Tamil Nadu captain Robin Singh claimed four wickets to lead his side to a seven-wicket win over Goa at the STRSA Stadium, Visakhapatnam.Goa, who won the toss, lost their captain VV Kolambakar in the fourth over of the day and they never recovered from there, being dismissed for 177 in 44.1 overs. For Tamil Nadu, medium-pacers L Balaji and MR Shrinivas also bowled well claiming two wickets each.A 84 off just 76 balls from No. 3 J Madanagopal meant that Tamil Nadu then overhauled the target with minimum off fuss in just 32 overs. The seven wicket-win that they achieved in the end was enough to guarantee them the maximum of five points.
London-This was more like it but, through no fault of their own, it stillamounted to very little.After a couple of days’ slack cricket that cost them the second Testand the opening match of the NatWest Series of One-Day Internationalsagainst Zimbabwe, the West Indies needed an uplifting performance intheir second match in the triangular against England here yesterday.They were putting the pieces back together again when they were foiledby the weather.No shoddinessMaking the obvious choice of bowling on Jimmy Adams’ call of the toss,there was none of the shoddiness that cost them dearly againstZimbabwe on Thursday.Adams changed tactics, his bowlers enforced them, and they restrictedEngland to 158 for eight from 43.5 overs before the gray skies thathad shrouded London all day eventually produced increasingly heavy andpersistent rain.The contest was abandoned at 5 p.m. as water began to settle on partsof the outfield. But the abandonment had been obvious from an hourearlier.The teams, both felled by the surprising Zimbabweans in their openingmatches, had to content themselves with a point each. It leavesZimbabwe with a useful early cushion of three points and heightens thepressure on the West Indies, in Canterbury tomorrow, and England, inOld Trafford under lights on Thursday, to win their next matchesagainst them.Each team plays the other twice to determine the finalists for Lord’son July 22.Even allowing for their all-out second innings 54 in the Test on thesame ground on a pitch not dissimilar in its encouragement of movementoff the seam and generous, if unreliable, bounce, the West Indieswould feel aggrieved at the watery outcome.England, their batting described by captain Alec Stewart as ‘thick’when bowled out for 207 by Zimbabwe at the Oval on Saturday, would berelieved.In Bristol on Thursday, Reon King and Franklyn Rose had been entrustedwith the new ball and Zimbabwe were flying at 57 for two after 10overs.Nixon McLean was used second change and bowled accordingly.Now McLean was given the new ball from the Pavilion End and wasengergised by the promotion.He sent down seven opening overs of genuine pace and hostility,setting the tone with an opening maiden in which four balls flashedpast left-hander Marcus Trescothik’s bat.By the time he gave way to Rose, he had removed Alec Stewart to afirst slip catch and Graeme Hick to Ridley Jacobs’ tumbling, low catchoff an under-edge cut, and had yielded only 18 runs.Corey Collymore, who was preferred for his first major match of thetour to King, shared the new ball with McLean. Adams gave him hisallotted 10 overs on a stretch and, while he sent down the occasionalhalf-volley and short ball, he moved his inswingers, one of which sodeceived Matthew Maynard he raised his bat and let it hit off-stump.England were then 47 for three in the 14th over and struggling.Trescothik, a tall, clean striker who was topscorer on his debutagainst Zimbabwe the previous day, restored some balance in a lefthanded partnership of 52 in 12 overs wth Graham Thorpe, but Englandwere never allowed to break free of the initial bind.Chris Gayle, dropping on a spot that challenged the batsmen to come athim, replaced Collymore from the Nursery End while Rose and thenMervyn Dillon alternated from the pavilion.Delivering his off-breaks from an ambling two paces, Gayle gave uponly 28 and not a single boundary from his nine overs. As bonuses, heaccounted for topscorer Tresccothik who popped up a gentle returntrying for a single to raise his 50 and came back later for a solitaryover during which he knocked back Mark Ealham’s off-stump.At the opposite end, Rose bowled with the control he had managed onlyin spurts previously on tour, taking three wickets from nine overs,and Dillon simply picked up where he left on Thursday with threemaidens and 13 runs from 6.5 overs when the rains set in.Trying to accelerate, as England had to, Craig White touched a catchto Jacobs attempting a steer to third man, Thorpe drove loosely intomidoff’s lap and Andy Caddick chipped to midwicket, all off Rose.By then, it was becoming obvious the exercise would be futile in termsof points but the disappointment was tempered by the necessaryboost to morale.
Among them are midfielder Oliver Skipp, who Conte allegedly considers a ‘coach’s dream’. He has taken a ‘big shine’ to the Englishman and agrees with the feeling inside Spurs he could become a major player in the next few years (Alasdair Gold).
Chelsea’s former head coach has also held praise for Dane Scarlett with Conte calling Tottenham’s 17-year-old gem a ‘really good’ talent and Spurs’ ‘best’ academy prospect (football.london).
The Latest: Conte also adores Sessegnon…
According to The Athletic, after an impressive few games, Conte ‘knows’ he has another starlet in Sessegnon who can ‘catch fire’ at Tottenham – provided he stays fit.
The left wing-back has been heavily favoured recently, starting the last four matches, including an imperious display away to Leeds United in a 4-0 demolition.
The Verdict: Crunch time for Sess…
Despite not having his best game against Middlesbrough in Tottenham’s FA Cup defeat on Tuesday night, the 21-year-old has undoubtedly displayed his quality in certain matches.
The mission now is to ensure he manages that level on a consistent enough basis with no more substitutions inside the first half an hour of Premier League matches.
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Sessegnon possesses bags of potential with pundit Noel Whelan even tipping him to become a ‘£50 million player’.
If the ex-Fulham star can keep fit and keep his place under Conte, Spurs fans may finally see that level start to slowly come.
In other news: Conte green-lights move for new top target as Spurs hierarchy pressured to seal agreement, find out more here.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul has insisted he has not retired from domestic cricket and intends to resume playing for Guyana within a couple of weeks.In an episode that sheds light on the sometimes toxic relationship between the West Indies Cricket Board and Caribbean players, Chanderpaul has expressed resentment at being obliged to announce his international retirement in order to gain a No Objection Certificate to play in the Masters Champions League currently taking place in the UAE.Chanderpaul, 41, has not played international cricket since May 2015 and was omitted from the list of contracted WICB players in December.”I was given a No Objection Certificate by WICB with a clause in it that I retire on the 23rd,” Chanderpaul told ESPNcricinfo. “If I didn’t announce my retirement they would have taken it back.”I have spoken to Guyana already. I know the chairman wants me to go back and play.”They have a game against Trinidad starting on February 12. Then Barbados, then Windward Islands, Leeward Islands and Jamaica. Those are games that I’ve talked to them already about going back to play. I’ve not retired from first-class matches. I’ve retired from international games.”I wasn’t being picked to play for West Indies anymore and there was nothing else for me to do. So I decided I would come out here to the UAE and play some cricket.”While Chanderpaul earns a modest fee per match for representing Guyana, it is dwarfed by the rewards on offer – around $30,000 for just over two weeks involvement – with the MCL.”I don’t have a contract with anybody. No local boards; no West Indies board. I’ve been playing for Guyana because the coach and chairman saw the value of having me around as a player. They pay me a match fee and I play and try and help the young fellas as much as I can.Shivnarine Chanderpaul is not ready to break links with Guyana•WICB Media/Randy Brooks of Brooks LaTouche Photo
“Anything is possible in life. You can go into retirement; you can come out of retirement. It is my choice. I’m definitely still hungry to play. It’s something I’ve done most of my life. There is still passion and hunger to play.”Criticising the “brute force and ignorance” of unspecified former players, Chanderpaul is currently enjoying the stress free – and lucrative – environment provided by the MCL.Irritation lingers, however, at the manner in which his international ‘retirement’ was handled, with no recognition given to his illustrious record for the West Indies or the fact that he is contracted neither to the board or Guyana.”You can’t [chose the way you go]; not with those guys,” he said. “It’s the way we’re being treated. It’s still going on and it’s not changing. We’re being treated like that and worse sometimes. That’s how it goes.”Some of the past players had better times in their career. They don’t want to change. They want to stay the same way; have the same attitude.”But you can’t bring the same thing to the table every time because you’re not going to go anywhere. We’re not going forward. We’re just going down. They’re creating some problems.”As much as you’re saying we have past players, they are the ones who are creating the problem because they have their ways – their old ways – and there’s brute force and ignorance and they’re still carrying it around and still expecting things to go the same way.”You feel much better just coming out here to play [in the MCL]; without all the stress, without all the other stuff that’s going on.”
Almost two years ago, when Maharashtra were facing Goa at the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s stadium at Gahunje, on the outskirts of Pune, the home team’s coach Surendra Bhave was throwing instructions to his wards, while David Andrews, then Maharashtra U-19 coach, watched the proceedings from the stands.Cut to Tuesday, and both Bhave and Andrews were in charge of opposing teams at the MCA Stadium, on the eve of the 82nd edition of the Ranji Trophy. While Andrews was overlooking Maharashtra’s preparations, Bhave kept a close eye on the Haryana nets on the other side of the pitch.After his prolonged association with Maharashtra cricket ended on a bitter note last year, Bhave took up the role of Haryana’s coach. Bhave’s return to the home ground of his former team, however, is not the main talking point ahead of tomorrow’s match. Neither is the history between these two teams, who squared off against each other in a low-scoring match in Lahli last year.Instead it was the presence of Virender Sehwag in the Haryana camp that created a buzz. Sehwag switched allegiance to Haryana after playing for Delhi all through his career and was at the centre of attention all through the teams’ four-hour training session.After batting for well over half an hour, Sehwag, who will also lead the side, did a few stretching exercises with his personal yoga trainer. He then had a long chat with Bhave before joining the rest of his team-mates for a long slip-catching session and then headed to the mandatory meeting of match officials and captains.Sehwag has barely spent a fortnight with his adopted team but has brought hope to an otherwise inconsistent Haryana unit. While Haryana’s bowling attack, led by Mohit Sharma and Amit Mishra [both players will miss this season’s opening game], was impressive last year, their batsmen let them down. Sehwag’s addition has given them much-needed hope that they can sort out their batting woes this season.”He is a huge impact man. I don’t have to say what sort of an impact he has on any cricket team but he has been wonderful so far,” Bhave said. “He has been thoroughly involved. Every player he has spoken to personally and from what it seems, he is a very good mentor. Coming from him makes a huge difference [for players].”Maharashtra’s training was just as thorough. While Andrews was confident of Maharashtra’s goal to “go one step further” than last year’s semi-final appearance with “Karnataka having set the benchmark of consistency”, his only concern was the lack of ideal preparations.With the Ranji Trophy starting as early as October 1, all teams have seen their preparations marred by the monsoons at some stage over the last two months. Naturally, the first half of the tournament’s league stage will see teams struggling to cope as much with rustiness as with the October heat.With showers predicted for Thursday in Pune, Maharashtra and Haryana will hope to shed their rustiness and find their groove right away.
Shane Warne could be coaching Australia’s young spin bowlers this season and Cricket Australia will “bite like a starving snapper” to secure his services. Warne is keen to help the likes of Cullen Bailey, Dan Cullen and Cameron White to develop their craft and prepare them for the challenges of international cricket.”I am speaking to Cricket Australia at the moment about how we can best utilise my skills and my experiences of the game and how we can get around to all the states and help the other spinners, talk to the captains,” Warne told the . “We’re just working out the best way to do it, with the time restraints as well, in season, out of season, all that stuff. Hopefully I can play a big part.”Warne is likely to play in the Indian Premier League next April and will follow that with another season at Hampshire. He is free from cricketing commitments during the Australian home summer and Cricket Australia wants to strike a deal as soon as possible.”We would bite like a starving snapper if there was an opportunity to have him involved,” Cricket Australia’s spokesman Peter Young said. “He is passionate about Australian cricket and wants to put something back into Australian cricket.”He has a remarkable cricket brain and what is really exciting, above all, is what he might do for slow bowlers. It’s an exciting possibility, but it’s early days.”Warne has already contacted Bailey and Cullen, both of whom are mentored by Warne’s former tutor Terry Jenner, and he has played alongside White at Victoria for seven years. However, Warne expects Stuart MacGill will have the initial chance to replace him at Test level when Australia take on Sri Lanka in November.”Magilla has done exceptionally well when he has had to play so he will probably be the first choice,” Warne said. “The good thing for Australian cricket is there are plenty of good spinners around.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that Inzamam-ul-Haq will lead Pakistan in the home series against West Indies next month. Younis Khan, the stand-in captain for the ongoing Champions Trophy in India, will be his deputy. Dr Naseem Ashraf, the new PCB chairman, announced the news after the board’s ad hoc committee meeting in Lahore.Inzamam was banned for four matches by the ICC for bringing the Oval Test into disrepute – owing to the ball-tampering controversy – which forced him out of the Champions Trophy. Younis initially refused the captaincy, stating that he did not wish to be a “dummy captain”, but was quickly reinstated after Shaharyar Khan resigned from his post as PCB chairman. The new regime, under Ashraf, also sacked Mushtaq Ahmed as assistant coach for the tournament.Ashraf announced that Pakistan would have a paid selection committee immediately after the World Cup next year in the West Indies. He added that there was no need to revamp the selection committee at this stage.”The ad hoc set-up considers the long standing issue of the paid selection committee and has unanimously decided that it is not the appropriate time to make any changes in the committee,” he was quoted in , a Karachi-based daily. “The present selectors who raised the team should be given time to see the ultimate results of their selection in the World Cup.”Immediately after the World Cup, the paid selection committee will be formed for which the board will suggest the job description and they will be watching the entire domestic season to pick the best lot for the different teams.”Among other issues, Naseem said that the committee had also recommended the appointment of a chief operating officer in the PCB to give it a corporate setup and that an advisory council would also be formed in which cricket experts and former cricketers would be included to get their inputs. He added that the PCB would take steps to make the National Cricket Academy more effective, in order to identify talented players for the national team.
England’s Ashes hero, Andrew Flintoff, had further cause for celebration today as the ICC short-listed him for the Player of the Year award. Flintoff was among seven cricketers nominated, including three other awards, to be announced in Sydney on October 11.The award only covers the period between August 1, 2004 and July 31, 2005, meaning Flintoff’s Ashes heroics aren’t taken into account. The other six nominated for the prestigious award were reigning player of the year Rahul Dravid of India, Australians Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath, Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq and South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis.The nominations for three other awards were also announced at a media conference by ICC official Jamie Stewart.There were 15 nominees for the Test Player of the Year, including leg-spin wizard Shane Warne of Australia, prolific batsman Brian Lara of the West Indies and Virender Sehwag of India. There were six nominees for the Emerging Player of the Year: Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell of England, Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik of India, Manjural Islam Rana of Bangladesh and A.B. De Villiers of South Africa.Nominees Rahul Dravid, Andrew Flintoff, Inzamam-ul Haq, Jacques Kallis, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, and Ricky Ponting. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Adam Gilchrist, Inzamam-ul Haq, Jacques Kallis, Younis Khan, Brian Lara, Damien Martyn, Anil Kumble, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Danish Kaneria, Kumar Sangakkara, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Shane Warne. Rahul Dravid, Andrew Flintoff, Herschelle Gibbs, Adam Gilchrist, Inzamam-ul Haq, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Justin Kemp, Shoaib Malik, Kevin Pietersen, Daniel Vettori, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Graeme Smith, Andrew Symonds, Marcus Trescothick, Chaminda Vaas and Yousuf Youhana. Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Manjural Islam Rana and A.B. De Villiers.
Sourav Ganguly was lost for words in trying to describe the effect such dead wickets have on a team’s performance, after the Kanpur Test had petered out into a dull draw. In the post-match press conference, both he and his South African counterpart, Graeme Smith, decided to move forward and expect a result at Eden Gardens.Sourav Ganguly On the state of India’s pitch preparations I don’t know. It’s the curator’s job to prepare the pitch and we play our game. I don’t want to make any statement on that. You see what happened at Nagpur. So we just have to forget what happened here and move on to the next game and try and win it.On the habit of picking three spinners and one fast bowler This is only the second time we have done that. The first occasion was at Mumbai where it did prove to be the correct decision. Over the last four years at home we have played a two-and-two combination. When we looked at this surface, looking at the way it would have gone as the game progressed, we thought three spinners would come into play, but that didn’t happen. And until the third day I was the only seamer to have picked up a wicket, so you cannot say an extra fast bowler would have done a better job.On India’s strategy for Kolkata, in light of South Africa’s good performance I don’t think strategy has anything to do with it. First of all, I lost the toss which was very crucial on this pitch. If the batting had been reversed, then we would have put more pressure on them and the result would probably have been a different one. We lost crucial time because of the early-morning fog on the last two days and that definitely affected the outcome on such a flat wicket. The other factor was the South African batsmen, who batted slowly on the first two days of the Test.On the negative approach adopted by the South Africans I wouldn’t say that the South Africans went into the game with the mindset of playing out a draw. They put up a big score, and there is always pressure when you put a 500-plus total on the board, and obviously the wicket was flat on the first two days and everyone expected it to break up afterwards. So their gameplan was put up a big score and grab early wickets to put us under pressure. So I won’t blame them.On how Virender Sehwag prospered while others didn’t You must realise that he was batting against the new ball and that is the best time to bat on this kind of a wicket. Even when Rahul [Dravid] and I were batting and the second new ball was taken, runs started coming very quickly. But you cannot take away anything from his innings, as he is always a positive player; that’s the way he plays his innings in both forms of the game. He plays only one way: attackingly. And after he got his hundred, and South Africa had set a tight field which was difficult to pierce with the old ball, he decided to go over the top and that worked.On his chances of overturning his ICC ban and playing in the second Test I will get to know in the next two days.Graeme Smith On South Africa’s performance Considering that this was the first tour of India for lot of our guys, it was a pretty solid performance. I was impressed with the way a lot of the guys have handled things – the pressure, India’s discipline and the wickets. Not many people gave us a chance after the warm-up game in Jaipur, so I am happy with the way things have gone. Unfortunately there was no result in the Test, but we move on to Eden Gardens. It’s going to be a very stressful game for all of us and I am looking forward to us getting a result there.On the disappointment of failing to force victory You always go into the match thinking about winning it, but Virender [Sehwag] played really well and put us under a lot of pressure. He was one guy who took the game to us. Apart from him, our bowlers bowled well to other batters and hopefully we can take a lot of the gains we took from this Test into the next one.On whether this draw has put psychological pressure on the Indians I am not one for these big psychological edges. We got to make sure we keep our focus, and compete and improve on the areas that we missed out on.On India’s suggestions that South Africa had a negative approach to the game That’s obviously their belief, but at the end of the day we believe we played pretty good. And when we get to Eden Gardens, we will play the same tough cricket we displayed here and put them under pressure.His overall assessment of South Africa’s performance One thing that was very impressive was the way we reverse-swung the ball. It was something we really worked hard on, and something which we were not good at in the past. All our bowlers did well with that delivery. As for the disappointments, we missed a few run-outs, a few catches and maybe let them off the hook a bit; we missed Virender’s stumping and a few chances against [Gautam] Gambhir went down. All that can make a difference in a game, especially in the subcontinent where the chances are crucial and you got to take them. So that’s one area we’ve got to improve in the next game: we need to calm the nerves as there is a lot of energy playing a Test.
Michael Powell was in sight of his second hundred of the match, and also his 1,000 runs for theseason at the end of the penultimate day of Glamorgan`s Championship match against Yorkshireat Colwyn Bay. Powell finished the day unbeaten on 81, and will need a further 24 runs on thefinal morning to reach this landmark, as his side ended the day with a lead of 314 overthe visitors.The day had begun with Yorkshire resuming on 291/4, but both of their overnight batsmen wereback in the Rhos pavilion within the first half hour. Robert Croft made the earlybreakthrough when in the fifth over of the morning he had Matthew Wood caught at short-legby Adrian Dale. The off-spinner then took a fine one-handed catch at mid-on, plucking theball out of the air as Steve Kirby tried to hit Dean Cosker over the top.Richard Blakey and Andy Gray then added 50 in 12 overs before Glamorgan took the new ball.Michael Kasprowicz ended the partnership as he had Blakey leg before after he had added 73 withGray. David Harrison, who had come on at the Embankment End, soon removed Richard Dawsonthanks to a fine catch at cover by Powell who held onto a rasping drive.Gray however continued to play a series of cuts and dabs, but his next partner ChrisSilverwood was soon bowled by Kasprowicz as he chopped a ball onto his stumps, and after somehearty drives by Darren Gough, the Australian clean bowled the former England quickieas Yorkshire`s innings ended on 422, with Gray unbeaten on 48.Kasprowicz finished with 3/60, whilst Croft and Cosker also ended with 3 wickets. Croft`s tally for thesummer has now reached 51 – the most so far by an English qualifiedspinner this season.The loss of Yorkshire`s last six wickets in the morning session gave Glamorgan a first innings lead of 44,but they made a poor start as they lost Jimmy Maher in the opening over. Mark Wallace and Adrian Dale thenadded 116 for the second wicket, with Wallace playing some fluent cover drives and wristy flicks off his legs,and one of his legside glances off Dawson saw the Glamorgan wicket-keeper to his half-century from 59 balls.Dale was initially the more passive of the two, but he lofted Yuvraj Singh overlong on and through the covers for successive fours to bring up the century partnership, and theirstand eventually ended when Wallace skied Dawson to Gray running back from mid-off after making 61.Powell was soon into his stride, but he soon lost Adrian Dale as he was adjudged caught behind for 47,trying to leg-glance Yuvraj Singh. Matthew Maynard then departed soon after tea, before David Hempcame in to give Powell valiant support, and as in the first innings, the two shared a productivepartnership for the fifth wicket, and saw their side build up a sizeable lead after tea. Powell raced tohis half-century from just 48 balls, striking 9 fours, and punished anything offlineor overpitched. He became becalmed in the final hour, as Hemp reached his fifty from 77 balls, with theirunbeaten stand worth 112 runs by the close