Wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin has been ruled out of Trinidad & Tobago’s KFC Cup one-day opener in Guyana with a viral flu. Ramdin’s absence takes away an all-round talent both behind the stumps and with the bat. Lendl Simmons is expected to fill in as wicketkeeper-batsman for his West Indies team-mate.Daren Ganga and his men, aiming to defend their title, will be disappointed with anything less than a victory against the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) outfit at the National Stadium at Providence. In the other match in the group, hosts Guyana, led by Ramnaresh Sarwan, take on last season’s beaten finalists, the Windward Islands, at Albion.At Providence, the CCC, captained by middle-order batsman Shirley Clarke, a player with regional youth and senior experience for Barbados, are one of two developmental teams in this year’s competition, the other being the West Indies Under-19 squad. But the university boys will benefit from the considerable know-how of Barbados veteran Floyd Reifer. He will be supported by fellow batsmen Romel Currency and Craig Emmanuel, who are both seasoned representatives of the Windward Islands.T&T, on a roll of seven straight wins in this competition stretching back to last season, are looking to extend their streak to 12 by the end of this tournament and Ganga sees no room for complacency. “We have basically decided that this competition is going to be a competition of five finals, three in Guyana (group matches) and two in Barbados (semi-finals and final). And one of our biggest objectives as a team is to maintain our winning ways throughout this entire competition,” he told the .”We have prepared with the mindset that we need to improve and lift our standard in every aspect of our game. It is a given fact that as defending champions, teams will obviously be gunning for us and coming at us very hard. That is why it’s so very important for us to train in a manner where we are always challenging ourselves and lifting our standards when it comes to the actual batting, bowling and fielding.”
And following trial matches in which different batsmen scored centuries, Ganga felt that this unit was “better prepared in comparison to other Trinidad and Tobago teams, even in recent times. “I think there is a very good balance in terms of our versatility,” he said. “And this as captain, especially in a one-day game, will give me a lot of options.”We have definitely seen a dramatic improvement in individual players and in the manner in which we play as a team. I think it’s a matter of development of the individuals, exposure, maturity and being in a winning culture. Guys are aware of the opportunity to go on and play at the higher level. So a lot of the young T&T players are very hungry, are very eager to be around a winning T&T team.”Given their pre-tournament preparation, the T&T camp will not be overly concerned either that the recent performances of all-rounder and team regular Richard Kelly did not warrant his selection, or that West Indies Under-19 duty has robbed them of two other members of last season’s winning outfit, Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo.And while Ganga conceded that the good pre-season form lasting throughout the Cup was “something you can’t predict as captain”, he said: “We are very capable as a team in this version of the game and there is no reason why, given the sort of quality of cricket we have been playing, we should not be successful in this competition.”
ScorecardA four-wicket haul by allrounder Darren Sammy guided West Indies A to a convincing 59-run win over Sri Lanka A in the decisive match of their five-match limited overs series yesterday at St Lucia, winning the series 2-1.Electing to bat, the West Indians were dismissed for 215 in 49.4 overs and they then restricted the Sri Lankans to 156 in 41.3 overs, with Sammy registering figures of four for 16 off 7.3 overs. Pacer Gavin Tonge supported him with 2 for 31 off eight overs, as the home side clinched a 2-1 victory in the series.Earlier, opener Austin Richards plundered 68 with nine fours and a six off 99 balls to guide West Indies A to their total. Omari Banks made a useful contribution of 40 late in the innings and Wavell Hinds chipped in with 29.The West Indies were at one stage 124 for two, but lost captain Joseph driving too early at Ishara Amarasinghe, giving a return catch. Richards was caught behind by Kaushal Silva off Amerasinghe, who also accounted for Narsingh Deonarine caught behind for six. Amerasinghe finished with 4 for 34 and Bandara 3 for 41.In reply, the Sri Lankans were in all sorts of trouble at 87 for 8, before Bandara and Dammika Prasad resisted for a while. Bandara remained undefeated on 47.The result finished a competitive series that saw the Sri Lankans winning the first game and the West Indians rebounding to capture the second game last weekend in St Kitts. The third game on Wednesday was abandoned because of rain and Friday’s day/night fixture finished in a tie.
A week before the introduction of a new Licensing Act that will allow 24 hour drinking in pubs, clubs, restaurants and bars, cricket stands on the verge of banning spectators from bringing alcohol into all international venues around the world.The new ICC regulations come into force next April and have already been labelled as `Orwellian’ by readers of The Wisden Cricketer. The magazine’s December issue devotes its new Off the long run column to the issue and ICC chief executive officer Malcolm Speed is firmly in its sights as the man behind the new measures:”Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the ICC, has poured my pint of London Pride down the drain and kicked over your glass of Chardonnay. As of next year he has banned spectators from bringing alcohol to Tests.”The regulation is imposed on April 1, 2006. There are few signs it is just a joke. It’s about safety, you see, but safety from what? Over-rowdy spectators? In England the only recent problem with overexcited fans was in 2001 and mainly involved Pakistan supporters – who don’t get smashed on booze. No, the safety in question appears to be the ICC’s – from lawsuits brought by anyone hurt in a Test ground.”So next summer it’ll be £3-plus rubbish all round except perhaps at Lord’s, where they’ve applied for an exemption. Already proper cricket fans are being priced out of grounds. And, as if exorbitant prices were not enough, the appalling product is worse. A nice nutty bitter from the picnic bag with your lunch or how about a nice insipid, angrily fizzy, lukewarm pint of disco fizz?”Less than a pint usually, as some slops out on the trek from the crowded and distant bar. And that’s before the flimsy plastic pot cracks, leaving a stream of wasp-attracting lager down the wrist. And all for only £4.”This is another example of the ICC’s attempt to `own’ every aspect of world cricket. Remember the Champions Trophy in England last year when you could only drink ICC-endorsed brands? Now these Orwellian rules are being applied across the board. These diktats crush diversity, which they should instead be fostering. Ask anyone who has winced at the death of the English outground.”Martin Luther King had a dream. I have a nightmare. It involves watching the end of the next Ashes sitting in London Cricket Unit No. 2, surrounded by City boys on the jolly, sipping a lukewarm £6 pot of ICC beer-style beverage.”The December issue of The Wisden Cricketer, the world’s best-selling cricket magazine, is published on Friday, November 18 at a cover price of £3.60.
Ricky Ponting does not believe the Test captaincy has affected his batting, but he intends to finish a "stop-start" year on a high against Pakistan, starting in the first Test at the WACA tomorrow. Entering the match with 505 runs at 36.07 for 2004, Ponting has fallen well short of his career average and his Australian-record haul of 1503 runs at 100.2 last year.Ponting said he understood that he hadn’t set the world on fire since taking over from Steve Waugh, and is still searching for his first century as captain. “I certainly haven’t felt any added pressure there,” he said. "I really don’t let things cloud me at all and I’m not one that thinks too much about cricket when I’m not at training or around the team."Disruptions with a broken thumb and the death of his aunt forced him to miss four Tests this year and he said it affected his form. “It’s been a frustrating sort of Test year for me just because it’s been so stop-start,” Ponting said. "I’ve missed a few games in a few series and obviously missed the first part of an unbelievably satisfying tour to India as well.”Ponting said he had no problem getting starts, but hadn’t gone on to make the big scores like he did in 2003, when he hit three double-centuries against India and West Indies. In the two-Test series against New Zealand he was in a hurry to three figures in the first-innings, settling for 51 and 68, and was an unbeaten 26 before his second Adelaide declaration.”Probably on a few occasions this year I’ve let what could’ve been a big score slip,” he said. “So hopefully that changes around here tomorrow and Boxing Day and I can finish off the year on a good note."
Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Indian board, has confirmed that Ahmedabad will be the venue for India’s first Test against New Zealand, which starts on October 8. “The Green Park stadium in Kanpur is not fit to stage the Test, so we have shifted the match to Ahmedabad.”As had earlier been anticipated, the game has been shifted from Green Park in Kanpur due to poor ground conditions there. Kanpur has experienced heavy monsoon rains which have damaged the newly laid pitch and the seating area in the stadium. Jyoti Bajpai, secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UCPA), expressed his disappointment, but agreed that there was no other solution.”Even the pitches committee had refused to take any responsibility regarding the Green Park wicket. Besides, it is not feasible to rectify the problems in the available time of two months,” he clarified. “Though it was a big blow to Kanpur but sometimes such types of blows are a must for good things to happen. Despite the shifting of the Test, our number in the rotation list will remain on top.”The second Test of the two-match series will be played at Mohali from October 16 to 20.
A fine all-round performance from Paultons’ Steve Mitchell was all to no avail in week four of the New Forest Indoor Cricket League at Lymington Sports Centre.Mitchell struck an unbeaten 26 in his sides’ total of 100 for 3 against Cadnam and then took three wickets for just 9 runs. Sadly the gritty northerner received little or no support from his team-mates as Paul Kerley (29no) and Simon Pollock (25no) guided Cadnam home to a three wicket victory in the tenth over.Swan Green are still looking for their first win in the top flight after suffering a 13-run defeat at the hands of North Baddesley. Jon Bance (25no) returned from injury to take Baddesley to 132 for 2 with the help of Pike (37no), Williams (22no) and Bewick (20). Williams then bagged two wickets as Swan were bowled out for 119.In Division Two, Lymington were soundly thrashed by a rampant Godshill who took full advantage of Lymington’s intriguing selection policy which involved picking four wicketkeepers but not one recognised bowler. Andy Cross (2-14) made early inroads into the Lymington top order and it was only some late resistance from veterans Robin Goff and Aubrey Hodder that enabled Lymington to creep up to 73 for 4.Godshill wasted no time in notching up a six wicket win with Gerald Pettley making an unbeaten 28.Matt Dowding’s 37 wasn’t enough to save Milford from defeat against Pylewell Park. Dowding led the seasiders’ reply after Pylewell had been dismissed for 124 (Trevor Mapes 32, Steve Gates 26). But Simon Pallister’s brace of wickets swung the game Pylewell’s way as Milford were bowled out for 112.Park II notched up their second consecutive big score in Division Three. With Graham Smith (29no), Colin Kitcher (28), Wayne Royan (28no) and Carl Brooks (25no) all among the runs, Pylewell rattled up a formidable 156 for 3 against Milford II. Brooks then took two quick wickets to leave Milford in dire straits at 18 for 5! Thankfully Colin France saved his team from complete embarrassment with a steadfast 41 not out, although the men from South Baddesley were still able to register a crushing 97 run victory.Burley II could only must five players for their clash with Esso III. Fiery fireman Les Browning (37no) set Burley on their way to 108 for 4, but Andy McEnhenney (25no) and Nick Chapman (27no) took full advantage of the extra gaps in the field to steer Esso to a three wicket victory with two overs to spare.
On one hand, England hope history does not repeat itself against Pakistan in the UAE. On the other, they are aiming to replicate the one facet of the 2012 series that did go well for them.England’s bowling was not the problem during their 3-0 defeat on the previous visit. In the second and third Tests James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar combined impressively and looked to have sealed each match in turn. In Abu Dhabi, a chase of 145 was botched spectacularly as England collapsed to 72 all out, then in Dubai England removed Pakistan for 99 in the first innings, only to be thwarted by Azhar Ali and Younis Khan second-time around.Anderson and Broad are among the five surviving players from that tour to make it here again (Cook, Bell and Finn the others) with Anderson set to return as the father-figure of England’s pace attack having missed the final two Ashes Tests due to a side injury. He and Broad shared 22 wickets during the 2012 series and will be delving into their banks of experience over the next few weeks to help an attack that remains raw.”When conditions are this alien to a lot of the younger guys it’s important we try and give them as much information as possible so they can prepare themselves. Passing on advice is crucial,” Anderson said”Last time we were here we had a decent amount of success, myself and Stuart and the two spinners, so we know how to get 20 wickets out here. We know we’ll have to bowl very well to do that. It’s an exciting challenge; the conditions, the heat, if we do perform well it will be very satisfying.”James Anderson bowls in the nets ahead of the first Test•Getty Images
Anderson will resume his Test career on 413 wickets – in a neat twist, given the opposition as well as the Lancashire connection, one wicket will bring him level with Wasim Akram at joint 10th on the all-time list. His preparation has been limited – 12 overs and one wicket, with a catch down the leg side – but he is not alone in that and at least ended the season playing county cricket.There has been the notion floated that, in a horses-for-courses selection, similar to that justifying Moeen Ali opening, Anderson’s place could be under threat as his greatest strengths are likely to be diminished in the prevailing conditions where traditional swing is a rare sight.At 33, his days as the leader of the attack are numbered but you don’t easily shelve 400-plus Test wickets. Even if there is just a modicum of swing for a short period Anderson should still be better than most at finding it.”I’m itching to get going again,” he said. “It was frustrating to miss the last couple of Test of the summer but I’ve played a bit for Lancashire which was good, got some wickets, so felt in good in form and since being out here all of us have acclimatised quite quickly and are raring to go.”Despite the acclimatisation, conditions will remain very tough for England and Anderson knows it is vital, especially for the quicks, that they make every over count. In such searing heat, spells will rarely exceed five overs so they will need to assess very swiftly what tactics should be employed.”We saw Steven Finn bowl seven [in the warm-up], that’s probably pushing it a little bit, but we are aware we’ll have to be used in short spells,” Anderson said. “Me and Broady have brought it up with the lads already, when we came out here last time we bowled four-five overs maximum which means you have to be on the money from ball one and that puts a bit of emphasis on you as a bowler – you can’t just ease into a spell. You have to nail it.”You’ve got to assess the situation very quickly, if the ball isn’t swinging you have to go to Plan B,” he added. “You have to quickly assess if it will reverse-swing, while cutters and little changes in pace are crucial as well. It’s about finding the right skills for the situation, the pace of the pitch is important, whether you bring the slips out and things like that. It’s about being sharp and aware.”Anderson acknowledged that success in this series would rank alongside the away wins in the Ashes in 2010-11 and India in 2012-13, but insisted that the team – in the spirit that carried them through the home season – are not overawed by what is in front of them.”We put a lot of pressure on ourselves,” he said. “We want to improve on the performances from the summer. We know we can play better than we did even though we won that series, we want to continue to improve and show people how exciting we can be.”We are aware of how we performed last time we were here. As we saw in the Ashes, we lost them in 2013 but then won them back, so it’s all about how you prepare and play in that particular series. What happened in the past doesn’t really matter that much.”Except, of course, if you are remembering how to take wickets.
Newcastle United were active throughout the January transfer window as they made a number of signings to bolster Eddie Howe’s squad.
The Magpies made a host of fresh additions to their ranks, including Bruno Guimaraes, Chris Wood, Matt Targett, Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier.
However, not every player that they wanted to bring to St James’ Park ended up making the switch, as they failed to land some of their targets.
One man that the club reportedly wanted to sign was Mainz centre-forward Jean-Philippe Mateta. The Toon were said to have made a £20m offer to snap him up ahead of Crystal Palace, but the south London outfit eventually signed him to a permanent deal, duly ending Newcastle’s chances of landing him.
PIF brought in Wood from Burnley to improve Howe’s options in the number nine position, but he has scored just one Premier League goal for the club so far across 11 starts in place of the injured Callum Wilson.
How do Mateta and the ex-Clarets marksman compare for their respective clubs?
As you can see in the graphic above, the Palace striker offers more than the New Zealand international on and off the ball for his side. He has scored more goals from fewer starts, whilst pressing more from the front and completing a higher percentage of his passes.
Journalist Alex Howell dubbed the Frenchman a “cult hero” for Palace and it is easy to see why the supporters have been able to take to him. In Europe’s top five leagues, he ranks in the 89th percentile for pressures and the 95th percentile for clearances, which shows that he works his socks off for the team. Supports love to see players who put in 100% on the pitch, and these statistics suggest that Mateta does exactly that.
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These statistics suggest that he would have been an upgrade on Wood. He has offered more of a goal threat than the Magpies colossus and his link-up play shows that his overall game has been more effective in the top flight, as he has more to his game with his ability in possession in terms of his passing and dribbling.
At 24, Mateta is also six years younger than the Newcastle marksman, which means that he would have had more long-term value to the club. Therefore, PIF had a big shocker by missing out on the Palace striker, who would have been a brilliant signing in comparison to the ex-Burnley machine, based on their respective form this season.
AND in other news, Newcastle now plotting huge £120k-p/w bid for £50m “destroyer”, he’d be Howe’s “rock”…
Mitchell Johnson says he couldn’t have done more over the last year to force his way into Australia’s Test side after being named in the 13-man squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka.Before that match, which is at the Gabba from next Thursday, he has the chance to impress in the second warm-up match at Allan Border Field on Friday.”I think I’ve done what I can over in India and over the past 12 months or so,” he told Sportal.com. “It is out of my control but my fingers are crossed.”He faces an anxious wait to see if he made the final cut ahead of fellow fast bowler Shaun Tait but being the only left-arm pace bowler in the squad may help. He also impressed in India recently, where he was the leading wicket taker with 14 at an average of 18.57 including a five-for.But Johnson, who has yet to make his Test debut, has been here before: this time last year he was waiting to see if he would get the nod for the Ashes ahead of Stuart Clark. He lost out then and his wait for a Test continues.”I don’t want to get my hopes up and be too confident but deep down I’m hoping.”
Venkatapathy Raju, the former Indian left-arm spinner who’s currently the south zone representative in the national selection committee, has said that the eight matches to be played early in 2007 will hold the key to selecting the World Cup squad. He also confirmed that VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly were in the scheme of things as far as one-dayers were concerned.India are scheduled to play two home series in early 2007, against West Indies in January and Sri Lanka the next month. “Those eight games will be a blessing in disguise for them [players] and also for us [selectors],” Raju said in Mysore during the Ranji Trophy match between Karnataka and Haryana. “We can see actual form before selecting the team for the World Cup. We would play the core for the World Cup team there.”Raju didn’t rule out the possibility of Laxman and Ganguly being part of the World Cup squad, adding that performance remained the only criterion. “They have three Test matches, let’s see how they go about that,” he said. “We have still not picked any probables for the World Cup. So if they perform well, they will be in the scheme of things.”India’s line-up, he agreed, was far from settled, and the selectors and team management needed to sort out the issue. “Expectations are high but judging them on the performance in South Africa won’t be right,” he continued. “Players like Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif have been playing more one-day games. There was not much time to work on their technique of for them to run in to form as we have so many non-stop ODI games. We can’t be harsh on them. Now they have a chance to play in domestic cricket and to prove their form in those eight games early next year.”The case of Subramaniam Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu batsman who’d managed to score consistently yet missed out on the Test side to South Africa, was one of inexperience, Raju said. “It won’t be fair to put someone like Badri straightaway into a tough tour like South Africa,” he said. “There is only one side game; the main players will play them. If one of them gets injured then Badrinath will have to straightaway play in a Test and I don’t think we would be doing justice to him. There is so much cricket coming up after World Cup. We will monitor the performances of the domestic players closely.”Raju believed a bowling coach could assist in the development of India’s young fast bowlers. “It might be helpful as there are a few young fast bowlers in the team. Someone like Sreesanth can benefit a lot. The talent is there and it can be guided and moulded well. The team benefited by a bowling coach when they toured Australia [Bruce Reid was the coach then].”
Raju also said he believed that the Indian board was very keen on improving domestic cricket, including revamping the Duleep Trophy. “We had a very good meeting with Sharad Pawar. He was asking about domestic pitches. The focus was on producing sporting wickets and teams playing on neutral venues which would stop the tampering of the pitches. So we plan to revamp the pitches right from the Under-19 level.””It was suggested [in the meeting] that the Duleep Trophy can be advanced and played in South India, where the season starts early. We can play them on good wickets prepared by good curators. We are looking at forming a pitch committee with the likes of Daljit Singh. They can go around the country and help improve the quality of the pitches. The problem with the pitches in India is that we either prepare really spinning tracks or those that are too seamer-friendly. Neither is good. We need a wicket with bounce which will aid both spin and seam. Like the one in Mohali in the Australia v India in Champions Trophy.”