In theory Mitchell Johnson and Ashley Noffke are competing for a fast-bowling place in the West Indies. The reality is different for the Queensland team-mates.Johnson would be devastated if he wasn’t picked for the opening Test from May 22 after being a fixture over the summer. When thinking about the tour he is as relaxed as any bowler can be when there are persistent threats from further down the queue.”It was a big summer, my first playing Tests, one-dayers and Twenty20,” Johnson said as the pre-tour camp wound up in Brisbane. “I wouldn’t say I’d nailed a spot there, but it’s given me a bit more confidence playing out the summer. I feel pretty confident that I can keep continuing my form.”For Noffke, who is going on his third senior tour, the initial aim is to play a game. Any game. Johnson, Brett Lee and Stuart Clark, who is a menace on the wearing surfaces expected in the Caribbean, are ahead of Noffke and there is only one practice match before the three Tests. Noffke is not in the one-day squad, so he may fill a sideline role like the one Johnson performed during the World Cup.While Australia eased to a third consecutive global triumph last year, Johnson was camped in the nets throughout the Caribbean. Only occasionally in the West Indies do the practice facilities mirror those in the middle so when he lands he will start with a conversation with Brett Lee.”Hopefully he can point me in the right direction because he’s toured there before,” Johnson said. “I’ll just take it day by day.” His main memory of the conditions was it was very hot.His recollections of the past summer, when he made his debut against Sri Lanka and held his spot throughout the India series, are more cohesive. Ricky Ponting is impressed with Johnson’s left-arm attributes and he gave him an average of 42 overs a game during his opening six Tests. He captured 24 wickets to finish behind Lee’s 40 and ahead of Clark’s more economical 21.”It’s pretty hard to get the ball out of my hand,” Johnson said. “I probably don’t want to do it [bowl long spells] all the time, but if Ricky needs me I’ll bowl.”One of the most memorable aspects of Johnson’s performances was his tendency to deliver a wide, full offering outside off stump early in his spell. For much of the summer he was trying to correct a faulty wrist position that prevented the ball from swinging in to the right-handers. It is something he is continuing to monitor, but insists is not a problem.”I have been working on it, but I’m not going to go out in games and be too worried about it,” he said. “If it’s swinging, it’s swinging. If it’s not swinging, I will still be trying to hit the deck hard.”The thought of bowling to West Indies’ main weapons, Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, is also enticing. Johnson thinks the alteration in angle to the left-handers, a group which also includes Sewnarine Chattergoon, Ryan Hinds and Devon Smith, will help him achieve more movement through the air.At the moment Noffke has much more simple aims. “I’d love to play a game, but that’s out of my control a bit,” he said. “It can be fairly difficult on a set tour like this. There’s only one tour game at the start and I’m not sure what the set-up is going to be there.”It will be Noffke’s second time in the West Indies after he went with the side in 2003, but a series of injuries followed the trip. He swept back into national calculations with an amazing season of 741 first-class runs and 51 wickets, a convincing haul that could tempt the selectors into using him as an allrounder at some stage.”I hope I give them that option,” he said. “My first-class statistics last year prove that. Whether or not their perception of me is the same, I don’t know. I haven’t had any sit-down chats with them yet. I hope I provide some different options.”Noffke’s improvement over the past two seasons has led to him feeling reborn as a batsman and finding a niche with his right-arm fast bowling. “There’s nothing more pleasing than to see your name with the guys I am travelling with,” he said. “The reason I am there is because of top-quality performances for Queensland.” Unfortunately for Noffke, the same applies to Johnson.
Richard Bates, the former England women’s coach, will take over the reins of the New South Wales Breakers following Lisa Keightley’s promotion to the Australian job. Bates resigned from his England post earlier this year with the plan of moving his family to Australia and the exit of Keightley has allowed a smooth transition.The Breakers have won nine of the 11 national league titles and Bates will be in charge of continuing the dominant run. “He has an excellent record as coach of the English women’s side and we believe that his experience and knowledge will be an important factor in the on-going success of the Breakers,” David Gilbert, the Cricket New South Wales chief executive, said.Bates, a former Nottinghamshire offspinner, worked with England for four years and was in charge when they defeated Australia in the Ashes. He is familiar with Sydney after spending the 2002-03 season with the UTS Balmain club and is excited by the southern hemisphere challenge. “There is undoubted talent in the Breakers squad,” he said, “and it seems there is a good mix of experienced international cricketers with some exciting young players coming through the ranks.”
A year after the recruitment of Matthew Elliott ended in a serious knee problem, South Australia have returned their focus to home-grown players as they named their contract list for 2006-07. Elliott, whose injury ruled him out of an off-season stint with Glamorgan, retained his place on the list alongside Greg Blewett, another former international who performed below expectations last summer.Mark Higgs and Matthew Weeks were not offered new deals while the rookie Peter George was also dropped from the squad. Gary Putland, the left-arm swing bowler from Southern District, has been added after he played five ING Cup games in 2005-06 and took two wickets. Three rookies have been called up with Lachlan Oswald-Jacobs, the 21-year-old batsman, Chadd Sayers, an 18-year-old from Woodville, and the Southern District batsman Simon Roberts earning their first contracts.”The selectors have continued to show faith in the product of grade cricket and the young talented cricketers in this state,” Harvey Jolly, the SACA general manager of cricket, said. “After the promise shown last season and from my discussions with the playing group it is clear they are excited about being part of the future.” The captain and vice-captain will be named during the pre-season campaign, but it would be a surprise if either Darren Lehmann or Graham Manou were demoted.Squad Nathan Adcock, Cullen Bailey, Greg Blewett, Cameron Borgas, Ben Cameron, Mark Cleary, Mark Cosgrove, Daniel Cullen (Cricket Australia contract), Shane Deitz, Matthew Elliott, Callum Ferguson, Jason Gillespie (CA), Daniel Harris, Ryan Harris, Trent Kelly, Darren Lehmann, Graham Manou, Gary Putland, Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait (CA).Rookies Lachlan Oswald-Jacobs, Tom Plant, Simon Roberts, Chadd Sayers, Ken Skewes.
Russel Arnold has been recalled to Sri Lanka’s Test squad for their forthcoming two-Test series against West Indies, which begins in Colombo on July 13.Arnold, 31, lost his place more than a year ago due to poor form, but a match-winning hundred against a touring West Indies A side in a recent four-day game helped him make a comeback. He replaces Shantha Kalavithigoda, who made his Test debut against New Zealand at Wellington in April.”Russel performed better in the four-day games against West Indies A and taking his form into account he was preferred over Kalavithigoda,” Lalith Kaluperuma, Sri Lanka’s chairman of selectors told AFP.The left-arm seamer, Nuwan Zoysa, is also back in the side after recovering from injury, as well as Muttiah Muralitharan, who has been out of the side for 11 months due to a shoulder injury. Gayan Wijekoon, 28, the only uncapped player in the side, comes in at the expense of other allrounder, Farveez Maharoof. Marvan Atapattu remains as captain, with Mahela Jayawardene his deputy.West Indies will play a two-day warm-up game in Colombo over the weekend. The first Test will be held at the Sinhalese Sports Club here from July 13 while the second match will be played at Kandy from July 21.Sri Lanka squad Marvan Atapattu (capt), Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasitha Malinga, Gayan Wijekoon, Russel Arnold, Rangana Herath.
ScorecardZimbabwe ended their World Cup on a winning note with a comprehensive 92-run victory over New Zealand in the day-night match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.Brendon Taylor, Zimbabwe’s opener, was named Man of the Match with an impressive 127 from 145 balls as his side took full advantage of batting first.Taylor was supported by Elton Chingumbura (20), Craig Ervine (34) and Tafadzwa Mufambisi (45*), as Zimbabwe reached 272 for 8 from their 50 overs.New Zealand’s reply lacked any conviction and not one of their top-eight batsmen made more than 20. They were all out for 180 in 42 overs, with No. 11 Te Ahu Davis top-scoring with 44 from 35 balls.Taylor said he was pleased to finish the tournament on a high note. "I felt I batted well against the seamers, but I struggled a bit against the spinners," he said. "When we beat Australia I was a bit worried people might say that was a one-off, so it was good to get a second good win today. Although we are disappointed not to have made it to the semi-finals, it is satisfying to end the tournament with a win."Dayle Hadlee, New Zealand’s coach, felt his team had under-performed in the event."We have only won two out of six matches which is not good enough," he said."All credit to Zimbabwe who did everything we were hoping to do, but didn’t. They paced their innings perfectly, Taylor batted very well and they fully deserved their victory."The result meant that New Zealand finish bottom of Group Two of the Super League, with Zimbabwe third.
Please note that the floodlit NCL match against Worcestershire scheduled for26th August at Castle Park Colchester will now be staged at the same venueunder lights on Thursday 28th August 2003.This is due to the ECB requiring the temporary floodlight equipment for atelevised match elsewhere on the original fixture date.Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused
Skipper Vikram Rathour and Askash Chopra put on 237 runs off 61.4overs for the first wicket as holders North Zone ended at the happyposition of 336 for three off 90 overs on the opening day of theDuleep Trophy match against South Zone at the IGMC stadium inVijayawada on Thursday.Rathour won a good toss and he and Chopra laid the foundation for animposing North Zone total. On a batsman friendly wicket, they dealtwith the varied South Zone attack confidently. Neither the seam ofDodda Ganesh, Thiru Kumaran or Robin Singh, nor the spin ofVenkatpathi Raju, Sunil Joshi and Aashish Kapoor bothered them and itwas not until just before tea that the stand was broken when Choprawas caught at silly point by substitute Nandakishore off Raju for 110.Chopra who batted 254 minutes, faced 207 balls and hit 17 fours.Yuvraj Singh hit the first ball he faced to the boundary and was outoff the next. He charged down the wicket to Raju and was stumped byTilak Naidu.Rathour and left hander Dinesh Mongia however prevented a collapse byadding 88 runs for the third wicket off 24.2 overs before the captainwas well caught on the leg side by a diving Tilak Naidu off Ganesh.Rathour, who batted 350 minutes, faced 237 balls and hit 16 fours anda six.Mongia, who batted aggresively, was unbeaten with 60 off 89 balls atstumps. He has so far hit 12 fours. Keeping him company is VirenderShewag with four. Raju took two for 86 off 28 overs and Ganesh one for37 off 12 overs. But the other four bowlers, all of whom have playedfor India, went wicketless.
The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered an update on where things stand with Leeds United’s plans for the summer transfer window.
What’s the story?
He said: “Summer transfer windows on Marcelo Bielsa’s watch were invariably measured events. He never changed the face of his dressing room too much in one go, but this close-season, irrespective of the division Leeds are in, will demand a more thorough rebuild.
“As Bamford retreated to the bench in tears at Molineux on Friday night, dejected by aggravating a foot injury inside 25 minutes, it was hard not to think again about how makeshift Leeds have been up front this season. It is becoming their first port of call for recruitment.”
Support for Bamford
Given Patrick Bamford’s injury struggles this season, it’s no surprise to see the Whites lack that ruthless edge in front of goal, scoring just 34 times in 30 Premier League games.
The England international struck half that total himself last year, and being without him for a number of months, exposed one of the glaring holes in this Whites squad.
With him out, Leeds have had to turn to the likes of Dan James and Joe Gelhardt up front, and while the duo have tried to lead the line the best they can, neither possess either the skill or experience to be a consistent threat like Bamford week-in and week-out.
News that the club are well aware of that need for a new striker heading into the summer transfer window is a welcome relief for manager Jesse Marsch, and it’s one that should have supporters buzzing.
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Giving Bamford the support and cover he needs could be the key to ensuring the Whites don’t suffer a complete drop-off in form if and when he is out of the team.
AND in other news: Orta set for Leeds disaster as terms agreed for £63k-p/w “storm” who’s “a level above”
Shoaib Akhtar’s troubles continue as Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the PCB, has served a legal notice on the fast bowler for comments he made to a private television channel in the aftermath of the PCB’s decision to ban him for five years.Shoaib appeared on a number of TV channels yesterday arguing his case, after he addressed a packed press conference claiming that he had been victimised. Though he refused to attack the chairman specifically on some channels, in an interview to the Express News channel, he alleged that the ban was punishment in return for refusing to give the chairman a share of his salary from the Indian Premier League (IPL). Shoaib also alleged that Ashraf had tried to extort money from other Pakistani cricketers as well.The notice, issued by the board’s legal firm on behalf of Ashraf, said that the comments made by Shoaib were “not only utterly outrageous, fabricated, and manifestly baseless” but were made “solely to character assassinate [Ashraf]”. It added that his allegations were a “counterblast” to the disciplinary action taken against Shoaib, and had damaged the reputation of Ashraf, as well as the Pakistan board.The notice called upon Shoaib to “retract” his statements against Ashraf, and “tender an unconditional apology”. The notice also sought damages of Rs100 million (approximately US$1.6 million) to Ashraf for “defaming him personally” and another Rs100 million to the PCB for “sullying the name of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket team.”Ashraf has threatened to seek legal remedies under the civil and criminal laws of Pakistan if Shoaib does not respond to the notice’s requirements.This is the second setback on the day for Shoaib, who just hours earlier, was barred from taking part in the IPL till the end of his five-year ban or until his ban is lifted.Shoaib was banned for comments he made after not being offered a contract by the PCB, in which he lashed out at domestic tournaments, pitches and the administration. The severity of the ban, argue the board, is the result of a litany of disciplinary issues; he was also on a two-year probationary period after hitting team-mate Mohammad Asif with a bat before the World Twenty20 last year, an act which also saw him banned for 13 matches and fined over US$50,000. The board had warned him that any further transgression during this period would result in a life ban.
10:30 – Ford gets the voteThe seven-man committee, after listening to both candidates, decided to recommend Graham Ford’s name to the BCCI working committee which will ratify the appointment. That is expected to be a formality, and Ford is now almost certain to take charge for the one-day series against his compatriots in Ireland later this month.9:30pm – Ford gets his chanceThe media weren’t allowed onto the first floor where the meeting was being held, but it was believed that Emburey had finished his presentation, leaving the floor to Ford, reportedly the players’ choice for the job.8:30pm – Embers goes firstJohn Emburey is first to make his presentation in front of the seven-member committee after the meeting starts half an hour late.8:20pm – Sunil Gavaskar arrives from GoaTwenty minutes after the others went upstairs, Sunil Gavaskar arrives after having attended a personal function in Goa. As with the others, he’s mobbed by waiting media. Before he goes into the elevator, Gavaskar asks: “Is nobody at the [Afro-Asia Cup] match?”8:00pm – Pawar makes his entranceAs the clock struck eight, Sharad Pawar came down from his suite to the first-floor banquet hall where the meeting is being held. Dressed in white as always, he was surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards.7:41pm – The stop-gap manRavi Shastri, who coached India in Bangladesh, turns up with Srinivas Venkataraghavan. Again, there’s a frenzied response from the assembled media. Shastri asks one if he wants to come in. “Into the elevator?” asks the mediaperson. “No, only into the elevator,” quips Shastri before the door slides shut.7:35pm – The coach-maker arrivesNiranjan Shah, the board secretary, arrives, accompanied by Ratnakar Shetty, the chief executive, N Srinivasan, the treasurer, and MP Pandove. As they’re mobbed by TV cameras, Pandove turns around and tells a cameraman: “He’s only the secretary, not the coach!” The reply is a classic. “But he’s the coach-maker.”7:20pm – Touching glovesBoth men, dressed in suits and carrying laptops, entered the elevator to proceed to the meeting. Despite a posse of photographers clicking away, Ford and Emburey were seen chatting amiably as they proceeded to make the presentations that would decide who would succeed Greg Chappell as Indian coach.6:30pm – The saga beginsAnd finally the day of reckoning for the future Indian coach arrived. On a warm yet cloudy Saturday evening, with the Asia XI taking on the Africa XI in the second one-dayer at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, the action, at least as far as the media was concerned, shifted to the Park Sheraton Hotel and Towers. Sharad Pawar, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, arrived shortly after 5pm and checked into his suite. It’s believed – and there has been no information officially disseminated to the media so far – that Graham Ford and John Emburey, the two men vying for the coach’s job, would have to make their presentations either in Pawar’s suite or in the Elliot banquet hall.The rest of the committee were yet to reach the hotel. BCCI officials also on the committee were at the MA Chidambaram Stadium watching the match, and were only expected to arrive closer to 8pm, when it was believed that the meetings would begin. Sunil Gavaskar, the most influential of the three former Indian cricketers in the seven-man committee, had already excused himself from commentary duties with ESPN, who are broadcasting the Afro-Asia Cup. It has been reported that Gavaskar was in Goa, attending to a family function, but he was expected to be present at the meetings that will decide between Ford and Emburey.Ravi Shastri, another former cricketer on the panel who is on contract with ESPN, had asked his employers to be excused and would make it to the Park Sheraton in time for the discussions. At half-past six, however, only Pawar was present at the venue, and his presence was hard to miss given the elaborate police protection all round the hotel. Right from cars parked outside, with cops inside ready and on the go, to policemen in uniform keeping watch outside the hotel and in the foyer where the elevators to Pawar’s room were located, khaki was everywhere.When the same committee met in Bangalore and announced the short-list of Ford and Emburey, the media were kept out of the Hotel Grand Ashok, ostensibly on “security grounds”, and as yet, a similar measure had not been taken in Chennai.