Windward Islands 63 (Kelly 6-31) and 202 for 9 (Sammy 59) beat Trinidad & Tobago 160 and 104 by one wicket ScorecardThe Windward Islands pulled off an amazing victory over Trinidad & Tobago despite being bowled out for only 63 in their first innings. When the third day started at Arnos Vale the Windwards were 69 for 4, chasing 202 – and they just got there, with the last pair putting on 14 runs to squeak their side home. The Windwards had slipped to 101 for 6 before Darren Sammy, who made a vital 59, put on 56 with his captain Rawl Lewis (32). Sammy eventually fell to Reyad Emrit, caught by Sherwin Ganga who also removed Lewis. But Deighton Butler and Kenroy Peters inched the Windward Islands over the finishing line.Guyana 191 (Deonarine 45) and 77 for 5 (Bernard 3-5) trail Jamaica 410 for 6 dec by 142 runs ScorecardGuyana are facing a huge defeat at Sabina Park, after slipping to 77 for 5 in their second innings after following on 229 behind Jamaica. Resuming on the third morning at 13 without loss in their first innings, Guyana slipped to 191 all out, with only Narsingh Deonarine (45) staying for long in the top order. Jamaica’s surge was briefly held up by the Nagamootoo brothers, who put on 50 for the eighth wicket – Mahendra made 36 and Vishal 33. But, with Daren Powell and Nikita Miller both taking three wickets, Guyana were soon all out and batting again. This time it was Dave Bernard who did the damage, claiming 3 for 5 in only four overs as Guyana slumped to 77 for 5. ScorecardLeeward Islands took the upper hand on the second day of their match against Barbados at the Kensington Oval, finishing the day only 19 behind with six wickets in hand. After Adam Sanford took his sixth wicket to polish off Barbados for 292, the Leewards made a solid start. Shane Jeffers (48) and Tonito Willett (43) put on 76 for the first wicket, then Runako Morton, who made 58, shared a century stand with the 35-year-old former Test opener Stuart Williams, who was still there with 87 at the close.
Glenn McGrath is a rated no more than 50/50 to be fit to play in the first Test against Zimbabwe, which starts at Perth on October 9. McGrath underwent surgery on his ankle in August, and only started bowling in the nets on Wednesday.Errol Alcott, Australia’s physiotherapist, said that McGrath would not be rushed back into action. “He now has to increase his workload and not pull up with any soreness,” he explained. “At this stage it’s still touch and go, we still have to go through a few checkpoints first.”McGrath is due to have his ankle re-examined next week, although a final decision on whether he will play at Perth is not likely to be made until the end of the month.
The ability of South Africa’s middle order batsmen to conquer a powerful Australian attack and a wearing pitch will determine the outcome of the First Test between the countries at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow.After opener Matthew Hayden (131) had confirmed the home team’s already strong position with a fifth Test century, this was the predicament facing the Proteas by stumps on the match’s fourth day. At 2/17 in their second innings, they were left still needing another 358 runs for an unlikely victory, or to survive a further 90 overs to avert the prospect of falling to a 1-0 deficit in the series.The tourists faced 12 overs at the end of the day, lost openers Herschelle Gibbs (9) and Gary Kirsten (7) to catches at the wicket in the process, and didn’t look at all comfortable in their attempts to come to grips with a surface offering increasing turn and variability in bounce.Before a crowd of 13721 already on good terms with themselves in the wake of four days of authoritative cricket from the home team, it added to an air of command that has been clinically established by Australia in this Test.All this after Hayden – Test cricket’s most prolific runscorer in 2001 – had dominated in the lead-up to a Australian second innings declaration at 7/309 in late afternoon.The Australians didn’t necessarily make a great start, surrendering the in-form Justin Langer (1) within five minutes of the resumption and going perilously close to losing Ricky Ponting (25) to a vociferous lbw appeal from Shaun Pollock (1/38) from the very next delivery.But Hayden’s rasping strokeplay, in the midst of partnerships of 58 runs with Ponting for the second wicket and 181 with Mark Waugh (74) for the third, swiftly came to define the day.The Queenslander endured a long period in the nineties, devoting more than 20 minutes to the task of advancing from 96 to three figures alone. But the lead-up to a delicate stroke from the line of the hip off Nantie Hayward (0/32) proved about the only phase of his innings in which his naturally aggressive instincts were restrained.Otherwise, the left hander was rarely bothered in defence and was savage in his punishment of anything loose.Even against the backdrop of lower bounce from the pitch, his hand was blessed by lavish timing and a capacity to lift the ball over the leg side field with abandon.Ponting initially enjoyed a tough battle with Hayward. Thereafter, though, he and Waugh were similarly untroubled.It is a holiday back home, and the South African bowlers and fieldsmen seemed attuned to the national mood in an exhibition devoid of the spark of the previous three days.Claude Henderson (3/130) and Lance Klusener (0/27) were each thumped swiftly out of the attack upon producing loose spells after lunch. And Makhaya Ntini only compounded Henderson’s problems when he returned, spilling a catch as Hayden – on 107 – tugged to deep backward square leg.Unhappily for the Proteas, there wasn’t a penetrative look about the remainder of the bowlers either.Pollock bowled well at both ends of the innings, and Jacques Kallis (3/45) was honest in the middle stages. But there wasn’t a sense that sustained pressure was being applied to the Australians.Though they were unluckily deprived of the early lbw of Ponting and – inexplicably – the run out of Damien Martyn (6*) before the first innings century maker had scored, the Proteas even needed umpire Srinivas Venkatraghavan’s assistance to quell the flow of runs.The Indian official’s thigh unluckily felt the full force of a cracking Ponting pull through square leg, and treatment from Australian physiotherapist Errol Alcott was needed amid the stoic continuation of his duties.The Australians’ biggest headache for much of the day, meanwhile, came in choosing exactly the right moment at which to declare. Captain Steve Waugh appeared initially to have erred on the side of conservatism in waiting until 5:13pm, therein delaying the closure until Australia’s overall lead had reached 374 runs and only 102 overs were left in the match.Yet, when Gibbs inside edged to short leg Langer off Glenn McGrath (1/6), and Kirsten uppishly defended the last ball of the day to silly point off Shane Warne (1/8), the wisdom of the decision was emphatically underscored.It remains to be seen if McGrath, Warne and their cohorts can finish the job.
As they say, when it rains, it pours. Pakistan having got into awinning frame of mind were unstoppable. In a clinical battingdisplay followed by some inspired bowling the Pakistanis won theCoca Cola Cup 2000 by 16 runs.When Shahid Afridi is at the crease he does not muck around.Either he is scoring runs or is back in the pavilion. Off late,he has not spent enough time at the wicket to make a decentscore. However, the shiny batting track that the final was playedon was perfect for Afridi to go for his shots. With no lateralmovement to speak of, Afridi launched himself into drives withvigour not commonly displayed.Though the South Africans were as sharp in the field as ever,there was little they could do as the ball raced through the offside with regularity. When he flicked the ball past mid wicket tobring up his fifty off just 46 balls, his joy was obvious for allto see.The first to go was Shahid Afridi, attempting to hit LanceKlusener back over his head for six. The ball went straight up inthe air and Kallis chased after it. Running backwards, Kallisthrew himself full length at the end of running a fair few yardsand pulled off what was easily the best catch of the tournament.Afridi had made 52.Imran Nazir went down the wicket too early to a Derek Crookes offspinner and was beaten by the line of the delivery. Seeing himcome down the wicket Crookes sent the ball down the leg side.Mark Boucher whipped the bails off before Imran Nazir could makeit back and all of a sudden Pakistan had lost both its openers.Imran Nazir’s 69 laid the foundation for a good Pakistan score.Inzamam and Youhana consolidated the Pakistan innings with somesensible batting. The brilliant start that they were given byImran Nazir and Shaid Afridi meant the Pakistanis could take iteasy for a period of time.Inzamam restricted himself to pushing the ball into the gaps andpicking singles while Youhana took the initiative. Stroking theball well, Youhana picked up the occasional boundary to add tohis score. Nantie Hayward almost lost his head evading a straightdrive by Inzamam. The ball was struck so fiercely that he had todive out of the way very quickly in his follow through.Inzamam got to his fifty in steady fashion. However, in anattempt to boost the scoring rate, Inzamam was clean bowled byShaun Pollock. Coming late in the innings, the loss of his wicketwas not such a blow to the Pakistan charge.Razzaq and Wasim Akram heaved a few lusty blows towards the endand took Pakistan to 263/6 off their allotted 50 overs. LanceKlusener with 2/27 off his 10 overs was easily the pick of thebowlers.The tried and tested opening pair of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younisbegan brilliantly for the Pakistanis. Akram used all thevariations in his armoury and troubled the South African batsmen.Herschelle Gibbs has enjoyed some good form in the recent timesand his confidence was up. Stroking the ball firmly, Gibbsbrought up the first boundary of the innings driving Waqar on theup through the off side.Akram finally got his man when Gibbs played loosely at a deliverythat left him. The ball flew off the edge to the slips whereInzamam’s safe hands clasped the ball quickly.Jacques Kallis, the man whose contribution was crucial in SouthAfrica’s path to the final, was beaten all ends up by MohammedAkram. In his very first over, Mohammed Akram got the ball tobounce a little more than the batsman expected. Kallis was lateon the shot, the ball slid off the face to Moin Khan who snappedthe catch up.The South Africans had no choice but to consolidate after theyhad lost two early wickets. The going was predictably slow.Captain Hansie Cronje and new comer Neil McKenzie did not attemptto do anything fancy. In the face of some disciplined Pakistanibowling they nudged the ball into the gaps and picked up ones andtwos.Hansie Cronje’s captain’s knock came to an end when he attemptedone big shot too many against Pakistani off spinner. Arshad Khangave the ball good loop, tempting the South African captain to gofor his shots. After hitting one clean six over mid wicket,Cronje attempted to repeat the stroke with bad results. The ballstopped on Cronje and he went through with the stroke anyway. Theball headed straight towards the fielder mid wicket. Younis Khantook his time and completed the catch comfortably. Cronje’sinnings of 79 in 73 balls ended just when things were going wellfor the South Africans.Neil McKenzie who had struggled on for seemingly endless amountsof time, misread an arm ball from Arshad Khan and presentedMohammed Akram with a catch at short cover. His 58 runs took allof 107 balls.Waqar Younis returned at the end of the innings to destroy allSouth Africa’s hopes. While Mark Boucher fought spectacularly atone end, the wickets tumbled around him and South Africa’s hopesdiminished with every passing over.In successive deliveries Waqar had Nicky Boje caught behind andLance Klusener clean bowled. South Africa hoped for a lot fromKlusener. In the past there have been many occasions whenthe aggressive all rounder has been called upon to hit South Africa out of a hole. On this occasion Klusener was dealt with swiftly by Waqar. Comingaround the wicket to the left hander, Waqar let slip a quickdelivery that came in with the arm and pegged the off stump back.After that it was simply too much of an uphill task for the SouthAfricans. Mark Boucher played a gem of an innings, picking upcrucial boundaries. Improvising well, Boucher used the width ofthe crease superbly, making room for himself and smashing theball through the on side with regularity. However, Waqar gotsweet revenge for all the times he was hit away by Boucher whenhe bowled the South African stumper with the last ball of hisspell.The match was all over at that stage. Abdur Razzaq bowled a welldirected yorker to clean up Nantie Hayward and Pakistan had wonthe Coca Cola Cup 2000 by 16 runs.
Manchester United have made an enquiry for Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, according to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg.
The Lowdown: Ten Hag preferred candidate
It looks likely to be a summer of change at Old Trafford, with interim manager Ralf Rangnick expected to move into a consultancy role.
One of his first big tasks looks set to help the club in their search for a new long-term manager, with reliable reporter Samuel Luckhurst believing Ajax boss Erik ten Hag is the club’s preferred managerial candidate at this moment in time.
However, just hours later, an update emerged on Tuchel, with the Red Devils seemingly keen on luring the German from Stamford Bridge.
The Latest: Plettenberg’s post
Sky Germany reporter Plettenberg took to Twitter on Thursday lunchtime to provide an update on Tuchel.
He admitted that United have made an enquiry for the Blues boss, however, Tuchel isn’t thinking of an Old Trafford move as of now.
“Update Tuchel: Yes, MUFC is interested due to the uncertain future of Chelsea. They have inquired about him. But: Tuchel loves the club, he wants to stay at CFC, his family is happy in London. He doesn’t think about a move to Manchester United actually.”
The Verdict: One to watch?
Jamie Carragher had recently suggested that United should go after Tuchel due to the situation Chelsea find themselves in following recent sanctions to Roman Abramovich.
It seems as if they are thinking of doing just that, and if things don’t improve in London, then perhaps Tuchel could lean towards the idea of moving north in the summer.
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Either way, it’s good to see that United are thinking on the go and don’t have all their eggs in Ten Hag’s basket, so a move for Tuchel could well be one to keep a close eye on over the coming months.
In other news: Deal until 2025: Romano reveals Man Utd have secured ‘intelligent’ move ahead of summer shake-up.
Shaun Udal, the former England and Hampshire offspinner, has come out of retirement to sign a two-year deal with Middlesex.Udal, 38, quit first-class cricket at the end of last season, saying he “wanted to go out on a high as a decent player, instead of being a player who did not deserve his place on the staff”. In a shock turnaround, however, Middlesex have snapped him up on a two-year contract which means he could be playing county cricket in his 41st year.”I’m delighted to be given this unexpected opportunity to extend my playing career at Middlesex and am very excited at the thought of playing for another two years,” Udal told Middlesex’s website. “Retirement, in hindsight, was the wrong choice for me and, due to John Emburey and Middlesex’s persistence, I’ve been given a great chance to continue doing something I love and prove to people that I am still one of the best at what I do.”I’d like to thank Middlesex for backing me and look forward to the next two years with great enthusiasm. The squad is very strong and I see no reason why we can’t win something next season.”Udal made his Test debut aged 36, against Pakistan at Multan in 2005. And although he spun England to a memorable win in Mumbai against India the following year, that was his final international match.”We are very fortunate to have gained the services of Udal,” Emburey, Middlesex’s director of cricket, said. “Shaun’s experience, knowledge and match-winning capabilities will complement a very determined Middlesex team in 2008.”
South Africa have announced their provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup in the West Indies in March. Their convenor of selectors, Haroon Lorgat, has said that the selectors are very close to finalising the 15 names who will travel to the Carribean, but denied that colour would be an influence on selection.Lorgat said that although CSA had set the selectors a target of at least seven players of colour, the team would be selected on merit. “There are just a few nuts and bolts that we have to sort out,” he said. “I would suggest that 13 names are already established and we just need to finalise the last two places.”I would be over the moon if we could pick seven or more [players of colour], but we’re not picking on colour, we’re picking the best team.”There were no surprises in the provisional squad, which contains all but three of the current South Africam Test team – Paul Adams, Hashim Amla and Morne Morkel.The squad must be cut to 15 by February 13, and Gerald Majola, CEO of Cricket South Africa, said: “All these players have been involved in high level domestic or international competition, and have also been part of the high performance programme since last season.”The fruits of the franchise system in both the MTN and SuperSport competitions can now be seen, and there is going to be fierce competition for the final berths in the World Cup squad from outside the Proteas. This augurs well for sending a strong, well-balanced and well-prepared squad to meet the challenges of Caribbean conditions against the best in the world.”As part of the prepartaions a 14-man A-squad has been selected to tour Zimbabwe and play three one-day matches on January 25, 27 and 28.Provisional squad Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Garnett Kruger, Charl Langeveldt, Albie Morkel, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Jacques Rudolph, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Roger Telemachus, Alfonso Thomas, Thandi Tshabalala, Johan van der Wath, Morne van Wyk.Zimbabwe tour squad Robin Peterson (capt), Loots Bosman, Boeta Dippenaar, JP Duminy, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Albie Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Vernon Philander, Roger Telemachus, Alfonso Thomas, Thandi Tshabalala, Johan van der Wath, Morne van Wyk
South African officials have welcomed new measures introduced by Australia against spectators who make racist taunts during the remainder of South Africa’s tour.”Cricket South Africa welcomes this tough public stance taken by Cricket Australia in the fight against racism,” Gerald Majola, the chief executive officer of the South African board, said on Thursday. “Our players need to be protected against racism and we hope that these new measures will ensure this in Melbourne and Sydney,” Majola added.A statement issued by the South African team late on Tuesday said racial slurs and chants had been directed at Ashwell Prince, Garnett Kruger, Shaun Pollock, Justin Kemp and Makhaya Ntini on the third day of the first Test at Perth. South Africa’s management has officially complained to Chris Broad, the ICC match referee, and John Rhodes, the head of the ICC’s Regional Anti-Corruption and Security unit. The management has asked for security to be stepped up to help prevent any repetition of the abuse during the next two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. The next Test starts in Melbourne on Boxing Day.Cricket Australia issued a statement saying it had a zero tolerance approach to racist behaviour by anyone involved with cricket, including spectators. It said spectators who made racist comments would be thrown out of the ground immediately. Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, has spoken out against spectators making racist slurs, saying “there’s no room in sport for racism whatsoever”.
A win can change a team’s perspective and inspire them to reach for heights that seemed very unlikely not long ago. And ever since Mohammad Ashraful dared to challenge the previously “unplayable” Indian bowlers on a third day at Chittagong, and made his team-mates understand that the opponents, despite their reputation, are still just cricketers, there has been a makeover in Bangladesh’s body-language and approach.The new-found dash was evident when they stunned India in the second one-dayer of he recent series at Dhaka and more proud during the first Test against Zimbabwe where the Tigers gave a polished display to win by 226 runs, a victory margin which fully justified their tag as pre-series favourites. Although there is a celebration hangover for the final Test at Dhaka, the players are eyeing a new chapter in Bangladesh’s cricket.”The first Test is in the past now. Another piece of history beckons – if we don’t lose here we win a series for the first time. But we will go out for a victory,” promised Bangladesh’s captain Habibul Bashar. “It will not be easy and we have to be prepared to work really hard. Our job is only half-finished. Zimbabwe will come hard at us and they have some pretty good batsmen. They played very well in Chittagong, and some of the performances probably did not get noticed because of our domination.”The Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore, more relaxed now that the weight of expectation for a Test win has finally lifted, was trying to get familiar with a new kind of burden. “This is the first time the complacency might refer to us,” he explained, “unlike in other games when the bigger teams were guarding against it. We have to be careful against these sorts of things and continue our gradual progress. It’s a different pressure. Now we can’t lose the series. That’s one good thing. But the pressure is to maintain the form and finish it off on a high note.”Zimbabwe’s batting resistance took Bangladesh by surprise at Chittagong, and the opening bowler Mashrafe Mortaza warned that in two years’ time, they could be a real handful. But Zimbabwe’s bowling failed to make an impression. “Although I could not make runs, it was still the weakest bowling I have faced in my Test career,” said Ashraful. “I did not make much of a contribution and that was disappointing from a personal point of view.”
Bangladesh have stuck with the side that won in the first Test, and Mohammad Rafique himself quelled the last-minute concerns regarding his minor hamstring injury: “I’m ok, although the physio has told me to avoid sprinting too much.” Tapash Baisya suffered bruises on his right palm at Chittagong, but an X-ray on Wednesday revealed nothing serious.While the Bangladeshis were enjoying a day-off on Tuesday, Zimbabwe’s coach Phil Simmons had training scheduled for them at the Bangabandhu National Stadium which had to be postponed because of a sudden bout of rain. And so they had extensive practice sessions on Wednesday and Thursday to make up time.”I think experience made the difference between the two teams in the first Test,” said Simmons but Zimbabwe’s captain Tatenda Taibu did not quite agree: “Maybe the Bangladeshis have more experience but that is not an excuse for the loss. I think we only played well in bits and pieces. We have to gel together. I would like to see a few more runs from the top order. The spinners did not come to the party in Chittagong, but the seamers bowled tightly and if they bowl like that here on another flat track, they will create opportunities. And if we can take the catches, I think we will win.”It is a must-win situation for Zimbabwe who were giving nothing away and delayed naming their team until late on the day before the match. They were, however, boosted by the availability of Tinashe Panyangara, their most promising fast bowler, and the opening batsman Dion Ebrahim. Panyangara was sidelined with an injury in the first Test while Ebrahim, the only batsman in the squad with over 1000 runs in Tests , was serving a suspension for making disparaging comments about Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action in May last year.As ever, the pitch prompted a few questions after the one at Chittagong had stayed firm even on the last day. “Ideally I would like to see turn from day three onwards but we can’t predict anything, can we?” said Bashar. Taibu agreed: “I have not come to Bangladesh expecting the pitches to be green. This is just another flat wicket.”Bangladesh (probable) 1 Javed Omar, 2 Nafis Iqbal, 3 Habibul Bashar (capt), 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Rajin Saleh, 6 Aftab Ahmed, 7 Khaled Mashud (wk), 8 Mohammad Rafique, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Tapash Baisya, 11 Enamul Haque jnr.Zimbabwe (probable) 1 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 2 Dion Ebrahim, 3 Barney Rogers, 4 Hamilton Masakadza, 5 Graeme Cremer, 6 Brendan Taylor, 7 Tatenda Taibu (capt, wk), 8 Elton Chigumbura, 9 Tinashe Panyangara, 10 Douglas Hondo, 11 Chris Mpofu.
If the timing of Lord MacLaurin’s remarks regarding the future of English cricket last week was designed to kick-start a debate on the subject, then it has done exactly as intended.On Thursday, MacLaurin told the BBC that to survive English cricket had to consider reducing the number of first-class counties from 18 to 12 and, as a result, decrease the number of professionals in the game by about 100. He warned that with the next television deal likely to produce far less income than the current one, the alternative was for cricket to become a minor summer sport "like croquet". Several of the county chairmen spluttered on cue, although the biggest reaction came from the world of croquet who were livid at the perceived slight.But the idea was in the public domain, and in the four days since it has been the subject of considerable discussion. At the forefront is the Reform Group, a loose collection consisting of two former England captains – Michael Atherton and Bob Willis – Michael Parkinson, David Willis (Bob’s brother), and Nigel Wray, the multi-millionaire owner of the Saracens Rugby Football Club.Over the weekend the Reform Group published an open letter outlining a four-point plan to safeguard the future of the game. They said they were responding to “England’s performances against South Africa” and supporting MacLaurin’s comments. Their proposals were:1. An end to the First-Class Forum (made up of the first-class counties) which wields considerable power within the game, and its replacement by a streamlined management board responsible for all aspects of the game without the vested interest that the existing forum has.2: A reduction in the number of first-class teams to improve the quality of domestic cricket being played.3. A de-professionalisation of parts of the county game, allied to the establishment of a properly organised and financed county-based Premier League system.4. The creation of a true pyramid structure which allows non-professionals the chance to progress into the higher levels of the game. This would also create closer links between the professional and amateur competition.Mike Soper, chairman of the First-Class Forum, gave the proposal a mixed response. "I don’t agree with half of what the group has said. Some of it makes sense. You don’t just look at a piece of paper and agree with everything written on it, similarly you don’t dismiss it either.”But Soper did support the view that change was needed. “The ECB was formed six years ago, I think it is now time that we started looking at the whole constitution again. I don’t think the First-Class Forum will ever relinquish its power, until they are happy that the governing body and the executive can deliver."I don’t agree that there should be a reduction in the number of professional counties, but I do think Second XIs should be scrapped, and perhaps replaced with an amateur U-19 competition. If you got rid of half-a-dozen players from the 18 counties, reducing squads to 16 or 17 full-time professionals, then that will save around 100 players.”