Bankstown’s Corey Richards has been rewarded for some good early season form with selection in the New South Wales squad for the first ING Cup match of the season against Queensland. Brad Haddin will captain the side, which also includes Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark and Phil Jaques, all of whom are on the fringes of national selection.Richards, 30, scored 122 for Sydney Central against the A-C-T in State League Cup in Round Three, and has previously played 47 one-dayers for New South Wales, scoring 1172 runs. He made one appearance for Australia A, but a string of poor performances meant that he was dropped from the state side after 2002-03.Squad Brad Haddin (Capt), Nathan Bracken, Doug Bollinger, Stuart Clark, Ed Cowan, Phil Jaques, Matthew Nicholson, Aaron O’Brien, James Packman, Matthew Phelps, Corey Richards, Dominic Thornely.
All season, as England have racked up Test win after Test win, the murmurs have gathered voice and volume. Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff have struck notes so strident that the pundits dared to join the punters’ chorus of “Bring on the Aussies, bring on the Ashes.” Well, on a cold day at Edgbaston, when an ICC Champions Trophy semi-final turned into an Ashes clash, the crowds stayed away.One journalist walking into the ground an hour after play started wondered if the match was really on at all. And you couldn’t blame him: a tea party in a geriatric ward on a good day would have had more atmosphere. Only about 8000 of the 23,000 seats were taken, and, while the crowd at the India-Pakistan match here two days ago was over the top in its hooting and honking, this crowd was downright polite. Even Michael Vaughan finding one-day form and caressing four boundaries in a Brett Lee over – including a pair of the most gorgeous cover-drives you could hope to see – failed to get the fans going.The odd Warwickshire member sitting in the stands at the City End, listening to commentary on a pair of headphones large enough to double up as ear-muffs, was occasionally stirred into apologetically bringing his hands together in appreciation. The clearest measure of the silence was the fact that you could hear Adam Gilchrist’s encouraging chirps as far as the boundary line.Many reasons have been put forward for the lack of crowds. It was a working day, and people could not book tickets in advance because England only qualified to play this game a few days ago. The football season has begun. This match came at the end of a long and bountiful season of cricket for England. But none of these cut much ice. England had not beaten Australia in a one-dayer in more than four years, and this was their best chance.On the eve of the match, Vaughan called on England supporters to back their team. “It is always very special to play Australia, and both teams have shown good one-day form during the Trophy. We’ve had fantastic support this summer from England fans and we’ll need them on Tuesday when we measure ourselves against the most successful one-day team in the world. We’re ready for the challenge.”In the end, England did all right without the support, but such a plea is unheard of in places like India. Why, even the India-Pakistan match at Edgbaston was sold out months in advance, and £35 tickets were being flogged for as much as £120 on the black market. But today, when England set up a famous win, and are in sight of winning their first major competition, the fans failed their team.Some old-timers reckon that the best indicator of the health of a sport in a country is the patronage it receives at grounds. Vaughan has felt time and again recently that he has let his team down – he came into this game averaging just 18.07 in his last 15 one-dayers. The day he turned things around, and played an innings of true character, he deserved better than a one-thirds-full ground. His flowing cover-drives, off front and back foot, and his authoritative pulling against one of the world’s fastest bowlers demanded a more fitting celebration.When Vaughan finally fell, ballooning up a catch while trying to pull Brett Lee, he had made 86. He fully deserved to reach his maiden limited-overs century, but perhaps it was better that he fell 14 runs short. When one of the most beautifully brutal batsmen in world cricket lifts his game to reach a special landmark, it deserves to be treated as more than just another good knock.The Oval, where England will play either Pakistan or West Indies in the final, promises to be a sellout. England will be desperate to end their successful season on a high note. Whether the fans can rise to the occasion, like their team, remains to be seen.Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo.
Pakistan’s reserve wicketkeeper, Kamran Akmal, has been forced to delay his arrival in Pakistan ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh, because his boss has locked away his passport.”Kamran will be unable to join the training camp starting later this week,” said a PCB press release, “as his club boss has left for vacation and at the same time has locked Kamran’s passport in his locker.” Kamran, 21, has been playing for the Limavady club in Ireland, and made a record 160 in the final of the North West Cup final last month.In a message to Pakistan’s selectors, Kamran indicated that he would not be able to retrieve his documents until August 16. The first of the three Tests against Bangladesh starts on August 20.
Two Tests down and the series lost, West Indian captain Carl Hooper islooking for his top-order to finally gel in the third Test in Colombostarting Thursday, as the tourists try to avert the ignominy of a serieswhitewash in Sri Lanka.Brian Lara apart, the West Indies have failed to come to terms with themysterious wiles of off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 21 wickets inthe first two Tests, and have been bowled out for less than 200 on threeoccasions.”We have all struggled apart from Brian (Lara),” Hooper said. “We are upagainst a good side and world-class spinner who has put us under a lot ofpressure.””Each and every batsman, from number one to eleven, has got to find a way ofputting a good score together.”West Indies have consistently collapsed whenever Lara has been dismissed. InGalle the last five wickets produced just 38 runs in both innings and inKandy they only mustered 24 in the first innings and 64 in the second.But Hooper, speaking after the team’s final practice, believes the top sixhave to take responsibility. “The lower order did quite well in the SouthAfrican and the Zimbabwean series, but not here. It is an area that we haveto look at, but the priority is for the top five or six to click.”He added: “We have had a few half-centuries, but to be successful we needbig hundreds with the others chipping in. We need to be consistently puttingtogether scores in excess of 400.”There is unlikely to be an emotional rallying call from the captain in theteam meeting later tonight. The calm 34-year-old Guyanan is beating apragmatic drum with one eye on the future.”We have some good players but in terms of experience we are very short,which is plays a big part when you come and play in places like Sri Lanka,”he said.”We have got a lot of young guys and Muralitharan has been a shock to them.If they come again, with greater experience, whilst they still may not beable to pick him, they may have devised a way to be more successful againsthim.”Nevertheless, he feels that the West Indies are not so far behind the hosts:”I think if we can raise our game by 15-20% then that would make uscompetitive against the Sri Lankans. They are not as good a side as SouthAfrica and so on.”Indeed, Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya admits that his side is stilltoo reliant on Muralitharan: “We need more support for Murali. Chaminda Vaashas been bowling really well but we lack an extra spinner at the moment. Wehave tried a few but unfortunately none of them are in the class of Murali.”Sri Lanka, though, are going to give left-arm spinner NiroshanBandaratillake a further chance, believing that he offers greater potentialthan other contenders. It marks a welcome development. With the sideenjoying unprecedented success, the up-an-coming players are at last to begiven a decent chance to perform.The selectors faith extends to Russel Arnold, who has had a torrid run withthe bat. On the basis of statistics (his average has now dropped from 40 to27.37 in his last 20 Tests) he should have long since been discarded. Butteam success allows the selectors to persevere with him, at least until theend of the Zimbabwe tour.”We need people like Russel (Arnold) to score runs,” Jayasuriya said. “Hehas been going through a bad patch, but we have to keep pursuing with him ashe has a lot of talent and potential. He is a good player and a team man; Iam sure that he will come good.”Sri Lanka are therefore likely to pick the same side that won in Kandy, eventhough the pitch at the Sinhalese Sports Club traditionally offers thefaster bowlers greater assistance than in Galle and Kandy.West Indies are considering one possible change: the inclusion of fastbowler Marlon Black in place of Colin Stuart.Likely teams:Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara,Mahela ,Russel Arnold, Hashan Tillakaratne, Thilan Samaraweera,Chaminda Vaas, Niroshan Bandaratillake, Muttiah Muralithathan, Nuwan ZoysaWest Indies: Carl Hooper (capt), Daren Ganga, Chris ,Ramnaresh Sarwan,Brian Lara, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Mervyn Dillon, Pedro Collins,Dinanath Ramnarine, Marlon Samuels
The Logan Cup match between the CFX Academy and Mashonalandpetered out in a drawThe Academy resumed on 28 for one, and it soon became clear thatthe Academy were taking perhaps a realistic view of theirposition: that they had insufficient time to push for victory byconventional means and even to aim for a declaration game wouldbring about a situation where they were hardly likely to bowl outMashonaland in less than half a day. The overnight batsmen RyanKing and John Vaughan-Davies settled in on a pitch that wasplaying slowly with a bit of turn, and after an hour they werestill there and Mashonaland were growing disgruntled andpressurising the umpires.Then two wickets fell quickly. King was given out lbw toPeacock, the ball hitting him quite high, and soon afterwardsVaughan-Davies was deceived into shouldering arms to the samebowler, who was spinning the ball quite sharply, only to find itcoming straight on and hitting his off stump – the third batsmanto be out this way in the match. He had mixed some good driveswith some vigorous fresh-air swings at balls outside the offstump. Both had made 24, and the Academy were now 68 for three.Greg Lamb scored only 10 before hitting a sharp return catch toViljoen, but Travis Friend was batting soundly, playing some gooddrives and strokes to leg. Due to the slow outfield he hit fivethrees against two fours in his 35 before becoming the eighth lbwvictim of the match, to Matambanadzo. The Academy went in tolunch on 139 for five, 112 ahead (Colin Delport 22, Jason Young2).The afternoon session was a dull one, but vital for the Academy,and Mashonaland grew increasingly frustrated, as was shown intheir body language and the amount of ‘chirping’ they engaged inat times. The only wicket to fall was that of Delport (34),checking a drive against Craig Evans and sending an easy catch toTrevor Penney at mid-on. The score was now 160 for six. PaulStrang, with his knee injury, prepared to come in at nine, butYoung and Clement Mahachi showed tremendous determination andconcentration to hold on until tea, when the score was 201 forsix – unbeaten on 26 and 17 respectively – and the match all butsafe. They mixed sound defence with firm strokes when safe to doso, but the heavy outfield made fast scoring difficult under thebest circumstances. The only chance given was when Young duckeda bouncer from Matambanadzo and wicket-keeper Don Campbell misseda shy at the stumps with the batsman still out of his crease.The Academy batted on after tea, useful practice for theirbatsmen, and the only further wicket to fall was that of Young,lbw to a yorker from Viljoen for 34. Strang decided to risk hisknee by batting with a runner, to be not out with 4 at the end,while the left-handed Mahachi was undefeated with 24. The finalscore was 221 for seven, a lead of 194, at 4pm, the time at whichthe teams could call off the match as a draw if there was mutualagreement. It was a creditable achievement for the Academyplayers to bat out the match, although with more experience theyshould be able to take greater toll of bowling that was ofteninaccurate. They will also learn to build on a good foundation;in their second innings six batsmen passed 20 but none scoredmore than 35. Unfortunately some of the Mashonaland players wereless than gracious about their successful effort to force a draw.
Trent Johnston, the former Ireland captain, has been named as the new coach of New South Wales. Johnston had joined New South Wales last September as an assistant to coach Trevor Bayliss, and has now been handed the top job after Bayliss was appointed to lead England.Although best known for his work with Ireland, for whom he played at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, Johnston was also a former New South Wales player and made his first-class debut for the state in March 1999. After he retired as a player in December 2013 he moved into coaching, initially as head coach of the Ireland women’s team.”The NSW way is to back young talent and we are delighted to offer Trent the opportunity to lead the NSW Blues,” Cricket New South Wales chief executive Andrew Jones said. “I am confident he will be an outstanding success.”Trent is an emerging coach who has performed as a NSW assistant coach and a head coach at the youth, club and inter-provincial level both here and overseas. He is past Blues player with substantial playing and leadership experience and he has formed strong relationships and established credibility with our players since returning to Cricket NSW.”Johnston had taken over in an interim capacity after Bayliss departed, and he said he was looking forward to continuing his work with the squad.”The NSW Blues are about producing Australian players and winning national titles,” Johnston said. “We have a very talented squad ranging from experienced international players to rookies who are at the start of their professional careers. I look forward to helping all of them to achieve our team goals, as well as their personal ones.”This is a very exciting opportunity for me and I am ready to take this next step in my career. I am passionate about cricket, I am passionate about coaching and I am passionate about NSW.”Cricket New South Wales is still searching for a new Sydney Sixers coach, with an announcement expected in August.
West Brom have been fairly active in the transfer market over the past few years in terms of bringing new players to the club and moving some out the other way.
However, one player that the Baggies were linked with a move for that they didn’t end up securing which will now be seen as a big mistake from the Midlands club is striker Alfredo Morelos.
Back in September 2020, a report from Football Insider claimed that West Brom had been in contact with Rangers about the possibility of signing their Colombian forward, ultimately to no avail.
Since he arrived at Ibrox back in the 2017 summer transfer window from HJK Helsinki, the 25-year-old has gone on to make a total of 164 combined goals and assists across 222 appearances across all competitions.
This season has seen the £11.7m-rated centre-forward rack up 11 goals and seven assists in 25 SPFL games, earning himself an overall performance rating of 7.35 from WhoScored, making him the second-highest rated player in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad.
Additionally, this rating would make him the highest-rated player at West Brom by the same metric.
Had the Baggies managed to bring Morelos to the Hawthorns back in the 2020 summer transfer window, there’s every chance that they would have scored more than the 35 they managed to bag in the Premier League last season.
Even if they had signed the striker when they were reportedly after him and still got relegated from the top flight, they would surely be in a better position than they are now and would have more than the 40 goals in 37 games they’ve managed to get in this campaign.
Labelled as a “brutally ruthless” player than can be a real “fighter” on the pitch by Aki Riihilahti, the CEO of the Colombian’s previous club, Morelos would have been a great signing for West Brom if he’d have been able to bring the same sort of goalscoring prowess that he’s shown in Scotland to England.
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All in all, it’s safe to say that Luke Dowling made a big error by not bringing the Rangers forward to the Midlands club when he had the chance, as the striker could have proved to have been very useful for the Baggies in terms of scoring some much-needed goals.
In other news: Sold for £10m, now worth £2.7m: Dowling sealed WBA masterclass on £60k-p/w “disaster” – opinion
John Wright has missed out on a place on New Zealand’s selection panel, with the existing four-member group reappointed for at least a year. Glenn Turner, Richard Hadlee and Dion Nash will again join the coach, John Bracewell, in choosing national squads.Justin Vaughan, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, did not rule out making Wright a selector in the future but before he could be seriously considered he would need to spend time familiarising himself with the domestic players. Wright begins work for New Zealand Cricket next week, although his exact role remains unclear.”Many key selection decisions need to be made in the short-term before John has had an opportunity to view many of the New Zealand player pool,” Vaughan said. “We felt he would be best to reacquaint himself with the players in New Zealand before any decision is made on whether he should be included on the panel.”Although the current selectors survived the review process, there has been a change to their tenures. A staggered system will mean selectors are offered two-year terms after which they can reapply, with no more than two members retiring in any given year to allow continuity in the decision-making process.Hadlee and Nash have initially been given one-year deals to begin the rotation, while Turner and Bracewell are on two-year contracts. “Richard, Dion and Glenn have the skills and knowledge we want in our selection panel, and we are very happy to retain their services,” Vaughan said.
Just over five weeks after The Oval was at the centre of one of cricket’s most fractious days, ending with Pakistan forfeiting the final Test against England, the main protagonists return to the scene of the row today to start a two-day hearing into Code of Conduct charges brought against Inzamam-ul-Haq by the ICC.The centre of the imbroglio is the 56th over of England’s second innings on the fourth day. Umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair, believing that the ball had been tampered with, changed it and awarded England a five-run penalty. Soon after, during tea, Pakistan decided to stage a protest against the decision. Ultimately, the umpires decided that Pakistan’s refusal to play amounted to the Test being forfeited. Cue chaos.Crime and Punishment Inzamam is facing two charges, of ball-tampering and of bringing the game into disrepute. The former is on behalf of the team; no individual or specific incident of tampering has been highlighted so as captain, Inzamam faces the heat. If found guilty, he faces a fine of between 50 and 100% of his match fee and/or a ban of one Test or two ODIs.The latter charge, of bringing the game into disrepute as a result of not leading his team out to play, is potentially more serious. Again, as captain of a side that refused to play, Inzamam is in the dock and if found guilty, he faces a ban of between two and four Tests or four to eight ODIs.Who’s who Pakistan: Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shaharyar Khan (chairman PCB) and Bob Woolmer (Pakistan coach). Danish Kaneria, Umar Gul and Zaheer Abbas (team manager) have all provided written statements as witnesses.ICC: Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove, Peter Hartley (third umpire), Trevor Jesty (fourth umpire), Mike Procter (match referee), Doug Cowie (ICC umpires and referees manager).Judge: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lankan ICC chief match referee)Support cast: Both sides are also backed up be legal representation. The PCB hired a UK-based legal firm, DL Piper, to represent them. Madugalle will be assisted throughout the hearing by the ICC’s lawyer David Pannick QC.Evidence m’lord The PCB has claimed from the very beginning that there is no proof that ball-tampering occurred, that nothing has been captured on video and no single person caught. This, of course, overlooks conveniently that no evidence other than the ball itself and the umpires’ words is needed. Forensic tests on the ball to determine tampering has been suggested while those who have seen the ball – journalists and Pakistan officials – claim that there isn’t sufficient evidence to conclusively say tampering has occurred. The ball was 56 overs old and The Oval historically provides a dry, rough surface. Further, a fair few boundaries – and thus advertising hoardings around the ground – had been tonked.The disrepute charge seems more straightforward. Everyone knows Pakistan didn’t come out to play; though the PCB claimed the protest was meant to last only a few minutes, it lasted nearer 50. Both umpires even went to the Pakistan dressing room to ask Inzamam whether he would come out to resume the Test, to which they received no satisfactory answer and thus decided to forfeit. Mike Procter’s testimony will be of particular interest here, if only to establish whether he knew that the Test had been forfeited when he convinced Pakistan to come out and play eventually.
Anything else I should know? Quite a lot as it happens. The ICC leaked emails from Darrell Hair in the aftermath of the incident in which he offered to resign for US$500,000. Zaheer Abbas has been replaced as manager of Pakistan since the Oval Test. An initial difference in opinion has emerged between the two umpires on when the ball should have been changed. Pakistan were reported in places to be calling up expert witnesses in the form of Geoffrey Boycott, John Hampshire and Simon Hughes. There is history between Hair and Pakistan; Pakistan have rumbled for some time now about Hair’s officious attitude and claim they complained officially about him last year. Ehsan Mani, ICC president at the time, denies the claim.Decision time The hearing is to be held over two days, behind closed doors and Madugalle has a maximum of 24 hours after it is over to adjudicate on both charges, which means a decision by Friday. However, the PCB can appeal on behalf of Inzamam and Malcolm Speed, ICC CEO, can do likewise on behalf of the ICC if either party is unhappy with the decision.Exactly what that decision will be of course is difficult to know. That hasn’t prevented though some speculation. Most, including PCB officials, believe that Inzamam might escape punishment for ball-tampering and face a ban for bringing the game into disrepute. Pakistan sees the ball-tampering charge as the more serious one in any case.Privately, ICC officials seem to have acknowledged they are in a no-win situation, especially over the disrepute charge. If Inzamam is found guilty – and it is hard to see, even with mitigating circumstances, how he cannot be – then he has to be banned and the options are for one of between two and four Test matches or four to eight one-day internationals.If Madugalle is lenient, then the ICC will be slammed by many for undermining the tenant that the umpire is the sole arbiter of the laws during a game. If the ban is lengthy – and it is worth recalling that Arjuna Ranatunga was initially slapped with a six-match ban in 1998-99 when he took his side off the field at Adelaide, although that game did resume – then Pakistan are sure to appeal, and the whole affair rumbles on.Any scenario still leaves the question of what to do with Darrell Hair, particularly for the Champions Trophy, unanswered. He seems to think he is officiating there, the ICC is delaying announcing officials for the tournament, India and Pakistan have officially objected to his presence there and the latter, some reports suggest, have threatened greater action – including a possible pull-out – if Hair stands. In other words, this two-day hearing is unlikely to be the last word on the situation.
There is no deadline for West Indian players to sign the match and tour contracts for the upcoming tour of Australia, scheduled for November 2005, according to a source close to the negotiations between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).The WICB, in its September 13 invitation to 30 players for the tour of Australia, had stated that “the players accepting the invitation are required to sign the letter and return it to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) by 5 pm on September 19”.On September 16, Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA president and CEO, said in a press release that according to an agreement between himself and Ken Gordon, the new WICB president, all players “may accept the invitation to participate in the camp in preparation for the tour of Australia with the clear understanding that there has been no agreement with regards to the match/tour contract and that the players would not be bound by the draft match/tour contracts which accompanied the invitations sent by the WICB for the Australian tour later this year as discussions are ongoing”.Ramnarine stated that the counsel for the West Indies Cricket Board, represented by senior counsel Charles Wilkin, and the West Indies Players Association, being advised by Dr Kusha Haraksingh, CARIFORUM Lead Negotiator on Dispute Resolution, were to meet over the weekend to “settle all outstanding issues” on match/tour contracts for senior West Indies cricketers.The source said that players were advised by WIPA not to sign any match/tour contracts because negotiations “are still in progress”. The source also said, contrary to a Barbados report, fast bowlers Pedro Collins and Fidel Edwards only indicated that “they accepted the invitation and never indicated they would sign the match/tour contracts”. “They were misquoted,” the source said. “They will not sign now because the contracts are still being negotiated.”WIPA had pointed out Friday that they only received a copy of the match/tour contract on September 13, “the same day it was sent to the players”, and reiterated that they want to reassure the public and all stakeholders that “we are committed to finding a resolution and for the best team to tour Australia…”Despite the lack of a settlement to date, players are still expected to turn up for a preparatory one-week camp from September 24-30 at the Three Ws Oval at the Cave Hill campus of the University of West Indies.Invited players:Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Daren Ganga, Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Dave Mohammed, Sylvester Joseph, Ryan Hinds, Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Devon Smith, Narsingh Deonarine, Carlton Baugh Jr, Omari Banks, Xavier Marshall, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Jermaine Lawson, Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Ian Bradshaw, Deighton Butler, Daren Powell, Dwight Washington, Jerome Taylor.