Inzamam-ul-Haq said the Supersub rule benefits teams winning the toss and his side would like to cash in on when Pakistan take on England in the second day-night one-day match against England on Monday with an aim to level the series. England won the first match on Saturday.”The Supersub advantage lies with the team that wins the toss,” Pakistan’s captain Inzamam told reporters ahead of the match. “Had we won the toss we could have utilized our super sub had we bowled second, so we would like a better use of it next time.”Pakistan named the offspinner Arhsad Khan as their Supersub in the first of five one-day internationals on Saturday but could not use him at any stage during their 42-run defeat.England compiled their highest one-day score against Pakistan in Pakistan – 327 for 4 in 50 overs – before reducing the home side to 285 all out in 46.5 overs.The Supersub rule, which was implemented in May this year, allows teams a soccer-style replacement at any stage in a limited overs international. The replaced player will be ruled out of the rest of the match while the replacement will be entitled to assume any remaining batting or bowling duties. England benefited from the rule as they replaced Kevin Pietersen, who scored a brisk 36-ball 56, with debutant paceman Liam Plunkett who took 3 for 51.England’s captain Marcus Trescothick has warned that his side must not get complacent with just one victory in the five-match series. “We have got four massive games ahead of us,” he told reporters, “and we can’t get carried away with one win. We have got to get our consistency going.”Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen are both expected to play despite suffering from injuries. Pietersen had a problem with his back and Flintoff was nursing an ankle injury. Flintoff hit an unbeaten 72 in England’s innings, chipped in with three wickets in the first match as Pakistan lost their last six wickets in the space of just 18 balls. Andrew Strauss, who won the Man-of-the-Match award for his 94, said the win was important for England after a 2-0 defeat in the preceding three-Test series. “There is no substitute to winning and I think we are delighted to come through a pretty tough game,” said Strauss, who managed just 44 runs in the two Tests against Pakistan.Strauss agreed the Supersub rule complicates matters for teams. “It (the rule) makes selection meetings pretty difficult,” he said. “I would have thought with who to sub and who not to, and when to sub, it makes things more complicated for the captain.”Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Shoaib Malik, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Mohammad Yousuf, 6 Younis Khan, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Mohammad Sami, 11 Danish Kaneria. Supersub Yasir ArafatEngland (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick (capt), 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Vikram Solanki, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ian Blackwell, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 James Anderson. Supersub Matt Prior.
Sachin Tendulkar is a self-confessed doubt for India’s forthcoming Test series against Pakistan because of the same elbow injury which caused him to sit out most of last year’s home series against Australia.Tendulkar was sidelined for almost three months last year with tennis elbow, and on Monday he told reporters in Mumbai that he was again struggling. ” I played my last match on December 27 and have not touched the bat or ball since then. As of now I’ve been advised (to take) five to six weeks’ rest by the doctors,” Tendulkar said. “We’ll have to wait and see. After the rest period is over, I’ll meet the doctors again and we’ll take a decision.”I am not going to hurry my return,” he continued. “I am eager to play against Pakistan but I would do so only if I am fully fit and able to play. I will strictly go by what the doctors say. “Tendulkar’s injury dominated the headlines last year and, although he returned at the end of the Australia series, he struggled. In six innings against Australia and South Africa he managed 93 runs, but he did make a big double-hundred against Bangladesh.There were those who blamed a heavy bat for his problems, but Tendulkar again dismissed those suggestions. “I have been reading articles wrongly attributing my injury to my usage of heavy bats,” he explained. “A lot of people have been saying that but they don’t know much about the game. I have used heavy bats for 15 years without any trouble.”The dates for the Pakistan series have not been confirmed but the first Test is expected to start on March 4.
The Adelaide Turf Cricket Association (ATCA) has been rescued by its member Clubs and players and the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA).The rescue package, which was overwhelmingly supported last night at a general meeting for the Association’s members, included a $10 per player rescue levy, payable at the beginning of the coming season.The meeting saw representation from 44 out of their 45 member clubs, including life members, umpires and players.The package also included a $52,000 interest-free, 5-year loan, negotiated with the SACA, which has enabled the Association to clear itself of its immediate creditors and remain solvent.General manager of the Adelaide Turf Cricket Association, Andrew Ramsay, who commenced in the role at the beginning of August, was encouraged by the support shown by all member clubs."It was fantastic to see such a healthy turn out last night. Everyone at the Association is thrilled with the support from of our member clubs and players during such a difficult time.""The proposed rescue levy was strongly embraced, with clubs simply wanting to see the Association get on with administering the game of cricket for our 4,000 players."The rescue levy will be officially tabled at the Association’s annual general meeting of September 22, and is anticipated to be positively endorsed.The Association also plans a number of fundraising and other activities to secure its financial future.
The Pakistan cricket selectors retained controversial fastbowler Shoaib Akhtar and recalled forgotten man Shadab Kabirin the 16-man squad for Bangladesh tour starting Jan 2.Shoaib has been named after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)rejected International Cricket Council’s offer to utilizethe services of West Indian Michael Holding.Shoaib, currently in Stage 2 after being reported twice thisyear, will be banned for a year if he gets on the wrong sideof the umpires and match referee again in Bangladesh.Shoaib is presently playing club cricket in Australia andhas been given a clean sheet by Western Australia Universitywhich also cleared Sri Lankan spinner Muthiah Muralitharan.The PCB has urged the ICC to consider Shoaib as a specialcase and constitute a medical board to examine the findingsof the Perth institution.The squad includes no surprises and all the players, more orless, select themselves.Shadab has earned the selectors nod after averaging 48.57 inthe Patron’s Trophy. He edges out fellow left-hander ImranFarhat who accumulated 733 runs and averaged 56.38.Shadab last played for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 1996-97after making his debut on the 1996 tour to England withWasim Akram’s squad.Taufiq Umer, who slammed a century on debut againstBangladesh at Multan, was included in the side after hepassed a fitness test for a suspected injured knee.The selectors also decided to make three changes for theone-day squad.Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Azhar Mahmood will bolsterthe team for the shorter version. They will replace FaisalIqbal, Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Sami although Faisal mayfind himself a bit unlucky to be branded only a Test player.Faisal is an excellent fielder besides being an improvizer.He could have made a one-day player. With Saeed Anwar,Shadab and Taufiq picked as openers and Naved Latif alsoscoring a century at the top of the order, either of thefour could have been dropped to accommodate Faisal.On the domestic front, wrist spinner Mushtaq Ahmad (39wickets) and paceman Waqar Ahmad (51 wickets) and Abdur Rauf(50 wickets) might consider themselves unlucky not to earnplaces. But fact of the matter is that they are tied withDanish Kaneria and a battery of experienced fast bowlers.Danish captured 12 wickets against Bangladesh at Multanwhereas Wasim has 414 Test wickets, Waqar Younis is thecaptain and Sami and Shoaib are promising future quickies.Squad: Saeed Anwar, Taufiq Umar, Faisal Iqbal,Inzamamul Haq (vice-captain), Yousuf Youhana, Naved Latif,Younis Khan, Rashid Latif, Saqlain Mushtaq, Danish Kaneria,Waqar Younis (captain), Wasim Akram, Mohammad Sami, AbdurRazzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Shadab Kabir.Manager: Yawar Saeed.Coach: Mudassar Nazar.
The Sri Lankans maintained their winning streak, when they brushedaside the fragile challenge from Nepal at Moratuwa on Thursday.Nepal won the toss and elected to bat first against a strong SriLankan bowling attack – a decision they were soon to regret. Shah andChaudhary made 20 runs each, but no one else made a sizablecontribution. Akhtar with 12 was the only other person to reach doubledigits. Not surprisingly, extras top scored with 21. Even lesssurprisingly, Nepal was bowled out for a paltry 89 in 34.2 overs.The Lankans have a good all round side, stacked with all rounders andutility cricketers. They lost just one wicket in knocking off therequired runs with over 30 overs to spare. Daniels with 44 not out wasonce again the batting star for Sri Lanka. Mubarak helped himself to31 runs and the game was easily won.Sri Lanka now march ahead without losing a single game in thetournament upto this point. If they keep up this form, they lookstrong contenders for the title.
Newcastle United’s fantastic run of form in the Premier League came to an end as they lost 1-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Eddie Howe’s side went into the match off the back of a nine-game unbeaten run in the division but they were unable to make it to double figures.
The Magpies battled hard throughout the match and had a strong shout for a penalty turned down as Jacob Murphy appeared to be pulled down by Trevor Chalobah in the box.
It was not given and then Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the game, for Chelsea, as he ran off the back of Dan Burn before brilliantly bringing the ball down and poking it past Martin Dubravka.
Forget Burn
Whilst Burn may have been at fault for not tracking the German international for the winning goal, another player let the side down badly – Sean Longstaff.
Howe was almost forced to select the academy product with Jonjo Shelvey, Joe Willock and Joelinton all missing from the matchday squad.
He was handed a golden ticket to show that he deserves more game time, with an unprecedented set of absentees in his position, and – instead – showed why he has been on the periphery of the squad of late.
On and off the ball, he was caught lacking of what was required throughout the 90 minutes and Howe will surely be hoping that his other midfield options are back sooner rather than later.
Out of possession, he was weak. As per SofaScore, he lost 100% of his aerial battles and 50% of his duels overall, whilst failing to make a single clearance, block or interception. He also made one tackle and was dribbled past twice, which shows that Chelsea’s players were able to get the better of him more often than he was able to get the better of them.
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On the ball, he did very little. Via SofaScore, he gave the ball away every 3.2 touches as he lost possession ten times from 32 touches – completing 67% of his attempted passes. 25% of his long pass attempts were successful and he failed to create a single chance or manage a shot on target.
This shows that he did not offer any quality at either end of the pitch. Therefore, the dud did not grasp his unexpected, golden, chance to prove to Howe that he should be playing in the team ahead of those who missed out at Stamford Bridge.
AND in other news, Newcastle must swoop for £52k-p/w colossus in the summer, he’ll be an upgrade on Burn…
Andre Adams has revealed his significant frustration with New Zealand’s selectors, which led him to make himself unavailable for the ODI series in South Africa. Adams has also hinted that he might not be willing to play Test cricket if selected, which would effectively mean retirement from international cricket.Adams, 32, is the form bowler from the first two rounds of the State Championship with 13 wickets at 8.76. He said he had turned down queries from Richard Hadlee, New Zealand’s selection manager, as to whether he was available for the South Africa trip.”I’m pretty disappointed with the treatment I’ve received over the past year, especially not being picked for the World Cup,” Adams told the . “When I was also left out of the Twenty20 world champs, I thought ‘well, if I can’t get in ahead of Bradley Scott I must be a fair bit off the pace’.”I’ve watched some players who were picked ahead of me have a pretty average time of it, and they just kept playing. I’ve sat on the bench and watched, and I’ve had enough – simple as that.”Adams conceded he did not have a great relationship with the New Zealand coach John Bracewell and he suggested the national squad, which has struggled in South Africa, might not be a pleasant environment. “Are they a happy team?” Adams said of the players in South Africa. “That’s a tough question and one that I’ve got some pretty strong views on but I’m not prepared to speak about it publicly at the moment.”Although he has played 42 ODIs, Adams has not represented New Zealand since the home series against Sri Lanka in January. He said he was not willing to play any more one-day internationals under the current administration.After New Zealand finish their disappointing South Africa tour they will visit Australia for the three-match Chappell-Hadlee series. Although they won the last Chappell-Hadlee installment in February it was a rare highlight for New Zealand in recent years.Steve Rixon, their former coach, said the side had not made enough progress under Bracewell. “Braces has been in the job for four years and I haven’t seen too much improvement in the team, which disappoints me,” Rixon told the .New Zealand start their tour of Australia with a Twenty20 international in Perth on December 11. Three ODIs follow in Adelaide, Sydney and Hobart.
110 v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Galle, March 2004 In danger of losing his Test spot on a surface as unfamiliar as a snow field, Martyn calmly resists the pressure of Muttiah Muralitharan as he scores his first century in two years. “Emerging from a bad patch,” reported, “Martyn reasserted his right to bat at second wicket down with a methodical display.” The ball was spinning wickedly, it was so hot and humid that umbrellas and seats accompanied the drinks, and Australia began their second innings 161 behind. Martyn turned up with Australia 14 ahead and stayed for almost five-and-a-half hours, sharing a 70-run stand with Matthew Hayden before the crucial partnership of 206 with Darren Lehmann decided the result.104 v India, 2nd Test, Chennai, October 2004 India prepare to level the series 1-1 when Martyn and Jason Gillespie unite at 145 for 4 with a lead of four late on the third day. Playing as far back as possible and waiting for bowling lapses to pull or sweep, Martyn performs as comfortably as any Westerner could hope to in sauna-like conditions, and regained control with Gillespie, the nightwatchman, in a 139-run collection that pushed Australia ahead. Reprieved by a dropped caught-behind on zero, Martyn’s punishment lasted 210 balls and he was so confident that he allowed himself the rare extravagance of a six off Anil Kumble to bring up his century. Not even the fifth-day rain could dampen Martyn’s performance.114 & 97 v India, 3rd Test, Nagpur, October 2004 He misses the chance to be the first Australian since Don Bradman to score three centuries in consecutive innings, but seals the Man-of-the-Series award with a brilliant double. calls Act 1 “a handsome century” while he was “elegant” in the second. On a greener wicket, he showed he could re-adapt and cut and drove with aesthetic ease in a 165-ball innings of 16 fours. Knowing runs from the tail were used up in the previous Test, he made sure of another impressive contribution alongside Lehmann and Michael Clarke, before the second-innings near-miss batted India out of the game and the series.
165 v New Zealand, 2nd Test, March 2005, Wellington A most un-Martyn-like start in damp conditions suited to seam as he swings, misses and French cuts twice in the early stages. However, the tea break brings a dramatic transformation on the way to a career-high score. Breezing 82 in the final session, Martyn reached his fifth century away from Australia in 13 months as his second fifty came in 68 balls. Drives, pulls, flicks and glances decorated the innings and he woke up in the same mood the following day. If Gilchrist had not smashed 162 from 146 balls it would have been a high-profile treasure.101 v South Africa, 3rd Test, March/April 2006, Johannesburg Six innings into his recall Martyn hadn’t justified his spot, but when Australia need him most he steps in with his cape. Australia were cruising towards their target of 292 when they lost 4 for 39, but Martyn was the glue. He set up the side with an impressive 101 from 208 balls before Michael Kasprowicz and Brett Lee sealed the victory for a 3-0 result. Under extreme pressure Martyn rewarded the selectors for relying on his experience. It was his 13th and final Test century.
Kenya are hoping to be able to appoint a new coach within the next six to eight weeks, according to Samir Inamdar, the Kenya Cricket Association chairman.Kenya have been without a full-time coach since Andy Moles quit in February, but Inamdar revealed that they had received 28 applications from across the globe. He said the KCA had set up a committee which will shortlist six applicants.”The interview will be conducted by me, or in my absence the vice-chairman, Shamji Patel, together with Nasoor Verjee, David Waters, Sukhbans Singh, Tom Tikolo and the ICC high performance manager, Richard Done,” Inamdar told the Nation newspaper. “After the interview the names will be whittled down further to possibly two for face-to-face interviews possibly before the end of the year.”Mudassar Nazar, the former cricket academy manager who has been coaching the national team on an interim basis, is one of the applicants. Others are thought to include at least one former coach of a major national side.The hiring of a national coach is expected to result in the formation of a Kenya A and Under-19 squads to act as feeders to the national team.
The Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association, the leading league in the country, has announced that it will be hosting a Twenty20 tournament this weekend. Nairobi Jaffreys won the event in 2004. The Coast Cricket Association, the other major league based around Mombasa, is also expected to hold a similar event.
Kanbis A retained their NPCA Super League title, while Kanbis B retained the Division One crown.
Karen Rolton was Australia’s star for the second match in a row as they beat the Indian women by three wickets in Mysore to go 2-0 up in the seven-match series. Rolton bowled nine economical overs, conceding only 26 runs as India made 171 for 7 from 50 overs. Then, coming in to bat at the fall of the first wicket, she anchored the run-chase with an unbeaten 62 from 93 balls, as Australia won with four balls to spare.As in the first game, the most productive partnership for Australia came when Rolton and Lisa Sthalekar got together. They added 61 for the third wicket before Sthalekar (30) was run out – one of four Australians to be dismissed in that fashion. Three more wickets went down in quick succession as they slumped to 147 for 6, but Rolton guided the team through.Earlier, Anju Jain and Anjum Chopra were the main contributors for India. Jaya Sharma was dismissed for a fifth-ball duck, but Jain (51) and Chopra (43) then added 101 for the second wicket. The platform had been built, but the Indians failed to accelerate, adding only 33 runs in the last 11 overs to end with a below-par total. The Australians had a few hiccups, but held their nerve to seal the win.The third match will be held in Mumbai on December 16.