A few things have changed in Pakistan since India toured last: the national coach, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi. The PCB will hope, however, that one more feature which dominated the last contest – that of the pitifully sparse crowds that pockmarked Test match venues in March and April 2004 – will also undergo a transformation.India’s euphoric 2-1 series triumphtwo years ago was accompanied bizarrely by near-vacant stadiums in Multan, Lahore and Rawalpindi. At the time, the trend sparked debate about dwindling Test match attendances in Pakistan and how it can be combated. The PCB responded by making a large percentage of the entire seating in stadiums for Test matches absolutely free, a policy that paid dividends against England and one set to continue against India.Pakistan’s series win against England, for the first time since 1996, attracted decent-sized crowds for Test matches. Multan and Lahore, where Pakistan won, averaged between nine and ten thousand spectators daily – by recent standards almost a stampede – while Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad was packed to a capacity of nearly 15,000 every day. The PCB made 70% of all tickets free and they are set to continue the policy through the India series.A PCB official told Cricinfo: “Approximately 50% of all seating is free in this series. Upon showing their ID cards people can pick up tickets for Tests from various outlets. The response from people has been really good so far. Already about 10,000 tickets have been distributed.”He added: “The last time India visited several factors worked against it. One, holding the ODIs before the Tests backfired. People were exhausted by the time the Tests came along. Also, the weather conditions didn’t help – it was very hot then and I think people would still prefer to come when it is cooler rather than the other way round. Finally security was so tight at the time and so much had been made out of it that a lot of people were just put off by coming to grounds.”Suhael Ahmed, a ticket marketer handling the PCB’s online ticket sales for the series, is also expecting bigger crowds this time round for the Tests. He said: “In only three days we have sold 2000 tickets online and a significant number are for the Lahore Test so in that sense sales have been fantastic. There should be better crowds this time primarily because of the tickets and also because of the timing of the series. The first Test starts at the end of a holiday season for schools but coincides with Eid and a weekend so there should be more people present at the ground than last time.”Pricing for the remaining enclosures remain the same as in the England series, ranging from a daily Rs 50 ticket (Rs 200 for all five days) to Rs 100 (Rs 400 for all five days). Prices for the ODIs, however, have been increased, in anticipation no doubt of even greater demand than against England. If crowds do turn up, then we might even have a more memorable series on our hands than two years ago.
Marvan Atapattu was upbeat ahead of Sri Lanka’s one-day series against New Zealand and predicted a hard-fought series beginning later this month. Sri Lanka’s one-day squad departed for New Zealand on Thursday morning and are scheduled to play five ODIs and two Tests on their month-long tour.Atapattu hoped that his team would build upon a successful 18 months under his captaincy and move towards becoming the world’s best one-day side by 2007. “We want to be the No. 1 team in the world,” said Atapattu after the team’s final training session earlier in the week. “But we’ll have to work really hard towards that objective. We cannot do that overnight but we can during a set period and the aim is to be there by the 2007 World Cup.”Sri Lanka have steadily risen up the ICC’s ODI Championship under Atapattu, who now has a 71% win ratio, having won 25 of 35 matches played since he took over after the 2003 World Cup. Australia topped the table with 136 points and Sri Lanka were in second place with 119. New Zealand, though, were just one point behind.”Rankings do matter at the end of the day, but at the moment it is a day-by-day process,” Atapattu insisted. “I just try to win each game with the 11 that have been selected. But the result is not as important as the way we play and I’m generally very happy with the way things are going. If you do well the rankings will take care of themselves.”The most important thing is that we are together as a team and playing for each other. Someone may miss a game or a series but when they come back they must be playing for the team. So far the boys are doing just that and that has been a key reason for our success.”Sri Lanka dominated their last one-day series in New Zealand in 2001, and triumphed 4-1, but Atapattu expected a tougher fight this time, especially after New Zealand boosted their confidence with a 1-1 draw against Australia in the recently concluded Chapell-Hadlee Trophy. “They are a tough team in their own conditions and although they don’t have a lot of stars they have been playing very competitively as a group,” said Atapattu. “They also have the advantage of playing at home.”Fortunately we have four days of training before our first practice match and then two practice games before the one-day series. This gives us plenty of time to adjust to the climatic conditions and the pitches. We’ll try and figure out our strategies within the first week.”Sri Lanka will miss Muttiah Muralitharan for the one-day series, although there is an outside chance that he might be ready for the final ODI in Wellington on January 8. He claimed to be feeling much better this week and has increased his workload.”I am pretty confident that he [Murali] will be available for the Test series,” said Atapattu. “He says he is getting better day by day and bowled four overs at normal speed on Tuesday. The cricket board is arranging for him to participate in a practice game [to be played on December 27] and when he is ready he can hopefully join is in New Zealand.”The team also departed without their coach, John Dyson, who missed the last few days of training due to a personal matter in Australia. Dyson will be joining the team straight from Australia later in the week. The first match will be played on December 26.
Pakistan will include Afghanistan in its inter-district tournament this season for the third time, to help promote the development of the sport there, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said today. “The Afghanistan Cricket Federation (ACF) requested us to allow their team to appear in one of our tournaments," said the board in a statement, "and we have included them in our non-first class inter-district tournament later this year."Zakir Khan, the former Test fast bowler who is now the PCB/s general manager, told AFP: "Afghanistan’s federation is trying hard to come up and as a friendly promotion we have allowed them entry for a third time."Afghanistan took part in Pakistan’s non-first-class tournament for the first time in 2000-01, when they won only one of their six matches. Last season, their second appearance, they lost all their four matches.Cricket in war-ravaged Afghanistan is promoted by refugees who learnt the finer points of the game while in exile in Pakistan. The Afghanistan Cricket Federation is trying to muster support from the International and Asian Cricket Councils to develop the game.Earlier this month the ACC sent Iqbal Sikander, its development officer, from Pakistan to Afghanistan to see how the sport could be developed there. Sikander said he was impressed with the interest of the youth in the game, and would recommend that the ICC and the ACC help to improve the cricket infrastructure. And Zakir Syed, the ACC’s development manager, said the council would train Afghan coaches and give the sport grants to buy gear.
Trevor Chappell, the Australian-born coach, was not reading the riot act to his batsmen after the Bangladeshis scored a disappointingly slow 120 from 61 overs in the first innings of their four-day match against Auckland on the Eden Park Outer Oval today.Chappell said his batsmen were under orders to bat with patience, especially after being put in to bat on a greenish pitch which may have been slightly suspect after so much recent wet weather.”Actually our opening batsmen did a good job for the ball was swinging about. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens with these players, they lose patience. Some of them were out to very good balls, others out to bad shots.”Chappell said there was nothing wrong with his players’ spirits.”They have taken some beatings in recent times and feel a bit down after a loss. But they are a fairly happy lot, quite upbeat about their cricket.”However, Chappell said the loss through rain of two of the three days of the New Zealand District Association XI match at Wanganui over the weekend, was a major setback in preparation for the first test at Hamilton next week.”We badly needed some batting against the District XI bowlers, and have only this Auckland game to adapt to the new conditions.”
The West Indies Busta XI finished their four day match inTrinidad, against the touring Zimbabwe team this past Monday on avery strong note as Guyanese youngster, Ramnaresh Sarwan, slammedtwo centuries in a very comprehensive bid for West Indiesselection. Upon winning the toss, Zimbabwe captain, AlistairCampbell, asked the home side to take first knock on a Guaracarapitch that looked like a batsman’s paradise. The decision musthave delighted the Busta XI batsmen for when they were finallybowled out for 349, both Ramnaresh Sarwan and Sylvester `Bouncin’Joseph had compiled two even centuries of extremely high class.Both batsmen were perfect foils for the other as they wererelentless in their attack on the Zimbabwean attack. Henry Olongawas the main sufferer as he was milked for 103 runs from his 18overs. Bryan Strang was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 36.The Zimbabweans initially started badly as Trinidadian, MarlonBlack claimed two early wickets for just nine runs. However, themiddle order batsmen in Trevor Gripper (30), Murray Goodwin (30),Alistair Campbell (158) and Stuart Carlisle (86) pulled the fightback together as they established a formidable total of 394 allout. Campbell played a captain’s innings as he and Carlisleshared in a sixth wicket 160 run partnership. Marlon Black had astrong return of 4 for 87 and was ably assisted by Cameron Cuffy(3 for 70) who bowled with persistent aggression.In their second innings, the Busta XI decided to bat out for somemuch needed batting practice. At the close on the fourth andfinal day the Busta XI were all out for a formidable total of417. Sarwan once again played an innings of brilliance as heaccumulated his second century of the match, this time amasterful 111. He was ably assisted, as in the first innings, bySylvester Joseph who put together a solid 51. Darren Ganga (41),Rawl Lewis (62) and Cameron Cuffy (37) also aided the Busta XI’scause as they constructed a massive second innings total.Sarwan has obviously submitted a huge claim for selection, as theselectors can obviously not ignore these centuries. Such asituation is food for thought as the WICB announced that theywill not select outside of their 20-man squad, of which Sarwan isnot a member, for the two test series against the Zimbabweans. Itseems to be a poor move by the WICB as they are restrictingthemselves to 20 players in a home series. Why restrict yourselfon home soil? Restriction should be avoided as much as possible,especially ahead of a two test series, which starts thisThursday, in which a new captain, manager and coach are to embarkon a mission to revive West Indies Cricket.West Indies 13 man squad for first test to begin on the 16thMarch: Jimmy Adams (captain), Ridley Jacobs, Curtley Ambrose,Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sherwin Cambell, Adrian Griffith,Courtney Walsh, Wavell Hinds, Reon King, Franklyn Rose, NehemiahPerry, Chris Gayle, Ricardo Powell.Thanks: The Anguillian (https://www.sports.ai/)
Leeds United’s defensive troubles continued this week as Marcelo Bielsa’s senior outfit were thrashed by yet another one of the Premier League’s top dogs.
A six-goal thrashing by Liverpool sees the Whites’ worrying record extend to 38 goals conceded across their last 12 outings in all competitions, meaning they are leaking 3.2 goals per game.
An alarming figure indeed.
The 30th of November was the last time that the Yorkshiremen kept a clean sheet.
To Bielsa’s credit, he has been without some key figures in this run, mainly club captain Liam Cooper and midfield anchorman Kalvin Phillips. At Anfield, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente were also missing, leaving the Argentinian head coach with just one senior centre-back in Pascal Struijk.
However, there was one name on the bench that could prove to be an interesting solution and one that can save chairman Andrea Radrizzani millions of pounds in upcoming transfer windows.
In the absence of the aforementioned stars, it’s potentially damning on the manager that he did not name Charlie Cresswell in the starting XI as he has proven his worth in what limited game time he’s received.
His one start in the top-flight, a win over West Ham United in January, garnered some high praise indeed. Despite being a towering 6 foot 3, the 19-year-old gem was dubbed a ‘pass-master’ by Football Insider before pundit and ex-Leeds star Noel Whelan waxed lyrical about his ability.
“If some of those first-teamers aren’t performing, he’s waiting in the wings to take the opportunity,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how young he is. He’s shown that he can produce against some of the best in the Premier League.”
Podcaster and presenter Joe Wainman also backed the youngster to become a hit at Elland Road.
“That boy, for me, was unbelievable and I don’t think he should come out of the side. He’s a mainstay now, for me. I thought Cresswell was class, genuinely class,” he claimed after the match.
Perhaps it’s time to hand him that opportunity and in doing so, Bielsa could well unearth the club’s next Rio Ferdinand – one of the Whites’ most talented young centre-backs of yesteryear.
Just like the Manchester United legend, Cresswell is thought to have leadership qualities, as talked up by himself during an interview with the YEP.
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“I’m confident, I’m a leader, I like to play and I like to head it! There’s lots of players in the first team that I look up to, the likes of Coops, Bill, they lead by example and that is what I want to try and follow.”
A new central defensive option will be a priority in the summer, regardless of who is in charge and what division Leeds find themselves in but the 19-year-old academy graduate could be a bargain solution to their problems.
If trusted, he could save the Yorkshiremen a lot of money indeed.
AND in other news, Leeds liability’s struggles continue in Liverpool thrashing…
When Delhi batted on the second day on a tricky Nagothane track, the difference between the two sides came down to one factor: experience. While the Maharashtra batsmen played too many shots, the Delhi batsmen applied themselves, saw out the tough periods, strung together partnerships and by stumps had put their side 59 ahead of Maharashtra’s total of 219 with five wickets to spare. The main contributors were Mithun Manhas, Aakash Chopra and Rajat Bhatia, each of whom scored a half-century.Manhas, who came in to join Chopra after Chetanya Nanda, the nightwatchman, and Virender Sehwag fell in quick succession, looked the most comfortable batsman. From the outset, he batted with ease off both front and back foot, choosing to wait for the ball to come to him rather than commit to playing strokes. He opened his account with a flick off the pads through midwicket, which was a feature of his innings. He hit seven boundaries in his 74 and strung together two important partnerships – 75 for the fourth wicket with Chopra and 91 for the fifth with Bhatia – before his dismissal against the run of play and when he looked good for his second century of the season.If Manhas made batting look easy, Chopra weathered the tough period, just before stumps yesterday and in the first hour today. He survived a couple of confident lbw appeals, when the fielders contended that the bat was hidden behind the pad. One edge fell short of slip and there was a big caught-behind shout too. On a pitch with variable bounce, he took a blow from one that kicked disconcertingly from a good length.While all that happened, he didn’t let the scoring slow down, rotating the strike consistently and hitting eight boundaries. He was comfortable against the spinners, playing the first pull shot of the match when he hit Sairaj Bahutule to the midwicket boundary in the 24th over. He stepped out to hit Agharkar for two fours down the ground and crossed 50 for the fourth time in this Ranji Trophy, one of which he has converted into a double-century and another into a century. The knock, which comes ahead of the selection for the Australia tour and with Bhupinder Singh, a national selector, watching, ended when he was on 73. He was given lbw off a Bahutule delivery that came in and was visibly unhappy with the decision, standing motionless at the wicket for about eight seconds before shaking his head and walked off.After Chopra got out, Bhatia, a five-for in his bag already, joined Manhas and the two carried Delhi through to the first-innings lead with ease. Bhatia batted with the same sense he had shown with the ball and played only when the bowlers made him play. When he went for the big hits, they cleared the boundary and he hit the only sixes of the match so far. He ended the day unbeaten on 66 off 190 deliveries.Sehwag, meanwhile, once again played an innings where he promised a lot and delivered little. In one over from left-armer Fallah, he walked down the wicket to take two boundaries – one flicked to fine leg and one driven straight down. But in the same over he went for another big drive, and beaten by the angle from round the stumps, played it on to the leg stump.The young Maharashtra bowlers bowled with heart, creating chances, and beat the bat on several occasions. However, like the Delhi seamers, Samad Fallah and Wahid Sayyed lacked the discipline, Fallah bowling eight no-balls and the two bowling two wides each. The young side’s inexperience showed as they appealed almost every time the ball hit the pad or beat the bat. The fielders stayed chirpy till the end of the day and kept cheering even wide balls, which were left alone. The new ball, taken in the 84th over, did not do any tricks for Maharashtra either, as Mayank Tehlan and Bhatia negotiated the period before stumps easily.
The third Twenty20 Cup gets underway today in Karachi and in the true tradition of modern events, promises to be bigger, better, richer and more glamorous than ever before. If it can match the success of the previous two editions though, it will be a success enough.Sialkot Stallions will be defending the title, having beaten the Faisalabad Wolves, winners of the inaugural title, last year in Karachi. And from the 13 teams competing, the Stallions will be among the favourites again to retain the title. Their line-up is, on paper, the strongest of any, including captain Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman. It also boasts the two bowlers who made the difference last year, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Asif.The competition might be tougher this year as most teams are able to call on national team players following a directive from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The only absentee is likely to be Inzamam-ul-Haq, who would’ve captained the Multan Tigers but hasn’t yet fully recovered from a finger injury he sustained during the recent ODI series against West Indies. Mohammad Yousuf will be available to lead the Lahore Lions for preliminary games before he sets off to Saudi Arabia to perform the Muslim pilgrimage of .Nevertheless, a star-studded six-day event awaits, held across three venues in the city and culminating in the final on December 26, at the National Stadium. Shahid Afridi, a Twenty20 player long before the format was conceived, will captain the Karachi Dolphins, no doubt hoping to send a reminder out to national selectors of his ODI value before an important international season. Other big name leaders include Younis Khan, who will be leading the Peshawar Panthers and Shoaib Akhtar who will continue his comeback as captain of the Islamabad Leopards.Entry to the matches, as always is free, though the PCB are keen to avoid a repeat of the chaos that engulfed finals day last year. Then, the final itself was held up for nearly two hours due to crowd trouble in Karachi and the traditional music concert – a Twenty20 staple the world over – had to be cancelled. But a PCB spokesman has confirmed that there will be tighter security this year to avoid the “mishaps from last year.”As well as greater security, there will also be greater rewards. The winners are expected to receive Rs 1 million as prize money this year, almost double the amount from last year. The remaining cash awards, for individual as well as team honours, have received similar boosts. Like last year, the matches are also being telecast live, although this time on a local sports channel.Group A – Faisalabad Wolves, Karachi Dolphins, Lahore Eagles, Abbotabad Rhinos Group B – Sialkot Stallions, Hyderabad Hawks, Karachi Zebras Group C – Multan Tigers, Peshawar Panthers, Islamabad Leopards Group D – Lahore Lions, Rawalpindi Rams, Quetta Bears
The ICC has launched a spirited defence of its handling of the Zimbabwe crisis in the light of recent criticism.In a joint statement made exclusively to Cricinfo, Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, and Malcolm Speed, the chief executive, said that it was understandable that there was disquiet over issues in Zimbabwe, adding: “These are concerns that are shared by the ICC.”They continued: “Strong opinions from many stakeholders have been expressed in opposition to the stance the ICC has taken on Zimbabwe. No doubt the ICC could become more popular with many more people if it adopted a more strident position against Zimbabwe but such a role would do little to find a solution to this complex issue.”The simplistic view expressed by some is that it is time for the ICC to roll up its sleeves, flex its muscles and get in and ‘fix it’ – although how this is to be achieved is left, not surprisingly, vague. In reality, if Zimbabwe is to reunite its fractured cricket community, the only lasting solution will come from within the Zimbabwe cricket community.”Speed and Mani went on to say that the ICC had repeatedly offered Zimbabwe’s stakeholders assistance but that its powers were limited. “The idea that the ICC can simply walk in and ‘take over’ one of our members is quite simply a nonsense.”In recent times, there have been threats of a players’ strike in Australia; complicated television issues that have cost the game millions of dollars and disputed Board elections in India; a players’ strike in New Zealand and the sacking and replacement of Boards by governments in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but no-one has seriously suggested that the ICC should unilaterally intervene to “fix it” in these cases and rightly so.”The ICC is well aware of the arguments against its stance and respects the rights of its stakeholders to take and express other opinions on the best way to resolve these difficult issues affecting Zimbabwe cricket.”What is more difficult to respect are the attempts by some people to link issues that are not joined, to use rhetoric ahead of reason, and to advance extreme positions at the expense of striking a balanced view. This may play well to their audience, attract media attention and perhaps give some people the public profile they crave but populism doesn’t equal progress.”The truth is that what is happening is Zimbabwe is of great concern to the ICC but those who are arguing for the unilateral intervention of the ICC without the support of all the stakeholders in the game are failing to properly understand the process that is needed to make progress or the challenges that cricket faces in Zimbabwe.”The statement concluded by saying that the ICC was monitoring developments inside Zimbabwe and “has made its concerns clear to the sport’s stakeholders in Zimbabwe as well as the risks that are being run if they fail to find a solution.”No doubt the ICC’s policy on this issue will continue to attract much criticism, but it is a policy which in the ICC’s judgment provides the greatest opportunity for cricket in Zimbabwe to survive the crisis it currently faces.”Click here to send us your feedback on this statement
Australia 585 (Clarke 141, Gilchrist 126, Martyn 70, McGrath 61, Gillespie 54*, Ponting 51, Martin 5-152) beat New Zealand 353 (Oram 126*, Sinclair 69) and 76 by an innings and 156 runs Scorecard Day 4 Bulletin – New Zealand have no answer to McGrath Verdict – An overwhelming gap Roving Reporter – The Gabba faithful Quotes “It’s a huge turnaround for us” – Ponting Quotes Fleming asks for more out of top order Big Picture – Oram’s freak dismissal
Day 3 Bulletin – Clarke and Gilchrist flay New Zealand Verdict – Back to the familiar opening theme Michael Clarke: a hero … in the flesh Big Picture – Clarke’s celebration Quotes “It’s great to play in front of a big crowd” Quotes “It’s quite funny when the tail is batting”Day 2 Bulletin – Honours even after Oram hundred Verdict – Kiwis ruffle Aussie feathers Oram carves it like Cairns Quotes – Warne speaks out Big Picture – Warne’s wides Day 1 Bulletin – Kasprowicz gives Australia the edge Roving Reporter – Fashions of the Field Verdict – A matter of confidence Quotes – Kasprowicz and SinclairPreview package Preview – Brothers in Arms Quotes – Weird and wonderful series theories News – New Zealand lose Franklin