England’s players to join the core group of cricketers in New Zealand for the Test leg of the tour arrive in Auckland while their one-day compatriots are playing fourth National Bank Series One-Day International at Eden Park.Usman Afzaal, Mark Butcher, Richard Dawson, Warren Hegg, James Ormond, Mark Ramprakash and assistant coach Graham Dilley are scheduled to arrive at 4.15pm.However, they won’t be dropping in to watch as they are scheduled to go straight to Dunedin in order to get some practice before the team travels to Queenstown after the last ODI at Carisbrook on Tuesday to prepare for the first three-day match of the tour against Otago.
Melbourne – Another day, another city, another collapse, anotherhumbling defeat.In what captain Jimmy Adams acknowledged is now a habit, the WestIndies succumbed to a below-strength Victoria team by an innings and63 runs with more than a day remaining at the Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG) yesterday.Their all-out second innings 114 was their lowest total againstVictoria (known in domestic competition as the Bushrangers) on their12 tours of this vast country and their first loss to the state sincethe inaugural trip in 70 years ago, in 1930-31.It followed defeat in the opening first-class match against WesternAustralia and came three days before the first Test at Brisbane thatlooms with under-standable foreboding.A minimum of 157 overs and maximum ten-and-a-quarter hours remained inthe match when Victoria declared with a lead of 177 just before lunch.The sun shone from a cloudless sky, the pitch had shed most of itsdemons of the first day, the outfield became faster by the over andthe opportunity existed for the West Indies batsmen to spend meaningful preparation time in the middle.None did.It was all over in three hours and 46.3 overs, leaving another 18.3 onthe day and 90 on the morrow unused.The embarrassing reality is that it would have been even shorter butfor off-spinner Colin Miller’s missed return catch off Ridley Jacobsbefore he had got off the mark on his way to the topscore of 25.The ball did deviate occasionally off the seam and the probingVictorian bowlers were supported by flawless catching and by umpiringthat brought an end to proceedings by giving Merv Dillon and Jacobscaught at gully and slip off the boot.DebaclesBut it was another in the continuing succession of West Indies battingdebacles. Only Jacobs stayed longer than an hour as wickets tumbled tothe varied bowling through a combination of un-warranted strokes andno strokes at all.The senior batsmen – Sherwin Campbell, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Adams – all batted for more than three-quarters of an hourbut none for more than an hour.More distressingly, Daren Ganga and Ram-naresh Sarwan were des-patchedwithout scoring, Sarwan’s second duck of the match.Their deportment revealed that both prom-ising young batsmen had beenshorn of their self-belief in the two weeks since they joined the teamfrom a stint with the Australian Academy in Adelaide.Ganga got through two anxious overs before lunch, following thedeclaration, but had not scored from 18 balls when, bat well away frombody, he sliced a square-drive off the left-arm fast bowler MatthewInness high to gully.Sarwan arrived at 58 for three after Campbell had edged DamienFleming’s outswinger to wicket-keeper Darren Berry and Lara had pulledan innocuous short ball from medium-pacer Ben Oliver straight to widemid-on.The young Guyanese was a first-ball victim in the first innings andapproached the five balls he faced as if they were terrorist bombsguaran-teed to explode on impact.As he withdrew his bat out of the line of one on off-stump fromOliver, the ball deflected off the back of the bat and flew into thesafe hands of second slip.When Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s loose drive off Miller found cover’swaiting clutches, the West Indies were 72 for five and depending oncaptain Adams, Jacobs and the fast bowlers to at least mount a fight.They never came close.
ScorecardNiall O’Brien secured a rare Leicestershire Championship win•Getty Images
A fine 87 from Niall O’Brien, and a four-hour feat of concentration from 20-year-old batsman Aadil Ali, helped Leicestershire complete their first county championship victory at Grace Road since 2012.After going into the season without a win for more than two years, they have now pulled off two this season although they remain rooted to the foot of the Second Division.Needing an unlikely 217 more runs to win at the start of the day, with just six wickets remaining, O’Brien and Ali batted through the entire morning session without being parted.Ali, playing just his third first-class match, and the more experienced O’Brien, quickly found the pitch, on which several deliveries had kept markedly low the previous evening, was now playing well, and with time very much on their side, they applied themselves admirably against an attack led by Mark Footitt.Ali did have one escape, when Footitt, generating sharp pace down the hill from the Bennett End, did get one delivery to rise sharply and take the glove. The ball flew high to the right of Harvey Hosein behind the stumps, but the reaching wicketkeeper could only deflect the ball down to the third man boundary.O’Brien, scoring more freely, also had a moment of fortune, slicing a drive at Ben Cotton over gully in the course of going to his second half-century of the match, but he did not give a chance in going to 65 at the break.After taking the partnership on to 118, however, O’Brien was pinned leg before by Footitt, the delivery keeping slightly low. Andrea Agathangelou maintained the momentum before becoming the sixth leg before victim, this time to Tony Palladino, and when Ali’s mammoth effort was ended by Ben Cotton on 42, a well-pitched up delivery clipping the off-stump, with the Foxes still needing 35 to win, nerves around Grace Road were jangling.They were quickly soothed, however, as Ben Raine and Clint McKay saw the Foxes home in some style. There was one piece of nonsense, when the umpires, having delayed tea for the regulation 15 minutes, then took the players off for the break with just five runs needed to win, but Raine hit the first ball after tea for four – albeit through the hands of Cotton at gully – and completed the victory off the next.Leicestershire head coach Andrew MacDonald said he was proud of his players. “They showed great belief, which is something we spoke of throughout the game,” he said.”It’s amazing when you get a couple of partneships how quickly things can change. Niall O’Brien batted outstandingly well, and to have a youngster apply himself in the way Aadil Ali did for 198 deliveries was something he will only grow from. We never lost back to back wickets, and we came away with the points.”Derbyshire director of cricket Graeme Welch, facing up to a jolting loss as a supposed promotion campaign has long turned sour, said Derbyshire were “3 or 4% short” of where they should be.
Leeds United have plans to sign a new centre-forward in the upcoming summer transfer window according to the latest reports…
What’s the story?
Jesse Marsch’s side of course suffered a huge blow earlier this month when it was confirmed that their one senior option up front in Patrick Bamford has been ruled out yet again with an injury, this time for a minimum of six weeks.
It’s an injury that has once again raised questions about the Whites’ lack of depth in that number nine role, and TEAMtalk’s James Marshment has indicated it’s an issue that will look to be addressed come the summer.
In replying to a fan about the need for a new striker, Marshment noted: “It’s on the agenda this summer.”
Much-needed for Marsch
Speaking earlier this month, former Leeds goalkeeper Paddy Kenny delivered his verdict on the need for a new centre-forward this summer.
He said: “Why didn’t they sign a striker in January? We have been saying this since before January. Even if Bamford is fit he’s the only one who looks like scoring regularly.
“They need to put this right because another injury to Bamford is a big blow to them. They need to go out and spend £20million or something like that on a striker as soon as the window opens. This can’t happen again next season. If they stay up then they have to inevest in a new striker.”
In Bamford’s absence, Leeds’ attack has pretty much failed to click all season, bagging just 34 goals in their 30 Premier League games thus far – to put that into context, last year in their debut campaign back in the top-flight under Marcelo Bielsa, they managed a whopping 62, even above the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.
While the Whites will be hoping the worst of Bamford’s injury woes will be behind him come the start of the new season in the summer, it is absolutely imperative that they bring in some genuine cover and competition for the England international.
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It would be a tragic mistake on the part of Victor Orta to once again go a transfer window without signing a new number nine, and one could that have disastrous consequences.
But, the fact it’s “on the agenda” and the club are seemingly actively on the look-out for a striker, is sure to have Marsch excited heading into the transfer window.
AND in other news – Sold at £8m, now worth triple: Leeds had a nightmare over “fearless” 5 ft 9 magician
Search for Tom Parker on the internet and you get 17,100 results, most of which involve Elvis Presley’s manager. The Tom Parker that you will encounter at the Sydney Cricket Ground, though, is more focussed on a rock and roll of a different kind: hammering in the rocky surface before rolling it evenly.The 22-yards that Parker tends has been making a bit of news of late. It’s excited Brett Lee and prompted Brad Hogg to let out a grimace. Words like abrasive and rough are being replaced by lively and green. Both captains thought it was a “good wicket”, suggesting that there could be a bit in there for everyone. When a batsman and bowler call a pitch “good” you have something exciting brewing.”I tend to leave a bit more grass on the pitches these days than years gone by,” said Parker, who’s been the head groundsman here for close to a decade. “This pitch has probably got a bit more grass on it than we had in 2004. I feel it will probably have a bit more bounce in it. I’m just trying to keep a bit of pace in the pitch, trying to get a bit more carry to the keeper, and more consistent bounce throughout the match.”In years gone by, it has probably played a little slow and a little low. It’s going to seam around a bit on day one and on day two it should flatten out a bit more. By day four and five it starts to turn. To me that’s a cricket pitch. It should be changing every day.”India wouldn’t mind a surface that’s tending towards the bowlers. Look back at India’s overseas wins in the recent past – in Nottingham, Johannesburg and Kingston – and you have triumphs being engineered on lively surfaces. Rahul Dravid made an interesting point after the victory in Trent Bridge. “I’ve always felt we’ve done well when we’ve had the opportunity to take 20 wickets – we might lose the odd game but we also win games … Sometimes we’re put on the back foot early on good pitches, when we struggle to take 20 wickets.”While the batsmen thrive on flat pitches at home, they’ve not able to capitalise on hard surfaces abroad. Cape Town last year, when they collapsed for 169 in the second innings, was a classic instance of imploding on a benign track but there have been other instances of botching up chances in Lord’s and Melbourne as well. Given a choice, India might just prefer life on the pitch; not only will it enhance their bowlers chances but also offer their strokeplayers some pace to play with.Kumble, in his first press conference as captain, had made it clear that he wanted to “take the pitch and conditions out of the equation”. He reiterated the point here, adding that he “doesn’t want to worry too much about that”. The quick outfield will bring a smile. It means India’s batsmen can manage fours instead of having to rely on twos and threes. It may also mean a slightly better fielding effort, an area of their cricket which was exposed at the MCG.”It’s more to do with thinking and being a bit positive,” Kumble said. “If the mind is thinking positive, running between the wickets and fielding will be different.”
Group A Faisalabad Wolves, one of the favourites for the title, got themselvesup and running in the competition with a 24-run win over Lahore Eagles. And as in their two-run loss in their opening game, it was skipperMisbah-ul-Haq once again leading the way. He followed his 53 withanother cultured innings, an unbeaten 60 that led the Wolves to a parscore of 162. The Eagles never soared, losing Ashfaq Ahmed off thesecond ball of the innings. No one scored more than 29 as Shahid Nazir(two for 26) led a strong Wolves attack to consign the Eagles to theirfirst defeat.Group B Farce, controversy, Duckworth and Lewis conspired to produce a two-runwin for defending champions Sialkot Stallions against the KarachiZebras. Being bundled out for 106 was no way for champions to starttheir defense, with only Rana Naved-ul-Hasan’s 28 denying Malik Aftab (4for 17) and Danish Kaneria (3 for 11). But when the Zebras came out tobat, Mohammad Asif and Naved-ul-Hasan reminded everyone just why theStallions remain favourites this year. Together they reduced the Zebrasto 69 for five, despite a clever partnership between Faisal Iqbal andHasan Raza that ended with both batsmen throwing their wickets away. Atthat stage, 69 for five, the match was wide open but a floodlightfailure meant that no further progress could be made. The umpires chosenot to wait too long for a potentially exciting climax, whereuponentered Duckworth and Lewis.Group C In a match studded with superstar comebacks, it was the unheraldedleg-spin of Imranullah Aslam that led the Multan Tigers to a 21-run winover the Islamabad Leopards. Aslam took five for 17 as the Leopardscrashed chasing 148, only Bazid Khan making an impression, with 53.Shabbir Ahmed did his continuing rehabilitation no harm, supportingAslam with three wickets. But the one player all eyes were on didn’tdistinguish himself: Shoaib Akhtar, leading the Leopards, ended withnone for 30 from his four overs, including 20 off the last. Instead, itwas team-mate Azhar Mahmood, whispered off as a potential returnee forthe World Cup, with three for 17, who did much of the damage.Group D Mohammad Wasim did as all good openers do, carrying his bat through 20overs for Rawalpindi Rams, as he led them to a comfortable 20-run winover Quetta Bears. Wasim, a former Pakistan Test opener, made 86 but itwas only a sixth-wicket partnership with the feisty Yasir Arafat, whomade 43, that led the Rams to 172. No one could replicate Wasim’scontribution for the Bears, a number of batsmen like Shoaib Khan (44)getting off to a good start but not finishing. Emblematic, ultimately,of the Bears finishing close, but not close enough.
Greg Chappell, India’s coach, has once again said that the spat between him and Sourav Ganguly was “blown out of proportion” and added for good measure that the two had “moved on”, suggesting there was no reason why the two could not work together. “The drama that surrounded the episode was much greater than actually was the case,” Chappell said in an interview to . “He almost needed to go through this catharsis for his other side to come out, and for him to take stock of what he needed to do.”The problems he had in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe were due to the fact that his mind was in the wrong place,” Chappell continued. “Sourav has come back. He has indicated that he understands what he needs to do to be a part of this team, what his role is. One thing I have learnt about life is that forget the past, but do not forget the lesson you learn from it.”Chappell added that both he and Ganguly were professionals, and keen on doing a job for the Indian team. “He wants to play cricket for India. I want to be a good coach. And I want to be the coach of a good Indian team. But for that to happen, you need to have the group that blends well.”Chappell also refused to respond in kind to the allegations made against him by Yashpal Sharma, who was recently removed from the national selection panel. “They don’t know me very well,” he said. “All I can say is that the individual at the moment doesn’t really understand what is going on,” Chappell said. “I don’t want to get sidetracked. I don’t want to get involved in a slanging match. He is frustrated that he lost a job which he obviously wanted to keep. I had no part in him losing his job, but he had to take it out on someone. One thing I have learnt in life is that you cannot please everyone all the time. It’s all a part of the fabric of life.”
Graeme Smith will miss the third and final match of the one-day series against Zimbabwe, at Port Elizabeth on Wednesday (March 2), to rest his injured ankle.Smith, who cracked 117 – his highest ODI score – in the second match at Durban today, which South Africa won to clinch the three-match series, has pulled out after receiving medical advice about his injury.Shaun Pollock, who missed the first two matches with an ankle injury of his own, will also sit out the third game, as will Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini. All four are expected to be fit to play in the first Test against Zimbabwe, which starts at Cape Town next Friday (March 4).Nicky Boje, the vice-captain, will skipper South Africa in the final ODI against Zimbabwe.
Michael Bates and Shane Singe have been included in the 12-man StateAuckland Aces squad to play in a series of matches against the New Zealand Cricket Academy and Canterbury at New Zealand Cricket’s High Performance Centre at Lincoln University.Bates, 20, a left-arm pace bowler, represented New Zealand in theUnder-19 World Cup in January last year. He plays for the Suburbs New Lynn clubin the Auckland club competition. Singe is a wicketkeeper andleft-handed opening batsman who captains the Papatoetoe side.The team play three two-day matches at Lincoln Green: Nov 19-20 v AcademySelection, Nov 21-22 v Academy Selection, and Nov 24-25 v Canterbury.Lou Vincent and Tama Canning will join the Aces on Thursday, and openerMark Richardson will continue to appear for the Academy Selection. MattHorne will not be at Lincoln, after sustaining a calf muscle injury in clubcricket on November 8.Paul Hitchcock and Kyle Mills are travelling with the Black Caps, andreturn from India tomorrow.Three players named in the squad in September have not been included in theteam to play at Lincoln. They are Llorne Howell, who is not expected toplay in the early rounds of the State Championship, Gareth Shaw and AndyMcKay.Selector Rowan Armour will take the team south, with manager Fred Thomas.State Auckland Aces coach Mark O’Donnell will replace Armour on Thursday.The team is: Brooke Walker (capt-Howick Pakuranga), Andre Adams (Takapuna), Aaron Barnes (Cornwall), Michael Bates (Suburbs New Lynn), Tim Lythe (Auckland University), Tim McIntosh (Parnell), Rob Nicol (Cornwall), Craig Pryor (Grafton United), Shane Singe (Papatoetoe), Sam Whiteman (Howick Pakuranga), Kerry Walmsley (Howick Pakuranga), Reece Young (Suburbs New Lynn).
It was a day for the disciplined rather than the dazzling. The Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, hosting its first ever day of Test cricket, as well as the fifth ever Test at a neutral venue, saw a low-key Pakistan restricted to 230/5 in 92 overs by a West Indian side who stuck to their guns and made the best of the conditions. Yousuf Youhana, increasingly Pakistan’s Mr Dependable, helped himself to a composed unbeaten 78, and Younis Khan impressed with 53, but those were the only two names to distinguish themselves.The day started with Waqar Younis winning the toss and electing to bat first. Not everyone agreed with his decision, but it was probably the only sensible thing to do, especially with the wicket being an unknown quantity. In the past, it has happened more than once that a Sharjah wicket, parading as a flat batting track, ended up as a slow turner that all but killed strokeplay in the latter stages of the game.As it turned out, the Pakistan skipper could only watch in dismay as debutant opening batsman Naved Latif fell with just three runs on the board. Mervyn Dillon, swinging the ball in late, made sure that Latif had a forgettable debut when he trapped the right-hander plumb in front. Latif did not trouble the scorers.Taufeeq Umar, who made a century on Test debut against Bangladesh at the age of 19, was composed at the wicket and played several shots that marked him out as a player to be watched, but he perished on 24 after looking good for more. Younis Khan, another young talent rated very highly in his country, did his bit at one end. Playing predominantly with a straight bat, Khan worked hard to get a sense of the wicket and the bowling. Exercising abundant caution, perhaps more than was needed, Younis blunted a West Indian bowling attack striving to keep the ball just short of driving length and on the off-stump.Skipper Carl Hooper, who picked up a wicket just before the luncheon interval, understood the need to mix things up a bit and persisted with his off-spin. Keeping one end tied up with steady seam bowling, Hooper flighted the ball just enough to draw Younis Khan into a false shot. Chopping at one just outside the off-stump, Khan (53, 129b, 4×4) found Chris Gayle at slip with the score on 94. His innings had, however, succeded in giving a faltering Pakistan innings much needed solidity.Inzamam ul-Haq (10), of whom much was expected, faintly nicked a Dillon delivery through to the wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs. In characteristic fashion, Inzamam trudged slowly back to the dressing room, visibly unhappy with the decision.At 94/4, there was a tiny chance that the West Indians might be able to run through the Pakistani batting line-up. If Hooper harboured any such hopes, Youhana made sure he laid them to rest by the end of the day. Walking out to the middle as cool as ever, Youhana gave his teammates a display of the kind of approach needed on a wicket like this. Stroking the ball well when it was full, Youhana milked the bowling for runs. When the rare loose ball was on offer, he made sure that he capitalised, showing the full face of the bat at all times.To keep Youhana company was all-rounder Abdur Razzaq, a man who has played the role of second fiddle to perfection many times in the past. Not looking his best and yet keeping his head down and plugging away, Razzaq ensured that Pakistan’s score reached 178 before he made a mistake; that mistake was his last. Chasing at a ball well outside the off-stump from part-time medium-pacer Wavell Hinds, Razzaq (34, 96b, 3×4 ) nicked the ball through to the keeper.Stumper Rashid Latif (27 not out) joined Youhana out in the middle and saw Pakistan through to stumps without further damage. There was one last minute scare for Youhana as a spooned catch off the bowling of Merv Dillon was put down by Cuffy at mid on in the 91st of the day. Youhana’s patient 78 (165 balls, 8 fours, 1 six) took Pakistan to a score that they can build on appreciably when the second day’s play starts.