Karen Rolton is on target to be the second player in the history of the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) to score 4000 runs. Rolton, the Australian captain, needs just 18 runs to reach the milestone first achieved by former captain Belinda Clark.Rolton will lead the South Australia Scorpions on their away trip to Sydney next week, which will feature a practice match v ACT, prior to the WNCL matches against New South Wales.Two new players join the squad: fast bowler Leanne Davis, and Tegan McPharlin, the middle-order batsman. Both players have been chosen following strong grade/district performances.England’s Jenny Gunn, who plays grade cricket in Sydney, will also play for the Scorpions for the second successive year.
New South Wales have recalled Doug Bollinger and Moises Henriques for their must-win Ford Ranger Cup match against Tasmania at Sydney’s Telstra Stadium on Wednesday. The Blues, who have lost their last three one-day games, are in fourth place on the table but with only two matches remaining they would need a remarkable stroke of luck to reach the final.Matthew Nicholson was left out of the side to take on Tasmania but the other change was a forced one with Nathan Bracken unavailable due to his commitments with the Australia team. Greg Mail, the opening batsman, has found his way back into the Pura Cup squad to take on the Tigers at the SCG starting on Saturday.Mail, who has taken Aaron O’Brien’s place in the 12-man line-up, began the first-class season poorly with 97 runs from six innings before thrusting his name back in front of the selectors with 374 runs in Sydney grade cricket within eight days. The Blues are also struggling in the four-day competition, sitting fifth on the table with only two wins from six games.Pura Cup squad Phil Jaques, Ed Cowan, Greg Mail, Simon Katich (capt), Dominic Thornely, Brad Haddin (wk), Grant Lambert, Beau Casson, Matthew Nicholson, Doug Bollinger, Stuart MacGill, Mark Cameron.FR Cup squad Phil Jaques, Ed Cowan, Simon Katich (capt), Brad Haddin (wk), Daniel Christian, Dominic Thornely, Aaron O’Brien, David Warner, Moises Henriques, Nathan Hauritz, Scott Coyte, Doug Bollinger.
ScorecardJust like the full England side, the under-19s are finding life on the subcontinent tough this winter. After being whitewashed in the five-match series against a BCB High Perfomance Side, their poor start to the triangular tournament got poorer with a second defeat, this time to Sri Lanka.Angelo Mathews was the star for Sri Lanka, smashing 70 not out from 74 balls to boost their total to 225 after Dimuth Karunaratne and Sameera de Zoysa put on 54 for the first wicket to set a solid platform.Rory Hamilton-Brown fared the best for England’s bowlers, taking 3 for 44 and playing a part in causing a mid-innings wobble and give Sri Lanka the jitters at 156 for 8. But Mathews stood firm to help lift the score with two fruitful stands with Muthumudalige Pushpakumara and Rajeeva Weerasinghe which yielded 69 runs.England lost early wickets which set them on the backfoot from the off. Varun Chopra stood firm to add a quick 34 from as many balls, but when he fell to Hans Fernando and Woodman went for 40, the momentum fell away from the innings (83 for 3). There was no way back for England and when they lost three quick wickets for six runs late on – Weerasinghe struck twice and there was a run out – the writing was on the wall (180 for 8).They folded not long after, with Ben Wright left stranded on 40 not out, as Sri Lanka recorded victory by 13 runs.
The inability of New Zealand’s opening bowlers to make even the smallest of incisions has hampered their decision to play two spinners. The pitch is starting to turn, but it has happened three wickets and four sessions too late for the Kiwis.Instead of sweeping through the lower order, Daniel Vettori and Paul Wiseman have had to wear the line-up down. If Chris Martin or James Franklin had made any sort of impact, the spinners could have tried attacking with rocks instead of pebbles. Instead, no wickets fell before lunch on either day.Australia’s innings wobbled in the second session, but by then they already had 445 on the board. Langer, wearing his baggy green and looking like a tired train driver, pulled Vettori to midwicket, and within 20 runs Michael Clarke and Darren Lehmann had followed as well. The top six had fallen and the spinners had shared the spoils evenly, but since the opposition had passed 500, it was impossible to callthe make-up of the attack a success.Australia have found spin to be over-rated at Adelaide. They prefer a battery of fast bowlers to take advantage of the variable bounce. Shane Warne has just one five-for here and only during the last Ashes tour did his ground average drop below 30. This surface, however, offers more than usual and sharper turn is expected tomorrow as the pitch cracks under the extreme heat. The ball appeared to be deviating more and more with every passing over.The offspinner Wiseman was earmarked to play in this match when New Zealand picked their tour squad, and an already struggling batting order was weakened to accommodate him. The pair bowled in tandem for more than 40 minutes in the first session without incentive against Lehmann and Langer, who is a reluctant six-hitter but still managed twice to launch Wiseman over the fence.Stephen Fleming set Wiseman’s field at a Ganguly pace, but then nothing was happening quickly. Even the captain’s arm-waving drifted as he set inner rings with one or two men on the fence. Containment was the buzzword; Australia managed at least 100 runs in each of the first two sessions. When Langer fell, a flicker of enthusiasm returned, and it was sustained by the subsequent dismissals of Clarke and Lehmann. But then Adam Gilchrist walked out.It is unlikely that either spinner will have much impact – perhaps none at all – in the second innings. Even at the close of the first day’s play, Wiseman was using “if” when asked about bowling again. Probably the only opportunity the pair will have towards the end of thematch is if Australia decide to give their bowlers a rest between innings. An absence of medium-paced penetration has forced the spinners to toil, and in turn transferred all the pressure to New Zealand’s batsmen.Peter English is Australasian editor of Wisden Cricinfo.
Pardon me for interrupting, but in a game which revels in spurious statistics there is one that defies belief doing the rounds in New Zealand cricket at the moment.It seems that the national selection panel of last summer picked up a strange new disease, and we are talking pre-SARS here. But apparently, they were guilty of picking three wicketkeepers in a team! And it wasn’t because the bowlers were doing especially badly.This is seen in some quarters as an especially heinous crime and one that clearly showed the panel had lost their marbles during one or other of their various selection meetings. Remembering that only one person can wear the gloves at any one time, it has to be assumed that the person assigned to the job was the person the selectors felt was best suited, or gloved, as the case may be, to do it.But an interesting point to ponder in this day of wicketkeeping batting aces, is, if you had two or three wicketkeepers who were doing especially well with the bat, and some batsmen who weren’t, who would you put in your team if you were looking for runs? Is a wicketkeeper who is a good enough batsman not deemed worthy enough of being included as a batsman only?It has been obvious for some time in New Zealand now that Brendon McCullum, provided he keeps his game together, doesn’t succumb to injury and sorts out some concerns with his batting, is the long-term wicketkeeping performer on the international scene. At the moment the Test spot is held by Robbie Hart, and that is fair enough. But in the one-day game McCullum is the incumbent.That means Chris Nevin’s chances of wicketkeeping for New Zealand in ODIs are few and far between. So if he is to keep a place in the side it has to be as a batsman. At the moment he is one of the leading contenders for the opening batting role. He went to the Bank Alfalah Cup and played in five matches, as a batsman.There is a point to all this, I’m getting there.Also in the same side was Lou Vincent. Now it is known that Lou has pulled the gloves on for a few occasions and is quite capable in the job, but a wicketkeeper? He is far more use to New Zealand in the field, and will one day come up with the required consistency in the middle-order. So yes, New Zealand did have three wicketkeepers in the team, but they might also have had three Presbyterians, three Catholics, three athiests and two Seventh Day Adventists, which when you think about it might explain some of the batting problems on Saturdays.But the point is, if the players are the choice of the selectors as batsmen, who cares if there are six wicketkeepers in the side?That’s not to forget that Mathew Sinclair was also at the World Cup and he’s kept wickets. And then again in the one-day series against England in New Zealand in 2001-02, Nevin, McCullum and Vincent played in three matches together. Go back to the VB Series before that and McCullum and Vincent played in the same side as Adam Parore in four matches.So is choosing three wicketkeepers really such a worrying event?
In a previous outburst I alluded to the use of A to describe second XI sides. This remains an irksome habit and one that seems to stem from political correctness more aimed at protecting the feelings of those who are named in a 2nd XI, than acknowledging the fact that while they are players of potential, they are still second-best.What good reason can there be for describing a side as the A side to mean the second best, when the A side is the top team?Is there something wrong with being called the B team? After all, everyone knows what it means.There are any number of reasons why this is a ridiculous practice. After all, A is the first letter in the alphabet, that’s reason enough alone. Algebra was never a strong point but it should be obvious that A = 1 and Z = 26. Then there’s Auckland. Overseas readers might not appreciate this but by way of explanation, in the New Zealand hierarchial structure there are Aucklanders, and there are others – the rest of the population.The Auckland genus is obvious because they call themselves the A team. Whether or not that is their position it doesn’t matter, it makes no difference to them – never has, never will. And they are not saying it because they think they are second best.And then there’s Australia. Now if ever there was anyone deserving to be called the A team, it is Steve Waugh’s Test men and Ricky Ponting’s ODI men. That’s what they are, No 1.So enough of this silliness. Let’s be having a little alphabetical correctitude here and start calling 2nd XIs what they are, B teams. And if the poor little darlings don’t like it, tough, because that’s what they should be, tough enough to take it.
Hampshire’s newly formed Academy side will take its Southern Electric ECB Premier League bow against Sparsholt at the Rose Bowl on Saturday May 4.The county is fielding a team made up of fledgling contracted players and academy students in Division 2 of the Premier League next summer.County Second XI coach Tony Middleton is expected to captain the Academy XI, which faces three potentially stiff matches in the opening month of the season.After hosting Sparsholt, the Hampshire side travels to play Winchester KS at River Park, entertains newly promoted Rowledge, and then visits Lymington.All of the matches are 50-over affairs, starting at 1 o’clock.Admission to all home matches on the Nursery ground will be free.Hampshire CCC Academy XI fixtures for 2002
May 4 Sparsholt West End, SouthamptonMay 11 Winchester KS River Park, WinchesterMay 18 Rowledge West End, SouthamptonMay 25 Lymington Lymington Sports GroundJune 1 Easton & Martyr Worthy West End, SouthamptonJune 8 Hungerford War Memorial Ground, HungerfordJune 15 Old Tauntonians & Romsey West End, SouthamptonJune 22 United Services US Sports Ground, PortsmouthJune 29 Trojans West End, SouthamptonJuly 6 Sparsholt Locks Lane, SparsholtJuly 13 Winchester KS West End, SouthamptonJuly 20 Rowledge Rowledge Sports GroundJuly 27 Lymington West End, SouthamptonAugust 3 Easton & Martyr Worthy Cockets Mead, RowledgeAugust 10 Hungerford West End, SouthamptonAugust 17 Old Tauntonians & Romsey Romsey Sports CentreAugust 24 United Services West End, SouthamptonAugust 31 Trojans Stoneham Lane, Eastleigh
Jacob Martin gave a timely reminder to the selectors that his appetitefor runs remains undiminished as Baroda secured a 139 run firstinnings lead over Punjab on the third day of their Super League tie atMohali today. By stumps Punjab had wiped off 84 runs from the deficitin 33 overs.Martin and captain Tushar Arothe took their overnight stand for the4th wicket to 139 before Arothe was sent back for 61. Atul Bedade didnot last long and Martin himself followed soon after for 118 (262balls, 14 fours). AP Bhoite and M Mewada put on 60 but when Mewada wasseventh out at 380 the innings entered terminal decline. The last fourwickets were snapped up in the space of 15 balls for the addition ofonly four runs as Baroda folded up for 384. Punjab’s new ball bowlerGagandeep Singh returned figures of 4-65 and Harbhajan Singh claimed3-101.Although Ravneet Ricky (2) was leg before to Zakir Khan in the thirdover, Vikram Rathour (46) and Reetinder Sodhi (30) prevented anyfurther anxiety for Punjab with an unbroken stand of 72.
1. South Africa 130 2. Australia 111 3. Pakistan 101 4. New Zealand 99 5. India 97 6. England 97 7. Sri Lanka 92 8. West Indies 81 9. Bangladesh 41 10. Zimbabwe 5
Pakistan have catapulted from sixth place to third in the ICC Test rankings after centuries from Younis Khan and Shan Masood in the Pallekele Test helped them wrap up the series against Sri Lanka 2-1 with a record chase.Pakistan, who had begun the series with 97 points, bagged four rating points from the win and steered clear of England, India and New Zealand. On the other side, Sri Lanka lost four points and retained their spot at No. 7 with 92 points. Pakistan now lead New Zealand by two points while trailing second-placed Australia by ten.Meanwhile, India and England are caught in the mid-table jam with 97 points each. England will break away and vault to second place if they win the Ashes by 3-0 or a better margin. South Africa top the table with 130 points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have gone under the radar when it comes to astute signings in recent times.
It’s easy to overlook the fact that their last five arrivals, including loans, have all been signed for under £10m. It’s even more impressive that four of those are consistent first-team players, with Yerson Mosquera the only exception, although he has made one appearance for Bruno Lage’s first-team and would surely have more were it not for a long-term hamstring injury.
Nevertheless, their business over the past year has been nothing short of sensational, especially in today’s market, which is why it comes as even more of a shock that Wolves once failed to acquire the permanent signing of Emiliano Martinez, who is now a Premier League regular elsewhere in the Midlands at Aston Villa.
Back in the 2015/16 season, the Argentine played for the Old Gold amid a loop of loan moves and fringe appearances, although his initial opening months at Wolverhampton Wanderers sought to end that pattern.
In 2015, Martinez made 13 appearances for Wolves in the Championship and despite only keeping four clean sheets, he conjured up a rather impressive 71% save percentage. For context, in his breakout season for Aston Villa in 2020/21, his save percentage was 77%, so for that time in his career it was a very impressive metric.
Ultimately it was the thigh injury that kept him out of contention for several months which cost both Martinez and Wolves the chance to work together long-term.
On one hand, you can understand the caution that Wolves expressed, as the ‘keeper was unable to regain his starting place after the injury. However, with the underlying stats that he displayed throughout those 13 appearances for the Old Gold, it remains a mystery as to why Martinez was never given the chance to win back his place between the sticks.
Despite finding a gem in former Olympiacos ‘keeper José Sá, the reluctance to sign a goalkeeper dubbed by Dan Rolinson as “unreal” and who would go on to earn the highest of plaudits from Lionel Messi must serve as one of the biggest transfer regrets at Molineux.
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To rub salt in the wounds of the Wolves pack, the 29-year-old who has shone for club and country is now worth £28.8m in today’s market. Had the Old Gold pounced for a permanent deal six years ago, they may have got him for as little as £1.35m judging by his Transfermarkt valuation at the time, instead of leaving him return to his then-parent club Arsenal for nothing.
In other news – Lage could finally unearth Wolves’ new Diogo Jota in “unpredictable” £33m creator
Khulna and Rajshahi were both unbeaten going into the match at Bir Shrestha Motiur Rahman Stadium. The absence of Mashrafe Mortaza and Abdur Razzak (both sitting out on the instruction of Bangladesh’s fitness advisor) from the Khulna line-up might have prompted Rajshahi captain Khaled Mashud’s decision to bat first. Dolar Mahmud was not even supposed to play this game, but was drafted in at the last moment when the Bangladesh Under-19 side’s tour to Pakistan was postponed. But armed with the new ball, Mahmud annihilated Rajshahi picking up Junaid Siddique, Naeem Islam and Mushfiqur Rahman in successive balls to record the first hat-trick in the nine-year history of the NCL. His 7 for 39 reduced Rajshahi on the first day to 174 for 9. Khulna matched Rajshahi’s dreariness and couldn’t force themselves into a position of strength. They collapsed from 96 for 2 to 190 for 7 at stumps on the second day against the seamers. In the context, opening batsman Nazmus Sadat’s 95 was outstanding. Bashar declared on 204 for 9 to deny Rajshahi the bowling bonus and then saw his bowlers restrict the opponents to 241. Mashud made 62, his third fifty in the league. Khulna’s target was 241 in 69 overs and that looked distant when Sadat (52) was second man out in the 44th over with just 108 on the board. Tushar Imran, however, got things moving again with 34, before cameos from Ziaur Rahman (26) and Mustafizur Rahman (19) edged Khulna closer. But three wickets in nine balls left the hosts needing seven off the last over with eight down. Mahmud was hero with the bat now, hitting a boundary off the penultimate delivery to take them to their first win.Visitors Chittagong batted first at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and their disappointing first innings of 200 lacked purpose from the off. Javed Omar, the seasoned Dhaka opener, started slowly before opening up after lunch on day two for a 241-ball 101. He was involved in two crucial partnerships along the way, 104 with Anwar Hossain (62) and 94 for the second wicket with Al Sahariar. Dhaka looked on course to bat Chittagong out of the match as they closed on 300 for 5. Chittagong woke up on the third day, wrapping up the innings at 376, and showed more grit batting again. Tamim Iqbal, also taking advantage of the U-19 tour postponement, followed his first innings 38 with 70 but going in to the last day on 165 for 4, Chittagong needed a minor miracle to avoid defeat. Ultimately, they almost won the match. Captain Ehsanul Haque’s 56 carried the score to 278, which left Dhaka needing 103. What should have been a formality turned in to a battle of nerves as left-arm seamer Kamrul Islam took 4 for 19 including captain Mohammad Ashraful (2). Dhaka were in dire straits at 85 for 7, but refused the umpires’ offer to stop play with the light fading, before Mehrab Hossain (jnr) guided the team home.
Barisal expected on-song opening bowlers Sajidul Islam and Talha Jubair to make an impact on a lively Fatullah pitch and they did. The two combined to remove the top three Sylhet batsmen with the score on 60. In strode Alok Kapali to join captain Rajin Saleh (88) and the two shared a 223-run stand. Any Kapali innings, even brief ones, treat the eyes and this one was special. By close he was unbeaten on 157 and Sylhet were 316 for 4. It was a different story the next day, however. Sylhet quickly slipped to 335 for 9, Arafat Salahuddin taking 4 for 94 before the declaration. Barisal were then introduced to the big, burly Bangladesh U-19 fast bowler Shubashis Roy. With an action similar to Lance Klusener, Roy made his first impression by breaking Hannan Sarkar’s leg stump in two and ended with 4 for 64. Raisul Islam (83) and Abul Bashar (56) made half-centuries. Sajidul and Talha quickly got into the act and reduced Sylhet to 45 for 5 by stumps on the third day. They shared seven second-innings wickets as Sylhet were eventually bowled out for 95 setting a target of 176. In the first over of the Barisal innings, Roy sent back Imran Ahmed and Shahin Hossain without a run on the board and soon Barisal were 17 for 5. It was left to Raqibul Hasan (57) and Man of the Match Salahuddin (76) to repair the damage. They put on 126 before three wickets fell, though Barisal eventually got home with two wickets to spare.
With a 100% record from three matches it was the moment of truth for Khulna and Rajshahi. Khulna batted first and had moved to 97 for 2 by the 19th over before wickets started falling at regular intervals. The end effort was a poor 187 with Shakib Al Hasan making 52, his third half-century in four matches. Syed Rasel got the Khulna crowd all excited by getting Junaid Siddique, Jahurul Islam and Farhad Reza in his opening burst but Naeem Islam’s 66 and Farhad Hossain’s 43 ensured a 5-wicket victory.Mosharraf Hossain’s elevation to No. 3 in the batting order is working well for Dhaka. His 69 and a cheeky 45 from Ashraful were instrumental in getting Dhaka to 253 for 9. Chittagong’s batsmen, when in the mood, can make targets like these look simple, even without Tamim who is serving a four-game ban. Tamim’s brother, Nafees made 50 while his opening partner Mahbubul Karim (48), Nazimuddin (38), Aftab Ahmed (34) and Faisal Hossain (52) were on top of the Dhaka bowling throughout. Some injudicious shots towards the end resulted in a slight wobble and a last-over finish, but Chittagong won by three wickets.In a match where both teams were searching for their first victory, middle-order batsman Golam Mabud’s 116-ball 100 was the only significant innings for Sylhet who made 225 for 9 after being sent in. That proved good enough as Raquibul (87 not out) fought a lone battle for Barisal and ran out of partners in a 14-run loss.Player of the week Alok Kapali It was an emotional Alok Kapali who took the field against Barisal. He had just left his ailing father, who had suffered a stroke, at the hospital and was determined to give him something to cheer. His 168 had all the class of the teenage prodigy he once was and something better in the form of concentration and a determination to play as straight as possible. When Sylhet batsmen were falling like nine pins in the second innings, Kapali made 32 out of 95.
Points table
National Cricket League
Team
Mat
Won
Lost
Draw
Tied
Aban
Bat. Bonus
Bwl. Bonus
Pts
Khulna Division
4
1
0
3
0
0
10
16
46
Rajshahi Division
4
2
1
1
0
0
7
15
42
Barisal Division
4
2
1
1
0
0
7
15
42
Dhaka Division
4
2
0
2
0
0
8
14
42
Chittagong Division
4
0
2
2
0
0
2
16
22
Sylhet Division
4
0
3
1
0
0
4
15
21
Note: Points include bonus points for batting and bowling and points for the first-innings lead in the drawn gameNational Cricket League one-day