Greg Chappell, the coach of the Indian side, has said that he is optimistic about the current team lifting their performance over the next few months and believes that they have improved in several areas since he took over.Chappell admitted that India had slipped up in the two finals recently – against Sri Lanka and New Zealand – but felt that it was just a matter of time before the team turned the corner and the “whole atmosphere around the team” changed.”We’re seeing some positive results of the hard work we’ve been doing,” Chappell told . “Unfortunately, it didn’t show up in the final, but in the lead-up matches, I was happy with a lot of things we’ve been working on. Our fielding, bowling and aspects of our batting are starting to show the benefits of the work we’ve done. Players are fitter than they were when we started. They are working harder. So in all ways, we’re seeing positive signs. It’s not going to happen overnight but over a six-month period, hopefully we should be seeing a different looking Indian team.”India’s woeful record in the finals of tournaments – losing 16 of the last 21 finals – was definitely a matter of concern for Chappell and he thought the “tension” surrounding these games was getting to the players. “The recent record in the finals plays on the minds of the players,” he said.” The fact that you guys are asking about it all the time – the media, the public are talking about it all the time. It increases the pressure on the players. If we’re getting into the finals, we’re giving ourselves a chance. And I’ve no doubt if we keep reaching the finals, we’ll win some and then the whole atmosphere around the team will change.”Chappell admitted that Sourav Ganguly’s continuing slump was bound to affect the “other areas of his game”, but he said the bad patch was bound to end sometime soon. “I have no doubts he can make runs again,” said Chappell, who was instrumental in Ganguly overcoming a previous slump before his successful tour of Australia in 2003-04. “He’s well aware of what he needs to do,” he continued. “There are some good signs on the way he’s batted on this tour. Again, hard work is beginning to pay off and that’s all he can or anyone of us can do in any stage of your career when things aren’t going well. You’ve to focus and work on the areas that would give you the best chance of success.”
Australia’s mighty batting line-up capitulated for just 93 in the face of some magnificent bowling from Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik, as India pulled off a scarcely credible 13-run victory in the final Test at the Wankhede Stadium. Australia might have already won the series, but for an Indian team under the cosh since the third Test at Nagpur, it was a triumph to savour. Though the bowlers will get most of the plaudits, many of the hard yards had been done earlier in the day, with Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman scripting superb half-centuries before Michael Clarke uncurled his golden arm.But no-one could steal the limelight from Harbhajan. When Dravid recalled him into the attack, after Australia had crept to within 14 of the modest 107 they needed, he had Michael Kasprowicz caught at leg slip, and Glenn McGrath taken at slip to leave India victorious, and Jason Gillespie unconquered on an obdurate 9 that had spanned 51 balls.Zaheer Khan, destined for nothing more than a supporting role on this dustbowl, had given India the perfect fillip when Australia started their pursuit, with Justin Langer edging one to Dravid at first slip. And after a quick flurry of fours from Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden, Dravid opted for spin at both ends, with Kartik taking over from Zaheer.The impact was immediate. Ponting was caught by Laxman at second slip after the edge had initially gone on to Dinesh Karthik’s thigh-pad, and Damien Martyn, Australia’s most assured batsman in this series, lasted just five balls, trapped in front on the back foot by the last ball of the over (24 for 3).
That was the wobble. The quake started in earnest when Simon Katich aimed a drive at Harbhajan to give Dravid another scalp at slip. Hayden (24) was still a menace though, cutting Harbhajan for four and then miscuing one down to the fence at long-off. But when he attempted a sweep to one pitched outside leg, the ball trickled onto the stumps via glove and pad. Harbhajan celebrated, and Australia’s hopes nosedived.Kartik then bowled Clarke, and the collective delirium intensified when Tendulkar took a simple catch on the square-leg boundary after Adam Gilchrist had essayed a senseless sweep. But though India were in the box seat, the drama was far from over. Nathan Hauritz chiselled out 15 from 18 balls, and with Gillespie in thou-shall-not-pass mode, the target was whittled down by 20.Anil Kumble, on for Harbhajan, provided the crucial breakthrough, with Aleem Dar giving India the benefit of the doubt after Hauritz was struck on the pad in front of leg stump. But Gillespie and Kasprowicz then weathered the assault for over half an hour while eking out 15, before the voluble Harbhajan had the final word.Such a gripping contest had appeared very unlikely when Clarke, who had already given India plenty of heartache with the bat in this series, turned in a stunning spell with the ball either side of tea. Dravid, who had compiled a patient 27, was his first victim, caught off the glove by Gilchrist, and Karthik’s prod was expertly grabbed by Ponting at silly point (188 for 6). With tea only moments away, Kaif – who was sprightly and fluent on his way to 25 – padded up to one that pitched in line and straightened.
The procession continued after the interval, as Harbhajan, Kartik and Zaheer managed just two runs between them to leave Clarke with the astonishing figures of 6 for 9 from 6.2 overs. For a while in the morning, it had seemed that the likes of Clarke wouldn’t be needed, with McGrath sorting out both openers. Gautam Gambhir edged one to slip, and Virender Sehwag inexplicably shouldered arms to one that nipped back as India slumped to 14 for 2.That brought McGrath and Tendulkar face to face in a Test for the final time. Laxman was already in the middle, promoted to the No. 3 slot from which he had scripted his Kolkata magnum opus, and after the first 11 overs of the innings produced just 15, the next three went for 30 with both men uncorking some champagne strokes.Ponting then called on Hauritz, but there was to be no repeat of yesterday’s dream spell. Tendulkar stroked one through cover and then slammed one into the stand bearing his name as he raced to a 62-ball half-century. For the first time in a fair while, there was a real urgency to Tendulkar’s method. When he not stroking boundaries with a flourish, he worked the ball into the gaps and scampered singles and twos that often had the leaden-footed Laxman struggling. He batted with the panache and fluency of old for his 55, before an attempt to fetch the ball to leg only resulted in a top-edged skyer that was beautifully caught on the run by Clarke.Dravid was never fluent, save for a brief phase after lunch when he drove Hauritz with a flourish through midwicket and cover, but his presence allowed Laxman freedom to go for his shots. But the attacking intent, especially against Hauritz, was to be his undoing. After bisecting the leg-side field with a pull and piercing the off side with a fabulous cover-drive, he smashed the next ball in the direction of long-off, only to watch in amazement as Hauritz dived to his left to snaffle the chance (153 for 4).By then, Laxman had sauntered to 69, and in the final analysis, it – and Tendulkar’s gorgeous cameo – made all the difference, as Australia’s dream of a 3-0 series win went up in huge puffs of Mumbai dust.
Saeed Anwar’s announcement of retirement, when it came, did not surprise many. He had been, through either injury or otherwise, relegated to the fringes of selection for almost two years, and being dropped after the World Cup seemed to be the final straw.In an interview with , Anwar said that the main reason for confirming his retirement was that he was not selected. “I thought it was no use hanging around. For someone closing in on 35, it was pointless waiting for six to eight months,” he said. “I have already lost two, three years due to injury. I thought the team did not want me.”The selectors, Anwar said, had only informed him that they were resting him and giving youngsters a chance in a one-day tournament in Sharjah. “I said fair enough. But rest is for one series, not for one year. You don’t rest a player for one year,” said Anwar. “And anyway, since the World Cup, what have I been doing but resting? Why do they want me to rest so much?”Anwar also stated that he had no regrets, although his dream of scoring a Test triple hundred remained unrealised. He also mentioned that his turning to Islam late in his career had helped him to focus on his game and fitness. “Sometimes you can be in your worst form and yet get a century and other days when you are playing well, one single edge ends your innings,” he said. “It used to be very frustrating. Now it isn’t. I have understood that the result is with that man upstairs.”
West Indian morale was given a much-needed boost at a sun splashed SinhaleseSports Club on Thursday, as Brian Lara made full use of a flat pitch toscore his second century of the series.West Indies, two-nil down in the two match series and facing the humiliationof a series whitewash, dominated proceedings, finishing the first day of thefinal Test on 327 for three thanks to Lara’s brilliant unbeaten 178, his17th Test century.The 32-year-old left-hander rescued the innings after the early loss of bothopeners in a steamy first hour in a record 194-run partnership with Guyananright-hander Ramnaresh Sarwan (69).He then added 116 for the fourth wicket in the evening at nearly arun-a-ball with captain Carl Hooper (52*) as the Sri Lankan fielding becameincreasingly ragged.Lara’s innings followed scores of 178, 40, 74 and 45 in the first two Testsand brings his series tally to 514. Not bad for a player still sufferingfrom a long-standing hamstring injury, who had long since been accused oflosing his appetite for international cricket.Like the first two Tests, he was controlled and disciplined throughout,eschewing the frivolous flamboyance of old in favour of a selectivelyaggressive approach that had produced 20 fours and one six straight six bystumps.Crucially, he kept Muttiah Muralitharan at bay and took most of the strikeagainst the master off-spinner, who whirred away all day without success.Reading Muralitharan’s wrist and picking the straighter-ball he hardlyplayed a sweep all day and was able to drive confidently straight down theground.After tea, he became the 6th West Indian batsmen to score 7000 Test runs, amilestone he was mindful of and acknowledged with a wave to the dressingroom. With his enthusiasm for the game apparently revitalised and histechnique in good order, he has Vivian Richards’s all-time Caribbean recordof 8540 runs in his sights.It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Trinidadian though. He was dropped byKumar Sangakkara when on 85, as he flashed at an off-break from part-timebowler Russel Arnold, and then had a mighty tussle with Chaminda Vaas, whoonce again swung the old ball wickedly. On 99 he looked lucky to havesurvived an lbw appeal from Vaas.His greatest misjudgment was when he ran out Sarwan, who had battled so hardfor his 69 and was looking for his maiden Test century. Lara, anxious topinch the strike against Muralitharan in the next over, pushed into theoff-side and called for a quick run, but Sarwan was caught short after alazer-like throw from Mahela Jayawardene patrolling in the covers.The fall of Sarwan was followed by an increase in the tempo. As if trying toexercise his guilt, he pummeled Muralitharan’s next two deliveries over topand raced towards his 150.Hooper too played positively, more so than he had been in previous inningson tour, when he felt himself to be playing too watchfully. He cruised to aserene fifty off just 62 balls and was 52 not out at the close.Both Hooper and Lara stressed afterwards that the job was far from complete.At the end of the first day in Galle the West Indies had been in thesimilarly good position of 316 for three and then 423 for four beforecollapsing to 448 and losing the Test match.Earlier in the day, West Indies had won the toss and elected to bat first ona plum pitch, but were reduced to 17 for two as Vaas swung the new ballextravagantly in the opening overs.Left-handed Chris Gayle tried to withdraw his bat from a perfectly pitchedoutswinger at the last moment, but failed to do so and was well caught bySangakkara diving one-handed to his left.Daren Ganga and Sarwan battled on for the next six overs, but eventuallyVaas successfully honed an inswinger onto Ganga’s pads and the 22-year-oldright-hander was trapped lbw.West Indies made one change to the side that lost in Kandy, including fastbowler Marlon Black in place of Colin Stuart, whilst Sri Lanka named anunchanged side.
This was the first of the two one-day matches between the teams paled at the Clontarf ground in Dublin where the venerable Clive Lloyd and his team suffered from exposure during the 1999 World Cup. Despite the usual evil weather forecast, the morning of the match began dry, with occasional flashes of sunshine; the weather became increasingly bleak as the day progressed, but at least the match went the distance.Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat, while the weather conditions were relatively stable, on a slow pitch allowing considerable seam movement. Irish opening bowler Owen Butler took 12 balls to complete the first over of the match, beginning with four successive wides, Neil Johnson (0) was bowled shouldering arms to a ball that moved sharply, but Craig Wishart (35) and Murray Goodwin (13) stabilised the innings. Wishart has joined the team after sporting his talents notably for Zimbabwe `A’ in Sri Lanka, after being unlucky to miss selection for the main England tour party.The greatest encouragement for Zimbabwe was probably the return to form of Alistair Campbell (52) and Grant Flower (64*) batting down the order. Campbell took quite a while to hit the ball off the square, but once that was achieved he scarcely looked back, Flower got off the mark with a six over midwicket, and it to be hoped that both batsmen have now turned the corner, Dirk Viljoen batted briskly for his unbeaten 30 before the innings closed.228 was quite a stiff target in the circumstances, but with Australian Mark Waugh in the opposition nothing could be taken for granted. However Zimbabwe took an early grip on the innings and never relinquished it. The early Irish batsmen struggled to get the score moving, and even Waugh found it heavy going. At the halfway stage the score was only 67 for three, with the required rate almost 61 per over.Waugh finally began to open up against Paul Strang, who has also joined the touring team in preparation for the on-day series and otherwise bowled economically. He formed a useful partnership with the aggressive Irish captain Angus Dunlop, who got off the mark by hitting Viljoen for a huge six over long on. But, when Grant Flower bowled Waugh for 38, the required rate had risen to more than eight an over, when Dunlop holed out at deep square leg for 35, making Ireland 146 for six, it was as good as over. Paul Mooney reduced the margin of victory with an enterprising 25 not out.
This is part of The Transfer Tavern’s Talking Tactics series, where we analyse two changes the manager should make in their upcoming fixture.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp could have a bold call to make when he selects his starting line-up for the Reds’ Champions League round of 16 second leg lash with Inter Milan.
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Inter Milan await
The Reds host the Serie A champions on Tuesday night, having prevailed 2-0 at the San Siro in the first leg last month.
While Liverpool clearly have one foot in the quarter-finals, the tie is far from dead and buried, with the Champions League always capable of producing dramatic, unpredictable nights – as Kopites know very well from recent years.
Klopp is sure to field a strong starting line-up at Anfield, but there is one big player he should consider leaving on the substitutes’ bench.
Give Salah a breather
While this may cause controversy with some, Mohamed Salah could be in line for a timely rest, having cut a jaded figure since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations a month ago.
Gary Lineker has hailed the 29-year-old as ‘wonderful’, and the Egyptian is among the best footballers on the planet. However, he has too often found himself on the periphery of post-AFCON matches, failing to affect the Carabao Cup win over Chelsea and also cutting a frustrated figure against West Ham on Sunday, being substituted in the second half.
In fact, Salah has only scored once from open play in the Premier League since netting away to Chelsea on January 2nd – a well-taken strike at home to Norwich City – and those four relentless extra time periods and penalty shoot-outs in Cameroon may be taking their toll on him.
Affording Salah a breather tomorrow night will hopefully allow him to recharge his batteries ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brighton, who have either drawn or won their last three meetings with the Reds; and if the Egyptian is desperately needed against Inter, he can affect matters upon being sprung from the bench.
Jota back in
Salah being left out would also allow Diogo Jota to get some much-needed minutes under his belt, as the 25-year-old continues to find his feet following an injury absence which stemmed from the away clash against Inter, when he had to be removed at half-time.
The £120,000-a-week Portuguese only played for 11 minutes at home to West Ham on Saturday and will surely be desperate to prove his worth on the big European stage, looking to add to his 17 goals this season.
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With Luis Diaz on the left and Sadio Mane switching to the right, Jota could start down the middle, interchanging with his attacking colleagues and looking to put Inter to the sword, not allowing the Nerazzurri even a glimpse of hope in the tie.
Chances are that Salah will take to the pitch on Tuesday, but a rare night starting from the bench could end up being hugely beneficial as the weeks and months pass this season. It would doubly allow for Jota to get back into a rhythm in time for a crucial run-in to the campaign.
In other news, Fabrizio Romano has dropped a Liverpool transfer claim. Read more here.
The BCCI has raised the match fees in women’s domestic cricket, from INR 20,000 to INR 50,000 per day, for those in the first XIs in senior competitions. The decision was taken at an Apex Council meeting on Monday in Mumbai.Those in the reserves are entitled to half that amount (INR 25,000 per day). There has also been a revision at the age-group level, with players part of the first XIs set to earn INR 25,000 a day, and reserves earning INR 12,500.Until now, the age-group players used to take home INR 10,000 a day if they were in the XI, while the reserves made INR 5000. This fee structure totalled to a little more than INR 2 lakh a season if they played all league fixtures, including the final. That figure will now be in the region of INR 5 lakh.Related
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The changes are part of BCCI’s ongoing efforts to elevate the domestic game in the wake of India’s maiden ODI World Cup triumph, amid calls within the system to have a relook at match fees.ESPNcricinfo understands that several top state coaches and players had requested such a change internally to help expand an existing talent pool that the WPL has helped amplify. The pay revision at the junior level stems from a growing interest in the game among younger women, with India emerging champions in back-to-back editions of the Under-19 World Cup.In 2022, the BCCI had put the match fees of the women’s national team at par with that of the men, meaning those playing a Test took home INR 15 lakh per match, while the corresponding amounts for an ODI and a T20I stood at INR 6 lakh and INR 3 lakh respectively.There has, however, been no change in central contract figures, with those ranked in the highest grade taking home INR 50 lakh, which is less than the lowest pay slab for the men.
Lionel Cann’s tour diary first appeared in the Bermuda SunI was banned for two games this week for showing dissent after I was given out lbw against Kenya. I admit I was wrong, I went up for it, I got banned and now I have to put it behind me.Basically I got a bad decision and I exploded. As I was walking off the field I hit the trash can with my bat. It was just out of frustration. I hit my kit-bag, too, when I got back in the dressing room, but it was the trash can that got me in trouble because everybody could see.It was the second one-day-international against Kenya and I was given out first-ball lbw for a duck. I pushed well forward and the ball hit my pads. The bowler appealed, but nobody else did. I didn’t even look up because I didn’t think it was out. There was a slight delay because I didn’t realize I was out until I looked around and I saw the fielders celebrating.We’d had some very tough decisions on this tour – we always seem to get bad decisions against the bigger countries. Plus, I knew I was in form and my team needed me to get a score, so the frustration just boiled over.Despite the 3-0 loss to Kenya, I think the team is improving and there are a lot of positives about our performances so far. We’ve bowled and fielded well and we were in positions where we could have won in both of the last two games. In the final game they needed ten runs to win with the last batsman at the crease but Steve Tikolo, who played a very professional innings, hit a six and took the pressure off.Despite that we have not batted well enough. You can’t expect to score 180 runs on a good batting pitch and beat a team like Kenya. We’ve got a couple of guys in a serious, serious rut right now. Irving (Romaine) batted 49 overs on Saturday and scored 60 so that shows you the struggle he’s in. But he’s fighting it out and, of course, he is still good enough. Hemp (David) is having one of the worst runs of his life, I think, but he and Irving are both good players and they will turn it round.Of the younger guys, Rodney Trott has been a revelation. I batted with him a couple of times and he’s a tough little fella, he acts like a seasoned player already. Malachi Jones is growing and Kyle Hodsoll picked up his first wicket the other day. It was good to see Jekon Edness get a 70. The youth are gaining the experience and doing themselves proud. It’s the senior players that need to step up and make a bigger contribution with the bat.We were given a reminder of how lucky we are to come from Bermuda the other day when we witnessed another example of the tough living conditions here in Nairobi. From the window of our hotel we saw a crowd of people beating this one guy, virtually to death, right in the middle of the street. I think he had grabbed a cell phone, somebody had shouted ‘thief’ and everybody jumped him.Then security arrived and they joined in the beating, We asked in the hotel, what was happening, and they said if you are a thief in Kenya people are allowed to do that. It was amazing and scary. There were women on the side of the street shouting and encouraging the people that were beating this guy up. I’m waiting for tomorrow’s newspapers to find out if he died.It’s sad to see. Last time we were here somebody got shot. We don’t walk the streets without security. It definitely made us think we’re lucky to be Bermudians.
If England believed that their Ashes salvation lay in the miraculous pre-Christmas recovery of their injured captain, Michael Vaughan, then today’s events at the South Perth Oval will have dented their optimism just a touch. Playing for the Academy side against Western Australia 2nds – his first competitive fixture since undergoing a third bout of knee surgery in May – Vaughan was dismissed for a seventh-ball duck.News of his comeback had caused a sensation among the travelling English media, with several members making a 1300-mile detour to cover the match at an otherwise unassuming Grade Cricket ground in the suburbs of Perth. It proved an unrewarding trip. Play was held up for an hour by rain and then, after England’s fielding stint got underway, it was interrupted again after 20 overs.Vaughan did at least come through the day with his knee intact and said: “To be honest, today was all about getting back playing cricket, so it is a huge positive for me that I am back on the field.”It is [the] early stages of a comeback, but six months ago I never thought I would get to the stage of playing cricket again and it was a really tough time. For me, it is a good day.”During play he fielded for 11 overs of Western Australia’s innings, mostly at mid-on or in the slips. Western Australia were restricted to 218 in their innings, but that was soon put into context by England’s woeful reply. The Academy side – from whom all further replacements for the Ashes series will be drawn – slumped to a woeful 5 for 12. Vaughan himself was caught behind by Christian Moir off an outswinger from Darren Wates, a man who managed just four wickets in six matches in the Pura Cup last season.”Next week hopefully I’ll get a few runs and spend a little bit more time in the middle,” Vaughan added. “Over the next few weeks we’ll be having plenty of practice, plenty of middle practice and I hope to play a full part in next Wednesday’s [Academy] game.”The real test will be when I have to spend the whole day in the field or bat for five hours, to see how the knee responds to that.”
England survived a few scares and a determined Australian assault with the ball to win the second Test at Worcester by six wickets. It was their first victory over Australia since December 1984, and after 42 years it meant that England regained the Ashes.Set a modest target of 76 in two-and-a-bit sessions, Australia reduced England to 4 for 2 in four overs before lunch, Emma Liddell removing Laura Newton and Jenny Gunn with successive deliveries. Charlotte Edwards and Clare Connor weathered all that Liddell and Cathryn Fitzpatrick threw at them after the break, but just as nerves were beginning to settle, Fitzpatrick dismissed them both within an over to leave England 39 for 4.With Claire Taylor incapacitated with a muscle strain, much depended on Arran Brindle and she responded with a determined 24 not out, as England eked out the runs.”We’ve been watching the guys and been inspired by their fight and the way they’re playing,” Connor told BBC Sport. “After the disappointment of losing in the semi-finals of the World Cup to Australia only four or five months ago, this is just amazing. The girls are over the moon. It just means the world to us If the media give us some positive exposure on the back of this achievement it will do heaps for women’s cricket.”Katherine Brunt , who took nien wickets in the match and chippe din with a vital first-innings 52, was named Player of the Match and Player of the Series. “It’s a great feeling to win after so many years of losing to Australia and for me to pull out my best performance since I’ve been with England is great,” she beamed.Australia resumed on 179 for 7, although England would have had the nagging memory that in the first Test at Hove their last three wickets added 240 runs. Any fears of a repetition were quickly extinghuised when Kate Blackwell was caught by Lydia Greenway off Brunt without addition to her overnight score. Blackwell had batted five hours and faced 284 balls for her 72. With her next ball Brunt trapped Julia Price leg-before and the end was in sight.But Shelley Nitschke (88*) and Liddell (24) stubbornly clung on, putiing on 53 for the last wicket before Beth Morgan ended their resistance, although as they found out, there was still work to be done.