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Shaun Marsh will bat at No. 3 for Australia in place of the absent Ricky Ponting in the second Test in Pallekele

Daniel Brettig in Pallekele06-Sep-2011Shaun Marsh will bat at No. 3 for Australia in place of the absent Ricky Ponting in the second Test in Pallekele, after Michael Clarke confirmed an otherwise unchanged XI to face Sri Lanka.Ponting is at home for the birth of his second child, handing Marsh his chance to wear a baggy green cap. The decision to bat Marsh at No. 3 is a surprise, as it was thought that Usman Khawaja, who made his debut in Ponting’s place at the SCG in January and batted at No. 6 in the first Test in Galle, would be promoted. However, Marsh has played much of his international cricket for Australia at the top of the order, and may be more comfortable starting against the newer ball.The Australians had few other selection questions to answer following a 125-run victory in the first Test, and their level of certainty was increased by the first glimpse of a Pallekele pitch, which looks far more conventional in its preparation and grass coverage than the Galle dustbowl.Brad Haddin, Australia’s wicketkeeper, said Marsh was ready for Test cricket after being on the Australian first-class circuit for nearly a decade. Haddin was behind the stumps for NSW in Newcastle when a 19-year-old Marsh clattered 119. He did not fulfill that promise immediately, but Haddin said he had seen plenty of development from Marsh.”It will be disappointing to lose Ricky, but it’s a good opportunity to give Shaun Marsh a crack at Test cricket,” Haddin said. “He’s going to be a wonderful player I think, Shaun, and I think he’s ready now for Test cricket.”He’s done a lot of growing up, from a cricket point of view, in the last 24 months and we’re really looking forward to him having a crack at Test cricket. I think he can be something pretty special.”Shaun, as a person, he feels a lot more comfortable around the group now, he’s been here the whole tour and I think he’s really starting to understand his game. I think he’s pretty close to doing some special things for Australia.”We’ve seen some glimpses of it in one-day cricket for us. He’s got some pretty important runs and tough runs at times, which has been good, so I’m just looking forward to him having a crack at this because he’s had a long tour here, and he deserves a go.”The single change to the Australian team reflected the quality of its performance in Galle, where the bowling attack excelled in its tightness and planning, and the batsmen showed plenty of fight on a difficult pitch.”I’m very proud of it. I think it also shows small steps forward, we’re trying to move forward as a cricket team and be better cricketers,” Haddin said. “To do that you’ve got to play in different conditions. Whether it’s here, England, South Africa, wherever. You’ve got to make sure you’re trying to get better and better so you can present yourself well on all services.”I think it’s a little tick in the box, the way we did handle ourselves throughout the whole game, and the result came out in the end. From a team point of view I think it was a very good result to get the win, especially on something so foreign to us.”Having played in numerous recent Australian teams that fell back after making a strong start to a series, Haddin was mindful of the need to keep pushing hard in Pallekele.”It does [help our confidence], but the one thing we’ve got to remember too is that on a number of occasions we have started a series well and fallen away,” Haddin said. “I think it is important now for this group that yes, we’ve taken a small step in the first Test, but we’ve got to make sure we keep getting better, not fall back into old habits.”Australia: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Phil Hughes, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Usman Khawaja, 7 Brad Haddin, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Trent Copeland, 11 Nathan Lyon.

Chris Tremlett continued an impressive performance at his former home ground to claim a career-best 6 for 42 on a rain-hit second day to leave Sri Lanka 177 for 9

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan17-Jun-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Tremlett made the most of helpful conditions to claim a career-best•Getty ImagesChris Tremlett continued an impressive performance at his former home ground to claim a career-best 6 for 42 on a rain-hit second day to leave Sri Lanka 177 for 9 when the weather closed in again. That the visitors didn’t collapse completely was down to Prasanna Jayawardene’s fighting 43 and an unbeaten 33 from Dilhara Fernando at No. 9.As had been predicted from a few days out, heavy rain greeted players and fans on the second morning meaning no play until after lunch was possible. A brief window then allowed 23.2 overs before the rain returned to leave the ground resembling a lake by late afternoon. Tremlett made the most of the drier period to become the first player on the Rose Bowl honours board, but his success wasn’t shared by James Anderson and Stuart Broad who both endured a frustrating afternoon. There was a feeling that, despite Sri Lanka’s difficult position, England could have done better.Tremlett’s first wicket of the day was Thilan Samaraweera, who had already taken a blow on the thumb before edging a drive to gully where Kevin Pietersen, another former Hampshire player, took a regulation catch. That broke a determined 50-run stand for the fifth wicket and exposed Sri Lanka’s long tail as Thisara Perera showed he was nowhere near a Test No. 7.Tremlett gave him a real working over with the short ball and Perera could have gone from his third delivery when he top-edged towards fine leg where Jonathan Trott was slow to respond from the boundary. However, it only took Tremlett three more balls to strike when Perera edged a cross-batted swipe to Matt Prior who had to react quickly. Rangana Herath wasn’t in the mood for blocking, either, and played his shots before he fell to another top edge and this time Anderson settled under the catch at fine leg to give Tremlett his fifth.However, amid some poor application from the tourists, Prasanna fought hard for his team. He is as technically correct as any of Sri Lanka’s top order, which enabled him to survive the moving and bouncing ball by playing straight. His driving was especially impressive and he was denied a greater tally than five boundaries by a slow outfield.The game turned into one of those frustrating periods when the main batsman starts declining singles with tailenders for company and England resorted to trying to bounce out Prasanna. Broad couldn’t open his wicket tally, remaining the least effective of the pacemen, and was looking increasingly frustrated although some of the short-ball tactics employed were odd with the ball still swinging around.Given how hard he had worked against the quicks it was disappointing when Prasanna picked out deep midwicket in Graeme Swann’s first over but at least he went down in positive fashion. Fernando had provided Prasanna with solid support in their 41-run stand and showed far more determination than the two batsmen above him in the order. He kept the slips interested but also showed a deft touch when he late cut Anderson to third man, while the sight of Swann’s slower offerings brought a few more shots.Tremlett returned and claimed his sixth wicket, when Suranga Lakmal gloved a pull first ball, but despite a couple of huge swipes from Chanaka Welegedara he couldn’t quite finish off the innings before the looming rain started to fall. However, the forecast for the weekend is more promising and Sri Lanka’s low-scoring first innings at least means the match has progressed.

Warwickshire closed in on their sixth win in nine County ChampionshipDivision One games after dominating for the third consecutive day against Sussexat Arundel

30-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Warwickshire closed in on their sixth win in nine County ChampionshipDivision One games after dominating for the third consecutive day against Sussexat Arundel.Rikki Clarke scored an unbeaten 81 as the Bears stretched their first-inningslead to 230 before finally being dismissed for 481. Boyd Rankin and Jeetan Patel then took five quick wickets between them to leave hosts Sussex in danger of an innings defeat.However, an unbroken partnership of 87 between Luke Wright (75 not out) andOllie Rayner (29 not out) ensured the game will go to the fourth day with Sussexstill trailing by 29 on 201 for 5 at the close.Warwickshire took full control of the game in the morning as Keith Barker andClarke stretched their seventh-wicket stand to 79. Wright broke the partnership with his fifth ball of the morning when he had Barker caught behind by Andrew Hodd driving at a wide ball for 52.Monty Panesar trapped Chris Metters lbw for six but Patel maintainedWarwickshire’s momentum with a quickfire 21, which included a huge six offPanesar. The England spinner gained revenge when Patel top-edged a slog to midwicket tofinish with figures of 3 for 88 from 44 overs.Clarke launched Rayner for three sixes down the ground on his way to aseason-best score but he was left stranded when Rankin gloved a lifting deliveryfrom Amjad Khan to Hodd. Sussex’s hopes of salvaging the game took a massive hit inside the opening six overs as they lost both openers.Chris Nash (nine) tried to get his bat out of the way of a delivery from Rankinbut only succeeded in getting an inside edge onto his stumps and Joyce (14) wastrapped lbw by the Ireland bowler to leave Sussex wobbling at 35 for 2.Murray Goodwin batted for more than an hour to score 10 but his vigil endedwhen he played no shot to a straight ball from Patel and was lbw. Luke Wells (32) had already survived a run out opportunity going for a suicidal single when he gave his wicket away by charging down the wicket to Patel and was stumped by Tim Ambrose.Patel claimed his third wicket when Hodd tried to sweep a ball which was toofull and was bowled to reduce Sussex to 114 for 5. With Rana Naved-ul-Hasan unlikely to bat after going to hospital for a scan on a shoulder injury, Warwickshire scented victory inside three days only to be held up by Wright and Rayner.

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura is planning to establish a cricket academy in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2011Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura is planning to establish a cricket academy in Harare. Chigumbura hopes the project, named ‘Aspired Cricket Academy’, will be up and running by August this year and will target primary school children from schools that do not currently have cricket programmes.”I have gained so much from playing the game, so I thought I should give back in a big way,” Chigumbura told . “I love cricket so much that even when I stop playing I will still be a big fan so I am contributing in my own way to make sure that the future of the sport in the country is bright.”We have the Interfin Bank Cricket Academy catering for secondary and high school students and I thought we should have something for the primary schools so that we generate interest at an earlier stage.”Chigumbura is in negotiations to secure land in Borrowdale, in Harare’s northern suburbs, for the academy. He has decided to take on a lot of the expense himself, but is also hoping to secure corporate sponsorship, particularly for the purchase of cricket equipment. He estimates that the academy needs about US$50,000 to get off the ground, which will go towards securing land, equipment, and appropriate playing and practice facilities.”It’s an expensive project which will require that I get sponsorship but the important thing is to get it running first then I am sure we can generate corporate interest once in motion.”Chigumbura plans for the academy to be operational throughout the year with permanent coaches to run it when he is committed with the national team or his domestic franchise. He’s also hoping some of his team-mates will be interested in helping out.He has already teamed up with fellow Zimbabwe cricketers Prosper Utesya, Tinashe Panyangara, Craig Ervine, Graeme Cremer and Hamilton Masakadza to conduct holiday cricket sessions at Prince Edward School in Harare from April 18 to 30. The players are hoping the sessions, which are free and open to children between seven to 12 years old, will become a yearly event and have sent out invitations to schools.

North Zone crushed West Zone to lift the Deodhar trophy at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe two Sharmas, Joginder and Ishant, combined to wreck West Zone and hand the North Zone batsmen the easiest of roads to the Deodhar title, a journey they swiftly completed, albeit with a few speed bumps along the way.On a track with considerable assistance for the bowlers, something neither captain expected, Joginder struck in his first two overs to herald the carnage that was to come. He had Parthiv Patel trapped in front with one that swung sharply from outside off with his fourth ball, before Kedar Devdhar managed to slap a short and wide delivery straight to backward point in his next over.Rohit Sharma looked like he might play West out of the hole they found themselves in when he struck Joginder for two consecutive boundaries on the offside, but it was to prove a false dawn as Ishant got into the act, removing Wasim Jaffer with an outswinger that kissed the edge and then beating Rohit all ends up with one that angled in. Rohit went for the drive but played down the wrong line to lose his off stump. Ravindra Jadeja only lasted three deliveries before getting an inside edge to a back-of-a-length delivery from Ishant that crashed into his stumps.With half the side gone for 46, West were in serious trouble and it looked like the match might be over before lunch when they slumped further to 57 for 7. However, Iqbal Abdulla provided a modicum of resistance to make 28 and help West reach three figures. Joginder and Ishant shared nine wickets between them, with the former picking up 6 for 40 and the latter 3 for 22. A target of 101 was never going to trouble North, and though they lost early wickets, Ravi Inder Singh’s patient 43 ensured there was never really any doubt about who the winner was going to be on the day.

Wigan Athletic are readying an offer for Leeds United midfielder Owen Bray, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Elland Road departure

Bray, who had his Whites scholarship extended last summer, now looks set to depart over the coming months.

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Journalist Pete O’Rourke revealed earlier in the week that he was ‘set to leave Elland Road’ at the end of the season.

The midfielder, who has played seven times for the club’s U18s and U23s, looks likely to become the first player to seal a permanent exit under new manager Jesse Marsch.

The Latest: Wigan offer

FI shared a story on Saturday morning regarding Bray and Wigan after being informed by a recruitment source.

They claimed that Wigan are in pole position to sign the 19-year-old after he played for their U23s in the week. The Latics are now ready to offer Bray a contract as a result ahead of a cut-price move.

The Verdict: The right decision

Bray has failed to break into the club’s U23 ranks in the last 12 months, so an exit does appear to be best for all involved.

The Whites aren’t short of talented young midfielders, with the likes of Lewis Bate, Sean McGurk and Jack Jenkins all seemingly progressing nicely at Thorp Arch.

Therefore, allowing Bray to move on to Wigan seems sensible, and hopefully, things will go well for the midfielder at the DW Stadium.

In other news: Leeds on alert as Tottenham now willing to sell ‘flawless’ gem who Orta wants at Elland Road. 

Phil Hay has dropped an injury update concerning Leeds United centre-back Liam Cooper.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic’s Leeds United correspondent revealed that the 30-year-old, who was ruled out of the 4-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday after sustaining an injury in the warm-up, now requires a scan on his knee to determine the seriousness of his knock.

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In his tweet, Hay said: “On Liam Cooper’s pre-game injury which stopped him playing, Marsch said it was a knee issue which would require a scan.”

Marsch will be devastated

Considering just how important a part of the Leeds backline Cooper is, the news that the defender could be joining the likes of Stuart Dallas and Adam Forshaw in missing out on the remainder of the current campaign is sure to have left Marsch devastated.

Indeed, after finally recovering from a five-month layoff as a result of a hamstring injury, the £6.3m-rated defender had been imperious over the Whites’ last three Premier League fixtures, earning a SofaScore match rating of 7.1 in the 1-1 draw with Southampton, a 7.6 rating in the 3-0 win over Watford and a 7.6 rating in the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.

As such, it is clear to see why Roy Keane, speaking on Sky Sports shortly after Leeds confirmed Cooper’s absence from the City fixture, claimed that losing the Scotland international was a disaster for the Whites.

Regarding the centre-back’s injury, Keane said: “That’s a massive blow because he’s been instrumental in the last few weeks in how solid Leeds have been defensively. He’s your captain and leader, so if he’s out of this game now, it could cause a lot of problems for Leeds.”

Indeed, with Everton’s 1-0 win over Chelsea seeing the 18th-placed Toffees move to within two points of Leeds – while Frank Lampard’s side also hold a game in hand on the Whites – the potential loss of Cooper so soon after Dallas’ long-term setback would undoubtedly come as a catastrophic blow to Marsch and his side – with Leeds’ chances of securing Premier League survival this season appearing to be fading by the minute at present.

AND in other news: Orta can finally axe £55k-p/w “schoolboy” as Leeds plot bid for £15.3m-rated “beast”

Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell both enjoyed some valuable time in the middle, but the rest of England’s batsmen failed to make use of a good batting pitch in their second warm-up game

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2010
Scorecard
Paul Collingwood enjoyed returning to the venue of his highest Test score•Getty ImagesPaul Collingwood and Ian Bell both enjoyed some valuable time in the middle, but the rest of England’s batsmen failed to make use of a good batting pitch in their second warm-up game. Adelaide Oval would have seemed the ideal venue for key men to get runs under their belts, but Australia’s newest Test bowler, Peter George, made life difficult for the top order.Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott are the two men England would like to see fire in the second innings; they are the only specialist batsmen who have not yet recorded a half-century on the tour. As they had in Perth, the visitors again played their best XI, a strong indication of how seriously they are taking the practice matches still a fortnight from the first Test.Collingwood’s 94 was a positive sign, as he enjoyed returning to the venue of his highest Test score, but he missed the chance for a century when he edged to gully off the fast bowler Jake Haberfield. He scored his runs quickly – he took only 116 deliveries – and his partnership with Bell helped England recover from a shaky 4 for 95.The early wickets came mostly through George, who played the Bangalore Test in October but is likely to have been overtaken by Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris, who have come back from long injury lay-offs, in the queue for a place in the Gabba Test. George began by removing Andrew Strauss, who was caught down leg side for 4, before he added Trott, who on 12 miscued a pull and gave George a return catch.George had all three wickets when he came back after lunch to have Cook caught behind for 32, and England were in a hole at 3 for 63. Kevin Pietersen and Collingwood began the rebuilding process but Pietersen departed for 33, the victim of a clever take at deep square leg, where his hook was caught on the boundary by Aiden Blizzard, who tossed the ball back in the air while he fell out of play, and snaffled it again after stepping back in.If that was a sign that it was not England’s day, it was ignored by Collingwood and Bell, who combined for a brisk 131-run partnership. Bell was bowled by Ben Edmondson for 61 before the left-arm spinner Aaron O’Brien picked up a couple of lower-order wickets that encouraged a declaration from Strauss at 8 for 288 late in the day.However, England’s bowlers didn’t have any success in nine overs before stumps. South Australia closed the day at 0 for 26, with James Smith on 16 and Daniel Harris on 10, and the fast men will need to find whatever help George (3 for 65) located in the surface if they are to enjoy their day in the field on Friday.

Aston Villa are thought to be in advanced talks over a permanent move for goalkeeper Robin Olsen, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Olsen’s loan move

Olsen was one of four senior signings made by Steven Gerrard in his first transfer window in charge at Villa Park.

The 32-year-old arrived on loan from AS Roma and has been on the bench for every Premier League game since moving to the Midlands.

Olsen has served as back up to Emiliano Martinez, and it looks as if the pair will continue to work closely together at Bodymoor Heath beyond the summer.

The Latest: Source shares update

FI shared a story regarding Villa and Olsen on Thursday afternoon after being informed by a recruitment source.

They revealed that Olsen has impressed Gerrard since joining and talks over a permanent move are now at an advanced stage.

The Verdict: Good news

Although Olsen is yet to turn out in a Villa shirt, it is good news that he looks set to make his Villa stay a full-time one.

Labelled as ‘monstrous’ by the Spanish press following a performance for Sweden, Olsen has plenty of experience across Europe and on the international stage, winning seven trophies during his career.

He appears to be happy as second choice to Martinez, so it looks as if Villa will now have two high-quality shot-stoppers on the books heading into Gerrard’s first full season.

In other news: ‘What a signing he would be’ – Journalist buzzing at ‘fantastic’ Aston Villa transfer ‘reveal’. 

Wolves could have eight players back from injuries and other absences in the coming weeks, according to reliable journalist Tim Spiers.

The Lowdown: Wolves injury-plagued this season

Wanderers may be having a good season but they have had to battle on with multiple key players injured throughout the campaign.

Saturday’s FA Cup exit at the hands of Norwich City arguably wasn’t helped by the unavailability of several players due to injuries and international duty.

However, as a pivotal period in the season approaches, a positive update has emerged regarding Wolves’ injury situation.

The Latest: Spiers makes positive Wolves injury claim

Taking to Twitter on Monday as he shared a corresponding article for The Athletic, Spiers claimed that Wolves could welcome back as many as eight players in the near future.

He tweeted: “In a few weeks Bruno Lage could have eight more players available who couldn’t start on Saturday. There are a few ‘ifs’ there. But at a crucial stage of the season, Wolves looked short against Norwich.”

The players to whom he was referring are Pedro Neto, Jonny, Yerson Mosquera, Hwang Hee-chan, Willy Boly (injured), Romain Saiss, Raul Jimenez (international duty) and Francisco Trincao (virus), as he confirmed in a later tweet.

The Verdict: Season-defining period?

This is a massive spell in Wolves’ season – one which could determine whether or not they are genuine contenders for a European finish – with the visit of Arsenal and a trip to Tottenham both coming later this week. They also travel to face the Gunners in a rescheduled fixture later in February.

If Wanderers can come through those games unbeaten – ideally with a win or two as well – they should still be in a healthy position as key players return to Bruno Lage’s squad.

Conversely, defeats to their direct rivals for European qualification, off the back of the weekend’s FA Cup loss, would suddenly leave Wolves’ season looking a whole lot bleaker. How quickly the returning players get back into action could define how the remainder of their campaign players out, especially considering the immediately forthcoming opposition.

In other news, Wolves have been backed to sign one player this summer. Find out who it is here.