Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell, India’s captain and coach, have said their team are gearing up for their World Cup opener in a confident and relaxed frame of mind.”Whatever the conditions are, they will vary from venue to venue and that’s going to be part of the challenge, as it is in any World Cup,” Chappell said after his team’s first practice session at Port-of-Spain. “We will have to bat [on different pitches] as every team will. Not every wicket is same and not all conditions around the world are same. That’s what sorts out better teams from others. We are looking forward to our first game.”India open their campaign against Bangladesh at the Queen’s Park Oval on Saturday. Sri Lanka and debutants Bermuda are the other sides in Group B. “We have looked at our group and we know what we have got to do,” said Chappell. “We have got three good games coming up and that should help prepare us to go further. The guys have enjoyed a few days of peace and quiet before the tournament, so in a way that’s been good. Now, everyone is keen for the tournament to start.”Dravid said he had told his team-mates to soak up the World Cup atmosphere without losing focus. “The World Cup is about working hard and preparing right,” he said. “It’s also about ensuring we have a downtime as well. We relax and enjoy the atmosphere. We enjoy the World Cup because it comes once in four years. I’d like my boys to soak up the atmosphere and to soak up everything that goes around the event, but obviously work very hard. We have to ensure we give the boys enough time to relax and take their minds away from cricket so that when they come back to the ground they are fresh and really keen to go out there and do well.”Chappell spoke of the non-cricketing activities that the team had enjoyed during the last few days. “We’ve have been practising, relaxing, swimming, sailing and snorkeling. We have been doing things you would expect to do in the West Indies, things that sometimes the guys don’t get an opportunity to do. It’s been a nice change of pace from the point of view of what happens on a normal tour, particularly in India where you are playing every three days. It’s very hard to fit in some relaxation. So it’s been good for the guys to have that opportunity to change of pace, but not so much that it distracts them from what they are doing.”
For years, bilateral one-day series India played at home went right down to the wire. It was almost a joke, and one the extra-suspicious in the anti-corruption unit did not find funny, that the scores were inevitably level when the final match of a series began. In recent times, though, India have comfortably settled the issue at the earliest, and so it has been with England, coming into the fifth one-day international at Guwahati blanked out and with no chance to pull things back significantly.Team issuesIn Kochi, England finally managed to put their best team on the park. Through injury, and Duncan Fletcher’s penchant for going into ODIs with what works in the Tests, England stuck to fast bowlers, and struggled to get their three best ODI batsmen in appropriate slots. In Kochi, though, they gave Gareth Batty a break from sightseeing and a chance to roll his arm over, and also clubbed Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff together at Nos. 3, 4 and 5. Whether they will stick to this formula, or again chop things around, perhaps finding place for Ian Bell in the slot that may be freed up if Geraint Jones is ruled out tomorrow, remains to be seen.India’s selection matters are, for the moment, a pleasant pain. With only six specialist batsmen in the side it’s safe to say that Robin Uthappa is extremely likely to make his debut, and that Venugopal Rao will get a game. A squad thick with bowlers suggests that RP Singh, who has waited long, will get a go, while VRV Singh waits just that bit longer to be eased into the eleven.The Gods must be …The meteorological department has predicted thundershowers for Sunday afternoon, so don’t be surprised if it is bright and sunny. Saturday dawned fine but as the sun reached its zenith the clouds rolled in from the hills, turning everything shades of grey. It has been raining intermittently all week, and the weather could very well end up having the final say.Squeeze them inRahul Dravid has been better than his predecessor in getting through fifty overs in time, and on Sunday, weather permitting, Virender Sehwag will get his chance. He, and Andrew Flintoff, have to be on their toes, for the light on a good day will not be fit for play once five o `clock comes round. There has been a suggestion that play should start earlier than the scheduled 9am, but this seems unlikely. It’s difficult to implement changes of this kind at short notice with the all-powerful television channels having already scheduled their programming.I’m 164If he does play Robin Uthappa will become the 164th person to wear an Indian ODI shirt. He has been picked not on the weight of the runs he has scored in domestic cricket – he averages a modest 32 in first-class cricket and a more impressive 39 in List A one-dayers, but the manner in which he bats has caught the eye. Exuberant and strokeful, his aggressive play, backed up by serious ability in the field meant that the selectors saw merit in elevating him to the Indian team on the promise of potential.Small-town excitementLong before the teams had arrived in the city on their chartered flight hundreds filled a stand, waiting impatiently for a glimpse of their heroes. The fact that the teams were staying in a hotel that straddled the ground made matters worse, and when they walked down the corridor that led to their rooms the fans roared. Even when the skies opened and the drenched them in a heavy downpour, intermittently pelting down hailstones, they stayed, waiting for the teams to come to the ground to practice. The ground had taken a heavy soaking, though, and sections of the outfield were waterlogged, making life miserable for the groundstaff. The square was covered, and the teams will be hoping that this is not a preview of things to come.
Scorecard Half-centuries by Justice Chibhabha and Trevor Gripper propped Zimbabwe A to 164 for 5 at close of play on the second day against Pakistan A at Harare. Gripper made 50 while Chibhabha remained unbeaten on 54, but the Zimbabweans ended the day still 147 behind Pakistan’s first-innings total of 311.Apart from Chibhabha and Gripper, none of the Zimbabwean batsmen made an impression. Neil Ferreira, who opened the batting with Gripper, and Stuart Carlisle made just 15 each, Brendan Taylor fell for a duck and Sean Williams was run out for 5.Earlier, Pakistan A added 55 to their overnight score of 256 for 6 before being bowled out. Zulqarnain Haider, their wicketkeeper, frustrated the Zimbabweans with a patient 43 off 189 balls. Blessing Mahwire and Tawanda Mupariwa were the pick of the bowlers, both taking three wickets apiece.
ScorecardKevin Pietersen enhanced his claims for an England place, when he completes his qualification next summer, after picking up his second century of England A’s Duleep Trophy game against South Zone.Pietersen followed his first-innings 104 with a brutal 115 from 79 balls, as England declared their second innings on 297 for 8, a lead of exactly 500. By the close, South Zone had recovered from a dreadful start to reach 171 for 2, but England still remain favourites to complete their victory on tomorrow’s final day.England began the day in a healthy position, leading by 291 with seven wickets in hand, but they had added just one run to their total when Matt Prior was bowled by Sree Santh. But Pietersen found a staunch ally in Bilal Shafayat, whose 34 was his first innings of note since he was suspended for one match for dissent. The pair added 79 for the fifth wicket, before both men fell to South Zone’s spinners – Pietersen was bowled by Sridharam Sriram and Shafayat was stumped off Sunil Joshi.Graham Napier picked up where Pietersen had left off, cracking 64 not out to add to his first-innings 76, while England A’s captain James Tredwell also impressed with 36. Joshi struck twice to remove Tredwell and Sajid Mahmood in quick succession, but the declaration soon followed with South Zone needing to bat out the rest of the match – or score an improbable 501 for victory.That prospect looked extremely distant indeed when Mahmood and Simon Francis took the new ball. They each grabbed an opener apiece as South Zone slumped to 1 for 2, but Venugopal Rao and Sriram took the attack to England’s attack. By the close they had added 170 for the third wicket, to leave the victory just about within their grasp.
LAHORE, Jan 6: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday directed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to decide former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram’s appeal against the penalty recommended by Justice Malik Qayyum (retired) of the LHC.In his one-man inquiry commission report on match-fixing allegations (whose excerpts were released by the PCB in May 2000), Justice Qayyum had recommended that Wasim be fined Rs300,000 by the PCB and should not be appointed as captain of the Pakistan team in future.Justice M. Javed Buttar disposed of the appeal with the orders that the PCB should give an opportunity to Wasim by conducting a formal hearing of his appeal and decide the matter within one month.Najamul Hassan Kazmi, the counsel for the petitioner, argued before the court that Wasim’s appeal against the findings of the inquiry commission had been filed before the PCB some 18 months ago and had not been decided as yet for some unknown reasons.As argued by the petitioner, the PCB had no moral and legal grounds for delaying the hearing of the appeal since this delay could cost him his international fame and he wanted to get himself exonerated of match-fixing allegations at the earliest.It was submitted that the penalty pronounced by the inquiry commission was recommendatory in nature and was not binding on the PCB since that the commission did not enjoy the status of a court of law.The petitioner alleged through his counsel that this penalty had been recommended without giving him an ample opportunity to defend himself and subsequently, the PCB had further employed delaying tactics to hear his version in this regard.The court was requested to issue directions to the PCB for deciding Wasim’s appeal at the earliest. The petitioner submitted that in case the court did not deem it proper to issue directions to the PCB, it should conduct the hearing of his appeal itself.The court, however, observed that the PCB was the proper platform for hearing the appeal since it had already been moved by the petitioner and it should decide the matter accordingly.Meanwhile PCB has refusedto comment on the decision of the Lahore High Court, directing it to decide former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram’s appeal againstthe penalty recommended by former Justice Malik Qayyum.When contacted, a PCB spokesman said that the board did not receive the decision officially and any comment could be offered after getting it.
It was England’s 781st and Pakistan’s 278th Test match.
It was the 60th match between these two sides. The record now reads : England 16, Pakistan 10,drawn 34.
It was the 39th match between these two sides in England. The record now reads : England 14,Pakistan 8,drawn 17.
It was the fourth match between these two teams at Old Trafford. Pakistan has won one, while remaining three matches were drawn.
David Shepherd was officiating in his 56th Test match which places him second among the umpires with most Test appearances alongwith West Indian Steve Bucknor. Now only Dicky Bird, another Englishman, with 66 appearances is ahead of Shepherd. The other umpire Eddie Nicholls was standing in his 16th match.
When he reached 5 in first innings, Inzamam completed 5000 runs in his 74th Test (and 122nd innings). He became fifth Pakistani and 47th batsman overall to do so. Others with 5000 runs in a career for Pakistan are Javed Miandad (8832 runs in 124 Tests),Salim Malik (5768 in 103) and Zaheer Abbas (5062 in 78).
When he dismissed Marcus Trescothick in first innings, Wasim Akram equalled England’s Brian Statham’s record of dismissing 102 batsmen as `bowled’. Now Akram is just one short of Fred Trueman’s world record of dismissing most batsmen in this fashion.
The third wicket partnership of 267 runs between Michael Vaughan and Graham Thorpe in first innings was England’s best for this wicket against Pakistan in all Tests. This obliterated the previous highest of 227 between Alec Stewart and Robin Smith at Edgbaston in 1992.
The partnership was also the highest for England against Pakistan for any wicket beating the 248 run-partnership between Colin Cowdrey and Ted Dexter for second wicket at The Oval in 1962.
Inzamam-ul-Haq (114 & 85) twice top scored in the match for Pakistan. It was the fourth instance when He was performing this feat. The other three occasions being such occasion for him when he top scored in each innings of a Test for England. The other occasions being : v Zimbabwe (71 out of 322 & 65 out of 158) and (101 out of 231 & 83 out of 250) in the first and third Test at Harare in 1994-95 and v Sri Lanka (86 out of 256 & 138 out of 421) at Karachi in 1999-00.Inzamam now holds the record of top scoring in each innings of a Test on most occasions for Pakistan moving ahead of Wasim Raja who had three such instances. Inzamam also joined the ranks of four other batsmen -David Gower,Mike Atherton,Brian Lara and Andy Flower-who had top scored in each innings of a Test on as many as four occasions. The world record, however stands on the name on Indian little master Sunil Gavaskar with five such instances.
The wicket of Andrew Caddick in second innings was 150th for Saqlain Mushtaq in his 35th Test. He became 65th bowler in Test annals and eighth Pakistani to reach this milestone.
The wicket of Darren Gough in second innings was 50th for Waqar Younis against England in his 11th Test. He became third Pakistani after Abdul Qadir (82 wickets in 16 Tests) and Wasim Akram (57 wickets in 18 Tests) to do so.
Wasim Akram has now dismissed 79 batsmen for a duck in Tests which equals West Indian Courtney Walsh’s world record. Akram, though has played in only 102 Tests as against Walsh’s 132. Incidentally a total of 10 bowlers have recorded 50 or more scoreless victims. Akram and Walsh are followed by Curtly Ambrose (76),Kapil Dev (68),Richard Hadlee (66), Waqar Younis (66),Imran Khan (61), Glenn McGrath (60),Malcolm Marshall (57) and Bob Willis (57).
England,comfortably placed at 229 for four in second innings ,was reduced to 230 for eight losing four wickets while adding only one run. It was the joint worst four wicket collapse for an English side against Pakistan. England was bundled out for 175 after being 174 for six in the Lord’s Test in 1992.
England’s total of 261 was its highest against Pakistan in the fourth innings of a Test. The previous highest was 243 at Lord’s in 1996. England suffered defeat on both these occasions. Incidentally England’s highest winning total in the fourth innings of a Test against Pakistan is 219 for seven at Headingley in 1982.
For only the fifth time in Test history a two match series ended with a score of 1-1. The other such series are : England v Australia in Australia (1876-77),Australia v Pakistan in Australia (1976-77),Pakistan v New Zealand in Pakistan (1996-97) and India v Pakistan in India (1998-99).
At the end of the series :
England’s overall Test record : played 781,won 265,lost 225 and drawn 291.Pakistan’s overall Test record : played 278,won 79,lost 68 and drawn 131.Nasser Hussain’s captaincy record : played 21,won 9,lost 6 and drawn 6.Alec Stewart’s captaincy record : played 15,won 4,lost 8,drawn 3.Waqar Younis’ captaincy record : played 3,won 2,lost 1.
ScorecardBenny Howell recorded his maiden first-class hundred (file photo)•PA Photos
Benny Howell helped himself to a first ever first-class century as Gloucestershire moved into a position of strength at the end of the third day of their Division Two game against Leicestershire at Cheltenham.Without so much as a first-class half-century this summer and with a previous best of 83 not out back in 2012, Howell posted three figures for the first time in his career on the penultimate day of the Cheltenham Festival.It was an innings of real grit and determination from the 26-year-old on a day when Leicestershire were left to wonder what might have been had wicket keeper Lewis Hill have held on to a catch from Michael Klinger in the first hour.Klinger, despite losing third wicket partner Gareth Roderick for 19, passed 50 shortly after lunch. However, having reached 60, the Australian, who was standing in as captain for the injured Ian Cockbain, edged Charlie Shreck to a grateful Hill, at 131 for 4.Leicestershire, sensing their opportunity, continued to bowl with purpose thereafter as Howell and Kieran Noema-Barnett did their bit to nudge the total forward.The fifth wicket pair passed 150 in the 74th over and put the host county in a strong position at tea.Howell, who recognised his responsibility in the absence of Cockbain, dropped anchor and batted with genuine care and attention before the new ball was taken, by Mark Cosgrove, in the 81st over.With Noema-Barnett providing solid support, Howell pushed on and eventually reached his 50 off 156 balls, with four fours and one six.After tea, and with the wicket playing as well as it had done at any time over the first three days, Noema-Barnett celebrated his first 50 in Gloucestershire colours, off 86 balls and with Howell put on 139 for the fifth wicket before chipping a half volley from Shreck to extra cover.Having celebrated his 100, off 202 balls, Howell, who hit 12 fours and a six, was out off the very next ball, lbw to Clint McKay for 102.Gloucestershire’s late order added valuable runs in the final session before their second innings finally came to an end when Liam Norwell was caught behind off Raine. Shreck was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 5 for 82 from 34 overs.Having been set a target of 325 to win, Leicestershire survived the final eight overs of the day to reach 11 without loss.
Celtic have now reportedly set their sights on welcoming a Serie A striker to fulfil Wilfried Nancy’s request to sign attacking reinforcements in January.
Nancy: "I don't have to prove anything" at Celtic
On paper, choosing to welcome a new manager ahead of a title clash against Hearts, a Europa League game against AS Roma and the Scottish Cup final against St. Mirren always looked like a bold decision. And whilst fortune favours the bold, there’s no denying that Celtic may be regretting their timing.
Nancy entered Glasgow ahead of two of Celtic’s biggest games of the season so far and has become the first manager in their history to lose in his first three games as a result. Despite instant criticism, however, he’s insisted that he has nothing to prove in the Scottish Premiership.
The January transfer window will be crucial if the Bhoys are to turn things around and Nancy has already set his sights on attacking additions such as Younnes Ebnoutalib and now Giuseppe Ambrosino.
Celtic still eyeing Giuseppe Ambrosino move
According to Il Mattino and CalcioNapoli24, as relayed by Sport Witness, Celtic have set their sights on signing Ambrosino from Napoli after already holding talks with his agent in the summer.
Peter Lawwell has stepped down from his role at the club this week, but it seems their summer interest in the Italian has not waned despite the change at board level.
Lawwell drops bombshell parting dig at one thing he "cannot accept" about Celtic
Fans are delighted…
ByBen Goodwin
Indeed, The Bhoys are still eyeing the Serie A forward in an attempt to satisfy Nancy’s request for a new striker in January. With Romelu Lukaku set to return from injury in Naples, they could have the perfect opportunity to land Abrosino on loan this winter.
Although the 22-year-old has struggled for game time under Antonio Conte, his former U19s coach Emmanuel Cascione had nothing but positives to say earlier this year.
He told reporters when asked about Ambrosino: “When I arrived on the Napoli Primavera bench, the decision was to let him go. He wasn’t that well-liked.
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“I opposed it because I saw some special qualities in him, even though there was still work to be done , especially in terms of his mentality. But he has some important characteristics.
“He’s a technically good player, powerful, he can see the goal, he’s shrewd, crafty. Maybe he needed a bit more physical condition and stamina during matches.”
Celtic flop is looking like a bigger waste of money than Nygren & Tounekti
The MCC announced in a press release on Tuesday morning that a further vote on allowing women to become members of the club will take place on September 28. It follows a defeated motion to enable women to join in February; although more than 50% were in favour, it was not a sufficient number to achieve the two-thirds majority required.Speaking on BBC Radio, former England captain Rachael Heyhoe-Flint said she felt the current situation was discriminatory against “women who are genuinely interested in cricket and want to become members of, allegedly, the greatest club in the world”.Even though there have been many controversial changes in cricket, including the introduction of coloured clothing and third umpires, the MCC has remained a male dominated organisation and because of this it is reputed by some as being ‘out of touch’. In June the MCC Committee commissioned a MORI questionnaire amongst the membership to try and gauge opinion.In addition, the lack of female members was one of five major reasonsthe MCC was recently denied a lottery grant to assist in theconstruction of new buildings at Lord’s. The proposals which are nowbeing distributed to members suggest that up to 70 women should beallowed to become playing members of the club within the next twoyears, with the waiting list unaffected. It is also proposed toreserve one of the bars in the pavillion for men only.Sarah Potter, a UK newspaper reporter and former England player,defended the proposals saying “Lord’s has a responsibility torepresent the sport.”Currently there are nearly 18,000 members and a waiting list tojoin the club of around 18 years. However the Committee has the rightto appoint honourary and honourary life members. Those who play 10games of cricket for MCC then the waiting time is reduced to two years.
May 14, 1948 Bob Woolmer is born in Kanpur, India1968 Made his first-class debut for Kent. Scored an unbeaten 50August 24, 1972 Played the first of his six one-day internationals, against Australia at Old Trafford. Took 3 for 33; did not bat1975 Selected in England’s World Cup squad, but broke his hand before the tournament started and forced to do 12th man dutiesJuly 31, 1975 Made his Test debut against Australia at Lord’s. Made 64 runs, and took a wicketSeptember 3, 1975 Scored a 495-minute 149 in only his second Test, at The Oval, to save the game against Australia1976 Named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the YearJune-July, 1977 Scored back-to-back centuries against Australia at Lord’s and Old Trafford. His 137 at Old Trafford was his last fifty-plus score in Test cricket1977 Signed up for the Kerry Packer-led World Series Cricket1980 Returned to Test cricket, playing two matches against West IndiesJuly 7, 1981 Played the last of his 19 Tests, against Australia, again at Lord’s. Made 21 and 9.1982 Joined the rebel tour to South Africa, which ended his career as an England player1984 Retired from first-class cricket and emigrated to South Africa, where he takes up coaching assignments in high schools1991 Appointed director of coaching at Warwickshire1994 Warwickshire win three out of four trophies, and are runners-up in the NatWest Trophy, with Woolmer as coach.1994 – 1999 Took over as coach of South Africa. During that period, South Africa won 21 Tests out of 44, emerging victorious in ten Test series out of 15. South Africa emerged as one of the leading one-day sides during his tenure, winning 83 out of 111 matches between December 1994 and June 1999.1999 World Cup His swansong as South Africa coach which came to an unfortunate end after South Africa were knocked out in a thrilling semi-final against Australia. He was in the news for different reasons at the start of the tournament when cameras caught him conversing with captain Hansie Cronje through a earpiece when South Africa took the field against India.2001 Takes over as ICC’s High Performance Manager, working towards the development of the game among the Associate countries, helping them compete in the 2003 World Cup.March 2003 Was one of the candidates shortlisted for the coach of West Indies.August 2003 Turns down an offer to coach Sri Lanka.June 2004 – March 2007 Took over as Pakistan coach from Javed Miandad after Pakistan’s home-series defeat against India. His contract was to run till the end of the 2007 World Cup. In this period, Pakistan win 37 out of 69 one-dayers and ten Tests out of 28.