Shoaib Akhtar has scarcely been able to stay out of the limelight for a day in the lead-up to Pakistan’s forthcoming tour of India – and now newspapers have reported that he failed to report to the doctor appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board to assess his fitness. In the absence of their foreign support staff, who are on holiday, the PCB appointed Meesaq Rizwi, a sports physician, to look into Shoaib’s fitness.Rizwi apparently asked Mohammed Sami, Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammad Khalil, as well as Shoaib, to report for fitness tests. But Shoaib failed to turn up, and this could have spurred the latest reaction of the board. Saleem Altaf, the PCB’s new director of cricket operations, has instructed Shoaib to take part in the ongoing Patron’s Trophy to prove his fitness. reports that Altaf told Shoaib he had to play for his team, KRL, in the next round of four-day Patron’s Trophy matches, which begin on February 14, in order to be eligible for selection for Pakistan’s forthcoming tour of India. Shoaib was originally called back from the Australian tour in order to give him time to rest a troublesome hamstring and be fit in time for the Indian series.On return to Pakistan Shoaib was assessed by Grant Compton, the Pakistan team’s physiotherapist, and a two-week rest was prescribed. Following this examination Compton left Pakistan on vacation.”Compton outlined a rehabilitation programme to Shoaib to recover from his hamstring strain, and then left for South Africa,” said a source. “But even before leaving he was working with Shoaib as it was confirmed he had a hamstring problem that needed two-week recovery period. It is in this background that Altaf’s directives to Shoaib come as a total surprise. How does he expect Shoaib to resume playing in the next round of Patron’s Trophy to prove his fitness when he has been told he required a two-week period to recover from the hamstring?”
Ronnie Irani has flown out to Colorado for a make-or-break operation on his troublesome right knee. Irani, who was forced to stop bowling this summer after suffering constant discomfort, had been warned that arthritis would set in if he continued to play.”On occasions we were struggling with the ball and I must admit that I was tempted to try a few overs but the surgeon’s advice kept coming back to haunt me,” said Irani, who captained Essex during a difficult season. “He said `Keep on bowling and you’ll end up a cripple’. He wasn’t joking and I wasn’t prepared to take the chance.”The orthopaedic surgeon Dr Richard Steadman was due to perform the operation today.
*Goa canter to eight-wicket winGoa chased down the highest total of their Ranji Trophy league matchagainst Kerala at Panaji to win the game by eight wickets on thefourth day.Chasing 213 for victory, Goa’s opening bats put on 113 runs for thefirst wicket before Sudin Kamat fell, having made 71 off 143 balls.When Kiran Powar also fell, for the addition of just one run, acollapse looked in the offing.Tanveer Jabbar and opener Vivekanand Kolambkar, however, played wellto see their side through to victory without any more losses.Kolambkar remained unbeaten on 74 off 209 balls, striking 11 fours anda six. Jabbar made 57 off 80 balls, with eight fours and a six. Goapick up eight points by virtue of this outright win.*Karnataka draw with Andhra PradeshFaced with a target of 352 off seven overs, Karnataka could only playfor a draw in their Ranji Trophy league match against Andhra Pradheshat Kurnool.Andhra Pradesh’s first innings ended on Day Two, with Y Venugopal Raomaking 151 and holding the innings together. For Karnataka, NSCAiyappa was the most successful bowler, taking 5-112 off 40 overs.Karnataka, batting in their first essay, managed only 293, builtlargely around KMA Aiyappa’s 62 and 49 apiece from Barrington RowlandVijay Bharadwaj. Andhra Pradesh relied mostly on KS Sahabuddin, whotook 5-92.Venkatesh Prasad was the destroyer-in-chief in the second innings,taking 6-35 off 21 overs and almost single-handedly reducing AndhraPradesh to 228 all out, with only RVC Prasad (78) making a significantscore. Karnataka played out seven overs for their draw, from whichAndhra Pradesh pick up five points, while Karnataka pick three.*Tamil Nadu ensures first-innings pointsTamil Nadu played analytical cricket on the fourth day of their RanjiTrophy league match against Hyderabad at Chennai, picking up fivepoints by virtue of a first-innings lead.With the match destined for a draw, Tamil Nadu batsmen TR Arasu (78off 268) and MR Shrinivas (28 off 154) made the required runs with adisplay of grit and resolution. Arasu fell with the score on 290, butShrinivas and R Ramkumar (37 off 60) took Tamil Nadu past Hyderabad’sfirst-innings total of 336.Bowled out for 351, Tamil Nadu then reduced Hyderabad to 150/2 by theclose of play, with Ramkumar picking up both wickets. Daniel Manoharwas unbeaten on 65, while Arjun Shivlal Yadav was unbeaten on 38.
For much of this afternoon, the spectators who had crowded into Galle International Stadium sat quietly on as their side drifted towards an apparently inevitable defeat. Then at 4:24 Gary Kirsten tried to sweep Mutiah Muralitharan and was bowled. Suddenly the band started banging their drums with hope, the Sri Lankan flags begun to wave and the spectators awoke from their slumber.One hour later the same spectators where cheering their team into their dressing room after Sri Lanka had won the match by 37 runs after a dramatic South African collapse in which 10 wickets had fallen for just 62 runs.The mood of the crowd was mirrored by that of the players who had appeared to have given up hope of winning the match during a 150 run opening stand between Gary Kirsten (59) and Andrew Hall (81). The dismissal of Gary Kirsten though galvanised the team, shook them from their gloom and as the wickets fell steadily, they couldn’t hide their undulated joy.Prior to the match the Sri Lankan’s had opted for three spinners in the expectation that the ball would turn in the second innings. It was a tactic that paid off as the spinners ran through the South African batting.Kirsten’s dismissal was promptly followed three overs later by that of his opening partner. Andrew Hall, in just his third one-day international, had stepped into the shoes of Herschelle Gibbs with aplomb, and had dominated the Sri Lankan spinners, hitting them from three sixes, but was caught and bowled by Upul Chandana.With the experienced Jacques Kallis (11) and Darrel Cullinan (14) at the crease there was no need for panic but Kallis tried to launch Dharmasena over mid-wicket and was caught by Chandana on the boundary. Suddenly the players and the crowd started to sense the possibility of a victory and the atmosphere in the ground became electric. They believed they were going to win when Jonty Rhodes (0) was caught behind off his very first deliveryThe run rate now begun to increase rapidly and Darrel Cullinan (14) was forced into taking the aerial route against Chandana but only succeeded in hitting the ball straight down the gullet of a grateful T.M. Dilshan on the mid-wicket boundary.Sri Lanka became unstoppable. Mark Boucher (2) and Lance Klusner (20), the Proteas only hope, were both run out by Sanath Jayasuriya. Pollock (5) was caught by Jayawardene, Nico Boje (1) was bowled by Mutiah Muralithran and Ntini was run out to end the match.Whilst Upul Chandana’s four wickets may have won the match at the end, he was only able to do so thanks to batted deeds of Sri Lanka’s youngsters: Avishka Gunawardena (47), Russel Arnold (59) and Kumar Sanagakkara (85).Put into bat, Sri Lanka quickly lost three wickets, including those of Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Attapattu and Mahela Jayawardene. The senior players gone, Avishka Gunawardena and Kumar Sanagakkara counter attacked in dramatic fashion. Sanagakkara may have been lucky to survive an LBW appeal in his first over and Avishka may have played and missed early on with alarming frequency but this in no way belittles their performance.Like Steve Waugh has done on so many past occasions, they took a calculated risk and in the space of a few overs had wrestled the initiative away from South Africa. They were helped in the cause by some wayward bowling. Mornantau Hayaward’s first four overs cost 40 runs and South Africa bowled a staggering total of 24 wides.Whilst the Russel Arnold and Avishka Gunawardena may have batted well, it was Kumar Sangakkara who caught the eye. Unfazed by the pressure of the occasion the 22-year-old from Kandy played with a maturity far beyond his years and experience. He played shots all round the wicket, placed the ball quite expertly and was justly awarded the man of the match award. Unfortunately he was stupidly run-out within reach of a well deserved century.Dav Whatmore was clearly impressed: “To win a man of the match award and come into bat in that situation and play the way that he did in his first one-day international was extremely impressive. The way that he performed was like a veteran and his future looks very rosy.”South Africa were clearly disappointed, so much so that they felt the need to hide inside their dressing room during the presentations. Nevertheless they surely can’t be expected to perform at their best straight after a two-month lay off.Speaking afterwards Shaun Pollock said: “The openers set a great platform for us to get that score and we let them down. We only had to go at five runs an over in the last 20 overs. It just goes to show that the conditions are more difficult than you think. As a fresh batter its quite difficult to get going.””I am not looking to make excuses but we definitely need more time in the middle. We have only played one practice game and the pressures in a practice game and an international one are very different. You realise that the heat is on when you get out here in an international game.”South Africa now travel to Colombo where they take on Pakistan at Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.
Celtic were incredibly busy during the previous summer and winter transfer windows in terms of bringing new players to the Parkhead club.
With the next summer transfer window set to open for business in a few months, it seems as though a clue has been dropped about the possibility of the Hoops keeping hold of one of their current loan recruits.
What’s the talk?
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist and transfer insider Dean Jones had this to say about Celtic’s chances of securing a permanent transfer deal for on-loan defender Cameron Carter-Vickers in the summer.
He said: “I think that they are hopeful they can get him permanently. That was part of the feeling when they got him in; let’s just convince him that this is the place to be, and I think that it has gone a long way.”
Since arriving at Celtic Park on loan from Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, the centre-back has been a vital figure for the team by racking up a total of 38 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with three goals and one assist along the way in the SPFL.
Postecoglou’s dream signing
Having racked up an overall rating of 7.32 for his league performances in this campaign, making him the fourth-highest rated player currently in Ange Postecoglou’s squad according to WhoScored, it’s safe to say that the Celtic boss and the fans would be over the moon if the club were able to work out a deal with the north London club that would see the 24-year-old stay where he is for the foreseeable future given how well he’s done there so far.
Labelled as a player who is “desperate to win” according to fellow Hoops defender Greg Taylor, Carter-Vickers has certainly shown that he is capable of playing with Postecoglou’s side at a high level, which should make it a priority for the club to try and sign him permanently in the summer.
Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to suggest that this would be a dream deal for the 56-year-old Hoops boss if Michael Nicholson can convince Tottenham to finally release the American on a permanent basis.
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Given how young the centre-back is, he could well go on to be a long-term figure for the current league leaders, meaning that it could be worth the club splashing out a substantial amount of cash if that’s what it would take to land him in the summer.
In other news: Forget Kyogo & Turnbull: Celtic’s “mouth-watering prospect” can fire Ange to the title
The preparatory camp before selecting the Indian cricket team to play in the home series against Australia, will be held in Chennai from February 5 to 10.The BCCI secretary, Jaywant Lele, told PTI in Mumbai on Tuesday that the Challenger Series limited overs cricket tournament involving three teams, including the national team, would be held in Chennai from February 12 to 15.”Soon after the Challenger Series, the Indian team would be picked to play in the three Test matches,” he added. “However, the itinerary for the home series against the Australians, which is yet to be finalised, would be declared only on January 22 at Delhi,” Lele said. The probables for the series against Australia will be announced on January 29.
The BCCI’s Technical Committee has made a suggestion aimed at ensuring more exposure to the best teams from the Plate League. It has suggested that the knockout matches in the Plate League be done away with and the two best teams be included in the quarter-finals in the Super League.The recommendation, if approved by the BCCI’s Working Committee, will mean that the top three teams from each group in the Super League will enter the knockout stages.”At present, four teams in both groups play the semi-finals. What we have suggested is that the top three teams each from A and B groups of Super League along with the two finalists of Plate League play knockout quarter-finals,” a member of the technical committee told IANS. “This way the better teams in the Plate League will get more exposure against top teams of the Super League. We made this suggestion to the board in our previous meeting. Let’s see how the board takes it.”And if this team from the Plate League wins even one match in the quarter-finals, it will get another match to play, which means more exposure for them. Who knows, the Plate Group team could go on to win the Ranji Trophy.”Even if the Working Committee approves this proposal, it will come into effect only from the 2008-09 season.The BCCI has been grappling with how to reduce the difference in the qualities of the Super League and Plate League teams. Currently, the two worst teams from Super League are relegated to the Plate League, while the Plate League champions and runners-up are promoted. But this takes effect in the season after. The latest move will make sure the best teams in the Plate League get a taste of higher competition during that season itself.
The thing that worried me most when facing Warne was his unerring accuracy and ability to exploit every single advantage. You never got a freebie from Warne. You always knew he was plotting hard about how to get you out, weighing up your attitude, the conditions and the state of the game.He was one of the shrewdest bowlers I have ever faced and this deep bowling intelligence got plenty of wickets he should not have got over the years. Sometimes he’d even let you know how he was trying to get you out, adding some extra pressure, toying with your mind. It was a game of bluff and double bluff.In recent years he rarely bowled a googly or flipper, but the stock legbreak was so dangerous because he had such control of spin. He relied heavily on clever variations in flight, drift and pace. And of course, like all the truly great bowers, he also had that special ability to step up when it mattered most. Out of the blue, when Australia needed it most, he would conjure up something unplayable to put you on the backfoot.Mohammad Yousuf
He is one of the greatest bowlers ever. And as he is one of the greats, it is difficult to pick out just one thing about him which makes him special – it was everything about him. His drift, his accuracy, his stamina – other bowlers have these qualities but no one has had them all together in one body.When I first faced him, in 1999-2000, he was a little bit older and some said that he had lost the zip he had in the mid-90s. But he was still amazing then and just always at you, never giving you any space. He is so accurate that as a batsman you can never switch off against him. My best century I consider to be the one against Australia at Melbourne in 2004 and that was because it was against great bowlers like Warne and McGrath.He bowled so many great balls it is difficult to pick out just one. I guess it would be the delivery to dismiss me in that Melbourne Test. He bowled it round the wicket and it drifted past my pads and I was stumped. It was when he produced it more than anything else because I was well-set by then.Daryll Cullinan Shane Warne retires as one the greatest cricketers of all time. He holds just about every possible record for a bowler. Most wickets, most away wickets, most wickets in a calendar year, most wickets in won Test matches… it goes on and on. Having failed miserably at his hands in Test cricket he has always been a point of discussion wherever I have gone.
Seldom has my good one-day cricket record against him been given credit but that was eventually achieved by discovering two things: the sweep shot, which came easier in one-day cricket, and the first thing a kid is taught in cricket: watching the ball out of the hand. However, by then the story had been told: Daryll Cullinan was Shane Warne’s bunny.The media thrived on it, in particular Neil Manthorp. His second best story about me was the Melbourne moment when, arriving at the crease on our second tour of Australia, Warne greeted me with the famous words: “I’ve been waiting six months to bowl at you.” The reply was: “I can see you spent it eating!”As the over finished, I met Gary Kirsten, my batting partner, in the middle and we had a chat about the big man’s comments. Kirsten, full of smiles, then made the comment to me that yes he could see he had been spending the time eating. This comment was subsequently attributed to me in Kirsten’s weekly column in a Cape Town newspaper which was been ghost-written by Manthorp. In Warne’s cricketing history it always comes up as one of the best sledges.Nasser Hussain
I’d actually seen Shane Warne out here in Australia before he appeared in England in 1993. I was playing club cricket in Adelaide and used to head down to the Oval to get some nets in, and Shane would be there with the academy. He just looked like a big blond beach bum, to be honest, but every day he’d be in there working on his legbreaks, googlies and flippers.No-one ever thought he’d be as fantastic as he was for the game, though. For me, batting against him was why I played the game. I love to be in a challenge, I love to be in a fight. With Warney at the end of his run, with the zinc on, the beached hair, the weight-gain and the weight-loss, sledging you, testing you physically and mentally – it was the greatest challenge going.When I saw that Gatting delivery, my only thought was: “Thank God I wasn’t at the crease!” In that 1993 series, there was a lot of mystery around the England dressing-room. We hadn’t faced a legspinner for ages, we didn’t know what a flipper was. That was the difference really. We were just learning on our feet out there. As for the greatest ball I ever received from him, well, there were umpteen. You can’t just remember a few from Shane Warne.
Tinashe Panyangara, one of Zimbabwe’s most promising young players, is set to join an English club side this summer.The Zimbabwe Independent reported that Panyangara has agreed to sign for Holton-le-Clay in the Lincolnshire Premier League. He is now waiting for a work permit.Panyangara was non committal. “I might be going, I might not,” he told the newspaper. “My agent should be working on something like that.””This will be a good place for him to start with, and I’m sure he will be a star,” Holton-le-Clay vice-chairman Adrian Portus told the Independent. “That will give him a good ground to progress in his career.”
In the end, the result didn’t matter. It was never meant to. What is cricket after all before life? In the sporting sense, it was odd watching the match which was billed as a one-day international, and it’s difficult to say if the players felt the same intensity as they do while turning out in national colours. But they surely knew what was at stake: it wasn’t a trophy or national pride, it was about rebuilding lives, giving hope, it was about standing up and being counted. It turned out to be a mismatch, but over 70,000 people who filled the massive MCG got what they really wanted.The magic moment of the match came after it was over, when Bob Merriman, Cricket Australia’s chairman, strode across to present a cheque for in excess of A$14million to World Vision. It was nearly as much as Cricket Australia’s accumulated losses last year, and it was, by a distance, cricket’s finest stand in many years. All it had taken was 12 days. It demonstrated, if any proof was needed, what good intentions could achieve. It was a game without losers.It would be cynical to wonder if the World XI shouldn’t have helped the Asian XI to score a few more runs and hit a few more sixes, because each run earned US$760 for the cause and each six US$38,000. But that would have turned the match into a charade. It was played as intended: in an honest competitive spirit. There’s nothing, after all, to prevent the sponsors, Toyota and 3 Mobile, from pitching in with a few more thousand dollars if they want to.Cricketers have turned out for charity matches before. Often it is for one of their own, and sometimes to support a larger cause. In 1996, a combined team of Indian and Pakistan players travelled to Colombo to play a solidarity match after a couple of teams had pulled out from their World Cup engagements in Sri Lanka citing security reasons. And the last time an Asian XI squared up against a Rest of the World XI, at Dhaka in 2000, it was for the “promotion of cricket”. Today, the cause overwhelmed all else. Humanity hasn’t known a natural calamity greater than last month’s tsunamis, and it was appropriate that cricket should respond in the best possible way. It was a grand affair for a grand cause.