Category Uncategorized

Scorecard

Beau Casson takes the plaudits as another South African departs © Getty Images

Beau Casson’s second four-wicket haul of the match helped to consign the South Africans to a humiliating innings defeat in their tour opener at the WACA against a Western Australian side who came into this match with four defeats in four outings so far this season.Needing to offer more of a show than they did yesterday, the South Africans, who resumed on 2 for 25, lost seven wickets for 139 on a pitch that was far from unfriendly. Ashwell Prince was the only batsman to offer resistance, making 49, and it was only thanks to some late-order defiance from Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje that they avoided an even heavier defeat. After yesterday’s poor display, Micky Arthur, South Africa’s coach, promised more fight. His message clearly didn’t register where it mattered.Although Prince was the top scorer, he was put down at point off Steve Magoffin while on 1 and with the score at 37. Just two runs later Western Australia got the early breakthrough when opener Jacques Rudolph, who is pushing for a berth in the opening Test, was caught for 18 after hooking a Ben Edmondson delivery. Wrist-spinner Beau Casson, who took four wickets in the first innings, struck next for the hosts when he had Justin Kemp caught at long-on for 8. That left the Proteas struggling at 4 for 67 but worse was to follow when stand-in captain Mark Boucher was caught by Justin Langer at first slip, again off the bowling of Casson.At lunch, the South Africans were 5 for 120, but they lasted less than an hour into the afternoon session. Pollock, who made 25, became Langer’s second slip catch of the day before Makhaya Ntini completed his pair when he was trapped lbw after a Casson delivery nipped back from off stump. Andre Nel added just 3.Graeme Smith, who missed the match because of injury, played down the defeat. “We expected it in some ways coming out of India and travelling straight here and having a day before the game,” he said. “We didn’t expect to be at a level where we thought we would compete, but obviously we played even below that. But I don’t think it’s a concern, we’ve just got some hard work to do going into the first Test, we’ve got enough time and we’ll do it.”

Charl Langeveldt did not bat because he was suffering from a chest infection.

While everyone else struggled, Virender Sehwag played with a refreshing, and familiar, abandon© Getty Images

This has been a Test match of two pitches – one for Virender Sehwag, and one for everybody else. While his less-cavalier team-mates and opponents played with excessive caution and a distinct lack of initiative, Sehwag blazed away with the insouciance that has come to be his calling-card. While the watch-and-wait set eked out 747 runs from 1600 balls, Sehwag’s thrilling 164 occupied just 228 deliveries, with 56 coming from only 35 balls after lunch.After withstanding probing spells from Makhaya Ntini and Shaun Pollock in the morning, Sehwag teed off with élan once the second-stringers came on. Three overs from Andrew Hall, Zander de Bruyn and Robin Peterson disappeared for 46, as shots started to streak past the fielders – and over them. And like Sachin Tendulkar in his pomp – who can forget that 114 at the WACA in 1992 in a match where India were eviscerated? – the match situation didn’t faze him one bit.With the afternoon blitz, he also became the seventh batsman past 1000 runs in the calendar year, though his 1020 runs at 72.85 against top-notch bowling – he has only played Australia and Pakistan – puts him a country mile ahead of his rivals, some of whom have filled their boots against the likes of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, in the quality stakes.It’s the 13th time that an Indian has surpassed the 1000-barrier, with Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar both doing it four times. And Sehwag now has three more Tests – one against South Africa and two against hapless Bangladesh – to overhaul Sunil Gavaskar’s Indian record of 1555 runs, set in 1979, a year immortalised in song by the Smashing Pumpkins. Sir Vivian Richards’s tally of 1710 appears to be safe, though you can never take anything for granted when Sehwag is in the mood.But while Sehwag will justifiably take the plaudits, due credit must go to Gautam Gambhir, who kept pace with him for all but the last half-hour, when nerves induced by the nearness of a century paralysed his hitherto dashing strokeplay. There was also an interesting little cameo from Sourav Ganguly, who remains the favourite whipping boy of the Indian media despite averaging 50.16 over the past nine Tests he has played.It won’t stop the conspiracy theories or the innuendoes about likely prospects being kept out because of the captain’s insecurity, but it should remind the men that matter that Ganguly – for all his flaws, and every batsman has them – still has plenty to offer with the bat alone. If nothing else, he still times the ball with a sweetness that others can only envy: the shot to the long-on fence that raised his fifty was little more than a defensive tap, and there was one scorching square-drive off Pollock which was as gorgeous as anything he ever produced in his heyday.Interminable time, rather than timing, characterised Rahul Dravid’s effort, as he chiselled out perhaps the ugliest half-century of a career epitomised by laid-back elegance. It’s a mark of the man’s bloody-mindedness, and refusal to be enslaved by the vagaries of form, that he’s still there after four hours of playing, missing, edging, prodding and strokes of luck.South Africa certainly won’t whine about Dame Fortune, though. Simon Taufel’s decision to give Sehwag out off a borderline call allowed them to regroup after a manic post-lunch phase when the dark and murky sky above appeared to the only limit for a shotmaker who is currently superior to every other when it comes to consistency and entertainment value.

Ian Healy has urged Shane Warne not to retire, and to grit it out through the controversies that surround him and his mobile phone.”I hope [Warne does not retire] because then he will be remembered solely for the last 12 months,” said Healy, speaking to the AAP news agency. “He needs to clear his head, and the harder it gets for him the clearer his cricket focus will become, and hopefully he will give us two good years of cricket, whether it’s for Victoria or Australia. Hopefully he can have a crack at being remembered for what cricketers will remember him for – his great skills.”Healy did say, though, that Warne might find it hard to get back into the national team. “You couldn’t say he would come back and slot back into the team with the good form of Stuart MacGill. He might never get back in the Australian team. That doesn’t bother me as long as he plays some good cricket for Victoria … that will be enough.”

Kent County Cricket Club today announced that Matthew Fleming is to be Club Captain for 2002 and will captain the Club’s one-day team. David Fulton will captain the Club in the County Championship. Fleming, who has captained the Club in all competitions for the last three years, will assume responsibility for Club affairs and captaincy of all one-day competitions whilst David Fulton will assume responsibility for the team in the County Championship.Commenting on the announcement, Kent’s Chairman of Cricket, Mike Denness, said:”Last season was one of great success for the Club but there is always a need to look to the future and there is no better time than now to look to plan beyond Matthew. We believe that Matthew and David can work well together as we strive for further success for the Club into the future. We see the combination providing continuity in all competitions and we also see it as sensible planning for the future.”Matthew Fleming added: “I very much look forward to working with David next summer. He and I have talked at length about making this combination work and we are convinced that, with the squad of players we have, we can make a real success of the arrangement.”David Fulton said: “I am delighted to be asked to take on more responsibility and look forward to working with the players in order to make a real impact on the Championship next season.”

Assupol TUKS, will defend their campus-cricket crown, on Saturday, when the meet Loughborough Marylebone Cricket Club University in the Final of the Red Bull Campus Cricket tournament at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy, Dehradun.TUKS and LMCC came through a turbulent group stage, to win their Semi-final against Shraddhanand College and International College of Business and Technology respectively on Friday.Murray Coetzee, Assupol TUKS’, captain led from the front with a quick fire 54-ball 83 in the semis to beat the team from the host-nation by 39 runs.Abhishek Vats, SC’s in-form fast bowler, failed to fire against TUKS and went wicket less. Coetzee led the charge and combined with Aiden Markram for a 119-run opening stand.Coetzee smashed five fours and five sixes in his match-winning knock. Ruben Claassen then starred with the ball for TUKS and claimed four wickets to ensure SC fell 39 runs short of making the final.LMCC outclassed an in-form ICBT side in the second semifinal of the day. ICBT won all their matches in the group-stages convincingly.But their batsmen faltered in the semis, as LMCC fast bowler Toby Lester picked up four wickets in his spell.Sadeera Samarawickrama top-scored with 52 from 46 balls but other batsmen failed to find runs. The Sri Lanka-based team managed just 129 in their innings.Irfan Karim, the Kenya international, guided LMCC to the final with a resolute 82 that came from just 58 balls. It took a 92-run stand between Karim and Nitesh Kumar to help LMCC through to the Final to be played on October 24.

According to a report from TEAMtalk, Celtic loanee Cameron Carter-Vickers is attracting attention from numerous English clubs, including West Brom.

The Lowdown: Impressive loan spell

The Hoops struck a season-long loan with an option-to-buy agreement with Tottenham for the American defender late in the summer transfer window. Since then, the 24-year-old has made 32 appearances in green and white, becoming a regular under Ange Postecoglou, who labelled the centre-back ‘really consistent’.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-22/” title=”Celtic updates!!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

His former Bournemouth boss Jonathan Woodgate described Carter-Vickers as ‘quick’, with Celtic’s option-to-buy fee thought to be an initial £6m.

TEAMtalk claimed that a permanent deal would be worth more than £10m with various add-ons, and the Hoops may well face plenty of competition for the player over the summer.

The Latest: Carter-Vickers now in demand

According to TEAMtalk, Premier League quintet Burnley, Leicester, Watford, West Ham and Wolves are all monitoring Carter-Vickers.

Meanwhile, in the English Championship, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest are also showing an interest alongside West Brom.

The Verdict: Celtic in pole position?

The Hoops appear to be in pole position for the centre-back despite eight clubs being linked, due to their option-to-buy clause. Ultimately, the player will have a major say in his next move, and you’d like to think that he’d be open to a full-time transfer to Scotland.

Postecoglou has made him a near ever-present figure at the back, with Carter-Vickers winning more aerial duels than any of his Hoops team-mates. He also leads the way in terms of clearances at Parkhead and is dribbled past the least. [WhoScored]

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

On that basis, a permanent move to Celtic could be a shrewd one for all involved; and following this latest report, Michael Nicholson may well seek to get everything in place regarding a full-time deal for the 24-year-old ahead of the summer transfer window.

In other news: Celtic chief makes 742-mile round scouting trip; journo now drops update on possible record move

There has been a strong security presence around the South Africans all tour © AFP

The final ODI between Pakistan and South Africa has been shifted to Lahore from Karachi following security concerns raised by the tourists.”The fifth ODI will now be played at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on 29th October,” read a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “The venue was changed on the request of the South African team management.”On the request of the PCB, the South African team management sent one of their security officers to Karachi yesterday who held meetings with various offices of the government of Sindh. Despite all assurances given to the security officer, he felt that playing in Karachi was not feasible for the moment.”South Africa avoided playing in Karachi on their previous tour in 2003, but played a warm-up game and a Test this time, staying in the city for over ten days. But the twin suicide bombs targeted at Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, that killed 140 people and injured hundreds more last Thursday made the situation uncomfortable for South Africa.Logan Naidoo, the South African manager, said, “We deeply regret this decision especially for the people of Karachi for having deprived them of this opportunity but unfortunately the members of the South African contingent are not comfortable traveling to Karachi. After consulting with Cricket South Africa back home, we would like the venue to be shifted to some other city.”Naidoo added that this does not rule Karachi out as a venue for future tours. “We have already played two matches in Karachi during the current tour and hope to play there on our next tour as well.”The decision is a significant one for the status of Karachi as a venue with Australia due to tour the country in March next year for the first time in a decade. The city has only recently started hosting international matches again; following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, a number of tours to Pakistan were cancelled. When cricket eventually returned, visiting teams avoided Karachi in particular.But India’s decision to play an ODI at the venue on their ground-breaking 2004 tour gradually signaled a return to the international fold. Since then India and the West Indies have played Tests there, while England played an ODI in 2005.The PCB expressed its disappointment at the decision and reiterated that Karachi was safe to hold any international event.

Brad Hodge’s injury has come at a bad time © Getty Images

Brad Hodge has been ruled out of Sunday’s Ford Ranger Cup match between Victoria and New South Wales at Canberra after failing to recover from a quadriceps strain. Hodge missed the Bushrangers’ FR Cup loss to Queensland on Friday but is expected to be fully fit for Victoria’s Pura Cup clash with New South Wales starting next Friday.Hodge, whose injury has come at a most inopportune time given the retirement of Damien Martyn, hoped he still had a chance to play international cricket this summer. “In terms of where [Martyn’s decision] leaves me, well, I guess you would say the door’s ajar a little more and players on the fringe have a fresh opportunity,” Hodge said in a Cricket Victoria statement. “Ultimately that’s one for the selectors to decide so all I can do is keep performing.”Ed Cowan has been recalled to the New South Wales line-up, replacing Aaron O’Brien in the 12-man squad. With Simon Katich struggling at the top of the order – he has just 18 runs from three one-day innings since returning from the Champions Trophy – the Blues have given themselves an extra opening option by including Cowan, who made 74 in his only FR Cup innings this season.O’Brien could consider himself unlucky to miss the game after scoring two half-centuries in four matches in 2006-07. He is the only player to be dropped after the side’s disappointing 24-run loss to Queensland on Wednesday.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Simon Katich (capt), Ed Cowan, Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin (wk), Dominic Thornely, David Warner, Nathan Hauritz, Jason Krejza, Nathan Bracken, Aaron Bird, Scott Coyte.Victoria squad Jon Moss, Michael Klinger, Cameron White (capt), Aiden Blizzard, David Hussey, Robert Quiney, Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Clinton McKay, Darren Pattinson, Grant Lindsay.

Ashley Giles will spend Christmas on crutches © Getty Images

Ashley Giles will fly home to undergo hip surgery after England’s third Test against Pakistan. This means that he will miss the five one-dayers, but he hopes to be fit for the tour of India in March, the start of an intensive 19 months’ cricket for the England side.Football physiotherapists have advised that Giles may need three months to recover after the operation which will take place in Cambridge two days after he returns to England. He will spend Christmas on crutches.Giles has been carrying the injury since April, when he damaged his right hip playing for Warwickshire against Sussex in April. He missed the two-Test series against Bangladesh but physiotherapy and cortisone injections allowed him to play in the Ashes and the current Pakistan tour. But now the effects of the injections are wearing off.”It’s got worse between the first and second Test,” he admitted to reporters on the eve of the third Test. “I’ve tried to manage it but I’m fed up with it being in front of my mind. You feel old once you start to carry injuries and I feel I need a bit of closure on this now by getting it sorted.”The surgery will be performed by Richard Villar who has operated on many sportsmen. “Surgery will involve going in to either repair or whip out a piece of cartilage,” Giles explained. “There is also a little bit of a bone spur on the ball of my hip and he [Villar] may have to shave that down because that may be the thing that is catching on the cartilage.”I have worries because there can always be complications when you go into a major joint. But it comes hand in hand with the job. You are always going to pick up injuries but if you want to perform at your best you have to get them done.”

© Getty Images

As a child, Nasser Hussain was diagnosed as having a stigmatism of his left eye, a condition that causes blurring. In that proud manner that would later become his trademark, he refused to wear his glasses, and carrying on using his perfect right eye to keep his cricket on track. It was only in the mid-1990s that he bowed to advice from his ophthalmologist, and took to wearing a solitary contact lens on the weaker eye.In 2001, however, after five years of fiddling around in dusty dressing-rooms and leaving his eyewear lying in the wrong place, Hussain decided it was time to opt for a more permanent solution. So, at the end of that year’s Ashes series, he underwent corrective laser surgery in central London.Hussain took little time to demonstrate the benefits of his new 20/20 vision. He scored a typically defiant century on a wickedly seaming pitch in Christchurch, followed up with another big hundred against India at Lord’s, and in the final years of his career, he helped cement England as one of the leading sides in the world.His penultimate stroke in Test cricket summed up his attitude. England were five runs from victory and Hussain was on 98, when he cracked Chris Martin through the covers for a glorious four, before sealing the win with his very next delivery. Two shots of absolute majesty to put the seal on England’s victory, and provide the perfect epitaph to his career. No doubt he was seeing the ball like a football.