Mark Dobson is relishing the challenge of being England’s new coach. A Level-3 coach, he brings with him a host of experience of the women’s game, having been involved in Junior Super Fours for three years and has recently take on the role of coach for the senior Emerald side.For 12 years he has been head of PE at St. Edmund’s School in Canterbury, a role he will now surrender. It’s a big step to leave the relative predictability and anonymity of school life for a full-time coaching role, which will involve overseas tours and media commitments. But Dobson, who has played for Kent and coached the Kent Academy, is ready.”I’m really excited,” he told Cricinfo in his first-ever interview. “I was looking for a change.” Not to mention a challenge. England had a poor showing in the quandrangular series in India in February – and they were lucky to come third rather than last, after losing their group games. Then their vice-captain Laura Newton retired.They now face New Zealand this summer – and they will be lucky if their captain Charlotte Edwards is fit in time, while Katherine Brunt is all-but-ruled out with surgery of her own. He’s not yet seen enough of the players to decide who he would like in the side, and that means he’s not had time yet to think of the new vice-captain. The captain, however, is another proposition.”I’ve had some fruitful meetings with Charlotte Edwards,” he says. Edwards is keen on the appointment, and she gives Dobson her full backing. “He is one of the most inspiring coaches within women’s cricket with loads of new and exciting ideas.”Gill McConway, the ECB director of women’s cricket, has also paid tribute to his innovation. “He’s a very enthusiastic individual who expects strong work ethics. He has an amazing ability to turn training sessions into high levels of entertainment through his creative and innovative coaching styles.”Dobson already has plans for change, and will bring over some of these from the men’s game. “Certainly, men hit harder. We will be looking to hit in the air, to open the score ones, twos or threes. We’ll be looking for a wider range of strokes.”There are no current plans for bowling tactics – these will be developed once he’s had a chance to see the Kiwi players. “I’m not too aware of the New Zealand batsmen just yet,” he says.He’s not had much chance to work with his own squad, in fact, as he is seeing out his contract at school. But he will link up with them ahead of the New Zealand series this summer. And he’s already seen some of the players at the Super 4s, the competition from which the England side will be drawn. “I’ve been impressed with the standard.”
The Ashes series will be contested by the top two teams in the world rankings after England’s 167-run victory against Pakistan at Headingley sealed the series. Whatever the result of the final Test at The Oval, England will leapfrog Pakistan back into second place when the ratings are calculated following the final matchThe gap between England and Australia ahead of their series, beginning at Brisbane in November, is still to be decided but it could be as few as 11 points if England beat Pakistan again in the fourth Test, starting on August, and claim a 3-0 victory.England’s series win is its first since it beat Australia 2-1 last year to reclaim The Ashes while, for Pakistan, it is its first loss in a series since it lost all three Tests against Ricky Ponting’s side in 2004-05.Sri Lanka have also consolidated their position in fifth spot after the nerve-jangling one-wicket win over South Africa, in Colombo, which secured a 2-0 series win. South Africa, in sixth spot, have lost four points and are now just two points ahead of New Zealand.For the full rankings click here
Australia’s march to victory over Zimbabwe wasn’t derailed, but it was moved onto a siding during the last session of the third day when both Jason Gillespie and Stuart MacGill went off the field – and later to hospital for scans – with injuries. It was a situation Mark Vermeulen and Stuart Carlisle turned to their advantage as Zimbabwe went to stumps on 87 for 2 in the follow-on, still 409 runs behind Australia.Vermeulen, playing his fifth Test, scored his second half-century, off 79 balls, in an innings where he accumulated runs against the lesser bowling of Darren Lehmann and Damien Martyn. Carlisle was 26 not out at stumps.MacGill left the field after bowling four balls of his fourth over in the second innings, feeling a twinge behind his right knee. He had taken 2 for 54 in the first innings. With the 12th man Brad Williams already on the field, for Gillespie who had a slight side strain, Tim Neilsen, the Australian assistant coach and former South Australia wicketkeeper, took MacGill’s place.After the heady events of the second day, when Matthew Hayden scaled Test-match batting’s highest peak, there was a much more realistic atmosphere about the play as the Zimbabweans struggled to extend the game beyond four days. Until Gillespie and MacGill left the field, that hope appeared misplaced.Zimbabwe’s hopes of a solid performance in their first innings were undone early in the day when Trevor Gripper was hit on the ear by Brett Lee. Two balls later, he was unable to keep down a sharp, rising ball which took the splice of and flew to Darren Lehmann at gully. Gripper had just posted his half-century.Vermeulen had shaped promisingly, but fell to a splendid legspinner’s delivery from MacGill which spun across him, took the edge of the bat and was clasped at first slip by Matthew Hayden. It was a copy of the dismissal a little earlier of Carlisle. There was some resistance from the batsman of Zimbabwe’s tour so far, Craig Wishart. He played some lovely shots straight and square on the off, especially against MacGill, but was undone by one of the better balls of the day from Andy Bichel. It moved a fraction to the off from the pitch and Wishart, attempting to play it off the back foot with his bat away from his body, edged through to Adam Gilchrist. He left for 46, and Zimbabwe were 199 for 5.Once Gillespie removed Tatenda Taibu, trapping him leg-before for 15, the end came quickly. Brett Lee seized the chance to scythe through the lower order, dismissing Heath Streak and Andy Blignaut off successive fast, swinging deliveries, while Gillespie bowled Sean Ervine to end the innings at 239.The Australians were not at their most penetrative. Lee rarely bowled at his most express, and Gillespie was clearly affected by his injury. They were, however, consistently accurate and never under any pressure. Waugh was able to do without Lee’s pace to break up partnerships, which meant that when the final breakthrough came, Lee was still warmed up and able to start afresh in the second innings, which Zimbabwe started 496 runs adrift.It was Gillespie who made the initial breakthrough in the follow-on, dismissing Trevor Gripper with the first ball he faced – a poor defensive shot that went off the edge to Gilchrist. Dion Ebrahim made just 4 before playing Gillespie onto his stumps, leaving Zimbabwe 11 for 2. The Australian bowling was left enfeebled by the departure of both Gillespie and MacGill, enabling Vermeulen and Carlisle to add 76 without being parted, and take the fight to another day. But how long they extend that defiance is another matter altogether.
Brian Lara has defended his decision to bat on for his world-record 400 not out in response to comments from Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain.Ponting suggested Lara was more interested in his own personal achievements, rather than the state of the Test match. “Their whole first innings might have been geared around one individual performance and they could have let a Test match slip because of it,” he commented. “They ran out of time in the game – that’s not the way the Australian team plays.”Lara, though, replied by saying West Indies’ main aim was first and foremost to avoid a 4-0 whitewash, and then put England under pressure. “Ponting is the leader of a great team and can afford, if situations like that present themselves, to take another course,” he said. “I saw no sense in making it competitive for the English. I saw an opportunity that if we got in excess of 700 runs, we would put England under tremendous pressure for the remainder of the match. We would be able to enforce the follow-on, if that was the case, and would know for sure that we achieved our main goal, which was to avoid the whitewash in the series.”Matthew Hayden, the Australian batsman, was the previous world-record holder with 380, scored against Zimbabwe at Perth last year. Ponting conceded that occasion did involve an exception to the team rule, as Hayden was allowed to carry on batting with the record in sight. “It was a very rare thing, for Matty to be able to bat for as long as he did and go on and make that big score,” said Ponting. “He was given the opportunity to go on and break Brian’s record and he did that. He was going to be given another half an hour, or 20 minutes, to try to get to 400 but unfortunately he got out.”
The Annual General Meeting of the Members’ Club will be held in the Long Room 1st Floor of the Pavilion, The Rose Bowl, West End, Southampton on 14th April 2003 at 5:30pm.Only members showing a 2003 Membership card will be admitted on the day.A full AGENDA has been sent to all members, and will include presentations from Peter Towler (Hampshire County Cricket Youth Trust), Neil Rider (Cricket Development) and Tony Middleton (Cricket Academy).The AGM will be followed by a Forum commencing at 6:45pm, which will provide an opportunity for you to put your questions to the panel.Radio Solent have asked to broadcast live some of the forum in line with similar occasions at Southampton and Portsmouth Football Clubs and this will add to the atmosphere. A proportion of the audience will be Radio Solent listeners. In order to assist with the seating arrangements for the forum please advise Brian Osman, Secretary Members’ Committee (023 8047 2002) of your intention to attend.The panel the forum will consist of :-
Kevan James – BBC Radio Solent (Forum Chairman)Rod Bransgrove – Chairman Rose Bowl PLCTim Tremlett – Director of CricketPaul Terry – First Eleven ManagerWill Kendall – Vice Captain, first eleven.
Ben Smith smashed his second century of the season and his best score for two years as Leicestershire set Surrey a formidable victory target of 536 runs in the CricInfo Championship clash at Grace Road.Home captain Vince Wells finally called a halt to his side’s second innings run feast with the total at 472 for eight, leaving Surrey to face seven overs before the close.And, predictably, after a day in the field in the sauna-like conditions, the visitors lost a wicket with Nadeem Shahid edging Devon Malcolm low to third slip Trevor Ward with the score at 20. By the close Surrey were 28 for one, still needing another 508 runs for an unlikely win.With two days remaining the home side are firmly in the driving seat and, weather permitting, are hot favourites to clinch victory.It was certainly a stark contrast to the first day when 20 wickets fell, and Leicestershire’s performance second time round merely emphasised the fact that the pitch was blameless.Smith was the cornerstone of their efforts with a magnificent 179 off 281 balls with 21 fours before driving a catch to cover off the bowling of Adam Hollioake. Along the way Smith shared a third-wicket stand of 167 with Daniel Marsh and then put on 108 with Neil Burns for the seventh wicket.Marsh hammered 82 off 126 balls, the sixth time he has gone past 50 this summer, while wicket-keeper Burns was unbeaten on 66, his best Championship score of the season.Surrey were handicapped by the fact that leg spinner Ian Salisbury was off the field all day with a foot injury. This put a heavy workload on Saqlain Mushtaq but he responded with a marathon unbroken spell of 47.2 overs, bowling throughout the day until the declaration came. He finished with figures of five for 172 – and then came in as night-watchman when Shahid was out.
Samuel Luckhurst slammed a Manchester United player for his performance in the 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
Man Utd fall to defeat at Villa Park
Taking all three points at Villa Park was always going to be a tall order, with Unai Emery’s side in red-hot form, but Man United will be very disappointed to have come away with nothing, falling short in a 2-1 defeat.
A Morgan Rogers brace was enough to secure all three points for the hosts, who are now just three points behind top of the table Arsenal, while United remain in seventh place.
With Casemiro suspended and Kobbie Mainoo sidelined, Ruben Amorim gave Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte the nod in central midfield, but the manager was forced to withdraw his captain at half-time due to an injury.
Ugarte remained on the pitch until the 73rd minute, being replaced by Joshua Zirkzee, but he arguably could’ve been taken off earlier, having put in a disappointing performance, making one error leading to a shot and being dribbled past twice.
Luckhurst lost his patience with the Uruguayan in the first half, describing him as “scandalous” after putting Senne Lammens under needless pressure in the first half.
The midfielder has had a terrible record as a starter in the Premier League for quite some time, and he was unable to put things right this afternoon.
Casemiro's absence was major blow for Amorim
Casemiro being unavailable was a real blow for Amorim, given the way in which he has turned things around over the past year, putting in some very impressive performances at both ends of the pitch.
Casemiro’s key statistics
Average per 90 (past year)
Tackles
3.83 (99th percentile)
Blocks
2.33 (99th percentile)
Non penalty-goals
0.23 (94th percentile)
Clearances
2.67 (92nd percentile)
Amorim has also singled the Brazilian out for high praise, saying after the victory against Brighton earlier this season: “He’s so important for us. Today he run (sic) a lot. He had to press so high and then return, and he’s doing that. So, I’m really pleased with him. And the other guys need to look at Casemiro.”
Subscribe to the newsletter for sharper Man Utd analysis Want clearer context on performances like Ugarte’s? Subscribe to the newsletter for in-depth Man United coverage – tactical breakdowns, player form evaluations and transfer-target analysis that help you understand what went wrong and what’s next. Subscribe to the newsletter for sharper Man Utd analysis Want clearer context on performances like Ugarte’s? Subscribe to the newsletter for in-depth Man United coverage – tactical breakdowns, player form evaluations and transfer-target analysis that help you understand what went wrong and what’s next.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Ugarte, on the other hand, has never managed to establish himself as a key player for United, often being limited to appearances as a substitute, and Man United should look to cash-in this January, should they manage to bring in another midfielder.
Man Utd have their own Wharton & Anderson hybrid in £79m-rated "maestro"
This in-house Man Utd ace can solve their midfield issues.
2 ByJoe Nuttall
Interestingly, it was recently revealed that the “best” central midfielder in the world has now emerged as a target…
New Zealand’s players should focus on their own performances instead of criticising the selectors and the coach John Bracewell over their handling of player axings, according to Dion Nash. The former New Zealand allrounder is now one of the selectors and although he conceded that communication had not always been at its best, he hoped the parties could foster a more amicable environment.”We’ve all been on the wrong end of something as a result of bad communication,” he told the . “At times it could have been better and dropping someone is never an easy situation. Sometimes you get communicated to but you don’t actually hear it as well.”Ultimately, as a New Zealand cricketer your future is in your own hands. If you are scoring runs and taking wickets you won’t get yourself in a position to be dropped. That’s my message back to the players that have criticised us for a lack of communication.”Nash hoped the way forward would be a more positive experience and said the selectors would express themselves better, especially when dealing with players likely to be dropped. “There’s always something to complain about in terms of communication. I’m not excusing it because we need to communicate well and clearly because it is a sensitive area.”Some guys do have marginal calls go against them and other guys get good calls. We need to be conscious of that but at the same time it’s still about what guys do with the bat and ball in their hands.”With the squad for the tour to England to be announced on Thursday Nash indicated there would be fresh faces penciled in. “The main challenge is to pick a side that can become a cohesive unit quickly,” he said. “There are going to be some new names there and our hand is forced on that.I couldn’t say whether any players will be dropped for sure but there are a number of positions we need to discuss.”No one has booked a flight to England, the IPL guys aside, and I think it’s good no one is assured of their place in the side. We’ve asked guys in the last few seasons to be in form, available and to be keen to play for New Zealand. We are going to pick guys who are in form and guys who want to compete.”
An indifferent batting performance and an inexperienced bowling attack proved more than enough for South Africa to roll over Ireland in a rain-hit one-off ODI at the Civil Service Club in Stormont. Perhaps rusty from not having played any cricket since the World Cup, South Africa struggled to 173 for 4 against a disciplined bowling attack but didn’t need to be at their best in the field to clinch victory by 42 runs.After a delay of close to five hours, owing to heavy rain, the game got underway on the same pitch as the Ireland-India game on Saturday with South Africa being put in to bat. The energetic AB de Villiers got them off to a racy start with an opening stand of 75 in 12.3 overs, but the innings slowed after his dismissal for 40 from 35 balls. South Africa looked on course for 200 at that point, but some slow batting from Morne van Wyk and Jacques Kallis, on a sluggish pitch, kept Ireland in the game. van Wyk’s 52, his maiden ODI fifty in his comeback innings after four years, proved the highest score for his side, but it took 84 deliveries and he relied on two shots, the cut and the flick.With Kyle McCallan bowling a superb line with his fast, flat offspin, and Trent Johnston keeping van Wyk quiet, Kallis withdrew into a shell during the middle overs. Though he hit one huge six over long-on during his 47-ball 46, his failure to hit out against a very inexperienced bowling attack kept Ireland in the game.The best bowling came from Australia-born Alex Cusack, recently qualified to play for his adopted country, whose 3 for 15 on debut checked South Africa’s progress. He took a fantastic catch on the boundary to cut de Villiers short, and then removed van Wyk, Herschelle Gibbs and Kallis in succession.Defending their total, South Africa’s new-ball bowlers struggled to get early breakthroughs and it needed a moment of Irish misfortune to snap a plucky 45-run opening partnership – plays and misses meshed with positive nudges and flicks – between William Porterfield and Kenny Carroll.Having defended one from Dale Steyn off the back foot, Carroll’s right leg slipped and hit the stumps. Clearly embarrassed at having gotten a wicket like that, Steyn picked up Thimus Fourie three balls later but was then sent for duty on the boundary.
Vernon Philander, on ODI debut, gave himself a 22nd-birthday gift when he forced Porterfield to edge to a leaping Mark Boucher behind the stumps. Niall O’Brien played all over a nasty inswinger and Philander had his second in no time. Dominick Joyce played a few pleasing drives before edging Kallis and barring Cusack (36 not-out) the rest of the order didn’t put up much of a fight as Philander finished with 4 for 12.A few close shouts for leg before aside, South Africa were let down by a lack of penetration at the start. Makhaya Ntini, in need of match practice, was generous with the extras and owed his solitary wicket in his second spell to JP Duminy’s brilliance sliding down at long-on. Steyn, called back to the squad after a successful stint with Warwickshire, took a while to hit his straps and looked a shadow of the bowler he’s capable of being. Thandi Tshabalala, the sole spinner in South Africa’s squad for this tour, looked pedestrian on ODI debut, serving up one too many full tosses. Philander proved the most successful bowler, but is likely to make way for the likes of Andre Nel, Andrew Hall or Charl Langeveldt.In the end South Africa will be happy they won in the absence of some key players, but they’ll need to pull their socks up ahead of the three-match contest against India coming up here.
Victoria’s selectors have dropped 13 players, including the squad’s two back-up wicketkeepers, in a smaller contract list for 2006-07. Shaun Graf, the Cricket Victoria operations manager, said they faced a “reasonable squeeze” on the budget after Cameron White and Mick Lewis lost their Cricket Australia contracts and had to be covered by the state.The glovemen Brad Pilon, who played the final three Pura Cup games last season, and Peter Roach have been cut from the squad, with Adam Crosthwaite retained as the No.1.Graeme Rummans, Brendan Joseland, Tim Welsford, Clinton McKay and Simon Dart also had their full-time deals discontinued while the rookies Matthew Innes, Cameron Huckett, Matthew Harrison and Robert Quiney were axed. Grant Lindsay and Liam Buchanan, who both played nine one-day games for the state last season, also missed out.New players to the squad on rookie deals were the Australia Under-19 players Jon Holland, the left-arm spinner, and the batsman Aaron Finch. The fast bowler Matthew Gale and Peter Nevill and Grant Baldwin also joined the junior section of the outfit. “We’re delighted that these emerging players can be supported alongside our existing group,” Graf said. Cricket Victoria plan to add one more rookie to their squad.Squad Jason Arnberger, Rob Cassell, Adam Crosthwaite, Gerard Denton, Shane Harwood, David Hussey, Nick Jewell, Michael Klinger, Brad Knowles, Michael Lewis, Lloyd Mash, Andrew McDonald, Jon Moss, Dirk Nannes, Peter Siddle, Cameron White, Allan Wise.Rookies Grant Baldwin, Aiden Blizzard, Aaron Finch, Matthew Gale, Jon Holland, Peter Nevill.