All posts by h716a5.icu

Jonathan Trott began life in international retirement with an assured 42 but his innings was a mere footnote to a rollicking opening day’s play

Paul Edwards at Edgbaston17-May-2015
ScorecardKeith Barker belted•Getty ImagesCricket has a whimsical gift for misdirection. On a day when many spectators were concerned to see how Jonathan Trott would perform on his return to the county circuit, it was the batting of Ian Westwood and Keith Barker, his Warwickshire colleagues, which eventually commanded more attention than Trott’s innings of 42.Close followers of the domestic game might greet this development with nothing more than a knowing smile. Westwood has been in excellent form this season. His 88 on the first day of this match against Durham took his Championship aggregate for 2015 to 439 runs in seven innings. When he was bowled three overs before tea by a fine ball from Graham Onions which moved off the seam, the compact left-hander with an enviable gift for clipping the ball away on the leg side had provided his side with the foundation upon which their very substantial total was built.So well had Westwood been batting that his dismissal, after a knock which included 14 fours and a six into the Hollies Stand, came as rather a shock. It also occurred in the middle of a difficult period in Warwickshire’s innings, one in which they also lost Laurie Evans, who had been caught behind for 45 by Phil Mustard in Onions’s previous over when playing the loosest of cuts at a ball unsuitable for the stroke.And when Tim Ambrose was so discomfited by the extra bounce extracted by John Hastings that he gave Mustard his third catch a couple of overs after tea, Varun Chopra’s team were 227 for 6 and in danger of wasting the advantage gained when their captain had won the toss. This did not happen, though. On the contrary, some very positive batting by Rikki Clarke and Barker saw 103 runs added in 68 minutes prior to the taking of the second new ball, 28 of those runs coming in consecutive overs from the Pavilion End bowled by Paul Coughlin and Scott Borthwick.Chris Rushworth, as is his skill these days, restored a little control to Durham’s attack and had Clarke lbw for 36 in the 81st over. The ball may have struck the allrounder a little high on the pad and Barker certainly did all he could to avoid a similar fate during the remainder of the evening session. Dropped by Paul Collingwood at slip and Calum MacLeod in the gully off successive balls from Hastings when only 16, Barker used his bat to very good effect and he goes into the second day on 85 not out and with a fifth first-class century beckoning.At the other end Jeetan Patel hit Rushworth for a straight six, straight drove Hastings and Coughlin and reached his 46-ball fifty off the last ball of the day. Durham’s bowlers conceded 199 runs off 32 overs in the final session.But what of Trott? Only 13 days after he had announced his retirement from Test cricket and 16 after the vicious short-pitched ball from Shannon Gabriel which had made that decision something of a relief for his many friends and supporters, the Warwickshire No. 3 batted in a style both familiar and reassuring during his 90-minute inningsGreeted by a warm ovation when he came to the wicket with his side on 18 for 2 after Onions and Rushworth had removed Chopra and William Porterfield, Trott clipped his first ball for four and quickly settled into a recognisable rhythm. This was characterised by frequent marking of the crease, strolls to square leg, and decisive strokes, whether in defence or attack. Renowned as something of an enforcer in the England team, Trott helped Westwood deal with the new ball and one can foresee a few seasons in which he will take care of such business for Warwickshire. Further boundaries followed off Coughlin and Hastings but so did sensible decisions to leave the ball alone.Was Trott tested quite as he had been in Barbados? He was not. Was his technique given a thorough examination by a Division One attack? That did happen and Trott coped with it all well. It was a something of a surprise when he was leg before to Onions’s third ball after lunch.”Trotty’s been fine,” said Dougie Brown, Warwickshire’s Director of Cricket. “This is an environment that he knows and one that he trusts. He responds really well to it and we are delighted to have him back. He looked to be in good order on what was quite a tricky pitch and I thought he played really well. There’ll be a number of bowlers round the country that would prefer it if he was still playing international cricket. He’s a rock in our batting order.”

Ranjan Baindoor, the former Mumbai cricketer, died on Monday after suffering a heart attack

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2016Ranjan Baindoor, the former Mumbai cricketer, died on Monday after suffering a heart attack. Baindoor was 66.Baindoor, who worked for Tata Steel until his retirement last year, was the chairman of the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Under-19 selection committee.Baindoor was a part of the Ranji Trophy-winning Mumbai team of 1983-84 under Sunil Gavaskar. He played 16 first-class matches in a decade-long career, in which he scored 316 runs at 19.75. That included two half-centuries, both of which came in the 1984 Ranji semi-final , against Haryana, when he made 96 – his career-best – in the first innings, and followed it up with 86 in the second. He also picked up 20 wickets at 37.20 with a best of 4 for 32.”He was a dear friend and we have played together for so many years,” Ravi Thakkar, Baindoor’s former team-mate, who is currently a member of Mumbai’s senior and Under-23 selection panels, said. “We are all deeply saddened.”

The Liverpool and Wolves stars were crucial in high-scoring wins, while Harry Winks features after his late winner for Tottenham

Getty1Diogo Jota | WolvesJota netted a hat-trick in Wolves' 4-3 win over Leicester, with those three goals coming from just four total shots.AdvertisementGetty2Callum Wilson | BournemouthThe striker became the second player to hit double figures for goals in a single Premier League season for Bournemouth when he opened the scoring against West Ham, following Josh King’s haul of 16 in 2016-17.Getty3Mohamed Salah | LiverpoolThe Liverpool superstor scored with both of his shots against Crystal Palace, helping his side to a 4-3 win at Anfield.ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty4Jordan Henderson | LiverpoolThe England midfielder had 125 touches and completed 94% of his passes in Liverpool's victory over Crystal Palace.

Minnesota United want Manchester United coach Eric Ramsay to become their next manager, with the Loons looking to make him MLS' youngest-ever boss.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

MNUFC chasing new head coachTargeting Man Utd staffer RamsayWould be MLS' youngest-ever managerWHAT HAPPENED?

Both the Loons and the Red Devils are actively negotiating a deal for Ramsay, according to . MNUFC has had a coaching vacancy since last Fall when they sacked six-year manager Adrian Heath with just two games left in the season.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Heath, an Everton legend and former England international, was the only coach the Loons had ever brought in after they were awarded an expansion franchise slot in 2017. Now, seven years into their tenure in the league, they're looking to make am ambitious move for Ramsay – who would become the youngest-ever head coach in MLS at 32 years old.

The Welshman has quite the resume, playing roles at the U-23 level with Chelsea, being an assistant with the Wales national team and most recently, with United. He was brought on in 2019 and has remained with the club as an assistant coach through three different managers.

DID YOU KNOW?

According to 's report, Ramsay turned down proposals from both Blackpool and Swansea in recent months. Now, if he does ink a deal with the Loons, he will have the opportunity to work with one of the best attacking midfielders in North America in Emanuel Reynoso and ex-Premier League striker Teemu Pukki. Ramsay speaks fluent Spanish, which will play a key role with the likes of Reynoso, among others.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR RAMSAY AND MINNESOTA UNITED?

The Loons 2024 season-opener is now less than one week away, with the club starting out their campaign on the road against Austin FC on Saturday. Reynoso, Pukki and Co will want to begin things on a hot note as they look to better their 2023 run.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pinpointed areas his side must improve after a "difficult" win over Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Liverpool win 3-0 over Southampton Klopp praises two goalscoring youngstersBut highlights "pressing" as key issueGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Following a string of injuries to his first team, Klopp has been left with only the bare minimum for the Reds. The Liverpool manager started youngsters James McConnell, Conor Bradley, Bobby Clark, and Jarell Quansah, substituting Kaide Gordon and Trey Nyoni in the second half. The German was particularly impressed by scorers Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns as Liverpool went on to a comfortable 3-0 win. He also talked about having to play defender Joe Gomez in midfield for the first time ever due to a lack of options in an already tightly-packed schedule.

AdvertisementWHAT KLOPP SAID

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said when speaking to BBC Sport: "It was a special week for all of us. I do the job for a little while and you don’t have weeks like that too often. This was a tough game in a horribly difficult situation for us. We have to accept it and see who we can line up. Today the solution was Joe Gomez playing six for the first time in his life. We were all over the place in the first 15 minutes, the pressing was horrendous. We had problems and Southampton used that. Caoimhin [Kelleher] saved us a lot with top saves.

"After 15 minutes the high press got a lot better, the midfield press we tried to sort at half-time. Football is not easy and if you’ve got momentum you’ve got to keep it. We got it back and scored two wonderful goals in the second half. Danns you could see that second goal coming, he has that nose. We saw it in the final. He had that luck and he was there to score that goal. It was a wonderful game to watch."

Getty THE BIGGER PICTURE

The win on the night meant that the Merseyside club moved one step closer to their dream of winning the quadruple, having already won the Carabao Cup despite a slew of injuries to the squad that has seen players like Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic having been out for some duration on and off this season.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

Klopp will have to rally his troops yet again for another quick turnaround as they travel to City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest on Saturday, March 2.

Myles Hodgson at Old Trafford10-May-2013Lancashire 177 (Phillips 3-20) and 253 for 7 (Prince 80, Brown 80, Topley 5-80) beat Essex 226 (Napier 102*, Procter 4-66) and 203 for 3 dec (Cook 60, Mickleburgh 53*) by three wickets
ScorecardSaj Mahmood suffered another head-in-hands moment against his former club•Getty ImagesSajid Mahmood may have pictured a triumphant homecoming on his return to Old Trafford with Essex, who he joined following an acrimonious departure from Lancashire during the winter, but instead he suffered a final day that will haunt him for many years to come.The stage was set for Mahmood, furious that Lancashire were not prepared to offer him a new contract at the end of last season, to deny his former team a thrilling victory as they attempted to chase down 253 off 51 overs on the final afternoon. That target was later reduced by four overs by an interruption for bad light, but it was Mahmood’s intervention that proved decisive.Given the responsibility to bowl the 44th over of the innings, with Lancashire needing 32 to win off the final four overs, it was pretty much the turning point of the match as Steven Croft helping himself to 15 off the final five balls, including a six over midwicket and an all-run four through the covers.If that was not enough of a setback for Mahmood, he was to play an even bigger role in the final over, with Lancashire needing five runs to win having lost three wickets in the previous over. They scored four off the first four deliveries before Wayne White launched Graham Napier to Mahmood at long leg, only for him to spill the regulation catch and allow the single to be scrambled that secured victory.”When we saw that last ball, we all ended up with mixed feelings,” said Karl Brown, whose 80 in a 169-run stand with Ashwell Prince proved crucial to Lancashire’s win. “Saj is a great mate of a lot of the lads, we’ve played with him for a long time and it’s not nice to see that happen. We won the game so we were really happy, but I think we all spared a thought for Saj because that’s not nice when that happens, especially to someone you’re so close to.”Lancashire’s triumph came a week after they dismissed Glamorgan for 139 at Colwyn Bay chasing 154 for victory and boosts their promotion hopes. That the umpires saw fit to dock each side a point for slow over rates was barely noticed in either dressing room after such a compelling advert for county cricket.Essex, in particular, deserve plenty of credit for their role in such an exciting finale. Having reached 203 for 3 overnight and in little trouble, they could have watched from the dressing room for the final afternoon and enjoyed batting practice in the middle.Instead they set up a game to remember and so nearly secured an astonishing win themselves. They began the final afternoon impressively, dismissing both Lancashire openers in the space of three balls to leave them struggling on 13 for 2. Despite an outstanding opening spell from Reece Topley, and Mahood troubling Lancashire’s batsmen with his pace and bounce, Essex could not dislodge Brown and Prince during their 198-ball partnership.Both fell in quick succession for 80, Prince bowled by Topley making himself room and Brown in similar fashion to Napier, only for Steven Croft and Simon Katich to add 41 in four overs to leave Lancashire needing 12 off the final two overs.Just as victory was in sight, Topley responded by claiming three wickets in an over to finish with 5 for 80, with Croft falling to a brilliant diving catch from Rob Quiney in the deep that forced him off the field with a shoulder injury.It left Lancashire facing a tense final over, which was finally settled by Mahmood’s misfield, and left Essex rueing missed opportunities. “We took a bit of a punt, but the way we’d been playing, showing a lot of character and skill, we thought it was an excellent opportunity to get a win under our belts and get a lot of points,” captain James Foster said. “It was a risk but we thought it was a calculated risk.”

Nagenahira Nagas captain Angelo Mathews believed his side had a winning total in the SLPL final which they could have defended had weather not intervened to cut the second innings short

Andrew Fernando in Colombo01-Sep-2012Angelo Mathews, the Nagenahira Nagas captain, believed his side had a winning total in the SLPL final which they could have defended had weather not intervened to cut the second innings short, and make Uva Next champions via the Duckworth/Lewis method. Mathews’ dazzling 73 from 27 balls took Nagenahira to 134 for 4 from their 15 overs after his side had spluttered to 47 for 3 from 9 overs, following a first rain delay that shortened the game. Uva then hurtled to 63 for 1 from 5.1 overs, before a second heavy downpour stopped play and the D/L calculation deemed them victors by 19 runs.”Getting to [134] after losing a few wickets early on and being 40-odd after nine overs, it was a great effort by the whole batting unit,” Mathews said. “In the remaining six overs, we got the maximum number of runs you could hope for. The wicket was pretty slow, so [134] was a very good score, but unfortunately the rain gods had their say and that was that.”Uva opener Dilshan Munaweera blasted 44 from 23 balls to propel his side beyond the D/L par score. He struck five sixes and two fours in his innings, and with a promoted Seekkuge Prasanna also contributing two sixes, Uva hit a six in each over they faced.”The way Uva batted when they came out, they had nothing to lose, so they went for their shots and batted well.”The match may not have been completed had the two captains not agreed to continue playing on a sodden outfield. Three days of heavy rain had left parts of the ground muddy and the downpour that interrupted Nagenahira’s innings made those areas more slippery. Uva captain Thilina Kandamby commended Mathews on his willingness to play on, but Mathews said it was not a difficult decision to make, given they were playing in front of around 30,000 fans – by far the biggest crowd of the tournament.”I thought it [outfield] was pretty good apart from the boundary line. We couldn’t disappoint the crowds as well because it was a huge turnout today. After all it became and exciting game.”

Mathews also said despite the poor result in the final, he was proud of his side’s performance in the SLPL, particularly as they did not have the star players other teams had secured in the draft.”We never had big names, it’s just that we gelled quite well and we enjoyed each other’s company and success. I thought the team spirit was wonderful. Each time we walked into a game we just wanted to win and the whole unit was unbelievable.”

Matthew Wade has refused to lobby for the No. 1 Australia wicketkeeper’s spot, even after his match-turning century against West Indies in Dominica made a compelling case for his retention at the start of the next home summer

Daniel Brettig at Windsor Park25-Apr-2012Matthew Wade has refused to lobby for the No. 1 Australia wicketkeeper’s spot, even after his match-turning century against West Indies in Dominica made a compelling case for his retention at the start of the next home summer. Captain Michael Clarke has made it patently clear that he wants Brad Haddin back in the Australia Test team as soon as he is able to return – Haddin had withdrawn from this tour due to a serious family issue – and Wade showed no inclination to dispute the order of seniority following his 106 at Windsor Park.While many observers at the ground were left to wonder how Haddin could take the gloves back against South Africa at the Gabba later this year, given how capably Wade batted with the Australia tail, the man himself said he was quite happy to cede the position come November.”Hadds was supposed to play this tour and I’ve come in and taken his spot in an unfortunate situation – personal reasons back home that Hadds has. So that’s as far as I’m looking,” Wade said. “I know it’s cliché, but that’s as far as I’m looking. We’re playing these games then we’ve got a pretty big gap in Test cricket. Hopefully I can hold my spot in the one-dayers and take things from there.”I don’t think it [the century] changes [anything], my mindset definitely hasn’t changed. There’s a lot of one-day and Twenty20 cricket in between, a lot of water under the bridge before the first Test against South Africa at the Gabba, so I’ll do my job and see how it goes. Pup [Clarke] said that Haddin’s No. 1 in Test cricket and that sits fine with me, I’m happy to fill the void for a while and go and play some one-day cricket.”Having fought and scrapped early on in his knock, as he had done in most of his innings so far on this tour, Wade accelerated in stunning fashion around the fall of Mitchell Starc’s wicket. Unperturbed by the fact he was batting with the bowlers, Wade said that while his advance to a century had been dramatic, it was in keeping with the sort of back-end rhythm that typified most of his better innings.”In first-class cricket that’s generally the way I play,” he said. “I know that if I can get myself in for long enough that I can make it [the scoring-rate] up towards the end if I’m batting with the tail. I think a lot of my innings at times are like that. It takes me a little bit of time to get going but I can make it up towards the end. Maybe not make it up like I did today, but that’s generally my game plan. I’m not too worried about scoreboard pressure as such. I try and build an innings and try, and catch up at the back end.”Towards the end I knew Hilfy [Ben Hilfenhaus] and Lyono [Nathan Lyon] had been batting well, so I wasn’t too concerned. I didn’t change my game too much. I backed them because I knew they would stick around for me. If I happened to be not out at the end then I was not out, that’s how I looked at it. There was definitely no intent to go out and try and slog sweep or get the run-rate up, I just batted the way I thought I should have batted in that situation and backed the bloke at the other end.”Wade struggled noticeably early in the tour, in conditions completely foreign to him as both wicketkeeper and batsman. But he has learned over time, adding the sweep shot to his game against the slow bowlers, and in Dominica was able to contribute a critical innings when his team was in most desperate need.”I don’t think I had any doubt I could play Test cricket. It’s been a massive tour for me, I’ve learned so much right from the first game we played, the one-dayers where the conditions were just so different from what I’m used to,” he said. “I felt every game that I was getting a lot better, we’ve been working on things every day to get better in these conditions – we’ve got subcontinent conditions coming up at the Twenty20 World Cup and that kind of stuff.”It was about more improvement to get better. I felt I was good enough to play at this level if I could just get things to go right for me. It was about improving the little things, the conditions were a massive thing and I brought out my sweep halfway through the one-day series, I decided I’d use the sweep a lot more and I’ve brought that with me into the Tests. It’s going to be a massive shot for me going forward in subcontinent conditions.”

Zero to one millimetre of rain is forecast for the final day in Adelaide. One millimetre can be enough to save a batsman if a bowler has overstepped the crease but it won’t be sufficient to rescue South Africa in this Test

The Report by Brydon Coverdale25-Nov-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Michael Hussey scored a half-century as Australia retained control of the match on the fourth day•Getty ImagesZero to one millimetre of rain is forecast for the final day in Adelaide. One millimetre can be enough to save a batsman if a bowler has overstepped the crease but it won’t be sufficient to rescue South Africa in this Test. They will need either an unexpected deluge or something equally miraculous from their remaining batsmen if they are to avoid defeat, and although South African sides have done remarkable things before, it is impossible to see any way out of this predicament.Michael Clarke left Adelaide Oval on the fourth evening knowing that only six wickets stood between his men and a 1-0 series lead. Even though the Australians were one bowler down after James Pattinson was ruled out of the rest of the Test summer due to injury, the strong start provided by Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon meant the effect of his absence was significantly lessened. At stumps, South Africa were 4 for 77 in their chase of 430, with AB de Villiers on 12 and Faf du Plessis on 19.Smart stats

South Africa’s run rate of 1.54 in their second innings is at the moment their third-slowest in an innings in which they’ve faced at least 50 overs since 1990. In 1994 at the same venue, they scored 129 in 105.5 overs.

Graeme Smith’s duck is only his third in the fourth innings of a Test, and his first since the Super Test in 2005. Since that 0, he’d scored 1092 runs in fourth innings at 60.66.

AB de Villiers’ 11 off 102 balls is so far his slowest innings among those in which he has faced at least 20 balls.

The unbeaten 32-run stand between de Villiers and Faf du Plessis has consumed 29 overs – it’s the second slowest so far for any stand which has lasted 150 or more balls, since 1990.

Imran Tahir’s none for 260 is the most runs conceded in a Test without taking a wicket.

Since 1990, the most balls South Africa have survived in the fourth innings after the fall of the fourth wicket is 439 (73.1 overs) in Sydney in 2009. This pair has survived 29 overs so far.

The target never appeared particularly realistic. Smith’s men have done the seemingly impossible before, chasing down 414 in Perth four years ago, but the Adelaide Oval pitch had started to break up and was providing a much sterner challenge. The highest successful chase ever recorded in Test history was the 418 scored by West Indies against Australia in Antigua in 2003, and once this target had moved into such territory Clarke was happy to declare and give his bowlers four and a half sessions to do their job.His declaration paid off handsomely. In the first over of South Africa’s innings, Smith edged Hilfenhaus to slip and was snapped up sharply by Ricky Ponting. Soon afterwards, Hashim Amla (17) also departed to an edge, his drive at a straight ball from Lyon flying to first slip, where Clarke juggled the chance on his second grab.Jacques Rudolph at no point looked like a threat and was out for 3 when he clipped Lyon off his pads and was brilliantly taken low to the ground by Ed Cowan at short leg. And the man who had been at the other end while all of those wickets fell, Alviro Petersen, made it 4 for 45 in the next over when he played on to Siddle.By the time de Villiers and du Plessis came together, the South Africans had clearly decided to shut up shop. Crease occupation was their only concern for the remainder of the day and the pair managed it. By the time stumps arrived, the South Africans had managed only one boundary in the past 43 overs, a remarkable figure given the tiny dimensions of Adelaide Oval square of the wicket. De Villiers had 12 from 101 balls; du Plessis 19 from 74.It was hard to believe it was the same match that had produced 482 runs on the first day. Australia’s runs also came quickly in the final stages of their second innings as Hilfenhaus (18 not out) and Pattinson (29 not out) found the boundary a number of times before Clarke called an end to the innings at 8 for 267, about an hour into the second session.Earlier, it was Michael Hussey who kept the scoreboard ticking over. The South Africans really needed to pick up where they left off on the third afternoon, when their fast men troubled Australia’s top order. But the runs flowed a little too easily for Hussey and Clarke during the morning, especially off the legspin of Imran Tahir, who continued to leak nearly a run a ball and ended up with the most expensive wicketless analysis ever in a Test match, 0 for 260.Dale Steyn broke the 70-run partnership when he had Clarke lbw for 38, a hopeful review from Australia’s captain not saving him. But the runs kept coming from Hussey, who was not only lightning fast between the wickets but was finding the gaps in the field with impressive regularity, and brought up his half-century from his 81st ball with a punch through cover-point for four.Hussey fell for 54 in the last over before lunch when he tried to pull Morne Morkel and succeeded only in top-edging a catch to Steyn at midwicket. Matthew Wade departed soon after lunch when he tickled a catch behind off Morkel, but by then South Africa’s task was already substantial. By stumps, substantial appeared an understatement.

Shane Watson will not play a match in his redefined role as a non-bowling batsman before the India Test touring squad is chosen

Daniel Brettig21-Jan-2013Australia’s selectors will have their trust in Shane Watson tested by the revelation he will not play a match in his redefined role as a non-bowling batsman before the India Test touring squad is chosen.Watson is in the latter stages of recovering from a calf strain that was aggravated during the Melbourne Test against Sri Lanka, and ESPNcricinfo understands that he is expected make his return to the game in a domestic limited-overs fixture for New South Wales on January 30.The national selector John Inverarity has said that the squad for India is due to be announced before the end of this month, meaning Watson’s inclusion in the touring party would have to be made on faith rather than form and fitness.Watson trained in front of Inverarity and Andy Bichel in Sydney on Sunday and batted in the nets on Monday, but he was ruled out of Australia’s Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka and a Sheffield Shield match for the Blues against Western Australia, due to begin on Thursday.”He had a good running work-out. Andy Bichel and I were there when he did his running drills . . . but he didn’t bat,” Inverarity said. “When we left it yesterday it was uncertain, but he’ll certainly play before the end of this month.”This means that neither Watson nor the man he has effectively nominated to displace in the Test side, Ed Cowan, will play a first-class match before the announcement.NSW’s next Shield fixture is due to take place against Tasmania in Hobart from February 6-9.Inverarity said that his panel would not be swayed by Watson’s public airing of his preference to open the batting. “Not really, no. We’ll consider all players on their merits, in a dispassionate way,” Inverarity said.”The captain always determines the batting order. We’ve had many discussions with Shane. One of the basic points is he’s always willing to play and bat where he’s asked to bat.”Another player of interest to the selectors is Moises Henriques, who is likely to be slotted into the NSW Shield team to play against WA even if his Australian duties with the ODI team in Hobart on Wednesday means he makes a delayed entry to the match.