Andy Bichel has not been put off by Mitchell Johnson’s slow start to the domestic season and feels he is in the perfect position to make his Test debut on Thursday. Johnson’s chances of being presented with a baggy green improved with the withdrawal of Shaun Tait from the squad with an elbow injury and the only thing missing from his preparation is a useful haul at state level.Johnson went wicketless in the Pura Cup match against New South Wales last week and has picked up only one victim in the tour game with the Sri Lankans in Brisbane. However, there was no problem with his pace in the second innings this afternoon and Bichel was impressed with his team-mate’s credentials.”He’s a left-armer, he gives you those options and we haven’t seen a left-arm quick for a long time,” he said. “He’s at the right age, he’s done his apprenticeship and knows the system, it’s perfect timing for him. He’s ready to go.”Sri Lanka have struggled with the bounce in Brisbane during the tour game and Johnson’s height and pace should provide some more discomfort during the Test. Australia will be without Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath for the first time since their retirement and Johnson is an attractive option because he is a left-armer.”The make-up of the side, with Stuart Clark, Brett Lee and no Warne, you need some variation in the side,” Bichel said. “Stuart MacGill will fill the spin-bowling spot but you need some variation in our quicks and Mitchell’s the best way to get it.”Farveez Maharoof is pushing for a place in the Sri Lanka side and he helped his claims with 3 for 72 on a day when they struggled to knock over Queensland’s lower order. Dilhara Fernando, who is not playing in the match, is Maharoof’s main rival for a spot, although the reshuffling to cover Kumar Sangakkara’s injury may result in the visitors playing five bowlers.”I’ve been bowling well over the last two weeks and it was good to have a day out,” Maharoof said. “It won’t be easy with Dilhara, Lasith [Malinga] and [Chaminda] Vaas around. I’m still hoping that I’ll get a comeback and hope I get a chance to prove myself.”The Sri Lankans’ attack made an impression on Bichel as he posted his ninth first-class century with an aggressive 125. “Malinga will expose the older ball in Hobart, but not in Brisbane because he won’t get a lot of reverse-swing,” he said. “Maharoof bowled really well and Vaas swung the ball beautifully. They stack up pretty well.”
Chris Adams will be Yorkshire’s captain for the 2007 season, after Sussex confirmed that they had agreed the terms under which he will be released from his contract.”This is a sad day for the club and all our supporters,” said David Green, Sussex’s chairman, “but we realise that this is a great opportunity for Chris and wish him the very best of luck in his new role.”Chris has done wonderful things for the club and has helped lay a solid foundation on which to build and we look forward to embracing the new challenges the 2007 season will bring.”Adams joined Sussex in 1998 and under his tenure as captain the club won six trophies, including the County Championship twice in four years. But at the age of 36, he has one eye on his life after retirement, and having being turned down for the role of Sussex’s chief executive, he decided it was time to seek new challenges.At Yorkshire, he will not only be captain, but head of Pro Cricket, under a four-year deal. Sussex earlier said that it was “unfortunate” that no administrative roles had been available.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has assured its English counterparts (ECB) that security for the tour later this month will be “air tight”.Although the ECB carried out its own checks in June, recent bombings have again raised concerns over player and spectator safety.”The security will be air tight,” said Abbas Zaidi, the PCB’s director of operations, after meeting government officials. “We do not foresee any problems with the security arrangements for the England and their followers.”The issue of visas for visitors from the United Kingdom for the series was also discussed in detail. The government officials have been co-operative in the past and they are again extending all co-operation.”Karachi, a venue which has been under the spotlight of late in a city with a record of terrorist attacks, is understood to have been the focal point of the discussions.England leave for their three-Test, five-ODI tour on October 26.
Twice in the space of two weeks, Pakistan pushed the Australians to the very brink. And twice in two weeks, they imploded spectacularly at the final hurdle. The difference between the two sides – Australian discipline and ruthlessness – if not the margin of victory, remained the same.For periods of the game, Pakistan gave a passable impression of the disciplined side they were playing against today. But at no stage did they seemcomfortable wearing this disciplinary straitjacket, one that Australia wears naturally, and where Australians are merciless, Pakistan was meek. It was abarely contained facade; you feared that at any moment whenever they were settling on course to victory, Pakistan would break out in a rash of injudicious play, which they duly did.First, despite being competently efficient in the field, they dropped straightforward chances, both unforgivably off the centurion Andrew Symonds. After checking the formidable Australian batting, they first loosened their grip, before losing control towards the end completely. The batting too seemed to catch it; Hameed, Malik and Farhat all fell to varying degrees of impetuosity and that the latter two fell after exhibiting some patience and restraint against some hostile bowling must have been disappointing.Above all, they seem unable to grasp the basics of running between the wickets. If Bob Woolmer had a right to be shocked last week by Yousuf Youhana’s kamikaze mission, then he would have been only slightly less distressed by the lack of urgency in their running today. Singles were conspicuous by their absence through Hameed’s innings in particular. But even Inzamam-ul-Haq and Youhana’s partnership lacked the aggression in running, and despite pacing the chase brilliantly, they both fell victims to indiscipline.But there was still something comforting about a reliance on the old hands, Youhana and Inzamam; it bodes well for their chances in the Champions Trophy that both were in fluent form, although it is telling that Youhana again couldn’t see his team through.If Woolmer and Pakistan are on a process of learning, then at least they have been doing so from the best. What should they have learnt by now? That theAustralians do exactly what Pakistan doesn’t, and that isn’t just winning the matches. They keep their heads, they keep their discipline and they adjust to whatever condition and situation they find themselves in.Batsmen such as Mathew Hayden have battled through indifferent form, forsaking boundaries and picking up singles, while others such as Symonds, Darren Lehmann and Michael Clarke have displayed flexibility to suit the situation. Their fielding has been occasionally rusty, but significantly they have held onto everything that mattered, and their bowling has been consistently threatening. They have been disciplined and professional when and where it mattered most and that has made the difference. And, of course, it helps, among a galaxy of stars, to possess one of the few genuine and consistent matchwinners in world cricket today.Most eyes at the Champions trophy will understandably gravitate towards Andrew Flintoff and after the summer he has had, it isn’t a surprise. But for mostAustralians, and even Pakistanis, the other towering Andrew – Symonds – will attract, if not more, equal attention.
Symonds may not have had as impressive an impact on the five-day game as Flintoff, but there is little to choose between them in the 50-over realm. Yesterday Flintoff came out against India with his side struggling and transformed their innings, biding his time, in the tradition of the finest sharp-shooting assassins, before picking his moment to strike.Today, Symonds did exactly the same, coming in with his side in some trouble, playing himself in before striking right at the death. Pakistan, of course, arefamiliar with the full range of Symonds’s explosive qualities. He revived his career, as well as turned the game, against them at the World Cup last year with a bludgeoned century in similar circumstances.His bowling isn’t always as incisive as Flintoff’s, but crucial wickets against Pakistan last week and the all-important one of Inzamam today hint at a golden touch. And what he lacks in his bowling he makes up for with his fielding, the cause, incidentally of those two disastrous Pakistani run-outs last week.Unlike his English counterpart, however, Symonds comes backed up by a selection of the world’s best players and come the Champions trophy, he may yet have the opportunity to make a more significant and telling impact than Freddie. At least, in Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq, Pakistan have two cricketers who can make the combined impact of a Symonds or Flintoff.Pakistan should feel no shame in losing so narrowly to Australia twice in succession. But if they learn a thing or two, then it should further lessen their disappointment. Pretty soon they need to start applying the lessons from the defeats.
In what must sound like bad news to bowlers all over the world, Brian Lara has announced that he is ready to devote his entire attention to cricket. In an interview to The Mail on Sunday, Lara spelt out how his attitude towards the game had changed over the years.”In the past I often reacted to what I perceived to be the stresses of cricket by getting away from it and hanging out with friends. Instead of confronting problems, I would turn my back on them. Now I’ve realised I want to give cricket 100%,” he said. “I want to talk cricket like I did as a teenager, like the time I tried to sit Viv Richards down in the dressing room on my first tour to England and got told off for my trouble.”Lara stated that while the personal milestones remained, he was more keen to see the West Indian team develop into world-beaters. “I still have goals. I still want to look up and see my name but my main aim now is that I want to see West Indies moving on. It’s great on the one hand to be doing what’s necessary to represent my talent, but the bigger picture of wanting to do well is that, on my exit, we’ll have a team capable of challenging the best.”Expressing his delight at the progress of the youngsters in the team, Lara hoped that West Indies would put in a strong performance in the 2007 World Cup, which will be held at home. “I’m looking forward to the two series with England next year and beyond. I’m having fun and a good group of younger players is really developing now. As long as things continue to go well for me when the World Cup comes to the Caribbean in 2007, a fit Brian Lara just looking on is not something I would want to happen.”Looking back over the years, Lara admitted that the road hadn’t always been as smooth. “Sure, the relationship has been stormy at times. There have been some rocky moments. I’ve made some small mistakes and I’ve made some big mistakes. There have been times, like when I quit the captaincy or when we were being taken apart in Australia on the last tour there when I asked myself ‘Do I need all this?’ when I felt I wanted to just run away from it all.”But right now, as far as my cricket is concerned, I am back in love with it. I’ve gone through a great learning experience and come out of it all a more mature and tolerant person. It has been a long road back but what I have come to realise is that I am in a much better mood when I give the game my all. When the pressure was at its greatest I used to tell myself something which has haunted me ever since. I used to say: ‘Cricket has ruined my life’.”
The International Cricket Council has criticised South Africa and India forgoing ahead with their match in Centurion without official ICC match refereeMike Denness.The former England captain upset India’s cricketing public when he penalised six players, including Sachin Tendulkar, for various offences during the second Test at Port Elizabeth.As India threatened to pull out of the third and final Test should Denness officiate, the United Cricket Board of South Africa sided with the tourists, appointing a new referee in Denis Lindsay.The ICC has refused to sanction the match as a Test, and awarded the series toSouth Africa.”The ultimate response by the Indians would appear to be an over-reaction, while South Africa for their part did not act correctly,” said ICC spokesman Jonathan Hemus.”Our focus is on protecting the power of the referee and umpire – otherwise there would be anarchy in cricket.”The ICC is deeply concerned with the integrity of the officials – they mustbe protected and if not it sets a very bad precedent.”Hemus refused to rule out the possibility that South Africa and India wouldface further punishment. But he said there was a possibility that the game might regain Test status in the future.”This is a dynamic situation … it is not a closed book. But while saying that, the ICC is determined to be resolute in its decision,” said Hemus.”Our chief purpose is to protect the rights of referees and umpires. In other sporting codes – for example soccer – the referee’s decision is final and teams have to abide with his decision regardless of circumstances.”In cricket the referee has hindsight and time for consideration increasing his perspective on the incident.”
The two greatest batsmen of their generation will now get a chance to bat together as captain Sachin Tendulkar drew Brian Lara’s name along with 13 other players as part of the “Sachin’s Blasters” squad for the Cricket All-Stars series beginning at Citi Field on Saturday.In a random draw conducted Thursday in Times Square, Tendulkar drew Lara as well as former Indian teammates VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag. Tendulkar also no longer has to spar with Glenn McGrath, having picked the Australian pacer for his side in a bowling group that also includes Curtly Ambrose, Shaun Pollock and Muttiah Muralitharan.While the luck of the draw meant that Tendulkar wound up with his Indian batting brethren, Shane Warne wound up drawing a slew of his former Australian teammates to play for “Warne’s Warriors” including Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds. Warne also wound up with a dream fast bowling trio of Courtney Walsh, Allan Donald and Wasim Akram.While the first 26 players were drawn by lots, Shoaib Akhtar’s status was decided by a coin flip. Warne called heads, but the coin came up tails, drawing a big sigh of relief from Tendulkar. The first All-Stars match begins on November 7 at Citi Field in New York with two more in Houston and Los Angeles on November 11 and 14.Sachin’s Blasters: Sachin Tendulkar (c), VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene, Carl Hooper, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock, Moin Khan, Graeme Swann, Glenn McGrath, Muttiah Muralitharan, Shoaib Akhtar, Curtly AmbroseWarne’s Warriors: Shane Warne (c), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Michael Vaughan, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara, Andrew Symonds, Jonty Rhodes, Saqlain Mushtaq, Wasim Akram, Daniel Vettori, Courtney Walsh, Allan Donald, Ajit Agarkar
Jurgen Klopp could be facing a crisis like none he has faced before during his time as Liverpool manager, as both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah’s contracts are set to expire at the end of next season.
The likes of Darwin Nunez, Marco Asensio and Jarrod Bowen have all been linked with a move to Anfield in the near future, while Kaide Gordon is showing some impressive potential in the academy, and Takumi Minamino has been thoroughly impressive when called upon this season.
However, back-up striker Divock Origi is set to leave at the end of this campaign, and Klopp’s priority for the Summer could be to replace him with a new number nine.
What’s the news?
German striker Karim Adeyemi has been linked with a move to Liverpool for some time now, and have just been given a boost in their pursuit according to Sky Germany, as front-runners Borussia Dortmund are still yet to agree a fee with his club Red Bull Salzburg.
The Austrian club are holding out for £34m to commit to a sale, while the German giants currently are at least £5m apart in their valuation – giving hope to other potential suitors who are more willing to negotiate like the Merseyside club.
Liverpool need to act now
With Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig also keen on the 20-year-old, Liverpool will need to act now on the starlet, who was described as “ice cold” by Germany manager Hansi Flick.
Having scored 15 goals in the Austrian Bundesliga so far this season, Adeyemi is the top-performing Salzburg forward this season with an average match rating of 7.18, as well as the current top scorer in the league.
For his performances in the Champions League, he ranks in the top 1% among strikers in Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions for carries into the penalty area per 90 (2.24) as well as penalties won per 90 (0.60).
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With a scoring frequency of one goal every 99 minutes in league football, the “atomic” speed demon could emulate former Salzburg star Erling Haaland and quickly become one of the best strikers in the world – which is why Liverpool need to act fast if they want to sign him in the Summer.
In other news: 24 y/o “joke” who wanted to “disappear from Liverpool” is now proving Klopp very wrong
Islamabad, who are languishing in the relegation zone, were facing an uphill battle to avoid an innings defeat against leaders Karachi Whites on the third day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I Cricket Championship match at the KRL Stadium here on Wednesday.Islamabad were tottering at 139 for eight in their second innings after conceding a lead of 201. Left-arm mediumpacer Ali Raza was the main wrecker-in-chief with four for 38 and Test all-rounder Shahid Afridi claimed two for 31.Earlier, Karachi Whites, who resumed their first innings at 299 for three, added 109 before applying closure at 408 for eight. Hasan Raza, who was 73 overnight, went for 75 but Saeed bin Nasir went on to score 54 off 96 deliveries with five boundaries.
The problem, for any team in the world, with playing against Australia is that you’re always trying to catch up. It is Australia who set the standards, Australia who call the shots, Australia who control the game. Of course, a team as talented as this Indian one has the ability to beat anyone, even the Australians, on their day. What remains to be seen is whether the fifth ODI will be one such day.The script, even before the toss is done, suggests Australian dominance, and the challenge before Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team is to break this mould as early as possible. For the Australians, the fifth match in Vadodara, with the first of the series being washed out, is a chance to shut India out. It’s a chance for them to ensure that they can’t lose the series, and this is likely to translate into all-out attack.”This is like a finals game for us,” Ricky Ponting conceded on the eve of the match. “Generally when the bigger games come around the Australian team plays its best cricket. We’ll play our best cricket [on Thursday].”India were represented by Murali Kartik at the pre-game press conference, and he too said things would have been completely different had India not won the last match and earned themselves some breathing space. “Against Australia you need that momentum,” he said. “Once they have a foot on you they keep it there. Now, with this win in the last game we’ve got that foot away, it’s a question of momentum. It would have been difficult to comeback from 3-0.”There is one small problem for India, though. The IPCL ground has always been a high-scoring one. The average total here is around 280, and from the looks of things, this game is going to be no different. The outfield is well-maintained and quick, the boundaries are not especially long, and only the stifling heat should come in the way of batsmen scoring heavily.”It is a very good wicket,” Kartik said. “Every time I’ve played here, either for Central Zone or for India, it’s been a 320-wicket. I’ll only say, hopefully it’ll take a bit of spin.”Whether it takes turn or not, Australia’s batsmen are ready to take full toll. They, more than the Indians, are benefititng from the new rule that stipulates a ball change after 34 overs. “It will have an effect on the game,” Ponting said. “The hardest time to bat in an innings is generally around that period where the ball starts to get a bit soft and lose a bit of colour and now that they are changing the ball at 35 overs, it [the ball] is generally getting a lot newer and a lot harder. If you have got wickets in hand when the ball changes you can really accelerate the score quite a lot through that last 15 overs.”
Generally when the bigger games come around the Australian team plays its best cricket Ricky Ponting
This means that the new, hard ball comes on to the bat nicely, somethingAustralian batsmen relish. And none more so than Matthew Hayden, who has made 261 runs in the series, and Andrew Symonds, only three short of that mark. They have not merely been scoring heavily, they’ve been the difference between the two teams.”Once those two guys get in and start striking the ball like they have in these last few games – and they are intimidating players, both are six feet tall as well – and both tend to get down the wicket a little bit and put the bowlers under some pressure,” Ponting said. “That’s the way one-day cricket is going, to tell the truth, I think the more one-day cricket is played we are going to see more batsmen of that sort of stature playing the one-day game.”Kartik admitted the burly pair were giving India plenty of grief. “You have to give it to them, they are good players,” he began, before turning to humour when asked how Hayden and Symonds could be stopped. “Take them away and lock them up … But seriously speaking, they’re both going through a very good patch at the moment. They’re in sublime form but it will stop one day, hopefully soon. We’ve been persisting with whatever plans we have.”With all the worries over Symonds and Hayden, though, India will not lose sight of that other big gun at the top of the order. Even with Gilchrist making only 12, 0, 18 and 29, Australia have barely ever looked like they won’t rack up 300. If Gilchrist also fires, and he’s due, then India will have that much more to worry about.