Queensland’s slim hopes of competing in their ninth straight Pura Cup final hinge on their trip to the SCG this week as the second-last round of games approaches. Three matches begin on Thursday and each could shape the final with only South Australia out of contention.New South Wales and Tasmania could all but ensure they battle for the title if both claim victory but the winner of the Victoria-Western Australia clash would also remain in the hunt. One of the most intriguing games should be at Sydney, where the defending champions and fifth-placed Queensland take on the top-of-the-table New South Wales.Only six points (one win) separate the two teams and the Bulls will be brimming with confidence after their away-from-home Ford Ranger Cup win at Melbourne on Sunday. Nine members of their Pura Cup squad played in the one-day triumph and the Queensland top order has found form at the right time.Jimmy Maher struggled for four months before making his first century of the season in the Bulls’ last Pura Cup game and followed up with a limited-overs hundred on Sunday. His trouble finding a reliable opening partner appeared over when he built a 263-run stand with Ryan Broad against South Australia, in a match when Clinton Perren was also amongst the runs.The reliable Andy Bichel, who has 36 wickets this season, and Ashley Noffke must be at their best to ensure Phil Jaques’ return to first-class form is only temporary. The Blues have won at home only once in 2006-07 and they will sorely miss Brad Haddin, the Man of the Match last time the two teams met, and Stuart Clark. However, a win for them could set up a playoff for the right to host the final when they tackle Tasmania in Hobart next week.The second-placed Tigers deserve favouritism in their clash with the winless South Australia at Adelaide. Despite the loss of their captain, Dan Marsh, to a calf injury Tasmania are arguably the most settled of all sides, with none of their regulars missing on World Cup duty.
South Australia have shown signs of improvement lately, especially in their batting, but they have little more than pride to play for. George Bailey’s Tigers could move one step closer to hosting the final for the first time with victory at Adelaide.The most hotly-contested match could be between Victoria and Western Australia at the MCG, where a loss to either team would make it difficult to fight back in the last round. The Warriors will be buoyed by their form away from home this year – they have won two out of three and against the Blues were only two wickets shy of making it a perfect record.Their top order – Justin Langer, Chris Rogers, Marcus North and Adam Voges – is formidable. Steve Magoffin and Ben Edmondson’s new-ball attack has been consistently dangerous and the Warriors’ fourth-placing belies their ability.The Bushrangers have carried few passengers this season and although they will miss Brad Hodge, they have five other century-makers in 2006-07. Their bowling could determine their chances of a second successive Pura Cup final and much will depend on Shane Harwood and Mick Lewis.By Sunday, the teams and location for the final might remain uncertain; five states could still be in contention with one round to go. But the two sides with their destinies firmly in their own hands – New South Wales and Tasmania – can this week go one step closer to Pura Cup glory.
Half-centuries from Alex Blackwell and Karen Rolton steered Australia to a sweat-free victory in the third and final women’s one-day international against India at Adelaide. Rolton, the captain who was dropped three times, continued her impressive series with an unbeaten 56 off 86 balls while Blackwell carried her bat for 63 as Australia wrapped up the contest 3-0.Jodie Purves, the wicketkeeper, was the only casualty, falling to Jhulan Goswami for 3 in the third over, as they reached 1 for 129 with 15.4 overs to spare. Rolton replaced the retired Belinda Clark as captain this season and she produced a string of superb allround performances to be named Player of the Series. In the first match she collected a hard-hitting 47 before picking up 4 for 29 in the second game, and today she added 2 for 6 in six overs to her half-century.India’s batsmen again found the home side’s bowlers a daunting prospect as they battled to keep the rate at two-and-a-half runs an over, finishing with 7 for 128 on the Woodville Oval. Jaya Sharma (23) and Anjum Chopra (22) made steady starts, but no player could go on to a half-century and Reema Malhotra was unbeaten on 27 when the overs ran out.
ScorecardBarbados began the fourth day of their game against Leeward Islands at 34 for 1, needing 244 more to win, but quickly fell apart. They lost eight wickets for 52 runs in the space of two hours, the damage caused by a medium pacer and an offspinner bowling in tandem. Wilden Cornwall took 4 for 15 from 14 overs while Omari Banks, who has performed his share of heroics on the international level as well, took 4 for 23 in 11.1.Barbados began the day well, though. Dwanye Smith and Sherwin Campbell took the score to 62 before Smith was caught behind off Carl Simon. Then, Cornwall came into the attack. He trapped Campbell lbw for 28 with his second ball, and from then on, it was a procession. ScorecardA damp outfield prevented play from taking place at New Amsterdam, and for the third day in a row, not a ball was bowled.
New Zealand Cricket is not satisfied with the successful completion of the restructuring of its game as prescribed by the Hood Report in 1995 – it is setting out on the next phase of its advance, as outlined in its strategic plan released today called “Pushing the Boundaries”.Clearly defining its objectives NZC believes that by 2007 the boundaries will have been pushed to the point where:* The Black Caps are recognised as the dominant team in the cricketing world, both in Tests and ODIs * The White Ferns will have retained the World Cup and are regarded as the best team in the women’s game * NZC is recognised at the best administration within the cricketing world, and within New Zealand’s sporting environment * The game will be prospering at all levels within New Zealand with the large number of participants supported by a strong infrastructure * NZC will have a strong and sustainable financial base underpinnings its sporting and commercial programmes * NZC will have the best people working for it within a challenging and rewarding environment * Major Associations will be working in tandem with NZC, with district associations and with clubs and schools so that the game is serviced to a high standard at all levelsPresenting the plan, Sir John Anderson, the chairman of NZC, and Martin Snedden, the chief executive, said: “Cricket in New Zealand has come a long way since the 1995 Hood Report sought to revolutionise New Zealand Cricket as an organisation.”The numbers playing cricket have increased steadily in recent years and this year, for the first time ever, more than 100,000 registered players were actively participating in what is New Zealand’s leading summer sport.”New Zealand Cricket’s flagships, the Black Caps and the White Ferns, have experienced considerable success at international level in recent years…There has also been significant growth in the commercial base of the game. The revenues now being generated by NZC help to underpin the growth of the sport nationwide.”Cricket’s successes in New Zealand, both on and off the field, have been achieved despite having less resources than the other leading powers in the cricketing world. However, NZC recognises that if we are to press forward to higher levels of performance in all areas of the sport and business we must continue to ‘push the boundaries’ so that obstacles and limitations can be overcome.”‘Pushing the Boundaries’ sets out the strategic direction for NZC to move to higher levels of performance and provides a pathway for cricket in New Zealand to do the same.”Central to the success of NZC’s strategic vision will be our partnerships both at home and abroad. Maintaining quality international relationships will be essential but, perhaps even more importantly, there is the need for the relationships within the New Zealand cricket family to be strong and vital.”Cricket is a sport that depends on a huge amount of goodwill and commitment from parents, teachers and volunteers who underpin the work undertaken by professional administrators. It is the people who contribute to our sport at its many levels – national, Major Associations, district associations, clubs and schools – who make up the family of cricket in New Zealand.”
A victory off the last ball. There can’t be a more exciting finishthan this and while there have been quite a few such results in thehistory of one day internationals, the six-match series between Indiaand England on the 1992-93 tour could not have gotten off to a betterstart. For England won the first game at Jaipur byfour wickets off the last delivery.
Kambli and Tendulkar matched each other in both stroke and run production.It was the left-handed Kambli’s 21st birthday and he could not have wishedfor a better gift than an unbeaten 100 which ensured him the man of the matchaward.
The man of the match however was on the losing side. Put in to batbefore a capacity crowd at the Sawai Man Singh stadium on a coolJanuary morning, India could not have made a worse start with the lossof Navjot Sidhu without a run on the board in the second over. VinodKambli entered at this stage but soon lost Manoj Prabhakar, who made aquick 25. Paul Jarvis had taken both wickets. Mohammad Azharuddin toodid not last long, out leg before to Chris Lewis for six.Three down for 59 was no way to start an innings but now SachinTendulkar joined his old Bombay school chum and there was a suddentransformation. The two put the bowlers to the sword while sharing anunbroken 164-run stand for the fourth wicket. Kambli and Tendulkarmatched each other in both stroke and run production. It was the lefthanded Kambli’s 21st birthday and he could not have wished for abetter gift than an unbeaten 100 which ensured him the man of thematch award.He faced 149 balls and hit nine fours and a six. Tendulkar finished ona brilliant 82 not out, compiled off just 81 balls, hitting six foursand a six as India could post a challenging total of 223 for three in48 overs.Kapil Dev gave an early breakthrough by removing skipper Graham Goochfor four in a total of 29. But then vice-captain Alec Stewart tookover. First, he added 56 runs for the second wicket with Robin Smith(16). This was followed by a third wicket stand of 60 runs betweenStewart and Mike Gatting (30). By the time Stewart was third out at145 for 91, the match was nicely balanced. Stewart played the spinnersAnil Kumble and Venkatpathi Raju particularly well and twice he usedhis feet to hit the left arm spinner over the ropes.He faced 126 balls and besides the two sixes, hit six fours. NeilFairbrother and Graeme Hick (13) supplied the necessary accelerationat a vital stage by adding 39 runs for the fifth wicket. Prabhakar andKapil came back to bowl the final overs but the left-handedFairbrother was equal to the task. He and Chris Lewis inched Englandtowards the target and when Prabhakar started the last over, six runswere required for victory. The bowler was left to rue an overthrow ofhis own penultimate delivery that enabled England to draw level. Ascrambled single off bat and pad from the last ball signaled apulsating victory. Fairbrother remained unbeaten on a timely 46, madeoff only 38 balls with the help of five fours and a six, and Lewis oneight. England went on to take a 3-1 lead before India took the lasttwo matches and ensured that honours remained even.
Malaysia-inningsThe match being played at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium commenced with Malaysia batting first. They opened the innings with Hairul Amirudeen and S. Sathiswaran against Singapore’s bowling attack of Maxim Mok Kar Yuen and Siddharth Verma. The Malaysian openers provided their team a solid start when at the total of 86 Ameer ud Din was adjudged LBW to Zeeshan for 38. Sathiswaran the second opener was the next to go, being bowled by Zeeshan for 36. Malaysia lost 2 wickets for 100.It was followed by a long and defiant partnership between Indran (55) and Vickneswaran (57) that yielded 98 runs. Piling up runs valiantly Malaysia ended its innings at 240 for the loss of only 4 wickets, offering Singapore a victory target of 241.Singapore’s inningsFacing a challenging target of 241 runs Singapore opened with Zeng Renchun and Anand Santhanam. They provided a sturdy start to the innings till Renchun was out after playing an exciting innings of 40. Singapore lost the first wicket at 72.To their dismay a collapse followed in which the team lost 5 quick wickets that brought down the score to 97 for 6 in 24 overs.Zeeshan (50) and Glenn Meyer (32 not out) put up relentless efforts to stabilize the innings but the initial loss was rather too much to recover. They were still able to raise Sri Lanka to a respectable total of 192 in 39.5 overs. Peter Chung grabbed 4 wickets for 28 runs. Malaysia thus defeated Singapore by 48 runs.
Wolves defender Ki-Jana Hoever appeared to be distraught as he left the field through injury in the first half of the defeat against Crystal Palace, according to Tim Spiers.
The lowdown
The young Dutchman made just his fourth league start of the season on Saturday but lasted only 25 minutes before he was forced off through injury.
Wolves were already without one of their right wing-back options in Nelson Semedo, who isn’t currently expected to be back until the middle of April (via Premier Injuries). Jonny Otto is capable of playing there but is naturally a left-sided defender.
The latest
With Hoever about to be substituted for Jonny, The Athletic’s Wolves correspondent Spiers took to Twitter to issue a worrying assessment.
He observed: “Hoever limping off, looks devastated. Jonny being called.”
The verdict
Bruno Lage isn’t just frustrated with the timing of this particular injury. He said after the match that Hoever suffered the hamstring strain ‘because he is not prepared’ and ‘doesn’t work with the same intensity’ as some of his team-mates in training.
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Spiers interpreted this as blaming the 20-year-old ‘for getting injured’, and after such a stinging rebuke, you have to wonder how severe the repercussions will be for Hoever, not just over his involvement this season but also in terms of his Wolves career as a whole.
In other news, Wolves had already suffered this injury blow
Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, has defended the decision to replace Steve Bucknor with Billy Bowden for the third Test in Perth, saying it was done for the better of the game and not to please India. “We could have taken a confrontational tone but we took a diplomatic approach,” he told the . “We have got an international sporting incident where countries are polarised. What we are seeking to do is avoid having that turn into an international crisis.”We have taken away one of the points of issue that has caused this passionate response in both countries. If Bucknor had been umpiring, commentators and public would have pored over every decision Steve made.”Speed also felt the Australian side need to realise the brickbats they are receiving for their behaviour. “They are a great cricket team; I would hate to see them remembered for any reason other than that,” he was quoted in the . “The team is being criticised, members of the team are being criticised and they need to to be aware of that – they need to respond to that.”Meanwhile, ICC president Ray Mali also backed the decision to remove Bucknor from officiating in Perth. “We recognised from the outset that the umpiring in the second Test was below the very high standard we have come to expect from our Elite Panel and we noted with concern the enormous reaction to it and realised that we could potentially have a serious international diplomatic incident on our hands,” Mali said. “By standing Steve down for the third Test we have successfully defused the situation, at least for the time being, and so what was a sporting issue has not become a political crisis.”We could easily have taken an inflexible stance and gone toe-to-toe with those who were calling for Steve’s withdrawal but instead we chose to adopt a more diplomatic and reasonable approach. And on balance it was the right thing to do, for the game and for the series.Mali also issued a reminder that Bucknor’s removal had nothing to do with Harbhajan Singh’s appeal. “It is also worth reminding people that the decision to replace Steve for this match had nothing to do with the Harbhajan Singh Code of Conduct hearing. That process is ongoing and will run its full course.”As is his right, Harbhajan has appealed the guilty finding of the hearing. The appeals process has been part of the ICC Code of Conduct for seven years so there is nothing new or unusual about this.Mali said he expected all parties to accept the decision of the findings of the appeals’ commissioner and hoped the attention would shift to the game . “Over the past few days there have been too many emotive comments from too many people and it’s now time for the focus to return to the cricket.”Speed dismissed suggestions that the appeal on Harbhajan Singh’s three-Test ban will be delayed so as to ensure the series will go on without further controversy.”We may have the hearing before the third Test. If not, we are hopeful we can have it before the fourth Test,” Speed said. “I am very pleased the tour is going ahead, there is a process in place for appeals and Harbhajan has appealed,” he said. “India have signed off on the appeals process. They were there when all the discussions took place.Speed said the ICC won’t budge under the pressure of the Indian board. “We can’t have one set of rules for the India team and another set for everyone else,” he said. “We will follow the process and and I hope whatever the outcome all parties will be able to say they have had a fair hearing.”
The usually unflappable Rahul Dravid lost his cool today when asked to comment on a leaked report by Chetan Desai, the manager of the Indian team on the tour of South Africa, that claimed that Greg Chappell and Virender Sehwag had had a spat ahead of the Durban Test.A television channel had quoted Desai’s confidential report to the Indian board – which the Board today said it had not yet received – as claiming that an argument took place between Chappell and Sehwag when the latter refused to attend a special practice session on the eve of the second Test at Durban.”I’ve not read the report, but to be honest, there’s no problem in the team. I think it’s important to put it in perspective and understand things,” Dravid snapped when asked about the story in the press conference ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Kolkata tomorrow. “I’m being asked questions and being asked my views on a report given by someone who, when I last looked at the history of Indian cricket, I didn’t necessarily see his name featuring very prominently,” said Dravid of Desai, who is the honorary secretary of the Goa Cricket Association.Having made the sharp comment, Dravid, who usually does not get into controversies of any kind, pressed on. “When I’m asked a question regarding comments or opinions of people, I would expect you to ask me questions about people who have at least played the game and have some standing in the game and been involved with the game in some capacity,” he said. “Anyone’s entitled to give an opinion, anyone’s entitled to file reports but me commenting on that – I think you know I will comment on it only if its worthy of my comment.”At the same time, Dravid neither denied nor concurred with the contents of the said report. The news story alleged that Desai’s report, while speaking in broad terms on Sehwag’s indiscipline, also referred to Dravid backing Sehwag’s inclusion – in the face of near-unanimous opposition – in the side for the second Test .The BCCI, meanwhile, declined to comment on Dravid’s comments in Kolkata and said that a thorough inquiry will be made into how the tour report was leaked.”The President [Sharad Pawar] received the report today. We are now trying to find out how it was leaked to the media before it reached the President’s office,” Rajiv Shukla, the BCCI vice-president told PTI. “We will go through the contents of all these reports and if any corrective measure needs to be taken, it will be done.”
Allan Donald has withdrawn his application for the vacant England bowling coach position after meeting with South African board officials.Donald’s announcement came after he held talks with Gerald Majola, the board’s CEO, and Vince van der Bijl, its general manager of professional cricket.The meeting was called by Majola to discuss comments in the media last weekend that Donald, who is employed in CSA’s high performance programme as a specialist bowling coach, that he had applied for the English post.”I have given much thought to the matter, and have withdrawn my application for the England bowling coach post,” Donald told reporters. “I will rather stay with Cricket South Africa’s high performance programme and throw my full weight behind it.”My heart lies with South African cricket, and I want to do everything I can in the effort to make us the best in the world. I will also be writing to the board of Cricket South Africa to apologise for making a public statement about my England application before discussing the matter with CSA. I want to put the whole matter behind me, and carry on working with the high performance structures in South Africa”.”Vince and I had a full and frank discussion with Allan,” Majola said. “We are delighted that he has decided to stay with South African cricket, and build the game here for the future. Allan was one of the South Africa’s greatest bowlers and we regard him as a national asset.”We recruited him into our high performance programme as soon as it was possible after he stopped playing international and domestic cricket.He will continue working in the high performance programme as a specialist bowling coach in terms of a two-year contract, renewable after the next World Cup in 2007.”His tasks are to identify and groom promising young fast bowlers, and to assist established bowlers should they lose form. Allan will also be available on request to assist the national team.”Donald had emerged as the favourite to replace Troy Cooley, who finishes as England’s bowling coach in May, after the India tour. With Donald out of the way, others being linked with the vacancy include Phil DeFreitas, Mike Watkinson, Steve Watkin, Kevin Shine and Andy Pick, although the ECB wouldn’t confirm exactly who had applied.”We wouldn’t comment on any application for roles at the ECB,” their media relations manager Andrew Walpole told Cricinfo. “Interviews will be taking place shortly and we would hope to be in a position to make an announcement during England’s tour in India.”