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Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka’s spin magician and the world’s greatestbowler according to Wisden, is on the verge of afull recovery from a hernia operation and is expected re-enter theinternational fray on January 9 when Sri Lanka take on Australia at the SCG.He carries with him hopes of a Sri Lankan revival.Predictably, Murali has been sorely missed. Since flying to Australia forpre-emptive surgery Sanath Jayasuriya’s team have won a solitary ODI ineight attempts. Their wayward bowlers have been flogged mercilessly and youwould be being generous if you called the fielding butter-fingered. Thebatting, with the exception of Russel Arnold, has been woeful.

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Confidence has not leaked away, it has flooded from the players, leavingcoach Dav Whatmore tearing out his hair in frustration, no doubt ponderingwhere it all started to go awry. Just nine months ago the side was ridingthe crest of a wave after notching up ten consecutive Test victories but nowthey are being openly mocked.Of course, the reasons are complex. Some cast their mind back to a teamrevolt against the selectors last January. Others point firmly at the darkhand of political interference in the cricket board, which intensifiedduring the year. A growing band blames the captain and the coach.There is no doubt that some off-field matters have adversely affectedperformance, especially a selection process that has tottered on theshambolic during the past year, but the single most important reason for SriLanka’s dip is the absence of Murali.Sri Lanka are not an exceptional side. Jayasuriya has at his disposal alimited pool of talent. There are no baby-faced Aravinda de Silva’s waitingin the wings. Fast bowlers of international pedigree remain scarce. However,there is a hardcore of quality and when that core is fully fit and playingtheir full potential Sri Lanka will be competitive against all sides. Butwhen form and confidence slides, or injuries intervene, there are problems.The absence of Murali has a particularly disastrous effect. The off-spinner’s importance to the side cannot easily be overstated. Despite claimsthat Sri Lanka are not overly reliant on him, the fact is that his uniquebrand of bowling has played a major hand in the vast majority of Sri Lanka’striumphs. Sri Lanka have won only a solitary Test without him since hisdebut 1992 and that was against lowly Bangladesh. His contribution in theone-day game is no less significant. During Jayasuriya’s reign in charge SriLanka have won 65% of the ODIs they have played with him in the side.Without him Jayasuriya’s win ratio slips to a lowly 22%.A groin injury knocked the side off course in South Africa two years ago.The same injury allowed England to win a controversial home series in 2001.A dislocated shoulder paved the way for Pakistan’s victory in last year’sSharjah final and let England off the hook at Lord’s shortly afterwards.Without Murali, Sri Lanka are average.

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His value to the side is not measured in wickets alone. His persona provides inspiration. Whether gesticulating wildly in the covers,screaming encouragement from the boundary or tossing the ball between hisfingers as he prances in to bowl, he injects the side with positive energyand confidence.Thus, the news that his recover is on course should already be lifting theflagging spirits of his team-mates. He will sit out the Australia A match atAdelaide but, despite bowling only three gentle overs in a fundraising gameso far on the tour, will most probably play in Sri Lanka’s crucial game at theSCG on January 9. He may be rusty but it is a gamble worth taking.It will not be easy though. Once again, his resilience will be tested to thefull by Australian scrutiny of his bowling action. Indeed, the legality ofMurali’s action, an unusual mix of wrist rotation and locked elbow, hasconsumed the minds of Australian fans, umpires and journalists on both hisprevious tours down under in 1995-96 and 1998-99 when he was no-balledby local umpires. Although cleared to the satisfaction of the InternationalCricket Council (ICC) after high-tech scientific analysis, Sri Lankans fearfurther chucking controversies.Already the tabloids have seized upon comments made by former umpire RossEmerson, who called Murali in 1998-99, to re-ignite the debate. With DarrylHair, who called him in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG in 1995, due toofficiate in Sri Lanka’s second game at the SCG on January 13 there isclearly potential for trouble. But Murali claims to be unconcerned, lookingforward to the challenge of playing in Australia: “They can’t question meanymore, in my mind, because it’s gone. It’s all past. I never thought aboutnot coming to Australia. I always wanted to play here.”Sri Lanka’s New Year has already started well with a victory against astrong Australia A side at the MCG. The fielding has improved and theconfidence of the fast bowlers is growing steadily. With Murali returningSri Lankans can now look forward with real hope for the second part of theVB Series.

An unbroken stand of 251 in 49 overs between skipper Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn carried Australia to 405-5 declared against a toiling Essex attack.Gilchrist was the dominant partner after arriving at the crease with the tourists in a spot of bother at 154-5. Gilchrist is recognised as one of the game’s hardest hitters and further enhanced that reputation with a series of savage pulls and drives, treating both spin and pace alike.His reward was 21 fours and three sixes as he reached 150, having faced only 149 deliveries. Martyn was content to play the supporting role yet never looked in the slightest trouble as he hit 16 fours and a six in an unbeaten 114 spanning 182 deliveries.In contrast to Gilchrist’s powerful play, Martyn excelled in caressing the ball through the gaps as the Australians scored at about five an over to complete a superb recovery after an inauspicious start.Essex had enjoyed a successful opening hour when they claimed three wickets in the first 14 overs. Mark Ilott, the county’s left-arm seamer, struck twice with the total on 36.He had Michael Slater caught down the legside by James Foster and then the wicket-keeper took another straightforward catch two deliveries later as Justin Langer pushed forward at a wide delivery outside his off stump.Foster’s safe hands also accounted for Matthew Hayden, this time to give 19-year-old paceman Justin Bishop the first of his two successes. Bishop followed up when he had Mark Waugh caught at cover by Graham Napier for 25.Ricky Ponting, whose 63 arrived from as many deliveries, was the only batsman to show any real authority before lunch but he departed soon afterwards when he tried to cut a ball from off spinner Peter Such and was bowled.Left with nine overs before the close, Essex lost Paul Grayson without scoring but Nasser Hussain, opening the innings, survived a pace onslaught and got off the mark with a pull for six from Jason Gillespie as the home side closed on 16-1.

Newcastle United travel away to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League today as they look to bounce back from successive defeats.

The Magpies lost to Chelsea and Everton, both by a 1-0 scoreline, prior to the international break and now have the opportunity to get back to winning ways in the top-flight.

Eddie Howe may look to change up his team in order to avoid a third defeat in a row and one change he will be able to make is the return of Jonjo Shelvey, with the midfielder back in training after dealing with an illness.

Ahead of the match, the head coach spoke about his options in the middle of the park, saying: “Midfield has been a key area for us. We’ve had a really good mixture of technical & physical quality. If we decide to play with three, I need to pick which three & it’s a difficult choice but nice one to have.”

Unleash him

Howe must now unleash Shelvey in midfield against Tottenham as he is a crucial player for the Toon and will be key to their chances of picking up all three points.

The ex-Liverpool man was absent against Chelsea and Everton as both games ended in defeat for the Magpies. They missed his guile in the number eight role, with the club’s form before those losses highlighting his influence.

Prior to those games, he was one of only two outfield players – along with Fabian Schar – to play every single minute of the exceptional nine-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

The £70k-per-week gem averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.01 across those nine matches. This shows that he was consistently delivering quality performances to help the team on the pitch, as he played a key role in the unbeaten stretch.

Issac Hayden dubbed him a “Rolls Royce” of a player last month and Matt Ritchie once claimed that he “could play for Barcelona”, which illustrates how highly he is rated by his peers.

His displays on the pitch have been deserving of praise as he has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.91 in the top-flight this term – a score only Allan Saint-Maximin can better out of the players who have been at the club since the summer.

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His passing will be important to Howe’s side against Tottenham if Antonio Conte’s side look to dominate the match as he has the ability to hit long balls on the counter-attack.

He has completed 61% of his long passing this term, making 4.9 per game, and can use his quality on the ball to set the likes of Ryan Fraser and Saint-Maximin away in space if Spurs press up high and leave space in behind. This is why Howe must unleash him from the start today.

AND in other news, Howe must finally unleash “breathtaking” £93k-p/w Newcastle gem, he’s what they need…

Nottinghamshire will announce to members at the AGM on Monday that they have made a profit for the seventh successive year. The club made a pre-tax profit of £137,831 and are also on course to complete the £8.2 million Bridgford Road Stand and other improvements on budget in late April.Despite the results, finance chairman Richard Tennant still sounded a cautious note. “We cannot afford to stand still in what is a very dynamic competitive environment,” he said. “Since last year’s AGM, not only have Cardiff completed their re-development but the Rose Bowl, The Oval, Headingley and Old Trafford have all announced their own very ambitious plans.”We are fortunate to have a staging agreement with the ECB which guarantees international cricket at Trent Bridge until the end of the 2011 season,” he added. “But 2012 will be on us before we know it and we must ensure that our business is in the best possible financial shape as we are forced to bid with other venues for major matches – without any staging agreement certainty.”Barry Pailing, the club chairman, will announce at the meeting at that he will not be continuing in his role after four years, but he will remain on the general committee for a further year.

Scorecard

Ben Edmondson gave Western Australia hope but could not finish the job © Getty Images

Adam Crosthwaite and the Victoria tail held on for a nail-biting draw after the Bushrangers’ knack for reining in big targets deserted them at Melbourne. Ben Edmondson led Western Australia’s charge for victory with three wickets but he could not break the final partnership in the last over.The Bushrangers hit big trouble early in their chase of 346, falling to 4 for 41 and steadily sinking further as the afternoon progressed. After their disappointing start, they abandoned all thoughts of a win and Crosthwaite looked set to salvage a draw with his three-hour 31.He was trapped lbw in the second-last over, leaving Peter Siddle and Darren Pattinson eight balls to survive. Siddle, in his Pura Cup debut, managed comfortably and finished his crucial 76-minute innings on 7.Edmondson’s 3 for 50 included the important victims David Hussey and Michael Klinger but he was wayward in the final over as the home side crawled to 9 for 182. The Warriors set Victoria the challenging target from 85 overs after declaring at 7 for 271.Western Australia and Victoria both retain a hope of playing Tasmania in the Pura Cup final, provided the Tigers do not lose to New South Wales next week. The Bushrangers face Queensland while the Warriors will fancy their chances against South Australia.

Netherlands have named a 14-man squad to represent them against Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup at the end of March.It had been hoped that the two countries would be able to play an ODI before the main match, but it now seems that this will depend on Kenya’s commitments in Bangladesh, and an official in Cricket Kenya said the game was unlikely to go ahead at the moment.Netherlands squad Luuk van Troost (capt), Daan van Bunge, Ryan ten Doeschete, Victor Grandia, Tom de Grooth, Muhammad Kashif, Alexei Kervezee, Tim de Leede, Darron Reekers, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Jeroen Smits, Billy Stelling, Bas Zuiderant,

The fans braved the heat in Bangalore, and were well rewarded when Virender Sehwag got going© Getty Images

For the first time in my life I was going to watch cricket from the stands: without using my journalistic eye, without using the pen or the laptop or the scrapbook. And, more importantly, without any of the comforts of the press-box.With a pass for the H-Stand in hand I walked eagerly towards the entrance gate. Unfortunately the usher pointed towards the mile-long queue and asked me to join it. "Holy crap," I uttered to myself in disgust as I made my way to the tail end of the line. How easy it is for the journalist to just flash the press pass and make his way in, I thought. The fan, on the other hand, has to stand in line for hours to get in. So, even as Sehwag was belting the bowling around, I could only imagine him playing his shots every time I heard the loud howls from the cauldron inside.Finally, after an hour-long wait, I entered the stands to have a view of the Chinnaswamy Stadium. On my pass was printed "Invitee, Club Members". Quite naively, I presumed there would be cushy seats where I could lounge comfortably. How wrong was I! The security guard inside asked me to sit anywhere within the enclosure. As I looked around, the seats for the best view were still empty. Immediately I rushed to one of them.But as the minutes passed, I realised why nobody was ready to take them. The searing Bangalore heat, with the mercury hovering around 36 degree centigrade, had pushed the fans back towards the seats that were protected by the roof.With a flimsy cap for protection I decided to stick around adamantly and get myself sunburnt (a decision I would regret later in the evening as I suffered from a mild sunstroke). The fun had just begun, I told myself. And it had: Sehwag was effortlessly finding the gaps and stroking boundaries, and the fans were going hysterical.It took me a while to fathom why these people would shriek, howl, whistle, dance, bang chairs, blow horns and paper trumpets even when the batsmen scored only a single. Immediately I realised that I was still watching the match from a journalist’s viewpoint, and not as a frenzied fan. Steadily, though, I started enjoying the revelry. A father-and-son duo next to me went crazy every time Sehwag flashed his bat. The boy, only around eight years old, had this gleam in his eyes as he watched Sehwag fulfill the aspirations of every Indian fan.But being a fan comes at a cost. In that simmering cauldron, the urge to quench thirst was high, but the quest to find drinking water was a struggle. The fans are not allowed to take water bottles inside the stadium, for fear that the bottles might be used as missiles that could harm the players. What about making arrangements for water coolers near the stands, then? That wasn’t available either. To buy a glass of water – each glass cost two rupees – one had to come out of the stands. No wonder, then, that the lack of such basic facilities deter many from coming to the ground to watch cricket.The afternoon heat was steadily sapping my energy, but it didn’t seem to affect most of the fans. A bearded guy, clad in a white shirt and a white dhoti, preferred to stand and watch the game almost throughout the day – perhaps it was some superstition. Then, there was this young couple who had valiantly brought their newly born. It was like the month-old baby was being trained to enjoy the favourite pastime of the entire country. And it didn’t take her long to get used to it – when the heat irritated her and brought her to tears, it only needed some flag waving and screaming from the fans in the stand to get her to wave along happily. Cricket had become her baby-sitter.My moment of the day, though, came when Sehwag got his double-hundred. When Sehwag was on 199, I noticed the man sitting in front of me get up. His right leg was immobile, and he was using a wooden crutch to walk. As Sehwag’s miscue landed in empty space and he reached his landmark, the man clapped and shrieked, joining the thousands who were going wild in celebration. It was a sight that the fan inside me will treasure.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has reunited members of the 1963-64 Sheffield Shield winning South Australian team, 40 years after their victorious season.Captained by former Australian Test player Les Favell, who passed away in 1987, the South Australian team beat Victoria in their last game of the season to clinch the Shield, just 6 points ahead of Victoria. At that time there was no final contested to win the Sheffield Shield.Starring for South Australia in that match, which was played at Adelaide Oval from February 21-24, was Sir Garfield Sobers, who scored 124 runs and took 6 wickets. That season, Gary Sobers scored 973 runs at an average of 74.84 and took 47 wickets at an average of 27.59.SACA vice president Rex Sellers also starred with the ball that season taking 46 wickets at an average of 26.63.The reunion, to take place at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow night (January 31), will see players from that season re-live their winning performances, in their first get together since the 1960s.The evening also will see members of the 1963-64 team present the 2003-04 Redbacks squad with their SACA baggy red caps.The 1963-64 team was:

Les Favell (c)	Sir Garfield Sobers
Ian Chappell	John Lill
Hon Ian McLachlan	Neil Dansie
Neil Hawke	Barry Jarman
Brian Hurn	Rex Sellers
Gordon Brooks	Ken Cunningham
Robert Lloyd	David Sincock

Of that team Les Favell, Ian Chappell, Barry Jarman, Neil Hawke, David Sincock and Rex Sellers all played Test cricket for Australia, with Sir Garfield Sobers playing 93 Tests for the West Indies.Players attending the dinner include Barry Jarman, Neil Dansie, David Sincock, Ken Cunningham, Rex Sellers and Ian McLachlan.Former Australian Test captain, Ian Chappell, the youngest member of that team, can not attend the reunion dinner, although will visit Adelaide for a cocktail function with his former team mates before flying interstate for work commitments.SACA president Ian McLachlan said these reunions are very important because it perpetuates the cohesiveness of the Association."These events are particularly important to continue the tradition and sense of family at the SACA and to ensure our wins of the past are celebrated.""We had tremendous fun in those days and looking back we can see that cricket is a fabulous game for friendships. Many of us have made life-long friendships through our days playing cricket.""We will have a real blend of the young and old there tomorrow night – and of course the old blokes think the younger blokes can’t play and the young blokes `know’ the older blokes can’t play, and exaggeration will win the night!"

Easterns and Free State, each requiring a win to have any further say of a place in the semi-finals of the Standard Bank Cup, both squandered their chances in exciting matches and in so doing brought an early end to their season.Easterns started off well enough by winning the toss against Northerns but then struggled against some excellent bowling from Gary Hampson, 1/25, Steve Elworthy, 0/33 and Shafiek Abrahams, 0/35 in their nine over spells.Andre Seymore scored a slow but solid 77 while Albie Morkel and Zander de Bruyn laboured to 31 each. These three batsmen failed to accelerate the run rate to enable Easterns to set any real defendable total.What nearly turned out to be a winning fifth wicket partnership of 38, in the last five overs, saw Derek Crookes (17) and Godfrey Toyana (20) finally showing some urgency to get the scoreboard moving.For a team that had to win to get a semi-final place very little determination was shown. Wickets lost do not normally count in a limited overs match but a team that ends on 182 with only four wickets down in a 45 over match does not deserve to be in the semi-finals.Northerns made a disastrous start to their innings, losing Jacques Rudolph without scoring and Alviro Petersen for three.Maurice Aronstam, making his debut for Northerns, waded in with a quick 25 while Martin van Jaarsveld (38) and Gerald Dros (44) set the Titans up for what should have been an easy win.Three quick wickets almost turned the scales in Easterns favour when 137/5 suddenly became 138/8 with Northerns in danger of ending the tournament without a win.Dros and Abrahams (22*) took Northerns to the brink of victory before Dros played across the line to be bowled when only three runs were required in five overs.Abrahams however drove the home team to a win and Easterns were out of contention for a semi-final spot.In Port Elizabeth, Eastern Province won the toss and after a good start from Carl Bradfield (37) and Wade Wingfield (31), four quick wickets fell sending the team from 70 without loss to 111/4 before James Bryant (40) and Justin Kemp (31) steadied the floundering ship.A quick 26 from Dave Callaghan helped the Jumbos to reach a respectable 215/8 at the completion of the 45 overs, with Johannes van der Wath picking up three wickets for 53.Free State made an excellent start bringing up the 50 in ten overs and the 100 in 22, maintaining a required run rate of under six till well into the 35th over.After losing Morne van Wyk and Gerhardus Liebenberg, Jonathan Beukus and Jimmy Adams seemed to have everything under control but when Beukus was caught behind for 77 and Adams, on 31, followed in similar fashion things started to slip away.In the space of seven overs, thanks to an excellent bowling spell from Robin Peterson, the required rate had jumped to nine runs per over which was out of the reach of Free State. Needing to score six off the last ball of the innings Herman Bakkes was only able to get one and Eastern Province walked away as victors by four runs.With three of the four semi-spots now taken, it leaves KwaZulu-Natal and Griqualand West, who meet in Pietermaritzburg on 5 January, to fight it out for the final place.

An innings of brutal power and subtle skill from Inzamam-ul-Haq has set up a challenging total for Pakistan to defend in this first NatWest Series encounter of 2001. In partnership with Saeed Anwar, Inzamam added 150 runs at close to a run a ball as the England bowlers felt the full force of his powerful bat. After Old Trafford they may have had a sense of deja vu.Pakistan accelerated dramatically from the halfway point of the innings when they stood at 108-2. Saeed’s 50 (68 balls 5×4 1×6) came up with his fifth four to add to the six he’d already hit. Another six followed and Vaughan was replaced after an expensive two-over spell that appears to have served to whet the appetite of Inzamam.At the Pavilion End Paul Collingwood came on for his first bowl in international cricket. But Inzamam was in no mood for a warm welcoming, and launched the ball back past the bowler by way of a ‘hello’. Successive ferocious boundaries followed in his next over and Collingwood was removed from the attack after two overs for 18.Inzamam’s 50 came off 66 balls with five fours, quickly followed by the 100 partnership, from just 106 balls and Stewart was forced to recall Darren Gough, a plan that almost worked when Saeed offered a return chance that the bowler was unable to cling on to.Ben Hollioake was called into the attack to replace Collingwood at the City End and endured a torrid time. He did little wrong and showed that he has learnt much during his time in the international wilderness, but Inzamam was by now in total control. A pull to the mid-wicket fence followed a pick-up through extra cover. Inzamam brought up the 200 with a delicate flick, almost a sweep, having hoisted the previous ball over extra cover in the 40th over. This shot also brought up his 8,000th limited-overs run.Ealham bowled well, conceding just 35 runs, which in the circumstances, was a great effort, but it was Cork who finally ended the partnership after it had added 150 in just 158 balls. Saeed, caught at point, trying to force off the back foot had scored 77 (106 balls with 6×4 2×6).This wicket, and the return of Mullally from the Pavilion End, conspired to slow down the run rate. A rare mis-hit from Inzamam dropped between fielders but his determination not to lose momentum eventually got the better of him. Attempting a powerful square drive off Cork he failed to keep the ball on the ground and was taken by Marcus Trescothick fielding on the cover fence – a fine catch, running in. His innings had spanned 95 balls and included nine boundaries.Azhar Mahmood inadvertently provoked a moment of comedy by falling flat on his face as he walked out to bat, but a delicate late cut for four off Mullally and a fierce square drive off Hollioake showed clearly that England had better take his batting seriously. His final score of 38 took just 24 deliveries.Hollioake won the mixed blessing of another bowl, this time from the City End, as Stewart juggled his bowlers in an attempt to stop the flow of runs. A one over spell was followed by a change of ends, and a bowl for the Surrey man from the Pavilion End, but some lapses in control contributed to a costly analysis.A fine, flat throw from Gough ran out Yousuf, going for the second run in Mullally’s final over but the new man, Younis, continued the theme as England’s bowling started to show the strain. Hollioake was deposited to all corners of Edgbaston and a full toss from Gough was carved over cover by Mahmood for six. England’s talisman soon had some revenge though when Younis was caught behind trying to make room on the off side.Pakistan are firm favourites at the halfway stage of this game, but England may have settled for this total when Inzamam and Saeed were together. They need 274 to win when the floodlights come on.