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The hastily-arranged match between the Australians and an England XI captained by Lord Harris, now deemed to be the first Test staged in England, was won by the home side but produced a thrilling contest which ebbed and flowed to the end

Martin Williamson06-Sep-2010

The hastily-arranged match between the Australians and an England XI captained by Lord Harris, now deemed to be the first Test staged in England, was won by the home side but produced a thrilling contest which ebbed and flowed to the end.The Australians came into the match without their trump card, the fast bowler Fred Spofforth who had injured a hand in a meaningless game a week earlier. His absence almost certainly proved the difference between the sides. Harris had failed to persuade two or three top names to play for him, but despite that the England team was strong.Despite the authorities dismissive approach to the whole tour, the appeal of a match between strong England and Australia sides proved a massive attraction. On the first day 20,814 spectators paid admission, with another 19,863 on the second. Thousands more found vantage points on trees outside the ground and on the gasometers.In glorious late-summer sun, Lord Harris won the toss and batted, reaching 404 for 8 by the close of the first day of three. WG Grace made 152 in three hours 55 minutes out of 281 scored while he was at the wicket, while Bunny Lucas and Lord Harris added fifties. Only three late wickets gave the Australians any hope.England’s tail was soon polished off on day two – the last six wickets fell for 16 runs – and then bowled out the Australians for 149. Fred Morley, the Nottinghamshire left-arm seamer, took 5 for 56 and the follow-on was enforced. When they reached the close on 170 for 6, still 101 from making England bat again, few doubted the game would extend to lunch on the final day.A small crowd of 3751 gathered for the last rites, and two quick wickets seemed to signal the end. But Billy Murdoch, Australia’s captain and a top-order batsman, remained and set about the bowling, and he found good support from the Nos 10 and 11, George Alexander and William Moule, who both chipped in with thirties. Built around Murdoch’s 153, they did enough to give their side a lead, but it was only 57.WG Grace, weary from bowling, chose to bat down the order but the decision backfired as England crashed to 31 for 5, both EM and FR Grace making ducks, FR bagging a pair in his only Test. WG Grace strode out at No. 7, steadied the innings, and England won by five wickets, sparking wild celebrations. The significance of Spofforth’s absence was underlined two years later at The Oval when England were set 85 and lost, Spofforth taking 14 wickets in the match.The was a sad footnote as Fred Grace, the youngest of the three brothers playing in the game, was dead within a fortnight. From The Oval he traveled to a match in the rain at Stroud, got soaked and then slept the night on a damp mattress. He contracted a chill and died days later from pneumonia. Despite failing with the bat at The Oval, his catch to dismiss George Bonner went into cricket folklore. The mighty Bonner skied one towards the gasometer side of the ground, the ball going so igh that the batsmen had completed two runs and were on they for a third when Grace held the catch. Where Grace took it was measured the same day as being 115 yards from the bat.

These two have binged on each other since July 2008, but what promises to be the one for the road went Sri Lanka’s way, ending a run of losses in big home matches for Sri Lanka

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga28-Aug-2010
Scorecard
How they were outSri Lanka never let the intensity dip after piling on a daunting 299•Associated PressThese two have binged on each other since July 2008, but what promises to be the one for the road went Sri Lanka’s way, ending their run of losses in big home matches. On the tournament’s best batting track, though not quite a flat belter, Tillakaratne Dilshan’s risk-free yet urgent century and Kumar Sangakkara’s delightful half-century set a target never reached under Dambulla lights. When Virender Sehwag left his team-mates – who’d scored 288 runs between them before the start of the final – with 262 to get, it was all but over. The flame flickered for longer than expected, but not nearly long enough.Umpiring decisions and manic appealing dominated the chase but couldn’t alter the expected result. Dinesh Karthik was given out caught off the thigh pad. Virender Sehwag’s plumb lbw was not given, but he ran himself out off the same ball. Yuvraj Singh got away with a caught-behind before opening his account but was given out, 26 runs later, off one he didn’t seem to have edged. MS Dhoni survived a close lbw call when on 12 but ran out of partners as the asking rate mounted.The start of the match was much more serene. In fact, off the fourth ball of the game, Praveen Kumar hardly appealed when he had Mahela Jayawardene caught right in front. Jayawardene, promoted because of his technical prowess, put together the best opening stand of the tournament – 121, an association that also set up the highest team total. The way Dilshan and Jayawardene batted, without taking any undue risks, it was easy to see why the previous best of 79 too belonged to them. The ball may not have swung wildly, but the batsmen were tested by the early movement that Praveen and Munaf Patel extracted.Neither batsman tried expansive shots. In his first three overs, Praveen went too far down the leg side, looking for that magic outswinger, and went for fours through midwicket and fine leg. It wasn’t as easy to hit Munaf off his shortish length, around off and with slight seam movement either side. They didn’t try to do that; instead they played out Munaf’s first four overs for 13, yet the score at the end of those overs read 47 for 0.Dilshan targeted Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma. Nehra’s second ball and Ishant’s first were punched away for fours. Both the shots were hit along the ground, and involved more enterprise than risk. By the time Ishant’s second over yielded six, four and four, Dilshan had moved to 43 off 30, and Sri Lanka to 74 after 12 overs.Dilshan had assumed total control by then. The punch shot through the off side, with his front foot out of the way, caused the main damage. One of those, off Nehra, brought up his fifty in the 16th over. Nehra’s figures then read 4-0-31-0.Forget the fifth bowler, Dhoni must have started worrying about how to finish the quotas of specialist bowlers, all quicks. Dilshan’s pace didn’t make the task any easier. Barring one spell near his century, when he spent 38 balls between his 12th and 13th boundaries, the longest Dilshan went without a four was 16 balls.During that quiet period Sri Lanka lost Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga against the run of play, but Kumar Sangakkara made sure the team didn’t fall behind. In the time that Dilshan went from 92 to 100 and Sangakkara hared from 11 to 32, taking Sri Lanka to 194 in the 37th over. Dilshan then threatened more punishment on India, but holed out to long leg.Sangakkara made up for it and, even with wickets falling at the other end, drive followed elegant drive. The superb acceleration – from 19 off 29 to 70 off 59 – was interrupted by a slower ball from Munaf in the 45th over, but Sri Lanka had reached 261 for 6. Munaf’s last three overs went for 14 runs and two wickets, but a target of 300 meant India would need more than just Sehwag.Sehwag hit six scorching boundaries in the first six overs. Off the last ball of the sixth over, Nuwan Kulasekara had him plumb in front, but umpire Asoka de Silva seemed the only one to disagree. Sehwag got greedy and sought a leg-bye that didn’t exist. Chamara Kapugedera was not only alert, he also hit direct.Thisara Perera, now Sri Lanka’s India specialist, and Suraj Randiv, who got nice drift and dip, kept the wicket flow going in the middle.Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Dhoni tried to buck the trend of India’s hopes disappearing with Sehwag, but Sri Lanka were at them all the time. Kohli’s uncharacteristic hoick showed the pressure the required rate exerted, Raina’s cameo involved too many risks and ended prematurely from India’s point of view, and Dhoni’s 67 were too late and too few.

Northamptonshire clinched fourth place in the northern group of the Friends Provident t20 as they eased to a seven-wicket win at the Emirates Durham ICG on Sunday

18-Jul-2010
ScorecardNorthamptonshire clinched fourth place in the northern group of the Friends Provident t20 as they eased to a seven-wicket win at the Emirates Durham ICG on Sunday. They booked a trip to Taunton for the quarter-finals on July 26 or 27 as they won with 13 balls to spare after Durham limped to 129 for 5 from their 20 overs.Northamptonshire had looked like winning by an even bigger margin when they were 121 for one with 5.1 overs left. But they lost Alex Wakely lbw to Steve Harmison for 35 and two balls later Rob White edged Gareth Breese to Phil Mustard.The offspinner enjoyed the rarity of delivering a wicket maiden in a Twenty20 game, but White’s 63 off 49 balls had all but delivered victory. He continued his recent good form by hitting two sixes on his way to 50 off 38 balls and also carved Harmison for two fours when the paceman gave him width outside off stump.Liam Plunkett took the first wicket when left-hander Chaminda Vaas shaped to pull and got a top edge to slip. But with 57 already on the board in the seventh over the visitors were well on their way.Albie Morkel hit Durham’s only six over mid-wicket as 13 came off their final over, bowled by Northamptonshire skipper Andrew Hall. Arriving in the 11th over, South African Morkel seemed content to push the ball around until that final over, when he also hit one of his two fours in finishing unbeaten on 35, made off 27 balls.Mark Stoneman was Durham’s top scorer with 36, but he faced 41 balls and hit only three fours before slicing to backward point in the 16th over. He was also dropped twice at deep midwicket, by Lee Daggett on eight and Rob White on 25.Durham had only 21 on the board after five overs when Stoneman survived a chance thanks to Daggett’s drop before Ben Stokes rubbed salt into Jack Brooks’ wounds by twice driving him through extra cover for four.Stokes made 24 when his weakness against spin was exposed by James Middlebrook’s first ball. It pitched outside the left-hander’s leg stump but as he shaped to play it through midwicket it turned and hurried on to bowl him.At a time when Durham needed to accelerate in mid-innings, Middlebrook conceded only six runs in his first two overs and the batsmen continued to show little sign of urgency until the final over.

The India A seamers, led by Jaidev Unadkat, had West Indies A on the backfoot yet again at Leicester after taking a first-innings lead of 147

Cricinfo staff12-Jun-2010
ScorecardThe India A seamers, led by Jaidev Unadkat, had West Indies A on the backfoot yet again at Leicester after taking a first-innings lead of 147. India held the edge at the end of the third day with West Indies still trailing by 22, but with only five second-innings wickets in hand.India started off the day poorly as they lost wickets in a rush to Andre Russell, the Jamaican fast bowler. India lost the early wicket of Rahane for 69, and the trio of Manish Pandey, Manoj Tiwary and Cheteshwar Pujara all stumbled to Russell, who was in the middle of a dream spell. The complexion of the game changed as India slid from 202 for 3 to 207 for 8. The wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha offered resistance with an important half-century, with the tail to support him. He scored an exact 50, off 91 balls, before he was trapped lbw by Lionel Baker. Russell finished with 5 for 68.West Indies lost the early wicket of Kraigg Brathwaite for 1, but Omar Phillips and captain Devon Smith steadied the innings with a stand of 59. However, C Ganapathy dismissed Smith shortly after he began his spell and Unadkat later got rid of Phillips. Both were dismissed in their 30s, just when West Indies were looking to the pair to erase the deficit. Andre Fletcher was soon run out and Chadwick Walton was trapped lbw by Unadkat shortly before the close of play. Unadkat, the left-arm seamer who took seven in the first innings, increased his match tally to ten.

Jordan Campbell has now revealed the latest on a potential Glasgow Rangers exit for Jack Simpson.

The Lowdown: Simpson rumours

There have been rumours going around that the Ibrox faithful have accepted a bid from QPR for Simpson, while both Middlesbrough and Swansea City have also been linked with a move for the former Bournemouth man.

He is not getting much game time at all for the Gers, having only played in five matches across all competitions so far this season, so an exit on Transfer Deadline Day does look likely at this stage.

The Latest: Campbell update

As per The Athletic journalist Campbell, reports linking Simpson with a move to QPR are ‘untrue’, and while both Swansea and Middlesbrough have made enquiries over a potential loan deal, Rangers would prefer to sell him on a permanent transfer. Campbell revealed:

“Understand that reports Jack Simpson is heading to QPR are untrue. “Swansea and Middlesbrough among the teams to have enquired about a loan deal but it’s believed Rangers will only consider a permanent transfer.” The Verdict: Sell

If the Gers can negotiate a permanent exit for Simpson, then they must do at all costs. He is simply not playing enough and would not be a big loss to Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his squad.

When he has played, he has often been criticised by both journalists and fans alike, and in truth, his move to Scottish football has not quite worked out.

Thus, given that he is 25 years of age, they could still get a decent transfer fee for him should they be able to sell.

In other news, find out what contract update has RFC supporters buzzing here!

علّق فيل فودين، لاعب فريق مانشستر سيتي، على تجديد عقده مع حامل لقب الدوري الإنجليزي اليوم الجمعة.

وكان مانشستر سيتي قد أعلن اليوم توقيع فيل فودين، صاحب الـ22 عامًا، على عقد جديد مع النادي حتى عام 2027.

وقال فودين في تصريحات للموقع الرسمي للنادي: “من الصعب أن أصف بالكلمات مدى سعادتي بتوقيع هذا العقد، إنه حلم أصبح حقيقة”.

وأضاف: “لقد كنت من مشجعي مانشستر سيتي طوال حياتي، لقد تدربت هنا لسنوات عديدة حتى أصبحت لاعب كرة قدم، أنا أحب هذا النادي كثيرًا، لذا فإن معرفة أنني سأكون جزءًا منه حتى عام 2027 هو أمر رائع”.

وواصل: “لقد تحسنت كثيرًا في السنوات الأخيرة، ويعزى الكثير من ذلك إلى بيب وموظفيه، الذين يرشدونني كل يوم في مجال التدريب، يمنحني العمل معهم أفضل فرصة للتحسن أكثر وأن أصبح أفضل لاعب يمكن أن أكونه”.

وأردف: “مع الفريق الذي لدينا هنا، أشعر أنه يمكنني مواصلة التعلم والفوز بالألقاب، هذان هما أهم شيئين بالنسبة لي”.

واختتم: “أريد أن أشكر كل شخص في مانشستر سيتي لأنه بدونهم لن أكون حيث أنا اليوم، كل مدربي الأكاديمية الذين عملت معهم، وكل اللاعبين الذين لعبت معهم وكل من يعمل من وراء الكواليس، إنه لشرف كبير أن أكون جزءًا من نادي كرة القدم هذا”.

Shane Watson has completed his rise in importance to Australia in all three formats by being named the Allan Border Medallist for 2010

Brydon Coverdale15-Feb-2010Shane Watson has completed his rise in importance to Australia in all three formats by being named the Allan Border Medallist for 2010. In a year in which Watson established himself as a Test opening batsman while remaining a key top-order man in the limited-overs game, he finished with 125 votes and beat the second-placed Michael Clarke (90), while Mitchell Johnson came third with 87 votes.Watson was also named Australia’s One-Day International Player of the Year and his five-day opening partner Simon Katich took out the Test title. The recognition of his peers, media and umpires as Australia’s best player over the past 12 months was a major landmark for Watson, who had previously battled injuries for nearly a decade and struggled to become a full-time member of Australia’s team.A clearly emotional Watson was close to tears as he accepted a prize that seemed a world away while he was battling injuries to nearly every part of his body over the past eight years. “It’s been an awesome ride,” Watson said. “It’s very overwhelming actually to have received this award.”Watson made special mention of the work put in by Cricket Australia’s medical staff, as well as the sports physio Victor Popov, who has helped Watson remain free of serious injuries for the past couple of years. Watson said he had never considered giving up cricket but did think about abandoning his bowling in an effort to reduce the stress on his body.”I’m very surprised at times that they [the selectors] hadn’t lost faith in me,” Watson said. “I was always doing everything I possibly could to try and instill that faith but unfortunately every time I felt like I was going all right I’d break down with injury.”There was a time when I definitely thought there was a chance I was going to have to give up bowling and just be a batsman. But that was only really for a couple of weeks and then it was one guy’s guidance and time and expertise that really made me turn that thinking around and just break down me as an athlete and a person.”Watson’s value as a one-day opener has been clear for at least 18 months and culminated in him delivering Australia the Champions Trophy in South Africa last year, when he scored centuries in both the semi-final win over England and the final triumph over New Zealand. But it was in the Test arena that Watson provided the biggest surprise over the past year, when he stepped in to replace the out-of-form opener Phillip Hughes during the Ashes tour.Questions were raised about his ability to face the new ball and he answered them in the best possible way, with 849 Test runs at 56.60 including one century during his nine Tests at the top of the order. He has also offered Ricky Ponting a useful fifth bowling option and since his Ashes return he has taken 13 Test wickets at 29.61.Following a series of scores frustratingly close to triple figures – 96, 89 and 93 – he finally broke through for his first Test century in a Man-of-the-Match effort during the win over Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test. In the voting period for the one-day international prize, Watson was the third-leading run scorer and the third-leading wicket taker, and won the award with 33 votes from Michael Hussey on 25 and Clarke on 21.Katich’s win in the Test category gave him just reward for being Australia’s leading run scorer during the voting period. Katich scored 1114 runs at 48.43 from 13 Tests and edged out Johnson with 10 votes and Watson and Clarke, who tied for third with nine votes each.Katich scored Test centuries in Durban, Cardiff and Hobart during the past 12 months, as well as a string of scores in the 90s during the home Tests against West Indies and Pakistan. Since returning to the Test team on the 2008 tour of the West Indies, Katich has scored seven hundreds and has averaged 52.16. It was only an injury to Matthew Hayden on that trip that opened the door for Katich’s Test return after nearly three years out of the team.”I guess I was pretty fortunate that I got another chance courtesy of Haydos’ Achilles,” Katich said. “If he hadn’t got injured I don’t think I would have played Test cricket again, so I am just grateful for the opportunity from the selectors and Ricky and I have just tried to make the most of it this time around.”

Plays of the day from the second day of the third Test between Australia and Pakistan

Brydon Coverdale and Osman Samiuddin15-Jan-2010

On a hiding to nothing
Marcus North was hoping for a big score in Hobart to ease questions over his future but when he came to the crease at 4 for 423, he found himself in an unenviable position. He was following a triple-century partnership, he knew a declaration was likely to come in an hour or so, and that quick runs were what the team wanted. North scratched to 21 and played a couple of good strokes before he edged behind. It wasn’t the roaring success he wanted but it probably wasn’t enough for the selectors to axe him, and Ricky Ponting hoped they took into account the situation. “t was a horrible time really for him to have to come out and bat today,” Ponting said. “It’s one of those situations where you haven’t got a lot to gain and you’ve got a lot to lose. Hopefully that’s taken into consideration.”Kamran is that you?
Sarfraz Ahmed hasn’t had the cleanest debut you could hope for as a Test wicketkeeper but he has held onto most of what has come his way. Apart from one: Brad Haddin, in the middle of one of those breezy hands of mental disintegration, got an edge off Danish Kaneria which hit Sarfraz’s thigh before he had time to react. In his defence, it was a thick edge and they are never easy standing up to spin. Little difference it would have made to Kaneria, who had three catches grounded by Kamran Akmal last week and countless others over the years.An overthrow, sort of
Seemingly every day, Pakistan have found new ways of looking terrible in the field and another comical effort continued the trend in Hobart. Ricky Ponting chopped the ball near his stumps and away to the leg side, and Sarfraz collected and shaped to throw at the stumps of Ponting, who had taken off and turned back when he realised no single was on offer. But Sarfraz’s throw flew out the back of his hand away behind him, allowing Ponting a very odd looking overthrow.Haddin’s hundred
It was a more positive day for Haddin, who made a quick 41 with the bat and then collected his 100th Test dismissal. At times during his 20 months in the Test side, Haddin has been criticised for a lack of cleanliness behind the stumps but he has had an excellent summer and his milestone came with a straightforward edge behind to remove Imran Farhat.Clarke’s view on the review
Pakistan were convinced they had Michael Clarke on 113 when he flashed outside off stump. Rudi Koertzen’s not-out decision was supported by the third umpire, who reviewed Hot Spot and saw no contact, and the ball did not appear to touch the bat on the normal vision. Snicko heard something, although it was unclear if the ball had already passed the bat at the time. The stump microphone later picked up Clarke telling his partner Ponting: “I didn’t feel like I hit it at all. There was a noise.” That’s what most observers thought, too.Hayden gets political call-up
The success of Shane Watson and Simon Katich has meant Australia haven’t missed Matthew Hayden terribly over the past year, but he will make a comeback all the same. Hayden has been named as captain of the Prime Minister’s XI to take on West Indies in Canberra on February 4 in the lead-up to their one-day series in Australia. Hayden will lead a team made up largely of younger players viewed as potential stars of the future. The prime minister Kevin Rudd was at Bellerive Oval on the second day and showed his bowling style in the nets. His action wasn’t textbook, although the ball did at least reach the other end of the pitch and turned when it got there, unlike the famous footage of his predecessor. One of John Howard’s efforts dribbled off the middle of the pitch.

Wolves remain interested in signing towering Lille centre-back Sven Botman in the January transfer window, according to a fresh report.

The Lowdown: Botman a past Wolves target

Wanderers have been linked with the Dutchman in the recent past as Bruno Lage eyes up January and summer reinforcements. The 21-year-old may still be a very young player but he is already a hugely important figure for Lille, making 12 starts in Ligue 1 so far this season.

It looks as though Botman could still be on the move next month, though, with an encouraging update provided from a Wolves perspective.

The Latest: Interest in defender remains

According to Tuttomercatoweb, Wanderers and Roma are both interested in acquiring Botman’s signature and they continue to track the 21-year-old, with AC Milan and Newcastle also now joining the race for his services.

However, the Lille defender’s current deal with the reigning French champions doesn’t expire until the summer of 2025, so a hefty free may be required to prise him away.

The Verdict: Fantastic potential signing

While centre-backs Max Kilman, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss have all impressed for Wolves this season, the opportunity to sign Botman should not be dismissed. The monstrous defender has averaged 2.3 successful headers and 4.6 clearances per game in the league in 2021/22, with only Saiss (2.6) averaging more aerial duels won among those in Lage’s squad.

The Moroccan is also the only Wanderers player to outdo Botman in terms of clearances (5.2), highlighting how good a signing the Dutchman could be in making competition for places even stronger at Molineux.

In other news, some Wolves fans have fumed over a transfer update. Read more here.

On-loan Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan has ‘caught the eye’ of Manchester City, according to The Mirror’s chief sports reporter Tom Hopkinson.

The lowdown

The 25-year-old is on loan at Molineux from RB Leipzig, and Bruno Lage’s side have the option to sign permanently for £13m at the end of that spell (via Sky Sports).

The South Korea international has begun the campaign in fine form, netting four goals in his first six starts for the club. By contrast, while City are second in the table, their top scorers are Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden with three each.

Hwang may have first caught the attention of English audiences when Salzburg faced Liverpool in the group stages of the 2019/20 Champions League. He scored in a 4-3 defeat at Anfield, having sent Virgil van Dijk ‘out for a hot dog’, as per a Telegraph report from John Percy.

The latest

As per The Mirror, City and title rivals Liverpool are both said to be interested in Hwang, with Pep Guardiola ‘keen to add more firepower up top’.

Wolves are trying to fend them off by sealing a permanent deal for the forward in January rather than waiting until the end of the season when his loan expires.

The verdict

Hwang isn’t just a goalscorer. According to WhoScored, he also excels at dribbling, passing and defensive contributions, indicating that he is a very well-rounded forward player who’s not averse to doing some of the dirty work for the good of his team.

He is also a versatile player, having operated as a winger 36 times during his career. That could well please Guardiola, who has utilised the likes of Foden, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres in wide attacking roles as well as at centre-forward.

You can see why the Korean an attractive option for elite clubs, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if there is a sharp hike in his relatively modest price tag if he were to join Wolves on a permanent basis.

In other news, fans loved these KDB comments.