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Ricky Ponting was at the forefront as Tasmania made up for a washed out day one by clambering all over South Australia in the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2012
ScorecardRicky Ponting was at the forefront as Tasmania made up for a washed out day one by clambering all over South Australia in the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.Having bowled the Redbacks out for 126, the visitors strode to 3 for 199 by the close, Ponting unbeaten on 91 after his captain George Bailey had collected 65 only to be dismissed shortly before stumps by Nathan Lyon.Needing outright points to give themselves the best chance of qualifying for the Shield final, the Tigers orchestrated a dramatic tumble after SA had reached 1 for 83 via a solid half century from the young top order batsman Tom Stray. From that point the Redbacks lost 9 for 43 either side of lunch, as James Faulkner and Jackson Bird sliced through the hosts.When the Tigers batted, Ed Cowan was out early, dragging Joe Mennie onto the stumps, and Mark Cosgrove retired hurt after he was struck a heavy blow on the hand by a ball from Gary Putland. However Ponting and Bailey were fluent in taking Tasmania to a dominant position.

Usman Khawaja’s second century saved New South Wales from potential defeat as they played out a draw with South Australia in Adelaide

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2011
ScorecardUsman Khawaja made a valuable 101•Getty ImagesUsman Khawaja’s second century saved New South Wales from potential defeat as they played out a draw with South Australia in Adelaide. The Redbacks took the only points from the match thanks to their hefty first-innings lead but Khawaja, Moises Henriques and wet weather prevented them from pushing for victory.The Blues started the day 67 runs behind with eight wickets in hand, and they needed to bat for several more hours to be safe. Khawaja did exactly that, his five hour-innings of 101 the key for the visitors, and it continued his excellent preparation for the Test tour of South Africa after he also scored a hundred in Saturday’s Ryobi Cup match.Khawaja was eventually lbw to the offspinner Nathan Lyon, but Henriques (65 not out) and Peter Nevill (28 not out) batted out the rest of the day as New South Wales ended up at 5 for 402, with a lead of 141. The match was called off early due to rain, which also caused a delay earlier in the afternoon and ensuredThat combination of factors scuppered the Redbacks, whose day had started brightly when Simon Katich was out for 20, having added only one to his overnight score, when he edged to slip off a wide delivery from Daniel Christian. The acting New South Wales captain, Ben Rohrer, was lbw to Gary Putland for 29, but the South Australians couldn’t find the run of wickets they needed.

Damien Wright, the New Zealand bowling coach, has said that New Zealand have to bowl really well on the fourth morning if they are to have a chance of winning the Test

Brydon Coverdale at the Bellerive Oval11-Dec-2011Damien Wright, the New Zealand bowling coach, knows Bellerive Oval intimately. As the leading first-class wicket-taker at the venue, he is well aware of how hard it is for batsmen in the morning. Six wickets fell before lunch on each of the first two days, and seven in the opening session on the third day. New Zealand need a similar start on Monday if they are to win a Test in Australia for the first time since 1985.After they closed the second day in a strong position thanks to outstanding bowling from Chris Martin, Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell, New Zealand lost their advantage on Sunday. They set Australia 241 for victory, a challenging but not unreachable target, and then struggled to find the same rhythm with the ball that they had in the first innings, leaving Australia at 0 for 72.”We have to turn up tomorrow and start really well with the ball,” Wright said. “There’s been a little bit of assistance in the wicket throughout the game. We know that’s going to be there in the morning. Bellerive traditionally over the years always offers a little bit in the morning. It’s really important for us to come tomorrow and break this partnership, to start with, and take early wickets. There’s a little bit of variable bounce and we’re hoping that plays a part in the morning.”The guys bowled really, really well [in the first innings]. All four of them did a great job. Unfortunately in this innings we certainly haven’t started the way we would have like to. We’ve been a bit off our lengths and overpitched a little bit. We need to look at the stuff that we did in the first innings and stick to that plan. Hopefully in the morning the guys can come and do that.”In the first innings, New Zealand rarely sent down a bad delivery, building the pressure with accuracy, swing and seam movement. Especially professional was the way Martin bowled to plan against Phillip Hughes, who has struggled with the ball moving across him and has edged to the cordon three times already in the series.On day three, Martin didn’t quite find the right spot to Hughes, often bowling too straight or too full; a few more cuttable balls might have tested Hughes more. But things won’t get any easier for Australia’s openers in the morning after two ball changes late in the day due to the Kookaburras losing their shape: the one that New Zealand ended up with swung more than either of the others.”They had to change a couple up in Brisbane in the first Test as well,” Wright said. “Generally the Kookaburra ball is a good ball. I think conditions out there were just a bit wet and maybe the ball got a bit damp and maybe went out of shape a little bit. There were no complaints about the cricket balls. But this one is swinging, so let’s hope we keep this one.”Only 53.3 overs were bowled on the third day due to rain, but those overs that were completed couldn’t have gone much better for Australia. Kane Williamson fell early in the day and New Zealand lost their final seven wickets for 87 runs, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson finishing with three wickets each, while Nathan Lyon also picked up three when he ran through the tail.”We came feeling that we were in front in the game,” Wright said. “For us it was important to build a substantial lead and make Australia chase anything from 280-plus. We’ve got 240 and that’s not saying we don’t feel confident that we can defend that, but we just haven’t started well enough with the ball.”Australia’s vice-captain Brad Haddin described the efforts of Siddle in the first session as “world-class”. He said Australia had been intent on building pressure on New Zealand early in order to break into the lower order, and by the close of the day Australia found themselves in a strong position to push for victory.”Day three is always a massive day in a Test match,” Haddin said. “I thought the way we presented ourselves in the first session was world-class after being a bit flat going into the last session yesterday. I thought what we did with the ball was top shelf and we spoke about the first 10 to 15 overs out there batting, it is tough work and I think the guys did a fantastic job to get us into the position we did.”

Andrew Hall’s four wickets were in vain as Northamptonshire slumped to a 12-run defeat to Yorkshire

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2011
ScorecardCaptain Andrew Hall’s four wickets were in vain as Northamptonshire slumped to a 12-run defeat to Yorkshire in the Friends Lifet20 at Wantage Road.Yorkshire collapsed from 87 for one to 144 all out from their 20 overs withHall taking four for 23 and Joe Sayers top-scoring for the visitors by smashing44 off 34 balls.But an awful start to the Steelbacks’ reply ensured they fell short of theirtarget despite Alex Wakely’s 38 off 33 deliveries, and they remain rock bottomof the North Group.Northamptonshire won the toss but chose to make Yorkshire bat first and LukeEvans took the wicket of their captain Andrew Gale (7) when he was chipped toLee Daggett at mid-on.Adam Lyth blasted 30 off 18 balls before he clubbed Hall to James Middlebrookat mid-off in the 11th over to break a second-wicket stand of 71 with Sayers.Sayers departed in the next over when he edged Daggett to the Steelbacks’wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien.Jonathan Bairstow (5) then had his off and middle stumps taken out by Hallbefore Joe Root (8) launched Johan Botha to Wakely at long on.England paceman Ajmal Shahzad hammered 12 off five balls before missing hisattempted drive off Middlebrook and his middle stump was sent tumbling.Hall then took two wickets in consecutive balls in the 17th over as GaryBallance (10) sliced him to O’Brien before he trapped Richard Pyrah lbw.Adil Rashid walked on five when he nudged Daggett to O’Brien before RyanSidebottom (5) was run out by Wakely at long off with the final delivery.Chasing 145, the Steelbacks lost Bilal Shafayat for a duck in the second overwhen he was pinned lbw by Shahzad as it took them nine balls to get off themark.O’Brien made just a single before throwing his wicket away by smashingSidebottom straight to Rafiq at mid-off.Rob White crawled to 12 off 19 balls before being caught leg before by Pyrah toleave the hosts struggling on 27 for three, but Wakely hung around before holingout by launching Pyrah to Ballance at mid-off.Botha was then run out for 11 when Sidebottom touched Rob Newton’s straightdrive on to the stumps before the same man trapped Newton lbw for 37 two ballslater.Hall (10) was bowled by Shahzad in the penultimate over, and Middlebrook andJack Brooks – despite scoring nine each – could not recover the situation.

Saeed Ajmal took 6 for 124 to bowl Worcestershire to their third County Championship victory of the season at Horsham, despite a brilliant 122 by Murray Goodwin for home side Sussex

13-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Saeed Ajmal took 6 for 124 to bowl Worcestershire to their third County Championship victory of the season at Horsham, despite a brilliant 122 by Murray Goodwin for home side Sussex. Offspinner Ajmal and seamer Alan Richardson held their nerve to dismiss Sussex for 302 just inside the final hour.Worcestershire’s 34-run win lifted them out of the Division One relegation zone and up to seventh place, their 21-point win taking them to 102 points – four above Yorkshire with a game still in hand. Sussex remained sixth on 123 points.Ajmal, in his last Championship appearance as Worcestershire’s overseas player this season, shared the second new ball with Richardson, with Sussex at 265 for 6 and looking like emerging as winners themselves following a superb 151-run stand for the fifth wicket between Goodwin and Mike Yardy.But Richardson struck the vital blow with his second delivery with the second new ball, Goodwin finally being beaten by an off-cutter to be lbw after hitting the 66th first-class century of his career.Goodwin had faced 193 balls, hitting 14 fours, and it was his fourth century in 16 first-class innings at Horsham, where he now averages almost 75.Richardson then ended a stubborn eighth-wicket partnership of 27 between Kirk Wernars and Wayne Parnell – in which South African fast bowler Parnell had driven Ajmal straight for six – by having Wernars well held by a diving Ben Scott as he snicked behind for 24.Monty Panesar edged a wild drive at Ajmal to go for 1, leaving Sussex 299 for 9, and the end soon came when Richardson, who finished with figures of 4 for 54, angled one across left-hander James Anyon to have Sussex’s last man caught at first slip by Vikram Solanki.Worcestershire made the better start to the final day, which began with Sussex on 17 for 1 and needing another 320 runs for victory, by taking three wickets inside the first hour. Ed Joyce was caught off bat and pad for 14, off Ajmal, and the spinner also ended a plucky innings of 17 by nightwatchman Will Adkin, who fell lbw missing a sweep at a quicker ball with the total at 52.In between, Richardson was rewarded for a typically wholehearted spell from the Railway End as he swung one away just enough from left-hander Luke Wells to have him superbly caught for 9 by Worcestershire skipper Daryl Mitchell, diving to his right at second slip.Goodwin and Yardy, however, then took Sussex to 125 for 4 at lunch, with Goodwin plundering three fours from one over by Gareth Andrew, who had replaced Richardson in the attack while Ajmal kept wheeling away from the Church End.The pair continued to flourish after the interval, too, with Goodwin going to 50 from 72 balls and Yardy completing his own half-century with a swept four off Ajmal, from 89 balls. Both batsmen had hit six boundaries in their fifties, and runs began to flow as Ajmal was at last rested.At 199, though, Ajmal was recalled and although Yardy almost immediately slog-swept him for his eighth four it proved to be his last shot in anger. On 63, having faced 120 balls, he was undone later in the same over by a ball from Ajmal which bounced and turned to take the inside edge of the bat and loop up to short leg off his pad where Alexei Kervezee leapt to hold a well-judged catch.Ben Brown had only made 10 when he went back to a quicker ball from Ajmal and was lbw, leaving Sussex at 231 for 6 just before the tea interval.

An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Bayer Leverkusen forward Patrik Schick.

What’s the talk?

The Magpies are plotting a bid for the Czech Republic international as The Mirror claim that he is one of their transfer targets for the upcoming summer window.

PIF are looking to splash the cash again after bringing in Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Matt Targett, Bruno Guimaraes and Dan Burn in January and Schick is one of the players they are eyeing up to improve the squad.

Eddie Howe’s own Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The Toon head coach can find his own Ibrahimovic in the Leverkusen centre-forward as he has been likened to the former PSG and Barcelona hitman.

Juventus chief, and former Ballon d’Or winner, Pavel Nedved previously compared him to the Swedish icon, saying:

“Schick has a great future in front of him. He is a footballer with a body perfectly ready to be strengthen.

“For now, Schick’s body is without muscles but you need to imagine him in two or three years. He reminds me of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, because he was like this when he came to Juve. He didn’t have muscles either.

“Then Zlatan gained muscles and turned into a world-class striker. Schick is also this type of striker – great feet, tall and fast. If Patrik keeps improving himself he can turn into a world-class striker as well.”

The attacker, who is now valued at £50m, is fulfilling the potential that Nedved saw in him as he has plundered goals at a phenomenal rate this season.

In the Bundesliga, he has scored 22 times in 25 appearances for Leverkusen. He has also scored 17 goals in 33 caps for the Czech Republic as he is proving that he can be an elite player at the top level, scoring on a consistent basis for club and country.

A tall, fast, striker with a sensational goalscoring record sounds like an exciting target for Newcastle to have. The goal machine, as Nedved explained, can be Howe’s own Ibrahimovic with his physical and technical attributes in the number nine position.

PIF must now bring him to the Premier League so that he can send St. James’ Park into raptures on a regular basis with his ability to put the ball in the back of the net. He has proven that he can do it in the Bundesliga and at international level and now it could be time for him to flex his muscles in England.

AND in other news, “NUFC want..”: Mark Douglas drops big Darsley Park transfer claim that’ll delight Howe…

Kings XI Punjab will be replacing England allrounder Stuart Broad and Dimitri Mascarenhas in their squad for the 2011 IPL

Tariq Engineer23-Mar-2011Kings XI Punjab will be replacing England allrounder Stuart Broad and Dimitri Mascarenhas in their squad for the 2011 IPL, as both players are unavailable for the tournament due to injuries, a franchise official has said. Broad picked up a side strain during the World Cup, while Mascarenhas has not yet recovered from surgery to fix his achilles injury.”We are still in the process of identifying their replacements,” Aravinder Singh, the chief operating officer for Punjab, told ESPNcricinfo. “I am in touch with the coach and the captain.”Under IPL rules, the replacements have to be chosen from the pool of players who went unsold in the January auction, and cannot be paid more than the players they are replacing, though they can be paid less, depending on their base price in the auction. This limits the choice of players to those whose base price is equivalent to, or less than, the players being replaced. Broad was bought for $400,000 while Mascarenhas was bought for $100,000. Both replacements will be for the 2011 season only.Punjab opens the tournament on April 10 against Sahara Pune Warriors at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai. The team began its preparations for the tournament on Monday with a six-day fitness camp at the HPCA Stadium, with the final camp for the full team to be held at Mohali from April 2 to April 8.Mumbai Indians have also signed a replacement player, according to a BCCI statement listing the players in each team, with Sri Lanka fast bowler Dilhara Fernando coming in for Australia fast bowler Clint Mckay, who was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot in January. Pune are the only team to sign the full complement of 30 players, while the Kolkata Knight Riders have the fewest players on their roster with 20. The defending champions Chennai Super Kings have 23 players.The Deccan Chargers, who have 27 players in their squad, still have US $1.49 million out of their allotted $9 million, the most of any franchise, while Punjab has approximately $1.46 million left over. Rajasthan Royals, whose salary cap was reduced by a court order, have spent all of their money. The Mumbai Indians, one of two teams to retain the maximum four players, have $1739 remaining. Chennai, the other team to keep four players, have $15,435 left over.

Daniel Vettori, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, is not concerned that the side is becoming a one-man team

Siddarth Ravindran at the Chinnaswamy Stadium03-Oct-2011How closely are Royal Challengers Bangalore’s fortunes tied to those of Chris Gayle? Since he joined them midway through the IPL and revitalised a moribund campaign, he has made 25 or less in five matches – Royal Challengers have lost all five. His other ten games have been Royal Challengers wins and he has been Man of the Match in seven of them, and a plausible candidate for the award in one other match as well.Aren’t those numbers pointing to a one-man team? Royal Challengers’ captain Daniel Vettori wasn’t too concerned about the side’s reliance on the West Indian after yet another Gayle-inspired demolition job at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. “At least not as long as he’s scoring runs,” Vettori said with a chuckle, before striking a more serious note. “We’ve got a batting order that complements Chris and his ability to strike the ball so well. We saw guys come in today, [Tillakaratne] Dilshan took some pressure off Chris, Virat [Kohli] played very well, [Saurabh] Tiwary is starting to come into form, Mayank [Agarwal] came out and played his natural game, he looks like a sensational player.”Despite their captain’s nonchalance, Royal Challengers have reasons to worry. With AB de Villiers injured and out of the tournament, only Kohli remains as a reliable batting performer to support Gayle. Dilshan, bought for $650,000, has a couple of half-centuries though he is yet to put in a match-turning contribution after a dozen outings.Gayle’s extraordinary success has starved Tiwary of time in the middle but in the chances he has had, Tiwary hasn’t been able to replicate the form of IPL 2010, which bumped up his price tag to an astronomical $1.6m. Agarwal, 20, has sparkled briefly on several occasions but a headlining effort has eluded him while Mohammad Kaif hasn’t convinced too many people he can cut it in the Twenty20 format.Chris Gayle starred in another victory for the Royal Challengers•Associated PressThose thoughts won’t be occupying the minds of the Royal Challengers fans who turned up on Monday, expecting more fireworks from Gayle. They were treated to a typical Gayle innings, as Somerset were flattened, in that it was a combination of vigorous hitting and lackadaisical running – his 86 has eight sixes and only two twos.It wasn’t the usual blast-from-the-start Gayle innings though. He began with a carve over cover for four but tempered his approach after a reprieve off his third ball and nearly being run out soon after. By the end of the Powerplay he was on a sedate 15 off 14 balls. “The wicket was a bit damp, the ball was doing a bit, you want to try and get set on this sort of wicket,” he said after the match. Unusual words from Gayle, especially in a Twenty20 match.Regular programming swiftly returned though as Gayle unleashed a barrage of sixes, most of them in arc from the sightscreen to long-on, propelling the Royal Challengers to the first 200-plus total of the tournament. Somerset’s armada of left-arm spinners were clueless against the onslaught, with 19-year-old George Dockrell pummelled for three sixes in an over.Somerset’s captain Alfonso Thomas said they were thrown off by Gayle’s watchfulness at the start. “Usually in the first six overs he goes all guns blazing but he kept himself back, which was not part of our our game-plan,” Thomas said after the match. “We thought he will come hard at us in the first six overs and that one of our seamers will knock him over before our spinners could come in. When he starts going, he will make sure that he is hitting all over. Well done, that’s what he is paid to do.”The latest Gayle tour de force has lifted Royal Challengers’ net run-rate so much that a win over South Australia on Wednesday is likely to be enough to take them to the semi-finals. Vettori said in preparation there would be an optional training session on Tuesday. “Some guys will train, some guys will have a pool session,” he began to explain, only to be interjected by Gayle, who said “and some guys will sleep”. If Gayle is caught napping against the Redbacks, the Royal Challengers need their other batsmen to take up the slack.

Aston Villa correspondent Ashley Preece has relayed injury news regarding Bertrand Traore ahead of the club’s trip to Brighton this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Hope of a return

The winger has started just one Premier League game all season due to injury and recently returned to the Midlands from the Africa Cup of Nations with a fresh problem.

The 26-year-old helped Burkina Faso to the semi-finals of the tournament, playing 437 minutes of action in five fixtures.

However, he is yet to feature for Villa after returning from international duty due to a hamstring problem, with reports last week suggesting that there was hope he would be available for Steven Gerrard against the Seagulls today as his injury wasn’t as bad as first feared.

The Latest: Traore still out…

However, Preece relayed news to the contrary from Gerrard’s pre-match press conference via Twitter on Friday morning.

He confirmed that Traore, who was hailed as a ‘great player’ by Villa YouTuber Max Stokes, is ‘still out’ with a muscle issue.

The Verdict: Not ideal

You’d expect that Gerrard may decide to ring the changes this afternoon after disappointing displays against Newcastle and Watford in recent weeks.

Villa have failed to score in their last two games against the relegation-threatened pair and lost both times, so on that basis, Traore may have been in Gerrard’s thinking if he were fit.

Instead, he will have to watch on once again and won’t travel with the squad to the south coast, leaving Gerrard short of one attacking wide option, which isn’t ideal after allowing Anwar El Ghazi and Trezeguet to leave on loan last month.

In other news: AVFC and Gerrard now likely to move for ‘sensational’ ace with ‘outstanding speed’

Alan Butcher, the Zimbabwe coach, has said Abdur Razzak, the Bangladesh left-arm spinner, has been the difference between the two sides during their ODI series in Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2010Alan Butcher, the Zimbabwe coach, has said Bangladesh left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak has been the difference between the two sides during the ongoing one-day series. Razzak took 4 for 14 in the third ODI in Mirpur on Monday, helping Bangladesh to a win and a 2-1 lead in the series. He now has 13 wickets in the series and many of them have come in a clutch, early in his spells.”Razzak is winning matches for them as a bowler,” Butcher said. “Our bowlers, though effective, haven’t given a match-winning performance, so I think that’s the difference.”It’s disappointing that we keep giving him three wickets in two overs. It is as much a technical problem as anything else. Whether it is psychological or that we are not picking him, we have to work on it in the next couple of days.”Razzak, who has taken 53 wickets against Zimbabwe at an average of 15.30, said the conditions were helping him. “I am confident and there’s help from the wicket,” he said. “These two things are combining and working in my favour.”Bangladesh bowled Zimbabwe out for 181 on Monday and Razzak was supported by the seamers, with Shafiul Islam taking 4 for 43 and Mashrafe Mortaza, who missed the series against New Zealand in October with an ankle injury, taking his first international wicket since July. “The performance of the fast bowlers was the most pleasing part of the match,” Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, said. “Mashrafe-‘s bowling was a big positive. I said before that it would take him a few matches to get back to his old self, so that’s what happened today.”Shakib set up the win with his 73 that took Bangladesh to a total of 246, but was out in the batting Powerplay for the second time in the series. “It seems my responsibility is till the Powerplay,” he said. “The moment it starts, I’m gone. We should work at it but I don’t know what’s going on.”In the first match, which Zimbabwe won by nine runs, the batting Powerplay worked against Bangladesh as they lost three wickets for 25. On Monday, they fared much better and scored 46 runs during the restrictions, which were in force for the last five overs. “We didn’t take the Powerplay earlier because we don’t do well in it,” Shakib said. “If we took it earlier, the innings would’ve been over earlier. I don’t think we did too badly [today]; we scored over 40 and anything over 50 is good. We played 10 dot balls in this Powerplay, so if a boundary came off one of those balls, it would have been better.”Shakib said he was happy with the assistance his bowlers got in Mirpur, the venue of the first three games. “Whenever we have bowled in this series, we have got help from the wicket,” he said. “We bowled first twice, and today the wicket hardly changed throughout the day. It worked as an advantage for us.”The last two matches of the series will be played in Chittangong, which, along with Mirpur, will host Bangladesh’s league games in the 2011 World Cup. If Bangladesh make it past the first round – and their backers think they have a fair chance given their mastery of home conditions – their quarterfinal fixture could also be a home game.