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The Yorkshire Phoenix went down to their second National League defeat in two days when they lost to the Northamptonshire Steelbacks. On Saturday they lost by 51 runs to the Gloucestershire Gladiators and on Sunday they lost by 60 runs with six overs left.However when the Steelbacks were 34 for three after 13 overs it looked like the Phoenix were on course for an easy victory. Matthew Hoggard celebrated his call up to the test squad with two early wickets. In his first over he had Rollins caught by Byas at second slip. Then he had Steelbacks’ captain Matthew Hayden caught behind by stand in stumper McGrath. The Steelbacks only added another 11 runs when they lost their third wicket. Loye was caught by Fellows in the covers off Gavin Hamilton.David Sales and Jeffrey Cook put on 70 on for the fourth wicket. The fifty partnership came up in 14 overs. Cook a 28 year old Australian in his second season with the Steelbacks, had a life early in his innings, when Middlebrook drooped him at point. Jeff Cook who has lived in this country since 1993 and is now qualified for England was eventually out when he holed out to Hamilton at long on from the bowling off Darren Lehmann for 33.Sales now began to push the score along. He hit Middlebrook for two sixes in two overs over long on. Then he hit him for a huge straight six. Together with Penberthy the pair added 60 in ten overs before Penberthy was bowled by a slower ball from Gough.Hoggard came back into the attack and dismissed Graeme Swann, who was caught by Fellows. However, Hoggard’s last two overs cost him 24 runs. In the last over of the Steelbacks innings Gough bowled Ripley for a duck and the Steelbacks closed on 189 for seven. Sales remained unbeaten on 71.Vaughan and Fellows got the Phoenix off to a confident start before Vaughan was caught by a diving Ripley off Devon Malcolm. Fellows and Byas upped the scoring rate, but after hitting two fours Fellows lofted first change Brown to Sales at deep mid on. Opening bowler Strong was brought back into the attack and had immediate success. He bowled Lehmann with an inswinger which came off his pad. Byas swept Brown and was out LBW for 21. The Phoenix had slipped from 50 for one to 69 for four.Hamilton was in for six balls for his five before he clipped Penberthy to Hayden at mid wicket. McGrath and Blakey added 35 for the sixth wicket but they could not find the boundary. The last four in the Phoenix innings came in the 15th over. Blakey had a wild swipe at Swann and was bowled for 16. Middlebrook scored one then he clipped Hayden to Swann at mid wicket, to give Hayden his first wicket in the National League this season.McGrath became the eighth man out when he lofted Swann to Cook at long on for 32. It was an eventful day for Anthony McGrath. He top scored for the Phoenix in his first National League match of the season. He also kept wicket for the first 13 overs of the Steelbacks innings because Blakey did not start the match due to a migraine attack.The last two Phoenix wickets added another nine to the total. Both Sidebottom and Hoggard were bowled by Swann for three and a duck respectively. Gough was not out on six and the Phoenix were all out for 129. Swann finished with four wickets for 14, his best figures in the National League this season.

The Athletic’s Celtic correspondent Kieran Devlin belieevs that Joe Hart could have done more to prevent Livingston’s goal in the Hoops’ 3-1 victory on Sunday. 

The lowdown

Celtic beat Livi to restore their three-point cushion at the top of the Premiership following their arch-rivals’ 1-0 win over Aberdeen on Saturday.

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Goals from Daizen Maeda and James Forrest either side of a Nicky Devlin own goal had given Celtic a healthy lead, but Andrew Shinnie threatened to ignite a comeback for the hosts when he pulled one back in the 56th minute.

Shinnie ‘stabbed home in a crowded goalmouth’ (in the words of BBC Sport’s Clive Lindsay) as the Hoops failed to deal with a Livingston long throw.

The latest

Writing on The Athletic’s matchday discussion board after Celtic let their clean sheet slip, Devlin expressed his disappointment with the £15,000-per-week goalkeeper over his role in the goal for Livingston.

Replying to a Hoops fan who was bemoaning his team’s defending at set pieces in the wake of Shinnie’s goal, the journalist stated: “Think Hart should be doing better there too”.

The verdict

When you watch the goal back, you can see where Devlin is coming from. Hart should perhaps be expected to take charge of the situation, but ultimately he remains virtually on his line and doesn’t get down quickly enough to prevent Shinnie poking the ball under him.

However, the broader issue here is Celtic’s weakness when it comes to defending set pieces. The Bhoys may be top of the table, but they have the third-worst record in the league in that department (10 goals conceded, one fewer than Aberdeen and two fewer than Ross County).

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Strikingly, 55% of the goals they’ve conceded in the division have come from set pieces. In light of these statistics, it’s hard to pin the blame on individuals, and it should be regarded a team failing.

In other news, this Celtic youngster is back in training

	Shane Bond: ‘If I’m never to play again [for New Zealand] it’s been a great run’ © Getty Images

Shane Bond is facing the likely end of his New Zealand career after his national contract was terminated to allow him to participate in the Indian Cricket League. The decision comes after weeks of negotiations as Bond tried to find a way of mixing the two, but in the end he says he leaves with no hard feelings.”I think everyone has acted with best intentions and then we have found ourselves between a rock and hard place really,” he told the . “It’s probably not a way I expected to finish. It would always be nice to go out and walk off the field for the last time. But..if I’m never to play again [for New Zealand] it’s been a great run.”Although neither Bond or the New Zealand board has completely ruled out a return the fast bowler appears set to end is international days with an impressive record of 79 wickets from 17 Tests and 125 scalps in 67 ODIs. Those numbers would have been even greater had it not been for an endless string of injuries that limited his appearances and the lack of Tests played by New Zealand.Bond, who was a policeman before becoming a tearaway quick, says he regrets not having been able to enjoy more success, but is happy with what he achieved. “I would definitely go down as a player who got the best out of myself,” he said. “And that’s the one thing, I suppose, as a player you hope for when you finish. By doing that I have got the record I have, and I’m proud of the record I have got. It’s a shame that it can’t go any further.”With his injury prone body, Bond said that it was time he looked at securing his future which is one of the major reasons behind his decision to take the ICL over the national team. He turned down an offer to play county cricket last year to ensure he was fit for New Zealand’s tour of South Africa but, without revealing the figure, found the latest offer to good to refuse.”I have made some financial sacrifices to try to play my best for New Zealand. I think now is the time, even though I miss out on some of my goals I wanted to achieve for New Zealand, the benefits for my family are going to be there.””The winter that has just gone I got the opportunity to go and play county cricket and had a really good offer on the table. But I turned that down because I wanted to go to South Africa [with the Black Caps] and be in the best shape I could be to go over there.”Later on in the year I got another offer [from the ICL] – at that stage I was able to do both. So on one hand I could play for New Zealand and on the other hand secure the future of my family, which was a dream result for me.”However, Bond did sound a cautionary note regarding the explosion of Twenty20 in India in the form of the ICL and IPL which are generating huge sums of money.”Really I think everybody is unsure about what is going to happen,” he said. “I suppose what everyone can see is there’s a huge amount of money in cricket, so from a player’s point of view it’s an exciting time to be involved in the game. But what you do hope is that we don’t have a complete split, that they can find a balance that keeps everyone happy.”

Duncan Fletcher looks on as Andrew Flintoff faces the media in St Lucia © Getty Images

Andrew Flintoff faced the media in St Lucia today, a day after he was dropped and stripped of the vice-captaincy following a late-night drinking session which ended with him being fished out of the sea in the early hours of Saturday morning.Flintoff, flanked by Duncan Fletcher, admitted that he was “embarrassed and ashamed” by his behaviour, although he was reluctant to go into details.”I had a few drinks on Friday. There has been maybe a bit of poetic licence but I’m not denying it happened,” he said. “It’s something which I don’t want to go into in too great a detail but something I am not very pleased about.”I have apologised and I want to redeem myself and pay back the faith people have shown me in the last few years and the only way I can do that is to go out there and perform with bat and ball. I want to get back in the nets, have a bat and a bowl and get back on the field and hopefully that can be the first steps in redeeming myself.

The night out was widely covered by the British media © The Mirror

“Probably for me the stakes have gone up a bit more. I desperately want to perform. I feel I have something I have to give back to the team. I have to make sure nothing like this happens off the pitch again.”It’s something I am not proud of and it should not have happened and I’ve suffered the consequences,” he continued. “The feeling of being left out for those reasons is something I am upset about and something I never want to repeat.”I have missed games through injury but to miss it through this… I was upset, embarrassed and ashamed of what I did.”It was a horrible feeling. I enjoy playing cricket for England and I want to continue to do that. Not being able to play for reasons such as these is something I cannot describe in words.”

Adam Gilchrist: ‘It’s great to be back on familiar territory and hopefully I can carry over my recent form’ © Cricinfo Ltd

John Buchanan, the Australia coach, is not expecting his team to be caught offside by any disciplinary problems during what promises to be a heated tour of South Africa.The Australians arrived on Monday and they have predicted hostile receptions after the South Africans were racially abused by Australia crowds during their recent tour. However, Buchanan said extra measures to avoid confrontation were not called for.”Management has just reiterated the same approaches, nothing more than normal, for incidents both on and off the field,” he said. “Our record over the last while has been pretty well exemplary, with just the odd incident, and we hope to leave the tour unscathed.”Mark Boucher, the South Africa wicketkeeper, said in an interview with that he hoped “our public give them a bit of stick”. “We’ve taken a serious amount,” he said. “In the past our crowds haven’t been too great with them, but, trust me, we’re not going to sit back and say ‘shame, poor things’.”For the Australia vice-captain Adam Gilchrist touring South Africa is a wonderful experience, not least of all because of his magnificent record in the country.”I’m just very excited to be here,” he said. “The tour’s come nice and quick, it doesn’t feel like four years since the last one and I have even fonder memories of winning the World Cup here three years ago. It’s great to be back on familiar territory and hopefully I can carry over my recent form.”Everyone seems so genuinely happy to have us here and the hospitality is second to none. Obviously a lot has been said about the stupid incidents in Australia, but I don’t think anything drastic will happen here. The abuse will be there, you expect it anywhere in the world, but it will not be untoward.”However, he told he had one “mixed memory” from the day he shed tears on reaching a double-century at Johannesburg after being the target of a vicious email rumour and crowd banners regarding his personal life. “But that day I happened to score 200 as well so that’s always going to be a more fond memory than a bad one,” he said. “I’ve moved on from that. That was just utter rubbish and that’s well and truly been eliminated. I won’t anticipate anything more directly aimed at me than anyone else in the whole team.”Gilchrist also had praise for the South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who endured a torrid time in Australia during his team’s losing run. “Graeme has tried to lead with a strong hand and a strong voice,” he said, “and I admire his tenacity in deciding to lead that way.”Australia’s first match is a Twenty20 against South Africa at the Wanderers on Friday and they will be without Michael Hussey, whose wife is expected to give birth this week.

Shoaib Akhtar: Will the selectors pick him for the remainder of the tour?© Getty Images

Shoaib Akhtar has given the Pakistan management something fresh to think about by making himself available for the remainder of the Indian tour. He has recovered from the hamstring injury which had kept him out of the Test series against India, and curtailed his Australian tour.Akhtar played in a Twenty20 match between Pakistan board XI and Leicestershire in Lahore. “It was a great feeling to return to competitive cricket and bowl the allotted four overs with full run-up,” said Akhtar to the Press Trust of India. “I think I bowled fast but the important thing was there was no pain in my hamstring.””Yes, I am a bit stiff but that’s natural as I am playing after a long lay-off,” said Akhtar, who conceded 21 runs in his four overs. Akhtar is currently training with Grant Compton. Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, had admitted that Pakistan was missing Akhtar’s ability to run through a side. “It is disappointing he is not in the team. But there is nothing we can do about it,” Bob Woolmer was quoted as saying by . “There is no doubt at all in my mind or that of Inzamam that he is our main strike bowler and we want him in the team.”However Inzamam only recently told , “Yes there have been occasions when I told the selectors and the Board [that] I don’t want him in the team because his behaviour has a bad influence on the youngsters.” Inzamam went on to add, “Pick up his record of the last two years and see for yourself how many matches he has missed due to some ‘fitness problem’ immediately after taking wickets in a game. What I feel is he wants to perform in one match and rest on its laurels for the next two. He is not there when the team needs him most. I have nothing personal against him. But he lacks cricketing discipline. He wants to play on his own terms which is unacceptable to me.”

Craig McMillan: home comforts after India? © Getty Images

New Zealand Cricket will allow its players to decide whether or not they want to tour Pakistan later this month. New Zealand’s previous tour of Pakistan was called off in May last year after a bomb blast outside the team hotel in Karachi.According to the New Zealand Press Association, certain members of the team, currently playing a one-day series in India, are apprehensive about the tour.Craig McMillan, who didn’t even go to Sri Lanka for the ICC Champions Trophy Tournament last year, was non-committal when asked about his availability for the Pakistan trip.Though security checks undertaken by New Zealand Cricket revealed no reasons as to why the tour shouldn’t go ahead, both players and officials have been given the option to stay at home, without the threat of repercussions.Martin Sneddon, the NZC chief executive, said, “I don’t expect many to opt out but I can understand if one or two are doubtful.”There are five one-day games scheduled, starting at Faisalabad on November 22. Interestingly, Karachi has been excluded, as it was when South Africa toured last month. New Zealand agreed to undertake the tour only after Pakistan demanded monetary compensation for last year’s truncated series.

The first genuine after-effects of New Zealand’s success in winning the CricInfo Women’s World Cup last summer are reflected in the expected improved strength of teams taking part in the State League series starting tomorrow.The month long competition begins tomorrow with two games in the South Island. Last year’s beaten finalists Canterbury play Wellington at the Village Green in Christchurch and Otago play Central Districts at Logan Park in Dunedin.The teams will play each other again on Sunday. Four more games will be played on Monday and Tuesday.Auckland’s CLEAR White Fern laden team is expected to dominate the League.Their first games are not until next weekend when they play Canterbury first up. But with Kathryn Ramel leading the side again, and Emily Drumm, Rebecca Rolls and Helen Watson in the line-up they have a core of expertise that will be hard to lower.Wellington has made an all out bid to increase its strength. Maia Lewis will play again and if able to gain her best touches will be a formidable wicket for opponents to claim. Losi Harford has joined the side under the draft system while Anna O’Leary and Anna Corbin are home grown talents with plenty to offer.Corbin did very well on her first tour with the national side in Queensland and if able to bowl to significant totals could have a big series.Wellington performed well in the national Under-21 tournament where Frances King was named the player of the tournament. Megan Wakefield has moved from Timaru to Wellington and she gave the Under-21s some oomph at the top of the batting order although it is not certain where she will bat for Wellington.Megan Tuapawa, Amanda Green and Amanda Cooper will be backed up by Jane Hunter-Siu who has returned after a season off.Otago have beefed up their team as well. Sarah Helmore has been picked up through the draft system from Canterbury while Netherlands captain Pauline te Beest will join international team-mate and local Rowan Milburn in the batting line-up, with Rachel Pullar to lead the attack. The Kane sisters, Megan and Alana, are also expected to play a big part in the side. Katey Martin scored the only century of the Under-21 tournament and made a good impression with the Otago side.Northern Districts have gone for youth with their team which includes nine members of their Under-21 side. They have taken Rosamund Kember from the draft. The Aucklander could strengthen the batting of the side while Catherine Spence is another key member of the side.Louise Milliken and Nicola Browne have been two potentially good pace bowlers who have been hamstrung by rarely having a total large enough to defend.ND achieved some fine performances last summer and while the Under-19s finished fifth at the latest tournament there are hopes the players can lift significantly.But in all probability if any side is going to end Auckland’s dominance it will be the Paula Flannery-led Canterbury team. Backed up by Haidee Tiffen, Nicola Payne, Fiona Fraser, Sarah Burke and Emily Travers they have a strong unit.Add to that the returning former CLEAR White Ferns Helen Daly (nee Bastion), a left-arm medium slow formerly from Northern Districts, and Delwyn Brownlee, and up and coming players like Rebecca Steele, Maria Fahey and Hannah Rae and there is clear sign of potential.Coaching the side is former international Vicki Burtt, and coached Canterbury to the national Under-21 title last year.Central Districts will be a young side but for all that their players have been exposed to a lot of cricket.Kate Pulford will captain the side and Abby Burrows will provide her with good support. Erin McDonald brings White Ferns experience to the team while Megan Graham and Aimee Mason will have important roles to play.Central Districts play Otago first in the series and then meet Canterbury on Monday and Tuesday.

Mark Davis has been promoted to Sussex head coach following the appointment of Mark Robinson as the new coach of the England Women’s team.Davis, 44, was an offspinner and made his Sussex debut in 2001, having previously played first-class cricket in South Africa where he was born, and he was appointed Sussex 2nd XI coach in 2005.He will form a new coach-captain pairing with Luke Wright who was appointed club captain in place of Ed Joyce following the 2015 season where Sussex were relegated from Division One in the County Championship.”I’m very excited and honoured to be taking over as the new head coach at Sussex, and continuing the work that Peter Moores initially began, and that Mark Robinson continued so brilliantly. I’d like to thank Mark for everything and wish him well for his future role,” Davis said.”We will be working hard to continue with the values that Sussex stands for and to ensure that the county competes at the forefront of English cricket. We have a fantastic squad which has a good mix of youth and experience and we have some exciting challenges ahead. I am looking forward to working alongside our new captain Luke Wright.”Sussex’s chief executive Zac Toumazi said: “Today’s news has mixed emotions for us as a club. We are sorry to see Mark Robinson leave us as he has been a loyal servant to Sussex cricket. I am sure he will be a fantastic asset at the ECB.”Following an ongoing review of our professional cricket structure, we are delighted to announce that Mark Davis will assume the role of head coach. This is a fantastic opportunity for Mark and chance for him to work closely with our newly-appointed captain Luke Wright.”

Sunderland confirmed the appointment of ex-Birmingham chief Kristjaan Speakman in December 2020 and the Black Cats supremo has endured a rollercoaster of a time at the club so far.

He has overseen three transfer windows and one manager change, along with a failed play-off campaign last term in League One. Whilst Sunderland are yet to make their way back up to the Championship, the sporting director has had some success in his role.

Dream deal

One of Speakman’s first signings at the Stadium of Light has ended up being a dream deal as he signed Scottish striker Ross Stewart, who joined on a permanent deal from Ross County for a reported fee of £300k in January 2021.

At the time of the deal, then-Sunderland boss Lee Johnson said: “I think Ross is a player that will be great for us in the short term, but he can also develop and improve over the long term.”

The forward struggled for game time in the final five months of the 2020/21 campaign as he started three matches in League One and was brought off the bench a further ten times. Despite his lack of involvement, he averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.99 and scored three goals – a respectable return given his limited minutes on the pitch.

Johnson’s prediction came true this season, though, as he stepped up after Charlie Wyke’s departure and has made himself the figurehead of the attack. He has scored a whopping 22 goals in 35 League One outings for the Black Cats, whilst averaging a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.34.

This means that he has scored 25 times in 38 league matches for Sunderland since joining for £300k. This works out at £12k spent per goal he has scored so far and it would not be surprising to see that number dwindle in the coming months and years as his statistics do not suggest that he is going to stop finding the net any time soon.

His impressive form landed him high praise from an opposition manager earlier this term, with Portsmouth’s Danny Cowley saying: “Everyone talks about Ross Stewart’s goals, but the way he defends from the front is the reason why for me is the best forward in the division.”

These comments suggest that he offers more than goals and is able to lead from the front with his pressing.  His 5.7 aerial battles won per game also show that he offers a big outlet at the top end of the pitch, with Sunderland using him as a focal point to relieve pressure.

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Taking all of these points into consideration, Speakman pulled off a masterclass in bringing Stewart to the Stadium of Light last year.

Hopefully, the Black Cats chief can continue to pull gems out of the back and lead the club back to the Championship.

AND in other news, Neil can save Speakman millions with “promising” SAFC dynamo who’s “really bright”…