Younis Khan, the Pakistan vice-captain, believes the team are stronger in the wake of the fourth Test forfeiture which rocked international cricket.Pakistan have bounced back from the Oval controversy, where they were embroiled in a ball-tampering row, to win the Twenty20 international against England and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match one-day series.”After losing the Test series 3-0 we were very down and we saw the one-day series as a good chance for us to return to Pakistan with a victory,” Younis told bigstarcricket.com. “It’s never much fun going back to Pakistan having lost a Test series and a one-day series – so we are definitely not relaxing at the moment.”There is no shortage of motivation anyway for a team generally thought to be among the leading contenders to win the World Cup in the Caribbean next spring. But the ball-tampering furore – board chairman Shaharyar Khan described the ruling as a “slur” on team and country – has brought even more focus. “One thing that helped bring us even closer together was the controversy at The Oval,” said Younis.The Oval drama led to umpire Darrell Hair, who penalised Pakistan five runs in that ill-fated Test, offering to resign in exchange for 500,000 dollars. The whole thing got revealed after a bizarre exchange of e-mails between the Australian official and the ICC was made public by the latter.”Ultimately that kind of thing is not good for cricket, and we regret the fact the match was unable to be finished,” said Younis. “We were in a good position, and also the crowd wanted to see two good teams complete the match. The whole thing is no good for cricket, no good for Darrell Hair, no good for the Pakistan team, no good for Inzy (skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq) and no good to the England team. But it’s happened now – and nobody knows what will come next.”Younis has been struck, however, by the positive effect on Pakistan’s morale. “Inside the team, we became even closer after that incident,” he said. “Team spirit was good anyway, but the unity was there even more after that match. We are very united. After that we really backed our captain.”Younis now wants Pakistan to demonstrate their ability by sweeping the remainder of the three day one-dayers starting at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday. “We are keen to give our passionate fans something to cheer about,” he said.”That is our main goal – we must win it. We are in the world’s top three in both Test and one-day cricket, so we are in good shape. Another win in this series would see us getting closer to Australia.”
England ripped through Australia after a delayed start to the second Test at Worcester, reducing the visitors to 126 for 7 by the close.Heavy rain prevented any play until 3pm, and with moisture in the pitch and low clouds, England gambled by putting Australia in. The decision soon paid dividends. Belinda Clark looked fairly comfortable, but Lisa Keightley’s run out triggered a collapse which saw them slip from 27 for 0 to 49 for 4.Lisa Sthalekar led a mini recovery with a spirited 34, but her dismissal brought more wickets and England ended in a good position – although they will not be too complacent. In the first Test at Hove, they had Australia 115 for 7 only for the last three wickets to add 230 runs. Julie Hayes and Shelley Nitschke, who did much of the damage them, are still at the crease .
The BCCI is planning to reduce match fees for international cricketers once a contract system is introduced. According to The Times of India, Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s joint secretary, has said that the pay cut for both, Tests and one-dayers, would be Rs 65,000.”There is a likelihood that the match fees for Tests and one-day internationals would be cut down by around Rs 65,000,” said Shetty. “But this is not final. The suggestion is that cricketers making the playing 11 would get Rs Two lakh for a Test, compared to Rs 2.68 lakh they are getting now. For one-dayers the amount works out to Rs 1.60 lakh as compared to the Rs 2.35 lakh they are getting now.” He added that the board would most likely implement the team’s suggestion about giving reserve players half of what the playing 11 received.* * *In the same paper, Sourav Ganguly reacted with disbelief when he was told that VVS Laxman, who has averaged 74.75 since January 2003, grumbled about being perpetually on trial. “VVS on trial? You’ve got to be joking,” said Ganguly. “His is one of the first names to be put down on paper by the selectors. I don’t see any question marks against his name.”He touched on the debate about the openers, saying, “Today Yuvraj [Singh] is ready for Tests and I see no reason why he should not get a shot at the top of the order. Just imagine both Viru [Virender Sehwag] and Yuvi firing together! Gee, it gives me goosebumps!”* * *Laxman again, and he talks of the record Test score in The Indian Express. “I’ve my sights on 400,” he says, “but only when the team needs it. It should come when the team requires it the most.” Laxman’s best score in Tests (281) was also India’s highest score for three years, until Sehwag’s 309 earlier this year.He spoke about his evolving game and experiences. “My shot selection has improved,” he said. “It’s not that I am playing lesser shots. Only, they are more risk-free. Also, I am able to judge the wickets better.”* * *Most of the Indian players were unable to follow the football too closely because of the training camp, but they all had their favourites, according to The Indian Express. Zaheer Khan likes Zidane and Henry, and in the event of the French faltering, he’s got van Nistelrooy and David Beckham as well. Laxman doesn’t follow the game much anymore, but France find favour with him too. Rahul Dravid likes Ronaldo, Rohan Gavaskar thinks Italy or the Czech Republic could win, Mohammad Kaif prefers Portugal, and Lakshmipathy Balaji prefers sleep. Yuvraj, though, has a way of watching the games. “Train, sleep, watch matches and again sleep.”But no one bends it like Badani. His favourites are France and he thinks Beckham is overrated by the English press. “I am not an idiot, though,” says Hemang Badani, presumably speaking about his understanding of football.
Duleep Mendis will be the coach for Sri Lanka’s forthcoming tour to the West Indies after the Lankan board (BCCSL) failed to find a suitable long-termreplacement for Dav Whatmore.Mendis, a former Sri Lankan captain, was appointed as an interim coach forthe recent New Zealand Test series and the Bank Alfalah Cup after Whatmorerequested early leave from his contract which expires at the end of May.The board had hoped to find a permanent replacement in time for the WestIndies tour but the leading candidates – Bob Woolmer, John Bracewell, SteveRixon and Graham Ford – all made themselves unavailable.”Duleep (Mendis) will continue for the West Indies tour,” confirmed AnuraTennekoon, the BCCSL chief executive. "When the new cricket board comes inwe will have to decide whether to advertise or to headhunt for a new coach.”Other contenders for the post include Greg Chappell, the former Australian captain and coach of South Australia, who has indicated that he would not beinterested in a full-time job, and John Dyson, the former Australian batsman.
Sussex appeared to have made promotion a formality by batting Warwickshire out of realistic contention on a low-key third day out at Edgbaston.Needing only a draw to confirm First Division status next year, the south coast county established an imposing lead of 397 thanks to centuries by Richard Montgomerie and Chris Adams.They lost only two wickets in six-and-a-half hours while adding 312 and they may yet make the game watertight by building on their total of 324 for 3 on the last morning.Warwickshire had one success in the first hour when nightwatchman James Kirtley was caught at first slip but began to look a dejected side after missing an opportunity to run out Montgomerie when he had made 40.The opener made his native county pay by taking his second hundred of the season off their bowling and when he was out for 121, he had completed eight centuries in his summer of nearly 1,700 first-class runs.He batted for nearly five-and-a-half hours, hitting 15 fours from 258 balls, and after so much care and application, it was a disappointing conclusion when he hoisted a short delivery from Vasbert Drakes to deep square leg.A third-wicket stand with Adams had yielded 199 and his partner was then on 99 after reaching 1,000 runs in a season for the fifth time in his career.The Sussex captain safely chalked up his third century of the year from 196 balls but remained intent on locking up promotion by cautiously advancing to 132 not as his young partner, Tim Ambrose, made an unbeaten 41 out of 78 in the 26 overs.
After a slow start to their campaign, Guernsey have notched up their second win in consecutive days by beating Botswana by 25 runs at The Padang. Having won the toss, Guernsey’s batsmen made it count and posted a competitive total of 241 for 6. Lee Savident gave his team a sound start with a top score of 65 off 102 balls while Jeremy Frith also contributed a half-century. Stuart Le Prevost, the Guernsey captain, scored a quick 36 and the lower order made useful contributions. Botswana were on course during their run-chase, reaching 108 for 1, before they lost direction. Frith caught and bowled Faisal Rana for 57 and dismissed Karan Kapoor to leave Botswana on 112 for 3. Gary Rich took two crucial middle-order wickets before Jamie Nussbaumer dismissed the last four batsmen. He finished with 4 for 42 as Botswana were dismissed for 216 in the final over.Bahrain put in a powerful all-round performance to crush Norway by 232 runs at the Indian Association Ground. Imran Sajjad and Adil Hanif set up Bahrain’s innings with scores of 68 and 65 respectively before Tahir Dar boosted the total to 304 for 7 by blitzing 54 off 24 balls. Bahrain’s new-ball bowlers, Yaser Sadeq and Halal Abbasi, cut through the Norway top-order, reducing them to 35 for 5, a position from which they never recovered. Not content with an aggressive half-century, Dar took 2 for 13 in six overs while Fahad Sadeq claimed 3 for 16. Norway were shot out for 72 as early as the 28th over. The win ensured Bahrain’s berth in World Cricket League Division 5 next year.”Today we just played our natural game against Norway. In Bahrain we play on matting so it’s taken some time to get used to the turf wicket but today things really came together for us and we just went for it,” Dar said. “We really wanted to create a big target for Norway and the only way for us to do that was to hit the 300 mark, which we did and they failed to make it thanks to our strong bowling.”As for tomorrow’s final against Singapore, we know it’s going to be tough, Singapore have not lost a match this tournament but we’re confident and hopefully we can bring our winning way to the finals.”Singapore maintained their 100% win record by beating Malaysia by four wickets to secure their fifth victory in World Cricket League Division Six at the Kallang Ground. The victory also secured their place in World Cricket League Division five next year. Singapore’s bowlers backed up the decision to send Malaysia in by dismissing them for 183 in 50 overs. Muthuraman Sockalingam top scored with 43 while Mulewa Dharmichand was Singapore’s best bowler, taking 3 for 37. The home side’s chase started poorly when Buddika Mendis was lbw for a duck but Narender Reddy steadied the innings with a patient 64 off 134 balls. He was supported by Monish Arora, who scored 37, as Singapore reached the target in the 47th over.
Scottish football isn’t exactly receiving the best press at the moment. You can’t discuss anything without mentioning the words ‘Rangers’ and ‘Newco’ and therefore not much attention has been cast towards other happenings in the SPL. For fans of Aberdeen though, bad news could be on the way. It seems that Wigan are about to complete a move for their highly rated youngster Fraser Fyvie after holding talks with the midfielder.
The 19-year-old is set for a move to the Premier League for an expected seven figure sum, offering him the chance to showcase his skills at the highest level. Dons fans will know all about Fyvie’s potential, having seen him make his debut back in 2009 as a mere 16-year-old against Hamilton Academical. That appearance made him the youngest ever player to pull on the famous red shirt and by January 2010, he also held the record for youngest goalscorer in the SPL as well, taking the landmark off David Goodwillie when he notched against Hearts.
Fyvie will hope his move to England goes better than that of Goodwillie’s, who failed to establish himself in the Blackburn line-up last season as the club got relegated. However, if Fyvie does sign for Wigan, he is making the right choice in terms of club. Both James McCarthy and James McArthur made the transition from talented youngster to seasoned professional at the DW Stadium and they have established themselves as first team regulars under Roberto Martinez’s stewardship.
Martinez’s style of football will suit Fyvie down to the ground as well; indeed he refuses to alter from the neat passing and possession-based game that won Swansea so many plaudits last season. Martinez in fact started that revolution at the Liberty Stadium and continued his philosophy at Wigan, a philosophy commendable considering the club seems eternally destined to battle against relegation.
Wigan has also proved a decent place for young protégées to forge a career in the Premier League, as their better players seem to move on almost every season to bigger clubs. This will please Fyvie, who will look to enhance his reputation, before potentially chancing his hand at a higher level by perhaps emulating fellow Scottish midfielders Charlie Adam and Darren Fletcher who ply their trade at the top end of the Premier League with Liverpool and Manchester Untied respectively.
The move could also lead to Fyvie challenging for full international honours, he has already won a place in the Scotland U19 squad and the next logical step would be up into the U21’s. However, with manager Craig Levein looking to bring together a group of players that could end the woe for Scotland at international level, Fyvie could be fast-tracked into the Tartan Army setup in the hope of him one day becoming a quality regular for the national team.
There’s no doubting that Fyvie is a raw talent as he’s made just 58 appearances for the Dons in his career so far. However, he’s certainly worth a punt especially considering how expensive English youngsters can be these days. Compare Fyvie to say Josh McEachran and how much the two players would cost respectively and it’s easy to see why Premier League clubs are now looking north of the border for fresh, young blood.
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With the cream of the Rangers crop having moved down to England as well, there will be a strong Scottish contingent in the top flight next year, something that has been lacking in recent years, with the Scottish influence on English football tending to come from the managerial department instead. It will be a wrench for Aberdeen to lose such a quality young player, but all eyes will be firmly fixed on Wigan’s performances next year to see how Fyvie settles into the Premier League.
Last season in brief: A season where I would have been happy to just avoid relegation and stay in the Championship so we can start rebuilding again, however after being so close to the top and throwing it away in some games (think relegated Preston at home!) Finishing just outside the players felt deflating. Had some good results though to prove we can compete including the double over comfortable winners QPR.
2010/2011 Final Finish: 7th- on the face of it a good return to the Championship with Norwich exceeding expectations to achieve back to back promotions. It could have been so much better if we had managed to stop conceding silly goals as we scored plenty at the other end.
Who’s New: Paul Rachubka, Michael Brown, Andy Lonergan and Monty Gimpel.
Who’s Out: who isn’t!?! Schmeichel, Kilkenny, Johnson, Naylor, Higgs with Eric Lihaj, George McCartney, David Gonzalez and Sanchez Watt all had loan spells end. Also Bessone and Grella have been told they can leave.
Who to Watch: the attacking four of Snodgrass, Becchio, Gradel and Howson (providing we keep them all!) would be the obvious ones if they can re-create their form of last season. I am keen to see Ramon Nunez get a bit more of chance, he did well for Scunthorpe at the end of last season and has looked live in pre-season by all accounts. Monty Gimpel is another one- he apparently turned down Liverpool and Chelsea to sign for us so he must have some talent, although I am not sure how many games he will feature in.
Who’s going up: I can’t look any further then West Ham and Leicester to get the automatic promotion places, they both have good squads already and have strengthened with some very good signings. The battle for the play-offs should be interesting though and I can see that being between Leeds, Southampton, Burnley, Reading, Ipswich and Birmingham. Also Hull had a good run at the end of last season so if they can build on that they could be up there.
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Who’s going down: 3 from Doncaster, Peterborough, Coventry or Barnsley. I can see a suprise for relegation this season with the league being stronger.
Where will you finish: I would be happy with a play-off finish I think this season so that there is some improvement on last season, although I do think the league is a lot stronger this year than last so it will certainly be a massive achievement for anyone who manages to progress into the promised land of the Premiership. I am happy with the changes so far, although doing the maths 11 players out and only 4 in must leave us a bit short on strength in depth in order to be able to compete in games, especially in the busy Christmas period. I would also like a decent performance against a Premier League club in the FA Cup like the last couple of season, not necessarily beating one of the big teams but giving a show of ourselves to prove we can do it- in fairness although a cup run is great I don’t think our current squad would be able to cope. I think a lot of our season rests on our attacking prowess being up to the same standard as last year whilst strengthening at the back as well, if we manage that then I could see us breaking into the top 2.
For a lot of people, the New Year is a time for new beginnings…and it seems many football clubs have decided to take the same approach.
Despite the festivity that engulfs the country this time of year, many managers find themselves out of a job. Since Christmas Day, a little over two weeks ago, 11 managers across the four leagues have left their club. But what is it that has lead Chairmen to get rid of their managers at such a vital part of the season? What reasons have they given for deciding to go with a ‘different approach’? I’ve ‘bolded-up’ the reasons so it’s easier to compare each departure.
The mass exodus began on December 29th when Brian Laws was shown the door by Burnley. The reason for his departure was that the club wanted ‘a different direction’ as they looked for a return to the Premier League. However, it is worth pointing out that Burnley are ninth in the league, two points off the play-offs and lost just once this season.
Just a couple of hours later, ‘sacking fever’ reached neighbours Preston, who said farewell to Darren Ferguson. With the club bottom of the league, five points adrift of safety, the board felt a new manager ‘might bring better fortune’. ‘Fergie Jr’ took charge in January last year, but had only won 13 out of 49 games. Former Hull boss Phil Brown has been hand the task of avoiding relegation.
New Year’s Day was the scene of the next sacking, when Crystal Palace boss George Burley left the club following their 3-0 defeat to rivals Millwall. Despite only seven months in charge, Burley was unable to steer Palace clear of the relegation zone. The reason for his departure – simply ‘things didn’t work out’.
Another New Year hangover that was worsened was that of Mark Stimson, who was relieved of his duties by Barnet. The club is in danger of slipping out of the Football League after they slipped to 23rd in League Two. Chairman Tony Kleanthous says he was left with ‘no alternative’. To be fair, he probably has a point. 91st in the Football League isn’t exactly a great place to be.
After having a few days to recover from New Year hangovers, the departure lounge reopened on the January 4th. First to leave was Walsall boss Chris Hutchings. Sitting bottom of League One, eight points adrift of safety, it’s fair to see why he is now jobless. Chairman Jeff Bonser praised his professionalism, but said football is a ‘results business’ and they simply ‘weren’t achieving’.
Just a few hours later, fellow League One side Charlton decided that Phil Parkinson’s time was up. Now, this is a sacking I can’t fully understand. The club stated that ‘clearly improvement is needed on the field’. OK, Charlton haven’t won in the league since November, but they are still fifth in the league, just five points off automatic promotion. It just seems a little harsh to me.
The trio of departures was completed when Paul Simpson was sacked by Stockport. Simpson, who only took charge six months ago, had won just three times in 19 games – a run which had seen the side slip towards the bottom of League Two. The club said that although they were thankful for his services, a change was ‘necessary’. Fair enough.
Roy Keane’s time at Ipswich ended on January 7th. Chief Executive Simon Clegg said ‘the club had not made the expected progress’ with Keane in charge. You can see his point, with the club languishing in 19th in the Championship this year. Paul Jewell, who has won promotion twice, has been handed the reigns.
The biggest departure without doubt came on January 8th, when Roy Hodgson left Liverpool, an exit that had been predicted by many. A season spent mainly in the lower half of the table, has seen Hodgson popularity nose-dive dramatically. Owner John W. Henry said that ‘both parties thought it in the best interests of the club’ if he left, but Hodgson himself said he was ‘very sad’ at not being able to continue to help the team. Will ‘King Kenny’ bring anything different to a demoralised Liverpool side?
Kevin Dillon was next to go when he left Aldershot on January 10th. Sitting 20th in League Two, many feel the club are underachieving – a belief shared by the board. Dillon left – by mutual consent, of course.
The sackings were rounded up by the 11th on the 11/1/11 when Gary Johnson left Peterborough United by ‘mutual consent’. With the club sitting seventh in League One, most would say there were on target for a decent season, so why would he want to leave? It has emerged that Johnson and the Chairman ‘did not see eye-to-eye’ and were unable to work together any more.
So there we have it, 11 sackings in just over two weeks. Most of them do seem fair enough, with a change at the helm inevitable if the clubs are to fight their way out of relegation trouble. However, there are the unlucky ones like Parkinson, who was dismissed possibly harshly, and Johnson, who can count himself unfortunate that his relationship with his Chairman wasn’t ‘pally’ enough.
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I think it’s time to end this article now – by mutual consent.
Italy manager Cesare Prandelli has lifted the lid on Mario Balotelli after admitting he and the rest of his squad are still coming to terms with the controversial striker’s erratic behaviour.
The Manchester City forward scored his second International goal against Republic of Ireland on Monday but a typically emotive response has been criticised by the Italian public and he’s yet to fully convince them after unpredictable performances against Spain and Croatia.
According to the Independent Prandelli is still trying to assess his conduct.
“I have no idea if he was giving vent to his feelings about being named on the bench for the Ireland game.
“I don’t know if the words were directed at me and I haven’t asked him about it because I don’t want to spoil the moment for him. But his 20 minutes against Ireland were his best of the tournament.”
Prandelli’s pragmatic approach is centred on keeping Balotelli grounded because he knows how vital the forward can be if he remains focused and doesn’t destabilise the team’s harmony with his petulance.
“The spirit of the squad is important.
“All the players here have to give it their all. Nobody in our team wishes him ill; he has to understand that we are here to help him become a true champion.
“Look, Mario is a golden boy but he has to make a real jump in quality if he is going to become a champion. He has got to learn to accept criticism or a place on the bench – and, if he doesn’t, the squad is going to become a little more closed off to him.”