Eintracht Frankfurt were set to lose a key player to the financial might of Saudi Arabia, but a mother's intervention resulted in the player staying.
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News from around the circuit, including the successful clean up operation at New Road and a Lancashire fanzine editor gone rogue
Paul Bolton24-Apr-2018The ECB has increased its funding for equipment and support for county medical staff to improve the care for players and umpires who suffer serious on-field injuries.Last season Nottinghamshire’s Luke Fletcher was badly concussed after he was struck on the crown of the head by a fierce return drive from Warwickshire’s Sam Hain during a T20 match, an injury that forced Fletcher to miss the second half of season.Although Fletcher received prompt attention from physiotherapists and doctors at Edgbaston, the same level of medical care would not have been available had he suffered the injury in a County Championship or second team match, as no doctor or paramedic team would have been in attendance.The ECB’s emergency care committee have responded by requiring counties to have two advanced life support physiotherapists present at every county first team and second team match and have provided additional funding to cover the costs.Each physiotherapist has been provided with a resuscitation bag and every county’s medical plan was assessed by a life support practitioner and an accident and emergency consultant during a series of pre-season meetings.”One area of risk we identified is that Second XI matches are often played at grounds in relatively remote locations, without the normal medical facilities, and they can be difficult for ambulances to find,” Nick Peirce, the ECB’s chief medical officer, said.****Cricket’s lawmakers have given their tacit approval to the ECB’s plans for a 100-ball franchise competition even though the proposal to introduce ten-ball overs would contravene Law 17, which stipulates that an over should consist of only six balls.MCC, which will host one of the eight new franchises at Lord’s, has said it does not have the authority to prevent the ECB introducing variations to the Laws.”We have been consulted about the variation to Law 17 and have advised ECB that, if they wish to introduce the ten-ball over, they would need to create a Playing Regulation to make it possible,” Guy Lavender, MCC chief executive, said.”We have yet to engage in a proper discussion as a club in regard to the new 100-ball format though we know there will be a range of differing views. We are supportive of changes to the game which attract a new audience to cricket and we want Lord’s to be at the forefront of the new competition.”Whilst MCC owns and writes the Laws of Cricket, it is not within the club’s remit to say that a governing body, or any other official entity, is not allowed to play a specific variation.”****Ian Lomax, the editor of Lancashire’s new fanzine remains banned from Old Trafford but not from grounds the Red Rose county are visiting.Lomax, who has crossed swords with county officials in the past through his involvement in the Lancashire Action Group (LAG), was at Chelmsford over the weekend where he took advantage of the publicity his ban has generated to increase sales.”I sold quite a few copies down there, including three to Essex committee members,” Lomax said.Lancashire have declined to elaborate on the reasons for Lomax’s exclusion, which were described as behaviour “not consistent with our core values” in the letter sent to him by club secretary Lee Morgan on April 12.Timothy St Ather, another member of the LAG, has had his Lancashire life membership revoked for what describes as “disrespecting club administrators and attempting to sell Test Match tickets against the rules”.****Worcestershire’s first home County Championship match of the season against Nottinghamshire will go ahead as planned at New Road on Friday thanks to a clean-up operation involving a team of volunteers including supporters and staff led by new chief executive Matt Rawnsley, who donned the Marigolds.The square and most of the outfield were submerged under several feet of floodwater for four days when the rivers Severn and Teme broke their banks less than three weeks ago.Worcestershire had made contingency plans to switch the match to Worcester Royal Grammar School’s Flagge Meadow ground but the recent warm spell plus the use of industrial blowers on the square have helped to dry the New Road playing area.****Somerset’s Overton twins, Craig and Jamie, have become the best-insured players in England – and possibly the world – having taken out a top-up policy that would bring them close to a £1 million pay out if their careers were ended by a one-off injury or illness.The standard insurance cover provided by the ECB and PCA provides a maximum pay-out of £320,000 but the Overtons, concerned the sum would be inadequate to cover their potential future earnings, have taken out their own permanent total disablement policies with insurance brokers Kerry London.”With the earning power players now have from playing in T20 competitions around the world I think that we are going to see more players taking out these top-up policies to protect their income,” Jason Ratcliffe, the Overtons’ agent, said.****Mohammad Amir is not the only Pakistan pace bowler who has encountered difficulties in gaining entry to the UK.Mohammad Asif has been forced to withdraw from his contract with Ashcombe Park in the North Staffordshire/South Cheshire League after his application for a visa was turned down because of his involvement in spot fixing during the 2010 Lord’s Test. Asif, Amir and then Pakistan captain Salman Butt were all jailed after they were caught in the newspaper sting.”Asif applied for a visa but was told that because of his conviction he could not be granted one for ten years,” Asif’s agent Danny Arshad said.Last month, Asif was refused entry to the UAE, where he was due to play in a T20 tournament, because he had incomplete entry papers.Asif’s place as Ashcombe Park’s professional has been taken by Northamptonshire seamer Nathan Buck.****Amar Virdi celebrates a wicket•Getty ImagesTwo members of last season’s England Under-19s side caught the eye in the second round of County Championship matches.Offspinner Amar Virdi took a career-best 4 for 79 in only his fourth Championship match to help Surrey beat Hampshire at The Oval.Henry Brookes, selected by Warwickshire as a seamer, clobbered 70 from No. 10 in only his third Championship innings and took three wickets in the match to help set up an innings win over Northamptonshire.Brookes, who was forced to withdraw from England’s squad for the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand because of a stress fracture of the back, shared a ninth-wicket stand of 117 with Tim Ambrose, Warwickshire’s highest for the wicket surpassing a record that had stood for 99 years.
Manchester United legends Gary Neville and Paul Scholes have slammed the club's "disgrace" of a season.
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Bayern Munich have reportedly given up on signing Florian Wirtz, seemingly giving Liverpool the green light to snap up the Bayer Leverkusen star.
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“I tried to give it a rip again, and [go a] little bit slow at the crease. That’s what I tried to do at the World Cup”
ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2024New Zealand ended day three of the Mount Maunganui Test against South Africa in command, leading by 528 runs in the second innings. This was after South Africa were bowled out for 162 in the first innings, with Mitchell Santner picking up 3 for 34 with his left-arm spin. Santner’s effort, along with Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson’s, gave the hosts a massive 349-run lead in the first innings. Playing only his second Test in more than two-and-a-half years, Santner spoke of the changes he has made in his bowling in the longest format.”I felt like I was getting too quick at the crease, and getting a bit long. It was through, I guess, a lot of white-ball bowling,” he said. “But I’ve gone the other way now: tried to give it a rip again, and [go a] little bit slow at the crease, and get my momentum from the crease. That’s what I tried to do at the World Cup… and it has flown into my red-ball bowling.”With 16 wickets at 28.06, Santner was New Zealand’s highest wicket-taker at the ODI World Cup in India last year. While seamer-friendly conditions at home allow New Zealand to field just the sole spinner, if any, Santner wants to cement his position when they tour the subcontinent to play Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and India later in the year.”Usually in the home summer, it is one spinner or that kind of allrounder role,” Santner said. “But looking forward, it’s nice to have a consistent Test series in the sub-continent – I think we’ve got six games. So it’ll be nice to go there as a spin unit and ply our crafts. Bangladesh [series last year] was good; we spoke a lot, [and had] good chats… it’ll be a good opportunity to get stuck in and bowl some overs [in the sub-continent].”Santner noticed some turn on the pitch in Mount Maunganui, and expected to get slower as the game progresses.”Usually in the first innings, when it’s flat, you do a role – [bowl] on a good length – and let the other boys do their thing at the other end,” he said. “It is nice to see it turn a little bit: we can play around with the position at the crease, [with the] seam, [and] slight change of pace. Mount is traditionally slower than where we are going to now.”Here I can enjoy the pitch, which is nice… it might do a little bit more tomorrow. Day five maybe a little bit more, but it usually slows down a lot in nature, where it is more of a grind to get your wickets.”
Wrexham ended their tour Down Under with a disappointing loss against Wellington Phoenix on Saturday, as Arthur Okonkwo's mistake proved costly.
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An unbeaten tenth-wicket stand of 17 from MacMillan and Vidler helped Australia clinch thriller after Straker’s six-for
Sreshth Shah08-Feb-2024An unbeaten tenth-wicket stand of 17 between Raf MacMillan and Callum Vidler took Australia past Pakistan in a topsy-turvy second semi-final in Benoni to seal a date against India in Sunday’s final for the 2024 Men’s Under-19 World Cup title.Chasing only 180 after Tom Straker’s 6 for 24 wrecked Pakistan in the first innings, Australia nearly threw away their advantage with the bat after a few clumsy top-order dismissals brought some parity into the contest. Fifteen-year-old Ali Raza (4-34) struck thrice late in the day, but the young pair of MacMillan (19*) and Vidler (3*) staved off the challenge posed by the inspired Pakistan bowling attack in the death overs to just about take Australia over the line. The winning runs in the final over were scored off an inside edge that very nearly crashed into the stumps but instead trickled behind for four.Australia also had opener Harry Dixon and wicketkeeper-batter Oliver Peake to thank for their contributions with the bat that held their fragile innings together.Dixon, who models his game on David Warner, hit his third half-century of the tournament and perhaps the most important of his youth ODI career with 50 in 75 balls. He held one end up as Sam Konstas (14), Hugh Weibgen (4), Harjas Singh (run out for 5) and Ryan Hicks (0) fell in quick succession to leave Australia reeling at 59 for 4. Along with Peake, he added 43 for the sixth wicket, but a double-wicket burst from left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas brought Pakistan into the game.Tom Straker starred with six wickets•ICC/Getty Images
Pakistan then went ahead in the contest when Raza with his blistering pace picked off Peake – on 49 – and Straker in the 42nd and 46th overs respectively. He then bowled the No. 10 Mahli Beardman for a duck leaving Australia scrambling with only one wicket in hand. But the tenth and most important wicket remained elusive.Earlier in the day, Pakistan were inserted to bat by Australia captain Weibgen. On a surface with ample spin and enough lateral movement, four of Pakistan’s top six were out for single digits. Straker, with his height and pace, dismissed Shamyl Hussain (17) and Saad Baig (3) while fellow new-ball bowler Vidler got Shahzaib Khan (4). Offspinners MacMillan and Campbell also found enough purchase to keep the left-hand heavy Pakistan line-up guessing.Two batters who did look comfortable for Pakistan, though, were the No. 3 Azan Awais and the No. 7 Minhas. They both struck 52 of different styles, to ensure Pakistan could make 179. Awais was more reserved, playing according to the struggling situation Pakistan found themselves in, while Minhas was more attacking in the back end, with the team searching for a respectable total. Their 54-run fifth-wicket stand seemed to set Pakistan up for a score closer to 200, but their dismissals in the 41st and 45th overs gave Australia an opening to exploit.And that came in the form of Straker’s extreme pace. He picked up a fourth wicket when Ubaid Khan mistimed a shot to cover in the 47th over, and when he returned for the 49th, Straker rattled the stumps of both the No. 10 and No. 11 Pakistan batters. In a game of close margins, the seven balls Pakistan failed to face in the first innings turned out to be mighty expensive.The result now sets up a repeat of the 2018 Under-19 World Cup final and more recently, the 2023 ODI World Cup final contested between the India and Australia senior sides. That contest will be at the same venue in Benoni on Sunday, February 11.
There was nothing fancy about Shaun Pollock’s sensational 130, just orthodox shots from an orthodox batsman, writes Jamie Alter
Jamie Alter at the Chinnaswamy Stadium06-Jun-2007
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Shaun Pollock knew he’d have to bat really well, given that he’d decided not to bowl in this tournament and that this African side was without some star batsmen, but this was something else: a maiden hundred in the first of three Afro-Asia matches played in humid Indian conditions, on a lively un-Indian pitch against quality bowling.Mention Shaun Pollock and one word comes to mind: relentless. He’s been running in with the ball for the past decade – though the pace has gone down some – and has proved to be a reliable hitter before. He took it a significant notch higher this time: it was a classy, nerveless innings under pressure.What was most remarkable about Pollock’s hundred was that it was so beautifully simple. In these slam-bang-thank-you-ma’am times, he played good old-fashioned cricket. There was nothing fancy about his batting, no scoops or shuffles, just orthodox shots from an orthodox batsman.”Up the order, we already have good options, and No. 7 is my normal batting position,” a relaxed Pollock said after the match. “Today we had [Justin] Kemp and [Mark] Boucher, but unfortunately they didn’t quite get in. Personally, it was nice to play up the order.”The game appeared to be all over when he walked in at 31 for 5 but he had other ideas. The second ball he faced from Mohammad Asif he drove with textbook precision through the covers. Great shot but how long could this last, many were tempted to ask. Mashrafe Mortaza came on and Pollock took him for three fours. Now it seemed like the proverbial hit-out when all is lost. However, Pollock had other intentions. Partners came and went but he batted on with a fluidity that put most of his team-mates to shame and that too on a lively surface with plenty of bounce, one Pollock termed “the new face of Indian cricket”.
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Second ball he faced from Mohammad Asif, he drove with textbook precision through the covers. Okay, a great shot, but how long will this last, many were tempted to ask. Mashrafe Mortaza came on and Pollock took him for three fours. Ah, it’s the proverbial hit-out when all is lost. But the man himself had other intentions |
Against New Zealand at Wellington back in 2003-04, Pollock nearly clinched victory with three sixes in Kyle Mills’ horror of a final over. He again ended up on the losing side but can take plenty of satisfaction from his maiden hundred. “Yes, it definitely felt good to contribute a hundred in this game. I enjoyed performing with the bat after not bowling. It was something I’ll never forget.”Did it get to him that the main batsmen failed? “We had lost a few quick wickets early on, but still thought that if we took our time and played our natural game we had a chance. We lost a few good batsmen, but Elton [Chigumbura] and [Thomas] Odoyo played really well. I didn’t have to protect them from the strike, and they played their roles very well. They helped me a lot in my own batting.”No exaggeration there. Chigumbura and Odoyo added 67 and 103 respectively with Pollock: the young Zimbabwean allrounder and the Kenyan veteran made full use of a platform intended more for them than the big names in the side.Both captains paid tribute to Pollock. “We all know what Pollock can do,” said his captain Justin Kemp. “He’s always been a good batsman, but today he really showed tremendous character.”For someone who had to watch the game almost slip away from him, Mahela Jayawardene admitted his anxiety: “I always knew Pollock could bat but he was really patient to begin with and then played some attacking shots at the end. And importantly, he got good support from the others. I always knew it was going to be tough.”Tough it was, but that’s what you get when Pollock is out in the middle.
Stats preview for the first Test between India and Pakistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla
Mathew Varghese21-Nov-2007Twenty-seven years after they won a Test series at home against Pakistan, India head into the three-Test series with a slight edge, having won the ODIs 3-2, in the process breaking a 24-year-old ODI series jinx against their traditional rivals at home.Pakistan have the better record in Test encounters between the two, but India will be emboldened by the fact that they have not lost a Test against Pakistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla, the venue of the first Test.
| Record | India won | Pakistan won | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 8 | 12 | 36 |
| In India | 6 | 5 | 19 |
| Since 1999 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| At the Kotla | 2 | 0 | 2 |
The last Test played at the Feroz Shah Kotla between the India and Pakistan was in 1999, when Anil Kumble completed the Perfect Ten in an innings. It’s no surprise that Kumble, recently appointed as Test captain, is the leading wicket-taker at the Kotla and against Pakistan in recent years.
| Player | Matches | Overs | Wickets | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anil Kumble | 5 | 325.2 | 48 | 15.45 |
| Kapil Dev | 9 | 312.2 | 32 | 26.53 |
| Bhagwat Chandrasekhar | 5 | 235.1 | 23 | 26.13 |
Kumble hasn’t had as great a run with the ball against Pakistan, averaging over 30 per wicket. Most of India’s bowlers have been unimpressive against Pakistan, with the exception of Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, India’s current bowling coach, who opened the bowling in the three Tests against Pakistan in 1999.
| Player | Matches | Overs | Wickets | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anil Kumble | 12 | 635.5 | 63 | 33.53 |
| L Balaji | 6 | 225.4 | 26 | 31.57 |
| Irfan Pathan | 9 | 368.1 | 26 | 47.61 |
| Javagal Srinath | 3 | 101.0 | 17 | 20.64 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 6 | 262.2 | 15 | 57.33 |
| Zaheer Khan | 4 | 156.4 | 12 | 51.08 |
| Venkatesh Prasad | 3 | 83.2 | 11 | 19.09 |
A legspinner – Danish Kaneria – tops the wicket-taking lists for Pakistan versus India in the same period. However, the Pakistan bowlers too haven’t fared particularly well against India. The only two to average less than 25 are Wasim Akram, who took 14 wickets at 23.92 in three Tests in 1999, while Umar Gul picked up six wickets for 96 runs in the only Test he played against India, in 2004.
| Player | Matches | Overs | Wickets | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danish Kaneria | 8 | 356.3 | 31 | 37.29 |
| Saqlain Mushtaq | 4 | 230.5 | 25 | 28.28 |
| Shoaib Akhtar | 7 | 191.1 | 19 | 35.15 |
| Mohammad Sami | 7 | 278.0 | 17 | 58.52 |
| Abdul Razzaq | 6 | 174.5 | 16 | 43.87 |
| Shahid Afridi | 8 | 149.3 | 14 | 33.07 |
India’s squad for the first two Tests doesn’t include Virender Sehwag, which will be a relief for Pakistan’s bowlers. Sehwag has an average of 91.14 in nine the Tests he’s played against Pakistan. The three Indian batsmen in the middle order – Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman – have all performed below par against Pakistan.
| Player | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virender Sehwag | 9 | 1276 | 91.14 | 4 |
| Rahul Dravid | 12 | 1045 | 58.05 | 5 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 12 | 703 | 41.35 | 2 |
| VVS Laxman | 12 | 566 | 33.29 | 0 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 6 | 401 | 57.28 | 2 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 9 | 368 | 28.30 | 0 |
Pakistan’s batting will rely on Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, the two batsmen who have scored over 1000 runs against India. Both have got four hundreds against India; Younis’ record is staggering, with 1061 runs in six Test at an average of 106.
| Player | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Yousuf | 12 | 1118 | 53.23 | 4 |
| Younis Khan | 6 | 1061 | 106.10 | 4 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 10 | 833 | 52.06 | 3 |
| Shahid Afridi | 8 | 709 | 47.26 | 3 |
| Kamran Akmal | 8 | 497 | 45.18 | 3 |
| Abdul Razzaq | 6 | 398 | 36.18 | 0 |
Pakistan, though, will be without the services of Inzamam-ul-Haq, who’s retired, and Shahid Afridi, who has performed well with both bat and ball in Tests against India.
| Record | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| With Inzamam | 26 | 19 | 16 |
| In India | 3 | 7 | 0 |
The captain winning the toss has always opted to bat at the Kotla. However, in 28 Tests, the sides winning the toss has won only five Tests, and lost ten.
| Toss result | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Won and batted first | 5 | 10 | 13 |
The conditions at the Kotla of late have generally favoured spinners, while the quick bowlers have got their wickets at more than 40 apiece.
| Bowling type | Overs | Wickets | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pace | 825.5 | 59 | 40.27 |
| Spin | 1352.3 | 127 | 28.06 |
Given the right tutoring and direction, Ishant Sharma has the potential to develop into an asset India has rarely possessed, a tall and aggressive fast bowler
George Binoy at the Chinnaswamy Stadium11-Dec-2007
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A spate of injuries since the tour of Pakistan began reduced India’s fast-bowling reserves to the minimum before the third Test but, from the shambles, Ishant Sharma has emerged as an encouraging prospect. Given the right tutoring and direction, he has the potential to develop into a rare asset for India: a tall and aggressive fast bowler.From the individual’s point of view, Ishant couldn’t have timed his maiden five-wicket haul in Pakistan’s first innings any better. The Indian selectors are due to pick the 16-member squad to Australia on Wednesday and his performance, on a lifeless pitch, has made him a strong candidate to make the grade for the livelier pitches that wait in December – and, if picked, put pressure on the likes of Sreesanth and Munaf Patel in the way Yuvraj Singh has put pressure on the middle-order batsmen..Should all of that come to pass, though, Ishant will probably take more impressive five-wicket hauls than this one. He was rewarded, as the Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson put it, “for persistence rather than brilliance” on a back-breaking wicket on which Pakistan batted 168.1 overs and scored 537. The scorecard will reveal that his five wickets comprised a middle-order batsman, a bowling allrounder and three tailenders. Having said that, it would be unfair to dismiss his wickets as cheap for the Pakistan tail has proved hard to dislodge in this series and Ishant succeeded where none of the other bowlers could unsettle Misbah-ul-Haq or Yasir Arafat. Once he bowled Arafat, he dismissed the tail efficiently, during a spell of 4 for 6 in 2.4 overs, something India has failed to do in the past.In the absence of Zaheer Khan and RP Singh, and given the tepid form of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh on a pitch that did not spin, Ishant showed impressive stamina by bowling over 33 overs in the innings. However, he still has a lot of work to do to evolve into a complete fast bowler. For starters, he often loses his run-up and frequent no-balls disrupt his rhythm. He bowled five in 13 overs on debut in Bangladesh and overstepped nine times, more than all the other bowlers put together, in the first innings here.Another area he needs to work on is his physique. At 6’4″ he has the necessary height for a fast bowler but he needs to fill out more and build up his strength, which will also help increase his pace from the mid-130s into the 140 kph zone.
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His performance on the third day was a mixed bag. He tested the batsmen on occasion, – especially with the short ball, but couldn’t build pressure for sustained periods. Younis Khan attempted to hook him but got beaten once and hit on the body another time while Mohammad Yousuf top-edged towards fine leg. However, those incidents were interspersed with periods where Ishant, though set attacking fields, was unable to pitch an entire over on the necessary length. He struggled with the second new ball late on the third day, often spraying it down legside and playing a significant role in Karthik’s 31 byes.He clearly needed some help and Venkatesh Prasad, the bowling coach, spoke to him overnight regarding his run-up, advising him to use his height and fine-tune his line and length. The effect of the advice took time to kick in for Ishant began the fourth day with a no-ball before Misbah began to drive him confidently for his length was too full. The moment he pitched it shorter he caused a few problems; on more than one occasion Misbah turned his back away from a short-of-a-length ball and got hit on the body. He could have had a wicket in his first spell had Anil Kumble persisted with the second slip. As soon as Laxman was removed from the position at the start of Ishant’s fourth over, Kamran Akmal edged a shorter ball wide of Rahul Dravid at first slip.Another delivery that is essential to a fast bowler is the yorker and the ball with which he dismissed Mohammad Sami was one of desperately few deliveries that found the block-hole over the first four days. Incidentally, all five of Ishant’s wickets fell to the ball that came into the body of the right-hander and he later said it was important to bowl wicket-to-wicket on such a pitch and patiently stick at it.Ishant’s rapid burst brought a swift end to a laborious day in the field for the other bowlers. A tall quick can make a heck of a difference to a team’s chances of taking 20 wickets in a Test and Lawson said Ishant’s height – 6’4″ – could make a difference on the bouncy pitches in Australia. On the evidence of his performance on a flat Chinnaswamy track, the Indian selectors might feel the same.