Desmond Haynes, the former West Indian opener, has thrown his hat in the ring for the Indian coaching job. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced that its panel, comprising Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Ranbir Singh Mahendra and Jagmohan Dalmiya, would interview the short-listed candidates on May 19 in Delhi. The others in the frame are Greg Chappell, Tom Moody and Mohinder Amarnath.Haynes, who is the secretary of the West Indies Players’ Association, coached the Barbados team in 2002, and has also chaired the National Sports Council of the island.Sandeep Patil, who was earlier short-listed for the job, has withdrawn from the race. He conveyed this to the board in a written response to an invitation to be interviewed. John Emburey, the former England offspinner, was also connected with the job, but he too has expressed his inability to take up the post were it to be offered to him.
The pace and bounce at Melbourne is expected to be to the Australians’ liking, but India can take encouragement from the fact that this is the only venue in Australia where they have won two Tests – in 1977-78, and then again three years later. India have lost five times there, though, while the 1985-86 Test ended in a draw. Australia, meanwhile, have a 52-28 win-loss record here.
Both the Indian wins were achieved through exceptional bowling performances: in 1977-78, BS Chandrasekhar ripped through an Australian line-up weakened by the Kerry Packer exodus, claiming 6 for 52 in both innings as India romped to a 222-run win. Then, in 1980-81, Kapil Dev turned it on, taking 5 for 28 as Australia, chasing 143 for victory, were bundled out for 83. India let go of another chance to win when, requiring 126 in the fourth innings in the 1985-86 series, they crawled to 59 for 2 in 25 overs.
Australia’s five victories against India here have all been emphatic ones – two of them by an innings, three by margins greater than 175 runs and one by eight wickets.
Winning the toss would normally count as a blessing, but at the MCG, the captain losing the toss has a better chance of going on to win the match – that is exactly what has happened in six of the last nine Tests here.
Fast bowlers have had far greater success than spinners at Melbourne. In all Tests since 1995, fast bowlers have taken 198 wickets at 27.92, with a strike rate of 58.66; for the spinners the 58 wickets have come more expensive – 37.76 – and at a much slower rate (79.14).
Sachin Tendulkar has had a lean run in Australia so far, but the last time he played a Test at Melbourne, he was in sublime touch, scoring 116 and 52. As with so many of his overseas centuries, it didn’t help alter the result of the match, as Australia swept to a 180-run win.
Another player who would have fond memories of the MCG, and of playing against India on that ground, is Brett Lee. The last time the Indians played a Test there, Lee bounded in and blasted out five batsmen for a smashing debut performance, ensuring that Tendulkar’s sterling effort with the bat would go unrewarded.
India have some firepower in the bowling rank themselves, and Zaheer Khan and co. could do worse than ask for tips from Bruce Reid, their bowling coach for this series. In Reid’s only match against India at Melbourne in 1991-92, he bagged a six-for in each innings, finishing with figures of 12 for 126 and the Man-of-the-Match award.
The KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins skipped past a couple of showers and the Western Province defences to retain the Standard Bank Cup by 28 runs in a disappointingly one-sided final at Kingsmead on Friday night.After veteran wicketkeeper Errol Stewart had lifted the Dolphins to a sizeable 223 for six with a blistering 53 off just 39 balls, WP never quite managed to find any kind of momentum, slipping to 103 for seven at one point before recovering slightly to be 195 for nine at the end.It was, unquestionably, the Dolphins’ night as they outplayed a Province team which managed, curiously, to be both a batsman and a bowler short. The Dolphins found the going difficult in the early stages on a pitch which occasionally stopped on them, but Dale Benkenstein’s solid, unbeaten 77 and a furious assault by Stewart gave the home side a defendable total.Stewart’s wonderfully-judged hitting eventually made all the difference between the two sides. KZN had moved steadily, but a little ponderously to 162 for five off 38 overs when rain brought a temporary halt to the innings for a second time.There was a third stoppage, but this time it was Stewart’s fault after he hit Alan Dawson over midwicket, onto the roof of the old grandstand and out into NMR Avenue and the night.Stewart and Benkenstein added 83 in just on seven overs for the sixth wicket as WP found themselves unable to stem the flow of runs.The initial advantage had been with the visitors after Neil Johnson had won the toss and asked the Dolphins to bat, but Stewart and Benkenstein’s late flurry took the game away from WP.This became more and more evident as WP lost two early wickets to Ross Veenstra and Nixon McLean even before Andrew Tweedie began a nine-over spell that brought him four for 33. His second scalp was perhaps his most important when he had man of the series Graeme Smith caught at square leg by Doug Watson and from there on WP slid steadily into deeper trouble.There was a 51 from Andrew Puttick while Dawson (52 not out) and Roger Telemachus added 56 off 47 balls for the ninth wicket before the end. But all this really amounted to was to delay the inevitable as the Dolphins, unbeaten through the season, again proved themselves the best limited overs team in the country for the second year running.
Delhi dominated Himachal Pradesh for the second successive day intheir Ranji Trophy North Zone clash at the Harbax Singh Stadium in thecapital. Opener Akash Chopra completed a well-deserved double centurybefore the hosts declared on 417/8 and Ashish Nehra then got onto thescorebook four times as Himachal Pradesh slumped to 106/4 by stumps.Delhi resumed at 287/3 and Chopra reached his 150 with the first ballhe faced. Featuring in two fifty partnerships during the day, withPankaj Joshi and Sandeep Angurala, Chopra’s marathon 8 hour and 20minute vigil finally came to an end just after Delhi posted the 400.27 fours and two sixes rained from his bat during a 380 ball inningsthat fetched 222 runs.The declaration came shortly afterwards, leaving Himachal 54 overs toplay out the day. With his fourth ball, leftarmer Nehra despatchedopener Nischal Gaur but wicket keeper Arun Verma and skipper RajivNayyar then frustrated Delhi with a 60 run stand. Two more strikes byNehra besides a catch off fellow left arm seamer Amit Suman reducedHimachal to 89/4. Nayyar (36), who was still sticking to the creaselike a limpet in the company of Richie Kapoor, holds the key toHimachal’s fortunes on Monday.
Liverpool marched into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Wednesday night after edging out Norwich City at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are in pursuit of a historic quadruple, and after clinching the Carabao Cup at the weekend against Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out, knew they could keep that dream alive in the other domestic cup competition last night.
And, a brace from Takumi Minamino proved to be the difference as a much-changed Liverpool team won two goals to one.
But while the Japan international has laid down his case as a very worthy rotation option heading into the business end of the season, it was one of Klopp’s centre-backs who has arguably given him the biggest headache: Ibrahima Konate.
The former RB Leipzig star was joined alongside by Joe Gomez in a completely new central defensive partnership from the one Klopp has tended to favour this season in Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.
Out of the two who played yesterday, it’s Konate who’s shown the closest signs of being able to break that formidable duo up, and his performance against Norwich certainly proved why he’s the future of this Liverpool back-line.
As per Sofascore, he made a game-high three interceptions on the night, was not dribbled past a single time, won 100% of his total duels (two in the air and one on the ground) and looked an assured presence on the ball too.
He made a whopping 100 passes and had 125 touches of the ball – both of which placed him at the top for Liverpool – and completed eight out of his 14 attempted long balls as he showed that greater range to his passing on occasion as well.
And, writing in his post-match player ratings for This is Anfield, Mark Delgado gave him an eight, saying: “Looked a bit like a dad turning up to play with some kids at some points. Just strolled through it mostly, using the ball well, bullying attackers when they bothered to go near him and showing pace once or twice when needed.
“Shepherding the ball out of play under pressure from Rowe was a particularly fine exhibition of his mountainous stature.”
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It was a performance of the highest order and has given Klopp plenty to think about before the crucial Premier League clash against West Ham on Saturday afternoon.
A Van Dijk and Konate partnership for the long-term is certainly a mouth-watering prospect, but one that could even be phased in much sooner too even despite Matip’s impressive form.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are eyeing this Uruguayan ace…
Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, fears for the future of international cricket if administrators don’t carve out a six-week window for the Indian Premier League. The tournament opens in Bangalore on Friday and while the cricket world is waiting to see how big it will be, Ponting is concerned about how it could influence players.”If they don’t [have an international window], I fear for the long-term impact that it will have on the game,” Ponting wrote in the Australian. “Much has been said about the veterans coming to the end of their careers, but what about those players just starting out?”I think it’s vital that we have a six-week period carved out of every international team’s program because the money being thrown around becomes very appealing to young kids coming into the game.”Ponting expressed concern that players might choose the lucrative Twenty20 league over national duties. “Seeing the big dollars there and having the chance to take that and turn your back on international cricket is the biggest danger that will be posed out of this event,” Ponting said. “For those young guys starting out who haven’t had a taste of international cricket, they might not want to put themselves through the rigours of travelling the world for the next 15 years.”And the guys at the end of their careers have family at home and it’s getting harder and harder for them to go away on tours every year. For them, they could make the equivalent amount of money in only seven weeks.”Ponting highlighted the exodus faced by countries such as New Zealand, with key players like Shane Bond having joined the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League. “I know it has lost a couple of its bigger and better players because of the difference in pay playing for New Zealand,” Ponting said. “The Kiwis’ IPL contracts are probably four times the value of their international contract.”That’s where the dangers are. You would hate to see a situation where New Zealand is no longer playing international cricket because it has no players.”John Buchanan, the former Australia coach who is with the Kolkata Knight Riders, expressed similar concerns in the . He said cricket needed to sort out its finances and the likes of Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire hoping to revive West Indies cricket, should be welcomed.”With the exception of Australia, England and India, every country in world cricket is struggling to pay their players sufficiently,” he said. “For example, we have Brendon McCullum with us, and there’s no way New Zealand Cricket could be paying him in a day what the IPL is.”But there shouldn’t be any debate in terms of him playing for his country. That is of utmost importance. But administrators should allow the IPL to subsidise his income with New Zealand Cricket.”
Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka’s most successful fast bowler, has opted out of next month’s Afro-Asia tournament. Kangadaran Mathivanan, Sri Lanka Cricket’s secretary, said that that Vaas, who is currently involved in county cricket with Middlesex, informed the board that he will be unavailable.Vaas becomes the second notable absentee from the Asia squad. Shoaib Akhtar, the Pakistan fast bowler, was earlier dropped on fitness grounds having been initially selected.The series is due to kick-off with a Twenty20 game on June 5 followed by a three-match ODI series between the combined Asian and African continent teams at Bangalore on June 6 and at Chennai on June 9 and 10.Vaas joined Middlesex to play in the early part of the English season before he returns to Sri Lanka mid-June to play in the home series against Bangladesh.
Jimmy Maher posted his highest first-class score and Martin Love nailed his fourth century in a final as Queensland tightened their grip on the Pura Cup at the Gabba. On a tremendous third day for the Bulls and an awful one for Victoria, the home side lost only two wickets – Maher for 223 and Love for 169 – to go to stumps preparing their victory speech at 3 for 584.A 297-run partnership between Maher and Love, the former state junior team-mates, set up the Bulls’ ride in a five-day match they have only to draw to end their three-year sequence of finishing second. Maher, who has been inspired by the victims of Cyclone Larry in north Queensland, brought up his double-century a ball after Love reached three figures shortly before lunch and enjoyed an animated celebration.Maher went on to beat his 217 for Glamorgan in 2001 before edging Mick Lewis, who had figures of 1 for 125, and leaving with 29 fours from his 385 balls. Queensland were in extreme comfort at 2 for 454, but they added 71 more through Shane Watson and Love, whose only error came when he hit a catch to Nathan Pilon off Nick Jewell from his 291st delivery.Queensland were forced to field for three days against Victoria in the 2003-04 final when the hosts scored 710, and the home side was intent on delaying their opponents for as long as possible. Watson was unbeaten on 73 and Clint Perren reached 24, with the state’s highest score of 687 against New South Wales in 1930-31 approaching.”I wasn’t thinking of pulling out at 711, put it that way,” Maher told . “That day we got hammered into the ground. Let me put it this way – I’ve got a pretty good memory. In saying that we want to win the game outright.”
Daily life in Zimbabwe throws up some bizarre stories, but few as odd as the one doing the rounds this week concerning the Zimbabwe Cricket Union’s new logo.Introduced in November as part of a brand re-launch, the new logo has apparently attracted the attention of the government’s infamous Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) who, so the reports go, held an investigation into a possible hidden agenda.The logo appears harmless at first glance, featuring three stumps, a white line (representing a boundary line) on a green background, and a cricket ball. But that innocence was lost on the CIO which saw more in the emblem than most. Instead of three stumps, it saw a letter M; the cricket ball became a D; and the boundary line became a C. That spelt out the initials of the Movement for Democratic Change, Zimbabwe’s major opposition party.A source close to the ZCU told Cricinfo that the matter had been raised at a board meeting although that was categorically denied by Lovemore Banda, the ZCU’s media manager. It is inconceivable that the ZCU (patron, Robert Mugabe) would in any way be linked with such a potentially embarrassing situation. It is probably more an indication of how paranoid the authorities have become about anyone opposing the government.But the incident has a darker side. A former Zimbabwe Cricket employee told Cricinfo how he was nearly beaten up by ruling ZANU PF supporters when he was spotted wearing a Zimbabwe one-day replica shirt with the new logo. The supporters asked him why he was wearing an MDC T-shirt and he had to do some fast-talking to avoid being attacked. He said that the situation was inflamed by the colour of the T-shirt. Red is synonymous with the MDC.
A record-breaking partnership between Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ridley Jacobs put the West Indians in a commanding position of their match against Free State at the end of the second day’s play at Bloemfontein. The West Indians were finally dismissed for a daunting 618, and then in the final three overs of the day reduced Free State to 3 for 2.Chanderpaul smashed 245 and Jacobs 149 as they took their stand to 359, breaking the first-class record in South Africa for the fifth wicket of 342, held by Eric Rowan and Paul Gibb for Transvaal against North-Eastern Transvaal in 1951-52.Free State’s second-string attack toiled for almost two sessions without a breakthrough as Chanderpaul and Jacobs cut loose, and when Wycliffe Deacon finally trapped Jacobs leg-before, it was the first wicket in over day. From then on in the bowlers had a better time as the West Indians lost their last five wickets for 29 runs as they pushed for quick runs.Free State were left with a tricky three overs to face, and within nine balls they were two wickets down as Jonathan Beukes and Rayno Arendse were both dismissed.