If you believe the rumours, Worcestershire are resigned to losing Tom Moody, their coach, at the end of the summer.Moody, 39, was interviewed last week about the position of director of the ECB academy, a position Rod Marsh will vacate in September. Given that Moody’s contract with the county expires that month, and that he has made no secret of his desire to take a national role somewhere, it is likely that he will take the job if offered it.”I’m very interested in the job,” he told The Guardian. “I understand there are several good candidates who have also been interviewed, and don’t expect to hear anything for a week or two. The job is different to what I’ve been doing at Worcester, which has been working as a team. But developing players and helping lay firm foundations for the game’s future really appeals to me.”Being linked with job sis nothing new to Moody who has been associated with a number of positions, most recently that of national coach to South Africa and India. “I’ve not heard anything about coaching India and tend to ignore these stories,” he said, “even though it’s flattering to be linked with such big jobs.”But Moody might not be the shoe-in some imagine. The Daily Telegraph flagged Peter Moores as the favourite. Widely regarded as the best English-born coach, he masterminded Sussex’s Championship title in 2003.Other candidates who have been interviewed included Mike Gatting, Kevin Shine, currently the coach at Somerset’s Academy, and Tim Boon, England’s analyst.
South Australia’s Chris Duval has not yet broken into the state first-team, but he has been spotted by baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers.Duval, 20, left Pat Kelly and Tony Harris, scouts for the Dodgers, impressed when his pitches were timed at 137 kph during a workout at the Adelaide Oval.”Definitely I would contact the Dodgers and say he’s an interesting kid,” Kelly said. “What he has is the ability to move the ball naturally, so he has no idea what he’s doing and the ball does things you cannot teach people to do.””He would be in the top one per cent absolutely, in the top one per cent of his age and his size,” Duval told ABC Sport. “He’s young, he’s a very strong big durable guy and he’s got arm strength which is something you can’t teach. All those three things you really can’t teach you know, they’re just God given.”
Sri Lanka’s performance against New Zealand was not only convincing but alsouplifting, with the manner in which it was attained giving credence to theteam’s claims that their form is peaking at just the right time.
“We’re all used to seeing Sanath hit it to all parts. But it wasn’t untilthe ninth or 10th over that he played one of his trademark shots so fromthat point of view he is able to once again show he is able to get a hundredwithout whacking a 50 in the first 10 or 15 overs. When he does that, moretimes than not the teams wins… and I’m just glad he’s on my team.” (DavWhatmore)
During the last three months Sri Lanka’s confidence had received a severebruising from a string of humiliating defeats in South Africa and Australia.Pundits predicted further embarrassment in the World Cup.
But, all along, coach Dav Whatmore urged players and fans to look at the bigpicture and realise that, despite losing, Sanath Jayasuriya’s side wasgaining priceless experience in unfamiliar conditions.When Sri Lanka claimed back-to-back victories at Sydney the managementclaimed that they had turned the corner and were gradually becomingacclimatised to the quick, bouncy pitches that predominate in Australia andSouth Africa.
“Great work by Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne but our middle and lower orderfailed miserably – who will be able to stand up and deliver a match-winningtotal when our top order (1-3) fails” (Flying Dutchman)
Yesterday’s 47-run victory provided credibility to Whatmore’s positiveassertions, which had previously been considered little more than wishfulthinking. It appears that all the heartache may have been worthwhile afterall.Crucially, Jayasuriya, the key player in Sri Lanka’s limited overs toporder, is in the best form of his life. Crucially, immaculate shot selectionhas been married to his natural belligerence, meaning that he is able tosustain his batting onslaughts and build match-winning scores.
A phenomenal strike rate ensures that when Jayasuriya fires properly, SriLanka invariably emerge victorious. Should he be able to sustain his purpleform throughout the tournament then no side is unbeatable and World Cupglory is attainable.
“Earlier on I was a little tense but after five or six overs I thought I hadto play a long innings and I played positive cricket.” (Sanath Jayasuriya)
The batting of Hashan Tillakaratne was perhaps even more encouraging. Thenumber three position was a serious concern and there were doubts as towhether the adhesive 34-year-old could adapt his patient game to the demandsof the modern one-day game.But he answered those doubts emphatically during a mature and industriousinnings, gluing the innings together and ensuring that Sri Lanka did notlose their way when wickets tumbled in the slog over. With the side packedwith so much attacking flair his presence is reassuring.
In the field the side produced their most disciplined performance forsometime. All the bowlers contributed and not a single no ball was conceded.Moreover, the fielding – with the exception of a fumbling Pulasthi Gunaratneon the boundary – was slick and businesslike.The next three games now provide an opportunity to build momentum with gamesagainst Bangladesh, Canada and Kenya. The next crucial encounter will beagainst West Indies at Cape Town.
“For the second time Hashan Tillakaratne has proved that he can play thesheet anchor role in the one-day side – he is a player of great ability” (Sena Seneviratne)
Qualification for the Super Sixes sis now virtually assured, assuming nomajor upsets, but wins against South Africa and/or West Indies will beimmensely valuable with points due to be carried through to the second roundleague.If they can with one or both of those games then their chances of qualifyingfor the semi-finals will be much improved. From there, with the likes ofJayasuriya and Murali in the side, anything is possible.
LONDON – The Marylebone Cricket Club today said it had received theapproval of Australian Cricket Board chief executive Malcolm Speed andhis Pakistan equivalent over new security measures for tomorrow’s oneday final at Lord’s.The MCC, the controllers of the famous north London ground, announcedsteps including the banning of flags, banners, musical instruments and,according to its chief executive Roger Knight, “anything else that mightbe a missile”.This included fireworks — such as those which prompted Tuesday’swalk-off by the Australians at Trent Bridge.”Anyone found with fireworks will immediately be ejected from the crowdand it is possibly a criminal offence,” Knight said.The MCC has decided, however, not to try to stop the crowd invading theground by the use of plastic mesh fencing, which was trialed with somesuccess at Trent Bridge. Knight said this was because of the”configuration of the ground”.The number of stewards and police patrolling the crowd would be”considerably higher” than usual, Knight said.But he was reluctant to go into specifics such as the number ofofficials who would be patrolling the ground, saying it would be best ifonly a few details of security plans were publicised.He said stewards would “robustly” search spectators as they entered theground, but could not guarantee that every ticket holder would bechecked.England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tim Lamb said he,Speed and Pakistan’s Brigadier Munawar Rana had today met with Knightand MCC security chiefs and that all were satisfied with thearrangements made.Team captains Steve Waugh and Waqar Younis would be briefed later today.”I think I can speak on behalf of the chief executives when I say we’revery happy with the additional measures Roger and his team have put inplace,” Lamb said.Lamb added cricket authorities in England would still need governmentlegislation to allow greater measures against pitch invasions, which,when occurring at the end of a day’s play, have long been seen as atradition at grounds here.Knight said TV broadcasters had also agreed not to focus their camerason the crowd, and nor would their antics be shown on the big screen atthe ground.Stewards would patrol the outer reaches of the Lord’s complex, whilepublic address announcements would be made in all languages relevant tofans of both teams.The measures were announced in the wake of several pitch invasionsduring the English summer so far, amid concerns that it is simply toodifficult to stop all fans running onto grounds of this size.Waugh has threatened to lead his players off the field in the event thathis team’s safety is compromised, a move backed by Speed.Knight said he respected Waugh’s stance, but felt the measures put inplace would prevent the chance of a walk-off.”Obviously Steve Waugh has a responsibility to his team. We too as theground authority have a responsibility to them,” Knight said.”If there was a seriously dangerous situation I would advise the teamsto go off the ground.”But at this stage we are not anticipating that would happen.”
Wolves have been pretty busy during the previous summer and winter transfer windows with players leaving the club and new ones coming in.
Looking ahead to the upcoming summer window, it seems as though this could once again be the case for the Old Gold in their latest attempt at strengthening their squad.
What’s the news?
According to a recent report from journalist David Ornstein in The Athletic, Wolves are eyeing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matheus Nunes as a potential replacement for Joao Moutinho, whose £100k-per-week contract at Molineux is set to expire in the summer.
In 125 combined appearances for Sporting’s senior and U23 sides, the midfielder has scored nine goals and provided 11 assists along the way.
Moutinho heir at Wolves
This current campaign has seen the Brazilian-born midfielder make 28 league appearances for his club and even have his first taste of Champions League football with six appearances to his name.
To highlight how much of a well-rounded midfield option he is for his side, the 23-year-old has racked up a total of 23 tackles, 26 interceptions and 23 crosses in the Portuguese league this season, putting him in the top ten for each statistic in Sporting’s squad.
His overall performances have earned the Portuguese international a season rating of 7.08 from WhoScored, making him Sporting’s sixth-highest rated player for this campaign.
This rating would make him the highest-rated Wolves player by the same metric, showing what an impressive player the £27m-rated gem is at a fairly young age.
Labelled as an “unbelievable” player by Goncalo Santos as well as being “one of the best players in the world today” according to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, Nunes certainly has a lot of hype around him, which could make him an exciting recruit for Bruno Lage’s side.
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With Wolves’ track record of signing players from Portuguese clubs, Nunes, who has a better technical rating than Moutinho at this stage of his career according to SofaScore, could be an ideal long-term figure for the Midlands club and follow in the footsteps of the other players that have joined the Old Gold from Portugal such as Ruben Neves, Fabio Silva and Chiquinho among others.
In other news: Wolves plot swoop for “special” £33m Mendes client, he’s better than Trincao…
Pakistan have delayed announcing their squad for the Under-15 World Cup, which begins in April in the West Indies, because several players were found to be overage after wrist tests were conducted on the 37 probables.The Pakistan board’s junior selection committee had selected a 15-member squad with five stand-bys to be handed over to the National Cricket Academy for the confirmation of their ages.”Yes, there is a problem as some selected players have been declared overage and we are in the process of having some remaining non-selected players tested,” Col. Naushad Ali, the head of the junior selection committee, told . “We will announce the team in the next couple of days after completing the tests.”The squad was selected after holding a national U-16 tournament in which 180 players took part, 80% of whom were U-15 according to their birth certificates.”We decided to hold the U-16 tournament to pick players both for an U-15 team as well as the academy,” Ali said. “The national selection committee has also given us a list of 18 players not to be included in the academy team due to their availability for the senior team’s home series against Bangladesh.”We will form a strong academy team for the tour of Bangladesh, despite not having the 18 players [mainly Test and international cricketers].”The academy side will play a triangular tournament against academies from South Africa and Bangladesh followed by four-day matches.
West Indies Under-19s’ four-match one-day series against their Bangladesh counterparts got off to a damp start when rain forced the first one-dayer in Savar to be abandoned.The second one-day match will also be held at the same venue on Saturday. The series provides an opportunity for both teams to gain practice ahead of the Under-19 World Cup which begins in Malaysia on Ferbuary 17.
A fighting century from Kumar Sangakkara set it up but it was an outstanding spell of death bowling and brilliant catching under pressure that enabled Sri Lanka to pull off a tense five-run win in a Rajkot heart-stopper. Needing 23 in 4.3 overs, with five wickets in hand, India looked set to wrap it up but they were thwarted at the finish line by a team that simply refused to give in.The old firm of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar combined in an exciting counterattacking stand, allowing India to overcome a couple of early blows, but their dismissals allowed Sri Lanka a sniff. The 66-run stand between India’s two wicketkeepers – Dinesh Karthik and Mahendra Singh Dhoni – appeared to be the last act of the day but it took a fast, searing, yorker from Lasith Malinga, the quickest bowler on show, to instigate a twist. Farveez Maharoof, who was justly rewarded with three wickets, continued the choke operation before Sanath Jayasuriya, the king of stranglers, completed the asphyxiation.A top edge from Harbhajan Singh was pouched splendidly by Mahela Jayawardene running back towards third man but the catch that sealed the match arrived in the penultimate ball. Dhoni, who’d declined two singles in Jayasuriya’s final over and needed six runs in two balls, received one which was in the slot and swatted it high to extra cover. That was when Maharoof, running back from cover, braved a possible head-on collision with Upul Tharanga, running in the opposite direction, and pulled off a sensational catch to seal the match. Sreesanth will rightly argue that the last ball should have been signaled wide but even he will admit that Javed Miandad-esque heroics are beyond him.Until those final moments, Sri Lanka never appeared in line for a win but the ingredients were always promising. Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan turned a potentially modest total into a competitive one, the former through a skillful century and the other through a dashing 58. Once his colleagues had made their exit with some leaden-footed strokeplay, too eager to play their shots when caution would have served them best, Sangakkara gave a master lesson in handling a crisis. Blending peachy drives with solid defence, he ensured that he saw out the fast bowlers before taking on the spinners. He didn’t spare the loose offerings – tonking a long-hop from Anil Kumble over the midwicket fence and thumping half-volleys majestically through the covers – and found an able ally in Dilshan.Both went after the spinners, on a pitch that offered just a hint of turn, and put Sri Lanka on track at the halfway mark. Dilshan was the more attacking of the two, quick to pounce on anything short and pummeling drives through a speedy outfield, and their 108-run stand came at just the right time for Sri Lanka. It took a mesmeric doosra from Harbhajan to undo Dilshan – clueless against the one that turned away and clipped top of off – but nothing could halt Sangakkara’s surge.
He stepped it up once he was past 75, clattering Sachin Tendulkar for a six over midwicket. Kumble was mangled in the 48th over – hoicked for two towering sixes, one of which brought up his hundred – before Munaf was at the receiving end of a furious hit over long-on. It was his sixth one-day hundred, and second against India, and had the satisfaction of making his first matchwinning hundred against major opposition.Yet, 257 didn’t appear enough on this pitch, especially when Tendulkar and Ganguly got going. The pair came together with India wobbling at 29 for 2 and made the most of Malinga’s errant line. Tendulkar just needed to flick his wrists and see the ball speed away to the square-leg fence while Ganguly was quick to latch on to anything wide, freeing his arms and bisecting the off-side field. Tendulkar brought up his half-century, 76th of his career, in just 51 deliveries, cracking nine fours in the process, while Ganguly was the calmer partner, assured in his approach, yet emphatic in strokeplay.Their dismissals, followed by a sloppy late-cut by Virender Sehwag, created a few flutters. Sri Lanka, who until then, appeared to be nowhere in the contest found an opening and exploited it smartly. Almost all their bowlers contributed. Malinga, who is right there at the top in the fast bowling stakes, possesses a lethal bouncer and yorker – Dhoni was lucky to hear a no-ball call after being bowled by a searing toe-crusher. Maharoof’s two early blows showed the lift and cut he could generate from this pitch – Robin Uthappa, on the front foot, flinched at a short one while Rahul Dravid had no answer to a peach of an incutter that deflected off his inside edge. Malinga Bandara, the legspinner, produced a most effective and under-stated effort.It’s not often that legspinners succeed against Indian batsmen but his variation of pace, and sharp legbreaks, proved vital. In the course of his spell, he forced Tendulkar into a few indiscretions before earning the distinction of becoming the first legspinner to get him stumped either in Tests or ODIs. But for the matchwinning spell one can’t look beyond Jayasuriya, keeping his head at the dying stages and frustrating India till the end.
Guyana 6 for 1 trail Windward Islands 189 (Sebastien 63, Nagamootoo 5-68) by 183 runs ScorecardMahendra Nagamootoo grabbed a five-wicket haul to sink Windward Islands for a paltry 189 as Guyana seized the honours on the opening day of the Carib Series match in Grenada.Nagamootoo spun out the key wickets of Junior Murray, Rawl Lewis and Liam Sebastian at vital junctures to break the Windwards backbone. An 85-run sixth-wicket partnership between Murray (34) and Sebastian (63) threatened a Windswards fightback when Nagamootoo trapped the duo in space of two overs to put Guyana back on top.For Windwards Craig Emmanuel (32) put up a brief fight at the top before Murray and Sebastian lifted them out of ignominy from a wobbly 62 for 5 to 147. Sebastian was the aggressor, blasting six fours and a six but once the duo fell Narsingh Ramnarine mopped up the tail. Guyana lost Krishna Arjune, the opener, off the last ball to reach 6 for 1 at stumps.
Victoria’s search for an outright victory to keep them in touch of defending their title was damaged by Queensland’s top four as they lined up for half-centuries at the MCG. Led by the captain Jimmy Maher with 79, Queensland pushed to 3 for 270 on an ideal batting surface to frustrate the Bushrangers, who must also deny their second-placed opponents any points.The openers Maher and Clinton Perren ensured a smooth beginning with a 116-run partnership that was ended when Perren slashed at Mick Lewis and was caught at slip for 68. Maher, who won the toss, was lbw to Ian Harvey shortly before tea and was disappointed not to convert his start after a bright display.Martin Love, who has been in horrible touch, also gave up the chance for a century when he was caught behind late in the day, and his 59 was by far his best innings of the season as he doubled his aggregate. Hand injuries have cut short his summer, but he was patient early and spent valuable time at the crease. His partnership with Shane Watson, who was unbeaten on 50, caused further trouble for Victoria. A Queensland win could seal a place in the decider with one round of matches remaining.