Queensland have enviously replaced the injured Martin Love and Shane Jurgensen with Matthew Hayden and Michael Kasprowicz as the side polishes its ING Cup final preparations against Western Australia at the Gabba on Friday. The Bulls have already confirmed their place in the decider and will play either Tasmania or Victoria on February 20.Western Australia, who are missing Justin Langer with a back injury, are out of contention, but have a chance to repeat their thrilling win of 2003-04 in the final rematch. The Bulls stuttered against Victoria last weekend, when Love split the webbing in his hand, and will hope Hayden returns to form after a disappointing national campaign.Queensland Jimmy Maher (capt), Matthew Hayden, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, James Hopes, Brendan Nash, Wade Seccombe (wk), Andy Bichel, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Hauritz, Michael Kasprowicz, Mitchell Johnson.Western Australia Michael Hussey (capt), Beau Casson, Murray Goodwin, Kade Harvey, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi (wk), Adam Voges, Darren Wates, Brad Williams.
As Australia’s endless list of injuries grows, John Buchanan, the coach, has asked officials for an inquest into the problem. Buchanan has already approached Dr Trefor James, the chief medical officer, about why these injuries, particularly to the fast bowlers, have happened so often and that there needs to be ways of stopping them. He also said that training, playing workloads and general lifestyle issues needed to be addressed.And Buchanan has had backing from Dr Martyn Sullivan, a leading surgeon from Sydney. Sullivan recently openly criticised the gruelling international schedule which bowlers must now face in order to keep playing at the top level. Sullivan, who has recently treated six Australian bowlers, claims fierce competition for places, coupled with a heavy workload, will increase the number of players succumbing to chronic injuries.Sullivan’s and Buchanan’s comments came in the wake of a glut of casualties. As well as the top three fast bowlers being forced out of the team – Brett Lee hurt his stomach and ankle, Jason Gillespie picked up a side strain and Glenn McGrath has a dodgy ankle – Stuart MacGill, Ashley Noffke and Darren Lehmann are also out of action.To make matters worse, Michael Kasprowicz, called in to the one-day squad in India to cover the fast bowling problem, is suffering from a freak buttock injury, but is staying with the squad as the problem heals.Buchanan said: “You start with back-to-back Test matches, players break down, then two bowlers carry an extra load of which one of those then went down in the next game ultimately because of extra load and less rest.”Buchanan also said what bowlers did in their time off needed to be discussed. “I think everybody went into the game physically fit but I think there is a question of match fitness,” he said. “That’s something we need to address – getting bowlers overs under their belt. If we don’t have games, how are we going to deal with that? In days gone by, as you came into a season, basically bowlers used to bowl a lot of overs in the nets or do road running. Probably neither happens to the same degree now.”Ian Healy, the former Australian wicketkeeper who is also president of the current Australian Cricketers Association, recently expressed his concern, saying something needs to be done within the next few years or the repercussions would be severe. He told the British Press Association earlier this week, “Bowling careers will definitely be shortened, if players want to play both forms of the game.”Healy is not the only ex-player to get in the act, with Dennis Lillee also agreeing that the workload is too much. “They should look at a baseball-style rotational program for the fast bowlers. Fast bowling is bloody hard on the body, but one way to prolong careers is to have two completely different teams for one-dayers and Tests.”
An unbeaten 61-run partnership for the last wicket between Ravi Kumar and Manjunath saw Karnataka record an unexpected one-wicket win over Gujarat.In the morning, Gujarat, after being put in by Karnataka, made 198 before being all out. As many as 50 of these runs came off no-balls and wides. Among the batsmen, opener MR Tripath, who made 32, and AM Gohel, who made 23, were the major contributors. As many as four batsmen being run-out though saw Gujarat being dismissed by the end of the 31st over.When Karnataka replied, S Nayak, who made 46, shepherded the innings. But his fall, when the score read 138 for nine, seemed to have sealed his team’s fate. But Ravi Kumar and Manjunath had other ideas and their magnificent stand saw their team eke out a thrilling one-wicket win. Wides and no-balls were again prolific contributors adding as many as 49 runs to the score.In the other match of the day, played at the Southern Railway Ground, Chennai, Delhi proved too formidable for the men from Bengal. The latter chasing 325 for a win fell short by 62 runs.Batting first, Delhi aided by a 93 from opener M Singh and a 59 from captain RK Sharma piled on 324 runs in their innings. Despite fifties from A Mondal and T Maity, East could only make 262 in reply.
With their batsmen looking in supreme touch, Haryana thrashed Himachal Pradeshby nine wickets in their North Zone Ranji Trophy One-day Tournament at the ModelSports Ground in Delhi on Thursday.Set to score 196 for a win, Haryana openers P Sehrawat (64) and Jasvir Singh (64not out) put on 97 runs before being seperated in the 23rd over by Nischal Gaur.Sehrawat was the only batsman to be dismissed, when he was bowled by Gaur. Hefaced 75 balls and hit seven fours and a six.On the dismissal of Sehrawat, Haryana skipper Parender Singh and Jasvir added102 runs during an unbroken second wicket stand off 22.4 overs. Jasvir faced121 balls and hit four boundaries. Parinder on the other hand needed only 79balls for his 63 while finding the boundary eight times.Earlier, opting to bat, Himachal put 198 on the board. One drop Nischal Gaur wasthe top scorer with 40 while the others chipped in with useful contributions. FGhyas was the most successful bowler with figures of four for 45 from his tenovers.
It is easy to see why Tottenham Hotspur decided to splash a considerable amount of money on the signing of Pape Matar Sarr last summer – €18m (£15m), to be exact – as the defensive midfielder highly impressed in his breakthrough campaign with FC Metz last season.
Indeed, over his 22 Ligue 1 appearances last time out, the £18m-rated youngster bagged three goals, as well as made an average of 1.2 interceptions, two tackles, completed 36 passes and won 5.1 duels per game.
These returns saw the 19-year-old earn an extremely impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Metz’s sixth-best performer in the top flight of French football – playing a key role in his side securing a very respectable 10th place finish in the division.
However, following his summer switch to Spurs – who subsequently loaned the Senegal international back to the Ligue 1 side – Sarr’s form has rather worryingly faltered.
Indeed, over his 24 Ligue 1 outings in the current campaign – only 15 of which have come as starts – the £11k-per-week youngster has so far scored one goal, registered one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 0.6 interceptions, 1.2 tackles, 25.8 passes and winning 3.7 duels per fixture – all of which are down on the same metrics the previous season.
These returns have seen the player who Fabio Paratici dubbed “one of the most talented in Europe” and a “great signing” average a disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.70, ranking him as Metz’s joint 18th-best player in the league this time out.
As such, while there is undoubtedly still a great deal of time in which the young midfielder can improve, considering his drop off in performance this year, in addition to the fact that Spurs have now have Antonio Conte at the helm – a manager who very much likes to have a say in his club’s signings – Paratici’s decision to spend a considerable amount of money on Sarr could well have already proven to be something of a mistake on the part of the sporting director.
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Indeed, while Tanguy Ndombele’s record-breaking £63m signing was not the Italian’s doing, there are already worrying similarities between the deal for the France international and the one for Sarr – with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful undoubtedly hoping the 19-year-old will not go on to follow the same path as the £120k-per-week flop.
AND in other news: “Incredibly deadly”, “Robben-esque”: Paratici plotting Spurs swoop for £36m-rated ace
Tamil Nadu lost nine wickets for 123 runs at the Chepauk as Delhi made a spirited fightback after the openers had added 127. Chetanya Nanda triggered the collapse with three wickets in 13 deliveries, while Rajat Bhatia and Pradeep Sangwan followed up on the act with two wickets apiece.Earlier M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund had given Tamil Nadu yet another good start as they made Delhi wait for 39 overs for the first breakthrough. The half-centuries the two scored were Vijay’s third and Mukund’s fourth score in excess of 50 this season. But after the first wicket, the highest partnership Tamil Nadu managed was 28 runs for the sixth wicket. Scorecard Piyush Chawla and Tanmay Srivastava missed maiden centuries as Uttar Pradesh finished the first day in Hyderabad at 293 for 6. After Tanmay lost his opening partner Rohit Prakash in the first over, he anchored the first half of UP’s innings. He shared stands worth 61 and 80 with Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif respectively and then became part of a mini middle-order collapse as 141 for 2 became 168 for 5. He scored 81, three less than his previous best.Chawla and Amir Khan stemmed the collapse and added 112 for the sixth wicket, Chawla taking charge and scoring a career-best 82 off 130 balls. Amir, the sedate partner, ended the day unbeaten on 44 off 119 deliveries. Scorecard Bengal bowled Andhra out for 121 at Eden Gardens to give themselves a hope of getting a bonus point and avoiding relegation. They ended the day at 46 for 1, 75 behind Andhra. Rana Chowdhary, the left-arm medium bowler playing his second match, took four wickets in 6.2 overs to rattle the Andhra batsmen. Ranadeb Bose took three wickets and SS Paul chipped in with two.Andhra’s batting never got going as the 39-run eighth-wicket stand was the highest partnership, and B Sumanth, the No. 7, was the top-scorer with 30. ScorecardIn a relegation face-off match, Himachal Pradesh wasted a good start to lose nine wickets for 121 runs and get bowled out for 280 against Rajasthan in Dharamsala. Before the collapse, Mukesh Sharma and Hemant Dogra had kept Rajasthan completely out of the game with a 127-run second-wicket stand. Mukesh went on to score his first first-class century, but saw the rest of the batsmen fall at the other end. Mukhesh, 101, was the ninth wicket to fall. Dogra scored his personal best with 71.Shamsher Singh dismissed the two of them, while Mohammad Aslam and Sumit Mathur took three wickets apiece for Rajasthan.Karnataka 2 for 0 trail Maharashtra 276 (Khadiwale 96, Mohan 51, Vinay Kumar 4-66) by 274 runs Scorecard Maharashtra, who looked well placed for a big total against Karnataka, collapsed to be bowled out for 276 in Ratnagiri. From 210 for 3, they lost the last seven wickets for 66, as Harshad Khadiwale missed out on his second century of the season. A quick half-century by Dhruv Mohan took Maharashtra to the eventual 276.Maharashtra had made six changes to their side; three of the in-coming players being debutants, while Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Sairaj Bahutule, Salil Agharkar and Kedar Jadhav were dropped.For Karnataka, D Vinay Kumar and NC Aiyappa did most of the damage, taking four and three wickets respectively. Scorecard Led by the dour Shitanshu Kotak and fluent Cheteshwar Pujara, Saurashtra ground the Mumbai bowlers and lost only two wickets for 202 on the first day at the Wankhede Stadium. To make matters worse for Mumbai, none of the two was done with by stumps: Kotak was unbeaten on 73, Pujara on 61.Kotak came in to bat in the fourth over of the day and spent an even six hours in the middle. Pujara, the leading run-getter in Ranji trophy so far, crossed fifty for sixth time in the season and is six short of 800 runs from the season.Mumbai employed seven bowlers, but only Murtuza Hussain met success, ending the day with figures of 2 for 32 from 19 overs. ScorecardThe Baroda lower order recovered well after Orissa, led by Basanth Mohanty, had reduced them to 81 for 6. They ended the day at 241 for 9, thanks to useful contributions from Pinal Shah, Abhimanyu Chauhan, Sankalp Vohra and Sumit Singh.Shah and Chauhan started the comeback with a 55-run seventh-wicket partnership. After Chauhan fell for 35, Rajesh Pawar fell quickly too, but Shah and Vohra added 27 for the ninth wicket. Shah got out for 44. The unbeaten last-wicket partnership of 71 between Vohra and Sumit was Baroda’s highest. Vohra ended the day on 45, and Singh, the No. 11, on 29. These are career-best scores for Chauhan, Vohra and Sumit.For Orissa Basanth Mohanty continued his impressive first season with 4 for 55.
India 338 for 3 (Ganguly 98, Gambhir 69, Dhoni 62*, Dravid 54*) beat West Indies 324 for 8 (Chanderpaul 149*) by 14 runs Scorecard and ball-by-ball details How they were out
Sourav Ganguly followed up his impressive Test comeback with a spectacular return to one-dayers, but even his outstanding 98 was overshadowed by a stunning unbeaten 149 by Shivnarine Chanderpaul as the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground saw the most number of runs ever scored in a one-day international in India. On a belter of a pitch, India rode on Ganguly’s knock and a late fourish to pile up a gigantic 338 for 3. That seemed to be way beyond West Indies’ reach, till Chanderpaul turned it on towards the end. Even his blistering strokeplay wasn’t quite enough, though, as West Indies finished on 324 for 8, allowing India to sneak through by 14 runs.On a day when boundaries rained from start to finish, India were the early aggressors. Ganguly smashed 98 from 109 deliveries, and with Gautam Gambhir in spectacular form as well, the new opening combination put a rollicking 144 for the opening wicket – the first century partnership for India in ODIs for close to nine months. Sachin Tendulkar, walking in at No.3, showed the creativity he could offer in the middle overs, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Dravid provided a lustrous polish at the end of the innings, pillaging 119 off the last 11.5 overs and erecting an awesome skyscraper.That skyscraper, though, was in serious danger of crumbling as West Indies put together an inspired run-chase. Requiring more than a run a ball, they got off to a frenetic start too, as Chris Gayle and Chanderpaul added 80 in less than 13 overs. Like the two left-handers who opened for India, Gayle and Chanderpaul complemented each other with their contrasting styles. While Gayle was all brute force, freeing his arms against some wayward bowling, Chanderpaul resorted to touch, cannily finding the angles. Gayle had two let-offs – on 2 and 12, both off Sreesanth – and he made the Indians pay for their lapses, swinging through the line and creaming boundaries almost at will.Subsequently, Harbhajan Singh’s double-strike pegged them back and following Gayle’s dismissal things slowed down considerably for them, reaching 139 for 2 at the 25-over stage. Chanderpaul was methodical and sly in his run-gathering. He glided Zaheer wide of first slip, top-edged Harbhajan over the same fielder, pulled Ajit Agarkar for six over square leg, pushed, tapped and burrowed. He didn’t try anything silly when India didn’t enforce the Power Plays – between the 10th and 14th over – but cashed in when the field was up soon after. He lost a couple of partners – Gayle was foxed by an offbreak from Harbhajan while Runako Morton had no clue against a doosra – but brought up his half-century in 52 balls and kept his side in the contest.
Earlier, India got the start they needed. Gambhir set the ball rolling with a salvo of boundaries early on and was especially severe on Jerome Taylor’s wide offerings. He didn’t miss out on anything wide and, once he’d gauged the true nature of the surface, even endeavored to pull the short ones.The story of the morning, especially when one considers what went before, was Ganguly. Returning to the one-day side after a gap of 15 months, he didn’t take long to find his groove. Displaying divine touches when he slashed through the off side, and showing no fear in charging down the track, he rattled West Indies. The shot with which he brought up his half-century encapsulated the mood: with an important landmark ahead and a chance to strengthen his case, he walked down the track to Daren Powell and smote him over extra-cover for a six. Risk without recklessness seemed to be the motif for the day.He was commanding against spin – whacking Gayle and Samuels straight over their heads – and showed enough energy when he ran between the wickets. He was always on the look out for a single but his eagerness led to his dismissal, falling two short of his first century in close to four years. Chancing Dwayne Smith’s arm at short midwicket, he was caught napping against a direct hit. The packed stands applauded his fine effort and one banner in particular – “The Tiger’s back” – said all that was needed.What eventually made the difference was the 71 runs in the last five overs, with both Dhoni and Dravid going ballistic. Dwayne Bravo’s slower deliveries proved effective initially but Dhoni soon teed off with a muscular approach that few can match. He jumped down the track to the fast bowlers and stung with an array of unorthodox slogging. Dravid, at the other end, was more delicate in approach but as deadly in execution. His three sixes were like flowers transforming into grenades – one over cover required just one hand – and the contrasting styles completely put off the bowlers. The stage was set for an interesting denouement and though the West Indies responded bravely India just had too many runs on board to seal their success.However, India’s slow over-rate marred the victory as the players were individually penalised 5% of their match fees. Dravid, on the other hand, copped a higher 10% fine.
India sauntered to an easy 10-wicket win against Pakistan in the Asia Cup as they warmed-up for Wednesday’s final against Sri Lanka in style. As throughout the tournament the Pakistan batting struggled to post any sort of target against a well-drilled Indian attack before Mithali Raj and Rumeli Dhar knocked off the runs inside 18 overs.Pakistan opted to try and post a defendable total but were soon in familiar trouble as the top order were skittled. Sajjida Shah resisted for 65 balls before falling to Varsha Rapheal, who bowled here 10 overs for 22. However, that appeared expensive compared to Devika Palshikar, who finished with the remarkable figures of 3 for 12 from her full complement of overs. Sana Mir produced a brave attempt to edge Pakistan towards three figures with a battling 27, which included three boundaries.But the Indian batting has produced consistent performances throughout the Asia Cup and this time Raj and Dhar eased along at five an over to make short work of the target. Dhar was especially impressive, striking eight fours and a six in her 48-ball 54.Despite losing all their group matches the Pakistan captain, Sana Javed, was still optimistic about the progress her team was making. “We are newcomers to women’s cricket and gained a lot of experience despite losing all four matches.”
Shoaib Akhtar flew out of Australia yesterday to end an eventful, occasionally destructive and often disruptive tour expecting more nightmares about bowling to Justin Langer. Shoaib, who was ordered home after suffering a left hamstring tear at the Gabba last Wednesday, was impressed by Langer’s series return of 390 runs, but disappointed by the lack of bowling support from his team-mates.”Justin said before the start of the tour he had nightmares about me," Shoaib told the Daily Telegraph. "After bowling to him I can say I now have nightmares about him. He is easily Australia’s toughest batsman. He is unbelievably determined. Damien Martyn is under-rated and much improved but Langer is the best.”Shoaib told the paper he deserved credit for his bowling, which peaked with 5 for 99 in the first innings at Perth and included 11 Test wickets. “It was just me up against seven batsmen who are all capable of scoring 200 each," he said. "It was very tough. It is hard trying to bowl at 155km/h all the time. You do get niggles. It’s like driving a Ferrari. After every few laps you have to get it serviced."Waqar Younis, who has spent the summer watching as a television commentator, said Shoaib "sometimes likes talking it up more than bowling". “There was no spirit in the bowling," Waqar told the Sydney Morning Herald. "You are supposed to take pride when you bowl for your country. They looked better when Shoaib was bowling his heart out early, but that all stopped with injuries. Pakistan don’t need an unfit Shoaib Akhtar." Waqar said without Shoaib the attack was like a club side’s bowling.
Tasmania 276 (Marsh 68, Mason 58, MacGill 5-79) and 4 for 386 (Di Venuto 174*, Marsh 107*) beat New South Wales 5 for 453 dec and 8 for 208 dec (Mail 107*) by six wickets Scorecard
Michael Di Venuto smashed an unbeaten 174 to lead Tasmania to a thrilling six-wicket victory against New South Wales at The Bellerive Oval.Di Venuto and Dan Marsh, who scored 107 not out, shared an unbroken 220-run partnership to guide their team to 4 for 386 in front of a small crowd, which included Tasmania’s new Governor, Richard Butler.Di Venuto, the Man of the Match, smacked 18 fours and one six in his innings, and he was well-supported by Marsh, who hit 10 boundaries. Tasmania’s successful run-chase was the 11th most successful in domestic first-class cricket history, and they did it with over two overs to spare.”We have had some good run chase victories before, so there was belief there,” Marsh said. “We knew it was going to be hard work and we had to play the game of our lives, but it turned out like that.”Steve Waugh, NSW’s captain, praised Tasmania’s performance on a wicket that offered few opportunities for bowlers. “We gave it our best shot,” Waugh said.”I’ve got no complaints with our bowlers. We toiled away pretty hard. We thought there would be some chances at some stage, but they just didn’t happen.Full credit for the way they played, they batted very well.”NSW, who led by 177 after the first innings, had the upper hand as Tasmania resumed their second innings on 1 for 26. The target of 386 looked a daunting task when Jamie Cox was out seven minutes into the first session, lbw to leg Stuart MacGill for 18.But Di Venuto proved inspirational for the Tasmania, who finished last season with the wooden spoon. His third-wicket partnership with Shane Watson (42) delivered 103 vital runs as he went from strength to strength.Watson, meanwhile, failed to replicate his century against South Australia at Bellerive earlier this month and was caught by Mark Waugh in the slips off MacGill’s third ball after lunch.Tasmania picked up six points for the win, mnaking them joint leaders of the table with NSW.