Scorecard Greg Thompson, the Ireland captain, took 5 for 26 from his ten overs as his team completed a 69-run win over Bermuda in Johor to head into the 13th place playoff final against Zimbabwe on Saturday.Set a target of 237, Bermuda lost their openers – Regino Smith and Pierre Smith – for just six runs on the board. Runs came at a slow trickle, and when Deunte Darrell fell for a 49-ball 7, Bermuda were slagging behind the required-rate at 59 from 23 overs.Bermuda captain Rodney Trott and Malachi Jones, their opening bowler, made a recovery with a 65-run stand for the fourth wicket. They took their side to 122 in the 32nd over, before the legspinner Thompson struck. Trott was dismissed for 53, which came off 73 deliveries, while Jones made a brisk 49 off 40.Thompson ended any hopes of a Bermuda win with three more wickets, which left them at 144 for 8, needing 93 more at nearly nine an over. Bermuda’s innings folded up for 167, Thompson the wrecker-in-chief with figures of 10-1-26-5.Trott was also the pick of the bowlers for Bermuda, taking 4 for 37 as Ireland made 236. James Hall scored an attacking 75 and added 137 runs for the third wicket with Paul Stirling, who made 59.Ireland batsman Christopher Dougherty was given an official reprimand by match referee Mike Procter, after being found guilty under Level 1 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct. Bowled by Trott for 25, a disappointed Dougherty knocked the stumps with his bat before heading to the dressing room.
Bob Woolmer, the former Pakistan coach murdered in his hotel room last Sunday, lacked authority and control of his team who, according to Shahryar Khan, a former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, revered Inzamam-ul-Haq as the ‘unquestioned leader’.”There were a few confrontations [between Woolmer and the players],” he said in an interview with . “But invariably Bob did not take umbrage at various players sulking or even addressing harsh words to him because they’d been left out or asked to go home from a series.”Generally he had a very good relationship with the boys because he took so much trouble,” he said. “Being a very gentle person, he would invariably go round and talk to the boys and ask ‘why are you being harsh with me’? Nearly always the boys came around.”But Shahryar admitted that though the relationship between the players and Woolmer was generally healthy, the coach was never able to fully impose his authority “because this lay with the captain most of the time.””Bob worked around it. I kept telling him and Inzamam that for the team to succeed both he and the team needed to be united and as one,” he said. “Sometimes there was a little fraying of this. There was always a question mark regarding Bob taking total control of the team in every sense. There was resistance from Inzamam and perhaps successful resistance. Inzamam was the leader, the unquestioned leader of the team.”They [the players] all fell in place around him and were totally supportive of Inzamam. Bob found it difficult sometimes,” he said. “If he was giving advice that may not have been accepted by Inzamam, he sometimes found it difficult. Bob felt he should have had full control of the team but in fact he didn’t.”Meanwhile the Pakistan team had arrived in London on their way home from Montego Bay. All the members of the squad were interviewed by the police in Jamaica and gave DNA samples and fingerprints before leaving the Caribbean.
Haidee Tiffen, captain of the New Zealand women’s team, expressed confidence ahead of the five-match ODI series against India after the team ended a week’s productive training at New Zealand Cricket’s High Performance Centre in Lincoln.The team trained with Steve Jenkin, the World Cup winning coach from Australia, and comprehensively won two practice games against New Zealand A held during the camp. Tiffen praised the work of Jenkin, saying that he has had a positive impact on the squad. “He played against us for years. He’s really positive, he brings some of that Australian confidence, and it’s soaking into the players. It’s an exciting time. It’s great to have some fresh ideas and a new approach. All the girls are really positive.”Tiffen was hopeful that the intense competition in the recently concluded State League would benefit them at the international level.”We want competition in New Zealand,” she said. “We want players to be under pressure all the time. It’s really good for New Zealand women’s cricket that there’s no one team that is easy beat.”The first ODI against India begins at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln on Saturday.Squad Haidee Tiffen (capt), Suzie Bates, Nicola Browne Sarah Burke, Anna Dodd, Emily Drumm, Maria Fahey, Sara McGlashan, Aimee Mason, Louise Milliken, Rebecca Rolls, Sarah Tsukigawa, Helen Watson.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details 5th day Bulletin- Wet weather helps New Zealand survive Quotes- ‘We’ve done everything we possibly could’ – Ponting Big Picture 1 – Rain had the final say Big Picture 2 – Kasprowicz celebrates Big Picture 3 – 100th Test wicket for Kasprowicz 4th day Bulletin – Kasprowicz inspires revival as NZ rely on the rain The Big Picture – Kasprowicz celebrates3rd day Bulletin – Gilchrist and Martyn crack New Zealand Verdict – Crisis at the top 2nd day Bulletin – Martyn’s stunning century drowns New Zealand Verdict – Turning it on The Big Picture – Shep’s southern swansong The Big Picture – Vettori’s delight 1st day Bulletin – Umpires call off first day of rain and fog Quotes – Buchanan orders pre-Ashes rest News – McMillan faces acid testPreview Preview – Staying afloat in the Basin Reserve
ScorecardWestern Province continued to dominate the South African domestic season. They beat Rest of South Africa XI by sixteen runs in the rain-affected Standard Bank Charity Shield match played at Newlands.Batting first Western Province scored 155 for 5 in an innings shortened to30 overs by intermittent rain. Graeme Smith (40) batted fluently, stroking someglorious straight drives, before he charged the bowling of AndrewHall and holed out to deep mid-off.Jacques Kallis played a little gem of an innings, with only one false shot, anedge through the vacant slip area. His 64 was full of grace and elegancewith some of the best cover drives seen at Newlands for quite some time.The bowling depth of South African cricket is a worry for the nationalselectors. On evidence of this match, save Makhaya Ntini andHall, there was little else to suggest that there is an heirapparent to the South African bowling throne. Monde Zondeki bowled at pace,Andre Nel tried to show some aggressiona and Lance Klusener showed signs of formwhile Robin Peterson did not set Newlands alight. A lack of discipline, lineand length, was the common thread.Further rain reduced the match to 24 overs leaving the Rest a target of 148.Jacques Rudolph and Boeta Dippenaar failed, and apart from a short flurryfrom Hall and Mark Boucher it was once again left to Klusener to supply thegoods. Coming to the crease at 70 for 5 in the 16th over he did notdisappoint. Like the Klusener of old, he smashed three fours and three toweringsixes, reaching 40 in 25 balls, to get his team to within 16 runs of the target.Claude Henderson, awarded Man of the Match, took 3 for 27 and once again comes into reckoning for future national honours.The highlight of the evening must undoubtedly be the catch of the season andwhat might have been the turning point in the game. With two overs to go, and 26 runs needed Robin Peterson launched Smith to the deep mid wicket fence. NeilJohnson standing centimetres inside the rope stuck out an outstretched handand snatched the ball, now over the rope, out of the air.
The opening day of the series may have high in tedium and low in excitement,but on day two Sri Lanka raised the tempo, cashing in on a Zimbabweanbowling attack lacking control, variation and penetration, as they piled upa mammoth first innings score at the Sinhalese Sports Club.Sri Lanka eventually declared on 586 for six having scored 375 in the dayafter centuries from Kumar Sangakkara (128) and Thilan Samaraweera (123 notout), plus fifties from Hashan Tillakaratne (96) and Chaminda Vaas (74 notout).Zimbabwe then faced a tricky 35-minute session before bad light stoppedplay. They were soon in trouble as left-arm pace bowler Nuwan Zoysa produceda throat-threatening bouncer that ballooned off 18-year-old opener HamiltonMasakadza’s gloves to be caught by Tillakaratne at second slip.Trevor Gripper and Stuart Carlisle survived till the close, not without theodd alarm and one very good shout for lbw. The tourists now face a gruelingthree-day fight for survival on a wearing dry wicket well suited to thewiles of Muttiah Muralitharan.Needless to say, the odds are heavily stacked in favour of Sri Lanka goingone-up in the series. However, tour captain Brian Murphy, who stepped downfor the game because of poor form, believes his side can still save thegame."The guys are pretty tired, but looking forward to the challenge ahead," hesaid. "We have some strong-willed cricketers in this squad and we can savethis game. Andy (Flower) may hold the key but the other batsmen can alsoscore hundreds."Sri Lanka, 211 for three overnight, came out in the morning in a moreaggressive frame of mind. Sangakkara singled his positive intentions byclattering 12 runs in the opening over and Russel Arnold welcomed Gary Brentwith an audacious sweep to leg.Zimbabwe couldn’t match the self-discipline they had shown on the previousday, erring in both their line and length, with only Heath Streak (3-113)providing a consistent threat. Travis Friend and Henry Olonga conceded fourruns an over, whilst Trevor Gripper was blasted for 30 runs in a three overspell.Sangakkara, who had played a supporting role on Thursday, reeled off aseries of stylish swivel-pulls and square cuts, as he scored at a run a balland raced to his third Test century.Arnold, still struggling to safeguard his place in the Test side,disappointed again. He contributed 13 runs to a 79 partnership before hebecame the first casualty of the day, as Streak caught him on the hop with acurving inswinger (249 for four).But there was no respite for Zimbabwe as Hashan Tillakaratne carried onwhere he had left off against West Indies earlier in the month when he hadscored 205 not out at the same venue.Sangakkara added 71 with his 34-year-old club captain before he wascontroversially adjudged to have been caught at first slip.The left-hander had flayed at a short ball from Brent and the ball flewquickly to the left of Craig Wishart, who parried the ball before alast-second grab on the ground. Umpire Riazruddin deferred the decision totelevision umpire Tyronne Wijewardene. Replays appeared inconclusive, as towhether the ball had bounced off the turf or his forearms, but Wijewardenepressed the red light (320 for five).Thilan Samaraweera, a crucial part of Sri Lanka’s recent success, continuedhis remarkable run with the bat since scoring a hundred on debut againstIndia, adding 130 for the sixth wicket with Tillakaratne – their fourthcentury stand in six Test matches.Unlike their previous partnerships against India and West Indies, which hadbeen dour and remorseless batting displays, both players played freely,frequently exercising the branded ball boys patrolling the boundary ropes.It didn’t all go to plan, however, as Tillakaratne just missed out on atenth Test century, and his fourth in eight Tests since making his comebackin August, when he was caught behind for 96 whilst trying to late cut a wideball from Streak.But Samaraweera carried on and on, displaying unflappable concentration andstrong self-discipline during a chanceless unbeaten 123 – which leaves hisTest average at a staggering 140.7. He scored eight fours in his firstfifty, before playing more sedately as he moved towards his second Test ton,which he celebrated reaching with a lofted extra cover drive for six and acheeky sweep off Brent.Chaminda Vaas gave him solid support, ending a poor recent run with the batwith a career best unbeaten 74 before Sanath Jayasuriya eventually called ita day on 586, which was an all-time record score between the two sides,surpassing the 469 for nine scored by Sri Lanka in Kandy in 1997/8.
Pakistan’s bowlers make up for batting failurePeshawar, March 7: Pakistan rallied back in to the match through theirbowlers after some spineless batting resulted in the loss of theirlast seven wickets for 45 runs on an eventful third day of the secondcricket Test against Sri Lanka at the Arbab Niaz Stadium here onTuesday.Pakistan’s middle and lower order batting collapsed so abysmally thata promising score of 154 for three just after lunch became 199 all outin reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings 268.The fall of 14 wickets during the day’s play has made this Test evenlypoised.Waqar Younis took two for 22 and received excellent support fromShoaib Akhtar, Arshad Khan and Aamir Sohail, who picked up one wicketapiece, as the tourists finished the day at 129 for five.Sri Lanka have a cushion of 198 runs lead going into the penultimateday but Pakistan can feel satisfied with their performance in thepost-tea session in which they dismissed the five frontlinebatsmen. They just need to break the partnership between Russel Arnoldand Aravinda de Silva which will expose the lower-middle-order and anopportunity to fold the innings earlier than many would have expectedwhen Sri Lanka started their innings after an early tea.But some horrendous and reckless stroke selection by the Pakistanibatsmen nearly put the crucial match beyond their reach when they werebowled out for 199 after being 153 for three at lunch. The saddestpart is that none of the batsmen could blame either the pitch orbowling for their downfall.Saeed Anwar, who top scored with 74, laid the foundation when heshowed a rush of blood against Sanath Jayasuriya to be caught byMuttiah Muralitharan at mid-on. Two balls earlier, Saeed had hit hiscounterpart for a huge six. That shot that brought his dismissal wastotally uncalled for from someone as experienced as Saeed who is alsothe captain of the team and is supposed to lead by example.Yousuf Youhana chased an outgoing delivery to be caught by RomeshKaluwitharana. And Shahid Afridi disappointed his fans with yetanother display of immaturity and impatience to hit right into thehands of Russel Arnold at cover at a time when Pakistan had just lostYounis Khan because of an error of judgement by English umpire JohnHampshire.Younis was declared caught bat and pad after Muralitharan and close-infielders had appealed for a leg before.That decision was the turning point of the day’s play as it changedthe complexion of the game. Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was batting withYounis at that time, helplessly saw wickets fall from the other enduntil Pakistan were dismissed 29 minutes before tea.But Inzamam continued his love affair with this ground by stroking hisfourth half century in his five visits.Inzamam, who reached 90s against Sri Lanka, West Indies and Australiahere in the last five years, batted brilliantly for his 58 thatspanned over 214 minutes. He faced 163 balls and struck sevenboundaries and a sweetly time six off Pramodya Wickremasinghe off histoes.Inzamam needed the luck he required when Tillekeratne Dilshan droppeda regulation catch at cover when the strongly-built batsman was twoand Pakistan 89 for two.The later order batsmen – Abdur Razzaq, Waqar Younis and Arshad Khan -tried to use their pads more than the bat and paid the price when allof them fell to Muralitharan who finished as picked of the Sri Lankanbowlers with four for 77, including three in nine deliveries.Saeed Anwar’s irresponsible shot though took a gloss of a fineinnings, it doesn’t truly reflect the amount of hard work theleft-hander did to graft his innings. He received 191 balls in hisfour hours of batting. He clobbered nine boundaries and a six.When the stumps were drawn three over before schedule because offading light on a day which saw 14 wickets falling, Sri Lanka’s lastrecognized pair of Russel Arnold and Aravinda de Silva were at thecrease.Arnold was looking confident and as solid as a rock while scoring63. He has been batting for eight minutes over three hours duringwhich he has faced 116 balls and belted 10 excellent boundaries mostlyon the on-side.De Silva, who could only come into bat at No 7 after spending the dayin the dressing room because of a twisted ankle, was seven not out.After Waqar Younis provided Pakistan the much needed earlybreakthrough by trapping Sanath Jayasuriya in front of the wickets, hereturned for his second spell and picked up Mahela Jayawardena in asimilar fashion.Jayawardena’s dismissal saw Sri Lanka lose Tillekeratne Dilshan andRomesh Kaluwitharana in a space of five balls.Arshad Khan, who bowled too many lose deliveries, was rewarded withthe prized scalp of last innings top scorer Marvan Atapattu (29).Aamir Sohail, who had given Saeed Anwar vital breakthroughs, didn’tdisappoint his opening partner by having Dilshan caught smartly bydebutant Atiq-uz-Zaman behind the wickets.
Mike Procter, the match referee, has delayed Harbhajan Singh’s code-of-conduct hearing, originally scheduled for Saturday, until after the conclusion of the ongoing Test in Sydney on Sunday. Harbhajan was charged with a level-three offence under the ICC Code of Conduct following his on-field altercation with Andrew Symonds on day three of the second Test.”At the request of the India team manager and under the circumstances I have exercised my discretionary powers to postpone the code-of-conduct hearing until the conclusion of this Test match,” Procter said. “I am satisfied that with a further 24 hours India will have time to sufficiently prepare for this hearing.”The possibility of lawyers getting involved cannot be ruled out. The charge was laid by match umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor after the close of play after they received a complaint from the Australia captain Ricky Ponting.”They reported to me that there was a breach of conduct, reported to them by Ponting,” Procter said while talking to . “It’s a level three, which is pretty serious. The umpires didn’t hear anything, they didn’t know anything about it. I’m the adjudicator at the hearing, there will be witnesses called. The end result is what I want to achieve. To answer your question, yes lawyers could be involved.”The incident occurred while Harbhajan was batting and Matthew Hayden walked past Harbhajan after his confrontation with Symonds but did not reveal any details of the accusations or the conversation. “We believe we have a very strong case,” Hayden said at the close of the fourth day.”It’s a scenario none of us want to be in, we love the game and we hope we can move forward. Andrew’s a very strong character who had a great, tough upbringing in Charters Towers [in north Queensland] and we all love him and Australia love him.”Meanwhile, the ICC have asked British barrister Nigel Peters QC to advise Procter during the hearing. Talking to PTI, an ICC spokesperson said that Peters, who is also an elected committee member of the Marylebone Cricket Club, had assisted them in the past.If found guilty, Harbhajan could face a ban of between two and four Tests or four and eight one-day internationals. The hearing will take place after the conclusion of play on Sunday.
According to reports in The Sun, Manchester City are ready to sell former Everton defender John Stones, who earns £100,000-a-week according to the article, at the end of the season, and Toffees fans want their club to re-sign the England international this summer.
The 23-year-old joined the Citizens in a £47.5m deal in 2016 and while he looked to have a bright future under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium at one stage, he has slipped to fourth in the centre-back pecking order in recent months.
Meanwhile, their Premier League rivals from Merseyside are likely to prioritise strengthening their central defensive options this summer with Ashley Williams failing to impress and Phil Jagielka getting no younger, and the Goodison Park faithful would seemingly love to see Stones return.
Everton supporters, who praised Morgan Schneiderlin on Twitter for his display against Newcastle United on Monday night, were quick to have their say on the exit rumour via social media, and while one said “I would 100% take John Stones back at Everton tomorrow”, another said they would “have him back in a heartbeat”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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As we all know the Championship fixtures were released this week and, I’m not going to lie, it’s nice to see names like Bolton Wanderers, Leeds United and erm, Barnsley, among our list of opponents next season.
I mean, no offence to the teams that we were playing in League One, but a lot of the guys we’ll be against next season have recent Premier League credentials.
Bolton, Wolves and Blackburn were all Premier League outfits last season and there’s no doubting the history and heritage of the likes of Nottingham Forest and Derby County.
When you look at the Championship table ahead of the 2012/2013 campaign, 13 of the 24 teams who will be involved have been in the Premier League in the past 10 years and have at least a bit of a brand about them. Also, if you look at some of the teams who haven’t been in England’s top flight in the last decade, such as Wednesday and Forest, we at least have a big name behind us.
Our first four games of the season will see us take on Derby, Birmingham, Millwall and Crystal Palace. While only one of the above (Birmingham) challenged for promotion last season, they are all tough sides to break down and will be a stern challenge for a Wednesday side that will be finding their feet in new surroundings.
I’ve said it many a time, especially to my colleagues in South Africa, that the English Championship is possibly the toughest league in the world. I by no means think that it’s the best league with regards to quality, but with regards to the excitement and the unpredictability of who will make the top six come the end of the season, you never really know. It’s as open as a 24-hour McDonalds.
Look at the Premier League, for years it’s been dubbed a two, or three, or four horse race, and understandably so. We all know that the top spot in the division is only really up for grabs by a certain hierarchy. Now take The Championship, there are a whole host of teams who could take the title, and even more who will feel that they can genuinely challenge for at least the playoff places.
We’ve just gone up, we know in our heads that we ‘should’ struggle. Yet even so, the odds on us winning the league, or at least getting into the playoffs, are not that high. For this reason, among others, I’ve always said that England’s second division is near on impossible to bet on.
However, despite all of this good news. Despite the fact that we’ll now be sparring with the cruiserweights instead of the welterweights, there is a hint of sadness when I look at next year’s fixtures. The reason is, even though I do like to see Sheffield United fail a tincy bit, Derby Day is epic, even for little old me listening to Wednesday World in Mzansi.
Yes, we’ll get to play Barnsley and Huddersfield. Of course, beating Dirty Leeds will be great fun, but none of these derbies quite pack a heavyweight punch like our red and white rivals. I’ll admit it, I’ll miss them… only a little bit though.
When the fixtures came out this week I checked the opening day and then skipped right through to December. I’m coming home for Christmas and I needed to see when I could end my Hillsborough drought. I did hope that we’d have Leeds while I was back, but to be honest, I’m happy with a home game against Charlton as long as I get to sing Hi Ho Sheffield Wednesday in the blistering cold once again.
To sum it up folks, I’m looking forward to next season. There’s still a few transfers on the cards for Dave Jones, and we’ve signed well so far. There’s still reason for us Wednesdayites to believe that, when I do come home in December, I’ll be seeing a side that are at least sitting comfortably in mid-table.
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Anyway, as a parting note, in true Wednesday fashion, we’ve already found ourselves in the relegation places, 22nd, after just 0 games. We’re yet to hit the back of the net and have racked up no points, however on the plus side, we are yet to concede.