The ongoing tussle between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) continued yesterday with the WIPA accusing the board of “unilateral” decision-making.In a media release signed by president and CEO Dinanath Ramnarine, WIPA criticised the regional board for “this unilateral process that the WICB continues to insist on taking in deciding what is to be or not to be…”, which WIPA “cannot accept”.Ramnarine was referring to Monday’s announcement by the WICB that they had agreed to a five-year extension of the current sponsorship contract with Digicel, until 2012. The deal is reportedly worth US $4 million “without any deductions”.The statement said that: “while WIPA is pleased to know that the West Indies Cricket Board is always looking for ways to improve its finances through its sponsors or any other company”, the lack of consultation with the players was a blatant breach of the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] between both parties.Ramnarine added: “This [recent unilateral action/absence of consultation] by the WICB continues to undermine the maintenance and strengthening of good relations between both parties. Furthermore, WIPA is now forced to pay more careful attention to the protection of the players’ intellectual property rights,” the release continued.The WIPA head referred to Article 11 of the MOU, which he said made it “quite clear” that “prior consultation with WIPA is necessary before any such sponsorship agreement is signed”.”It would appear,” Ramnarine stated, “that WICB chose to ignore advising WIPA of its intention to re-negotiate with Digicel. Having come to an agreement without consulting with WIPA, the board decided to make the deal public and as an afterthought, stated that WIPA would be forwarded a copy of the agreement for its perusal.”
Australia’s bush adventure started as a mission impossible, but after five days of John Buchanan’s squad scrambling around south-east Queensland like young army recruits he felt it was “mission accomplished”. An unnecessary injury was the chief concern so Cricket Australia provided increased insurance for their players, and there was relief from all sides as the group wound down in the luxury of the Hyatt Coolum resort today with satisfied smiles and hard-earned anecdotes.”The experience was sensational,” Ricky Ponting, who will leave the camp for a day due to a death in his family, said. “John has to take a lot of credit for it because he went out on a limb to do it. There was some apprehension from the players at the beginning but once we started getting involved it was great.”On opening night the men slept under the stars in the Beerwah State Forest, north of Brisbane, and the remaining three sleeps were spent snuggled beneath a couple of tarpaulins close to the McPherson Range, south-west of the Queensland capital. Rations were limited to test the players – the first evening’s menu was half a tin of soup and a piece of bread and the final-night offering was a steak and a potato – and there were endurance exercises on flat roads, in the hills of the Lamington National Park and during the middle of some nights.”The purpose was personal development and team development, working together and understanding the other blokes,” Buchanan said. “I think we achieved that.”Each morning a van drove into the fireless campsites playing a western song to wake up the group, and tasks during the adventure included abseiling and rappelling, navigating by the stars and gruelling runs and walks. Old-style army packs were deliberately supplied to add to the discomfort and were filled with a couple of pairs of khaki pants, socks and shirts, a waterproof jacket and a comfortable sleeping bag. The six-man outfits also shared the load of a roll of toilet paper, a shovel and tarpaulins.”Walking away from it, I’ve had a great time and learnt lots of things about myself and a lot about guys in the team in different situations,” Ponting said. “We were taken to the edge a lot of times, and to see how people reacted under pressure and under stress was really good for us.” The camp concludes over the next two days with team meetings, educational lectures on behavioural codes of conduct and drug regulations, media duties and some rest.
Frank Shipston, the world’s oldest first-class cricketer and former batsman for Nottinghamshire, has died on the eve of his 99th birthday. He passed away earlier this month at his son’s home on July 6.Shipston, who was born in 1906, joined Nottinghamshire’s groundstaff at the start of 1925 and made his debut the same season. He went on to play 49 matches for Nottinghamshire, scoring 1183 runs at 18.48. His best season was in 1932 when he made 461 runs at 35.46, primarily as an opener, although his two first-class hundreds – both made that season and both unbeaten – came from the middle order.At the end of that summer he decided to join the Nottinghamshire police, with the support of his Chief Constable, Captain Popkess, a fanatical cricket fan. Popkess was keen to employ former county professionals, such as Shipston, to strengthen the police squads and he gave his name to the amateur police league: the Popkess Cup is still contested to this day.Shipston returned to professional cricket in 1956, this time as a first-class umpire. He completed one full season before becoming Nottinghamshire’s coach, a position which he held from 1957 to 1966.Shipston became the oldest cricketer on the death of Western Australia’s Ted Martin in 2002.
So much for that lack of a Plan B. Before the series, Brian Lara had spoken bullishly of England’s one-dimensional game plan, suggesting that Steve Harmison was their only source of wickets. But his words came back to haunt him on the final day of the Lord’s Test. By the time Ashley Giles had ripped a magnificent delivery through Lara’s gate and into middle stump, en route to his first five-wicket haul in England, West Indies were a busted flush and England were sauntering to their seventh victory in their last eight Tests, and seven in their last nine against the once-mighty Windies.The emergence of Giles as a genuine attacking option has been the revelation of this summer’s Test programme. He managed just two wickets in the entire series in the Caribbean, and was rumoured to be considering his future in the game, but for now, all his worries have been transferred onto the shoulders of the West Indians, who have had just two days to gather their wits and regroup ahead of tomorrow’s second Test at Edgbaston.The size of West Indies’ defeat – 210 runs – is a particular cause for concern, because if truth be told, England’s performance had considerable scope for improvement. There were, of course, some hugely noteworthy highlights – Giles’s haul, Michael Vaughan’s twin hundreds, Robert Key’s maiden double-century, and Andrew Strauss’s ongoing love-in at Lord’s – but other aspects of England’s game were less impressive. The two Joneses, Geraint and Simon, were disappointing by recent standards, and while Harmison was more than entitled to an off-day, it was unfortunate that the semi-fit Andrew Flintoff had to be relied on to paper over the cracks.For all the protestations of the England camp, Flintoff’s ankle continues to gnaw away at the current feelgood factor. Yesterday, the chief medical officer, Dr Peter Gregory, insisted that the injury was responding well to treatment, and today Vaughan warned that Flintoff could be expected to produce more overs than at Lord’s. But it can only be hoped that his galumphing bowling is called upon as little as possible this week. Given that Simon Jones is struggling with a bruised toe, England may opt to give James Anderson a first Test outing since December. Edgbaston is a venue that could favour swing bowling, and Anderson’s youthful eagerness to impress would add an extra zing to England’s attack.Mark Butcher, who suffered whiplash in a car accident last week, has already been ruled out of the match after aggravating a thigh strain – a development which spared the selectors a tricky decision, and ensured that Key did not become the second England cricketer after Geoffrey Boycott to be dropped after scoring a double-century. “I’d be disappointed to be dropped,” Key admitted to the BBC, “but Butcher deserves more than someone crashing into the back of him and missing out on a few Tests.”
Aside from Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s batting feats, West Indies had few positives to take from Lord’s. Tino Best and Fidel Edwards were living proof that speed without accuracy is an invitation to get pummelled, and it was left to the more level-headed Pedro Collins to show them the way with some coolly probing left-arm swing. It is highly probable that the newly arrived Corey Collymore will find a berth in the side as well. Collymore picked up a mere three wickets against England in the Caribbean, but he was hugely unlucky in his performances, and more often than not he played a vital holding role with his line-and-length approach.For Lara, tomorrow’s match is a return to the scene of one of his most memorable feats – his world-record 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994. “I have very good memories there,” he admitted, and certainly it has been a favoured venue on his two previous appearances there with West Indies. In 2000, they took an early lead in the series with an emphatic innings-and-93-run victory (Lara made 50), while five years before that, Courtney Walsh and Ian Bishop mugged England on an absolute minefield of a track, in a two-and-a-bit-day match where Robin Smith produced a mini-masterpiece with his second-innings 41 out of 89.Bishop was back on the attack yesterday, although this time it was the West Indians in his sights. “I don’t want to hear the excuse that this is an inexperienced side,” he told the Channel 4 website, adding that it was time for the team, and the captain in particular, to start taking responsibility for their results. “Lara’s record as captain is not very good and this is a tour that will determine whether he is the right person to lead the West Indies in the future.” Another defeat here, and the Wisden Trophy will be lost for another four years – it is fair to say that Lara knows only too well what is at stake tomorrow.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Robert Key, 4 Michael Vaughan (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 James Anderson.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 8 Omari Banks, 9 Tino Best, 10 Pedro Collins, 11 Corey Collymore.
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club announce that Amethyst Honda will be selling tickets for their home one-day National Cricket League matches .Chief Executive, Tom Richardson explains that, "we have had a successful partnership with Amethyst Honda who are our car suppliers and this agreement on tickets, further cements the relationship. We have been conscious of the need to have a ticket outlet in a prime position in Cheltenham, with easy car access and we are most grateful to Amethyst Honda for filling this void".Advance tickets sold through Amethyst Honda will be at the reduced rate of £10 for adults and £5 for children.Paul Boyce, Managing Director of Amethyst Honda said, "at Amethyst we are proud of our continued association with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and are delighted to have been selected as the Business Centre for North Gloucestershire. This means that we are the main ticket distribution centre for Gloucestershire Cricket Club Home one-day matches, and for the Gloucester and Cheltenham Festivals".Visit Honda and SEAT showrooms on Gloucester Road, Cheltenham, open 7 days a week, Monday to Friday 8.30am – 6.00pm, Saturday 9.00am – 5.00pm and Sunday 10.00am to 4.00pm or telephone 01242 570088. Tickets are now available, so don’t delay book yours today. On visiting the showroom ask for Sunita.We look forward to seeing you.For further information please contact: Jon Fletcher, Sales Manager on 0117 9108046
Following their marathon batting performance in the quarter-finalclash against MRF, New Zealand ‘A’ failed abysmally in their semifinal encounter against Indian Railways at the MA Chidambaram Stadiumin Chennai. On winning the toss and electing to bat, New Zealand ‘A’were shot out for 129 in 57 overs by the spin duo of Sanjay Satpathyand Murli Kartik. In response, Indian Railways are a healthy 114/4 andin sight of the crucial first innings lead.It was Mark Richardson, dismissed in the first over every timepreviously in this series who gave the innings a semblance ofrespectability. Carrying the bat with a patient 59, Richardson watchedin dismay as his partners all failed to reach double figures when theluncheon interval was taken. New Zealand ‘A’ were teetering at thebrink at 77/7. A late in the order ‘recovery’ from the last twobatsmen, Shane Bond (14) and Paul Wiseman (10) saw New Zealand ‘A’limp to 129 all out.The heroes on the day for Indian Railways were without a shadow ofdoubt their spinners. Former India left arm spinner Murali Kartikscalped 3/34 from 18 overs and knocked the top order out. Once heopened the flood gates, off spinner Sanjay Satpathy took over, gettingrid of the last six wickets. Satpathy’s 6/55 off 21 overs was easilythe highlight of the day.In response, Indian Railways lost three quick wickets and were in aspot of bother at 23/3. Murali Kartik however, underlined hisimportance to the Railways team, spanking an unbeaten 54 that included8 fours and 2 sixes. Yere Goud, unbeaten on 34 (97 balls, 6 fours)helped Railways get within striking distance of the New Zealand ‘A’first innings total.
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe was backed by PIF in the January transfer window as a number of players were brought in to the club.
Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Matt Targett, Chris Wood and Bruno Guimaraes all came in and it seems likely that they will be active again in the summer to further improve the squad if they can.
However, another source of talent Howe could utilise is the academy set-up at St. James’ Park as he could find promising youngsters to supplement his first-team set-up.
Coloccini 2.0
One player who he needs to take a look at during pre-season later this year is central defender Lewis Cass, who has been on loan at Port Vale this season.
Howe could unearth Fabricio Coloccini 2.0 by bringing the centre-back into the senior fold as he has the potential to grow into the role he played and must give him a chance to impress ahead of the 2022/23 season.
He is set to miss the remainder of the current campaign through injury and this setback could give him the motivation to come back in the summer and nail down a first-team spot with the Magpies. The defender has shown signs of promise on and off the pitch whilst out on loan and is a player worth taking a look at.
On the pitch, he has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 6.95 in the EFL Trophy for the Football League side, winning 60% of his duels, whilst also playing 19 times in League Two prior to his knock. This suggests that he was thriving at senior level despite being just 21, which highlights the potential he has to improve further as he gains more experience.
Port Vale supporters club chairman Mark Porter previously lauded the player’s maturity beyond his years, saying:
“He seems a commanding player who, as he grows, could become a leader, a captain. I think he has all the attributes to make it at a higher level. Let’s hope he can start his journey at Port Vale, sign permanently and then who knows where he could go in the next few years.”
These comments suggest that he is captain material and could be a player who goes on to wear the armband in the future for the Toon if he is able to fulfill his potential. Therefore, he could have an impact on and off the pitch with his leadership as he can make a difference with his words during games and around the dressing room/training ground to give his teammates a lift.
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This is why he could be the next Coloccini as the Argentine Newcastle icon was the club’s skipper for a number of years and made well over 200 appearances for the side during his time in England, with both players also playing in the same position – centre-back. Cass is a strong defender, based on his statistic for Port Vale, and has the personality to match the Toon legend in his leadership role, which is why he could be the next Coloccini for Howe.
Whilst he may not be ready to come in and immediately be a regular in the Premier League, Howe could expose the youngster to some minutes in the top-flight and ease him in or opt to send him out on loan to a higher level to gain more experience. For example, he could spend a season in the Championship to aid his development and put him in a place where he can come back and make the first-team grade at Newcastle.
AND in other news, Huge blow: Eddie Howe suffers “serious setback” that will leave Newcastle fans gutted…
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMishab-ul-Haq led the way for Rangpur with 61 off 39 balls•BCB
Mohammad Amir claimed career-best T20 figures on his BPL debut but he was unable to prevent Rangpur Riders from winning off the last ball, by two wickets, in the tournament opener against Chittagong Vikings. Misbah-ul-Haq’s clever late onslaught coupled with Thisara Perera revived Rangpur after they had looked dead in their chase.With 14 required off the last over, Darren Sammy half-connected with a slower ball from Shafiul Islam for a six over long-off before he was dropped by Asif Ahmed at deep cover. Sammy then scythed the fourth ball for a boundary through point but the fifth ball had him run-out going for a second. With one run needed off the last ball, Saqlain Sajib ran through for the single and threw his bat in delight.Despite the last-over heroics of Sammy, it was Misbah who played the innings that swung the game Rangpur’s way, hammering four big sixes down the ground in his 39-ball 61. He shared an 80-run sixth wicket stand after Rangpur had seemed done for at 87 for 5 in the 13th over, having already added 64 for the fifth wicket with Al-Amin. Misbah remained the strong accumulator and used his experience to release the pressure by hitting late sixes and fours.Comeback kid Amir removed the dangerous Perera and Misbah with consecutive deliveries of the 19th over. Amir had earlier taken the wickets of the openers Lendl Simmons and Soumya Sarkar – who had earlier been dropped by Asif from his first ball – in consecutive deliveries, too, as Rangpur were reduced to 23 for 4 in the fifth over. Soumya’s leg-before decision was iffy, however, as all three stumps were exposed when the ball hit his pad.The thrill of having a tournament start with Shakib Al Hasan bowling the first ball to Tamim Iqbal didn’t disappoint the modest Mirpur crowd but it was Jeevan Mendis who made the difference to give Chittagong their competitive total. He came in to bat in the comfort of 117 for 2 in the 13th over but saw three wickets fall quickly, his team slipping to 134 for 5 in the 16th over. Jeevan made 39 off 18 balls, adding 44 runs for the sixth wicket with Asif. He was at his best in the 18th and 19th overs, hitting Abu Jayed and Arafat Sunny for sixes over square leg, long-on and midwicket.Chittagong must have thought a big total was around the corner after the way Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tamim Iqbal blazed to 50 runs in just four overs. Later Tamim and Anamul Haque added 65 runs for the second wicket, with the Chittagong captain reaching his 50 off 32 balls before getting caught at deep midwicket off Sajib in the 13th over to start the mini-collapse that had them losing 4 for 17 runs in 2.5 overs.Both the collapses in the two innings became inconsequential as Misbah batted like the master of chase that is known for.
You have to envy VVS Laxman. Not for his sinuous wrists, not for his graceful movements, not for his languid batting style but simply for having the pleasure of standing at second slip when India’s pace bowlers are in operation. Standing between Sachin Tendulkar, at first slip, and Sourav Ganguly, at third, he is often the silent participant in some intense discussions, ones where the two on either side chirp away merrily.While they’re batting together, though, there’s no third party. Yet they rarely relent. During their 96-run stand this morning, the early parts of which were spent negotiating the second new ball, mid-pitch conferences raged along. Whether it was advice, tactics, or plans for the evening is anyone’s guess but they often resembled doubles partners on a tennis court. They’ve played together for about ten years, they’ve opened the batting for long in the one-day format, and they’ve played under each other’s captaincy. You’d think they would have exhausted all they had to say; it appears they’ve just got started.India’s biggest challenge today, with the sun out and the pitch playing true, was to negate the effects of the second new ball. Ganguly, usually circumspect in these conditions, flowed; Tendulkar, who you’d expect to be more solid, dug a small hole for himself. Almost every time Ryan Sidebottom beat Tendulkar’s bat, or appealed for a leg-before, Ganguly had a word with his partner.At the other end, Ganguly eagerly took on Chris Tremlett and James Anderson, cover-driving as if all was well. Ganguly’s statements about the ball doing “a bit in the morning” and Sidebottom bowling “well to Sachin” must go down as big under-statements. It was doing much more than a bit, and he did much better than well. “To get through the second new ball in the morning was important,” he said. “And we knew if we could get runs on the board, we’d be in a good position to win the match.”Both handled Monty Panesar expertly, using their bats more often than their pads. Tendulkar stepped out on a few occasions, crunching an aggressive cover-drive over the infield, while Ganguly took a few big strides forward and caressed him all along the ground. What was the plan then, did they have any specific targets? “There were no targets,” dead-batted Ganguly. “Just bat. It was just the third morning of a match and there was a lot of time left. We thought we’ll just bat and whatever comes, comes.” More like, just chat.
It’s tough to spot similarities in their batting, or indeed their personalities. One is quiet, the other tends to be brash; one is a great batsman who struggled to lead, the other a great captain who sometimes struggled with the bat. Both had their innings sawed off with dubious umpiring decisions – one stood transfixed before trudging off, the other rushed off spewing venom, flaying his bat angrily. Tendulkar was spotted cooling off with an ice-cream; Ganguly was “alright”. “Some go your way, some go against”, said Ganguly who started the press conference with “I don’t want to speak about the decision” and ended it with “You have to live with it”. Simon Taufel, it seems, can breathe easy.Does he think India can pull off their first Test win at Trent Bridge? “I think 480 is still a big total. We were 280-290 ahead, and the wicket is going to deteriorate. On the third day of a Test anywhere in the world, the wicket is going to be good. It’s the fourth and fifth day it’s going to deteriorate.”But, crucially, what does he have to say about Tendulkar’s knock? “There’s nothing you can talk about Sachin, he produces it every time and hope he keeps doing the same.” If he does, and if Ganguly too keeps joining him, it’s time those stump mikes were shifted to the middle of the pitch.
Dubbing Sourav Ganguly a “baccha” (kid), Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), today said he was committed to helping all players including Ganguly.”He is a . It’s not right to talk about ,” Dalmiya said responding to persistent questions from journalists on whether he would still back Ganguly who had sent an email days before the CAB elections accusing the ruling faction of ‘playing’ with his career.As CAB president, Dalmiya said he was committed to help the players of Bengal. “I’ll definitely help him. [But] why only Sourav? As president and secretary of BCCI I stood by [Virender] Sehwag during the ball tampering controversy. I also supported Sachin [Tendulkar], Harbhajan [Singh] when the going got tough for them. I have always looked after players. It is a religion for me. And, I cannot compromise on this,” he told a media conference in the small hours after defeating Prasun Mukherjee, the Kolkata Police Commissioner .Asked whether he would fight for Ganguly’s return to the Indian team, Dalmiya said “Why not? I’ve always been optimistic about his return. I’ve always said that there is a lot of cricket left in him.”Dalmiya said, however, that if the CAB members wanted, there could be a discussion on Ganguly’s allegation that his [Dalmiya’s] faction had leaked Greg Chappell’s email to the Board last September. Chappell’s email, containing damning observations about Ganguly as a player and captain, had created a huge controversy.