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.”
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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.
Darren Holder, an Australian coach, has been appointed as the coach of the Maharashtra side and also made the Director of Cricket by the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA). A bachelor of health science from Griffith University, 30-year-old Darren Holder, who had worked as assistant coach and performance analyst to John Buchanan, Australia’s current coach, would begin his assignment from July onwards, Ajay Shirke, the MCA president, told PTI.About the tenure for which Holder has been appointed, Shirke said that it was for eight months, the full cricket season. Besides coaching the senior team, as Director ofCricket, Holder is expected to run a high-performance cricket training programme throughout Maharashtra for all age groups of cricket players, he said.It was the second time that a foreigner has been appointed as a coach of an Indian state cricket team. Earlier, Punjab had taken the services of Intikab Alam, the former Pakistan captain. After Greg Chappell, who has formally taken over as the coach of national cricket team, Holder becomes the second Australian to coach a team in the country in quick succession.
Rahul Dravid has decided not to return for a second season with Scotland, and will instead take a break from the game following his two high-profile series against Australia and Pakistan.”Dravid was keen to come back," Scotland’s captain, Craig Wright, told BBC Sport, "but felt with the number of games he has played, he could not commit to us. His deal was for one year and he was our first-choice to sign again, but he feels he needs a break.”Scotland hope to attract a couple of new signings before the start of the county season, but have not settled on any particular names. “We seem to be crossing off people on a regular basis," said Wright, "but we’re pretty confident we’ll have something tied up in the next week or two.”One option would be the South African allrounder Jon Kent, who scored 469 runs and took nine wickets in their National League campaign in 2003, and already intends to return to Scotland to play club cricket this season.
POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa, Feb 21 AAP – Australia’s rampaging cricketers are on the verge of a world record.Victories over Zimbabwe, Namibia and England in their next three World Cup matches will move Ricky Ponting’s men past the benchmark of 11 straight limited-overs wins achieved by the awesome West Indian teams of the mid-1980s.Australia’s hot streak, which began with a seven-run triumph over England at Hobart on January 11, has since claimed eight more victims.And there are many more in sight as the defending champions attempt to retain their prized trophy via an undefeated six-week trek through southern Africa.The Windies, boasting the likes of Vivian Richards, Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding, strung together 11 wins between June 1984 and February 1985.”I don’t think it’s out of our league, that’s for sure,” said Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden.”We are playing really good cricket and I guess now it’s just playing the big matches – Zimbabwe is a big match on their home territory.”I don’t think it’s out of our possibilities, we are playing well – we’re a great side when we’re playing with that momentum behind us.”Australia has come within a whisker of the Windies’ record twice before, falling at the 11th hurdle in May 1990 and February 2001.But it holds the record for the most consecutive one-day games without defeat: a trailblazing 14-match stretch between January and March 2000 that included a no-result when rain washed out play against New Zealand in Wellington.Hayden claimed it was too early for Australia to start thinking about an unbeaten World Cup, even though fast bowler Glenn McGrath and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist have already spoken of the lofty ambition.”We’ve won two of the biggest matches, against India and Pakistan, straight away and we kind of saw that as the key to our campaign and we’re just gathering a lot of strength from that,” said Hayden.Meanwhile, the world’s No.1 Test and one-day batsman paid Holland’s ragged crew of slow-medium pace bowlers a huge compliment by saying the 22.4 overs he faced at North West Stadium on Thursday were the most difficult for him in years.The Dutch can’t take all the credit, though.A wet pitch and overcast conditions were more responsible for Hayden’s stuttering 33 from 59 balls than Holland’s new-ball partnership of 40-year-old Roland Lefebvre and Edgar Schiferli, whose international bowling average was left at an unflattering 190.”Personally, they were 20 of the hardest overs I’ve faced in one-day cricket for a long time,” said Hayden, who backed the appearance of minnows like Holland at the World Cup.”The ball was swinging and seaming around, they were difficult conditions.”We were obviously going to be a more talented side than Holland but you have to look at it from a developmental point of view as well.”If you jump up and down and say we can’t possibly include these kind of nations in a World Cup, their cricket never develops.”I think it’s good for the game. The Holland blokes were first in the dressing room at the end of the day’s play having a beer and trying to learn as much as they could.”Australia plays Zimbabwe at Bulawayo on Monday, Namibia at Potchefstroom on Thursday and England at Port Elizabeth on March 2.
Mark Alleyne’s rich vein of form continued with his second century in successive matches to put Gloucestershire into a strong position at the end of the first day at Derby.The Gloucestershire captain added an unbeaten 114 to the 132 he made against Durham at Gloucester and with Kim Barnett, Chris Taylor and Jeremy Snape helping themselves to half-centuries, the visitors ended on 374-4.It added up to another dispiriting day for Derbyshire who took only one wicket between lunch and the close.Tim Munton bowled an impressive 10 over spell in the morning but Gloucestershire’s batsmen encountered few problems on a slow pitch which is expected to take turn later in the game.Barnett got Gloucestershire moving with some typically flashing strokes on his return to the county he left in 1998.His 73 included 10 fours, two of them all run and he looked set for a century until he played around a ball from Paul Aldred.Munton had snared Dominic Hewson and Matt Windows cheaply but Taylor and Alleyne added 147 in 48 overs before Taylor, who took a six and two fours from a Paul Aldred over, was lbw to the pace bowler for 83.Alleyne went to his century, his 21st in first-class cricket, from 202 balls and had shared an unbroken stand of 103 with Snape when the close signalled an end to Derbyshire’s torment.