After a fighting knock that stabilised the West Indian innings against South Africa in the second Test in Trinidad, Ramnaresh Sarwan, unbeaten on 93, said that his team would be looking to add another 100 runs to their lead of 119.West Indies were struggling on 92 for 5, before Sarwan and Bravo stitched together a vital 78-run partnership to end the day on 170 for 5. “Tomorrow we will have to start all over again,” Sarwan was quoted in Reuters. “If we can get close to 219 runs ahead that should set South Africa a good challenge. We needed someone to take responsibility and bat through the day, and that became my responsibility. It was important for me and Dwayne to pick up any singles that were on offer, and to rotate the strike as much as possible on a pitch that was not the best.”Sarwan also blamed the pitch for the mini-collapse, as they lost four wickets for just 13 runs. “I don’t think it’s a lack of application,” he explained. “Obviously the pitch has not been playing that well, it has been of variable bounce but, of course, you gotta apply yourself and stuff but I don’t think it’s lack of anything from our batsmen.”He defended his batsmen, though, and added: “It’s just one of those days when things didn’t go our way It will be very hard for me to say the guys are not applying themselves because everyone going out there wants to perform. Obviously if I get a hundred I will be very happy but I think if I get beyond a hundred it will be very good for us and put us in a good position.”
Kapil Dev and Arun Lal have voiced their displeasure over the manner in which the Indian board has dealt with Abhijit Kale in the bribery scandal. Kale has been suspended pending an investigation for allegedly offering money to two selectors for a place in the Indian team.Kapil said: “If he is not proven guilty, I wonder how the BCCI will compensate him.” The BCCI has ordered a probe into the cash-to-play scandal and will meet in an emergency session in New Delhi on Sunday to discuss the case.Kapil questioned the decision to ban Kale from playing before the investigation was complete. He added, “I feel for the young man. I’ve been through all this and support Kale completely.”Arun Lal, now secretary of the Indian Cricket Players Association, hoped that Kale would get adequate legal support.Lal said,”He is an integral part of Indian cricket and therefore it’s only fair the BCCI appoint a lawyer for the accused as well.”
A change in attitude – not the end of selection rotation – was the key factor in Australia’s form reversal in the cricket tri series, batsman Mark Waugh said today.Australia’s comprehensive victory over South Africa in Sydney last night, its second in three days, came from an improved mental approach, not the change inplaying personnel, Waugh told reporters in Adelaide today.”We didn’t lost the first three games because of the rotation, we lost because our attitude wasn’t quite right,” Waugh said.”We didn’t do the basics right, rotation or not, you’ve got to do the basics right.”Selectors opted to go with Australia’s best batting line-up for last night’s match after deciding to end the system of rotating the squad of 14 players through the side for the first four matches of the series.Waugh said Australia’s one-day side had rotated regularly and without any problems for the past 26 matches.But he said the turnaround in attitude should be enough for Australia to carry its improved form through to the tri-series finals after climbing past South Africa (8 points) with a bonus point last night to be on nine points, behind New Zealand (12).”I think we’ve turned the corner, our attitude’s been spot-on the last couple of games, guys have got a bit more confidence back and hopefully we can keep thatgoing,” he said.”We can’t afford too many slip-ups or we won’t be in the finals but I’m confident that we’ll keep winning now.”Waugh said his own improvement in making 55 not out last night was more to do with a change in luck than a return to form.”I wouldn’t say I’m in great form, I had a bit of luck last night, I haven’t had much luck all summer, so it was nice to get a few chances and post a 50,” he said.Waugh had made scores of one, nought and 15 in his three previous innings in the series and there was speculation he would be dropped from the side with theprolific Darren Lehmann touted as a replacement.But the 36-year-old veteran said he had not felt any added pressure.”I suppose when you get older people don’t want to give you as many chances,” he said.”Every time there’s a couple of failures there’s always pressure on but I’m pretty used to it now, I’ve got to keep scoring runs, that’s the name of the game, so that’s what I hope to keep doing.”
Islamabad, Nov 22: Out of favour Test batsman Mohammad Wasim announcedhis return to form with a valiant 112 (133 balls) studded with 15boundaries to help Rawalpindi reach respectability in their firstinnings total of 283 for 7 against Gujranwala here on the first day ofQuaid-i-Azam Trophy fixture at Pindi Cricket Stadium.The top order batsman saved Rawalpindi from complete dire straits asthe hosts were perilously placed at 134 for 6. For the seventh wicketWasim and wicket-keeper Nadeem Abbasi (59 not out 89 balls 8×4, 1×6)added 149 runs 113 minutes to raise the total to 283.Wasim who slammed his first ton of the first class season againstBahawalpur ten days ago, was in punishing form to reach his secondhundred. The right-hander however, had one life when at 21 a thickedge was dropped by the slip fielder off pacer Mubashir Nazir.Afterwards Wasim batted effortlessly. Trying to glace pacer Basit Butthe was caught off Khalid at 112, he consumed 189 minutes during stayat the crease.Put into bat, the hosts found themselves in deep waters with threebatsman back in the pavilion at the total of 43. Opener Asif Mahmoodfailed to open his account on nine balls whereas all rounder YasirArafat sent up fell for 5 to leave Rawalpindi tottering at 16 for 2.The hosts struggling to stabilize their innings received another joltwhen debutant pacer Adnan Farooq struck for the second time dismissingwell set opener Naveed Qureshi at 23 (42 balls, 3×4).
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte could be on his way out of north London at the end of the season.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a report by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claimed that, despite having only been appointed at Spurs last November, the 52-year-old could be in line for a move to Paris Saint-Germain this summer, with the Ligue 1 leaders seemingly set to part ways with current manager Mauricio Pochettino at the end of the campaign.
The report added that, even if the former Inter Milan manager doesn’t go on to join PSG, he could still move on to pastures new prior to the end of his current deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with a return to his homeland said to always be on the cards for the Italian.
Partici must avoid Conte disaster
While it is true that life at Tottenham has not exactly got off to the best of starts for Conte, the argument that losing the 52-year-old at the end of the season would be a disaster for Fabio Paratici and Spurs is nevertheless an easy one to make.
Indeed, having won 15, drawn three and lost nine of the 27 games he has managed at Tottenham, the club’s form under the Italian can certainly be improved. It seems to have done in recent weeks, with Spurs having picked up 12 from a possible 15 points in their last five Premier League outings.
The longer that Conte remains in north London, the more accustomed the Tottenham players will become to the tactical instruction of the former Italy manager, which considering his impressive trophy haul can only be good for the club.
Furthermore, Paratici brought in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski in the January transfer window, both of whom are quite clearly Conte-style signings. Therefore, should the 52-year-old ultimately leave Spurs after just seven months, the club’s next manager would more than likely have his own targets, potentially making Tottenham’s considerable outlay on the former Juventus duo redundant.
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As such, it is clear to see that losing the £15m-per-year (£288k-per-week) coach who Pep Guardiola dubbed a “master” would be a devastating blow to everyone involved with Tottenham – and something Paratici must do all he can to avoid.
AND in other news: Conte can unearth his next 243-goal talent in THFC prodigy who “runs over every blade”
Pubudu Dassanayake, Canada’s coach, has announced a new coaching team who will take charge across the various levels of the game.Shaun Miller who played minor counties cricket in England will be the deputy national coach and he will be responsible for Western Canada which includes the areas of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. He holds an ECB Level 3 qualification.Anderson Cummins, the former West Indies and Canada opening bowler, will look after the Under-19s, who have not qualified for the World Cup in Malaysia this month but will definitely take part in the 2012 event as hosts. Farooq Kirmani who represented Canada in the ’80s, will be undertaking the future of the juniors, in looking after the Under-15s. George Codrington, who represented Canada at last year’s World Cup in the West Indies, will undertake the women’s program.The trio do not, as yet, have formal coaching qualifications, but do have extensive experience of developing players’ skills over many years. “All three have played a considerable amount of international cricket – in Anderson’s case, at Test level,” a Canada spokesperson told Cricinfo. “It is important for Canadian cricket that we maximize this type of expertise which exists within the country.”Geoffrey Crosse will resume his role as technical analyst, team with specific skills in video analysis. “He has formal, college-level qualifications in that area,” said the spokesman, “which is becoming increasingly important for us.”There has been a change in the selectors’ panel too, as Errol Townshend has tendered his resignation as national selector. Richard Hawes, Chris James, Bhan Deonarine and Arvind Patel will soon be joined on the panel by a replacement Ontario representative. The Ontario Cricket Association will recommend a replacement to the CCA. The CCA will then appoint a replacement who will be formally elected to the position at the next AGM.Their big job this year will be to select the side they believe will help Canada win the Twenty20 World Cup Qualifiers in Ireland in August. This will be Canada’s singular focus for the foreseeable future, with two teams from six going through to the World Cup. Project Stingray, as it has been called, will be led by Dassananayake and moves into high gear immediately.The efforts will include the following: an expansion of indoor winter training, with indoor nets and indoor games being played three times a week; specific Twenty20 training; much usage of DVD footage; input from qualified sports psychologists; and the inclusion of promising Canadian Under-19s in the process.
Opening batsman Khalid Latif hit an unbeaten 101 as Karachi Dolphins defeated Karachi Zebras by seven wickets in their first-round Gold League match of the 2006-07 ABN-AMRO Cup at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex.Khalid scored the second hundred of his List A career. He faced 135 balls and hit five fours and three sixes, as the Dolphins chased the Zebras’ 203 with 19 balls to spare.With Wajihuddin, Khalid gave his team a 98-run start in 25 overs. Wajihuddin scored 54 off 83 balls with seven fours. Fawad Alam contributed an unbeaten 23 off 27 to an unbroken 74-run stand for the fourth wicket with Khalid.Earlier, offspinner Atif Maqbool had the Zebras down at 89 for 5 in the 27th over after they had decided to bat. Saeed Bin Nasir, with 84 runs off 132 balls with seven fours and a six, steadied the innings.Karachi Zebras will now play their second-round match against Rawalpindi Rams at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium on Wednesday. The Dolphins will return to action in the third round on Friday.Last season’s runners-up Lahore Eagles registered a comfortable 79-run win over Rawalpindi Rams in their Gold League match at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex Stadium.Lahore prospered after being put in and scored 270 for 9. Rawalpindi were bowled out for 191 in 40.4 overs. Lahore’s innings was powered by strong top-order contributions. Arsalan Mir hammered a 42-ball 60 at number seven with eight fours and two sixes. Earlier, Aamer Sajjad had scored 61 off 82 balls with five boundaries.Kamran Sajid contributed 44 off 58 balls with two fours while opener Nasir Jamshed took just 41 balls to make 36. After a 54-run second-wicket stand between Babar Naeem and Mohammad Wasim, the captain, Rawalpindi lost wickets at regular intervals and were dismissed well short of the target.Naved Ashraf, who came in at 75 for 3 in the 13th over, stayed till the end scoring an unbeaten 64 off 73 balls with four fours and two sixes. Lahore’s fast bowler Junaid Zia stood out with figures of 3 for 36 in his 10 overs.Although they lost six wickets while chasing a target of 207, Sialkot Stallions completed a four-wicket win over Peshawar Panthers without fuss at the National Stadium. Peshawar were asked to bat first and Sialkot restricted them to a score of 206 for 7. Sialkot achieved the target in 46.1 overs.Former Test batsman Qaiser Abbas set the tone for Sialkot’s chase. He top-scored with 69 off 106 balls with seven fours. The rest of the batsmen made useful contributions till the end.Earlier in the day, Peshawar had slumped to 72 for 5 in the first 25 overs. It took a 71-run sixth-wicket stand to help them recover. Wicketkeeper Zulfiqar Jan hammered 76 off 78 balls with six fours and three sixes. Mohammad Fayyaz made 48 off 58 deliveries with three fours and a six.Sialkot Stallions will now meet Lahore Eagles at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex Stadium in a second-round match on Wednesday. On the same day, Peshawar Panthers will play defending champions Faisalabad Wolves here at the National Stadium.
Graeme Smith, despite a poor run of form in Australia, has been retained as captain. Cricket South Africa today announced its list of 14 national contracted players for 2006-07.Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa’s CEO, said, “Cricket South Africa has the fullest confidence in Graeme Smith as captain of the Proteas. Everyone knows that he is going through a tough batting period. But this has happened to the best batsmen, including Adam Gilchrist recently. It is only a matter of time before Graeme is back to his best. We have seen that Graeme has outstanding leadership qualities, and we believe he has the talent and determination to come out of this batting slump. Cricket South Africa had no hesitation in confirming our confidence in him as captain and opening batsman.”Nicky Boje is the only omission from the list of contracted players of the previous season. Haroon Lorgat, convenor of the national selection panel, said, “We are sticking to our plans of developing a high-performing and consistent squad of national contracted players. Nicky has been omitted, and no other spinner has been contracted as we would like to see what develops in this area over the next few months. In any event, at this point Nicky is not available for the ICC Champions Trophy in India later this year. The scarcity of top class spinners remains a concern, and our high-performance programme has this as one of its main priorities. Johan Botha shows a lot of promise, but he has yet to establish himself at international level.”Lorgat also stressed that the selection of players for the World Cup in 2007 will be based purely on merit and that being contracted doesn’t guarantee an automatic selection in the squad.Contracted players Graeme Smith (capt), Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Jacques Rudolph.
India’s coach, John Wright, has criticised his team for not delivering the final blow in the first Test at Mohali against Pakistan, and has advised them to be more hungry for success if they are to attain to the highest levels of international cricket.”We could not get the killer blow in,” said Wright after India failed to take the last four wickets to win the Test. “That result has to make us more hungry. It’s disappointing not to get the result we wanted, after the situation the opposition was in.” India can overtake England at No. 2 in the world Test rankings if they win the three-Test series 2-0.”If you want to be a top side, you have to get the job done. This is an area where we are still learning. If we want to climb the list we’ll have to have the killer instinct. This is what I look for and want from the team.”Pakistan were struggling at the start of the fifth day with just a 53-run lead and only four wickets in hand. However, a record 184-run partnership between Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq saved the Test for Pakistan. “In India-Pakistan contests, players always seem to find that little bit extra, but it came on the last day from the Pakistani batsmen.”When asked whether Harbhajan Singh would be selected for the Kolkata Test, Wright said: “Conditions suit us here and he [Harbhajan] has a good chance of making the side. Harbhajan has done well at the Eden Gardens and likes bowling here. I don’t think we’ll go with five bowlers. Traditionally we have always played two seamers and two spinners here and it has worked for us.”
Subrata Guha, the former Indian swing bowler, died in Mumbai following a massive heart attack early this morning. He was 57.Guha was an accurate right-arm medium-pace bowler who could swing the ball both ways, but his Test appearances were limited. Guha played only four Tests for India, in the late 1960s. He finished with three wickets at an unflattering 103.67, and 17 runs at 3.40. His best bowling was 2 for 55 – the wickets of Paul Sheahan and John Gleeson – at Kanpur in 1969-70.He made his presence felt when he took 11 wickets in the match to bowl an unfancied combined Central & East Zone team to a shock victory over the all-conquering West Indian side in 1966-67. But he had a nightmarish start to his Test career, when he sent down 48 overs and conceded 115 runs without taking a wicket against England at Headingley in 1967.In the Ranji Trophy, however, Guha was a pillar of strength for Bengal for over a decade, and took 209 wickets at 14.61, with a best return of 7 for a8 against Assam at Gauhati in 1972-73. In his first-class career, Guha captured 299 wickets at an average of 20.29.