgate this morning. Middlesexcrushed them by 169 runs on their way to a place in the NatWest Trophy quarter-finals. The visitors were bowled out for 58 – perhaps an improvement after being once 9-4. Fast bowler Tim Bloomfield (4-17) did the main damage and was appropriately Man-of-the-Match.Partnered by veteran Angus Fraser he ripped through the Somerset batting indismissing Marcus Trescothick, Peter Bowler, Michael Burns and Ian Blackwell in a shattering opening burst. Bloomfield expressed his pleasure at being back in the county side after a month’s absence.”It was one of those days when everything went right for me, I felt I’dbowled beautifully today and got those lucky breaks when I needed them.”As four visiting batsmen failed to trouble the scorers Keith Parsons (23),alone, made any real contribution to what was a meagre total.The last five wickets collapsed for just seven runs as Aaron Laraman, who dismissed three batsmen for six runs in five overs, capitalised on the superiority his colleagues had achieved. Middlesex now have a quarter-final match with Hampshire.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHalf-centuries from Assad Fudadin and Brad Hodge, followed by a four-wicket haul from fast bowler Ronsford Beaton helped Guyana Amazon Warriors crush Jamaica Tallawahs by 84 runs at Sabina Park for only their third victory of the season.Amazon Warriors, having been inserted, began slowly, with the openers Lendl Simmons and Fudadin scoring just 15 off the first four overs. However, Simmons let loose in the fifth, smashing 14 runs off Andre Russell. The boundaries remained scarce, with only two fours and a six being hit in the next five overs, but both batsmen kept the score ticking with singles and twos.Russell eventually dismissed Simmons in the 11th over to end an opening stand worth 71, but Fudaddin continued briskly and reached his fifty of 38 balls. He fell soon after, for a 43-ball 54, but there was little respite for the hosts as Hodge counterattacked with a second straight half-century. Hodge launched a total of three fours and six sixes during his unbeaten 30-ball 65, including 14 off another over from Russell, who ended with figures of 3-0-39-1. Hodge’s blitz lifted the team to 179 for 3 and meant that Tallawahs needed nine an over right from the off.The tournament’s top scorer Chris Gayle began the chase positively by smashing a four and a six off the first over, but Tallawahs failed to kick on from there, with both Gayle and his opening partner Chadwick Walton getting out in the space of five deliveries. Wickets continued to fall freely, with Marchant de Lange (2 for 17) and Sunil Narine (2 for 9) striking at regular intervals to reduce Tallawahs to 54 for 5. Russell swung his way to a 14-ball 28, but after he was dismissed, Beaton cleaned up the tail on his way to collecting a career-best 4 for 9, including three in an over. It meant that from 93 for 5, Tallawahs had collapsed to 95 all out inside 16 overs to succumb to their fourth defeat of the season.
An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s plans that will cause concern for Dan Burn…
What’s the talk?
Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has warned the Englishman that he is likely to face stiff competition for his place next season.
The journalist has claimed that the Magpies may sign as many as two central defenders in the next transfer window, leaving his spot in the team in a vulnerable position.
He told GIVEMESPORT: “I don’t think what he’s done will have any impact at all on Newcastle’s plans for the summer. I still expect them to spend big, and I expect them to bring in at least one, if not two international centre-backs, even with Dan Burn there.”
Disasterclass
PIF must avoid a Darsley Park disaster this summer because instantly replacing Burn would be a huge mistake by the owners.
Firstly, he has been excellent in the Premier League this season and there is little need to find an immediate upgrade in his position.
Steven Taylor dubbed him a “perfect” signing for the club and Toon legend Alan Shearer admitted that he was shocked by his performances, saying: “I looked at him at Brighton and I saw a good Premier League player, who is reliable. I have got to be honest. I didn’t realise how good he was, in terms of what he has brought to this Newcastle team, the leadership.
“Watch the way he’s looking around and trying to organise different players, then taking up his position to do his bit defensively. He has been a leader in that back four, ever since he has put that black and white shirt on.”
He has averaged a superb SofaScore rating of 7.03 for Brighton and Newcastle combined, making 3.1 tackles and interceptions per game. The £20k-per-week machine has shown that he can consistently deliver in the top-flight and that is one reason why it would be a mistake to replace him this summer.
Another reason why it would be a mistake from PIF is that it would surely put some players off from wanting to join the club.
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Seeing that they are willing to wield their axe with Burn, in the sense of replacing him in the starting XI, after just a few months in which he has been delivering quality performances would cause targets to think twice about whether or not it is the best move for their career.
Why would a player be interested in signing for the Magpies if they know that they can put in excellent displays and help the team massively and still be potentially pushed aside within weeks or months?
Therefore, the Magpies must add one centre-back to their squad this summer to compete with the likes of Schar and Dan Burn, instead of signing a completely new defensive pairing.
AND in other news, Sold at £108k, now worth £10.8m: NUFC had howler on gem who proved Benitez “all wrong”…
Dolphins offspinning allrounder Khaya Zondo’s bowling action has been cleared after an assessment was conducted at an ICC-accredited centre in Pretoria.Zondo, who was reported for a suspect bowling action in the semi-final of the Ram Slam competition between Dolphins and Cape Cobras in Durban on December 9, was required to submit an independent assessment of his bowling action in accordance with CSA regulations.The assessment which was conducted on December 17, revealed that all his deliveries were within the permitted 15-degree limit and therefore will be allowed to continue to bowl in domestic cricket.Zondo, whose primary role for his domestic franchise is with the bat, has taken 35 first-class wickets at an average of 34.11 with a best of 6 for 52, and also has 12 wickets in 64 T20s.
With a jaunty , Graeme Smith announced the arrival of South Africa in Pakistan for a short, sharp tour which takes in four cities, two Tests, two warm-up games and five one-day internationals in just over a month.Not that the tourists are likely to see much of the country anyway but security issues have hovered over the tour from the very start and Smith acknowledged, as he did before his departure, that being cooped up in hotels with little else to do would be as much a challenge as anything on the field. In 2005-06 Duncan Fletcher’s England side were unable to overcome similar problems, eventually losing both the Test and ODI series.”I’m not going to lie about it,” Smith said. “It’s different to how we live back home but its not the first time. Security issues are becoming a part of international sport and something we have come to terms with. It will be one of the challenges for us but the security provided to the team is fantastic. It allows us to focus on our cricket.”The cricket will not be of the kind they have been playing recently. South Africa and Pakistan played their last Test, against each other, in January this year and switching modes, in such little time, will not be easy.”Mentally it’s going to be tough to switch your mindset for the longer version, not only for us but also for Pakistan,” Smith said. “We haven’t played a Test for so many months now and it’s tough to play Test cricket on the subcontinent. Pakistan are formidable at home, so we have to be ready for that.”For focusing on the field, the composition of the 14-man squad couldn’t be better balanced: seven members of the side have toured Pakistan with the senior side before and seven others are making their first trip.The role of the seniors, Smith said, would be crucial: “We have some players with a lot of subcontinent experience now, and it’s important they help the young guys, especially in the bowling department, where we have some good new talent. The selection committee has given an opportunity to young players and we certainly feel that they can also play a role.”As they have done since their readmission into international cricket, South Africa will rely heavily on pace. Though the policy served them well in their early years in this region, the lack of spinning options has eventually told. South Africa have not won a series in the subcontinent – apart from beating Bangladesh – since 2000. Paul Harris’ tall, left-arm orthodox is the sole option and he bears a heavy responsibility.”You’ve got to have spin options available to select them,” Smith ruefully acknowledged. “But a big responsibility lies with Paul. He had a good debut and is a hungry guy. This will be a challenge to him. There will be tough times and also times when he will do well.”Two sides looking to improve their Test rankings, in the process of ensuring a smooth procession between older players and younger replacements, could come together to provide a stirring series.Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach, recognised the potential for a worthy battle. “We have a chance to blood a young team which could carry us for a couple of years to come. Pakistan might be in the same boat, we both want to get up in the rankings and that could make the series a thrilling one.”Smith is on the same page. “One thing I can predict is that this will be a tough series. There will be some very good cricket and a hard-fought battle.”With or without Shoaib Akhtar, as it happens. When asked whether facing a Shoaib-less Pakistan would be an advantage, Smith cheerily replied, “I don’t know, for us or for Pakistan?”South Africa play a three-day warm-up game against a Patron’s XI beginning tomorrow, before the first Test starts at the National Stadium on October 1.