Sanjay Jagdale, one of India’s national selectors, has dismissed the idea of replacing senior players in the side with youngsters. “I do not know where these theories originate from,” Jagdale, who represents central zone, told the . “When we sit for a selection meeting, we only look at the merits of a player. We do not look at this senior-junior business.”How can you overlook somebody like Sachin Tendulkar or Sourav Ganguly and [Rahul] Dravid when they still have a lot more to offer?”The triumph at the ICC World Twenty20 last month prompted calls from various sections to include more young players in the team, instead of retaining older ones.But Jagdale believes Twenty20 is a completely different form of the game and its demands should not be confused with those of one-day cricket. “I am against drastic changes made on the emotion of the moment. A side should be built gradually with the seniors in the frame. You cannot throw in all the youngsters against sides like Pakistan and Australia.”Jagdale also backed Rahul Dravid as a one-day batsman and was confident that he would soon be back in the runs. “It was only a couple of months ago that he made a match-winning 90-odd in just around 70 balls against England in Bristol,” Jagdale said. “It was one of the finest one-day innings I have seen. How can he become a bad player in a matter of days?”This game is all about confidence. Dravid has been there before and I am sure he will be back.” Dravid made 51 runs at 10.20 – including two ducks – from the first six ODIs against Australia.
ScorecardSadagoppan Ramesh’s fine 118 enabled Kerala to edge ahead of Madhya Pradesh on the third day at Palakkad. Resuming on 122 for 2, Kerala chipped away at MP’s lead with Ramesh sharing a useful partnership with his skipper Sreekumar Nair. Ramesh’s wicket, for 118, triggered a mini collapse with Kerala struggling on 241 for 7 but handy lower-order contributions from Vipin Lal (37) and Sadanandan Anish (42*) guided Kerala past MP’s total. ScorecardA composed 148 from Madusudhan Acharya was complemented by half-centuries from O Afzal and Shalab Shrivastava as Vidarbha took the upperhand on the third day at Margao. Resuming on 237 for 3, Vidarbha moved to 436 by the end of their innings. Both Afzal and Shrivastava were aggressive in their stints – managing 17 boundaries between them – playing their part in gaining a 130-run lead. Goa ended the day on a trcky 87 for 4, still 43 adrift of avoiding an innings defeat. ScorecardBad light allowed only 35 overs of play on the third day at Dharamsala. Himachal Pradesh lost four wickets in the time available, allowing Orissa, still 13 runs ahead, to harbour hopes of an outright win. ScorecardJammu & Kashmir strengthened their position on the third day at Jamshedpur with Jharkhand just 56 runs ahead with only five wickets standing. Resuming on 208 for 3, J&K forged ahead thanks to half-centuries from Majid Dhar and Dhruv Mahajan but Shankar Rao and Sumit Panda – with nine wickets between them – helped Jharkhand pull things back. Jharkhand, though, couldn’t consolidated their position, losing five wickets for 133 by the time stumps were drawn.
Instead of perfect beach weather, it’s been a damp squib so far for the two teams that arrived in Chennai on Sunday. Undone by the slow and low pitch at Bangalore, Graeme Smith and South Africa arrived here intent on absorbing that lesson and teaching India a few of their own. As for the Indians, victorious in seven of their last nine matches, Chepauk afforded the opportunity to further probe South African frailty against spin, and take a potentially decisive lead into the tinder-box atmosphere of the Eden Gardens.Another Chennai match, another delugeAfter the TVS Cup match against New Zealand (2003) and the final day of an eventful India-Australia Test match (October 2004) were ruined by rain, it’s now the turn of the South Africans to be subjected to the vagaries of the North-East monsoon. The rain gods have been in angry mood over the past month, and a torrential downpour in the early hours denied the South Africans an opportunity to practise in the morning. In such a scenario, predicting pitch behaviour is fraught with risk. In the event of clear skies tomorrow, bowling first would be the sensible option. Even without accounting for the dew factor, both sets of pace bowlers would love to take advantage of any moisture-induced life on a fresh pitch.Time to set the record straight?On the day when he goes past Wasim Akram to become one-day cricket’s most capped player, Sachin Tendulkar will no doubt be keyed up for a memorable contribution. Incentive may also come from the fact that South Africa are the only team against which he averages less than 35. The man who manages 49 an innings against Australia – not to mention seven centuries – has just three hundreds in 43 matches against South Africa. What price a reversal of fortune on a ground where he has frequently been at his resplendent best?Hit them hard…and earlyAfter the debacle in Bangalore, South Africa may well toy with the idea of sending Justin Kemp in early so that he gets more of a look-in before unleashing that frightening array of big hits. Since returning to the side against England last January, there has been no more destructive batsman in world cricket, and there were enough hints in the opening two games as to the damage that those immense shoulders can do. For those enamoured of trivia, Kemp is the cousin of Dave Callaghan, a fine batsman of early-to-mid-1990s vintage, who, till Gary Kirsten (188*) broke it, held the record for the highest score by a South African in an ODI – 169.The Prince in exileInnuendo has it that Sourav Ganguly’s return could well depend on the result of this match. If India win, the rumours suggest that his long cold winter will continue. If they lose, however, his backers – and there are several powerful ones – could well engineer a return for the final two ODIs against South Africa and the three Tests against Sri Lanka. The very fact that one-day results may influence Test selection tells you all you need to know about the palace intrigues in Indian cricket. The Greg Chappell-inspired new wave of professionalism is sadly restricted to the field, and shows no sign of making an appearance in the corridors of power.Turning a cornerThe Bangalore match, where Johan Botha and Justin Ontong certainly didn’t disgrace themselves with the ball, may have given South Africa valuable pointers with regard to team selection. AB de Villiers has been in wretched form this season, and this team is clearly missing the experience and class of Herschelle Gibbs and the sub-continental nous of Boeta Dippenaar. Expect Robin Peterson, who bowls slow left-arm spin while having an eye for the big shot, to get a look in.A stage for heroesIt’s not just Tendulkar who has lit up Chepauk in recent times. This was also the venue for Saeed Anwar’s glorious 194 against India in the Independence Cup eight years ago. The pitch has always been kind to fluent stroke-makers, and aficionados will also remember Mark Waugh’s scintillating century in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final when Australia made light of chasing a formidable New Zealand total.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the names of the players who will play in the two side games against Zimbabwe later this month. A PCB Chairman’s XI will play a two-day game at Sheikhapura from September 20, and that will be followed by a four-day match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore featuring the Patron’s XI, which starts on September 23.The Patron’s XI will be led by Misbah-ul-Haq, and features talents like Rao Iftikhar Anjum and Bazid Khan, both of whom harbour hopes of making the tour to Australia later this year. The PCB Chairman’s XI will be captained by Hasan Raza, who came into the Pakistan team as a precocious teenager before losing his way.The Teams Patron’s XI Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Bazid Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq(capt), Naumanullah, Aamer Bashir, Yasir Arafat, Adnan Akmal (wk), Mansoor Amjad, Riaz Afridi, Qaisar Abbas, Iftikhar Anjum, Faisal Athar, Wahab Riaz, Tariq Mahmood, Wasim Khan.PCB Chairman’s XI Asif Zakir, Ashar Zaidi, Shahid Yousuf, Faisal Iqbal, Hasan Raza (capt), Zulqarnain Haidar (wk), Salman Qadir, Tahir Mughal, Mohammad Khalil, Nasir Khan, Azam Hussain, Irfanuddin, Bilal Asad, Jannisar Khan, Mohammad Irshad, Imran Pasha.
South Africa 272 for 5 (Kallis 125*, Hall 56) beat Zimbabwe 226 for 9 (Friend 82) by 46 runs
Jacques Kallis crashes another boundary on his way to his second hundred in as many days
Jacques Kallis scored a magnificent unbeaten 125, his 10th and highest one-day century, and his second in consecutive days, as South Africa bounced back from defeat in their opening match of the NatWest Series to record a comfortable 46-run victory over Zimbabwe at Canterbury.Kallis’s 107 at The Oval yesterday had been the bedrock of South Africa’s effort against England, and he was made to sweat once again as Travis Friend launched Zimbabwe’s reply with a confident 82. Zimbabwe eventually ran out of steam, though not before they had confirmed that Thursday’s defeat of England was no fluke.They had been pencilled in as the pre-tournament whipping-boys, but Zimbabwe’s array of workaday seamers and tenacious spinners had Kallis and Co. in some bother for the early part of the innings. Both South Africa’s openers fell inside the first eight overs, and they had been restricted to 84 for 3 at the halfway mark of the innings.But Andrew Hall, promoted up the order to give the innings a bit of oomph, responded with a bristling 56 from 51 balls to kickstart the innings, and they never looked back. Zimbabwe’s fortunes were summed up by Andy Blignaut, who had yorked Herschelle Gibbs with his fifth ball, but was spanked for 19 in the final over of the innings – which he wasn’t even able to complete, after being ordered from the attack for a second (unintentional) beamer.Kallis, who by then was seeing it like the proverbial football, calmly swatted that second beamer for six over midwicket, but the early part of his innings had been a different story. He was dropped on 21 by Doug Hondo – a tough caught-and-bowled opportunity – and had scored at barely a run every two balls for the early part of his innings. But as his confidence grew he shed the watchful defence and launched into some scintillating strokeplay, particularly through the covers.Kallis brought up his century in 137 balls, with 10 fours, and then lamped four more fours and that six in his ten remaining deliveries. Hall himself belted three sixes, two in consecutive overs off the left-arm spin of Ray Price, who had nonetheless bowled impressively and gave Jacques Rudolph a thorough working-over before having him caught at backward-point by Grant Flower.South Africa’s final total was considerably more than had looked likely when they limped to 48 for 2 after 15 overs. While Friend was blazing away merrily in Zimbabwe’s reply, however, even 272 for 5 appeared insufficient. Runs had been hard to come by at first, with Doug Marillier struggling for three overs before swishing at a full-length ball from Makhaya Ntini and edging a simple catch to Mark Boucher behind the stumps for 3 (3 for 1).But the introduction of Alan Dawson was Friend’s invitation to up the tempo, and he did just that in a rumbustious innings. Never afraid to hit over the top, Friend gave South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith the run-a-round with two nine-iron chips over his head at long-off, but he saved his best shot for the spinner Nicky Boje, a soaring six over midwicket.At the other end, Ebrahim played the anchor role to perfection, adding 109 for the second wicket – a Zimbabwean record against South Africa. He had five fours in his 40, including a couple of elegant cover-drives, when he picked out Smith at short midwicket with a firm clip off Boje (112 for 2).Friend’s new partner was Grant Flower, whose unbeaten 96 had sunk England in the series opener at Trent Bridge. But, just as Zimbabwe were inching back into contention, Friend was bowled by a fine yorker from Andrew Hall and the innings fizzled out. Stuart Matsikenyeri ran himself out after a frenetic innings, and neither Heath Streak nor Blignaut lasted long.The end was confirmed when Flower picked out a leaping Dawson at leg gully for 27 (178 for 7), although Tatenda Taibu and Hondo did enough to ensure a bonus point for Zimbabwe, which leaves all three teams level on six points after the first round of matches.
The Indian coach John Wright has been under sheltered fire for India’sperformance in recent times. The team, by notching up its ninth straightloss in a limited-overs tournament final, certainly did not help hiscause. A considerable section of the public, however, was willing tocondone India’s performance in the shorter version of the game. But whenIndia lost the first Test against South Africa at Bloemfontein andwent 1-0 down in the three-Test series, Wright’s problems reallyescalated.
Besides, what kind of pitch did Wright expect in South Africa? Witha pace battery at their disposal, the Proteas were certainly not goingto serve up a slow turner, not against India at any rate. After all,even children on the street in India can tell you how well their teamplays fast bowling.
After putting 379 on the board in the first innings, India capitulatedin familiar fashion in the second innings to hand South Africa aconvincing nine-wicket win on a platter. What has angered Indian fansis the fact that India were, at one point, in a position approachingsafety before they threw it all away. Sachin Tendulkar, at hisdazzling best, made 155, sharing a 220-run partnership with debutantcenturion Virender Sehwag. Despite this, India lost as many as sevenwickets for just 52 runs on the morning of the fourth day. Was therenot a plan in place?While the blame certainly cannot be laid solely at the feet of thecoach, he has made more than one remark that provides nothing short ofcannon fodder. On the morning of the first Test, Wright waspredictably asked how he thought the pitch would play. “I don’t knowfor sure. We’ll just have to wait and watch,” he said. Listening toWright, Sunil Gavaskar on television commentary could not containhimself. “That’s not what the coach should say. If he can’t make itout, he should make an effort to try and find out what the pitch wouldplay like,” said the former Indian captain. One would be hard-pressedto fault Gavaskar’s logic.Besides, what kind of pitch did Wright expect in South Africa? With apace battery at their disposal, the Proteas were certainly not goingto serve up a slow turner, not against India at any rate. After all,even children on the street in India can tell you how well their teamplays fast bowling.Thus said, there is perhaps room to give Wright the benefit of thedoubt and admire him for his candour. So he was not sure how the pitchwould play, and he told the media as much, right? Wrong. It is onething being honest with the boys back in the dressing room and quiteanother to relinquish the psychological advantage by announcinguncertainty to the world media.Interestingly, a similar incident happened just days after Wrightuttered those words halfway across the world. Having turned down aconfident shout for lbw against Justin Langer, when the Australianopener was yet to open his account, umpire Daryl Harper admitted hismistake the next day. “An error that cost 104 runs,” he said onnational radio. Once again, one can only say the same thing – weadmire your honesty, Mr. Harper, but next time, save us the grief.The Australian Cricket Board is unlikely to appreciate Harper’sgesture, and he will probably be careful enough to never repeat hismistake.Coming back to Wright, either the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has turned a deaf ear to the Indian coach, or he is charting his own path independent of the Board. Just days after his remark about the Bloemfontein pitch, Wright came forward with another pearl that was best left in its oyster. “I admit we made a mistake in team selection. We should have played AjitAgarkar instead of the two left-arm seamers,” confessed Wright. That it was a mistake to play both Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan is amply clear. However, one must stop a moment to look at the reason India went into the first Test with the aforementioned pair.Harbhajan Singh’s sudden affliction (epididimytis) opened up a spot inthe bowling line-up; after all, if he was fit, there would never havebeen the thought of playing three seamers. Given the recent dismalrecord of Venkatesh Prasad, enter Nehra and Zaheer. By the second dayof the Test, however, the ace off-spinner was fit once more and raringto go. With the Sikh fit, the question of playing both the left-armersdoes not even arise. Where then does Agarkar come into all this?It’s simple. He doesn’t. And a quick look at his performance in Testsso far suggests that it is perhaps best for all concerned if thematter rests there.Let’s face it. As much as one wishes it, two wrongs can never make oneright. Some may have made out a case that, with both Zaheer and Nehrarusty from recuperation, Agarkar should have replaced Harbhajan. Bethat as it may, including Bombay’s blue-eyed boy as a sort ofcompensation for the second Test would only be foolish.Both Wright and Harper, within the space of a week, have demonstratedamply the importance of measuring one’s words before they are uttered;after all, once spoken, they are in the public domain, fair game formisinterpretation. And that is really the last thing that India needright now.
Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, has called the team’s second-innings batting in Abu Dhabi “unacceptable” after they were left grateful for the arrival of dusk to prevent defeat in a Test where the final day had begun with the first innings incomplete.England declared with a lead of 75 and Pakistan were rocked early by James Anderson, who struck twice in an over, followed by the run out of Mohammad Hafeez. A stand of 66 between Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq had appeared to calm the nerves and confirm the draw, only for Younis to spoon Adil Rashid into the covers and Misbah to charge down the pitch at Moeen Ali and miss his expansive shot.”It’s unacceptable to bat like we did in the second innings,” Waqar said. “It should have been a straightforward draw but we allowed them to threaten us and beat us. We allowed them to come that close, we allowed them to threaten us and run away with the game. We should realise that we are a very good Test side but we committed some silly mistakes, especially in the batting which could have cost us the game.””The way they played, we have to really pull our socks in the second Test. What happened was not on and we have to really improve on that if we want to win the series. We have experience in our batting, we know our batting and know it should have lasted the final day, or the final session but we didn’t and that we have to consider.”I am confident that my side can bounce back but we have to realise that it is all about playing all sessions equally well and if you don’t in one session the opponents come down hard on you as England did.”Waqar knows that Pakistan will be boosted by the return of legspinner Yasir Shah, who missed the opening Test after suffering a back spasm the day before the game, but said that they cannot afford to purely rest on the comeback of their star bowler, even suggesting the favourites tag has shifted in the series.”Fair enough we will get Yasir back but they will be thinking that they can compete. Before the series started it was their own verdict that they were underdogs but now we are the side which have to stage a comeback.”Yasir’s return, at the expense of either Rahat Ali or Imran Khan, will also be welcomed by England according to their coach Trevor Bayliss who said the “ego” of international cricketers meant they wanted to be tested by the best players.”The boys want to be the best team in the world and that means you have got to play the best players and he is the best player,” Bayliss said. “I’m sure these guys would like to test themselves against any of the best players and come out on top.”At this level the egos are right up there, they want to play the best and show the best that they are better than them. They will want to show him they can play him as well as any other these other players.”The lack of specialist spin cover in the original squad to cover for a circumstance like Yasir’s injury has angered Misbah and could lead to more back-up being available this time. Bilal Asif, the offspinner whose action is currently being tested, has been added to the squad for the second Test.
Leeds United are reportedly eyeing up a move for Coventry City midfielder Gustavo Hamer but face competition for his signature from numerous clubs.
The Lowdown: Hamer impressing for Coventry
The 24-year-old has shone for the Championship side so far this season, proving to be one of their most influential performers in the middle of the park.
Hamer has chipped in with two goals and six assists in 25 league starts in 2021/22 to date, enjoying an average of 1.4 key passes per game, too.
It could be that a summer transfer materialises for the Dutchman, moving up to a higher level as he hits his prime, with a fresh update emerging regarding the situation.
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The Latest: Leeds keen on move
According to Football League World, the Whites are one of the clubs ‘keeping tabs’ on Hamer but they are not alone in showing an interest.
Scottish Premiership giants Celtic and Rangers are also mentioned in the report, as well as Premier League duo Brentford and Norwich City.
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The Verdict: Good for squad depth
Central midfield has been an issue all season long at Leeds, with too much dependency on Kalvin Phillips and his injury absence, therefore, proving to be damaging.
Hamer is someone who could come in and provide new Leeds manager Jesse Marsch with an extra option, being hailed as an ‘unbelievable’ player by teammate Marko Marosi.
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At 24, he is still at an age where he is developing as a player, allowing Marsch to potentially get the best years of his career, turning him into a key player over time.
While Hamers’s aforementioned quality on the ball stands out, he is also averaging 1.6 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game in the league this season, showing that he can be a force out of possession, too.
In other news, Marsch reportedly wants to sign one player for Leeds. Find out who it is here.
Sanju Samson started the Ranji Trophy season with a bang, scoring an unbeaten hundred to steer Kerala to 263 for 7 against Jammu & Kashmir in Kalyani. Walking in at 9 for 2, Samson steered Kerala out of trouble, putting on 97 for the third wicket with Jalaj Saxena, Kerala’s new signing from Madhya Pradesh, who scored 69 (88b, 11×4, 1×6). Wickets fell frequently thereafter, but Samson kept one end going to end the day batting on 129. He hit 19 fours and a six in his 251-ball innings. Medium-pacer Samiullah Beigh was J&K’s most successful bowler, ending the day with figures of 4 for 68.Centuries from Prashant Chopra and Sumeet Verma dragged Himachal Pradesh out of a tricky situation against Andhra and lifted them to 318 for 7 in Bhubaneswar. Verma joined the opener Chopra with Himachal 103 for 5, and the two put on 89 for the sixth wicket before Chopra fell for 117 off 152 balls, having scored 80 of his runs in boundaries.Verma then batted through to stumps to finish not out on 116 off 156, having struck 12 fours and three sixes. By then, he had put on 105 for the seventh wicket with debutant Mayank Dagar (42, 75b, 5×4, 1×6), who was dismissed 8.1 overs before stumps. For Andhra, medium-pacers D Siva Kumar and CV Stephen took two wickets each.Chhattisgarh made a strong start to life in the Ranji Trophy, bowling Tripura out for 118 in Ranchi before closing the day 41 runs behind with seven wickets in hand. Choosing to bat first, Tripura only lasted 54 overs as each member of Chhattisgarh’s five-man bowling attack, four of whom were first-class debutants (the team contained eight debutants in all), took at least one wicket. Left-arm orthodox spinner Ajay Mandal was the most successful Chhattisgarh bowler, with figures of 3 for 41.In reply, Chhattisgarh closed the day 77 for 3, with opener Rishabh Tiwary and Ashutosh Singh, both on debut, scoring 31 each, with the latter remaining not out at stumps with captain Mohammad Kaif for company.A four-wicket haul by Mohammed Siraj, a medium-pacer playing only his second first-class match, gave Hyderabad a strong start against Goa, who were bowled out for 164 after choosing to bat in Nagpur. Six of Goa’s batsmen got into double-figures, but only Snehal Kauthankar (38) and Saurabh Bandekar (59, 144b, 8×4, 1×6) got past 20, as Hyderabad’s seamers shared seven wickets between them. Siraj was the pick of them, finishing with figures of 15-9-14-4. Needing to bat out the last 10 overs of the day, Hyderabad ended the day at 28 for 1, with Tanmay Agarwal the batsman dismissed.Rajat Paliwal took two wickets against his old team Services as Haryana enjoyed the better of a truncated day at the Brabourne Stadium. Sent in to bat after a wet outfield ruled out any play in the first session, Services limped to 143 for 6 in 57.4 overs. Opener Anshul Gupta scored 69 off 150 balls (11×4), putting on 40 for the first wicket with Soumik Chatterjee and 117 for the second with Nakul Verma to move Services to 117 for 1, but they lost their way thereafter as offspinner Paliwal and medium-pacer Harshal Patel took two wickets each to run through the middle order.
Scorecard Queensland ground out a 201-run advantage to build a commanding position on the second day against the defending champions Tasmania. Ryan Broad’s 94 headlined a cautious innings of 6 for 359, which also included half-centuries to Greg Moller and Clint Perren, as the Bulls took few chances in their quest for a perfect start to the Pura Cup season.Tasmania collected an early breakthrough after Queensland resumed at 0 for 136 – Moller was unable to control a pull shot on 78 – but they had to wait until shortly before lunch, by which time Queensland had two first-innings points, for Broad to give Geeves his second wicket. Broad had worked calmly towards his century, hitting 14 fours from 194 balls, and fell for 94 to a sharp take from Tim Paine at short leg.Maher (26) departed to Geeves in the second session while Perren pushed Queensland further ahead with 63 before Aaron Nye chipped in with a useful 46. Geeves made sure the Tigers were not overpowered as he picked up an impressive haul of 4 for 87, including 12 maidens in his 35 overs, but it was the home side’s day again.