All posts by h716a5.icu

The most important sporting event this year for the country of South Africa starts in June, but for the cricket team the next five days are what matters

Andrew McGlashan in Cape Town02-Jan-2010The most important sporting event this year for the country of South Africa starts in June, but for the cricket team the next five days are what matters. Defeat at Newlands is an unthinkable prospect as it would mean back-to-back series defeats on home soil and that is not the record of a team that wants to dominate the world stage.Since the heavy loss in Durban the hosts have insisted that there isn’t a need to panic, but the feeling is growing that a tipping point is being reached on many levels. Graeme Smith has an impressive CV as captain, but a series loss to England would be a major blot. The same is true for coach Mickey Arthur, whose relationship with Mike Procter, the convenor of selectors, has been under the microscope for some time.Smith has overseen the departures of two England captains – Nasser Hussain in 2003 and Michael Vaughan 2008 – so it would be a twist of fate if roles were reversed. However, he is the safest of the main men when it comes to his position, partly because he is a strong figure and commands respect, but also because there are no obvious candidates to replace him. That is not the case for Arthur or Procter and they are the two who will be increasingly nervous should South Africa’s poor form continue into the New Year.”We’ve had many, many important Test matches. But obviously being one down in the series so far, this is a crucial one,” Smith said. “As a team we have prepared well and it’s about following those processes over the next five days. There will be times when the game is on the line, but let’s hope we can manage those breaking points better than England.”Despite winning just a single Test in 2009, Smith remains comfortable in his role and is confident that he still has the backing of the team. “No doubt about that, if I didn’t I would walk away,” he said. “I’ve been a part of seeing two England captains walk away so I’ve had a lot of experience of looking at things. I’m very comfortable, but if someone felt differently then so be it and we look to extend our careers in other ways.”You constantly reassess your position as captain, even through the good times I have reassessed whether I’m the right man for the job. From a personal perspective I’m pretty relaxed about that, I’m pretty comfortable with what I’ve achieved.”Smith can draw on past experiences of hauling his team back from behind in a Test series at home. India, in 2006-07, and West Indies in 2007-08 each took a surprise early advantage before the home side fought back with consecutive victories. Coupled with South Africa’s impressive Newlands record it means the home side can’t be underestimated, but Smith knows there are no room for mistakes.”We’re ready for tomorrow. We were outplayed in Durban but we’ve been honest about that, had a look in the mirror and guys have trained and prepared well,” he said. “It’s a ground where we’ve got a lot of confidence and we want to build on that now in the next five days.”Sometimes it’s difficult to put your finger on the little thing that’s missing. It’s been disappointing that we haven’t been able to produce. Our style of play hasn’t changed. But the players maybe haven’t produced the level of performance of the previous two years. It’s important we get back to that now, starting tomorrow.”Dale Steyn should be more of a threat in this game after putting 34 overs under his belt in Durban in his first match back from injury. However, he will need to lead from the front and show why he is ranked as the leading bowler in the world. It’s time for South Africa’s match-winners to stand up.

The former Sussex captain John Barclay has been nominated as the next president of Marylebone Cricket Club

Cricinfo staff13-May-2009The former Sussex captain John Barclay has been nominated as the next president of Marylebone Cricket Club. His appointment was made on Wednesday at Lord’s during MCC’s Annual General Meeting by Derek Underwood, the current president. His one-year term of office will begin on October 1, 2009.Barclay made his first-class debut for Sussex against Glamorgan in 1972, aged only 16. He played county cricket until 1986, as a solid batsman and more than useful offspinner, scoring 1,000 runs in a season on four consecutive occasions from 1976. His all-round credentials were to the fore in 1979 when he also took 52 wickets. Appointed captain of his county in 1981, he led Sussex to second position in the Championship. He also captained England Young Cricketers on their tour to the West Indies in 1972.Elected a Member in 1972, John Barclay’s MCC credentials are impressive. He was a member of the MCC touring team to West Africa in 1975-76 and the touring team to Bangladesh in 1976-77 and has served on many MCC committees and sub-committees – including Players and Fixtures, Indoor School (which he chaired between 1993 and 1997), Marketing, Cricket and Laws. He has also spent three periods as a member of the MCC committee, clocking up eleven years service since 1990.After he retired from first-class cricket John managed two England major tours overseas and became director of cricket and Coaching for the Arundel Castle Cricket Foundation.John’s recent book, Life Beyond the Airing Cupboard, won the MCC and Cricket Society book of the year prize only last month. He is also president of the England Schools Cricket Association, chairman of the Sussex Cricket Board and chairman of cricket for Sussex.Paying tribute to his successor, a man whom he first played against for Kent against Sussex in 1973 (dismissing him twice in the match, for a pair), Underwood said: “He has the same boyish love and enthusiasm for the game now as he did when he made his first-class debut aged 16.”

Aston Villa confirmed on Tuesday that winger Tyreik Wright has completed a season-long loan move to League Two side Salford City.

And a number of Villa fans were quick to react to the transfer update on social media.

The 19-year-old was one of seven Under-23’s who signed new deals at Villa Park earlier this summer.

Wright, who is yet to make a senior appearance for Villa, has made over 50 appearances for Villa’s respective youth sides and spent the second half of last season on loan at Walsall.

He’ll now get the chance to add to his 16 League Two appearances with The Ammies, who are co-owned by Gary Neville.

Wright has become the eighth Villa U23 who has left on loan this summer, with the likes of Louie Barry and Brad Young also sealing recent moves to Ipswich Town and Carlisle United respectively.

Villa fans react

Villa shared the news regarding Wright on their official Twitter page. This is what these supporters had to say in reply, with one labelling a temporary exit as ‘fantastic’.

“Another one – add him to the list! Good move this for Tyreik”Credit: @AVFCLOAN”Great move all round”Credit: @GW_94″Fantastic opportunity, you will smash it Ty, good luck fella”Credit: @CreaneyTom”Jedinak really earning his money. Getting the youngsters some really decent loan moves”Credit: @andrewstone85″Personally think Villa and Salford could be a perfect link up.”Credit: @doc3d”Wanted to see him get first team game time icl”Credit: @AstonWilll

In other news: Exit news: Ashley Preece thinks ‘underrated’ Aston Villa ace will now leave before window shuts. 

Michael Klinger has justified his move from Victoria to South Australia by being named the best player across all formats in his adopted state in 2008-09

Cricinfo staff02-Apr-2009Michael Klinger has justified his move from Victoria to South Australia by being named the best player across all formats in his adopted state in 2008-09. Klinger’s first season with South Australia culminated in the Redbacks’ top prize, the Neil Dansie Medal, which he won with 300 votes ahead of the second-placed Callum Ferguson on 218.Klinger’s phenomenal season brought him 1203 Sheffield Shield runs at 70.76, first in the competition ahead of Victoria’s Chris Rogers, who like Klinger won the top prize in his first year at his new state. Klinger also received the Lord Hampden Trophy for the best Redbacks player in the Sheffield Shield and shared the limited-overs award with Ferguson.In the FR Cup, Klinger was the state’s top scorer with 469 runs at 52.11 while Ferguson collected 406 at 45.11 and made his one-day international debut at the tail-end of the summer. Daniel Harris won the Barry Jarman Trophy and Kris Britt picked up the Andrea McCauley Trophy as the most outstanding South Australia player in the Women’s National Cricket League.After a string of disappointing seasons, the Redbacks made solid progress in 2008-09 and finished third in both the Sheffield Shield and FR Cup. Jamie Cox, the SACA high performance manager, commended the players for their increased maturity during the summer.”Many of those recognsied tonight have stepped up into new roles both on and off the field,” Cox said. “It has been a watershed year for the Redbacks. Under the leadership of coach, Mark Sorell and captain, Graham Manou the squad has demonstrated the grit and determination needed to earn back the respect of fans and competitors.”

Bangalore Royal Challengers changed their personnel and their batting order against the Delhi Daredevils at St George’s Park but the result was still the same

The Bulletin by George Binoy26-Apr-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Tillakaratne Dilshan scored his second rapid half-century in a row, this one completing a comfortable win•AFPFor a while it looked like Delhi Daredevils’ batsmen had been a tad complacent while chasing a modest target, which Bangalore Royal Challengers’ bowlers defended tenaciously, but an unbeaten half-century from Tillakaratne Dilshan completed their third consecutive win in the tournament. The six-wicket victory took Delhi level with Deccan Chargers on top of the points table, with six each.The only highlight for Bangalore, who suffered their fourth consecutive defeat, was the performance of their weak bowling attack, who kept them in the game longer than most people expected. Their top-order batsmen, despite changes to personnel and order, disappointed once again. Their overseas players failed to fire, and their fielding went to pieces just when they had a sniff at pulling off an upset win.Delhi lost their openers, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, early and Dilshan and AB de Villiers went about chasing the target of 150 calmly. They hardly attempted expansive shots, preferring instead to play the ball into gaps and run swiftly between the wickets. The spinners, Anil Kumble and KP Appanna, bowled a tight line and length and conceded few boundaries. As a result Delhi had scored only 64 for 2 after 10 overs but the equation – 86 runs off the last 10 – was manageable.Dilshan was perhaps lucky to survive a run-out appeal soon after the tactical time-out. He was short of his crease when Ross Taylor’s throw hit the stumps, but the third umpire was not convinced that Boucher had not broken the stumps with his glove before the ball found its target. de Villiers, however, fell soon after, bowled by a delivery from Appanna that turned past the bat from outside leg to hit leg stump. Dinesh Karthik started brightly, clouting a four and a six, but fell soon after, caught by Jacques Kallis at deep cover, and left Delhi at 106 for 4.At this point Bangalore had 43 runs to defend in the last four overs. That was when they needed to raise their game but their fielding let them down during the 17th over, which was bowled by Kallis. Dilshan took a single after smashing the third ball out of St George’s Park, and Mithun Manhas lofted the next towards long-on. Robin Uthappa, who’s having a nightmare of a tournament with the bat, misjudged the catch: he came in too far only for the ball to fly over his head for four. Manhas pulled the next ball to deep midwicket where Appanna mis-fielded to allow another boundary. Delhi scored 19 runs off the over, needed only 24 off the last three, which they managed with ease.Delhi’s batsmen have been their strength so far in the tournament, but today their bowlers laid the platform for victory by restricting Bangalore to 149. They were challenged by Pietersen and Taylor during an aggressive partnership, but the two spinners, Daniel Vettori and Amit Mishra, struck on either side of the strategic time-out to throw Bangalore off course.Delhi’s dominance began with the first ball of the match. Dirk Nannes produced a perfectly pitched delivery which angled across Kallis, who had replaced Jesse Ryder as opener. Kallis thought the ball could be left and shouldered arms, only to hear it clip the top of off stump. It was the fifth time in five matches that a Bangalore opener had been dismissed for a duck.Uthappa had scored 32 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of 71 before today, but Bangalore have almost no option but to play him. His innings ended on 3 when he top-edged a pull off the front foot against Ashish Nehra, when he should have been playing back.Pietersen had said at the toss that he “had to do something today”. He and Taylor made slow starts, but stepped up a gear against Nehra in the fourth over. Bangalore were 45 for 2 after the Powerplay at which point Virender Sehwag introduced spinners from both ends. Mishra was able to tie the batsmen down, but Vettori wasn’t. Taylor cut him deftly for four, and Pietersen charged and hit him over long-on to take 13 runs off his compatriot’s first over. In his second, Pietersen swept powerfully to the boundary but a moment’s rashness cost him his wicket the very next delivery. Pietersen attempted to switch-hit Vettori’s quicker ball through midwicket, but missed and was bowled, falling for 37 in the last over before the tactical time-out.Mishra dealt Bangalore a crippling blow in the first over after the break, trapping Taylor leg before with a googly. Bangalore were struggling at 78 for 4, but managed to reach 149 largely due to Boucher’s blows over the leg-side boundary in the penultimate over.

The allrounder Luke Butterworth had a dream day to give Tasmania the advantage in their push to reach the Sheffield Shield final

Cricinfo staff07-Mar-2009Tasmania 301 and 9 for 289 (Butterworth 77, Krejza 59*, Christian 4-76) lead South Australia 253 (Ferguson 54, Smith 50, Butterworth 5-43) by 337 runs
Scorecard
Points table

Luke Butterworth had a busy day with bat and ball © Getty Images
The allrounder Luke Butterworth had a dream day to give Tasmania the advantage in their push to reach the Sheffield Shield final as they earned a 337-run lead. In the morning Butterworth claimed the second five-wicket haul of his career and in the afternoon he dragged them from a tight spot with a team-high 77 in their 9 for 289.The Tigers needed Butterworth’s contribution after tumbling to 5 for 88, but by the end of the day they wanted 10 wickets to seal a place next to Victoria in Friday’s final. If they win they will jump over Queensland, who are having a horrible time at the MCG.Tasmania had a 48-run buffer on first innings when Butterworth cleaned up the final two tailenders early in the morning to gain 5 for 43. Graham Manou, who was unbeaten on 32, then watched his bowlers make two quick breakthroughs before the Tigers moved away.David Dawson was caught behind off Mark Cleary for 0 while Jon Wells went for 12, leaving the visitors at 2 for 27. George Bailey and Dan Marsh took them from that bout of trouble, but Bailey (30), Birt (0) and Marsh (38) were part of a collapse of 3 for 12 that left them wobbling. Peter George was the main problem, gaining two of those wickets, while Cleary removed Marsh.Tim Paine and Butterworth joined in an important stand of 90 for the sixth wicket before Cleary gained his tenth victim of the match. Paine was lbw to Cleary, who captured 7 for 91 in the first innings, and owned 3 for 45 in the second. Butterworth was bowled by Daniel Christian late in the day, when Jason Krejza hit two sixes in his unbeaten 59. Christian also collected Chris Duval and Jeremy Smith in the same over to capture 4 for 76.

The last time Simon Katich was on an Ashes tour it was Australia having to attempt to force the pace in the final game of the series. Now, it’s England who have all the work to do

Peter English14-Aug-2009The last time Simon Katich was on an Ashes tour it was Australia having to attempt to force the pace in the final game of the series. On that occasion a draw at The Oval left them handing back the urn for the first time in 16 years and Katich lost his place two games later.This time all Australia needs is a draw to retain the Ashes and Katich has enjoyed a much better time, scoring a century in Cardiff and averaging 41.33 in the four games. However, the final Test will determine how this side is judged.”It is a huge week,” he said. “I remember last time very well, we were sort of hoping to get back in the series at The Oval and nearly managed to do that. But nearly is not good enough. It was a great series but is remembered for the wrong reasons from our point of view. This time around we have the chance to really go in and get on top early and make the most of the opportunity and every one will be keen to do that.”Katich, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Brett Lee are the members of the current squad who experienced the damaging 2-1 defeat, and Lee is the only one not expected to be on show as the quartet looks for revenge. Lee is likely to lose his battle to break into the starting XI unless he does something extraordinary during this weekend’s tour match in Canterbury.Katich said the 2005 upset was not being used as motivation for the whole squad, but the memory was still strong for those involved. “It is hard to recreate that because a lot of the guys in our squad did not experience it,” he said. “But for those of us who did it was a bitter pill to swallow to lose the Ashes for the first time in a while. A lot of our young guys have not been through that and we are not going to bring that up with them now.”Australia have their final warm-up from Saturday, playing the England Lions in a two-day game, and Katich wants to work on batting for longer periods after failing to convert starts following his 122 in the opening match. He scored 48 and 6 at Lord’s and 46 and 26 in Birmingham before a fourth-ball duck in Leeds, where the tourists levelled the series 1-1.”There have been a few starts and it has been a bit disappointing I have not been patient enough,” he said. “So from that point of view I have paid the price. It is just a matter of wearing the attack down because they do keep on coming at you.”

The Celtic Way journalist Tony Haggerty believes that Joe Hart is relishing the challenge of playing in front of 60,000 people.

The England international completed a move to Celtic from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, penning a three-year deal with the Hoops. On the same day that Celtic announced Hart had signed, they also announced that James McCarthy had arrived on a four-year deal after leaving Crystal Palace at the end of last season.

Hart has appeared in six games in all competitions for the Hoops so far this season, keeping four clean sheets. His fine form for Celtic hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Celtic fans, with Tony Haggerty telling Football FanCast: “I think he’s relishing the challenge of playing in front of 60,000 people and that becomes addictive for footballers, especially when you’ve had achievements that Joe Hart has, it’s really hard to step away from that kind of limelight, isn’t it? He’s got it back a bit. 

“I think Celtic have been good for Hart as much as Hart has been good for Celtic and he’s maybe got his goalkeeping mojo back and that’s important for footballers I think and I think Joe Hart’s reciprocated that, you know the Celtic supporters just love him.”

Hart’s career achievements have seen him collect two Premier League winners’ medals, two English League Cup winners’ medals and an FA Cup winners medal, along with representing England’s senior team 75 times.

A Pakistan newspaper has reported that Javed Miandad resigned from his position as director-general of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) because of an insufficient salary

Cricinfo staff31-Jan-2009A Pakistan newspaper has reported that Javed Miandad resigned from his position as director-general of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) because of an insufficient salary. The , a Karachi-based daily, has carried a handwritten letter from Wasim Bari, the director of HR and administration, to Saleem Altaf, the PCB’s chief operating officer, after discussing the contract with Miandad.The report said Miandad was offered Rs 500,000 (US$6,300) per month in the contract which the former Test captain and coach refused last Wednesday, resigning from the position he had held since November.”He [Miandad] earns 75,000 rupees/50,000 rupees for a one hour program on TV,” Bari’s letter read. “As he is a renowned international cricketer therefore he should be paid accordingly as [former India coach] Greg Chappell and [former Pakistan coach] Geoff Lawson.”The letter also said that Miandad wanted to take full charge of all cricketing affairs so that he could bring the desired results.Miandad, 51, had stepped down after differences emerged over the exact scope of his role. There was always a lack of clarity over the exact nature of his work. He spoke openly of it as being a troubleshooting role of sorts, delving into whatever areas needed fixing.

The MCG will host every international match scheduled in Melbourne until 2019 under the terms of a new agreement between Cricket Victoria and the Melbourne Cricket Club

Cricinfo staff25-Nov-2008
The MCG has retained its status as Melbourne’s primary cricket venue © Getty Images
The MCG will host every international match scheduled in Melbourne until 2019 under the terms of a new agreement between Cricket Victoria and the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC). The current arrangement was to expire in March 2009 and lengthy talks were required to come to a similar deal for the next decade.Melbourne’s second-largest venue, the Docklands Stadium, was keen to bid for one-day internationals and even thought it had a chance of poaching the Boxing Day Test. Docklands has a retractable roof and held 12 ODIs from 2000 to 2006. But the new agreement has scuppered the plans of the smaller ground, which is primarily an AFL venue.”The MCG is one of world cricket’s premier stadiums,” the Cricket Victoria chairman Geoff Tamblyn said. “Cricket Victoria is delighted to continue its long-standing partnership with MCC and in doing so, provide the best opportunity to invest in the growth of our sport in this state over the next ten years.”The majority of Victoria’s home matches will also continue to be held at the MCG. David Meiklejohn, the MCC president, said the result was a positive outcome for cricket in Victoria.”The MCG has been the spiritual home of Australian cricket since the first Test in 1877 and we are delighted that our association with this great game will continue,” Meiklejohn said. “We have invested heavily in cricket facilities within the new northern stand and we believe the MCG is now one of the finest cricket stadiums in the world, both for players and patrons.”