Makhaya Ntini has won the Mutual & Federal South African Cricketer of the Year award for the second year running.Ntini, the winner in 2004-05, ended the season with 19 wickets in the home series against Australia and 20 against New Zealand. Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock were the others nominated for the award.”Yet again, Makhaya is a worthy winner. He’s both the smiling face and the steely cutting edge of South African cricket,” said Bruce Campbell, the managing director of Mutual & Federal. “His unprecedented run of five-wicket hauls makes him the year’s outstanding performer. Everyone at Mutual & Federal is proud to salute this great champion of the game.”Shaun Pollock, the top-ranked bowler and allrounder in the latest ICC ODI rankings, picked up the Standard Bank One-Day International Cricketer of the Year Award. Pollock was also honoured by his fellow players when he received the SA Players’ Player of the Year Award.Johan van der Wath, the allrounder who came into the international scene during South Africa’s tour of Australia, bagged the SA Newcomer of the Year award while AB de Villiers was voted SuperSport Fans Cricketer of the Year.Apart from recognising international players, the awards also honour domestic performers and administrators. The Coach of the Year award went to Phil Russell of the Nashua Dolphins. Chris Scott of the Wanderers was adjudged Groundsman of the Year while Marais Erasmus was Umpire of the Year.
Ricky Ponting laid a wreath in northern France for 11,000 Australian soldiers without marked graves as the one-day squad paid their respects to fallen heroes yesterday. The players, including many who visited Gallipoli in 2001, watched Ponting and Penelope Wensley, the Australian ambassador to France, place flowers at the Australia National Memorial near the town of Villers-Bretonneux.John Buchanan said the visit would help forge a closer team spirit as they witnessed what a sacrifice their compatriots had made. “It’s more a life experience rather than a cricket experience, almost irrelevant to the tour to some degree,” he said. “We’ve got an opportunity to really expand everyone’s horizons a little bit in terms off other Australians’ experiences in a war theatre.”Ponting’s squad also took a guided tour of the Franco-Australian Museum, which celebrates in part the special link between the two nations. Australia’s soldiers are highly regarded in Villers-Bretonneux because they recaptured the small northern town from Germany on April 25, 1918 in a battle significant to gaining Allied control of the Western Front. The players spent time at the Victoria College and ate lunch at Le Kangaroo Restaurant as the town continues to remember the soldiers.
England seem likely to cancel their winter tour of Zimbabwe when the 15 members of the England & Wales Cricket Board’s management meet next week. A 17-page report submitted by Des Wilson, the former vice-chairman of the Sports Council, which will greatly influence the management committee, is expected to state that now moral and political reasons should be considered as well as those of player safety.Wilson’s document suggests that moral issues alone should prompt England to give the tour a miss. “The safety and security of a touring party can in today’s circumstances no longer be the only factor in deciding whether or not to proceed with a controversial tour,” he told The Times. “Can we tour this country knowing what we do about its stance on human rights and the suffering of its people?”The main thrust of the ECB’s argument for not touring Zimbabwe during the World Cup was player-safety, but if it accepts Wilson’s suggestions – and the indications are that it will – then the tour is almost certainly dead in the water.Last year, David Morgan, the ECB chairman, gave assurances to his Zimbabwean counterparts that England would honour the tour. His comments, made to prevent Zimbabwe cancelling their trip to England last May, are likely to be disregarded in light of the report.Since then, Robert Mugabe has pulled Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth, following widespread protests over his regime’s poor record on human rights, and critics insist that the human-rights situation inside the country continues to deteriorate.And unlike the World Cup boycott, which resulted in England being heavily fined by the ICC, there would be no penalties for refusing to go, as the ICC has no juristiction over bilateral tours. The only real potential pitfall is that Zimbabwe might in turn refuse to participate in the ICC Trophy which is taking place in England in September. But since that is an ICC-administered event and not a bilateral tour they might face penalties from the governing body for withdrawing.Zimbabwe recently hosted a full series against West Indies, and Australia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are all scheduled to tour there later this year. If England refuse to tour, the ECB might suggest moving the series to a neutral venue.
England Under 19’s ended the third day of the First Test against Australia in Adelaide 230 runs ahead of their hosts with one second innings wicket remaining, thanks to a fine 97 from Somerset’s Neil Edwards.The tall left handed opener from Penzance was disappointed to be run out just three runs short of what would have been a richly deserved century.He told me: "It was definitely good to get some runs under my belt, and going into the morning I felt really confident and relaxed and really up for it."He continued: "I was pleased with the way that I had played both the seam attack, and especially the spin, which has been causing me problems on the tour so far. Soon after lunch got my fifty, and from there on I was in the frame of mind to take the game to them a bit and started to attack all their bowlers!!"Regarding his dismissal he said: "I had no idea what score I was on when I called for a single off the leg spinner that was half stopped by a diving full stretch fielder at mid wicket. I was already well down the wicket and I was nearly home when the fielder directly hit the stumps! There was a run there but some confusion had left me run out on 97 but I was’nt too disheartened when the boys told me my score. However it would have been something really special to have made my first Test century on my England debut."He concluded : "This was a really special day that I will never forget, and I would like to thank everyone at home for their support."Somerset coach Kevin Shine was full of praise for the young opener. He told me: "Neil is a player for the future. He is a genuine opening bat who has got his feet on the ground and should build upon this experience. England Under 19 cricket has been a spring board for many star players like Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick and Neil is capable of following in their footsteps."
Tasmania has cruised to victory over Queensland in its Mercantile Mutual Cup game at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart today. Set 102 for victory, the Tigers needed just half of the allocated overs, reaching the target for the loss of only three wickets.The Tasmanian side’s chase began poorly, with Michael Kasprowicz claiming the wicket of opener Todd Pinnington (0) with the first ball of the innings. Pinnington was caught behind, edging the ball to keeper Wade Seccombe.Kasprowicz’s opening partner Adam Dale snared the Tigers’ next wicket, just three overs later, as Seccombe again took an easy catch behind the wicket. The dismissal of Dene Hills (3) left the Tigers teetering at 2/8.Opener Jamie Cox (27) and Shaun Young (52*) set about rebuilding Tasmania’s innings, as Cox guided a Kasprowicz delivery past gully for four.Young survived an appeal for lbw off the next Kasprowicz over, and rubbed salt into the wound by driving the next ball through gully and point to the boundary.Cox and Young continued to find the fence, both beating the mid off fieldsmen in consecutive overs. Young was probably a touch lucky to survive two lbw appeals off Dale’s bowling.The introduction of Ashley Noffke to the bowling attack proved fruitful for the Tigers. Young first cut the bowler through gully and point for three, and then added four more to his score, driving over Noffke’s head.Cox took Young’s lead and in Noffke’s next over cut a delivery past point for four, and then deftly chipped the ball over square leg for two. Young featured in the runs again as he took another boundary off the Queensland bowler.However, a quick delivery from Dale saw Cox (27) become the Tasmanians’ third victim, out to a lbw decision. Young was then joined at the crease by teenager Shane Watson (16*).Young and Watson quickly piled on more runs, the former again finding the boundary through the gully. The man of the match reserved special punishment for the medium pace of Scott Prestwidge, pulling him twice through square leg for sixes in the same over.With Tasmania needing just six runs to win, rain looked likely to set in. However, Young took delight in again driving Noffke to the boundary, then bringing up his 50, and registering the winning runs by lobbing a shot into vacant space at deep cover point.After a brilliant display with the ball earlier in the day on a helpful pitch, the Tasmanians took full points from the match. What made it even better was that they also recieved a bonus point for reaching their target within 35.1 of the maximum forty-four overs available to them in the rain-reduced contest. The win will not completely remove the sour taste left by the drubbing they received from the Bulls in the Pura Cup match between the sides that concluded two days ago. However, the determination, spirit and unity shown today by the Tigers shows there is still a spark in Tasmanian cricket.
Rangers chief Ross Wilson made a number of moves in the January transfer window to shape Gio van Bronckhorst’s squad at Ibrox.
He brought in James Sands, Aaron Ramsey and Amad Diallo on loan, whilst also landing Mateusz Zukowski on a permanent basis.
One position in which he has opted to wait until the summer to strengthen is centre-back. He secured a deal to sign John Souttar on a free transfer at the end of the campaign, but did not bring anyone in to immediately bolster the squad in that position.
Blunder
The Gers were linked with a swoop for Belgian defender Danilho Doekhi throughout the January transfer window, with the Vitesse Arnhem tank reportedly available for a cut-price fee of £2m with his contract expiring later this year.
Wilson will now be left feeling red-faced, as Doekhi’s recent form suggests that the 23-year-old would have been a brilliant signing for the club.
In his last four appearances for Vitesse in all competitions, the Dutchman has averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.35. He scored two goals from centre-back and won an incredible 33 duels – 8.25 per game – whilst captaining the team in two Eredivisie and two Europa Conference League outings.
Meanwhile, Rangers slipped up in the Premiership recently as John Lundstram was played as a makeshift centre-back against Motherwell. His lack of quality in that position was left horribly exposed for the away side’s first goal as he got caught flat-footed in a one-on-one in the build-up, which played a major role in van Bronckhorst’s side drawing the game 2-2.
Thomas Letsch, manager of Doekhi’s current club, previously lauded the 23-year-old’s talents, saying: “He already played fantastic last year and this season he has performed at the highest level in every game. Danilho makes almost no mistakes and is an absolute team player, a very calm player. flat developed. He coaches other players very well. He is calmer than other players and perhaps that makes him less noticeable, but he is the reserve captain for a reason.”
These quotes highlight the immense quality the defender provides on the pitch, and his recent statistics back up the hype that his manager delivered to him.
Across 20 Eredivisie starts this season, Doekhi has won an impressive 68% of his duels whilst making 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game. This shows that he is a strong defender who is able to read the game well, with his average SofaScore rating of 7.01 suggesting that he is also able to provide consistently high-quality displays.
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Therefore, Wilson will surely be disappointed in himself after failing to strike a £2m deal to bring the 23-year-old to Ibrox in January. His statistics suggest that he would have been a boost to Van Bronckhorst’s squad, and the Dutch head coach would not have been forced to resort to using Lundstram at centre-back.
Hopefully this blunder will not cost Rangers the league title this season and they will be able to snap up Doekhi for nothing in the summer. The Gers now rely on their current central defenders stepping up and ensuring that the club are not still regretting their failure with Doekhi come May.
AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst can brutally axe “shaky” Rangers dud in deal for “annoyingly brilliant” £0 machine…
No deadline day rush signings, no losing one of our best players at the last minute, leaving a gaping hole in our starting line up, no losing out on a potential signing to a bigger club. This Tuesday was a very quiet day at the Greenhous Meadow and that’s been somewhat of a rarity over the last few seasons.
For a manager who signed six new players signed on either a permanent or loan deal on the same day last year Graham Turner has been unusually quiet during this years usually hectic period.
With one addition to the squad brought in, West Brom striker Romaine Saywers on a one month loan deal, one would suspect that Mr Turner certainly believes that this year his squad are more than equipped to finally seal promotion.
The question every town fan has been asking is does our squad contain enough depth to successfully battle on and seal promotion come May and should we have brought one or two more players to help boost our chances.
We currently possess one of the smaller squads in the division with only just over 20 players currently on the books. Whilst our Midfield appears to be the strongest part of our team, I believe Turner should have looked into bringing some cover in at the back. With only seven defenders in the squad and with two of them (Sherriff and Hazzell) out injured all it takes now is another injury or even a suspension and we may be forced to cope with a make shift defence, which is not what is needed at such a vital time in the campaign.
With other teams around us in the league making big name signings during the window and on the final day some fans could argue that we have made a mistake by not signing up anybody. Crawley completed the biggest deals of the day in the division, saying goodbye to top goal scorer Matthew Tubbs and welcoming Billy Clarke to the club, a player who has proven his goal scoring prowess at this level on numerous occasions in the past. With the loan signing of highly rated Arsenal youngster Sanchez Watt completed earlier in the week as well, Steve Evans’s men are beginning to look even stronger going into the second half of the campaign.
Rather than looking at the lack of signing’s we should be looking at the players we have managed to keep hold of. Lionel Ainsworth and Jon Taylor, two of the best wingers in the division were both tipped with moves away from the club in August and no doubt some of those clubs would have been sniffing around again during January following promising starts to the season from both of them. Striker Terry Gornell was linked with a move to league one Rochdale to reacquaint himself with former Accrington manager John Coleman. Had we lost any of these players it would have been a huge blow to our promotion hopes.
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So does Turner not signing anyone demonstrate a lack of ambition like some fans have suggested? I think it will be beneficial for us as a team going into the second half of the season, the players have gelled together well and with no new faces coming in there is little chance of someone causing problems within the team. If we can continue to play the way we have done so far this campaign then I believe that this could finally be our year to seal promotion.
Rangers moved one step closer to a third consecutive Scottish Premier League title after defeating Dundee United 2-0 at Ibrox on Tuesday.Goals from Nikica Jelavic and Kyle Lafferty in the opening 25 minutes of the clash set up the victory, helping Rangers open up a four-point lead over Celtic in the race for the title.
Celtic travel to third placed Hearts on Wednesday, where a victory for the Edinburgh side will hand the title to Rangers.
Rangers started strongly in front of a parochial home crowd and it did not take long for Walter Smith’s side to capitalise on their advantage.
On 21 minutes, right-back Steven Whittaker whipped in a cross from the right wing and Jelavic nodded home for his 17th goal of the season.
Just four minutes later, Rangers doubled their advantage as Steven Naismith found Lafferty in the penalty area and the striker slotted past United goalkeeper Dusan Pernis with ease.
Dundee United had their chances to get back into the contest in the second half as Craig Conway and substitute Jon Daly squandered good opportunities, but Rangers proved too strong as the pressure fell back to Celtic to keep the title race going into the final day.
Rangers travel to Kilmarnock on Sunday, while Celtic hosts Motherwell on the same day.
At the other end of the table, Hamilton’s relegation to the second tier was confirmed as they lost 1-0 at St Johnstone.
Liam Craig was the match-winner for St Johnstone with a penalty after 29 minutes as the Accies three-year stay in the top flight ended.
In the only other game on Tuesday, St Mirren ensured they stayed in the Premier League for another season as they defeated Aberdeen 1-0 at Pittodrie Stadium.
Gareth Wardlaw’s strike after 65 minutes clinched the three points for the Buddies as Aberdeen’s final home game of the season ended in defeat.
Nicolas Anelka believes Chelsea's impressive start to the new season can be traced back to continuity.
The Blues are the only Premier League team to boast a 100 per cent record following the first four games of the season.
On Wednesday night they thrashed MSK Zilina 4-1 in the Champions League to begin their European campaign on a strong footing.
During the summer transfer window, manager Carlo Ancelotti was quiet in the transfer market after adding just Ramires and Yossi Benayoun to his squad to replace released quartet Deco, Joe Cole, Michael Ballack and Juliano Belletti.
And it is that sense of continuity which Anelka believes is responsible for their early-season form.
He explained: "We didn't change the team very much. That means everybody knows each other, which makes it easier for everybody. So maybe that's why we seem to be doing so well."
Speaking about the strength of the Stamford Bridge squad, the French striker added:"A lot of players will sometimes be on the bench to rest this season and everybody knows that.
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"It's because we have so many games and we know it's going to be a tough season. Everybody accepts it, because we want to win. Chelsea have a lot of big players who can all score, which is good for the club.
"We try to do it on the pitch and show it to everyone who is watching. It's good for the confidence of the team. The side against whom we're going to play knows everybody can score, so maybe they will be scared."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Home advantage is often talked about in football; the twelfth man, the extra motivation provided by the crowd that can, and should, provide teams with the catalyst they need to go out there and take their game to the next level. That is of course presuming that the home crowd are on your side. I’m not suggesting that the home crowd would want their team to lose, but there are instances of crowds who have a negative agenda, whose reason for turning up is as much to demonstrate their frustration as much as it is to watch football. Take the atmosphere at Ewood Park this season, or at The Emirates towards the end of last season, both unhappy places to be, both crowds detrimental to the football being played by the home side. You can’t necessarily blame angry crowds of fans; to pay good money to see your side consistently under perform is exceptionally testing, even for the most patient and optimistic of fans.
However it is important that fans recognise that by booing their players, or by calling for their manager’s head at games, they are only hurting themselves.
It is a problem that affects all clubs. For the bigger sides the weight of expectation can prove a hindering factor and for the smaller clubs the lack of support and niggling abuse they receive from their fans can affect the players. Take Bolton for example; out of the sixteen points they have gained in the league this year only four have come at home. You would imagine that a team struggling in the league would be grateful for a little home support. However when things aren’t going your way as a team sometimes it is easier to play away from the eyes of the expecting crowds. Some players perform better in high-pressure environments, but not all. It’s pretty clear that Bolton’s best performances for the season have come away from home where there is less pressure to get the result, just in the same way that towards the end of the season when your place may be cemented in mid table then your team may in fact churn out some of their best performances of the season. Similarly Blackburn have got some of their best results of the season away from home such as their 2-3 victory at Old Trafford. The same can also be said of Wigan who have only picked up about 35% of their points for the season at home. If you collate that information you realise that on average around 60% of the points belonging to those in the relegation zone come from away games. But it’s not just the struggling teams that are affected.
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At The Emirates at the end of last season you could tell that the Arsenal players wanted to be anywhere but their home ground. There’s nothing like 60,000 disappointed fans to remind you of your failings. One of the problems for Arsenal ever since they moved to The Emirates is what it, as a ground, embodies. When they first opened the stadium there were, commemorated around the stands, pictures of all the trophies that had been won over the years and spaces had been left to insert new pictures. However this season they closed those spaces. Optimism seems to have dipped on the red half of north London and it is reflected in the fans. It’s not just that the lack of noise in the ground, I know this because I am there every week, is almost deafening but playing in front of a quiet or disgruntled home crowd can inspire the opposition. The point of playing at home is that your supporters drown out the opposition fans. As soon as that ceases to the case, as it often does at The Emirates, then it is hardly like you are playing at home at all.
Clearly I’m not saying that the home crowd is always a disadvantage, nor am I saying that these grounds are always like this. However there does seem to be evidence amongst certain teams, especially in the lower half of the table, that playing in front of the home crowd can actually be more of a hindrance than a help.
Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay
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