Rain has forced the third match of the delicately poised women’s one-day series between Australia and England to be abandoned. The game, which was scheduled for Drummoyne Oval in Sydney, was cancelled following the wet weather in the city over the past week, which made it impossible to prepare the ground.England won the first fixture at the MCG before Australia levelled the five-match series in Melbourne on Monday. The final games will be played at the SCG on Sunday and Monday, with the one-off Test to be held in Bowral from February 15.
Queensland were fighting hard to avoid the follow-on at the SCG after Simon Katich continued New South Wales’ heavy run-scoring with an unbeaten 205. Led by Ryan Broad’s 73 not out, the Bulls were 2 for 168 at stumps and needed another 295 to make the home side bat again.Katich’s performance was his best for the state and he was boosted by a late flurry from Daniel Smith, who pounded three sixes in a 33-ball 51 that created further damage to a sorry bowling attack. Katich resumed on 102 with Dominic Thornely, who edged Grant Sullivan on 119, and he controlled the innings before closing it at an intimidating 4 for 613.His partnership of 106 with the debutant Peter Forrest (40) was quickly overshadowed by the 90-run stand with Smith. Katich, the captain, finished with 24 fours and two sixes from his 290 deliveries and gave his team a strong chance of staying in touch with Tasmania, the competition leaders. Matthew Nicholson struck twice with the wickets of Jimmy Maher (3) and Greg Moller (44), but Broad and Clinton Perren ensured there were no further mishaps before stumps.
Damien Martyn was shocked by his Test recall for the series in South Africa after scoring only 142 runs at 23.67 in three Pura Cup matches this season. Martyn, who was sacked following a dismal Ashes showing in the same year he was named Australia’s best Test player, said he didn’t think he was in the running for a tour spot.”I hadn’t really thought about it, it’s a shock for me,” Martyn told . A veteran of 61 Tests, Martyn scraped 178 runs at 19.77 in England and was cut for the Super Test. “My bad series came at the wrong time,” he said. “It probably came at a wrong time for a lot of us. It was disappointing, too, because we lost and the side didn’t do well and we had to fall on the sword and get dropped for it.”Martyn was also sacked after the SCG defeat to South Africa in 1993-94 and said he tried not to get too excited about his return because he knew the downside. “When you get dropped it hurts,” he said. “For me I’m at a point at my age I’ve been through the ups and downs and been dropped I don’t know how many times now. I try to keep an even keel.”Martyn said not being part of the side was hard to swallow and admitted it was painful to watch the Boxing Day Test on television. “That’s when it hits home,” he said. “Because you’ve been a part of it so much, you always think about it. For me, just winning a Test match and singing the team song again – just simple things like that.”Michael Kasprowicz, Shaun Tait and Michael Clarke have also been recalled to the Test squad and Martyn said the players were hungry to regain the Ashes urn. “To win it back, you’d almost like the same side to go out there and give them a run for their money,” he said. “But I’m not looking that far ahead, because I hit England batting well and I missed out after that. I’ll just try and get through this tour.”Clarke, 24, faced a public axing in November following criticism that his technique was not tight enough. “My batting at the moment is a lot better than it has been, both mentally and technically,” he said. “As much as you hate getting dropped, it certainly gave me some time to re-assess.”
When Rahul Dravid reached 64, he became the fourth Indian, after Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sachin Tendulkar, to reach 16,000 runs in first-class cricket. But while Gavaskar and Vengsarkar average in the early fifties, Dravid’s is above 57, but less than Tendulkar’s average of over 61.
Rahul Dravid’s 110 was his 19th century in 88 Tests and pushed his average against Pakistan above 50. He now averages over fifty against every Test nation except South Africa, who have limited him to a shade under forty. (Click here for Dravid’s career summary.)
India’s total of 344 on the first day was the second-highest aggregate of runs on the first day of a Test in Kolkata. Only West Indies have scored more in 34 Tests, with 359 in 1958-59.
Besides being the venue that Tendulkar reached his 10,000th Test run at, Eden Gardens has also become the landmark at which Steve Bucknor reached unscaled heights by officiating in his 100th Test. He has 13 more than David Shepherd, 27 more than S Venkatraghavan, and is well clear of Dickie Bird (66), Rudi Koertzen (60) and Darrell Hair (60).
The Sehwag-Gambhir combination put on 80 in the morning before being separated. As partners, they average 57.7 in the seven Tests they have played together. It was their fourth partnership of 80 or above. A notable point is that each time their partnership has gone beyond 20, they have put on 80 or more.
The results for the Batting Performance of the Year award are:The winner Michael Vaughan 183 v Australia at Sydney (second innings) England won by 225 runs After ending up on the losing side at Brisbane despite having scored 177, Michael Vaughan went one better at Sydney, scoring 183. It was an innings of beauty, poise and technical rectitude and, most relevantly, it helped England to a rare Test win against Australia.The other nominees Matthew Hayden 119 v Pakistan at Sharjah (first innings) Australia won by an innings and 198 runs In oven-like conditions under which Pakistan wilted for 59 and 53, and no other batsman crossed 50, Matthew Hayden gave a masterclass on batting and physical endurance both. The slow Sharjah wicket inhibited strokeplay, but Hayden dug deep, scoring 119 out of 310 in Australia’s only innings of the game.Stephen Fleming 274* v Sri Lanka at Colombo (first innings) Match drawn Sometimes, not losing can be equal to winning. The pundits didn’t give New Zealand much of a chance against Muttiah Muralitharan on home pitches. Yet, by the second day of the first Test, Stephen Fleming hadn’t only conquered Murali but ground him to dust. It was an innings epic in concentration, focus, perseverance and technical adjustment. Thanks to it, New Zealand returned home undefeated in the series – and that itself was a victory.Ramnaresh Sarwan 105 v Australia at Antigua (second innings) West Indies won by three wickets Classics are made of this. Chasing history (418 to get in the last innings), West Indies looked headed for a familiar collapse at 74 for 3 when Sarwan joined Brian Lara at the crease. He lost Lara’s company at 165, but crafted a stirring partnership with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (105), which took West Indies to the doorstep of a famous victory.Shivnarine Chanderpaul 100 v Australia at Georgetown (first innings) Australia won by nine wickets It was the unlikeliest of quick hundreds. Chanderpaul, he of limpet fame, launched an assault so severe that the world’s best bowling attack was found wanting for an answer. The hundred came off 72 balls, the third-fastest in the history of Test cricket. Peter Roebuck described it as “breathtaking in its audacity and inspired in its execution”. West Indies lost the match, though, and Chanderpaul had to wait till the last Test to score a hundred that proved matchwinning.
Michael Bevan should eclipse another one-day milestone tomorrow when his New South Wales Blues take a winning Gabba record into the ING Cup clash with Queensland.Bevan needs just seven runs to reach the 2000-run mark in domestic one-day matches, enhancing his reputation as one of the most effective batsmen in theshortened form of the game.Five batsmen have already passed 2000 runs, but none has matched Bevan’s performances in the international arena.The left-hander averages 57.28 in his 164 matches for Australia – the best mark of any international batsman to have played more than five matches – and he willprove a genuine test for Queensland’s bowlers tomorrow.The Bulls tamed Bevan during their comfortable win in the four-day Pura Cup match earlier this week in a rare double failure for the 31-year-old.”You can’t score runs every game but we rely pretty heavily on Bevo and he’s been the man for us in a lot of situations,” Blues captain Shane Lee said.”That’s the way it is but our one-day form has been very good and I can’t remember the last game we lost here.”The Blues haven’t lost at the Gabba since October 1996, bucking the trend at a ground which has become a killing field for Queensland.Lee kept the winning run intact two years ago when he smashed an excellent century to beat a Queensland team which had been cruising at 0-189.Sports bookmakers expect tomorrow’s match to be a preview of February’s final, particularly after the Bulls almost rolled a full-strength NSW in Sydney two weeks ago.”We probably should have won it – we lost it rather than they won it – so it should be a good one-day contest,” Bulls captain Stuart Law said.The Blues sit atop the table on 13 points, four ahead of Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.Tomorrow’s clash coincides with the beginning of the third Test between Australia and New Zealand in Perth but eight of the ACB’s 25 contracted players will be at the Gabba.Discarded Test opener Michael Slater will also shoulder some hopes for the Blues along with explosive batsmen Brad Haddin and Mark Higgs.The Bulls are expected to bracket Martin Love with Jimmy Maher at the top of the batting order in the absence of Test opener Matthew Hayden.Maher is also nearing a milestone, needing 21 runs to overtake Hayden as Queensland’s most profilic one-day runscorer.That would push Maher into second place on the Australian all-time list behind Darren Lehmann.QUEENSLAND: Stuart Law (capt), Jimmy Maher, Martin Love, Clinton Perren, Andrew Symonds, Brendan Nash, James Hopes, Wade Seccombe, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Hauritz, Michael Kasprowicz, Joe Dawes.NEW SOUTH WALES: Shane Lee (capt), Brad Haddin, Michael Slater, Michael Bevan, Michael Clarke, Mark Higgs, Graeme Rummans, Shawn Bradstreet,Stuart MacGill, Don Nash, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark.
A Craig White hat-trick won this National League match for the Yorkshire Phoenix. When the Kent Spitfires started the 42nd over they required 30 from four overs and it looked like the Spitfires would win the match.The Spitfires captain Matthew Fleming hit the first ball for a four. The next ball he tried to steer the ball over point but Michael Vaughan held on to a vital catch. In came Min Patel but he was trapped leg before to White. Next man David Masters suffered the same fate. The Spitfires who had started the over on 134 for six finished the over on 138 for nine. Paul Nixon managed to get a single off Silverwood, but the next ball the former England paceman bowled last man Kristian Adams for a duck. The Phoenix were home by 24 runs.However it looked at one stage that the Spitfires would win this match easily. They had restricted the Phoenix to 44 for five after 12 overs. Opening bowlers Mark Ealham and Adams had taken two wickets each and the fifth was a run out, when White attempted a third run and was beaten by a throw from Fleming.Then it was left to the left handers Byas and Gavin Hamilton to hold the Phoenix innings together which they did. They pair scored 51 in 18 overs. Hamilton had scored 21 when he was caught down the legside by Nixon off Patel. James Middebrook was the next man and with Byas put on 30 for the seventh wicket before he was stumped by Nixon off Patel.Chris Silverwood hit a six off Patel, but Patel had his revenge when he caught Silverwood off Fleming’s bowling. David Byas was the ninth man out in the final over when he caught by Matthew Walker off Ealham for 52. He hit five fours, received 93 balls and his innings lasted 122 minutes. Sidebottom and Hoggard took the Phoenix to 163 in their 45 overs.The Phoenix opener Gary Fellows hit the first ball from Ealham for a four. He hit the third ball for a four as well and it looked as if the Phoenix would get a huge score. But Fellows was bowled by Ealham when he pitched the ball up to Fellows. Michael Vaughan made nine before he was caught by Dravid at short mid off. Darren Lehmann was only two when he was caught down the leg side by Nixon off Adams. Blakey scored ten when he became Nixon’s second victim of the day off Ealham. At that stage it looked as if the flags at Headingley were flying at half-mast for the Phoenix.When the Spitfires batted they got off to a bad start. David Fulton played on to Silverwood’s third ball for a duck. His partner Robert Key lasted until the seventh over and then he too played on to Silverwood for no score. What the Spitfires needed to win this match was partnerships. They got one from Walker and the Indian batsman Rahul Dravid. The pair added 47 for the third wicket in 15 overs in a safe and unspectacular style.Walker was leg before to James Middlebrook for 18. Alan Wells and Ealham scored nine between them. They were both bowled by Middlebrook. Dravid was the next man out when he was leg before to Hoggard one shot off 50. His patient knock came from 88 balls and he only hit three fours. Fleming and Nixon hit 41 in nine overs and looked to be seeing the Spitfires home before that Craig White eighth over.
Chelsea have failed in a second attempt to bring outgoing Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola to the club, according to Mirror Football.
The west London club do not have a permanent manager after dismissing Andre Villas Boas earlier in the season, with interim coach Roberto Di Matteo directing the team for the time being.
With Guardiola leaving the Catalan giants at the end of the campaign, Roman Abramovich has targeted the Blaugrana man as a top target to fill the Chelsea role.
The newspaper indicate that the Blues have offered the Spanish tactician a £12 million-a-year package, and promised him a bumper transfer kitty to add new players.
However, Guardiola is determined to take a year away from the game, and has reportedly refused the Premier League club’s advances.
The news is thought to be positive for Di Matteo, who now stands an excellent chance of being given the role in the Blues hotseat on a long-term basis.
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Tottenham Hotspur could seal an “unbelievable signing” in Stefan de Vrij this summer transfer window.
That’s according to Eurosport transfer insider Dean Jones, who delivered an encouraging claim to GIVEMESPORT earlier this week.
Reports in Italy suggest that Spurs are leading the race to sign the Inter Milan colossus with the Serie A outfit tempted to offload the Netherlands international due to him entering the final year of his current contract.
It remains to be seen how much the 30-year-old would command, given his contractual situation and age, though Transfermarkt currently estimate his value to be in the region of £40.5m.
“If they can get De Vrij, I think that would be an unbelievable signing and would fit perfectly for where they want to go in the next couple of years,” the reliable reporter said.
De Vrij is a player that Lilywhites boss Antonio Conte knows very well as the defender played a crucial role in the Italian’s backline on their way to their first Scudetto in over a decade last season.
As part of the division’s most formidable defence, the 6 foot 2 powerhouse won an average of two aerial duels and 1.3 interceptions per game, on top of a seasonal passing accuracy of 93.8%, which is pretty outstanding, across 32 appearances, as per WhoScored.
He continues to be a rock-solid option under new management, averaging 2.5 aerial duels won, 1.4 tackles and a 92.1% passing accuracy per game in the Serie A this term.
By comparison, no Spurs player is winning more headers or making as many accurate passes, so evidently, he’s an instant upgrade on what Conte’s currently got at his disposal.
And given their poor defensive record in recent weeks, De Vrij could be everything he badly needs to improve such a crucial area of the pitch.
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The 30-year-old Dutchman, once dubbed a “monster” by his former Lazio teammate Mauricio, would be the perfect summer addition for sporting director Fabio Paratici to land.
Their interest is evident, if not obvious based on Conte’s history with the colossus. He must be atop their priorities when the transfer window reopens this off-season.
AND in other news, 105 touches, 80% duels won: Spurs’ £36m-rated “monster” was Conte’s one shining light in United defeat…
Lance Shaw had a 20th birthday to remember in the Bradford League knockout final yesterday. Shaw, a member of the Auckland club championship-winning Papatoetoe side, in its first season after winning promotion to the senior grade last season, helped his Bradford and Bingley side to an unexpected victory over Woodlands in the Priestley Cup final.Unexpected because Bradford and Bingley are a second division side who managed to win the League’s open knockout prize. Shaw took 4 for 30 in eight overs to highlight the impact he has made with the club. Shaw, a fast-medium bowler, described by one critic as a “Ewen Chatfield with a bit more motor” is a brother of Auckland representative Gareth Shaw. He has played Under-17 and Under-19 cricket for Auckland, and just missed inclusion in New Zealand’s side for the last ICC Under-19 World Cup which was held in Christchurch.Shaw has taken 65 wickets for the club this season and has been asked back for next year, however, he has declined saying he wants to resume his university studies instead. His best effort to date has been 6 for 21 but probably the effort he cherishes the most is his first-ball dismissal of Pakistan international Ijaz Ahmed in a recent match.Shaw got his chance to play for the club after they approached former Auckland coach Tony Sail for a pace bowler. He wasn’t a well-known player but the club has been very happy with his efforts. The club is keen to be promoted to the first division in the league and at the moment is sitting in second place, with the top two teams to be promoted.The Bradford League is celebrating its centennial this year and the achievement in winning the knockout is one of the more prestigious results for the country club.