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.
Following the news that Ben Hutton has stepped down from the captaincy of Middlesex, the club are on the verge of signing Chaminda Vaas, the Sri Lankan seamer, in what is believed to be the first step to a major squad overhaul.Middlesex suffered a dreadful season; they finished bottom of Division One in the Championship, by some margin, and are relegated into Division Two and were also relegated in the Pro40 league. John Emburey, the club’s director of cricket, is also expected to sign another overseas player in addition to Vaas – most likely a senior spinner.”We need a stronger spin bowling attack and we need to add an experienced swing bowler to counter the fact that our pitches at Lord’s do not offer much carry or movement to the seamer,” Emburey said.Vaas, 32, has taken 307 wickets in Tests and is an accomplished one-day player; he also contributes nuggety lower-order runs. He represented Hampshire in 2003 and Worcestershire last season.
Justin Kemp blasted South Africa across the line at Port Elizabeth and carried them to an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Herschelle Gibbs laid the foundations for the run chase with a stylish 81, but a committed performance in the field by New Zealand took the game down to the final over. South Africa needed nine and it took Kemp just two balls as he dispatched Shane Bond for six and four to seal the win.When Kemp was joined by Shaun Pollock South Africa needed 42 off 30 balls and New Zealand sensed a chance to keep the series alive. Mark Boucher was brilliantly run out by a diving Lou Vincent at cover and the pressure was starting to mount. However, Kemp is becoming the next Lance Klusener and believes he can achieve any target with his powerful strokeplay. On this occasion St George’s Park wasn’t big enough for him and New Zealand were left to ponder how they are going to beat this South Africa side after wasting three gilt-edged chances.Their total of 244 represented a decent recovery after the top order slumped against the new ball on a juicy wicket. Scott Styris held them together with a well-paced 78 before Andre Adams gave the innings a grandstand finish by clubbing 24. But South Africa knew that, with a short boundary and quick outfield, a good start would put them in the driving seat.Their rapid opening stands have become customary in this series – but so has their inability to build on them. This time Graeme Smith had a new partner – the recalled AB de Villiers – but the pattern was the same.
de Villiers was especially impressive, cracking a series of cover-drives and one mightily pulled six onto the roof of the stand at deep square-leg. Adams provided the much-needed breakthrough when Smith played an airy drive and inside-edged a catch to Brendan McCullum. Mills then struck a second blow when de Villiers also edged an attempted drive. Despite abundant talent de Villiers has yet to transfer his impressive start at Test level (average 53) to the one-day arena. His top-score is 39 after 10 matches and, with such a dominant start, the manner of his dismissal was a waste with a big score for the taking.The innings stalled as Jacques Rudolph, also on his return to the side, struggled against tight medium-pace bowling. At least Gibbs was finding his touch, locating the cover boundary with sweetly timed drives. Gibbs’ form has been building throughout the series and today he was near the top of his game. He took an aggressive approach against Daniel Vettori – Stephen Fleming’s trump card – taking 15 off one over to put New Zealand on the back foot.He formed a series of useful – but not match-sealing stands – with Rudolph, Boucher and Ashwell Prince, but when he spooned a slower ball to point, where Hamish Marshall held a stunning catch, the result wasn’t a certainty. Pollock struck two crucial boundaries before Kemp added his finishing touches as South Africa’s superb run in ODI matches continued.
Although the match finished as a relatively close encounter, South Africa always held an advantage from the moment they had first use of a helpful pitch. Fleming was frustrated at having to bat first, his demeanour all day was of a captain annoyed by how the tour was going, and his mood didn’t improve when the top three all fell to flat-footed wafts.Styris’s 78 gave them the chance to post a defendable target as he formed a series of rebuilding partnerships in the middle order. He and Fleming added 59 but, just as the score was ticking along, Fleming’s day went from bad to worse. After reaching a composed half-century from 80 balls he was run out in freakish circumstances. A fierce straight drive by Styris ricocheted off Kemp’s ankle and smashed into the stumps.Craig McMillan and Styris scampered between the wickets and managed to locate the fence with the occasional boundary. But another run out at a vital time, via a brilliant piece of fielding for Pollock, caught McMillan short. The ball dropped at McMillan’s feet and Pollock collected in his follow-through, turned and hit the stumps at the bowler’s end with the batsman a couple of inches short. However, McMillan could have made Pollock’s task harder by running the line of the stumps.While the bowling of Pollock and Ntini was impressive the back-up was less on the mark. Charl Langeveldt had an especially poor day and, although he ended Styris’s innings during the closing overs, Adams clubbed his last over for 15. But it still wasn’t enough for New Zealand, as this well-drilled South African outfit again showed their ability to win the tight matches.
New ZealandNathan Astle c Kemp b Ntini 11 (18 for 1) Played away from body, edged to second slipLou Vincent c Boucher b Ntini 11 (23 for 2) Limited foot movement, thin edge attempting backfoot punchHamish Marshall c Smith b Nel 7 (49 for 3) Back-foot slash, edged hard straight to first slipStephen Fleming run out (Kemp) 54 (108 for 4) Craig McMillan run out (Pollock) 19 (155 for 5) Brendan McCullum b Ntini 19 (203 for 6) Scott Styris b Langeveldt 78 (206 for 7) Daniel Vettori c Gibbs b Nel 6 (224 for 8) Andre Adams run out (de Villiers/Boucher) 25 (243 for 9) South AfricaGraeme Smith c McCullum b Adams 18 (40 for 1) AB de Villiers c McCullum b Mills 29 (48 for 2) Jacques Rudolph run out (H Marshall) 17 (101 for 3) Ashwell Prince c Mills b Adams 21 (150 for 4) Herschelle Gibbs c H Marshall b Bond 81 (187 for 5) Mark Boucher run out (Vincent) 24 (202 for 6)
Brian Lara’s twin failures in the Lord’s Test against England has meant that Rahul Dravid has, for the first time in his career, taken over as the top Test batsman in the PwC ratings. Lara aggregated only 55 runs in his two innings at Lord’s, resulting in his rating points slipping to 881, while Dravid’s remained at 892, three more than Matthew Hayden, who moved into second place ahead of Lara.Dravid’s rise to the top has been the result of an amazingly consistent run over the last couple of years – since the tour to the West Indies in 2001-02, he has scored 2526 runs in 23 Tests at an outstanding average of 76.55, with eight centuries, four of them double-hundreds.Apart from a change at the top, the latest ratings also gave Michael Vaughan top billing among England’s batsmen. Vaughan rose five places to 18th, thanks to centuries in each innings at Lord’s. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who failed to emulate that landmark by just three runs, climbed 12 places to 16th.
Rank
Batsman
Points
Average
1
Dravid
892
58.09
2
Hayden
889
58.14
3
Lara
881
53.43
4
Kallis
833
54.07
5
Ponting
832
54.33
6
Gibbs
815
49.40
7
Inzamam
785
49.63
8
Tendulkar
784
57.39
9
Sehwag
782
52.72
10
Richardson
761
47.94
Meanwhile, Ashley Giles’s Man-of-the-Match performance not only secured him a place on the famous dressing-room honours board, it also propelled him into the top twenty of the PwC Ratings for the first time in his career.In general, it was a match in which bowlers struggled, but Giles rose above the dominance of the bat to take 9 for 210, his best figures in a home Test. Following on from a six-wicket haul against New Zealand at Trent Bridge earlier in the summer, Giles has climbed nine places to 19th, while Pedro Collins – the pick of West Indies’ attack – was up eight places to 15th, thanks to his figures of 7 for 175.Prior to the match, all eyes had been on Steve Harmison, who could have gone top of the list had he taken five or more wickets. Instead he had a disappointing game by his recent high standards, taking just two scalps in the second innings. Even so, he remained second behind Muttiah Muralitharan, and still has the No. 1 spot in his sights as the second Test begins at Edgbaston on Thursday.