Selection of the day All tour the question has been asked: why isn’t Shahadat Hossain playing? Bangladesh’s attack, Mashrafe Mortaza apart, has had all the venom of bubblegum thus far so the inclusion, finally, of Shahadat brought some bite. He went for runs and was particularly thoughtless with the shortball, but what is a fast bowler with brains? Pakistan still scored over 300 but without his overs at the start and at the death, it could’ve been much more.Are you Pakistani? No matter how many times Pakistan rebuilds its side, as a fielding unit, they are rarely ever above mediocre. No different is Shoaib Malik’s side, though Fawad Alam stands out like a nun in a brothel. Similar in build to fellow Karachiite Asif Mujtaba, Alam is as nifty in the field, effectingtwo fine run-outs, one from out deep and one from the covers. He can bat, he can bowl and he sure as hell can field.Reverse curse No one seems to have learnt from Mike Gatting’s reverse horror at the ’87 World Cup final. Aftab Ahmed reverse-swept almost everything he saw today and then some. He paid for it indirectly once, when Tamim Iqbal was run out going for a third run off an Aftab reverse-sweep. No matter, thought Aftab, I’ll try again. Three overs later he did and top-edged to the ‘keeper, effectively ending Bangladesh’s chase.Welcome to the club Sohail Khan has, hopefully, many years ahead of him and many things still to learn. But he joined one not-so-exclusive club in only his second international match today: bowlers who curse Kamran Akmal. Khan had worked up considerable pace in his second spell in the middle of the innings when Shakib Al Hasan edged an outswinger to Akmal’s left. Promptly the chance was spilled. Khan smiled, but will learn in good time it’s not really that funny.Men of the match The much-maligned folks at Water and Power Development Authority, who ensured that unlike the first ODI, the floodlights stayed on through the match. The odds on that happening,it is reliably learnt, were longer than those on Bangladesh chasing 309.
Shrinking playing areas and the discolouration of white balls in one-day matches are some of the issues Mark Taylor hopes to raise with the ICC’s new cricket committee. One of four Australians one the committee – the others are Tim May, Tom Moody and Simon Taufel – Taylor believes it is a good move to have input from all sectors of the game.”The ICC wanted people a bit more involved in the game than just having two delegates from each member country,” Taylor told . “They want people who see it from different points of view.”The 13-member group will meet for the first time at Dubai later this month and Taylor anticipated lively discussion on several issues. “One thing we’re all trying to get right is the white ball in one-day cricket,” he said. “That is something I’m sure will spark a lot of debate.”There has already been quite a bit of chat in cricket circles about that. Whether we should use a new ball from each end or change the ball at a given time during the innings just to make it easier for people to see.”Taylor was also keen to address the perception that batsmen now had too much of an advantage because boundaries had been brought in more and more in recent years. “It seems to me we’re one of the very few sports I can think of where the venue has got smaller and yet the players are hitting the ball further,” he said. “If you look at golf they’re hitting the ball further, but they’re making the courses longer.”We seem to have gone the other way with ropes and the standardisation of grounds. We’re making the boundaries shorter and yet the players are faster and fitter than during my time in the game and are hitting the ball further. I’m not so sure that’s good for the bowlers.”Taufel, who has been named the ICC’s Umpire of the Year for the last three years, hopes to use his position on the committee to push for the removal of restrictions on umpires officiating in Tests involving their own country. Taufel said there was so much scrutiny of umpires these days that such a rule was no longer necessary.”We’ve now reached a stage where we’ve gone beyond the possibility of bias,” Taufel told the ABC. “We’re just as professional as we can be and there is no room for bias. We’re all judged on our performances by the video and so maybe that perception of bias can now be overlooked.”
Comeback medium pacer Shahid Nazir is aware he doesn’t have the pace of Shoaib Akhtar but promises that Pakistan can expect him to live up to expectations in England this summer.”It is a great challenge for me to fill in for Shoaib Akhtar,” the 28-year-old said in an interview on Friday after being preferred over Rao Iftikhar and Mohammad Khalil as a replacement for the injured Shoaib in the 16-man Pakistan squad for the series against England.”There is no doubt that Shoaib is among the world’s fastest bowlers and is somebody who takes a lot of wickets. But I have a lot of confidence in my abilities and believe that I can play a useful role for my team in England,” said Shahid, who last played a Test for Pakistan way back in 1999.Shahid said his absence from Test cricket has not affected his abilities as a medium pacer. “I have been regularly playing competitive cricket in Pakistan and abroad and in fact never lost hope of playing for Pakistan again,” he said.Shahid is one of the five fast bowlers selected for the tour of England and might spend most of the tour on the sidelines. The player hopes it won’t happen. “I am anxiously waiting for the opportunity to be in the playing line-up,” he said.Shahid was not even part of the 21-man preliminary squad Pakistan selected for the tour of England last month.But his forceful showing on the domestic circuit last season, Shoaib’s injury and Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq’s strong support paved the way for his return to the national team.Shahid added that he has ample experience of playing in England and hopes that it would be of some use for Pakistan.The Faisalabad-born player made his international debut for Pakistan in 1996 but has since played in just eight Tests and 17 One-day Internationals (ODIs).
Two of Yorkshire’s finest, Dickie Bird and Geoff Boycott, have pledged their support to the Chance to Shine campaign, a new ECB initiative that aims to regenerate interest in cricket in schools.The campaign, which was launched in Bethnal Green, East London, at the start of England’s Test series against Bangladesh, aims to raise £50 million to fund cricket programmes and competitions over the next 10 years. Bird and Boycott have carried the project further north, to Barnsley, the town where they both grew up and learnt their game.Barnsley Cricket Club, where they both opened the batting, is one of twelve grounds in England and Wales participating in the pilot scheme. Bird, who has never been short of an anecdote, remembered growing up in an area that has not often had a chance to shine. “I went to school in the rough part of town,” he told The Daily Telegraph, “where the pitches were bumpy and the outfields worse.”The initiative aims to work closely with 38 counties across England and Wales, where each coaching team will work with an average of six local schools, providing children the chance to play the game regularly. Their aim is to reach a third of all schools in England over the next ten years.”Cricket has almost disappeared from the schools,” commented Bird. “We need to get the lads and lasses back playing in good facilities with top-class coaches so that they can get as much enjoyment and success out of the game as I have. Who knows what potential there is lying untapped in our schools.”Despite enjoying superior facilities at his grammar school as a boy, Boycott was similarly enthused about the scheme. “This is not political but it needs to be addressed at national level because the game teaches self-discipline and builds character,” he said. “This scheme goes a long way to redressing the balance.”
Dilhara Fernando has been named in the 14-man Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XIsquad for the warm-up match against the Australians next week. Fernando gets a chance to prove his fitness ahead of the first Test in Galle.Fernando’s career has been plagued by injuries and this time he’s returning after recovering from a stress fracture in his back, the second time in a year. Fernando regained his place in the team for the third Test against England but broke down weeks later in the Provincial tournament.The President’s XI, which will be led by Russel Arnold, also includes Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner, and legspinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi. Both bowlers are in contention for a place in the Test squad.The three-day practice match will also mark Shane Warne’s return tothe Australian side. It will be played from March 2 at the Colombo Cricket Club. The first Test starts on March 8 in Galle.Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI Squad 1 Russel Arnold (capt), 2 Avishka Gunawardana, 3 Saman Jayantha, 4 SajithFernando, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Lanka de Silva (wk), 7 Gayan Wijekoon, 8 Kaushal Lokuarachchi, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Ruchira Perera, 12 Omesh Wijesiriwardene, 13 Dhammika Sudarshana, 14 Muthumudalige Pushpakumara.
Javagal Srinath (IND) needs 1 wicket to join the 300 ODI-wicket clubRahul Dravid (IND) needs 39 runs to complete 500 World Cup runsSaurav Ganguly (IND) 121 runs to complete 500 World Cup runsAnil Kumble (IND) needs 2 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-clubSachin Tendulkar (1059) is 24 runs behind leading World Cup run taker JavedMiandad (1083)
* Karnataka take on Mumbai in Sponsors Trophy openerKarnataka will take on Mumbai in the opening match of the SponsorsTrophy (previously known as the Wills Trophy) at Mumbai on April 18,next year.The other two first round matches pit Railways Sports Control Board(RSCB) against Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) at Rajkot on April 18and Sponsors XI against Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) at Pune onthe same day, a Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) release said onThursday.Reigning champions Board President’s XI, who have got a bye directlyto the semi-finals will play either Karnataka or Mumbai in Mumbai onApril 21 while the second semi-final between the winners of RSCB vsPCA and Sponsors Eleven vs OCA would be held at Ahmedabad on the samedate, the release said. The final will be played at Baroda on April24.* BCCI wins legal battleThe Mumbai High Court on Thursday declined to stay the contractawarded by the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) to the InternationalManagement Group towards clothing sponsorship for internationalmatches in the next three years. The order was delivered by Justice DKDeshmukh, who dismissed a notice of motion taken out by Gayatri Artsin a suit filed by the company against the Board for awarding thecontract to the IMG.Gayatri Arts claimed it had made the highest bid of Rs 90 crore andthe BCCI had issued a letter asking them to confirm the offer whichwas accepted in a reply sent to the BCCI. The plaintiff claimed thatBCCI’s letter constituted a concluded contract between the two. Thecourt, however, was of the view that prima facie it could not be saidthere was a concluded contract between the plaintiff and the BCCI.On June 13, Justices BN Srikrishna and Nishita Mhatre had disposed ofan appeal filed by Sham Dhumatkar, proprietor of Gayatri Arts,challenging the order of Justice Deshmukh who earlier refused to staythe contract to IMG-TWI. The bench had refused to stay the contractawarded to IMG and its subsidiary Transworld International. But thejudges gave liberty to the appellant to move a notice of motion forstaying the contract before Justice Deshmukh who had earlier rejecteda similar plea.* BCCI tour committee meeting at JaipurThe Board of Control for Cricket in India tour, programme and fixturescommittee meeting will be held at the residence of Kishore Rungta, theRajasthan Cricket Association secretary and treasurer of the BCCI, inJaipur on July 7.The meeting will take a final decision on India’s proposed tours toPakistan (for the Asian Test Championship) and Australia (for thethree match indoor series). It will also decide on the venues anddates of the Tests, one day internationals and first class matches forthe Zimbabwe tour of this country. Zimbabwe are scheduled to tourIndia early next year after England completes its tour. It is alsolearnt that Jaipur will get either a three day game or an ODI againstEngland in November this yearThe committee will also have a look at the domestic ca lender. Theconvener of the committee is the BCCI secretary JY Lele. Other memberswho will participate in the deliberations include GK Kelkar, SharadDiwadkar, MP Pandove and Venkat Rao.* Police file chargesheet against GCA chief, eight othersThe Goa police on Thursday filed a chargesheet against the Goa CricketAssociation (GCA) president, Dayanand Narvekar and eight others in thecourt in connection with the `fake’ ticket scam under various sectionsof the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including criminal conspiracy, policesources said.The names of GCA secretary Vinod Phadke, former treasurer RamaShankardas, ticket contractor Chinmay Fallari and his brother DevduttFallari, also figure in the chargesheet filed in the court of JudicialMagistrate First Class, Margao, they said.Eknath Naik, brother-in-law of GCA president, Gangaram Bishe,Venkatesh Desai and Joaquim Pires were the other four charged underdifferent sections of the IPC, including printing and sale of faketickets, criminal conspiracy and cheating the public, police sourcessaid, adding, the different IPC sections slapped against them were461, 465, 468, 471, 201 and 120 (b).About 200 persons, including those chargesheeted in the case had beeninterrogated since the police launched investigations about threemonths back into allegations of printing and sale of fake tickets forthe India-Australia One Day International on April 6 last in Goa.
ScorecardAndrew Gale has kept Yorkshire businesslike after the Championship has been won•Getty Images
For much of this game Sussex’s cricketers may have thought that Hampshire rather resembled Charles II in that they were taking an unconscionable time a-dying. Their insurance as they fought for parity against a powerful Yorkshire team at Headingley was that their rivals seemed to be finding it even more difficult to overcome Nottinghamshire. And they may have kept in the forefront of their minds the simple truth that if Hampshire did not win that match at Trent Bridge, they were relegated.Then, at just after three o’clock on the penultimate day of the season, those delicate equations began to change. As Nottinghamshire’s second-innings wickets fell to the pace of Fidel Edwards at Trent Bridge, Sussex surely realised that they may have a great deal of serious batting to do on the final day, albeit that they need only a draw to avoid relegation.On a day when 19 overs were lost to prolonged midday showers, Yorkshire extended their overnight 58-run lead beyond 300 and Andrew Gale could contemplate the possibility of his side achieving an eleventh County Championship victory. This would establish a new record for the 16-match format and it would make a fitting end to a season when honours and compliments have been lavished on Gale’s fine team like Christmas presents on a spoilt child.Nottinghamshire had runners-up prize money to play for but the attraction of mere lucre did not appear sufficient incentive for Chris Read’s players as they left Hampshire needing 200 to win and seemed to accommodate their opponents’ rapid progress towards that goal.None of this can have soothed Sussex’s players but they still battled manfully both to contain and to dismiss Yorkshire and by close of play they had succeeded to the extent that the home side were 298 for 9, a lead of 301 with a little power to add on the final morning of the season.Ed Joyce’s bowlers offered few free gifts on the third day of this game but the pitch had eased rather. They were also met with stern resistance from most of Yorkshire’s batsmen, but particularly from Gale, whose innings of 67 off 131 balls took him past a thousand County Championship runs for the season.Gale is a skilled mechanic of a batsman: he knows the tucks and drives that work for him and he does not worry about the shots he cannot play, the acceleration he does not possess. His innings currently suggests a measure of permanence, so it was almost a surprise when he fell into the trap set by Joyce and clipped Chris Liddle to Chris Jordan at leg gully just after tea.Sussex’s piece of rather smart cricket ended a 168-minute innings which had begun 15 minutes into the morning session after Gary Ballance had bottom-edged a ball from Steve Magoffin on to his stumps when playing a cramped and rather ugly cut. Eleven overs later Adam Lyth was dismissed in similar fashion for 39 by Lewis Hatchett and Jonny Bairstow strode out to join his skipper with the score on 123 for 3.The pair added 67 either side of the rain break and their 79-minute stand afforded one the opportunity to compare the styles of the two batsmen who have scored over a thousand Division One runs for Yorkshire in 2015.Gale, as has been suggested, is a trifle functional but mightily effective. Bairstow has developed into a batsman of glittering quality this season and one does not need to support England to hope that he will soon make a Test hundred. At Headingley, Chester-le-Street, Edgbaston and Scarborough, runs have flamed from his bat, their rapid acquisition helped by a more refined defence.Bairstow is now rarely bowled but he frequently demoralises bowlers. He has had a quiet match against Sussex – he was leg before to Jordan for a mere 36 on Thursday afternoon – but he still ends 2015 with a total of 1108 Championship runs in 12 completed innings at an average of 92.33. For many spectators, his batting has made the summer special, a coat-hook of memory by which it can be recalled.Bairstow was out just as wickets were falling in Nottingham and his departure was soon followed by those of both Leaning, a fine player who has had an indifferent couple of months, and Gale. The tension increased as the consequences of failure for Sussex became even more apparent. Had Hampshire lost, it did not matter how Sussex performed. Now it seemed certain that it was going to matter a very great deal.Gradually Adil Rashid, who made 21, and Tim Bresnan, who was unbeaten on 50 at the close, increased Yorkshire’s lead.The contest will be rejoined on the final morning of the season. The weather forecast is good and Sussex’s batsman will have to defy the best attack in the land. The prize on offer will not be a golden goblet but the quite invisible reward of mere survival. But should Ed Joyce’s players succeed in their goal, they may celebrate as if the pennant itself had returned to Hove and its sea-scented air.
According to reports in The Mirror on Thursday, Everton are reportedly confident they will beat Southampton to the £20m signing of out of favour Arsenal winger Theo Walcott this month.
The Toffees are keen to bring the England international to Goodison Park before the transfer window slams shut on January 31, and manager Sam Allardyce confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Friday that the club have opened negotiations over a deal for the 28-year-old.
Saints are also keen to re-sign him 12 years after he left for the Gunners, but the player’s reported £110,000-a-week wages and the fact that they are only above the relegation zone on goal difference could prove to be two big issues.
If the south coast outfit do miss out on Walcott they will be forced to look elsewhere for a wide player, and they may well choose to take another look at Pione Sisto, who The Mirror reported they wanted to sign from Danish side Midtjylland in 2016.
The Denmark international ended up joining La Liga outfit Celta Vigo instead, but Mauricio Pellegrino could be making a shrewd move by reigniting the club’s previous interest in the 22-year-old, who is rated at €15m (approximately £13.3m) according to Transfermarkt.
Here are three reasons Southampton must forget Walcott and reignite their interest in Sisto…
Goals and assists
Southampton boss Pellegrino will be looking for goals and assists from a new winger given that his team has only scored 21 goals in 22 Premier League matches this season, and there is no doubt that Sisto would be able to deliver.
The 22-year-old has more assists (nine) than any other player in La Liga this season in 18 Spanish top flight appearances for Celta Vigo, while he has also chipped in with two goals.
Sisto impressed for Midtjylland previously too with 31 goals and 11 assists in 112 games, while he caused the Republic of Ireland all sorts of problems with his speed, strength and technical ability as Denmark thrashed them 5-1 in their World Cup play-off.
Pace
You know that you’re going to get pace if you’ve got Theo Walcott in your side, and if Saints can’t sign him then they won’t be losing out on that acceleration if they buy Sisto instead.
The 22-year-old is super quick and can play on either flank, and there is no doubt that his direct style would prove to be a problem for opposition Premier League defenders.
According to WhoScored.com, the Denmark international has successfully completed 32 of the 68 dribbles he has attempted in 18 La Liga appearances this season, and like Sadio Mane often did for Saints, he would bring an unpredictability factor on the pitch for the south coast outfit.
Potential
Soccer Football – 2018 World Cup Qualifications – Europe – Republic of Ireland vs Denmark – Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland – November 14, 2017 Denmark’s Pione Sisto in action with Republic of Ireland’s Shane Duffy Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith
While Walcott is a proven player at this level, his age and his reported wage demands mean that he isn’t the typical Southampton signing.
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The south coast outfit have tended to sign younger players that are out of favour at other clubs, before giving them a platform to play and improve to improve their value.
Signing Sisto, who celebrates his 23rd birthday next month, for a fee in the region of £13m would certainly be more like it for Saints, and the winger has the potential to go and become a big player for them both now and in the future.
Ramnaresh Sarwan says West Indies have been done no favours by a Providence Stadium pitch more typical of Sri Lankan grounds than Caribbean conditions. Sri Lanka have dominated the first Test in Guyana and Sarwan, who battled through 199 balls for his 80, said more pace and bounce would have been welcome.”The surface here is very similar to the ones they play on in Sri Lanka,” Sarwan said after the third day’s play. “When I toured Sri Lanka a few years ago it was the same sort of surface, Mahela [Jayawardene] seems to know the conditions pretty well with the sort of field placements that he has been putting forward to us.”You have to take into consideration the opposition you are playing against, whether you want a track that is faster and bouncier. So probably we want the opportunity to play on something that has more pace and bounce but that didn’t happen so we have to try and continue working hard as a team and try to work through that.”It has not been an easy task in the first three days and West Indies need their last pair, Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell, to add eight more runs on the fourth morning to avoid the follow-on. Sarwan was the only man to score a half-century as the home team finished the day at 269 for 9, and he said he never felt ‘in’ against Muttiah Muralitharan, who grabbed three wickets, while Chaminda Vaas also collected three.”Obviously they have the experience of Chaminda Vaas who has been doing this year in year out for them, especially on the flat surfaces they play on in Sri Lanka,” Sarwan said. “So basically it wasn’t a surprise to me because they know the conditions here pretty well.”You have to give credit to Sri Lanka. Their bowlers were pretty patient and the fact that they were bowling on one side of the wicket, they were having an attacking and a defensive field so it was pretty hard to get runs and also the discipline they showed.”Sarwan conceded poor shot selection contributed to West Indies’ poor showing but he was confident they were not yet out of the match. “First of all we have to save the follow-on then analyse it and put ourselves in a decent or good position,” Sarwan said.”There is still a lot of time left in the game. We have to make sure we play well as a team and continue to have a lot of partnerships going whether we’re bowling or batting.”