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Australia’s century drought entered its 125th day, but the failure to convert did not cost them the early initiative as they reached 3 for 305

The Bulletin by Alex Brown25-Dec-2009Australia 3 for 305 (Katich 98, Watson 93, Ponting 57) v Pakistan
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNot again: Shane Watson falls in sight of a hundred, reaching 93 before being run-out in a messy exit•Getty ImagesAustralia’s century drought entered its 125th and most eventful day, but the ongoing failure to convert did not cost the hosts the early initiative in the Boxing Day Test. Simon Katich and Shane Watson added to their mounting collection of unusual dismissals in the 90s, although both might have expected earlier return trips to the pavilion had Pakistan held onto their chances in the field.The highlight of the first day’s play was unquestionably the run-out of Watson, which saw both batsmen stranded at the strikers’ end while Imran Farhat merrily removed the bails at the other. Katich’s tendancy to call while advancing down the wicket coaxed his partner into the run, and Watson’s refusal to turn back led to an awkward situation in which the two openers stood their ground for more than a minute awaiting the verdict as to who should leave the field.The decision narrowly went against Watson (93), and his dejection was plain for all to see. The converted opener has been dismissed three times this summer between scores of 89 and 96; a maiden Test century proving elusive as ever. He will, however, take solace from his imperious driving against Mohammad Aamer early in his innings, which went far to sealing a sixth half-century from 11 innings since assuming the opener’s post from Phillip Hughes at Edgbaston. Only once in that time has he registered a total less than 30. Centuries may make for nice window dressing, but consistency remains batting’s ultimate goal.Katich looked set to compensate for his running gaffe – his timing and fluency steadily returned over the afternoon following a scratchy start – only for composure to again elude him in the 90s. Having narrowly avoided disaster at the hands of Saeed Ajmal the previous over, a nervous Katich cut uppishly at a Mohammad Asif (2 for 69) delivery on 98 that flew directly to Salman Butt at point. The dismissal was his third in the 90s this summer, and second in as many matches, following his 99 against Went Indies in Perth.Ricky Ponting showed few ill effects from the elbow injury that threatened his participation in the match, racing to a half-century from just 55 balls, but his innings also fell short of triple-figures. When he was dismissed attempting to drive Asif and the second new ball, Australia’s run of unconverted half-centuries reached 18, dating back to the Ashes finale at The Oval in August.Michael Hussey (38 not out from 43 balls) batted with an air of aggression and authority not witnessed in many a month and, along with nightwatchman Nathan Hauritz (5 not out) ensured no further Australian casualties before stumps. They will resume on Sunday hoping to capitalise on an MCG wicket well suited to batsmen, albeit one that Ajmal extracted appreciable turn from.Pakistan had ample opportunity to capitalise on the Australians’ shortcomings, but three dropped catches and a missed run-out ensured the day went the way of the hosts. The most costly was the life granted to Watson who, after failing to read an Ajmal doosra, was turfed at first slip by a lunging Misbah-ul-Haq. The other reprieves were bestowed upon Simon Katich – dropped in the gully by Umar Akmal and spared a run-out by Mohammad Yousuf – and Ponting, who was grassed by Kamran Akmal.Pakistan’s ground fielding also left much to be desired, and made life difficult for the tourists’ bowlers on a true MCG wicket. Ajmal, called in for the injured Danish Kaneria, and Aamer were the most consistently probing of the Pakistanis, while Asif threatened only late when the old ball began to reverse.The least menacing member of the Pakistani attack was Abdur Rauf, a surprise selection at the coin toss. The right-armer was called in to replace the more seasoned and versatile Umar Gul on form grounds, however his 15 overs (0 for 61) on Saturday did little to justify the move. The tourists will need more from Rauf on the second day if they hope to restrict Australia to a retrievable first-innings total.

Everton put on yet another disappointing display against Premier League Champions Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

Rafa Benitez’s side put in a defensive disaster-class at the Ethiad, losing 3-0 to the title challengers, and never really establishing any attacking threat in the entire duration of the game.

Another injury blow was dealt to the Spanish manager, as winger Demarai Gray went off injured in just the 16th minute of the game.

Manchester City could’ve opened proceedings much earlier in the game, in the 33rd minute, when a penalty shout was luckily overturned by VAR when Michael Keane clashed with Raheem Sterling.

However, it wasn’t long for Pep Guardiola’s side to score, with a fantastic ball from Joao Cancelo put onto Raheem Sterling’s foot in front of goal which he converted in the 44th minute to put the City side ahead 1-0.

Everton continued to come undone and showed no signs of getting back into the game after half time, when the Toffees conceded two further goals in the 55th minute and then once more in the 86th minute.

Overall, the Merseyside club had a shocking 22% possession over the 90 minutes, which is a real reflection of how poor and reluctant the Everton side looked to get into the game and move the ball in important areas of the pitch.

One player that stuck out like a sore thumb in Everton’s defence is Michael Keane, who looked lost in many moments of the game today, which reflected in his individual match statistics that saw the centre back have less touches (36) than goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Everton fans took to Twitter to scold the £22.5m-rated rated centre back;

One fan tweeted; “The sooner we move on Michael Keane the better, diabolical defender”

Another wrote; “Michael Keane’s movement for the third goal and his meek reaction as the ball went in says it all. When things are tough, they play within themselves. No character, no leadership, nothing.”

To make matter worse, he only completed 76% of his passes and made just two tackles despite an offensive onslaught from the opposition.

This disastrous defensive performance is hard proof that Rafa needs to either add players in the January transfer window, or pray for a return to full fitness from centre back Yerry Mina, as the side falls further away from getting back into the top half of the table.

Everton will now look forward to a game at Goodison Park against Brentford next weekend, and Benitez will surely be hoping he has some more players back from injury in an effort to win some points before a tough run of fixtures against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. If he does, then Keane simply has to be axed after his feeble showing in Manchester.

The Indian captain has said that Bangladesh cannot be taken lightly but that they have to learn to play better during the tough periods to do well in Test cricket

Sriram Veera in Mirpur23-Jan-2010MS Dhoni, returning as captain for the second Test, has said that Bangladesh cannot be taken lightly but that they have to learn to play better during the tough periods to do well in Test cricket.It was yet another press conference where questions were raised about whether Bangladesh were capable of taking 20 wickets and about their capabilities as a Test team. No one mentioned Virender Sehwag, but his views were raised. When asked if Bangladesh could take 20 wickets, Dhoni replied: “That’s why they are playing Test matches. They are expected to take 20 wickets. You can’t take any team lightly. At the end of the day, ten good balls can do the damage. But it’s about creating pressure.”Sehwag had earlier said that “Bangladesh are an ordinary side ” and it has been a recurring theme in all the press conferences that have followed. Dhoni was first asked what he thought about Bangladesh’s performance in the Chittagong Test. He however disagreed that all three results were possible at the end of the fourth day.”After the fourth day there was only one way the match could have gone,” Dhoni said. “I am not exaggerating; anyone who follows cricket will know what result was possible. But as an international side, you are expected to do well and they did reasonably well.”The local papers reported that the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board had questioned the Bangladesh players’ commitment after the first Test. Dhoni was asked for his opinion on the commitment issue and he replied: “I don’t think there is a lack of commitment. It was a lack of application. One-day cricket is about aggression and flair but Test cricket is a different ball game. One has to struggle through the hard periods initially and then look on to get a respectable score on the board. There are some batsmen in sides who look to play their shots but it’s about the long three-four hours of toil in the wicket that sets up a good score. They would get better and better if they play more Tests.”Asked whether he thought Bangladesh could win he said, ” That’s why they are playing. If there is no hope, there is no point playing Test matches. But they have to really play well to do so. In Test matches, you have to play consistent cricket for a period of time.”Dhoni also spoke about the weight of expectations on being the No.1 side. “There are obviously expectations from you when you are No.1, that you need to win this way, but I am not a man who likes to make statements. I like to make statements on the field. I am a practical guy. Yes we did not do that well in the first innings in the last Test, but the way we came back was good and that’s what is expected. It was a decent start but we can put up a better performance than that.”

Not only did Aston Villa manage to pick up their first defeat under new manager Steven Gerrard in the 2-1 loss at Villa Park against Manchester City in midweek, but they were also dealt a blow when winger Leon Bailey was forced off the pitch with an injury.

Speaking after the match against Pep Guardiola’s side, Gerrard revealed that the thigh injury suffered by the Jamaican “doesn’t look good” and that it “looks like he will miss at least a couple of games.”

Opportunity knocks

With this in mind, it could be the perfect time for one other Villa attacker to finally get the chance to prove himself to Gerrard while Bailey is out injured is Anwar El Ghazi.

Since Gerrard was appointed at Villa, El Ghazi has only made two substitute appearances, the first of which coming in their 2-0 win over Brighton in Gerrard’s first game where he played just six minutes, followed by a 13-minute cameo in the win against Crystal Palace where he provided an assist.

Even though Gerrard chose to bring on Ashley Young for the injured Bailey in the game against City in midweek, leaving El Ghazi on the bench for the duration, the Englishman failed to have much of an attacking impact to try and claw a positive result from the match.

With this in mind and the fact that El Ghazi, who has been labelled in the past as “unstoppable” by former Villa teammate Alan Hutton, has as many goals as Bailey and Emi Buendia in the league at this point in the season, this could the Dutchman’s best opportunity to show to Gerrard that he should be in the starting XI more often.

Looking ahead to the future, with Villa set to take on Leicester City on Sunday afternoon for their next Premier League clash, Gerrard should definitely consider giving El Ghazi a chance to prove himself from the start rather than from the substitutes bench again to see if he can make a difference to the team.

If Gerrard does pick El Ghazi to start against the Foxes and he manages to deliver a solid performance, he could well find himself at the start of a regular run in the team, which would be great for the winger given how he’s only started four league games so far this season.

In other news: Villa handed double potential injury boost ahead of LCFC that’ll leave fans thrilled – opinion

Queensland will have at least one debutant for their important Sheffield Shield match this week after the teenage batsman Chris Lynn was named for his maiden first-class game

Cricinfo staff01-Mar-2010Queensland will have at least one debutant for their important Sheffield Shield match this week after the teenage batsman Chris Lynn was named for his maiden first-class game. Lynn, 19, was included in the 12-man squad at the expense of Nick Kruger, who has been dropped, for the game against South Australia starting in Brisbane on Wednesday.The Bulls have also included the uncapped legspinner Cameron Boyce, although on the seam-friendly Gabba pitch he might be the man to miss out. The fast bowler Nathan Rimmington has returned to the squad to replace James Hopes, who has gone to New Zealand to be part of Australia’s ODI outfit.Queensland are second on the Sheffield Shield table after their stunning last-wicket win over Victoria last week and victory against the Redbacks would secure them a place in the final. South Australia need not only outright wins from their last two games but also other results to fall their way to have any chance of qualifying.They have regained their captain Graham Manou, the allrounder Daniel Christian after his Twenty20 trip to New Zealand, and also the fast bowler Mark Cleary, who hasn’t played a first-class game since October. Tim Ludeman, Kane Richardson and Cullen Bailey have been left out of the 12-man group.Queensland squad Ryan Broad, Chris Lynn, Wade Townsend, Lee Carseldine, Craig Philipson, Chris Simpson (capt), Chris Hartley (wk), Ben Cutting, Chris Swan, Nathan Rimmington, Luke Feldman, Cameron Boyce.South Australia squad Daniel Harris, James Smith, Michael Klinger, Cameron Borgas, Mark Cosgrove, Graham Manou (capt, wk), Daniel Christian, Aaron O’Brien, Mark Cleary, Jake Haberfield, Peter George, Gary Putland.

On the pitch, Newcastle haven’t had the best start to the season after just winning one of their 15 games of the campaign so far.

Off the pitch, however, it seems as though Newcastle’s new owners are working behind the scenes to appoint a director of football ahead of the upcoming January transfer window.

That said, it seems as though the club could be heading in a direction on the matter that would not have a lot of Newcastle fans happy.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from the Daily Mail by journalist Craig Hope, Nick Hammond, the former head of football operations at Celtic, has been spoken to by the Newcastle hierarchy about potentially becoming their new director.

Forget about him

With a report from The Scottish Sun evaluating the 20 players that Hammond helped Celtic sign during his time at the Parkhead club for a total fee of £35m and coming away with an overall negative summary, perhaps it wouldn’t be in Newcastle’s best interest if they hire him as their new director given his track record of poor recruitment at Celtic.

He signed former West Ham striker Albian Ajeti for £4.5m but he has only found the net on nine occasions in 47 outings for the Hoops while adding Polish forward Patrky Klimala to their ranks for £3.5m. The end result of his move was even worse with just three strikes in 28 appearances.

There was also the addition of goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas at £5m in the summer of 2020 but just a year and a half on, he looks set to be heading to pastures new after only 23 games for Celtic.

Thus, taking into account how Newcastle are still in the relegation zone of the Premier League table despite winning their previous league game against Burnley, the Tyneside club will have to make sure they sign find right person to help them sign the correct players in January.

On the evidence provided, it doesn’t look like Hammond possesses the tools to be able to turn their season around and avoid the drop down to the Championship by the end of the campaign.

With the same report from Hope claiming that Newcastle have hired an external recruitment firm to help in their search for a director of football, this should give the fans some confidence that the hierarchy are doing their best at making sure they get the right person for the job in and push the club forward.

Looking ahead to the rest of this month and January, it’s safe to say that this will be an important period for Newcastle on and off the pitch for the right people to come in behind the scenes and for Eddie Howe and his players to keep getting points on the board and escape the relegation zone.

Yet, if they opt for Hammond, it would surely leave a number of the Toon Army fuming with the decision. His track record of signing players, especially in recent times, is not desirable whatsoever.

In other news: NUFC could land the next Xavi with £31.5m-rated gem who “always finds the best escape” – opinion

West Indies had their best performance of the series cut short by the weather

The Bulletin by Peter English12-Feb-2010Match abandoned West Indies 0 for 6 v Australia 225 (Clarke 46, Hussey 44, Rampaul 4-61)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRavi Rampaul was the star for West Indies with four wickets before a damp night at the SCG•Getty ImagesWest Indies had their best performance of the series cut short by the weather as they were allowed six balls in their chase before the third ODI was washed out. The desperate tourists, who now have to win the final two matches to level the five-game contest, were hopeful of victory after Ravi Rampaul’s 4 for 61 restricted Australia to 225.They had scored six runs when the rain came for a two-hour delay and it refused to leave for long enough to ensure a result. Play resumed at 9.20pm local time with West Indies facing a target of 151 off 24 overs, but the weather closed in again after one delivery. The sides will head to Brisbane for the fourth fixture on Sunday, when Australia will attempt to wrap up the series and Chris Gayle’s men will try to hold on.Gayle gambled by bowling first at the SCG after losing Kemar Roach to injury, but his back-up men stood up in hot and humid conditions at the start and windy ones towards the end of the innings. Australia experienced a testing opening to be 2 for 30 and the batsmen were unable to find fluency while West Indies’ medium pacers enjoyed a pitch offering seam and some inconsistent bounce.Rampaul led the attack well in the absence of Roach – he didn’t deserve a late thrashing from Ryan Harris – while Dwayne Smith, the stand-in opener, had 3 for 45 as they regularly threatened the locals. Australia relied on late contributions from Michael Hussey, who struck 44 off 53, and Harris (21 off nine) as they built on Michael Clarke’s 46 to post what should have been a challenging total.Hussey, who came in just before a 20-minute rain break, worked hard while James Hopes chipped in with a valuable 30 before Harris arrived with some grunt. He hit Rampaul for three fours and a six in the 50th over before finding Kieron Pollard at long on as Australia were dismissed with a ball to go.Australia had already lost four wickets in the Powerplay, which was taken in the 45th over, starting when Smith bowled Hussey. Rampaul watched Hopes chip him to midwicket and then got one through Nathan Hauritz, while Mitchell Johnson was taken by a clever catch by Pollard off Smith.With Roach missing, Smith opened with gentle outswingers that caused trouble while Rampaul was also potent. Darren Sammy, who replaced Roach in the XI, did his job with 2 for 46 and gained the crucial dismissals of Clarke and Ricky Ponting (22), who inside-edged on to his stumps aiming a drive.Clarke worked the ball around, running 34 singles and managing only one four, but was unable to force the big shots and grew frustrated into a charge at Sammy. The swipe to the legside ended in a catch behind and he left with the score at a wobbly 5 for 144.Nikita Miller, the left-arm spinner, was tidy in giving up three-and-a-half runs an over while Pollard (1 for 26) was also tight and gained Cameron White’s edge on 17. The only real problem for the bowlers was their generosity in giving away 12 wides over the first half of the innings. At the time Australia needed all the extra runs.Australia made four changes and employed a new opening combination with Tim Paine and Adam Voges coming in for the rested Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh, who pulled out with a back injury shortly before the toss. Rampaul’s inswinger bowled Paine on 16 as he tried to hit to leg and in the next over Smith’s full toss trapped Voges (8) attempting a similar shot. West Indies continued to cause problems and while chasing under lights would have been tough, they would have loved an opportunity to inflict Australia’s first defeat of the season.

Following on from Celtic’s 3-2 win over Real Betis in the Europa League, the Bhoys are back in action this afternoon with a Scottish Premiership clash against Motherwell at Parkhead. 

On the Chalkboard

In terms of which players Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou could pick to be in his starting XI on this occasion, one figure that featured in the win over Betis that should not be in the team on this occasion is Adam Montgomery.

Despite starting the game in midweek against the Spanish side, Montgomery failed to prove himself to Postecoglou before being replaced by Mikey Johnston.

During his time on the pitch, Montgomery didn’t have much of an attacking impact on the team by failing to have even one clear shot at goal or complete any of the two dribbles he attempted.

Things weren’t much better for the 19-year-old in a defensive sense either by losing nine duels, surrendering possession of the ball on 15 occasions (once every 3.2 touches) giving three fouls away and getting dribbled past twice.

This display ultimately earned Montgomery, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £3.5k-per-week according to Salary Sport, an overall underwhelming match rating of 6.3/10, making him one of Celtic’s lowest-rated players on the day according to SofaScore, showing how much he flopped on this occasion.

One dubbed “tremendous” by Postecoglou, his display on the night was sadly anything but.

Even though Montgomery has predominantly played in the left-back position for the 16 appearances he’s made for the Bhoys so far this term, it’s a shame that he couldn’t do more in an attacking sense against Betis when given the chance to play a bit further forward up the pitch to fully show off his talents to the manager.

Taking this into account, it should be in Celtic’s best interest if Postecoglou doesn’t start Montgomery today against Motherwell, who have the chance of cutting the gap between them and their opposition this afternoon to seven points if they manage to secure a win.

Labelled as a “very talented young player” in the past by Postecoglou, Montgomery’s poor performance against Betis should be no cause for concern given his age. However, if he keeps delivering underwhelming performances when called upon, there could be some questions raised over his ability moving forward.

In other news: “No estimated return date”: Devlin drops big Celtic injury update, Ange will be fuming

Newcastle suffered their eighth defeat of the Premier League season on Sunday as they lost 4-0 to Leicester away from home.

The Magpies are 19th in the table and have only won one of their 16 matches so far, scoring 17 goals and conceding a whopping 34.

Scoring and conceding goals has been an issue for Newcastle and Eddie Howe could look to the January transfer window to rectify some of his problems.

Better than Joelinton

Mais Futebol, via Sport Witness, reported earlier this month that the Magpies have held talks over a possible deal for Benfica attacker Darwin Nunez. The report claims that the Portuguese side would like a fee in the region of £42.7m (€50m) for the striker. That price tag would break Newcastle’s transfer record but it would surely be worth it.

Whilst Newcastle were being hammered by the Foxes at the King Power, Nunez was putting on a sensational showing for Benfica in a league clash with Famalicao on Sunday.

As per SofaScore, he won five of his ten ground duels and completed an impressive four dribbles in 90 minutes on the pitch. He also scored a stunning three goals from just three shots as Benfica won 4-1, scoring his hat-trick and managing four dribbles in just 33 touches of the ball – proving that he can work effectively without needing a constant supply of service.

The forward showed Howe exactly why he should sign him in January, as they are badly lacking a player of his quality at the top end of the pitch to support Callum Wilson, with this performance taking him to 14 goals in 18 games for Benfica across the Liga Bwin and Champions League. At the end of the day, goals win games and Newcastle do not have enough goalscorers in their side.

Wilson (six) and Allan Saint-Maximin (three) are the only players with more than one league goal this season. Joelinton has been supporting the former in a front two of late, but he has only managed one strike and the signing of Nunez could prove to be a major upgrade in that position, given that he scored three times as many goals on Sunday as the Brazilian has managed all campaign.

The 22-year-old played off Haris Seferovic in the match, which shows that he is capable of being deployed in a wider, or deeper, role rather than purely as a centre-forward. This means that he could come in and offer help to Wilson with his clinical edge in the final third, having shown that he has more of an eye for goal than Joelinton.

His manager Jorge Jesus previously stated that he has all the qualities to become world-class in his position, saying: “All this decision-making ability, finishing and speed… He was Benfica’s most expensive purchase, and when there is no pandemic, he will be the most expensive sale. He will be a world-class player. Unfortunately for me, maybe I will lose him in a short time.”

Based on that, they simply have to sign him.

AND in other news, NUFC heading for disaster on “embarrassing” 30 y/o dud, Howe once locked him in a room…D

On the day that Vettori marked his 100th Test he was once again the star for New Zealand

Brydon Coverdale in Hamilton27-Mar-2010Daniel Vettori’s wife calls him the Captain of Everything, which goes back to when he was appointed skipper in all three formats and plans for split leadership with Stephen Fleming were shelved. It could also refer to his role as the team’s best bowler, most consistent batsman and their general in the field. New Zealand have relied so heavily on Vettori so often that despite being in his 100th Test he has celebrated fewer wins (31) than Michael Hussey (33), who is playing his 50th.On the day that Vettori marked his milestone he was once again the star with four wickets, a direct-hit run-out and some well-thought-out field placements. But this time, he had support. From the moment New Zealand strode on to Seddon Park to the time when Vettori led them off to a standing ovation, his men looked sharp. Catches were held, pressure was maintained and Australia were skittled for their lowest total in New Zealand in a decade.Nothing would please New Zealand fans more than seeing Vettori finally enjoy a Test win over Australia. The same intensity will need to be shown over the coming days but Vettori gave his men a good start. They rushed to their captain to congratulate him when his throw from mid-off ended the innings of Ricky Ponting, who has sung the team song after beating New Zealand in nine Tests during his 12-year rivalry with Vettori.It was a big wicket. Tim Southee had picked up Shane Watson early but Ponting and Simon Katich had looked comfortable and the run-out sparked something from the New Zealanders. Southee, who said the team wanted to lift for their captain, went on to collect four wickets and it is only when the fast men back Vettori that New Zealand look at their best.Then there was the plot conceived by Vettori to place a man at deep mid-on, hoping Michael Clarke would try to clear the field off Jeetan Patel. The trap worked. Southee held a good catch – none were spilled during the innings – and although some of the wickets fell to batsman error the bowlers stuck to their plans with diligence.That the pressure built on Australia was yet another tribute to Vettori. He bowled tight, giving the Australians no freedom to attack, and Marcus North and Brad Haddin fell at the other end to Southee when they sought to find runs off him instead. Vettori won his personal rewards at the finish, with three lower-order wickets to finish the innings with 4 for 36 in his 20th over.”It was a good day,” Vettori said. “To turn round from where we were at the Basin, by only being able to take five wickets, and to step up today on a pretty good wicket was impressive. I couldn’t really have asked for too much more from the day’s play. Losing that last wicket right at the end put a little bit of a tarnish on it but I think our track record suggests it has to be five good days as opposed to one.”The first day of his 100th Test could hardly have gone any better. The previous night his father Renzo, who was born in a small village in the Dolomites of Italy, had been invited to present Vettori with the cap for his milestone game.Across the road from Seddon Park, a supermarket was stocking kiwi-fruit imported from the world’s biggest producer of the item. It wasn’t a deliberate tribute to Vettori’s heritage but the abundance of Italian kiwis was especially fitting this week.