Shane Warne rescued Hampshire from a poor start in their clash with Middlesex and ended the opening day seven short of his second century of the season. Hampshire slumped to 61 for 4 after choosing to bat as a result of a double strike from Scott Styris. But the turnaround was started by John Crawley’s 62 and even when Chris Peploe took three wickets Hampshire didn’t fall apart. Warne found an able ally in Dimitri Mascarenhas who helped him add 100 and then Shaun Udal partnered him until the close. Warne has only faced 73 balls, hitting 11 fours and three sixes, in another display of his all round skills.An unbeaten seventh wicket stand of 136 between Azhar Mahmood and Martin Bicknell ensured Surrey made the most of batting first against Gloucestershire. The pair exposed a tiring attack which, until the final session, had plugged away manfully after Scott Newman opened with an aggressive 82. Graham Thorpe also spent some much-needed time at the crease, making 73 off 116 balls. Richard Clinton (66) and Jon Batty (55) also cashed and Mahmood added the final flourish, hitting 11 fours and three sixes in his 91-ball 88.Glamorgan had another dispiriting day in the Championship, watching Nottinghamshire take control at Trent Bridge. No Glamorgan batsmen reached a half-century, although four passed 40 including Sourav Ganguly who top-scored with 47. He became a first first-class wicket for Mark Footitt, who was making his first-class debut. Greg Smith was the pick of the attack for 4 for 64 and Andy Harris took 3 for 62. Nottinghamshire’s top-order made sure the good work in the field wasn’t wasted with a solid opening. Darren Bicknell was run out for 61 but Stephen Fleming raced to 30 from 28 balls before the close.
Durham wasted a solid start against Lancashire as a batting collapse resulted in them slipping from 72 for 0 to 167 all out. Glen Chapple and Gary Keedy took three wickets each to precipitate the rush of wickets and James Anderson helped with a brace. Nathan Astle tried to shore up the innings with a patient 58 but the tail folded quickly. Lancashire, on the other hand, built on a opening stand of 77 between Mark Chilton and Iain Sutcliffe. Chilton was unbeaten at the close 39, while Sutcliffe took 86 balls for his 48 before falling to Gareth Breese’s gentle offspin.Sturdy middle-order batting from Leicestershire allowed them a share of the honours against Somerset. Leicestershire slipped to 81 for 3 before lunch, but Chris Rogers made 48 on his county debut before the young and the old combined. John Sadler grafted to 52 until he became Charl Langeveldt’s second wicket – on his county debut – and Paul Nixon used his wealth of experience to nurture the tail. He was given valuable support by Claude Henderson, who made 25 in an eighth wicket stand of 52. However, Taunton has produced some high scores in the recent Twenty20 matches so Leicestershire may be left to rue the fact that no one progressed to a more substantial innings.Matthew Hoggard made a welcome return to form with three wickets – including Graeme Hick – as Yorkshire and Worcestershire exchanged the advantage on a fascinating day at Worcester. From 98 for 0, Worcestershire were then wobbling at 187 for 5 but Gareth Batty and Kabir Ali both struck 57. Yorkshire’s seam attack plugged away with Tim Bresnan and Deon Kruis chipping in with two each, as did Richard Dawson the offspinner. Yorkshire survived the final nine overs without losing a wicket, settling a solid platform for the second day.
Abhijit Kale, the Maharashtra cricketer accused of trying to bribe his way into the Indian team, might learn about his fate in the next couple of days. Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Indian board, said in Kolkata that a final verdict on the Kale controversy was likely over the next few days. The decision has been pending the arrival of Kamal Morarka, one of the disciplinary committee members, from a personal trip abroad.Morarka missed the final hearing, which was held on May 15, but has now returned to India. “I’ll have to see if he is free,” Dalmiya told Press Trust of India. “If he has the time, then all three of us (including the third member Ranbir Singh Mahendra) will discuss the matter and try to arrive at a final decision in the next couple of days.”Dalmiya was unsure if another meeting of the three members was required, and suggested that a teleconference might suffice. The final hearing on May 15 went on for over eight hours and gave both sides had a chance to present evidence.The controversy surrounding Kale emerged earlier this year when two national selectors, Kiran More and Pranab Roy, alleged that Kale had repeatedly telephoned them and later met them in person in an attempt to pay them each Rs. 1,000,000 (approx US$ 21,750) in exchange for a place in the Indian team.
Zimbabwe have confirmed that their tour of England this summer will goahead, including their clash with England in the second npower Test match atthe Riverside, Chester-le-Street.On Saturday, Zimbabwe Cricket Union Chairman Peter Chingok said a meeting ofthe board had agreed to fulfil tour commitments from May to July regardlessof England’s boycott of their World Cup fixture in Harare last month.Ticket sales for the Riverside’s first ever Test Match are going well, withthe first two days expected to be sold out by the end of April.Durham County Cricket Club Chairman Bill Midgley said: “Despite all theuncertainty surrounding this game, ticket sales have been steady andexceeded the targets we set ourselves. Zimbabwe’s confirmation offulfilling the fixture means we can progress with our marketing activity andhopefully look forward to our first Test Match being a sell out.”Tickets for the North East’s first npower Test Match are on sale now.Tickets are priced at £25 for adults for the first four days and £10 forU16s for the first three days and £5 for the Sunday. Call the TicketHotline on 0191 387 5151 (office hours) or Ticketmaster on 0870 90 90 190(24 hours) www.CricketTickets.net.The countdown to the North East’s first ever Test Match has begun, 5 – 9June 2003. Be part of history, call 0191 387 5151. To find out how longleft click here: www.durhamccc.co.uk
Hampshire will look to get their promotion bid back on target in their match against Nottinghamshire in the CricInfo Championship at the Rose Bowl.Robin Smith’s side were well beaten in their last venture against neighbours Sussex.Hampshire have named a 12-man squad for the game although there is a slight doubt over Shaun Udal, who has a minor groin strain. Lawrence Prittipaul is back in the side after being left out in the Sussex defeat.Nottinghamshire coach Clive Rice admits he has been looking forward to the game against Hampshire for some time. “They are a much improved side from their last seasons problems”, says Rice, “We need a victory to keep us in touch with the leading sides”.Usman Afzaal is at Lord’s on England duty but could still play if released ahead of the second Test.Hampshire 12: Giles White, Derek Kenway, Will Kendall, Robin Smith (captain), Neil Johnson, Lawrence Prittipaul, Adi Aymes (wicket-keeper), Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shaun Udal, Alex Morris, Alan Mullally, Chris Tremlett.Nottinghamshire 12: Darren Bicknell (captain), John Morris, Greg Blewett, Paul Johnson, Kevin Pietersen, Bilal Shafayat, Chris Read (wicket-keeper), Richard Logan, Greg Smith, Adrew Harris, Richard Stemp, David Lucas.Umpires: M.J.Kitchen and D.R.Shepherd Scorers: V.H.Isaacs and G.Stringfellow
Roy Keane has taken aim at one Manchester United star who he believes is “surrounded by idiots” ahead of the January transfer window.
Roy Keane urges Kobbie Mainoo to fight for Man Utd place
The Old Trafford legend delivered his verdict on Kobbie Mainoo’s current situation. The Carrington graduate has been left to watch on from the bench for much of this season after being denied the chance to leave on loan in the summer.
It’s been a topic at the centre of debate around Old Trafford ever since the start of Ruben Amorim’s tenure and one which has seemingly frustrated those around the midfielder. So much so that Mainoo’s half-brother, Jordan, was pictured wearing a “free Kobbie Mainoo” T-shirt as Man United were held to a frantic 4-4 draw by Bournemouth on Monday.
Having his say on the matter on the latest edition of Stick to Football, Keane didn’t hold back – saying: “Are you telling me he can’t sit there for another six months?
“He might think the manager might be gone in the summer, one or two of the senior players might be gone. He’s 20 years of age, what’s wrong with sitting and learning your trade? And even if you’re not getting a chance, we’ve all had to do it at different levels.
Man Utd now eyeing stunning four-man transfer raid including "brilliant" defender
INEOS could spend big once again.
ByTom Cunningham
“Sometimes a manager is on your case and what you have to do is look at a manager and go ‘I’ll prove you wrong’. Every day is your challenge to prove to the manager and when that manager is picking the team I’m going to train like a beast and when you’re writing that team (as a manager) you’re going to go, ‘he has to play’. He’s got to get that in his mindset.
“And when he’s got his idiot of a brother doing all that… we shouldn’t even be giving his brother the time of day. Sometimes you’re just surrounded by idiots, especially the families.”
What next for Kobbie Mainoo?
With Bruno Fernandes also causing plenty of controversy after an interview earlier this week and Bryan Mbeumo heading to AFCON this month, Mainoo’s brother couldn’t have timed his protest any worse. Now, more than ever this season, the midfielder could get his chance to impress Amorim.
It would be to the benefit of everyone involved at Old Trafford if Mainoo earned his place back and got back to his best form.
It wasn’t so long ago when the 20-year-old was scoring FA Cup final goals and earning the praise of Paul Scholes, who said on Instagram: “Just love the way he receives the ball, the calmness, the awareness of what’s around him and of course big goals in big games. This boy is special.”
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Whether Mainoo takes Keane’s advice and stays put at Man United next month remains to be seen, however. As things stand, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Everton are all reportedly eyeing his signature.
Amad upgrade: Man Utd in talks "this week" to sign "unplayable" PL talent
The Eagles have refused to allow Johan van der Wath, the allrounder, to play in the Standard Bank Pro20 semi-final against the Dolphins at Kingsmead due to his links to the Indian Cricket League (ICL).van der Wath played for the Mumbai Champs and the ICL World XI in the recently-concluded second season of the ICL. Though Cricket South Africa (CSA) has refused to recognise the ICL, Norman Arendse, the CSA president, had earlier said it was up to the franchises, rather than the board, to decide whether their ICL players could play for them. It is understood that the Eagles wanted to pay him on a match-by-match basis instead of handing a contract, to avoid legal problems.Boetta Dippenaar, the Eagles captain, said he was disappointed at the decision to leave out van der Wath. “We applied for permission at the beginning of this week and didn’t hear anything,” Dippenaar told . “We enquired again on Thursday and were told that permission had been denied. It’s very disappointing.”Cassim Docrat, the president of the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union, the home base of the Dolphins franchise, said they would have protested to the South African board if van der Wath had been allowed to play as two of their players, Dale Benkenstein and Lance Klusener, have been left out after having played in the ICL.”Our information is that no ICL players are allowed to play domestic cricket,” Docrat said. “We have two rebel players, Dale Benkenstein and Lance Klusener, who would have made a big difference to our team, so it would have been unfair if the Eagles had been allowed to play van der Wath.”The Dolphins have made one change to the line-up, dropping the opening batsman Doug Watson for Hashim Amla.
Former Australia captain Mark Taylor, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and Michael Holding, the ex-West Indies fast bowler, are among the people who will form part of the ICC’s newly-constituted cricket committee. Also included are Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel, chief ICC match referee and former Sri Lanka captain Ranjan Madugalle and Craig Wright, the former Scotland captain.The new structure is designed to be representative of all interests in the modern game and replaces the previous set-up which was made up of the nominated representatives from each of the Full Members (boards and players) and leading Associates.The new 13-member committee, which will meet for the first time on May 30 and 31 in Dubai, will be chaired by ex-India captain Sunil Gavaskar, a World Cup winner in 1983. It will also feature recently appointed Western Australia coach Tom Moody, another player to enjoy World Cup success – with Australia in 1987 (as a squad member) and 1999 – and someone who coached Sri Lanka to the final earlier this year.The ICC executive board, which previously approved the recommendation of the chief executives’ committee (CEC) to amend the structure of the cricket committee, approved the personnel set to sit on it at its meeting in Cape Town in March.The remit of the cricket committee is to discuss and consult on any cricket-playing matters and to formulate recommendations to the CEC which relate to cricket-playing matters.The committee (and the interests from which its members are drawn) will be made up of the following people:Chairman – Sunil Gavaskar (former India captain and opening batsman and World Cup winner in 1983)Past players (2) – Ian Bishop (former West Indies fast bowler) and Mark Taylor (ex-Australia captain)Representatives of current players (2) – Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka captain; Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman, was the original nominee for this position but he is unavailable due to commitments playing county cricket in the UK) and Tim May (ex-Australia offspinner, World Cup winner in 1987 and now CEO of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations)Full Member team coach representative (1) – Tom Moody (former Sri Lanka coach)Member Board representative (1) – Duleep Mendis (former Sri Lanka captain and now SLC Chief Executive)Umpires’ representative (1) – Simon Taufel (member of the Emirates Elite Panel and named Umpire of the Year three times in a row at the ICC Awards)Referees’ representative (1) – Ranjan Madugalle (ICC chief match referee and former Sri Lanka captain)Marylebone Cricket Club representative (1) – Keith Bradshaw (took over as the MCC’s Secretary and Chief Executive in October 2006 in succession to Roger Knight; former first-class cricketer for Tasmania in Australia. MCC is the custodian of the Laws of Cricket)Statistician (1) – David Kendix (a statistician/scorer and the man responsible for the creation and development of the LG ICC Test and ODI Championships and nominated by the ICC to sit on the committee)Media (1) – Michael Holding (former West Indies fast bowler and now part of the commentary team for Sky Sports in the UK)Associate representative (1) – Craig Wright (former Scotland captain)Commenting on the change to the cricket committee, ICC CEO Malcolm Speed said: “It is excellent news that both the new structure and the make-up of the committee have been approved. The game of cricket now has at its disposal a group of outstanding cricket brains covering all aspects of the game and with their collective input we will be able to ensure that, moving forward, a strong sport is able to grow even stronger.”Simon Taufel said: “The Emirates Elite Panel of umpires is very pleased to have representation on the cricket committee and be able to have input into how the game is structured at the highest level. There is an enormous amount of cricket experience on the Elite Panel of umpires and we hope to be able to contribute in a positive way to improving the game for all participants and spectators.”Michael Holding, who has already sat on an ICC panel of experts that examined the issue of illegal bowling actions, said: “If the ICC believes I can make a contribution to the committee then I am delighted to take part as I am always happy to be involved in anything that is for the betterment of the game.”Details of the committee’s agenda and of the meeting itself will be announced in due course.
Ethan Dube, on of Zimbabwe’s leading administrators, has quit as chairman of the Matabeleland Cricket Association, citing “confusion” in the structure of the game.Dube has been at loggerheads with Peter Chingoka and the interim Zimbabwe Cricket board, and in March he was one of the senior administrators who wrote to the ICC explaining their major grievances with the way the sport was being run. That letter was effectively ignored.”All structures have collapsed,” Dube told Zimbabwe’s Independent newspaper. “I do not want to be associated with that confusion. Cricket in Zimbabwe is in a sad state. The level of destruction has been alarming. We have lost our best players and our best administrators. This doesn’t bode well for Zimbabwe cricket.”Dube, a former national selector, became Matabeleland’s chairman last year when Ahmed Esat left for the USA. But his tenure has coincided with the collapse of the domestic game, and in March most of Matabeleland’s senior clubs split from Zimbabwe Cricket and decided to form their own breakaway league.”So many things have happened that we do not know what normal is anymore,” Dube said. “Domestic cricket has collapsed. Development programmes have gone to waste. Right now there is not even a first-class competition although we keep being told that it will be played before the end of the year.”The Logan Cup, which has been played for more than a century, has not been staged this season, although a Zimbabwe Cricket spokesman insisted that this would be held when the West Indies tour was over.”We need to sort out domestic structures,” Dube insisted. “We need to get back the players we have lost if we are to have any respectability on the international stage.”Elsewhere, as revealed by Cricinfo last week, Themba Mkhosana, ZC’s general manager, has also quit only a few months after returning from England where ZC had paid for him to study for a sports management degree.It is thought the ZC interim board initially refused to accept Mkhosana’s resignation, although ZC declined to comment when asked.
It will be another 24 hours before a conclusive appraisal can be made on the injuries that Stuart MacGill and Jason Gillespie have picked up during the first Test at Perth. Both will be monitored closely to assess their availability for the second Test, which starts in Sydney on Friday.Errol Alcott, the Australian team physiotherapist, said, “Given the nature of the injuries and the short amount of time between matches, it is concerning, and I guess that puts a cloud over their availability for Sydney. With Jason Gillespie, he felt a degree of discomfort early in yesterday’s second innings. He wanted to keep bowling, he wants to bowl today, but scans have revealed that his grunt [sic] muscle is strained, so in the interests of his longer-term future, we need to hold him back.”Gillespie said it was another injury at a time when he felt the ball was coming out nicely. “I understand the need to take a cautious approach to this injury because it has set me back in the past,” he said. “I will do whatever it takes to get things right prior to the second Test, and I guess we will have a better idea as to how the injury is going over the day or so.”Alcott said MacGill had experienced sharp pain while he was bowling. “The calf is torn, which is a genuine concern considering it is his set-up and landing leg. We will treat him and assess his progress over the course of the next 24 hours.”Australia’s squad for the second Test is expected to be announced at 11am tomorrow (Sydney time).
Australia’s captain, Ricky Ponting, has been named as the Leading Cricketer in the World by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, whose 141st edition is published on Thursday, April 8.Ponting is the first recipient of the new Wisden accolade, started as a counterpart to the traditional Five Cricketers of the Year award, which dates back to 1889. This year’s Five Cricketers include two Englishmen – Andrew Flintoff of Lancashire and England, and Chris Adams, the Sussex captain – two South Africans – Graeme Smith and Gary Kirsten – and the Australian Ian Harvey.No-one can be among the Five more than once and, with the arrival of the new honour, the Five are once again being chosen on the time-honoured criterion “influence on the English season”.But the Leading Cricketer award can be won an unlimited number of times. The almanack has also named The Wisden Forty, including Ponting and his 39 nearest rivals, based on their form in 2003. The list includes 14 Australians, seven South Africans, five Indians, four Pakistanis, three Englishmen – Flintoff, Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan – three Sri Lankans, two New Zealanders and one each from West Indies (Brian Lara) and Zimbabwe (Heath Streak).Ponting shares the cover with his predecessor as Australian captain, Steve Waugh. This follows Wisden’s first-ever pictorial cover in 2003, which featured Michael Vaughan. This year, the front has been redesigned to re-incorporate the famous woodcut by Eric Ravilious. Readers who object to pictures on the cover (or to Australians) can write off to Wisden for a picture-free version.The Notes Wisden’s Notes by the Editor, cricket’s traditional fire-and-brimstone annual sermon, breaks with precedent by praising the game’s administrators. Matthew Engel – returning as editor after three years’ absence, spent mainly in the US – says “the game has been better run for the past few years than at any time in history”.But Engel then attacks both the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over the current crisis involving Zimbabwe and the Champions Trophy tournament, scheduled to be held in England in September.Describing Zimbabwe as a “wretched tyranny”, he says the majority of cricketing countries will earn “the contempt of thoughtful individuals across the globe” if sanctions are invoked against England for refusing to tour there. But he adds that the English position has been “incoherent and inconsistent” and says the ECB’s plans for the Champions Trophy look like producing something “between a squandered opportunity and a total fiasco”.
Engel points out that the competition is due to go on almost until October – far later than any major cricket has ever been staged in England – and that the final will be at The Oval rather than Lord’s. Even The Oval will not be properly ready: it is being rebuilt for the 2005 Ashes. He adds that the England team will be “knackered” after a non-stop six-month programme, thus endangering any prospect of a home win to build popular support for the game.Engel also criticises the ECB’s domestic opponents, the Cricket Reform Group, headed by the former England captains Mike Atherton and Bob Willis. After analysing their manifesto, which proposes a greater emphasis on club rather than county cricket to produce England cricketers, he concludes: “I am gobsmacked that Mike and Bob expect English cricket to be more competitive by becoming more amateur.”The Articles The lead article of Wisden 2004 is a graceful tribute to Steve Waugh, the most successful Test captain of all time, by the former England captain Nasser Hussain. Another ex-captain, Mike Atherton, profiles Graeme Smith as one of the Cricketers of the Year.The other articles all add to the long tradition of Wisden as a repository for some of the best writing in sport. They cover such subjects as the future of wicketkeeping, Over-Forties in Test cricket, the role of players’ agents and a comparison of the lives of footballers and cricketers. (“I reckon the only advantage they have over us is that their game lasts 90 minutes not five days,” says Graham Thorpe, the former England Schools midfielder and current Test batsman.)There is a tribute to Sussex, the county champions, by their former captain, and trenchant journalist, Robin Marlar. The weatherman Philip Eden shows that 2003 was not quite such a long, hot summer as people believe. This year’s book reviewer is Barry Norman, who chooses No Coward Soul, the biography of Bob Appleyard, by Stephen Chalke and Derek Hodgson, as his book of the year.The Round the World section includes reports from inside one of Saddam Hussain’s palaces on the Baghdad Ashes (four for the first landing of the marble staircase, six for the second landing), from the salt plains of East Timor and the lava fields of Rwanda, where the players learned about volcanic bounce the hard way. The Chronicle section reports on Darren Gough’s debut in The Beano and on the player who missed most of the season after breaking his collarbone – in the fathers’ sack race.And Wisden also attempts to answer the one cricketing question the book has never tackled before: What