Mahela Jayawardene has urged his side to adopt a smarter approach following Sri Lanka’s 63-run loss to Australia in the sixth CB Series match in Perth.Sri Lanka were in with a great chance to notch up their first win over Australia but a meek batting performance put paid to their chances. “We need to go hard, but the shot selection has to be a bit better,” he said after the loss. “In world cricket a lot of guys do go hard up front, with the power plays and all that, but the guys have got to be a bit smarter.Kumar Sangakkara played a lone hand in the Sri Lankan run-chase but the rest gave it away with some poor strokeplay. “The way we lost wickets was not good,” he said. “At crucial times, we keep losing wickets and you can’t do that in a run chase.”The tailenders once again failed to make an impression – the last five wickets put together only 14 – and Jayawardene wanted to see Chamara Silva, Farveez Maharoof, Chamara Kapugedera and Nuwan Kulasekera take up more responsibility with the bat. “These guys can bat and they have scored runs and we need to get their confidence back,” he said.Sri Lanka, who were off to a poor start in the series, revived their chances with a thumping eight-wicket win against India on Tuesday. However, Sri Lanka’s batsmen are yet to fire against Australia – having collapsed against them on both occasions. Sanath Jayasuriya has shown only glimpses of form, with 46 runs at 15.33, while Jayawardene, Silva and Tillakaratne Dilshan all fell cheaply when up against Australia.Sri Lanka take on India in their next match in Adelaide on Tuesday.
The last round of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy matches, which were indefinitely put on hold following the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, will not be replayed. Instead, Habib Bank (HBL) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL), who topped their respective groups going in to the final round, will now contest the final of the tournament, to be held in Karachi from January 7-11.The decision represents a u-turn of sorts from the Pakistan board, who earlier had said that the affected matches – ten in all, of which eight were in progress – would be replayed.But Zakir Khan, PCB’s director cricket operations, told reporters after a board meeting that according to domestic rules under which the tournament operates, matches could not be replayed. However, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Sialkot played out a replay of an earlier game that wasn’t completed due to an unsuitable pitch, a move which drew protests from several teams in the tournament.The last round of matches would have made little difference in Group B, where SNGPL were already assured of their place in the final. And HBL were on the verge of securing their place in the final in any case; they were about to win against Karachi Whites, a result that would’ve sent them through ahead of NBP.Some repercussions might have been felt for the relegation spots in each group though it still isn’t clear how many teams will be eventually relegated. All matches will now be considered drawn though no points will be awarded to the teams.The meeting also decided to postpone the domestic Twenty20 championships indefinitely. The tournament, among the most popular domestically, was originally scheduled to be played from January 8-14. It was then rescheduled to February 9, but has now been put on hold altogether.However, the Pentangular trophy, played among the top five teams of the country, will go ahead from February 10. It will have a break between as the country goes to the polls from February 18, before resuming again from February 22 and running till March 15.The board will also hold a two-day High-performance camp from January 12, for players who impressed during the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. Twenty-four players are expected to attend the camp, to be held in Karachi.
It’s been an interesting few days since the Perth Test match, trying to work out what the Ashes urn actually means. Since 2005 it’s been an amazing thought process for a lot of us to think about what actually happened to try and get the urn and those Ashes back.For me it was a mission to try and get that urn back and today I sit here a very happy man at getting that urn back and I’m going to announce my retirement from international cricket, domestic cricket for Victoria and St Kilda as well. It’s been unbelievable. I think my journey and my ride in international cricket has been phenomenal.I don’t think I could have written my script any better. It’s been an amazing journey, an unbelievable ride. There’s so many people to thank. Today I thought I’d be sad. A lot of people said “you’ll know when your time’s up, you’ll know when your time’s right”. And I sort of doubted that, I didn’t really understand what they meant, and I sit here in front of you today and I know exactly what they mean.I couldn’t have asked for things to go any better. The script leading up to these last two Test matches – I’m going to retire at the end of the Sydney Test match – the reason for doing it that way, I wasn’t going to do anything ahead of the team. The team always came first and once the urn was back then it was going to be time to announce the retirement.If that had to wait until the end of the Sydney Test match then it would be then. But as it’s worked out, the script’s been written, three-nil, we’ve got the urn back from Perth. [It’s a] good opportunity to play out here at the MCG in front of my family and friends who I’ve grown up with and spent a lot of time with and then to Sydney where it all started. Sixteen cricket seasons ago – or nearly 20-odd years of first-class cricket ago – it started in Sydney and it’s still my proudest moment, playing my first Test match.It’s an amazing feeling, so to have that opportunity to walk off in Sydney, where it all began a long time ago, where the ride began, then I think that’s a great opportunity and something to celebrate with the team.I sit here today with every single trophy available in international cricket in the Cricket Australia offices. So I think as a player I like to think I’ve played my part in helping those trophies getting to Cricket Australia. I sit here today a very happy man, it’s been on my chest for a while. I probably would have retired at the end of 2005 Ashes series if we had’ve won but it wasn’t to be.My life has been unbelievable, to be honest. Cricket is a statistic-based game but it’s not about statistics and money and financial and those types of things. For me if it was about that sort of stuff I would keep playing because I feel like I’m still bowling well enough to keep playing. It’s about knowing the right time and I’d like to go out on top. I think I’m going out on my terms – I’d like to think I’ve earned that right to go out on my terms. But it’s a day of celebration, celebrating a wonderful ride.
Umpires Rudi Koertzen and Darrell Hair from the ICC Elite Panel have been appointed to officiate the first Test between India and Pakistan at Lahore starting January 13. Koertzen will be joined by Simon Taufel for the second Test at Faisalabad starting January 21 while Taufel will be joined by Daryl Harper for the third and final Test, at Karachi starting January 29. Ranjan Madugalle will be the match referee for the Tests and will be replaced by Chris Broad for the five-match ODI series.Taufel will stay on for the first three matches of the ODI series (at Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Lahore) before Steve Bucknor takes over for the last two games, at Multan and Karachi.Apart from the India-Pakistan series, the ICC has also announced the Elite Panel and International Panel match referee and umpire appointments for all Tests and ODIs up to late March 2006.Jeff Crowe will be the match referee for the VB Series between Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka. If the finals go to a third and deciding match (which would be played at Brisbane) that encounter would be Crowe’s 50th as a referee. The umpires for the VB Series are Aleem Dar and Mark Benson. Dar will stand in eight matches (if the third final is required) and Benson will officiate in seven matches.For the West Indies tour of New Zealand starting February, match referee Mike Procter will officiate in all matches. Rudi Koertzen and Daryl Harper will officiate the ODI series. Harper will then stand in the first two matches of the Test series alongside Koertzen at Auckland and Mark Benson at Wellington. Benson will stand alongside Ian Howell, in the final match at Napier.For Sri Lanka’s tour of Bangladesh, the match referee for the tour will be Clive Lloyd. Umpire K Hariharan will officiate in the ODIs. Asad Rauf will be joined by Steve Bucknor in the first Test at Chittagong and Hariharan in the second Test at Dhaka.Chris Broad will be the match referee for Australia’s five-ODI and three-Test tour of South Africa. Jeremy Lloyds will stand in the first four ODIs before Aleem Dar takes charge of the final match. Lloyds will stand in the first two Tests of the series, at Cape Town and Port Elizabeth respectively, alongside Dar and Steve Bucknor. Bucknor will stay on for the final match at Centurion where he will be joined by Tony Hill.Ranjan Madugalle will be the match referee for the Test series between India and England.The umpires for the first Test will be Aleem Dar and Ian Howell. Simon Taufel and Darrell Hair will then stand in the second and third Tests of the series at Mohali and Mumbai respectively. The appointments for the ODI series between India and England, together with other future series, will be made in due course.Full details of the umpires and refereeing appointments can be viewed at the umpires and referees section of the ICC website.
Pakistani officials are optimistic that the controversy surrounding playing a Test at Ahmedabad will be resolved when India’s foreign minister visits Islamabad next week. of Karachi quotes a top official as saying, “The way we look at it Natwar Singh’s visit would be crucial from our point of view. Because we believe that the issue of playing at Ahmedabad should now be resolved at the meeting of the foreign ministers next week.”The Indian foreign minister is due to visit Islamabad next week to hold talks with various Pakistani officials as part of the peace initiatives between the two countries. The minister’s visit coincides with the board’s working committee meeting on February 17, which will finalise the dates and venues for Pakistan’s three-Test and five-ODI series.The Pakistan Cricket Board had expressed grave concerns about playing in Ahmedabad in West India on the basis that the place was communally sensitive, and has witnessed some of the worst clashes between Hindus and Muslims in recent times.Recently Rajeev Shukla, a member of parliament and vice-president of the cricket board, met with the Pakistani president’s security advisor, and related officials, to discuss playing in Ahmedabad.
Steve Waugh provided an already exciting Test with one final twist by declaring late on the final day, just when no-one expected it. Australia set India an improbable victory target of 199 from 23 overs, on the back of a savage 99 from Matthew Hayden. India then lost both openers cheaply before Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman took them to a respectable 73 for 2 from 16 overs, at which point play was called off, and the Test drawn. Amazingly, even with almost ten hours lost, this Test kept spectators interested till the very end.When Akash Chopra and Virender Sehwag walked out to bat, chasing over 8.5 runs an over, they had little to gain and almost everything to lose. They could either shut up shop and help themselves to some time out in the middle, or go for quick runs and risk being dismissed cheaply. What the openers decided to do, we may never know, but the results were there for all to see. Sehwag (0) tried to flick the first ball he faced, from Nathan Bracken, closed the face of his bat too early, and could only get a leading edge to Damien Martyn at midwicket (4 for 1). Chopra (4) poked at the very next ball, and presented Justin Langer with a catch in the slips.In an instant, the match came alive, and Bracken was on a hat-trick on his Test debut. VVS Laxman came out to the middle. Sachin Tendulkar, who was off the field for 48 minutes of the Australian innings, could not bat till that much time had elapsed, or five wickets had fallen. Laxman squirted the first ball he played through gully to avoid the hat-trick.From then on, there were no scares for India. Dravid dominated Stuart MacGill to pick up an unbeaten 43 from 47 balls, while Laxman (24 not out) was his charming self, as India reached 73 for 2 from 16 overs, and the match was drawn.
But apart from the last session, and Hayden’s savage assault, the day did not hold as much interest as the scorecard might suggest. On the fourth day, India’s tail had wagged with all the enthusiasm of a terrier’s when in pursuit of a fox, but it subsided limply on the morning of the final day. India lost two wickets without adding to their overnight score of 362 for 6. Ajit Agarkar (12) slashed one to the slips, and Parthiv Patel’s top-edged hook was well taken by a diving Andy Bichel at fine leg and he was on his way for 37.Zaheer Khan then merrily drove three boundaries, and lofted one glorious straight six in his 27, while Harbhajan Singh swatted the ball in inimitable fashion as India pushed along to 409. Zaheer took some effort to convert a MacGill delivery into a yorker, and was bowled (403 for 9). Ashish Nehra then confirmed his No. 11 position by padding up to a fuller one from MacGill. While Nehra might have looked quizzically back at Steve Bucknor when the finger went up to confirm the lbw, it is unlikely to inspire any of the outrage another similar incident did.India had taken a first-innings lead of 86, which in itself was an achievement for a team written off by many even before the series began. And when Langer edged Agarkar to Patel before he’d scored, the Indians were cock-a-hoop. Australia were 6 for 1 and suddenly Test cricket Down Under did not seem such a tough ask after all.
Hayden then brought the Indians crashing back to earth with an array of heavy strokes that would have done a wood-chopper proud. He stood on the crease, transferred his weight from back to front foot, and simply bludgeoned the ball in all directions. The straight hits were particularly savage, and left the bowlers spinning in their followthroughs to track the flight of the ball back towards the fence. And he did this with gay abandon even as Ricky Ponting made as less-than-inspiring 50 and departed. He continued to biff the ball as the hundred approached, and moved from 93 to 99 with a big six.His confidence high – perhaps too high – on a wave of form that has made him the first man to score 1000 runs in a calendar year three times in succession, Hayden holed out. He swatted Harbhajan straight down Sehwag’s throat at the midwicket fence. Hayden’s 98-ball 99 had put India on the back foot.With the field well spread out, and Zaheer Khan back in the pavilion nursing a hamstring niggle, Waugh (56 not out) and Martyn (66 not out) kept the scoreboard ticking over at a steady pace. A brace of sweetly timed straight sixes from Martyn signalled that a declaration was imminent. It came with 23 overs left in the day, with the lead 199, but it did not change the end result.Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo.
Lance Hamilton of Central Districts, showed he might be a left-arm bowler in New Zealand who can fill the boots of the now-retired Geoff Allott with his five-wicket bag against Canterbury at the Village Green today.In his comeback year, after missing the 2000/01 season through injury, Hamilton took four wickets in 10 balls at either end of Canterbury’s innings today as the early-season pacesetters stumbled against accurate swing bowling on a dead pitch.Five wickets went for 45 runs this morning, with the last three going to Hamilton, as Canterbury collapsed to a first innings score of 153.Hamilton’s career-best of 5-30 was complimented with two wickets in his opening over when Canterbury followed on 212 runs behind.But then Robbie Frew, with 79 not out, and Shanan Stewart (54) added 111, the highest partnership of the match, to give Canterbury a chance of setting a target on the fourth day in a match where teams have made whole sessions belong to them.CD took all three on the first day, Canterbury the first yesterday and the last two today, and Hamilton ensured the Stags, took the opening session today.”We had two good sessions, but they were definitely needed,” laughed Canterbury coach Michael Sharpe.”After that Auckland pitch,” Sharpe explained, “where our batters were in a bit of a different mind about what to play and what not to play, I think it overran into this game as well.”Canterbury had its first loss of the season, by an innings, on a suspect Auckland wicket last week.”Even up in Auckland Robbie Frew showed some good signs. He’s come into the side and waited for a couple of games and he’s really taken his opportunity, occupying the crease very well,” said Sharpe of his 31-year-old opener, who saw off Hamilton today after his devastating start.Hamilton took 14 wickets in three matches for New Zealand A in England during June 2000 after taking 31 at 20.22 for CD in 1999/00.Missing the whole of last season through injury, the Papakura-born 28-year-old has now taken 18 wickets this term.”He actually got the ball to swing back in from over the wicket,” noted Sharpe. “To be able to angle the ball back in is very dangerous on a low, slow wicket.”Canterbury lost Jarrod Englefield (completing a pair) and Michael Papps in Hamilton’s opening six balls, but survived a further 83 overs in the rest of the day, occasionally batting eloquently towards stumps.When Stewart was unluckily lbw to the second ball after tea, a third Riccarton club player, Gary Stead, helped Frew see Canterbury to within 34 runs of CD by the close.Frew nudged to his highest score for a year, after joint top scoring in Canterbury’s first innings, while Stead also hung around, increasing his stroke play to the spinners towards the close. They made CD bowl top lines, leaving everything that wasn’t straight and, in Frew’s case, after being left out for most of the season, reproducing his second team form today.At a ground where the southwesterly wind was so cold CD coach Dipak Patel wore a scarf, Canterbury may be able to set Central a target tomorrow and copy their 102-run comeback win at Pukekura Park early in the season.”It’ll be great to get into that position where we can put some pressure onto them, but its a long way to go yet,” smiled Sharpe after his team showed the mettle for a fight to reward their new coach yet again today.
When Matthew Horne won the toss and put Canterbury into bat at Molyneux Park, Alexandra, the immediate thought by those present was that he would be expecting a great deal of help from bowlers to dismiss this his province’s most ancient of enemies.Unfortunately for Horne this did not happen and on a helpful greenish wicket the Otago bowlers bowled poorly in the first session with Canterbury being only 41-1 at lunch.After lunch it was a different story and Shayne O’Connor and Warren McSkimming in particular bowled well and with some venom on a pitch which still gave the bowlers help. At 87-6 Canterbury were very much on the back foot but innings of real value from Warren Wisneski (36), Stephen Cunis (33) and Aaron Redmond (44 not out) took their total to 201 all out. It was pretty deadly stuff but in the circumstances well merited and from a situation at one stage of some embarrassement the Red and Blacks reached a total of respectability.Bowling for Otago Warren McSkimming with 4-43 from 21 overs looked good and appears to have a very promising future while O’Connor (3-56 from 22 overs) also impressed in the main as did Craig Pryor (2-39 from 21 overs). David Sewell (1-47 from 19 overs) bowled too much down the leg side but it should be added in the first and third sessions the other bowlers could also be accused of similar lethargy at times.Setting out to score 202 for the first innings points Otago suffered an early set back when Test opener Mark Richardson was dismissed for two. His New Zealand partner Matthew Horne did however look quite good and scored freely particularly from some wayward Canterbury bowling in the main of Wade Cornelius and Warren Wisneski.When the one hundred overs were completed for the day’s play the Otago total had reached 57-1 with Horne on 42 and Craig Cumming 13 not out.The prospects for day two look good with a favourable weather forecast, a pitch which has lost its greenness, and an apparent determination by the Otago batsmen to gain a good first innings lead.
Manchester United have been stepping up their pursuit for a new manager during the international break with Ralf Rangnick due to end his interim role this summer, and an important update has now been revealed by Fabrizio Romano on the progress with Erik ten Hag.
What’s the word?
Popular transfer insider, Romano, has revealed an update on ten Hag’s future and has revealed that the Dutch manager has been approached by other clubs.
Tweeting to his 7.4m followers on Monday morning, he confirmed:
“It’s true, Erik ten Hag has been approached by two more clubs after meeting with Manchester United. No final decision yet on Man Utd side – he’s been interviewed last week, positive feeling but club board’s still considering other options.”
Glazers will be worried
The Glazers already have a very strained relationship with their fans, with a number of protests held against the owners over the years and letting the favourite choice, ten Hag, slip through the cracks due to the potential of him securing his future elsewhere, could be the final nail in the coffin for the owners at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman is the obvious choice to take over the project at Manchester United after his success with Ajax over the last few years, taking the Dutch champions to their first Champions League semi-final since 1997 in 2019 and then going on to win two Eredivisie titles and two Dutch cups.
Thus, the 52-year-old clearly possesses the winning mentality the Red Devils are desperate to reignite at their club.
During the manager’s reign at Ajax he has earned some impressive statistics, with 207 games in charge, winning 153, drawing 26 and losing just 28, leading to a win rate of 73.9% and an average of 2.34 points per match.
The Dutch side have scored a remarkable 570 goals in those 207 fixtures at a rate of 2.75 goals per outing, proving further that ten Hag’s attacking tactics are extremely effective, and again, something Man United are in dire need of to not only find an identity as a team but to become the powerhouse they once were under Sir Alex Ferguson.
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The powers at United must be more efficient and decisive in the coming weeks when it comes to finalising their plans for the future of the club moving forward. They cannot afford to go another season trophy-less and with a number of players potentially leaving on a free this summer, including Paul Pogba, attracting the right talent to replace could become a difficult task if the club can’t offer bright prospects for players.
In other news: MUFC now battling to sign £63m-rated gem this summer, he’s “better quality than Pogba”
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAustralia arrived on the third morning in Birmingham dreaming of a monumental comeback. They left on the third afternoon still dreaming of one. It will have to come at Trent Bridge and The Oval, though. There were no last-minute surprises at Edgbaston, where Ian Bell’s second fifty of the match ensured a 2-1 series lead for England and snuffed out any hopes Australia raised during a tail-end fight that set England a target of 121.It might still have proved tricky had a few top-order wickets fallen early. And England did lose both openers cheaply. But Bell realised that a handful of boundaries would be enough to place the pressure back on Australia, so he counter-attacked. Five fours came from his first nine balls, all against Mitchell Starc. And when Michael Clarke dropped a sitter at slip from Bell’s 11th ball, all the wind was out of Australia’s sails.It capped off a listless match for Clarke, who managed only 10 and 3 with the bat. There was little he could do as captain with such a small total to defend, but still it was odd that Mitchell Johnson, the man who roughed up England on the second mornings, was not handed the ball until the ninth over. By then, England were already 47 for 1. From there it was just a matter of how much time. And a Test that had raced along for two days began to meander.Cannabis lamps had been used to prepare the surface and typical of gateway drugs, the match soon appeared to be on speed. Day one brought 13 wickets, day two brought 14. Thirteen more on day three would have meant an Australian victory. But instead only five eventuated. Alastair Cook was bowled by a Starc outswinger for 7 and Adam Lyth was lbw to a Josh Hazlewood inswinger for 12, but that was all Australia managed.Lyth’s continued lack of form was one of the only negatives for England in this match, although the major one was the side strain sustained by James Anderson, which will keep him out of the next Test. But the positives were significant: Steven Finn’s return from the wilderness brought eight wickets for the match, and Bell’s move up the order to No.3 resulted in a fifty in each innings.From his first ball, a clip through midiwicket for four off a fullish Starc inswinger, Bell looked in touch. There was a majestic drive through cover point and another straight down the ground, and his half-century came with a glide to the third-man boundary from his 68th ball, also off Starc. Bell found good support from Joe Root, and between them they ensured an eight-wicket win, with Bell on 65 and Root on 38 after he struck the winning boundary.That the match lasted until past the time of the scheduled tea break was thanks to the fight shown by Starc and Peter Nevill before lunch. They each managed a half-century and Australia’s last three partnerships extended their advantage by 97 from the overnight lead of 23. Nevill and Starc did their best to make a game of it during a 64-run eighth-wicket stand.Nevill had some nervy moments, edges and a near chop-on, and he should have been given out on 53 when he gloved behind off Stuart Broad; Chris Gaffaney did not pick up the contact and England had no reviews left. Nevill’s innings came to an end on 59 when he tickled a catch down the leg side off Steven Finn, who after his day two heroics finished with his best Test figures of 6 for 79.At the other end, Starc proved tough to remove and he later started to play his shots, going over the top when the spin of Moeen Ali and Root was introduced. Starc’s fifth Test half-century came with a six over long-on from his 83rd ball, off the bowling of Moeen, and Australia could have been forgiven for dreaming of pushing their lead up towards 150, and perhaps beyond.But Starc lost his partner Hazlewood (11) to a stunning one-handed catch at third slip from Root off Ben Stokes, and their 28-run partnership was over. Still, Nathan Lyon proved a capable ally for a further 20-run stand before Starc chipped a catch to extra cover off Moeen and was dismissed for 58.It was too little, too late. All of Australia’s bottom five batsmen reached double figures in the second innings. Only one of the top six did – David Warner with 77. It is hard to imagine the same batting line-up being retained for Trent Bridge, with Shaun Marsh for Adam Voges the most obvious change on the cards, given Marsh has piled up centuries in the tour games.Whatever XI is picked, they will need to recreate history. Only once in Ashes history has a team come from 2-1 down to claim the urn. That was in 1936-37, when captain Don Bradman scored 212 in Adelaide and 169 in Melbourne to lead the fightback. Australia may need Steven Smith to return to his recent Bradmanesque touch to have any hope of repeating the feat.England’s outstanding all-round match at Edgbaston has given them every chance of regaining the urn. Another win (or two draws) will do it. The good news for Australia is that England’s recent form is up and down like Tower Bridge: WLWLWLW. The bad news is there are five Tests in this series, not four.