On going past Murali as Test cricket’s highest wicket-taker I’m obviously proud of that achievement. It’s been a few years since I made my debut against India in Sydney, and back then I was happy to get one wicket, forget 500. It’s something to tell the grandchildren.On the day’s play We toiled hard, created a lot of chances, even took a wicket off a no-ball. I think it’s the best I’ve ever bowled in India. I troubled all their batsmen, and there were a few chances that didn’t go to hand. If I continue to bowl like that, hopefully I can play a big part in this series.On the dropped catches, and whether the conditions might have contributed None were really easy. We’re usually renowned for turning games by taking such chances, but not one stuck today. To mention heat and humidity would be an excuse. Hopefully, this won’t happen again during the rest of the series.On Australia’s chances of winning the match If we can make what India make in their first innings when we bat, I think it’ll be a great game. We’re going to fight back. On the prospect of Murali taking back the record Let me just bathe in it for a while, OK [laughs]? Look, Murali will probably end up with 1000 wickets. But whether I hold the record for two weeks or a month, it can’t be taken away from me. It’s something to hang your hat on.On when he plans to call it quits I don’t want to stop yet. The key thing is enjoyment. I’ve retired from one-day cricket, but I think I can play Tests for a while yet. You have guys like Anil Kumble, Harbhajan [Singh], Murali and Saqlain [Mushtaq] who have shown that spinner can play both forms of the game. They’ve proved that the guys who reckoned that there wasn’t even a place for spinners in first-class cricket didn’t have any idea what they were on about.On the response from his opponents and team-mates Rahul Dravid came in and shook my hand even before he’d faced a ball. I thought that was a great moment, and it said a lot about the spirit in which this series is being played. Sehwag shook my hand too, and Kumble and Yuvraj (Singh) came in to the room later. Also John Wright. I’d like to thank all those guys.My team-mates? Well, you could see that they were really happy for me.On the extra aggression when he bowled to Sehwag I wanted his wicket [smiles]. He was the man to get today the way he was smacking us across the park. He has an eye like a dead fish [laughs]. If you bowl anything half-loose, he’ll smack it. It’s great entertainment.He got away with a few as well. But he was just too good for us today. Hopefully in the second innings, we’ll be too good for him.On how he’s soldiered on despite several rough patches Oh look, I’ve had some great times too. Been really lucky to do something I really enjoy – not many people get that chance. I’ve made a few bad choices, and I’ve learnt my lessons. I’m 35 years old now, got three kids. It’s great that my wife is here to see me go past the record. But if we lose this game, the world record itself will be a bit of a downer.On how he accounts for his comparatively poor record against India, given his outstanding figures against other subcontinental teams I’ve been inconsistent against India, mainly when I’ve been over here. The first two times I came here, I was carrying injuries – the shoulder the first time and trouble with my spinning finger on the last tour. But I also think they play me really well. I just hope I can carry on like I bowled today and cause them a few more hassles.
After three Tests where, by and large, everything came fairly easily to England’s bowlers, they found the going far harder on a pitch devoid of pace and bounce. By the close of a rain-interrupted first day in Antigua, West Indies were cruising on 208 for 2, and Brian Lara was looking broodingly dangerous, unbeaten on 86. He has plenty of scores to settle.The loss of the entire afternoon session after a downpour during and shortly after the lunch break robbed proceedings of any real momentum, and overall the day had something of an end-of-term feel to it. The crowd was slow in arriving – there were still plenty of empty seats midway even by lunch – and the atmosphere inside the Rec was decidedly flat. This most compact of grounds only came alive during the rain delay, with the sound systems in the Double Decker stand loud even by their standards and the dancing frenetic. Only the resumption of the match stifled the fun.England’s pace quartet realised early on that this wicket had been custom-made for batting. Lara briefly flirted with putting England in – heavy rain had left the surface damp – but his decision to bat was vindicated as England’s hitherto lethal attack huffed and puffed with little reward. Geraint Jones spent most of his first day in Test cricket taking balls dying on him.The morning belonged to Chris Gayle. He took half an hour to dust off the cobwebs, but when he did he unleashed some trademark drives and cuts through the covers, although there were still enough wild slashes to keep the bowlers interested. He lost Daren Ganga – who had once again failed to look as if should be opening the innings – on the hour when Andrew Flintoff produced the classic fast bowler’s one-two. First he dug in a bouncer, and then the next ball was pitched up, Ganga was caught back in the crease, and was comprehensively leg-before for 10 (33 for 1).
Enter Lara, under pressure, out of sorts, but on a ground which holds happy memories for him. Before he had scored, he survived a hugely confident shout for caught behind from Stephen Harmison. There was a noise – but no visible deflection – and the celebrating Harmison was well past the batsman before he looked round to see Darrell Hair shaking his head. Harmison – with 22 wickets coming into this game – was due an off day, and this was it. He was warned in his second over for running down the pitch, and rarely rekindled the menace he has shown so far.With Gayle’s confidence increasing, Lara was initially content to play second fiddle. As Gayle’s run-rate rose, England quite deliberately slowed the pace, with blatant time-wasting to try and rattle him. But what did unsettle him was the introduction of Gareth Batty – a late replacement for the unwell Ashley Giles – in the final over of the morning. Conscious that he had to be sensible with the break looming, Gayle, on 69, was caught in several minds, and he tamely chipped Batty’s fifth ball back to him. It was a limp ending to an entertaining innings (98 for 2).After a four-hour delay, play resumed and it was almost uninterrupted one-way traffic as West Indies chugged along at over four an over. Lara grew more assured, although Ramnaresh Sarwan was suffering in a crisis of confidence of his own at the other end. Lara’s timing, indifferent at first, returned and he brought up his fifty with a sweet pull off Simon Jones, and then smacked him through the covers for good measure. It might have come two or three Tests too late, but he was three-quarters of the way to being back to his best.Meanwhile, Sarwan’s problems were compounded when he was struck amidships by Batty; he collapsed as if shot by a sniper, and took about as long to recover as if he had. He then edged Jones, who was struggling with his run-up, to second slip, but that fielder had been removed to stem the flow of runs, and the ball bobbled for four. In the final overs his inside-edge off Harmison somehow missed his off stump and earned him another boundary. He ended the day on 41, and for once the luck was with West Indies.The pitch at St John’s usually lasts the duration, and it will take some good bowling or bad batting for either side to force a result, especially given that the forecast for the next four days is for more heavy showers. It would be very much a case of after the Lord Mayor’s Show, were it not for Lara.Martin Williamson is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo.
A few reflections and the encouragement of Sir Viv Richards have banished Carl Hooper’s blues.So disconsolate after the West Indies’ first-round elimination from the World Cup that he said he would "definitely be looking at my future with the team and rethinking my role as captain", he spoke cheerily yesterday of looking forward to next month’s home series against Australia in the Caribbean "with eagerness".While admitting he was "really gutted" by the early exit after losses to New Zealand and Sri Lanka and the critical rained-out match against Bangladesh that cost two points, he now saw it as "just a minor setback"."At no time at all did I consider being knocked out in the preliminary round as I think we’re a much better team than that," he said prior to the last match here today against Kenya, the surprise qualifiers for the next round, the Super Sixes."It’s something we’ve got to overcome," he added. "I’ve had a few days to think about it and I look forward to the Australian tour with eagerness."He confirmed he had discussed the subject with Sir Viv, the chairman of selectors, a former captain and an avowed fan of his."I had a chat with the chairman basically because, at the end of the day, you want to have a clear and concise picture of where we go from here," he explained.It now seems clear and concise that he will be reappointed captain for the four Tests against the Australians, by record and reputation if not by the International Cricket Council’s peculiar ratings, the strongest team in the game.Hooper, 36, and a veteran of 102 Tests and 226 One-day Internationals, has been captain for two years since he came out of sudden retirement prior to the 1999 World Cup and was immediately appointed to succeed Jimmy Adams."It’s good to have the support, not only of the chairman but any sort of support," he said. "It’s very important now to rally around each other."It’s been a very, very big [psychological] blow to the team," he added. "There’s just over a month before the first Test against Australia in Guyana (April 10-14) and we’ve definitely got to try and regroup as a team."Obviously, people will take a little bit of time to look at themselves and to see where they go from here but, as a team, we’ve collectively got to be well prepared for the Australians."His contention was that the team’s progress could not be judged by "an isolated tournament"."We’ve got to look back over the last few years and see where we’ve come from and I think we’ve made steps along the way," he said. "The Australian tour will be a good test again and we’ve got the Sri Lankans immediately after that, so the next couple of months should be exciting."The West Indies have won two and lost five of the seven Test series under Hooper with a match ratio of four victories, 11 defeats and seven draws.He was buoyed by the 4-3 triumph over India in the One-Day series in India last November and victory over South Africa in the World Cup opener. But poor cricket led to narrow defeats by New Zealand, by 20 runs, and Sri Lanka, by six runs, that put the West Indies out.Hooper himself has had a poor World Cup, his first since 1992. He scored 93 runs in four innings at an average of 23.25, and had three wickets at an average of 55.33 and an economy rate of 5.03.He needs to reassert himself again against Australia or his position would be in more jeopardy than it is at present.
There was good news and bad news for Glamorgan at Taunton today.On the positive side, Robert Croft heard that he had been selected in England`s squad for theThird Test against Australia starting at Trent Bridge on Thursday.Moreover, the off-spinner is very likley to be in the starting eleven, thereby winning his21st Test cap, and taking a step closer to becoming the first Glamorgan bowler to take50 wickets in Test cricket for England.When announcing the squad, David Graveney, the Chairman of Selectors, said “We wanted toshow continuity of selection by including Robert Croft. He performed very well on the wintertour of Sri Lanka, and we brought him back into the squad at Edgbaston. Maybe withhindsight, we should have played him there.””Nottingham is a pretty flat wicket and Croft can beat the bat on both sides. He is likelyto have to spend a lot of time bowling overs, but the fact that the pitch will not spin somuch is not something that we are unduly concerned with. He will enable us to use our quickerbowlers in short spells.”But there was gloomy news as well for the Welsh county as captain Steve James broke a bone inhis left hand during the defeat against Somerset. The injury happened as James was hit on hisgloves by a rising short delivery from England paceman Andy Caddick.James bravely tried to continue batting, but was unable to grip the bat properly, andafter receiving treatment on the field, he went to a local hospital for an x-ray whichrevealed that his hand was fractured.The Glamorgan skipper will see a specialist on Monday, and faces a spell on the sidelines.Also out of action for a while is Alex Wharf who has had further ankle problems duringlast week`s 2nd XI match against Middlesex at Usk.Glamorgan will travel to Colwyn Bay to play Lancashire without these three players.
Sunderland showed a real squad togetherness away at Brighton and Hove Albion to collect a hard-fought point.
It wasn’t the prettiest display by any stretch of the imagination, as the Black Cats had to make do with a 0-0 stalemate on the South Coast.
But, with six figures in Regis Le Bris’ camp now out at the African Cup of Nations, it was still a positive sign that the Wearside battlers will continue to work hard for each other, even if their ranks are a little decimated.
In particular, Daniel Ballard stood out once more as a hard-to-break-down defensive presence, as the former Arsenal centre-back continues to impress this season for the Premier League newcomers.
Ballard's standout Premier League performances
In a summer of much change at the Stadium of Light in terms of incomings, Ballard has managed to stay put in Le Bris’ first team plans, having first joined the ranks during the 2022/23 season in the Championship.
Now, he looks every bit a Premier League-calibre defender, with a player of the match accolade even arriving his way at the close of the dull draw at the Amex, with Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley hailing him as Sunderland’s “star player” on the day.
The numbers back up all this wild praise, too, as the Northern Ireland international trudged off at the end of the even contest with a mammoth 16 duels and tackles won, alongside only misplacing five of his 46 passes as a calming influence in the heart of the rock-solid Black Cats defence.
He even had two on-target attempts at Bart Verbruggen’s well-protected goal, with Ballard standing out all season long as “one of the big characters on the pitch” as per ex-Manchester United defender Phil Jones, when scoring two goals – one of which came against his ex-employers in Arsenal – and also winning a resolute 6.3 duels per league clash.
He has made the jump up from the Championship to the Premier League look a breeze; therefore, with Le Bris hopeful that he has another Ballard on his hands in this equally combative figure, who could become an even more crucial part of the Frenchman’s team, with the ongoing AFCON.
Sunderland's new Ballard
Having forked out £162m on new recruits this summer, there will be some delight on Sunderland’s end, too, that a large portion of their promotion heroes have taken to the step-up with ease, over these flashy signings stealing all of the limelight.
With Reinildo out in Morocco with Mozambique for the next couple of weeks, Trai Hume has a real opportunity to show Le Bris that he is also a Ballard-type figure; being an energetic and reliable defender cut out for the bright lights of the Premier League.
Hume’s numbers vs Brighton
Stat
Hume
Minutes played
90
Touches
53
Accurate passes
21/25 (84%)
Key passes
1
Accurate crosses
1/1
Tackles won
5/7
Interceptions
1
Clearances
4
Blocked shots
0
Recoveries
5
Total duels won
10/16
Stats by Sofascore
He has been Sunderland’s main starter in the right back spot this season, having been a dependable face to rely on during the Black Cats’ playoff journey, but his importance to the cause will go up even more now, to rival Ballard’s status as one of the first names on the team sheet, as he put in an admirable shift in the left-back spot against the Seagulls, in Reinildo’s absence.
Indeed, the versatile 23-year-old very much lived up to his tag of being a “warrior” that was handed to him by his manager in the second tier, having won 15 tackles and duels to preserve Robin Roefs’ clean sheet.
Moreover, he also had flashes of attacking impetus, much like Ballard, with one shot and one key pass registered, with the ex-Lorient manager surely feeling less uneasy now about the ex-Atletico Madrid defender not being present, knowing he has a fan favourite in Hume who can step up when required.
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Only costing a remarkable £200k to obtain from Linfield in early 2022, it’s clear that the £45k-per-week full-back is a bargain that was purchased while Sunderland decayed in the Championship, which has now paid off, with Ballard also only costing a modest £2m, too, to win from the Gunners.
Le Bris will want improvements in the attacking department, with Nick Woltemade’s own goal the only strike Sunderland have been able to cheer across the last two games.
But, he won’t be displeased by the Black Cats’ defensive acumen, as Ballard and Hume aim to start more games together across the busy winter period to come, to steer their well-drilled team to plenty more well-fought points.
Fewer touches than Roefs & only 9 passes: Sunderland star must be dropped
Regis Le Bris could look to drop this Sunderland star after his uneventful display in their 0-0 Brighton and Hove Albion stalemate.
Nigel Llong has apparently been moved off third umpire duty for the second Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Llong, who was at the centre of an umpiring controversy during New Zealand’s series in Australia, was initially listed by the ICC as third umpire in Hamilton but will now be one of the on-field officials in both matches.Llong was in the news last week for his controversial decision, as a third umpire, to rule Nathan Lyon not out on review during the Adelaide Test between Australia and New Zealand. On the second day of the Test, Lyon top-edged an attempted sweep to slip and New Zealand asked for a review after the on-field umpire turned down their appeal for a catch.After five minutes of replays, Llong upheld S Ravi’s decision even though there was a clear Hot Spot on the top edge of Lyon’s bat, and the batsman had walked halfway to the dressing room in anticipation of being given out.The decision was hotly debated and criticised by television commentators and the media at the time but the New Zealand players and team management were guarded in their response. After New Zealand Cricket questioned the decision, the ICC admitted that Llong had made “an incorrect judgement”. In a tweet, the ICC said: “ICC has reviewed the decision and acknowledged that it was incorrect. ICC confirms the umpire followed the correct protocol, but made an incorrect judgement.”Llong will officiate New Zealand’s two-Test series with Sri Lanka along with Richard Kettleborough and Paul Reiffel. Kettleborough will be the third umpire for the second Test, which begins on December 18, instead of Llong.Former Kent allrounder Llong joined the ECB’s international umpire’s panel in 2006 and replaced Billy Doctrove on the ICC’s Elite Panel of international umpires in June 2012. Llong has officiated in 33 Tests, 98 ODIs and 27 T20 internationals so far.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed will offer specialised coaching and expert opinion to a group of select fast bowlers at the Grameenphone Pacer Hunt Phase Three camp.Aaqib, who was the coach of the world-cup winning Pakistan U-19 team in 2006, will arrive in Dhaka on Monday and will work with the pacers at the camp on the technical and non-technical aspects of fast bowling. He also serves as coach of the National Cricket Academy in Pakistan and accompanied the Pakistan Academy team on their tour of Bangladesh last month.Until Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to opt for a foreign coach, Aaqib was one of the front runners to be appointed as Bob Woolmer’s successor.He will be there at the camp at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) from June 25 to June 28.
Samir Inamdar, the Cricket Kenya chairman, has announced that a tournament involving Kenya A, Uganda, Tanzania and a Coast XI will be held in Mombasa in June.The week-long event, called the Atul Shah Memorial Cup is named after the former Uganda and East Africa wicketkeeper who died last November and is being sponsored by his family.The four teams will play each other on a round-robin basis and then the top two play off in a final and the third and fourth-placed sides in a plate final. All games will be played on turf at the excellent Mombasa Sports Club and Coast Gymkhana grounds.Itinerary Tue Jun 6 – Teams arrive in MombasaWed Jun 7 – First round Thu Jun 8 – Second roundSat Jun 10 – Third round Sun Jun 11 – Finals and Plate eventMon Jun 12 – Teams depart
Derbyshire completed their second Twenty20 win of the season, as they inflicted a seven-wicket defeat on Leicestershire, the current champions. Leicestershire’s batting failed to fire, with only HD Ackerman making a significant contribution with 39. Ian Hunter took three wickets in an impressive bowling display. A brief interruption meant a Duckworth-Lewis calculation was needed and Derbyshire easily reached their 103-run target as Luke Sutton made 42 from 32 balls.Nottinghamshire completely overwhelmed Lancashire, storming to a 92-run win at Trent Bridge. Stephen Fleming made the early running with 56 from 42 balls before Chris Read, Mark Ealham and Paul Franks all made quick contributions. Franks hit three sixes from just seven balls. Lancashire’s batsmen made no sort of a start, with Graeme Swann taking three middle-order scalps.
Midlands/West/Wales Group
Gloucestershire put their recent poor form behind them with a seven-wicket win against fellow strugglers Glamorgan. They cantered home with nearly three overs to spare as Phil Weston and Craig Spearman made rapid thirties. Glamorgan’s innings struggled to gain any momentum against a disciplined attack. Carl Greenidge produced the superb figures of 3 for 15 and Martyn Ball also took three.Northamptonshire continued their good form with a 38-run win against Warwickshire. The match was reduced to 14 overs per side but Northants still managed 143 through a late blitz from Ben Phillips and rapid innings from Bilal Shafayat and David Sales. Neil Carter fell first ball for Warwickshire and Phillips completed an impressive all round display by taking 4 for 18.
South Group
Hampshire’s match against Sussex at the Rose Bowl was abandoned after steady rain arrived shortly after the toss had taken place. Sussex would have fielded first after Chris Adams put Hampshire into bat. Hampshire will be without Shane Warne for the rest of their Twenty20 campaign after he was granted a rest ahead of the Ashes, following a request from Cricket Australia to Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman.
ScorecardAustralia, who surprisingly missed out on a Super League spot, took out their frustrations on a shell-shocked Scotland side, bundling them out for a measly 22 and winning well before lunch at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong. Six of the Scots made ducks in the procession, and the highest contribution was Mr Extras, with 10. Of the batsmen, the highest scores were 5 by the opener Ian Young – who hit the only boundary of the innings – and Sean Weeeraratna, who at least resisted for 44 balls. It was the Aussie new-ball attack that did the damage: Gary Putland grabbed 4 for 9 in nine overs, and Man of the Match Cameron Huckett 4 for 7 in eight. Stephen O’Keefe mopped up the last two wickets to finish with 2 for 1. The Australian openers needed only 3.5 overs to knock off the runs and win a match which lasted only 26.2 overs in all.Willie Morton, Scotland’s coach, was dismayed with his side’s performance. "Australia are a strong team but we can’t accept results as poor as that,” he said. “I am very disappointed with the way we played today.”Australia’s coach Bennett King, meanwhile, said that his team would be going all out to win the Plate Championship. "We came here expecting to be playing in the Super League, but we didn’t beat Zimbabwe," he said. "Now we are in the Plate Championship and it must now be our target to win that instead, and we will field the same players in our next match." ScorecardNepal defeated Papua New Guinea in today’s other Plate Competition match, at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium. PNG laboured to 168 for 9 in their 50 overs: seven of their batsmen reached double figures, but the highest score was only 35, by Vivian Kila. Chris Amini, PNG’s captain, made 34, while slow left-armer Lakpa Lama took 4 for 51 from his ten overs. Nepal’s opener Kanishka Chaugai started well, and although Basanta Regmi made only 8 and skipper Babu Gauchan a duck, Nepal already had 60 on the board by then. Chaugai added 85 with Sharad Vesawkar (36), and finished with 90 not out as Nepal completed victory with 10.4 overs to spare.Chaugai was named Man of the Match, and earned praise from his team manager TB Shah. "Chaugai batted very well today on a good pitch," said Shah. "After a hiccup at the start where we dropped a couple of catches the game went well for us. We do not have any long-term targets for the tournament, we are taking each game as it comes."