While the entire Indian team may look back at the first session of this Test – during which they were bowled out for 76 – and cough up excuses, one man isn’t surprised by their capitulation. Dale Steyn, whose 5 for 23 played a pivotal role in an astonishing 109 minutes of mayhem in Ahmedabad, felt they had no game plan whatsoever.”That’s the vibe they’ve given off to us. Once one or two wickets fall and things kind of go wrong, they are pretty weak and the batsmen to follow didn’t look they knew what they wanted to do,” he said. “They didn’t have a strategy. They were bowled out for 76 and I guess that’s what happens when you don’t have a game-plan.”It’s tough for any team to settle when Steyn is in a certain groove, hostile and mixing up deliveries, but this was something else. It took him just 48 deliveries to help send the home side packing and he credited the surface for some assistance.”There was a little bit of movement which probably scared the Indians a bit once one or two wickets fell … it just looked like it sent a couple of shivers down the Indian line-up,” he said. “It looked like the guy that came in next didn’t really know how to approach it and how to play the game. We’re used to playing on wickets like this back in South Africa and knew what we had to do.”When you get a wicket like this, if you don’t bowl full you’re not going to find the edge of the bat so you’ve got to make a decision as to exactly where you’re going to bowl.”Bowling short is one thing, taking the batsmen’s feet away, but it’s that follow-up ball that always gets you a wicket. I think from reading in the papers they [India] weren’t going to come forward before the ball was bowled so maybe that helped us. Then we were able to bowl good-length balls. The ball hit the stumps a lot and there were a lot of inside-edges because nobody was really committed on the front foot.”Planned or not, it worked against a trigger-happy line-up, especially the follow-up balls. And it was Steyn’s first wicket that vindicated much of South Africa’s pre-game talk. Having just nearly dragged one onto his off stump via a cramped cut, Virender Sehwag attempted the same two deliveries later and succeeded – in dislodging the bails. “Sehwag tends to play skywards towards the slips or leave hit bat hanging out towards the slips so there’s always the possibility of an inside-edge,” he said. “His wicket was pretty decent as was that of [Rahul] Dravid. They are two good batsmen and that’s two wickets you definitely want to be getting before the game.”The ball to dismiss Dravid was excellent, breaching a master technician’s defence after he misread the movement. “That was probably the best ball of the day. Hopefully I can deliver a few more of those in the second innings.”Steyn, who now has three five-wicket hauls in the subcontinent, rated this the best and was quick to point out that had his second-last over not gone for 11 the figures would’ve been better. His tally, in his 22nd Test, reads 114 wickets with eight five-wicket hauls.India hit back with four wickets after South Africa’s openers took the lead but thanks to a fluent 106-run stand between Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers, the visitors lead by 147. Steyn termed each run after wiping out the deficit as “gold” and was confident Kallis and de Villiers would come out on day two further South Africa’s advantage. “We saw the ball moving around so we thought if we get through the day without losing any more. We needed two nice partnerships,” he said. “On a pitch like this, especially against a team that just got bowled out for 76, you aim to get ahead of them and it hurts a lot.”Maybe we can play with a bit of freedom tomorrow and up that lead toquite a big total. Then the pressure’s all on them. They have to dosomething. You can’t go into the last Test match losing this game. I don’t think drawing the series at home it what India wants to do.”
Ishant Sharma is set to undergo a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore on Sunday in order to determine his availability for the third Test against South Africa in Kanpur, which starts on April 11. The team for the final match is expected to be selected at the end of the Ahmedabad Test.Ishant, who starred in the Tests and the ODIs on the Australia tour, was advised complete rest for three weeks by the then physio, John Gloster. He had a problem in the big toe of his landing foot as well as an inflammation in the right forefinger.He underwent some tests at the NCA before the start of the South Africa series but had not attained full fitness. He was with the team at both Chennai and Ahmedabad, and has been monitored by Paul Close, the physio. Anil Kumble hoped Ishant would be fully fit for the Ahmedabad Test but the team decided to give him a bit more time.Murali Kartik, the left-arm spinner, is also expected to be tested in Bangalore on Sunday. Kartik was included in the squad for the first two Tests but an ankle sprain sustained on the day of the selection ruled him out for three weeks.Joginder Sharma, VRV Singh and Sudeep Tyagi are the others currently undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA.
The Twenty20 revolution apparently knows no boundaries. Now cricket’s hottest craze is poised to make inroads into one of the sport’s most elusive frontiers, the United States.Mohammad Azharuddin, Javed Miandad and Richie Richardson are the former Test captains who have agreed to take part in a privately-run, All-Star weekend in southern Florida in late May. The MAQ T20 International Cricket Tournament will combine three days of matches with ethnic musical concerts during the Memorial Day long weekend, May 23rd to 25th. It aims to attract 30,000 fans over three days to Central Broward Regional Park, a new cricket stadium, near Fort Lauderdale.The event will be funded by Cricket Council USA (CCUSA), a non-sanctioned organisation with no affiliation to the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA), which was reinstated as an Associate Member of the ICC on April 1st after a one-year suspension.CCUSA, with a couple of former USACA officials among a full-time staff of 12, is backed by Florida-based, Pakistani-born businessman, Mahammad “MAQ” Qureshi. With an office in Boca Raton, it says its aim is trying to spread the gospel of Twenty20 across America.Tickets will range between just US$10 and $20, with free general admission for children on two of the three days. “Our ultimate goal is to get the local youngsters at high school level to try cricket as an alternative to baseball, basketball or American football,” said Nino DiLoreto, Director of Media for CCUSA. “We’re looking beyond the expatriate element to take Twenty20 to mainstream Americans.”With four teams competing for $75,000 in prize money, the Memorial Day tournament has attracted an impressive list of names from cricket’s past and present.The West Indies All-Star Team is managed by Lawrence Rowe – who, like one of his former international team-mates, Lance Gibbs – now lives in southern Florida. Richardson will have ex-Windies internationals Ricardo Powell, Stuart Williams, Franklyn Rose and Courtney Browne amongst his team-mates. Joining Miandad, 51, in the Pakistani All-Star side will be 20-somethings Mohammad Sami, Faisal Iqbal, Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat.The timing of the IPL rules out a significant Indian contingent, so Mohammad Azharuddin will captain an International All-Star team that includes former Australian spinner Nathan Hauritz, Ireland’s 2007 World Cup captain Trent Johnston and Brighton Watambwa, who played six Test matches for Zimbabwe in 2001-2002.Canada will provide players for the fourth side and intends using the tournament as a warm-up for an upcoming qualifying round in Ireland for the 2011 Twenty20 World Cup.”A Cricket Night to Remember” is the name of the concerts that will follow the first two days, featuring Caribbean and south Asian artists. The event is the first of four Twenty20 tournaments planned by CCUSA for 2008. On August 16th, the Azadi Cup will mark Indo-Pak Independence Day and will aim to attract some high profile subcontinental players to Central Broward Regional Park, recently completed and funded by public money at a cost of $71 million.”It’s the first purpose-built cricket stadium in the United States or Canada,” declared Nino DiLoreto of CCUSA.The diverse Broward County, a 30 minute drive north of Miami, is a unique, diverse pocket of the United States where cricket actually registers on the radar. Almost 4% of an estimated population of almost 2 million was born in Jamaica while there are also sizeable south Asian and British communities, many of whom subscribe to pay-per-view television to regularly watch international cricket. Broward County is the home to about 50 of the United States’ 750 registered cricket clubs, who play in two leagues. It’s estimated that the US has around 50,000 active players, making it the ninth largest cricket-playing country.CCUSA is still recruiting for the tournament and hasn’t given up hope of bringing another recent former Test captain to the impressive Central Broward Regional Park. “If he agrees to come, he’d be by far the tournament’s biggest name,” said Syed ‘Bobby’ Refaie, its president.Refaie, a former USACA secretary, added that CCUSA wasn’t trying to compete with the sport’s official body. “But we’re not waiting for USACA to bring the beautiful game of Twenty20 cricket to the American audience,” he said. “We’re hoping that we perhaps can join hands with USACA and work together in the future.”
West Indies allrounder Marlon Samuels has been banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months after his action was found to be illegal for a second time since December 2013. The offspinner’s action can be reassessed by the ICC only after this period is complete.Samuels, who was prohibited from bowling quicker deliveries in 2013, was reported for a suspect action in October, during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Samuels underwent an independent assessment in Brisbane which revealed that his elbow extension exceeded the permitted 15-degree limit. Incidentally, the ICC had allowed Samuels to bowl in an ODI in November, after the 14-day grace period for reported bowlers had expired, on the grounds that the West Indies team was “incorrectly advised” about his eligibility.”As this report constitutes the player’s second suspension within a two-year period, he is now automatically suspended from bowling in international cricket for a 12-month period,” an ICC release stated. “Samuels is entitled to appeal any procedural aspect of the Independent Assessment that has led to this automatic suspension. However, only after the expiry of this one-year period will he be entitled to approach the ICC for a re-assessment of his bowling action.”Samuels was reported for the third time in his career in October. In 2008, he was called for a suspect faster ball after the third Test against South Africa in Durban. He was later suspended from bowling in international cricket but after remedial work on his action, was permitted to bowl in September 2011.He was reported once again at the end of the second day of the second Test against India in Mumbai in November 2013. He was subsequently allowed to bowl the offbreak delivery but not his quicker ball.Samuels is the third bowler to be banned from bowling in international cricket by the ICC in 2015. Sunil Narine was suspended in November due to an illegal action. Like Samuels, Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez was handed a 12-month ban by the ICC in July, after his action was found to be illegal for a second time since November 2014.
ScorecardFile photo – Todd Astle scored an unbeaten 96 and finished with a match haul of eight wickets•Getty Images
Todd Astle’s all-round performance in the both innings set up Canterbury’s 161-run over Central Districts in Rangiora.Set a target of 386 in the fourth innings, Central Districts were reduced to 34 for 3 by Canterbury with Astle and Matt Henry taking the lead. Tom Bruce then combined with opener Dean Robinson to take Central Districts close to 100 before Robinson fell for 34. Central Districts soon slumped to 99 for 5 and Bruce then found an able partner in Adam Milne with whom he added 54 for the sixth wicket. Bruce and Milne were dismissed by Astle for 67 and 61, respectively, and the legspinner ran through Central Districts’ lower order to dismiss them for 224.Canterbury built on their 75-run lead from the first innings thanks to middle and lower-order contributions by Henry, Ken McClure , Astle (45) and Ryan McCone (46). Henry and McCone added 87 runs for Canterbury’s ninth wicket. Henry’s unbeaten 52-ball 75, which included 12 fours and two sixes lifted Canterbury to a second-innings score of 310.Canterbury were driven to 320 in their first innings by Leo Carter’s 101 and Astle’s unbeaten 96, after they were put in to bat. Astle then picked up three wickets to bowl Central Districts out for 245. Will Young, the Central Districts’ captain, top-scored in the first innings with 63, while Robinson and Bruce chipped in with 42 each.
New Zealand will head to India next month armed with a three-pronged spin arsenal after offspinner Nathan McCullum, legspinner Ish Sodhi and left-arm orthodox allrounder Mitchell Santner were included in a 15-man squad for the World T20 announced on Monday. New Zealand had rotated through a series of spinners in their limited-overs squads during the recent pair of home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, though McCullum had not played for New Zealand since the tour to South Africa in August.
New Zealand WT20 squad
Kane Williamson (capt), Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi
“With the Indian conditions in mind, the plan has always been to take three front-line spinners and all three bring something different,” said New Zealand coach Mike Hesson in a statement at the unveiling of the squad. “It’s great to have Nathan available again and his experience in the foreign conditions will be invaluable. Both he and Mitch Santner have the ability to bowl in the first six overs, which gives Kane a number of options to work with.”Legspinner Todd Astle did not make the cut though after having been included for the three-match T20I series against Pakistan. Astle, who hadn’t played for New Zealand since making his Test debut in 2012 against Sri Lanka, was ineffective in the first two matches of the series. He went wicketless with figures of 0 for 41 spread across four overs in the two games and was left out for the final match of the series.Henry Nicholls, who is uncapped in T20Is for New Zealand, was chosen after impressing with 82 in a Man-of-the-Match performance against Pakistan in the first ODI at Basin Reserve last week. Nicholls will also serve as cover for wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi.”Henry has shown his talent and versatility with the bat this summer and has also been used as a wicketkeeper for New Zealand A,” said Hesson.As for the injured trio of Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan and Ross Taylor, all three were picked and are expected to be fit by the start of the tournament. The return of Southee and McClenaghan meant there was no room for Matt Henry in the squad as Adam Milne was tabbed for the remaining fast bowling slot alongside Trent Boult and allrounders Corey Anderson and Grant Elliott.New Zealand is in a second-round pool alongside Australia, Pakistan, India and the winner of the qualifying pool played among Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands and Oman. New Zealand’s first match will be in Nagpur against India on March 15.
Nic Pothas provided the sort of innings that was once a regular feature ofhis repertoire, but has been missing for the last couple of seasons, to takethe Highveld Strikers to a thrilling five-wicket victory with two balls oftheir 45 overs to spare.Pothas belted 79 off just 77 balls, the last 26 coming offjust 18 deliveries, to see his side through to their victory target of 226in 44.4 overs, after they had faced an asking rate of eight to the over inthe latter stages. Forty-eight were needed off the last six, then 31 off thelast four and 18 off the last two. That was when Pothas really came into hisown as Kenny Benjamin’s last over went for 14, taking the match away fromthe visitors.It was a bitter pill to swallow for the team from Benoni, just 35km away, asthey suffered their third defeat in six days to see their chances ofreaching the semi-finals diminish even further. Prior to their match againstBoland on January 5, Easterns had been sitting pretty with four wins fromfive matches. Now, despite gaining a bonus point in each of those threematches, they find themselves outside the top four with two difficultmatches, away to Eastern Province and at home to Free State, to come.In truth, the visitor’s defeat was partly of their own making. Having wonthe toss and chosen to bat, Easterns got off to a great start as Mike Rindeland new recruit Andre Seymore put on 120 for the first wicket, before beingseparated at the halfway mark of the innings, in the 23rd over, when Seymorewas bowled by Clive Eksteen for 46.At that point, they were looking good for a total beyond 250, but Rindel ranhimself out just 12 runs later for 60, made off just 63 balls, including 22off Eksteen’s first two overs, and after that, Easterns were never able tosustain the same scoring rate. It fell below five to the over, only gettingup to that mark again through some good late hitting and running by captainDeon Jordaan and Aldo van den Berg. That enabled them to reach 225 forseven, which proved to be just short of what they needed.For the Strikers, after a woeful season, the victory over a team includingmany former Strikers players salvaged some much-needed pride, given thatthey can no longer qualify for the semi-finals.
West Ham United have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips after Newcastle swooped in to hijack the move.
The Lowdown: Failed January bid
Irons fans endured a disastrous January transfer window after failing to sign a single player in the mid-season market.
The Hammers boss claimed that this was not down to a lack of trying; the Daily Mail previously reported that West Ham had made a club-record £55m bid for the 26-year-old on deadline day.
Whilst it was reported that negotiations had started three weeks prior, the east London club made their move too late in the month and ultimately failed in their pursuit.
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The Latest: Newcastle hijack Phillips move
According to a fresh report by the Daily Mail, Leeds’ hopes of keeping Phillips are under threat, as Newcastle are prepared to hijack any move to east London by bumping the Yorkshireman’s salary from £25,000 per week to a staggering £120,000-a-week.
This follows Sportsmail’s claim that the Leeds player has told his club that he is willing to extend his stay with the Whites beyond his contract expiry date of 2024, despite growing interest from Newcastle, Aston Villa and West Ham.
Therefore, it appears that the Hammers may have slipped down Phillips’ pecking order, given the seemingly preferable choices of remaining at Elland Road or moving to the financially-welcoming Magpies.
The Verdict: Big blow for West Ham
This news represents a serious blunder from GSB and West Ham, who now seem set to miss out on the holding midfielder due to their lack of urgency in January.
Rising to prominence during Euro 2020 as he partnered Irons star Declan Rice in the middle of the park for England, Phillips received huge plaudits for a number of his performances during the tournament, with Arsenal legend Ian Wright hailing him as “phenomenal”.
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When compared with similar players in Europe’s top five leagues, the 26-year-old ranks in the 99th percentile for pressures and the 97th percentile for blocks made (via FBRef), so his quality as a midfueld destroyer is plain to be seen.
Therefore, with Newcastle hijacking the Irons’ move for the Leeds maestro, this will come as a huge blow to the east London club.
In other news: These were West Ham’s three worst performers against Everton
In a jovial press conference in his hometown of Ranchi, MS Dhoni joked about retirement questions, the absence of the helicopter shot, and perceived lack of batting opportunities for Yuvraj Singh, but on a serious note promised more of batting experiments like the promotion of Hardik Pandya. India beat Sri Lanka comfortably by 69 runs to square the three-match series, and Pandya hit 27 off 12 balls when sent in to bat at the score of 127 for 3 in the 15th over.Dhoni was at his best when trying to explain the absence of the helicopter shot through analogies. First, he said a helicopter cannot fly in a submarine under water. The point was he was not getting the ball to hit that helicopter shot.”If they bowl me bouncers, the only way I can play the helicopter shot is if I stand on a stool,” Dhoni said.Dhoni was more serious with Pandya’s batting slot in this match. “It was an opportunity for him to see international cricket closely,” Dhoni said. “This is what he is known for. He can go in and play the big shots straightaway. So in the coming games whenever we give some opportunity, we would like to give every player some kind of batting so that going into the T20 World Cup, everyone has some kind of exposure when it comes to batting.”Bowling, everyone gets a chance to bowl. A lot of times you always experiment with bowling. What happens with batting is that you want to win games and you also want to give an individual a fair amount of time in the middle. It does not always go with the plan. Definitely in the coming games, if there is a chance of exposing someone to this kind of an exposure so that going into the T20 World Cup they know what their roles and responsibilities are.”Dhoni was back to joking momentarily when asked why Yuvraj was not getting a permanent slot. “Nobody thinks about me,” he said. “I also keep going up and down.”It is a sensitive topic with Indian fans so Dhoni immediately went back to being serious. “But yes you are right,” he said. “When a match starts, Yuvi is slotted in at No 5. It is difficult to get him to bat at a higher position than that. Because the top four – the openers, No. 3 is Virat Kohli, No. 4 is Suresh Raina. If you look at these four, their record in India and overseas is extraordinary. It becomes slightly difficult.”Yes Yuvraj Singh is back in the team. We wish to give him more batting. But at the same time, since I have played with Yuvi a lot, I know it is difficult for him to go and straightaway start hitting in the 17th or 18th over. He’s like a proper batsman who can hit.”Okay, he can start early. Whenever he bats in the slog, he has found it difficult. We’ll see how it goes. I will try to give him more opportunity in the upcoming games. But again we want to win games. That will also be our priority. We will see how it goes.”
Joe Cole has revealed that Fabio Capello is keeping his England players guessing as to who will start Saturday's World Cup opener against the United States.
Cole is one of several players unsure over the places in the starting line-up ahead of the Group C curtain raiser in Rustenburg.
Unlike previous England managers, Capello is keeping his selection cards close to his chest and Cole believes his policy ensures the 23-man squad in South Africa remains on its toes.
"The great thing about the squad now, which is different to all through my England career, is that you don't know who the manager is going to pick in any position, so it keeps everyone on their toes," he explained.
"I've always found at club level when that is the case – when players are not just playing on reputation and are being selected on form, fitness and temperament – that's when you get the better team ethic and the way the team gels together.
"Fabio is a great manager. I've been lucky to work with some great managers and he is right up there with the best of them.
"You need discipline. It keeps us all on our toes. The discipline is very strong and I think that has worked well and we need that."
Capello will keep his starting line-up under wraps until Saturday afternoon but the Italian appears to have selection dilemmas in almost every position.
Any one of Robert Green, David James and Joe Hart could be selected as his starting goalkeeper, while the battle to partner Wayne Rooney up front could be won by Steven Gerrard in a supporting role or a regular striker in Peter Crouch or Emile Heskey.
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"It's great with England there is a lot of competition in the squad," added Cole.
"There aren't 10 lads coming here thinking they're just going to sit on the bench. Everyone in the squad is thinking they have a chance of playing here."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email