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ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the third Ashes Test at the WACA

Peter English at the WACA15-Dec-2010Match FactsMitchell Johnson is back in the Australia reckoning•Getty ImagesDecember 16-20, Perth
Start time 10:30 (02:30 GMT)The Big PictureAll both teams want for Christmas is a win, but Australia would settle for a draw as a way of stopping the damage from an opponent showing few weaknesses. England lead the five-match contest 1-0 and will retain the Ashes with a victory, which is the most likely result on the form of the opening two encounters. England have never secured the urn before Christmas in their 133-year history of visits Down Under, and they may never have a better chance.

The series is only 10 days old but already it has taken a toll on both sides. Stuart Broad has been ruled out with a stomach tear and will spend his week in the Test Match Special commentary box instead of the dressing room. Simon Katich’s heel problem has forced him out of the side and Australia have called for the type of wholesale changes England teams were mocked for making between 1989 and 2002-03. It’s young talent time for the hosts, with Steven Smith (21), Phillip Hughes (22) and Michael Beer (26) coming in, and Mitchell Johnson in favour again after a week spent in the WACA nets.Apart from which fast bowler to pick to replace Broad, England’s main worry is their recent history of giving away hard-won series leads. They allowed Australia to level the 2009 Ashes after four games – but recovered to take the trophy – and also drew in South Africa after earning an early advantage. Australia are praying for more generosity this time.Form guide(most recent first)
Australia LDLLL
England WDWLWWatch out for…Mitchell Johnson is back. That would have been a scary line once, but over the past two years he has become a man of mystery. Dropped for the first time in his Test career after going wicket-less in Brisbane, Johnson has trained his way back after an intense week working with Troy Cooley, the bowling coach. The WACA is a great venue for Johnson, who has 21 wickets in three Tests, including a career-best match haul of 11 for 159. Australia need that version of Johnson in this fixture, not the ineffective model that appeared at the Gabba.
The new dad James Anderson has been to Lancashire and back over the past week to be at the birth of his second child. Over the next five days he will have to battle jet-lag and an Australia batting line-up that is determined not to be overwhelmed by England’s remodelled attack. Anderson’s control and swing will be vital, especially when he’s running into the breeze of the Fremantle Doctor. He was dropped for the Perth Test on the previous tour, but is such a better bowler than he was four years ago..Team newsAustralia’s big question surrounds whether to play Peter Siddle, the bowler who started the series with six wickets on the opening day in Brisbane. Siddle hasn’t claimed a victim in Australia’s past two innings and Ryan Harris jumped ahead of him in Adelaide. If both Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus, the in-to-the-wind man, come back in, then Siddle will probably miss out. He may get a reprieve if Beer is left out, but that will depend on the wicket on Thursday morning. Ponting is delaying naming the side until he takes one final look at the surface.

Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Phillip Hughes, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Steven Smith, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Michael Beer, 10 Ryan Harris, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.It is now almost certain that Chris Tremlett will be Broad’s replacement ahead of Tim Bresnan. Despite Bresnan’s tactical nous on flat pitches, Tremlett offers extra bounce and menace with his height and will have a crucial role to play alongside Anderson, Steven Finn and Graeme Swann.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Graeme Swann, 9 James Anderson, 10 Chris Tremlett, 11 Steven Finn.Pitch and conditionsPerth is always talked up as a fast man’s favourite but over the past decade it has disappointed. Every year there is excited chatter from the locals that this time it will recapture its past glories. Maybe it will really happen this time. The pitch is expected to start with a tinge of green, but the cracking late in the match is expected to be a far greater concern to the batsmen than early seam movement. Sunny conditions are forecast throughout the game, with maximum temperatures above 30C.Stats and trivia England have won only one of 11 Tests at the WACA, with that victory coming in the Packer-depleted era of 1978-79 Australia have succeeded in 21 of 39 games here, with only nine losses. Five of those were against West Indies. Ricky Ponting is the leading the run-scorer in Tests at the WACA with 933, two more than Allan Border. David Gower is the best of the overseas players with 471 in five matches If Alastair Cook is wanting to add the highest score at the WACA to his Brisbane ground record, he must beat Matthew Hayden’s 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003-04Quotes”We are priming ourselves to play our best game so far in the series and we know we have to do it by a long way if we want to win the game.”
Ricky Ponting

“I feel like it’s part of my job as a bowler and I see myself as the leader of the attack here, so it’s important I think about what went right for us in the last two games and what we can improve on for this game.”
James Anderson had plenty time to ponder his game during 48 hours of flying in the past week

Michael Clarke does not want to reduce his workload even though he is one of the few Australian players appearing in all three formats

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2010Michael Clarke does not want to reduce his workload even though he is one of the few Australian players appearing in all three formats. Clarke arrived back from India on Tuesday morning and will fly to Perth on Friday to lead his men in the Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka on Sunday.”I’d really like to be available for all games, all forms for Australia, no doubt,” Clarke said after landing in Sydney. “I think my body is in a pretty good place at the moment.”Clarke captains the Twenty20 side and led the one-day outfit in the 1-0 loss to India, while Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson were rested. There are no signs of giving Clarke a break ahead of the Ashes and he hit some form in the only fixture in India that wasn’t rained out. He posted 111 off 139 balls in Visakhapatnam but it wasn’t enough to prevent defeat.”I haven’t scored as many runs as I would like, so the only way to do that is to get out there in the middle and I’d love to be doing it for Australia,” Clarke said. “So hopefully I’ll be fighting fit and I’ll play every game available.”

As the Ireland team celebrated mid-pitch in a raw burst of emotions after beating England, so did their fans, who had dared to dream along with Kevin O’Brien,

Abhishek Purohit in Bangalore02-Mar-2011Strangers embraced; total strangers, Indian and Irish, without inhibition at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. It was almost as though they’d been waiting to exhale for the longest time – for 20-odd overs, when the unthinkable first appeared within reach once Kevin O’Brien began his battering. As John Mooney finally despatched Jimmy Anderson to the recesses beyond the midwicket boundary, the hundreds gathered at the ground let go all at once.As the Ireland team celebrated mid-pitch in a raw burst of emotions, so did their fans, who had not given up when Ireland were 111 for 5. They had dared to dream along with O’Brien, they had willed Mooney on, and finally, they had believed in Trent Johnston. Their reward was what one delirious fan called “the biggest sporting achievement in the history of Ireland.” How special was it? “Come on, this one’s against the English!”In the crazed moments after the historic win, standard reporting practice went out of the window. There was no point in asking for names or back stories; the fans, fuelled by whatever was available inside the ground, were in seventh heaven, unable to comprehend the manner and magnitude of the achievement.”It doesn’t matter if we get beaten by everyone else in this World Cup. What matters is that we have beaten the English,” one fan said.Wednesday’s win came in the backdrop of the ICC reaffirming its decision to cut the next World Cup down to ten teams and, though it’s been a sore point with Ireland and other Associate nations, it didn’t seem to matter a jot today. “We don’t want to play Tests. We don’t want to do anything. The World Cup is over for us. This is it,” shouted a tall, Boyd Rankin lookalike.Some supporters had almost given up after seeing Ireland stutter early in their mammoth chase but they decided to wait as long as Kevin O’Brien was batting. “We had decided that we’d leave if Kevin O’Brien got out. But he didn’t. Oh, he just didn’t get out. He just kept going on and on. It’s a massive innings. It’s just fantastic,” said Rankin-lookalike’s companion.Keeping them company was a smattering of locals, who were cheering for the underdog and were soon turned into believers. Suddenly, what was a leisurely outing with the family turned into fierce rooting for the Irish. Singles were loudly cheered, boundaries drowned in the cacophony – as much as a few thousand could muster – usually reserved for Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. When a close second run was attempted, there were frantic cries of “” (“don’t” in Kannada). Alex Cusack’s run-out drew groans, the eerie silence that accompanied O’Brien’s was deafening.The pre-match prediction was that it would all end in tears. It did – but tears of joy when the winning boundary was hit and more of them when an emotional O’Brien accepted his Man-of-the-Match award. Soon they dispersed into the night, and as they made their way out of Chinnaswamy Stadium and into the depths of Cubbon Park, they thanked the Indians among the crowd for their support.But they did so with one caveat. An elderly Irishman, his eyes glistening with pride, said it all. “The Indian fans are good and friendly. But after today, watch out India. You are next.” The Green Army marches on.

Maurice Ouma has resigned as Kenya’s captain in the wake of the side’s 167-run loss to Afghanistan in the Intercontinental Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2010Maurice Ouma has resigned as Kenya’s captain in the wake of the side’s 167-run loss to Afghanistan in the Intercontinental Cup. Vice-captain Jimmy Kamande will take over with immediate effect and will lead the team in the ODI series which starts on Thursday.”We respect Morris’s decision to stand down after what has been a difficult period and would like to thank him for his efforts,” Cricket Kenya chief executive Tom Sears said. “We are confident that in Jimmy Kamande we have a captain who can take the squad forward and start producing the results we know our players are capable of.”Ouma took over from Steve Tikolo in June 2009 but had been unable to arrest the continuing slide in Kenya’s fortunes. Earlier this year he was at the forefront of a player strike which embarrassed the board and led to losses of more than $60,000 because of the resulting cancellation of a tour of England. At the time there were calls for him to stand down.”I feel this is the right decision for myself as a player but more importantly for the squad,” Ouma said. “I have given the role everything and have been very proud to captain my country but the time is now right for someone else to take on the challenge and lead us to the success we know we can achieve.”

S Badrinath remains the biggest obstacle facing Rajasthan in their attempt to reach the Ranji Trophy final for the first time since 1973-74, Aakash Chopra, their opener, has said

Siddhartha Talya05-Jan-2011S Badrinath remains the biggest obstacle facing Rajasthan in their attempt to reach the Ranji Trophy final for the first time since the 1973-74 season, Aakash Chopra, their opener, has said. Badrinath was unbeaten on 78 at the end of the third day in the semi-final in Jaipur and is key to Tamil Nadu’s fortunes as they aim – they are currently 190 for 3 – to score a further 272 within the full quota of 90 overs to advance to the next stage based on net run-rate.”We need to remove Badrinath as early as possible,” Chopra told ESPNcricinfo. “If that doesn’t happen, we need to go all-out at the other end because we need to bowl them out.”Rajasthan, thanks to three centuries, including one from Chopra on the opening day, managed to pile on 552 for 7 before declaring.But on a track that has eased out since an overcast first day, and with Tamil Nadu batting out 69 overs on the third, Chopra believed there was little to choose between the teams. “The match is evenly poised. I won’t give any team an edge at this point of time because the fourth-day pitch will still do something, though they require 270-odd in 90 overs.”Chasing such a score in a semi-final on the last day won’t be too easy. There will be wickets falling at some stage, and once you have a couple of wickets, things might change drastically.”Badrinath, during his innings, did survive some anxious moments and Chopra praised his bowlers for creating them. “Our bowlers really bowled well today, they bowled their hearts out. They were unfortunate to not have got a couple of more wickets, there were a couple of close calls.”The seamers, led by Pankaj Singh and Deepak Chahar, have been Rajasthan’s main strength through their campaign this season, and Chopra felt there was still enough in the conditions to assist them on the final day. “The track has eased out a bit but every now and then the ball keeps alarmingly low, and that’s what may cause problems. The uneven bounce will play on the batsmen’s minds. The second-new ball is due in another 11 overs so that might play a huge role in the outcome of this game.”Rajasthan are playing Vivek Yadav, a legspinner, as their frontline slow bowler, but Chopra believed, even on a final-day track, his role would be a supporting one. “For spinners, there’s nothing much happening except the variable bounce. There isn’t much turn on offer but that’s what happens on black soil.”Yadav bowls quicker through the air, with a flatter trajectory and relies on the batsman making a judgement error. That’s what his role is going to be – to give the seamers some breather because they are the ones going to do most of the damage, and to make the variable bounce work in his favour.”With a depleted Baroda upsetting Karnataka in the other semi-final, Rajasthan’s progression, if it happens, would set up a final clash between two underdogs. The incentive of a continuing their dream campaign was too huge for Rajasthan to let it slip on the final day, Chopra said. “What is going to work in our favour is the intensity. The hunger that we all have to get to the next round, if we manage to replicate the intensity that we showed today on the final day as well, I think Tamil Nadu will buckle down.”

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou could be facing a summer headache as news emerges from Parkhead about midfielder Tom Rogic.

What’s the story?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Pete O’Rourke said: “I’m sure, behind the scenes, Celtic’s powerbrokers will be looking at Rogic’s contract again. He’s out of contract in 2023, so he’s not got that long left on his current deal.”

Key player for Ange Postecoglou

While Rogic hasn’t completed the full 90 minutes for Celtic since the 4-0 victory over Motherwell back in February – a game in which he struck twice – he has certainly chipped in with some big contributions this season.

In 45 games across all competitions, he’s managed six goals and provided another ten assists, including netting in the superb 2-1 victory over Rangers in the Old Firm clash just a couple of weeks ago.

Indeed, speaking earlier this month, former Scotland boss Alex McLeish, said: “He’s been the bane of everybody recently, but he was invisible for a big period.

“It’s taken his countryman, Postecoglou, to come in and show the faith in him again. And he’s rewarded his gaffer with some incredible performances. I would have thought Celtic would make it a high priority to get Tom on board for a few more seasons.”

Sorting out a new deal for Rogic has to be an absolute priority for Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson, especially considering he won’t have long left on his contract heading into the summer.

Given the importance of Rogic to Postecoglou since coming back in the fold, the Hoops boss certainly wouldn’t be happy if a deal couldn’t be struck between the two parties.

If that can’t be done, then the Australian would either have to be sold on the cheap as he would have just the 12 months left on his existing deal, or would then leave on a free transfer next summer.

It’s the kind of nightmare scenario that Postecoglou could do without.

AND in other news – £4.7m down the drain: £12k-p/w Celtic liability rinsed Peter Lawwell for 140 weeks

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in Hobart

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale13-Dec-2012Match factsRangana Herath is Test cricket’s leading wicket taker over the past year, but can he transfer his home form to Australian conditions?•Associated PressDecember 14-18, Bellerive Oval
Start time 1030 (2330 GMT)Big PictureFor Australian cricket fans, it will be difficult not to think that the main course has been served before the entrée. The battle with South Africa for the No.1 Test ranking has come and gone, all before the most popular part of Australia’s international cricket season, the Christmas and New Year period. But as New Zealand showed with their victory in Hobart last summer, classic Test matches can pop up at any time, against any opponent, and now it is Sri Lanka’s turn to attempt to produce the unexpected.It is not that Sri Lanka are a weak Test team, far from it, but their record away from home is disappointing. Leaving aside Bangladesh, Sri Lanka have won only two away Tests in the past five years, and they are yet to win a Test in Australia. But they will take inspiration from their most recent Test in Hobart, when Kumar Sangakkara was driving Sri Lanka towards an incredible chase of 507 when he was wrongly given out caught off his shoulder. Had the DRS been around, it might well have become one of the greatest Test victories of all time.Sangakkara is back, and along with Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan forms a formidable batting line-up. Sri Lanka’s main issue is finding a way to take 20 wickets. But for all the talk of their less-than-threatening seam attack – Rodney Hogg said this week that ”Sri Lanka have the worst new ball attack that has landed on our shores ever” – Shaminda Eranga showed against the Australians on debut in Colombo last year that he is a bowler to watch out for, and he should enjoy the Australian conditions far more than those at home. Much will also depend on how Rangana Herath transfers his home form to the Australian pitches.The Sri Lankan attack will be coming up against an evolving batting order. Australia’s first Test in the post-Ponting era will also be their first with Phillip Hughes at No.3 and Shane Watson at No.4. It is an order they hope can take them through all of next year and a pair of Ashes series, but if there are any cracks in the plan or nerves amongst the batsmen, it is up to Sri Lanka to find them. Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey at Nos.5 and 6 could hardly be in finer touch, so it is all the more important that Sri Lanka don’t let Australia’s top order feast.Form guide(Most recent first)
Australia LDDWD
Sri Lanka LWDDWIn the spotlightPhillip Hughes is only 24, but he has already had a number of incarnations in Australia’s Test team. The previous one ended in Hobart last December, when he couldn’t avoid edging to the cordon off Chris Martin, a recurring theme in that series against New Zealand. His return will come at the same venue, albeit batting at No.3 instead of opening, and facing one of Test cricket’s less imposing seam attacks. All the more reason he must make use of this opportunity. Over the past year, Hughes has worked hard to improve his leg-side play and widen his scoring areas, but whether he can translate that to Test cricket is one of the big questions to be answered in this series.Who is the leading Test wicket taker over the past 12 months? Graeme Swann? Vernon Philander? James Anderson? No, no and no. It’s Rangana Herath, who since this time last year has collected 64 Test victims at 20.64. Although it is true that much of his success has come in home conditions – he took 20 wickets in the two recent Tests against New Zealand in Sri Lanka, and 12 against England in Galle – he will still be a challenging opponent for Australia’s batsmen. In his newspaper column on Thursday, Michael Clarke wrote that Herath’s accuracy and clever variations made him a difficult prospect, and in his first Test in Australia, in Hobart this week, Herath should take note of Shane Warne’s oft-quoted advice: “If it seams, it spins”.Team newsHughes has replaced Ponting in the side and will bat at No.3, with Shane Watson moving down to No.4. Australia’s only real question was which bowler to leave out, and Michael Clarke announced on the day before the match that Mitchell Johnson would carry the drinks.Australia 1 Ed Cowan, 2 David Warner, 3 Phillip Hughes, 4 Shane Watson, 5 Michael Clarke (capt), 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Nathan Lyon.Dimuth Karunaratne will partner Tillakaratne Dilshan at the top of the order, with Tharanga Paranavitana having been dropped after struggling for his best form for some time now. Nuwan Kulasekara will play after sitting out of the tour match in Canberra, where Shaminda Eranga was the best of the bowlers. They will be joined by Chanaka Welegedara in the pace attack, with no room for Dhammika Prasad.Sri Lanka 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Shaminda Eranga, 11 Chanaka Welegedara.Pitch and conditionsThere are showers forecast for the first four days of the game, which won’t make conditions easy for the batsmen, especially on a Bellerive Oval surface that has been relaid this year and has resulted in some awfully seam-friendly conditions in Sheffield Shield matches. In the three games there this season, the totals in the first innings for the team batting first have been 112, 95 and 67. However, the curator Marcus Pamplin is confident that the Test won’t suffer the same fate.”With such a major restoration of over 70 cubic metres of soil of new black soil into the wicket table, the process of the clay to settle down will take time, but we believe we are in a far better position for a more consistent surface than at the start of the season,” Pamplin said. “On the back of a good cricket pitch for the last Sheffield Shield game we think the Test pitch should play better and provide a good contest.”Stats and trivia Sri Lanka have only beaten Australia once in a Test match, in Kandy in 1999. The only remaining player from either side who was part of that game is Mahela Jayawardene Sangakkara needs another 107 runs to reach 10,000 in Tests and become the 11th man to the milestone This will be Australia’s first Test in Hobart without Ricky Ponting since 1995, when David Boon was the only Tasmanian in the side against PakistanQuotes”None of us will be taking Sri Lanka’s bowlers for granted even though they may be largely unknown in Australia. It was our batting which let us down during the last Test in Perth.”

Dale Steyn continued his hostility after tea, taking two wickets to complete his 16th five-wicket haul, but it was Morne Morkel who got the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar and hastened the end of the Indian innings

The Bulletin by George Binoy04-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Sachin Tendulkar’s 51st Test ton was made special by the circumstances in which it came•AFPOn the third day of the deciding Test in Newlands, the world’s best fast bowler terrorised the acclaimed batsmen of the No. 1 team with frightening spells of accurate outswing bowling at high speed. Most did not survive the menacing attack, but the world’s best batsman did, and he dragged his team forward through the harshest of circumstances. The battle between Dale Steyn, oozing aggression every ball, and Sachin Tendulkar, who remained steadfast despite being beaten probably more often than on any other day, was alone worth the ticket money. Both champions were winners, for Steyn ripped out five in the innings, while Tendulkar fought hard for his 51st century. Their efforts left the contest even – India lead’s was merely 2 – and ensured that the series would be decided by a second-innings shootout in the shadow of Table Mountain.The absence of the same degree of pace, swing, seam movement and hostility when India’s fast bowlers attacked South Africa’s batsmen only increased awe for Steyn’s efforts. Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen made a promising start to the chase, adding 50 runs for the first wicket. Only Harbhajan Singh’s twin strikes close to stumps, fizzing the ball off a wearing pitch, brought the game back into balance.Steyn bowled only 18 overs today, but to India’s batsmen it was an eternity. He charged in at full pelt on the hottest day of the Test, his sinewy body taut, and delivered a barrage of outswingers that curved in towards middle stump before searing away off the pitch. His spells in the first session were among the finest unrewarded efforts and India, with luck and application, survived them to claw forward. After lunch, however, Steyn’s luck changed with the second new ball, and his sustained hostility during a spell that incredibly was more aggressive than the first, yielded two wickets and set India back considerably.For India, there was Tendulkar, pulling them along when all others apart from Gautam Gambhir failed, relying on the strength of his mind, faith in his technique and a little bit of luck. His 146 will rank among his finest hundreds because of the rigorous examinations he passed. Tendulkar was beaten innumerable times by Steyn’s outswingers and Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s extra bounce outside off stump, and cut in half repeatedly by Morne Morkel’s jagging in-cutters. But Tendulkar survived, and attacked when he could. His 176-run stand with Gambhir gave India the edge, which vanished once four wickets fell for 43 runs. In Harbhajan, Tendulkar had a fighting partner, and their partnership of 76 for the eighth wicket once again helped India claw ahead.The tone for a crackling day was set in the very first over, delivered by Steyn. The first ball sped towards Tendulkar, landed on good length, reared up, seamed away late and beat the bat. The second was fuller, swung away and took the edge as Tendulkar lunged forward. Mark Boucher caught it too, diving forward to take a low chance, but strangely his appeal had little support from Steyn. The third fell short of gully, again off Tendulkar’s edge, and he brought up his half-century, having resumed overnight on 49. The fourth beat the bat as well. For the fifth, Tendulkar stood out of his crease to counter the swing and drove to the extra-cover boundary. He defended the sixth, and had survived the best over of the Test.Smart Stats

The 176 run stand for the third wicket between Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir is the highest for India in Tests in South Africa.

Tendulkar’s 146 is his second century in Cape Town. He now has 475 runs in six innings at an average of 79.16 with two centuries and two half-centuries.

Harbhajan Singh put on 76 for the seventh wicket with Tendulkar, which is second on the list of highest partnerships for the seventh wicket for India in Tests in South Africa.

Harbhajan has been involved in 20 fifty-plus partnerships in his Test career, of which 11 have come since the beginning of 2008.

Dale Steyn picked up his fourth five-wicket haul against India in Tests. It was also his second five-wicket haul of the series.

Steyn also reached the landmark of 50 Test wickets against India in just his tenth Test. Steyn’s average of 18.53 is fourth on the list of bowlers who have reached this mark against India,.

Morkel began his spell by testing Gambhir’s patience with a succession of short-of-a-length deliveries that bounced steeply outside off stump. Only in the eighth over of the day did Gambhir’s discipline in leaving deliveries outside off waver, and he was beaten often.For 53 minutes, the spectators at the Kelvin Grove only got to see Tendulkar batting from behind, while those at the Wynberg End had the same view of Gambhir. Tendulkar faced all five overs of Steyn’s first spell, while Gambhir negotiated Morkel. The runs came only in twos and fours, a lot of them through edges, and 42 out of the first 50 balls were dots.Tsotsobe replaced Steyn for the 61st over and continued the trend of beating Tendulkar’s bat. Tendulkar responded with a powerful pull to the midwicket boundary and a carve over gully. In Tsotsobe’s next over, the 13th of the morning, Tendulkar flicked through midwicket for the day’s first single.Soon Paul Harris’ deliveries were jumping at Gambhir for he was bowling wider, aiming for the rough. One ball in the 72nd over leapt at Gambhir and kissed the glove but Boucher failed to take a tough chance. The next ball was straighter and took the edge, this time Boucher held it. Harris could have had Tendulkar as well, had he been quick enough to catch a ball that was travelling at scary speed. Instead, he got Laxman out, as the ball split his fingers and crashed into the stumps at the non-striker’s end.India resumed after lunch on 237 for 4 and Steyn was back at his best. After five dot balls, he produced an outswinger to rival the famed one that bowled Michael Vaughan. This time, Cheteshwar Pujara’s pad was in the way. MS Dhoni lasted three balls, wafting at one that swerved away to slip. Harbhajan looked like he would get out every ball, so hapless was he against Steyn. One outswinger even clipped his off stump but the bails, incredibly, stayed on.Tendulkar tried to take strike as Steyn approached his five-overs-per-spell limit and shielded Harbhajan. He had earlier brought up his century by top-edging a hook off Morkel for six over the wicketkeeper, after being cut in half by the previous ball. The plan worked, for Harbhajan mowed Tsotsobe for six over the leg side, and when Steyn returned for a fiery burst just before tea, Harbhajan was confident enough to loft him over the long-on boundary to bring the deficit below fifty. Through it all, was Tendulkar, cutting and driving India forward.Both batsmen didn’t last long after tea, with a refueled Steyn claiming his fifth when Harbhajan top-edged a hook to square leg. With Zaheer for company, Tendulkar took the responsibility of playing Steyn and succeeded in adding valuable runs. He eventually fell to Morkel, losing his off bail to a delivery that straightened past his bat, when so many had jagged into him previously. He departed with India 21 runs behind South Africa, but had taken them far closer than seemed possible when Steyn was blowing red-hot.

A round-up of the first round of games at the European Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Ireland

Cricinfo staff10-Aug-2010
Scorecard
Caroline Salomons’ first century for Netherlands launched her team’s run in the European Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in stunning fashion as they chased down the ECB Development XI’s competitive 244 with more than three overs to spare.Having won the toss, the Dutch must have wondered about the wisdom of asking their opponents to bat first when the ECB side rattled along at almost five runs an over despite being bowled out just short of a full 50 overs. But Salomons, with excellent support from Helmien Rambaldo and Marijn Nijman, completely dominated the bowling, reaching her century at better than a-run-a-ball as she struck the match-winning boundary off Deanna Cooper in the 47th over.The ECB innings got off to a stuttering start, Marloes Braat grabbing two wickets in her opening spell while Mariska Kornett and Esther Lanser picked up a wicket apiece to reduce the ECB XI to 34 for 4. But Fran Wilson and Beth MacGregor’s fifth-wicket stand changed the complexion of the game completely as they put together a highly entertaining partnership of 122 before Wilson was dismissed for 76, made in just 85 balls and including 12 boundaries.MacGregor continued on with good support from the lower order before she was ninth out, in the final over, for 89. She had struck eight boundaries in her 109.The Dutch innings began quietly but soon started to pick up pace through some good stroke play and intelligent running between the wickets. Violet Warrenburg fell at 26, followed by Caroline de Groot at 46. At this stage Salomons entered the scene to partner Rambaldo and the two added 107 in even time as they took total control of the game.Rambaldo eventually fell to Westbury for 44 but this didn’t stem the flow of the Dutch innings as Nijman then joined Salomons and immediately set about the bowling, making a quick-fire 34. By the time she was well caught by a diving Hannah Phelps, only four more runs were required and it was appropriate that Salomons should bring up her hundred and win the match with her ninth boundary. Her century had taken just 98 balls.”The pitch was quite slow so every ball was a challenge,” said MacGregor. “I was happy with the way I paced my innings, we did well to recover to 244 after a low total looked on the cards. Unfortunately we weren’t able to defend our total but we have learnt a lot from today, particularly the way we need to bowl and field here in our next two games.”

Scorecard
Ireland began the qualifying competition in Stirling with a comfortable five-wicket victory over Scotland. Despite Kari Anderson’s unbeaten 86, Scotland could only muster 160 for 4 after being put in by Ireland captain Heather Whelan. Eimear Richardson’s 66 then guided Ireland’s run chase as they passed the target with more than 13 overs to spare.Scotland got off to a very slow start against accurate bowling by the Whelans, Heather and Jill. Catherine Smaill was soon trapped in front of her stumps by Heather and then two wickets fell in quick succession to reduce Scotland to 31 for 3 after 17 overs.However, it was to be a long time before Ireland had any further success as the remainder of the Scottish innings belonged to skipper Anderson, who made an unbeaten 86 from 148 balls. Her partnership with Kathryn White began slowly but gradually gained in momentum as they put on 103 before White was bowled for 39 by Jill Whelan in the 46th over.Ireland lost their first wicket at 15 when Laura Delany was bowled by Leigh Kasperek. Isobel Joyce joined Richardson and they advanced the total to 36 in the 12th over before Joyce was caught by Tams. When the third wicket, that of Jill Whelan, fell at 62 in the 16th over the match seemed to be well-poised.However, Richardson had other ideas and she began to score freely all round the wicket. By the time she was dismissed in the 34th over she had passed a well-paced half-century and her side was within 12 runs of victory.

Everton have appointed Frank Lampard as their new manager, and he wasted no time using his only opportunity of the transfer window on Deadline Day to bring in two players to work with him in his efforts to save the side’s season.

Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli joined the Toffees in the final hours of the January transfer window, becoming the fourth and fifth signings of the month, suggesting that the ex-Chelsea boss has plans to overhaul the midfield and attacking threat of the team which has currently failed to make a significant impact, scoring 11 fewer goals than the side has conceded in the Premier League this season.

With that being said, the first player that Lampard can ruthlessly axe from his team is Alex Iwobi, who has been with the club since 2019, scoring just six goals in 80 appearances from his forward position.

That’s one more goal than he has had managers, with Lampard remarkably becoming the fifth permanent manager that the 25-year-old has worked under in his time at Goodison Park.

The left-winger was branded “embarrassing” by Everton journalist, David Prentice, back in 2020 and things haven’t improved for the Nigeria international, with his most recent indiscretion at AFCON where he was brought on to save his nation from crashing out of the competition in the last 16 knock out clash against Tunisia.

Iwobi was sent off within five minutes of coming off the bench after a red card decision went against him when he made a tackle with his studs up on his marker who went straight to the floor. That eventually led to Nigeria crashing out of the competition.

If the Premier League midfielder turned manager deploys his most favoured formation of 4-2-3-1, it would push Iwobi out of the team completely as Richarlison would presumably go out onto the left side of the three to accommodate the new addition Alli, who could play in one of his favourite positions behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and as a result, would see Iwobi unlikely to start for the Toffees in the future.

Lampard has always been a big fan of the £22.5m-rated former Spurs star claiming he is “ahead of the game” in a complimentary analysis of the player back in 2017, so there is no doubt that he will want to integrate the attacking midfielder in his starting line up as soon as he can to get the very best out of him to pull Everton away from a relegation battle.

Combine that with the fact that Darren Anderton once called him a “freak of a talent” and it’s evident there is plenty more that Dele could offer than the former Arsenal forward.

Everton will return to action this weekend at Goodison Park in the FA Cup, where the 43-year-old Toffees manager will lead out his first squad selection in front of the home fans and it will be interesting to see what direction he goes in to secure progression in the domestic competition for the side.

In other news: Lampard already enduring major dilemma at Finch Farm