Danish Kaneria has admitted he fears for his one-day international career following the disappointment of being left out of Pakistan’s squad for the triangular VB series in Australia.The leg spinner Kaneria believes he could come to be thought of as a Test bowler only after he was dropped for the tournament, which starts on January 14 and also features West Indies. He took 15 wickets as Pakistan were whitewashed 3-0 by Australia in the recent Test series, and believes he could have used the experience of bowling to top batsmen to great effect in the forthcoming one-dayers.”It is disappointing not to be retained for the one-dayers because I think I can be effective in limited overs cricket as well,” Kaneria, 24, told the Reuters news agency on Sunday. “Having bowled to the world’s best batsmen I have gained a lot in confidence and ideas. But the team management told me I needed to rest before the tour to India in February.”But Kaneria, who has played ten one-day internationals, remained upbeat about his chances of making a return to the limited overs arena, and vowed to try hard to gain a place in the forthcoming tour of India in February, which includes five one-day internationals.”Leg spinners have played an effective role in one-dayers in the past,” he argued. “Shane Warne, Anil Kumble… they all won matches for their country. I will just have to work harder to convince everyone they can rely upon me in limited overs cricket.”
Bangladesh 97 and 178 (Bashar 54, Al Sahariar 36; MacGill 5 for 65) lost to Australia 407 for 7 dec Australia, as expected, won their first Test against Bangladesh by an innings. They weren’t quite at their ruthless best, but they didn’t need to be. Bangladesh showed a singular lack of application in their first innings, though they showed some spine in the second before a sudden middle-order collapse brought them to their knees. Steve Waugh was in a relective mood after winning his record 37th Test as captain; Dav Whatmore could only watch in despair as Bangladesh lost his first Test as their coach; Stuart MacGill, the chief architect of Australia’s domination on the final day, picking up his seventh five-wicket haul, was exhilarated. Here is what they had to say:Steve Waugh On what makes Australia special: It’s about our scoring rate and how quickly we can get our runs and put the opposition in. it’s a positive way of playing the game and we like to win in quick time.It helps when you have someone like Adam Gilchrist batting at number seven who can make the game go forward so quickly and put a lot of pressure on the opposition. We score so quickly that we have extra time to take those 20 wickets and we can put a lot of pressure on their batsmen.That’s the way cricket should be played and if all the countries can take a leaf out of that book then it’s good for world cricket.On how Tests involving Australia hardly ever last five days: A lot of the games are finishing early, but I think the quality of cricket we put out in that period of time is much better than five dull boring days. I’d rather have three exciting days and make the spectators enjoy the cricket we play; we rather play that way as well. I hope the public appreciate the way we play and I think we’ll continuethat way.Dav Whatmore On what he makes of the team he’s just taken charge of: I’m just being a little patient to make assessments given the class of opposition that we faced here. It will take a bit more time to really separate and go on and I think we have to be patient before making any firm assessments.The positives from the game: There were indications of fight here and that’s promising and, really, the game, for me, wasn’t about winning or losing. It’s about being to see what we can do under pressure and try to match the opposition and be as competitive aswe possibly could.There were times when I thought Australia had to fight for their runs – the first 100-150 runs it was a real struggle for them. If it was any other team I believe there was enough pressure applied to pick up more wickets, which has a stabilising effect when you come to chase runs in the second innings, but it wasn’t to be.On how he felt at the end of the game: I don’t think any coach is satisfied – maybe [John] Buchanan [Australia’s coach] might be a bit more satisfied. I’m not sure if I will be satisfied for a long while yet, but it’s a matter of identifying areas where we need to improve -it’s a fairly easy area to identify for us – and going ahead and working on it.Stuart MacGill: On the seventh five-wicket haul of his 24-Test career: I’ve learned through my career that when you get a chance with the ballyou have to make the most of it, so I’m really quite satisfied with how it went today.On how so many of his wickets in this game came from the wrong `un: Normally 90% of my wickets come from my legbreak and even in the first innings I got both my wickets with something different. In this game I felt if I was consistent with my legbreak perhaps thevariation was a chance and it was.On how county cricket has helped his bowling: I’ve been playing for Nottinghamshire in the English county championship and we play on really slow wickets and I think it’s improving my bowling because the margin for error is much smaller over there and I have to work alittle bit more on my consistency.On Mashrafe’s Mortaza’s slog against him (14 runs in an over): That last six I got hit for was definitely one of the biggest sixes off my bowling.Click here to read day 2 quotes.
New Zealand’s bowlers will have a valuable two-hour stint following captain Stephen Fleming’s declaration at tea on the final day of their tour match against the Queensland Academy of Sport at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.Fleming called a halt to New Zealand’s innings straight after wicketkeeper Adam Parore brought up his century with a boundary.The Black Caps finished at six for 296, Parore unbeaten on 100.Earlier, Parore and Fleming put together a 158-run partnership to rescue the side after it teetered at 5-110.The unlikely winning target for the QAS is 327.
For once, Steven Smith had other people to talk about. Joe Burns, tick. Usman Khawaja, tick. David Warner, tick, tick, boom. So much went perfectly for Australia in this win over New Zealand that it was easy to overlook one thing that didn’t: Smith himself didn’t so much as score a half-century. It mattered not. In fact, it was kind of a good thing. It meant others had carried the batting load.This was Australia’s tenth Test victory since the start of last year, and just the second time in those ten games that Smith had failed to pass fifty – the lowish-scoring win over West Indies in Dominica last year was the only other. In fact, in seven of them, Smith had scored first-innings hundreds that helped set up the wins: 115, 100, 162*, 133, 199, 215, 143.It was not surprising, then, that Smith’s decision to move down the order from No.3 to No.4 for this series was a subject of much debate. The lack of experience in the top three could have been the source of some hope among the New Zealanders: Burns opening in a Test for the first time, Khawaja having a third crack at Test cricket at first drop.The result? A first-innings ton for Khawaja, a second-innings hundred for Burns. Not to mention a century in each innings for Warner. It meant there was little for Smith to do except suffer a case of pad rash. He came to the crease at 2 for 311 in the first innings and struck 48, and walked out at 2 for 254 in the second and fell for 1.”They did a terrific job,” Smith said. “It was tough early on day one and for Davey and Joe to get through that period was really crucial for us. The partnerships we had in the top three were crucial to our success for this Test match. It enabled me to come out and play quite freely at No.4. I thought they really set the game up for us.”The numbers were quite staggering. It was the first time in Australia’s 781-Test history that they had raised century opening partnerships in each innings of a Test. More than 80% of Australia’s runs in the Test came from their top three batsmen alone. Life without Chris Rogers and Michael Clarke could hardly have started in a more positive fashion.Of course, it will not always be this easy. More revealing will be the future occasions when Burns and Khawaja have to scrap against an attack on top of its game. Here, they faced a New Zealand attack lacking any sort of bite. Tim Southee’s new-ball spell on the first day featured a few good balls that beat the edge, but that was about it. It did not help that Southee later sat out with a back injury.New Zealand’s lack of fight was not the only disappointing thing about the match. Australia’s fielding was sub-standard, with catches dropped at slip, point and short leg. And although Australia had no trouble claiming 20 wickets, their work with the new ball was also inconsistent. New Zealand’s opening batsmen were able to allow too many deliveries to sail by without using their bats.”I think we improved this morning on our line and length,” Smith said. “I thought our new-ball bowling in this game needs a bit of improvement. I thought we bowled a little bit too short. That’s what we normally don’t do out here, we usually get the ball up and make the batters drive and I think that is going to be important for us leading into Perth, which are probably going to be similar conditions.”Crowd numbers at the WACA will also be closely watched; a record crowd attended for Australia-New Zealand contests at the Gabba but the numbers became lacklustre as the game wore on. The 1373 who attended the final day – which began with New Zealand still having seven wickets in hand – was the size of a Sheffield Shield crowd, not a Test attendance.”There wasn’t many out there today, it’s obviously disappointing as we would like everyone coming out and watching us play,” Smith said. “Both sides play a very aggressive brand of cricket and a good brand to watch, so it was disappointing not to have the crowds out here and hopefully we get a bit more support at the WACA.”
Crystal Palace made no mistake in securing a win in their latest Premier League fixture with a 4-1 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road in midweek.
Having opened the scoring after 15 minutes through Jean-Philippe Mateta, Patrick Vieira’s side then conceded shortly after with midfielder Moussa Sissoko grabbing an equaliser just a few minutes later.
Shortly before halftime, Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher put the visitors back ahead before two late goals from Wilfried Zaha secured the three points for the Eagles.
Aside from the three goalscorers, there was one other player, in particular, that was rather impressive in the game as well.
Playing the full 90 minutes in the left-back position, Tyrick Mitchell managed to have a total of 73 touches of the ball and complete 41 accurate passes with one of them setting up Gallagher’s goal.
In addition to that, the 22-year-old also showed what an impressive defender he is by racking up four tackles, one interception and one clearance as well as winning an eye-catching 75% of his duels.
This overall performance ultimately earned the Englishman a particularly exciting overall match rating of 7.6/10, making him the second-highest rated player in a Palace shirt on the day according to SofaScore, higher than goalscorers Gallagher and Mateta.
Football.London also picked up on the defender’s impressive display by saying that he was “comfortable on the ball thereafter helping push the visitors forward.”
Labelled as a “silent assassin” by his U16s coach Anthony Hayes, Mitchell has played more minutes in the league than any other Eagles player this season, proving just how important he is for Vieira.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Taking into account his performance against the Hornets, it seems likely that he will continue to rack up regular minutes in the team throughout the remainder of the season, especially if he can keep being solid at the back and provide an attacking threat going forward as he did last night.
Having failed to win any of their six previous league games prior to the Watford clash, everyone at Selhurst Park will undoubtedly be hoping that this latest result can kickstart a good run of form and positive results that can get the side into the top half of the league table.
In other news: Big concern: Vieira drops worrying Palace injury update that’ll have fans sweating – opinion
The Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association was plunged into another crisis with the resignation of Nilesh Lakhani from the executive.Lakhani, who is chairman of the Parklands club, is seen as one of the people within the NPCA who actually gets things done, and his resignation will be a serious blow to the credibility of the already beleaguered executive. The NPCA has already lost its chairman and secretary this year.What will really hurt the NPCA is the stinging attack on the executive’s abilities in his letter of resignation. “I have looked at the position and have concluded that I have no confidence in the way that NPCA is currently operating,” he wrote. “It is no secret that there is no proper management in the NPCA executive. It is something we have been criticised for by everyone who has any sensible interest in cricket.It has been difficult for me to understand not only who is running the NPCA but also how it is run. At present the NPCA has no “official” chairman, it has no vice-chairman and now it has no “official” secretary . How long are you going to continue like this? And yet we continue to pretend to the outside world that we have no problems without accepting our fault.”I have taken little part in attending NPCA meetings over the past several months … [because] the way in which NPCA executive meetings are called is pathetic. I usually receive an SMS around 4.30 pm on a particular day saying that NPCA executive will be meeting at 7.00 pm on the same day to discuss urgent matters. How can you operate in this way and expect commitment from members?”Lakhani’s attack on the NPCA comes after months in which the executive has been roundly condemned from all sides for its lack of openness and accountability and its continual stalling of the introduction of a new constitution and an AGM.This might turn out to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and it will be hard to see how, bereft of its last credible administrator, the current executive can carry on with any credibility.
England’s slump is being worsened by their poor attitude and their selection of ageing debutants, according to Glenn McGrath. Mal Loye and Paul Nixon were doing nothing to move England forward and the team seemed to be waiting for an individual to lift them out of their doldrums, McGrath said.Writing in his column in the , McGrath rubbished Paul Collingwood’s comments that England needed “a bit of luck or someone to have a great game for us to turn it around”. “I disagree,” McGrath wrote. “Winning happens when you operate as a whole team. Cricket is not decided by one guy.”I find it hard to understand England talking about rediscovering their fight, because Australia wouldn’t lose it in the first place. We pride ourselves on putting up a fight in every single game we play.”McGrath said England had erred by not including players like Vikram Solanki and Owais Shah, who at 30 and 28, should still be considered long-term contenders. “When you look at the two guys they have brought in – Mal Loye and Paul Nixon – you have to wonder what they are trying to achieve,” he said.”They are both pretty old. Loye seems to have just one good shot, the slog-sweep, but he’s played three games and got out to the same shot. With Nixon, bringing in a guy who is 36 just doesn’t make sense when you have Chris Read and Geraint Jones around and both younger, more long-term prospects.”McGrath’s criticisms came as Stuart Law also hit out at England’s attitude and their selection of players like “that timid little creature Ian Bell”. But Law told the that Loye, his team-mate at Lancashire, should have been in the team right through the tour. “England have got it all wrong,” Law said. “They need to pick some blokes who will have a go.”At least if they are going to get beaten they should go down swinging. Mal is known for the freakish slog-sweep but there’s a lot more to him than that. I think he’s the best player of horizontal bat shots in England. He should have been picked from the start of the summer. At least he’s got some heart and he’s not afraid of the Australians like some of the other blokes.”
Second-year blues are a common problem for players and the result of the Chappell-Hadlee Series after a highly competitive start will help gauge the validity of a competition shoe-horned into the summer. Australia’s Test season has been interrupted to accommodate this head-to-head, which the country’s governing bodies hope will develop into a Bledisloe Cup, rugby union-style annual rivalry, and if they could choose their ideal preparation for the South Africa matches it would not involve a New Zealand side trip.The Australian selectors signalled their thoughts on the seriousness of the three games, starting with a day-night fixture in Auckland on Saturday, by planning to rest Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist. McGrath stayed home but Gilchrist’s holiday was ended by Cricket Australia when it insisted he tour to retain the concept’s credibility. While Australian travel itineraries are currently crammed, New Zealand have a light summer and given their performances during a year including 4-0 and 5-0 defeats by South Africa and Australia should have no grounds for fatigue or complacency.It doesn’t seem like long since New Zealand were pushing Australia at the top of the rankings, but they enter this series in seventh place and will be without their captain Stephen Fleming for the first two matches as he recovers from facial surgery. Daniel Vettori has the leadership task of stopping Australia and the team plans to attack Brett Lee and Australia’s inexperienced seam attack of Bracken, Clark and Lewis. That would be a turnaround after Lee spent most of his overs last February and March targeting the Kiwis batsmen in a display that almost catapulted him into the Test team. Michael Papps felt the most pain and the series was also controversial for Lee’s beamers.At least New Zealand have someone to return fierce fire in this contest with the return of Shane Bond, who has 22 wickets against them in six matches. Bond’s slow recovery from career-threatening back problems has been successful and the comeback of Chris Cairns, who is now 35, will also be closely monitored.
Cairns was dropped for the South Africa series but has apparently proved his fitness and form in a series of low-level provincial matches. The big test of whether he will be around for the 2007 World Cup starts with this series against a regular enemy. Both teams are looking forward to the West Indies tournament and New Zealand will trial an opening combination of Nathan Astle and Lou Vincent while Australia have included the debutants Brad Hodge and Mick Lewis alongside other inexperienced campaigners such as Stuart Clark and Cameron White.The 2004-05 series was a close affair shared 1-1 – the deciding match in Brisbane was a disappointing wash-out – but this one appears to revolve around scheduling and tinkering for the future. However, a supporters’ poll on www.baggygreen.com.au showed 67% voters on Friday morning thought the concept was a good idea and the series should at least determine the first winner of the sparkling Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.Australia squad Adam Gilchrist (wk), Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Brad Hodge, Michael Hussey, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Cameron White, Stuart Clark, Mick Lewis, Nathan Bracken.New Zealand squad Lou Vincent, Nathan Astle, Hamish Marshall, James Marshall, Stephen Fleming (capt), Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum (wk), Chris Cairns, Daniel Vettori (vc), Shane Bond, Kyle Mills, James Franklin.
Scorecard Garnett Kruger destroyed Western Province Boland as the Lions romped into the semi-finals with an eight-wicket win at Newlands in Cape Town. Both teams came into the game with an outside chance of claiming the last semi-final spot. Province needed to win to stay in the running while the Lions needed to win with a bonus point to nudge the Warriors out of the fourth spot.The important toss was won by the Lions who put WPBOL in to bat first. Asteady start saw the home team reach 70 for 2 after 17 overs. Whatfollowed left the Newlands faithful stunned as some poor shot selection sent a steady stream of batsmen back to the change-rooms. In the space of 16 balls Kruger (5-21) destroyed the middle order leaving WPBOL reeling at 76 for 7. A slight revival between Con de Lange (30) and William Hantam (35), putting on 65 for the eighth wicket, helped Province struggle to 142.The Lions, having to chase 143 in 36 overs to make it into the semi-finals, set off at a good pace with Stephen Cook and Adam Bacher bringing up the 50 in the 11th and the 100 in the 22nd. Cook was first to go for 27 (110-1) but Bacher’s rich vain of form continued as he remained unbeaten on 77. He also became the the first batsman to pass the 500-runs mark for this season. HD Ackerman was the only other batsman to fall as the Lions reached the target in 30.2 overs.In Western Province’s defence one has to question the South African board’s fixtures committee. For a side to complete four fixtures in eight days, two of them back-to-back and 1,000 miles apart, when some teams have already completed their commitments was surely loading the dice.
The England selectors have released Steve Harmison from the one-day squad, allowing him to play for Durham in their championship match against Worcestershire, which starts today.Harmison hasn’t played a single one-day international this season: he was on the bench throughout the three-match NatWest Challenge against Pakistan, and missed out in the first three matches of the triangular NatWest Series tournament as well. This has left him short of match-practice – he hasn’t played a first-class match since joining the England one-day squad almost three weeks back. The decision to allow him to play county cricket gives Harmison an opportunity to get in some overs before England’s first Test against South Africa on July 25.