Two dozen Indians are set to participate in the USA’s Pro Cricket league which begins in a week’s time. The 20-overs-a-side games will feature former Test and one-day players, as well as domestic stars, who will be divided among the eight teams.The season, which lasts three months, will feature the likes of Vinod Kambli and Ajay Jadeja, and though the money isn’t substantial, the players will be given the option of committing for as many games as they like. The BBC sports website reported that Anshuman Gaekwad, who was the go-between for the organisers and the players, said that it would enable them to return home when they wished.”It allows the cricketers a flexible option of playing as few as three games over a weekend, then returning home to their normal businesses and coming back when they feel like it,” said Gaekwad, adding that the players could participate and later decide whether they wanted to play some more. “I’ve asked the players to view it as a cricket-playing holiday and then decide if they might want to play more matches.”The hosts are going to spread the red carpet and provide hospitality, but there isn’t going to be big money involved – the players know that,” he said. “No formal contracts are involved here, the invitation and acceptance is all by word of mouth. The cricketers are trying to mix weekend cricket with an off-season holiday. Keeping that in view, they’ll surely have a good time.”Kambli, who is known for his big hitting, was excited by the opportunity, and said that it would beat not playing cricket at all. “It’s an exciting proposition, far better to be knocking the ball around in a 20-over match during the off-season rather than have no cricket. I’m looking forward to playing in the US. It sounds like an exciting format. I’ll play some games, come back to attend to my work in Bombay, and return to play some more matches.”While Sanjay Bangar, Deep Dasgupta and Nikhil Chopra had agreed to play, Gaekwad said that the organisers were not seeking international players, as finding time in the busy international schedule would surely be a constraint.
Although Glamorgan`s match against Cardiff UCCE petered out into a draw, the friendlygave the county professionals some invaluable practice in readiness for theirChampionship fixture against Derbyshire starting on Good Friday.After gaining a first innings lead of 212, Steve James wisely opted againstenforcing the follow-on during the afternoon session, and instead the Glamorgancaptain gave his batsmen further time in the middle against the university bowlers.The county`s batsmen responded in positive fashion, amassing 306-5 in just 44.2 overs,with the highlight after tea being some vintage strokeplay from Matthew Maynard,who struck an imperious century from just 49 balls, with 13 fours and 5 sixes. His secondfifty came from just 17 balls, and this was the second century of the season for the 37 year old,following his fine hundred against Somerset at Taunton. Maynard appears to be inrich form at the moment, scoring 344 runs in the pre-season games and havingonly been dismissed once.David Hemp and Mike Powell also took full advantage of further time at the wicket, andboth hit fluent half-centuries before being dismissed by James Tomlinson, the left-armseamer who is on Hampshire`s staff.Earlier, the students had began the day on 136-4, but they lost wickets at regularintervals during the morning session, although there was some stubborn resistance fromwicket-keeper Ryan Bradshaw, and all-rounder Tom Lambert.Bradshaw, who had previously been on the M.C.C. groundstaff, made an aggressive 22,whilst Lambert compiled a pugnacious 44 before he was the last man out to giveDavid Harrison his fourth wicket. Darren Thomas also picked up three wickets,with Andrew Davies claiming two and Robert Croft one, whilst Alex Wharf bowled acouple of hostile spells and was unlucky not to pick up at least one wicket.There was also the welcome sight before play of Mike Kasprowicz fresh from hisovernight flight from Australia, where he was the leading seam bowler in Shieldcricket last winter.
New Zealand are back at full strength with the return of theircaptain, Stephan Fleming, who has recovered from stomach trouble. TheBlack Caps will be looking forward to move to the top of the tablewith a victory in tomorrow’s game, which is the seventh match of theCoca-Cola Cup at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds. If they win, theywill be drawing level with Sri Lanka in the points table but in thenet run rate they have a slight edge over the hosts. And there areprecedents of the net run rate deciding the finalists of Triangulartournaments."I’m fine. I’ll be perfectly alright for tomorrow’s game," said theNew Zealand captain at the end of the team’s practice session thismorning at the SSC Grounds.But the hosts, who have already got six points, will be determined notto repeat the mistakes against India on Saturday.Until the last game, India was unlikely to get through to the final,but after the improved performance on Saturday, they’ve got a slimchance to make it and in the process they have made the competitionmore interesting."We’ve played some good cricket and confident of getting through tothe final," said a confident Fleming at the end of the team’spractice session.Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore, does not seem to be too worried aboutlosing the last game against India, "The object of the exercise isfirst to make the final. We are nearly there. We could have been thereafter the last game. But we played poorly and the Indians playedbetter."With Fleming’s recovery, Jacob Oram, who played well in the Indiangame is likely to make way for him. Batting at No 3, Oram made 41 off37 balls with five boundaries and a six. He also dismissed RahulDravid for 27.Dion Nash who has played in both the matches against India was leftout in the matches against Sri Lanka, but after his brilliant allround performance in the last game against India, he is expected to bein the final eleven, according to the New Zealand captain.There is a general feeling that the Black Caps have failed to comegood against quality spinners, but the captain has a completelydifferent view, "I don’t think there’s a problem. Off the threeteams, we have scored the highest runs so far. It’s just not only us;all the teams are finding the wicket difficult in the middle overs.Admittedly, we can do a few things better, but overall we have donewell," remarked the New Zealand captain.The tournament shifts away from Premadasa stadium where the first sixmatches of the Coca-Cola Cup were played. The last time a One-DayInternational was played at the SSC, Sri Lanka crushed England by tenwickets. The pitch looks a good one and the curator Ranil Abenaiakefeels there should be a lot of runs. This is a view with which Flemingconcurs. "Yes, it looks like a good wicket. Looks the best out of thelot," he said.Sri Lankan cricket manager Air Commodore Ajith Jayasekara has returnedto his duties as the team manager after he temporarily stepped downfollowing the terrorists attack on the air-force base at Katunayake.Sri Lanka are likely to go with the same combination that lost thegame against India. Mahela Jayawardene is expected to keep his placein the side despite a lean trot. The right-hander has just scored 20runs in four innings with two ducks, "We are missing his runs. Butbatsmen do experience this kind of bad patch. He just needs to spendsometime in the middle. I tell you the boy is a terrific player. Thereis no doubt about it," said a confident Whatmore.The coach also says they will stick to the six batsmen policy whichthey have been following in this series, "I am very pleased with thepolicy. Those who took the decision did so after taking a lot offactors into account and with the best interest of the team in mind."With Sri Lanka unlikely to make any changes it’s likely that RomeshKaluwitharana will again be the opening partner for Sanath Jayasuriyaafter their 103-run partnership against India.If Sri Lanka win tomorrow’s game, they’ll be through to the final andthat will mean that India and New Zealand will have to fight hard toearn a slot to the August 5 final at the Premadasa stadium underflood-lights.If New Zealand wins, that will put the Indians in a must win situationin their last two games.
Celtic have the chance to go six points clear at the top of the Premiership on Sunday if they can secure a win in the latest Glasgow derby.
Prior to the recent international break, the Hoops recorded a convincing 4-0 win over Ross County at Parkhead, setting them up nicely to take on their fiercest rivals at Ibrox this weekend.
On the chalkboard
In terms of how Ange Postecoglou could set up his team tomorrow, one player who didn’t start against County but we feel should be in the starting XI on this occasion is full-back Anthony Ralston.
Despite seeing Josip Juranovic start ahead of him last time out, the 23-year-old replaced him with 62 minutes on the clock and managed to put on a solid show.
With 28 minutes under his belt, the Scotland international made one tackle, won 100% of his aerial duels and completed 40 of the 43 passes he attempted, two of which were key passes. This cameo ultimately earned him an overall match rating of 7/10 from SofaScore, which is higher than what Juranovic got.
Looking at his season as a whole, Ralston has shown what an impressive all-around figure he is by racking up four goals and seven assists, along with averaging 1.6 tackles and 1.6 clearances per game in the league.
Praised for his “magnificent” performances in the past and hailed as a “warrior” on the pitch by Postecoglou, Ralston certainly has what it takes to be a real nuisance for his opponents from an attacking and defensive sense.
Taking into account the magnitude of tomorrow’s showdown and what it could mean for the title race on both sides, having a player like the £1.62m-rated defender on the pitch could be vital for Celtic given how deadly he can be in front of goal and how tough he can be at the back.
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Moving forward, even though Rangers have scored fewer goals and conceded more than the Hoops this season, their current position in the table means that they will only be looking to win on Sunday. Therefore, if they go all-out attacking from the get-go, having a player like Ralston who can defend and also punish teams at the other end could make him the difference between winning and losing for Celtic. He is a man they will likely need this weekend.
In other news: Celtic will rue call on £25k-p/w gem whose value has rocketed 400% since Parkhead exit
Gazi Group Cricketers took a four-point lead at the top of the Dhaka Premier League points table after their ten-run win over Brothers Union at the BKSP-3 Ground in Savar. Abu Hider’s four-wicket haul made the difference for Gazi Group at the end of a tense battle.Set 237 to beat the in-form team of the competition, Alok Kapali and Manvinder Bisla added 78 runs for the fourth wicket after Brothers Union lost three early wickets. When Manvinder fell in the 39th over, having added 60 runs for the sixth wicket with Dhiman Ghosh, Gazi Group took charge of the game.Even though Myshukur Rahaman tried to inspire Brothers Union’s lower-order to an end-innings fightback with a run-a-ball 38, Hider’s late strikes, culminating in figures of 4 for 52, ensured the opposition was bowled out for 226 in 48.5 overs. Mahedi Hasan and Shahidul Islam finished with two wickets each.Earlier, Gazi Group’s innings was headlined by a 97-ball 93 from wicketkeeper Anamul Haque, who strung a third-wicket 89-run stand with Suhrawadi Shuvo (41) and a 59-run fifth-wicket partnership with captain Nadif Chowdhury (33), before Mohammad Saddam and Kapali scalped three wickets apiece to skittle Gazi Group for 236 in 48.4 overs.Partex Sporting Club registered their first win this season after handing Kalabagan Krira Chakra a 62-run drubbing at the KSOA Stadium in Fatullah.Having been put in to bat, Partex posted 278 for 5 in 50 overs, piloted by a 52-run stand between Irfan Sukkur (58) and Sajjad Hossain (46) for the third wicket. Sukkur and and Sazzadul Haque (53) then put on 95 runs for the fourth wicket. Jubair Ahmed (16) and Rajibul Islam (30) took Partex past 250 runs, adding 42 unbroken runs for the sixth wicket in the last 4.4 overs.Samad returned the best figures for Kalabagan, finishing with 3 for 50 from his ten overs.In reply, despite having four experienced batsmen, Kalabagan failed to play out their full quota of 50 overs, folding for 216 in 46.1 overs. Hamilton Masakadza top-scored with 45 while openers Mehrab Hossain jnr and Mohammad Ashraful struggled to make any impact, registering scores of 11 and 12 respectively. Kalabagan’s woes were compounded by Imran Ali, who bagged a five-wicket haul in only his second List-A game. Among his victims were Masakadza and captain Tushar Imran, who fell for a four-ball duck.Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity moved to eighth position on the points table after Robiul Islam Robi struck a 126-ball 103 to set up a 20-run victory over fifth-placed Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at the BKSP-4 Ground.Having elected to bat, Khelaghar opener Robi clobbered ten fours and two sixes enroute to his second List-A century this season. He added 83 for the first wicket with Salahuddin Pappu (46) before adding 126 for the third wicket with Amit Majumder, who struck 58 off 74 balls. Abdur Razzak picked up his second five-for of the season, as Khelaghar posted 266 for 8 in 50 overs.Dhanmondi Club were reduced to 22 for 3 in the fourth over but Prashant Chopra (44) and Rajin Saleh (76) added 53 for the fourth wicket to resuscitate the chase. Rajin and the in-form Ziaur Rahman (75) then led Dhanmond’s rally with an emphatic 108-run stand for the fifth wicket. However, Ziaur’s dismissal in the 35th over triggered a lower-order collapse as Dhanmondi lost their last five wickets for 51 runs before being bowled out for 246 in 47.2 overs. Abdur retired hurt with a leg injury after he fell badly while putting in a dive to get back in the crease. Tanvir Islam scalped four wickets to help Khelaghar register their third win of the tournament.
Shaun Udal, the former England offspinner, has announced his retirement from first-class cricket. Udal, who represented Hampshire for nearly 20 seasons, was given a guard of honour by his team-mates after the side’s Pro40 match against Lancashire at Old Trafford.Udal, 38, said he made the correct decision, taking into account his value to the side. “I wanted to go out on a high as a decent player, instead of being a player who did not deserve his place on the staff,” Udal told the . “My final game was very emotional, but I feel I have made the right decision.”He was out of contract at the end of this season, but had previously hinted that he would consider playing on if Hampshire offered him another deal. However, with Shane Warne a permanent fixture in the side, after his international retirement, Udal has played only five Championship matches in 2007. The club are also keen to push forward the development of Liam Dawson, a left-arm spinner, who has played for England Under-19.Udal played four Tests and 11 one-dayers for England. Though he made his ODI debut in 1994, during England’s home series against South Africa, he had to wait 11 years to get a call-up to the Test side. He played his first Test at the age of 36, against Pakistan in Multan as the lone spinner following an injury to left-arm spinner Ashley Giles.However, he is best remembered for bowling England to victory in the third and final Test against India in Mumbai the following year. His figures of 4 for 14 sparked India’s collapse in the fourth innings and the win helped England square the series. But that was his last international match.
Mohammad Asif and Rana Naved have left to join the Pakistan team in England before the fourth Test at The Oval but it isn’t clear whether they will play in the Test. Wasim Bari, the chief selector, said that the decision was entirely up to the team management.Bari said that the two bowlers would be tried out in the nets and the conditions would be judged before any further announcements were made. He also said that for the moment no team would be announced for the five-one day internationals beginning August 30.Asif has fully recovered from his elbow injury but the management was considering holding him back from the Test and only play him in the one-day series. Naved was ruled out because of a groin injury.”Rana bowled eight overs on Sunday under the supervision of the doctors and they have cleared him now from his groin problem,” Bari told Supercricket website.Pakistan played the first three Tests without their key bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar, Naved and Asif. They have lost the series 2-0, with a Test to play.
Gordon Parsons has been appointed as the new coach of the Highveld Lions for the 2005-06 season. Parsons, the former Boland and Free State fast bowler, will replace Shukri Conrad, who was named the Western Province/Boland coach.Parsons is no stranger to the Lions set-up, as he had assisted Conrad in coaching the Lions during the 2004-05 season when the franchise system was put in place. “I am excited about the challenge that lies ahead,” said Parsons at a press conference at the Wanderers. “You know there is a lot of to do to win silverware.” He added that he would like to utilise the young talented players within the franchise system instead of contracting an overseas player, giving the young ones the opportunity to prove themselves.Parsons said that the Lions have a balanced team with talented young players as well as established ones who could provide guidance to the youngsters. He also said that the only major change the team would have to make next season would be to play more confidently on the field.Allan Kourie, the Lions CEO, said, “We took continuity into consideration, being that he already worked with Shukri, the players know him. It’s good if you look at that Charl Langeveldt, Garnet Kruger, David Tebrugge worked pretty close with him.”
Adam Gilchrist has questioned the entire process of passing judgment on a bowler’s action based on tests done in laboratory conditions. Commenting on Muttiah Muralitharan’s visit to the University of Western Australia to check the legality of his doosra, Gilchrist told Australia’s Channel Seven: “I have got to question why they bother doing a test like that, whether it is Murali or anyone else in world cricket. Because there is nothing similar between that in a laboratory and what you are facing in the Test matches.”Gilchrist also disagreed with the decision only to focus attention on Murali’s doosra. “What I find interesting is they say you don’t need to look at his general offbreak any more because we have cleared that. A bowler can change what they want, every single delivery in a Test match, whatever they want to do with their wrist or the arm. I don’t see that you can say they are cleared, we don’t need to look for it any more.”Gilchrist had earlier been reprimanded by the Australian board for making comments on Muralitharan’s action, but this time the board has decided not to take any action against him.Meanwhile, Jacquie Alderson, one of the experts at the university involved with the tests, defended the system, saying that it would be very difficult for a bowler to change his action without the UWA team noticing it. She said that the amount of time it took for Muralitharan to rotate his arm in match conditions was the same as it was during the tests.”I think it would be highly unlikely that someone will be able to change their action inside that environment but I would not say it would be impossible,” she said. “But to be honest I don’t know any other way it could be tested. You would have to say it would be very difficult for someone to actively change their motion in less than a hundredth of a second.”
Facing a summary exit if they stumble again, Pakistan aim to put their World Cup campaign back on the rails in Paarl here against lowly-rated Holland on Tuesday.Paarl is in the wine country in the Western Cape. The weather is dry and hot, and if the forecast is to be believed, likely to remain so with the temperature around 32 degrees celsius.The wicket, though not genuinely dicey, is not an easy one to bat on. It is the venue where Holland made India struggle to just 204 before the latter prevailed, and where Sri Lanka blew away Canada for the lowest one-day international score of 36. That match was over in just 115 minutes, it also was the shortest ODI ever.But Pakistan must banish such thoughts; whatever the conditions, they have to conquer them. There is no option for them but to win against Holland, and win big. And then keep on winning against India on March 1, and Zimbabwe on March 4 to survive and stay in the hunt for one of the three Super Sixes slots from their group.Since they are way down on the points table at the moment, with only Holland and Namibia below them, that is the least they can do to be back in reckoning. If weather and upsets by other teams do not end up thwarting them, it should be enough.But with eight Pool A games still remaining to be played, who knows what might transpire. But their disappointing loss against England may continue to haunt them for quite some time to come.”We have to do it the hard way now”, said the Pakistan coach Richard Pybus, “and I hope that the pressure of the situation brings out the best in the boys and makes our batsmen perform”.With skipper Waqar Younis and manager Shaharyar Khan absent from the regulation pre-match press conference, after conducting a long session at the nets in searing heat, Pybus fulfilled his share of the responsibility by facing the media.Blaming Pakistan’s misfortunes squarely on the batting collapse, he conceded that in the setback against England “some bowlers may have bowled an over or two too many, but the side’s bowling and fielding was competitive. Three wickets in the space of three deliveries early on pulled the rug from under us. The remaining batsmen got sucked into the situation and that further complicated things.”On the possibility of an angry reaction back in Pakistan, which is quite likely if there is no radical transformation in the team’s fortunes, Pybus said that though he and Waqar felt accountable, but he was not overly concerned about that. “We can take care of certain technical aspects, the rest depends on execution on the field”.When asked whether the side lacked the ability and influence of batsmen like Javed Miandad or Saleem Malik, Pybus said: “Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana are champion batsmen. The experienced players between them have more than 1500 one-day internationals. That is the kind of experience no other team has. The bottom line is that they have to perform”.With the prospect of exit looming large, Pybus thought his batsmen need to bat all the way. “I wish I had a magic wand to make our batsmen perform,” he said. Though he was concerned about the non-performing middle-order, he added that the Pakistan batsmen mostly perform in two gears: fifth or reverse, and hoped that from here on it would be the former.Inzamam and Youhana’s woeful run has made things rather difficult for the late order, and it has crumbled under the pressure. “Unlike Australia or South Africa, we lack genuine all-rounders, as we have bowlers who can bat a bit”, said Pybus.In this regard, Azhar Mahmood still remains untried. A genuine batsman with an exciting repertoire of aggressive shots and an under-rated swing bowler, Azhar merits an outing in place of Abdul Razzaq, who seems jaded and has mostly struggled since his comeback from injury.Despite a string of poor scores, Shahid Afridi might retain his place because he adds to the depth in bowling. With the bearded figure of Saeed Anwar showing committment and skill despite not having made any sizable score, and likely to get the nod, the rest of the eleven pretty much picks itself.The toss will again be critical, for Pakistan need to bat through 50 overs to see their top order batsmen recapture a semblance of form, and also to improve their net run-rate. This is far more important than Wasim Akram getting his 500th wicket (which he should have had except for a leg before decision that went the other way) or Shoaib Akhtar blasting the Holland batsmen into oblivion.A contrast of such silken skills and red hot pace, Akram and Akhtar look great when they bowl in tandem, making a chill run down the spines of batsmen. But in reality it is the flowing drives and ferocious cuts and pulls of Anwar, Afridi, Inzamam and Youhana that are the need of the hour for Pakistan.