Persistant rain throughout the day, meant Hampshire and Durham had to sit out the 3rd day of the Frizzell County Championship match at the Rose Bowl.Umpires Graham Burgess and David Constant called an end to proceedings just after the tea interval.With just one day remaining, Hampshire chances of recording their first Championship win of the season have dropped considerably.
The Victorian Bushrangers today named a full strength side to take on the Southern Redbacks next week in their opening match of the 2001/02 Pura Cup season. The match is scheduled to begin next Wednesday, October 17, at the Adelaide Oval.Chairman of Selectors, Shaun Graf, said the final eleven would be selected to suit the conditions in Adelaide. “We have plenty of variety within the twelve selected, so we’ll wait and have a look at the conditions in Adelaide next week”.Coming into the side from last Sunday’s ING Cup match are Captain Paul Reiffel, Mathew Inness, Colin Miller and Matthew Mott.The team for Sunday’s ING Cup match against the Southern Redbacks following the Pura Cup match, will be announced later this week.BUSHRANGERSPaul Reiffel (c), Matthew Elliott (vc), Jason Arnberger, Darren Berry, Damien Fleming, Ian Harvey, Brad Hodge, Mathew Inness, Michael Klinger, Colin Miller, Matthew Mott, Shane Warne.
Newcastle’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at the weekend was their first in the Premier League since the middle of December – when they lost three on the spin against difficult opposition in Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Their excellent run of form that has steered them away at least temporarily from relegation trouble is a testament to Eddie Howe’s revitalising impact he’s had on Tyneside – getting the best out of the players he already had at his disposal, as well as making some smart signings in January.
Even without Allan Saint-Maximin, who suffered a knock and then missed a further game through illness, Newcastle still managed to win seven points out of nine available during his absence – proving that they aren’t so reliant on him anymore.
With that being said, the Frenchman could catch Frank Lampard’s Everton side out tonight – as the Toffees will likely have done preparation on a number of other players who have stepped up in place of the 25-year-old – who now has a huge workload lifted off his back, and can play with a little less pressure on his shoulders.
Having made eight goal contributions in 25 Premier League appearances so far this season, Saint-Maximin only has two in his last ten, and fans would be forgiven if they were beginning to worry that he was burning out – but his time out of the team could be exactly what he needed to return to his best – and against an out-of-form Everton team, he has the perfect opportunity to do so.
After all, in the words of Kieran Trippier, he is a player who “will reach” the standard required to win the Ballon d’Or, something the right-back admits is one of the attacker’s main goals in life.
Valued at £28.8m by Transfermarkt, the £93k-per-week winger has established himself as one of the most exciting talents in Europe since joining the North-East club.
He ranks in the top 2% among players in his position across Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions for carries into the final third per 90 (3.01), top 6% for shot-creating actions per 90 (3.97), but most impressively, ranking as the number one winger for dribbles completed per 90 (4.79).
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With his opponents today all out of sorts and completely disorganised, conceding 12 goals in their last six games in the league, Saint-Maximin could just remind everyone why he is one of the most talked about Premier League talents, and why the likes of Gary Neville have labelled him “breathtaking”.
In other news: PIF can get St James’ bouncing as NUFC plot bid for “untouchable” £45m titan
ScorecardRobin Uthappa struck his third successive century this season, while Mayank Agarwal stroked his maiden first-class century as Karnataka flattened Delhi in a marquee top of the table clash in Hubli. It rained runs on what appeared to be a green top, with Karnataka racing away to 358 for 3 when stumps were drawn. Pawan Suyal, the medium pacer, was the most successful bowler for Delhi with the wickets of R Samarth (17) and Agarwal (118).Uthappa’s 148 was studded with 16 fours and six sixes, with the highlight of the day being his two fours and four sixes in a single over off Dhruv Shorey to race from 95 to 127. It also happened to be his 17th century in the Ranji Trophy to put him joint-second with Rahul Dravid in the list of century makers for Karnataka. Brijesh Patel tops the charts with 26 centuries.
ScorecardAbhimanyu Easwaran’s 88 was the highlight on a day in which 20 wickets fell in Kalyani as Bengal took charge against Odisha despite being bowled out for a paltry 142 in the first innings. While Easwaran was the batting mainstay, Aamir Gani, the offspinner, returned career-best figures of 6 for 34 to skittle Odisha for 107. Easwaran and Sayan Mondal then added 20 without losing a wicket in nine overs as Bengal ended a frenetic day with a 58-run lead.On a day in which little went right for Odisha with the bat, their bowlers gave a good account of themselves, with Dhiraj Singh, the left-arm spinner, taking 5 for 58. Suryakant Pradhan, the medium pacer, had three scalps.
ScorecardPankaj Singh made an impact immediately upon returning from a hamstring injury by taking 4 for 10 in 14.2 overs as Haryana were shot out for 112 in Lahli. Virender Sehwag, who returned to lead the side after missing the last two games because of his commitments with the All-Stars T20 series in USA, top scored with 29, while Mohit Sharma, batting at No.10 contributed 23.Rajasthan’s openers started well with Manendar Singh and Vineet Saxena added 61, before Ashish Hooda broke through to dismiss the debutant for 22. Saxena and Puneet Yadav ensured there would be further casualties as Rajasthan ended the day on 75 for 1, bringing the deficit down to just 37 with the heart of their batting still to come.No play was possible at the MCA Stadium in Pune after overnight rains and a wet outfield forced the players indoors for most parts of the day. When the outfield was good enough for the match to start, the light deteriorated sharply, with umpires calling off play at 4.10pm. Play will begin 15 minutes early on the remaining three days.
ScorecardNicky Boje produced a fine all-round display, following three wickets with an unbeaten 74 as Northamptonshire eased to a six-wicket win, continuing Warwickshire’s alarming slump in form. Boje was well supported by Riki Wessels and David Sales as they chased down 231 with four overs to spare.Warwickshire looked like making a game of it when they removed both Northamptonshire openers early, but Boje and Wessels, who clubbed 52 off 29 balls, added 77 to put the chase on course.Boje then combined with Sales, who faced 52 balls for his runs and hit seven fours and a six. Ant Botha claimed two wickets on his Warwickshire debut, but it wasn’t enough.None of Warwickshire’s batsmen went on to produce a major innings, six of them falling between 24 and 41. Jonathon Trott top scored and some late hitting from Nick James and Alex Loudon boosted the total, although Northamptonshire made it appear well under par.
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Pts | Net RR | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcestershire | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | +0.721 | 909/151.4 | 833/158.0 |
| Nottinghamshire | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | +1.083 | 1106/181.2 | 999/199.1 |
| Sussex | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | +0.146 | 1071/186.5 | 1095/196.0 |
| Lancashire | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | -0.068 | 697/111.3 | 693/109.4 |
| Hampshire | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | +0.347 | 1124/173.3 | 1121/182.5 |
| Northamptonshire | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | -0.546 | 1045/187.0 | 1048/170.5 |
| Essex | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -0.321 | 746/137.0 | 790/137.0 |
| Gloucestershire | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -1.077 | 632/115.0 | 746/113.3 |
| Warwickshire | 7 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -0.648 | 1269/229.0 | 1274/205.5 |
|
Ian Bell, the England and Warwickshire batsman, has spoken of his hunger to rectify his disappointing series against Australia last year and insists he has nothing to prove.Bell enjoyed a superb second half of the summer with England, with three hundreds in successive Tests against Pakistan and 375 runs in four Tests after missing the Sri Lanka series. This followed a consistent run of scores in the winter against India and Pakistan; it has been a marked contrast to the nervous figure who appeared against Australia last summer.”I’ve got 18 Test matches under my belt now compared to three last time I faced Australia. I’ve played a winter on the sub-continent,” said Bell. “I’ve got some experience of playing against the top players in the world and can go to Australia with that in the bank and I’ve also got three hundreds in the last four Tests.”Have I anything to prove in Australia? I don’t feel as if I have to prove anything to myself. I would like to score runs against Australia. But I don’t think I need to go and prove too much to anyone. They would have seen I’ve scored three hundreds in the last four Tests. They will know that. A lot of Australians play county cricket as well so I don’t think I have to prove too much to anyone.”But it would be nice to go out there and score some runs. I was chuffed to bits to be a part of the Ashes side but would like to do more with the bat this time,” he said. “To be part of England retaining the Ashes would be pretty special, especially in their own back yard. That would be great.”I feel I belong more in the Test side now and am mentally stronger. That has come with a bit of experience. I’ve had some ups and downs. I’ve been left out a little bit and then got back in.”In what was generally a disappointing one-day summer for England, Bell’s batting was a lone highlight and, next month, he travels to India for the Champions Trophy.”A lot of cricket is about momentum and, if we can take what we’ve done in the Test matches and the one-dayers at the end of the summer, it will stand us in good stead for the ICC.”If we can win the games well in the ICC, it will also give us some good momentum for going into the World Cup. That’s important and every game for the one-day side, which is sort of emerging with young players, is important.”
James Sutherland, the chief executive officer of Cricket Australia, has expressed worries about the effect increased professionalism is having on the lives of Australian cricketers.”We send mixed messages,” said Sutherland in the 2004-05 edition of , which is published today. “We tell players: `We want you to be the best you can be. You need to do this, this and this to improve. We’ve got a training session at 6am and we’ll be back together at 3pm.’ But if it prevents players developing in other ways, what is that doing for them in real life?”Sutherland rejected suggestions that modern players do not have time to develop life skills beyond cricket. “That’s absolute crap,” he said. “These guys, they do not know what busy is. That’s a great pity. Players at state level shouldn’t go round thinking themselves in clover to the extent that they can simply fritter the winter away not furthering themselves.”But Sutherland did admit that only “10 to 20 players at any one time” earned enough money to justify the sacrifices they make in becoming cricketers. “That means there are 120 to 130 players making significant sacrifices that mean their transition when their cricket career is over will be difficult,” he said. “We haven’t got it right yet.”Sutherland’s interview with marks the 100th anniversary of the inaugural meeting of the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket, now called Cricket Australia. In it, he defends Australia’s controversial decision to tour Zimbabwe last May as “the lesser of two evils”.Sutherland said that if the Australian government did not approve of the Australian side playing against Zimbabwe – whose team was selected partly on the basis of skin colour – then it should have asked them to stay home. “If they’d said that … then we wouldn’t have gone,” Sutherland said. “If the government was serious about that and about the issues in Zimbabwe and an association by Australia as a country … then clearly it should have taken a much stronger stance.”Sutherland also revealed his thoughts on the Prime Minister John Howard’s claim that Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan throws the ball because “they proved it in Perth with that thing”. “I think it [Howard’s comment] would have been better left unsaid,” Sutherland said. “Needless to say, a Prime Minister’s comment will inevitably get airplay, and those about Muralitharan especially so. But I’m not sure the comments were directly responsible for Murali not touring. I don’t think he wanted to come.”Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack Australia 2004-05, edited by Christian Ryan and published by Hardie Grant Books.
The USA have missed out in their bid to host matches during the 2007 World Cup, after the eight selected venues were announced in a press conference by the International Cricket Council. Bermuda and St Vincent were the other unlucky bidders, while a second Jamaican venue was also turned down.The USA is a major untapped market for cricket’s development, and Lauderhill in Florida had been widely tipped to host matches. But despite their expansionist aims, the ICC eventually decided to keep the World Cup an all-Caribbean affair, as it anticipated entry problems for players, and since no reassuarances were given to the ICC that travellers would not face problems entering the country. The decision is good news for St Kitts & Nevis, which had expected to be squeezed out in the final decision, but now have the chance to play host at the biggest sporting event ever held in the region.”Based on the strict criteria used for this event, [the USA] was eliminated,” said Ehsan Mani, the president of the ICC, although he added that the Lauderhill ground could still be used to host warm-up matches, along with Bermuda and St Vincent. Mani has been a driving force behind the globalisation of world cricket, although the need to resuscitate the game in the Caribbean was the tournament organisers’ first priority.”For many years, West Indies were the powerhouses of the sport, giving much joy and inspiration to the game around the world,” said Mani. “They deserve this opportunity and honour. There will be some disappointment among those venues not selected, but hosting the tournament is not simply about individual venues, but how the countries unite together to stage the event.”The cricket community is fully supportive of the West Indies and it is confident that the enthusiasm, commitment and energy of the West Indian people will unite with a collective effort to host a most successful tournament in 2007.”The eight venues were selected following a vigorous vetting process by the ICC’s Venue Assessment Team, which took into account various aspects including the stadium, operations, security, medical facilities, spectator facilities, finance, accommodation, political environment, local organising resources, media facilities, communications and marketing support.Teddy Griffith, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board, described the quality of the applications as “outstanding”, and believed they would leave a strong legacy for cricket in the West Indies. “We were highly impressed with the work done and the efforts made by the respective countries,” said Griffith. “The future of cricket in the West Indies can be sustained beyond 2007.”Of the eight venues for the tournament, six will be upgraded to seat an average of 20,000 spectators, while new venues will be built from scratch in Guyana and Antigua. The 2007 tournament will be the biggest World Cup yet, with 51 matches to be contested between 16 teams, two more than played in 2003. There will be four first-round groups, with the top two from each progressing to a new “Super Eight” second-round format.The schedule for the tournament, which begins in April 2007, will be announced at a press conference in the Caribbean on July 13.The venues
Antigua & Barbuda
Barbados
Grenada
Guyana
Jamaica I
St Kitts & Nevis
St Lucia
Trinidad & TobagoThe losers
Bermuda
Jamaica II
St Vincent & Grenadines
USA
County cricket’s new Twenty20 Cup competition received a major boost with the announcement of new commercial sponsors for the tournament.At the Twenty20 Cup launch at the Kensington Roof Gardens in London today, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that Philips has entered into agreement to sponsor the competition while Nectar, the UK-wide loyalty card programme, has become a marketing partner. The two brands join npower, which was announced as the competition’s first `Official Partner’ in April, and which will, as the UK’s premier energy provider to business, take the lead in marketing the competition through the workplace channel.Tim Lamb, ECB Chief Executive said, Philips has committed to the Twenty20 Cup for an initial two year period with a substantial six figure investment. In addition to actively promoting the Twenty20 Cup, Philips will be a central part of the unique entertainment experience at Twenty20 Cup matches this summer, with Philips Vidiwall LED replay screens being used to provide in-stadia match audiences with replays of all the action.These state-of-the-art replay screens will also be used by the ECB at all international matches to enhance the in-stadia experience for spectators. The ECB and Philips are exploring other areas in which Philips’ world-leading technologies can help the development of cricket in England and Wales.The ECB’s link with Nectar will help to drive awareness and interest in Twenty20 Cup. Customers will be able to gain entry to Twenty20 Cup matches by redemption of three Nectar vouchers (1,500 points). The offer will be promoted to Nectar collectors via a targeted e-mail and by inclusion in marketing materials.This is the first time ECB tickets have been redeemable via a loyalty programme and will assist counties in attracting a family audience to Twenty20 Cup matches. Further competition details and a fixtures list will appear on the Nectar web-site.Nectar customer offer
Philips
Philips is Europe’s largest electronics company with global sales in 2002 of over £20 billion (EUR 31.8 billion). Philips employs 166,000 employees including 6,600 in UK and has 60 global businesses covering consumer electronics, medical systems, semiconductors and Philips Lighting which lights 55% of the world’s soccer stadia.In sport, Philips is an official sponsor of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany and has been involved with the Wimbledon Tennis Championships for 25 years, one of the longest sponsor associations in global sport.Ticket information
Worcestershire needed only 20 minutes on the last morning to wrap up a 112-run victory over Hampshire at New Road.The game only spilled into the final day because Alex Morris smashed 44 from 26 balls to wrecked Worcestershire’s ploy in claiming the extra half-an-hour last night.Play finished at 7.20pm with Hampshire hanging in the twilight at 186 for 8 but they added only eight runs today before their dismissal for 194 – the lowest total of the match.Andy Bichel applied the finishing touches for Worcestershire by taking the last two wickets for two runs in 17 balls for match figures of 8 for 126, not to mention from 113 runs in his two innings with the bat.Adrian Aymes got the score moving by bottom-edging Chris Liptrot for four, but Morris was out to a flying catch by wicketkeeper Steve Rhodes from the first ball of Bichel’s second over.Aymes, unbeaten with 28, and James Schofield then picked up two singles each before the last man was caught low down at first slip by Vikram Solanki.Bichel was the obvious candidate for man-of-the-match after another high-class all-round performance. The Australian has now taken 63 Championship wickets and scored 572 runs as an outstanding successor to Glenn McGrath.Worcestershire’s fourth win of the season is unlikely to lift them into contention for promotion, but Hampshire stay in the top three with every chance of returning to the top-flight if they can put this performance behind them.