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New Zealand’s batsmen are rightly cursing their shot-selection after giving up the first five wickets of the innings with a flurry of poor choices

Daniel Brettig at the Gabba01-Dec-2011New Zealand’s batsmen are rightly cursing their shot selection after giving up the first five wickets of the innings with a flurry of poor choices. However, batsman Brendon McCullum believes the visitors are on course to reach a total that will stretch Australia’s youthful top order.McCullum creamed three boundaries from the debutant James Pattinson in the first over of the series, but later cut unwisely to point soon after drinks to expose the middle order to swing and spin. He was frank about the batsmen’s failings, but retained hope of a fruitful Test match given the Gabba’s potential for rushes of wickets.”There are some very disappointed batsmen, myself included, all of us are pretty upset to pass up an opportunity to score some big runs on a challenging pitch against a very good team,” McCullum said. “When you pass up those opportunities it always disappoints you. But can’t stress enough it wasn’t so much the deliveries themselves but more-so the build-up of pressure.”When you see a ball that’s not one of the better ones you try to dominate and that’s where we came unstuck a little bit. Of more importance is we lost wickets before drinks, before lunch then straight after lunch. We pride ourselves on playing hard cricket during those times and today we let ourselves down before and after breaks.”That first hour at the Gabba is always going to be the most challenging, and to get through that, to get to drinks and start after drinks and get out in the fashion I did, just before the spinner came on and I thought that would’ve been an opportunity to put pressure on with one wicket down. The timing of when I got out after putting in that hard work was hugely disappointing.”Grateful to Dean Brownlie and Daniel Vettori for a sturdy sixth wicket stand, McCullum pointed to David Warner, Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja, Australia’s developmental top three, as an opportunity for early wickets if a total of 280 or more can be raised on day two.”We still think we’re not far away from putting up a competitive total, and if we can eke out a good two hours tomorrow morning then we put ourselves in a position where we’re relatively comfortable with where we’re at and have something to bowl at,” McCullum said. “Hopefully we can expose some inexperience in the Australian top order as well, and try to utilise the scoreboard pressure we might create by batting first.”Three hundred is competitive, 280’s competitive, it’s not like every other cricket ground, it is one of those things where if we do hit the right areas, any team can easily have a session where you run through six or seven wickets if you get it right, so we’ve just got to keep making sure we put ourselves in the strongest position we can.”Though he did not claim McCullum’s wicket with a particularly searching delivery, Mitchell Starc had made the opener uncomfortable with earlier offerings, singeing his helmet with one bouncer and cramping his hands with swing and seam into the body.”I thought I was a bit stiff not to get four leg-byes actually,” McCullum said of the bouncer. “I thought he bowled pretty well. In terms of the length he bowled, he was probably the most challenging out of the lot of them. He’s left-arm as well, being able to use his angle across you but also [challenging] when he came around the wicket coming from a wider angle as well. He bowled really smart today and got the rewards for it.”New Zealand have only played three other Test matches in 2011, but McCullum denied that had much to do with the batsmen’s questionable shot choices. Instead he considered the occasion, against Australia in the first Test of their summer, had affected the visitors.”We always want to play more Test cricket, but our dismissals today weren’t because of our lack of Test cricket,” he said. “It was just that we didn’t execute the options we took, and pressure sometimes does that, and also the spectacle of playing Australia can sometimes bring that out in you as well. We’re slightly behind the eight-ball but we’re going okay.”

It is more than likely that Virender Sehwag has played his last innings on the England tour

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Aug-2011It is more than likely that Virender Sehwag has played his last innings on the England tour. It is understood that Sehwag has not completely recovered from the shoulder surgery he underwent immediately after the IPL in May. Sehwag, who struggled to make any impact in the two Tests matches he played, had a quiet word with the two on-tour national selectors – Narendra Hirwani and Surendra Bhave – and the team management, and the decision was then conveyed to the BCCI top brass. In the end Sehwag got the permission.”The shoulder injury has not completely healed. He will return after the Test series,” a BCCI source told ESPNcricinfo. In addition to the shoulder injury, Sehwag has also been suffering from hearing problems in his left ear, after being exposed to a loud sound on July 24, according to the note sent by the National Cricket Academy physiotherapist Nitin Patel to the tour physio Ashish Kaushik when the opener joined the squad for the tour match in Northampton. “Sehwag has some visual and balancing problems, which persist,” the source added.Interestingly, after the first day’s play at The Oval, Anirudh Chaudhary, Indian manager for the Test leg, categorically denied the rumours that Sehwag had asked the team management if he could head back home.It would be difficult to surmise if the injury played a role in Sehwag’s poor tour which began with a king pair at Edgbaston. He followed that up by lasting just five deliveries in the first innings of the final Test before being bowled through the gate by a Graeme Swann offbreak in the second innings. He made 41 runs in four innings.Embarrassingly for the BCCI, this is the second case of a half-fit Indian player being rushed in for this important tour. Earlier Zaheer Khan, India’s strike bowler, was ruled out of the series at the halfway stage, due to a “recurring hamstring injury and right-ankle impingement” according to the statement issued on August 7 by the team manager. Zaheer had originally picked up the ankle injury during the IPL and, both he and Sehwag had been rested for the subsequent Caribbean tour.When the selectors named the squad for the Test leg of the England tour in early July, they announced a 17-member party, stating that Sehwag would join the tour a fortnight later as he was been given extra time to recover completely from the shoulder surgery. Unfortunately for the BCCI, Sehwag did not recover as expected and someone would have to answer some tough questions.Meanwhile the selectors have not yet name Sehwag’s replacement and are likely to make the announcement early next week.

Durham completed their eighth win of the season by beating Worcestershire by 151 runs 15 minutes after lunch at Chester-le-Street

15-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Mitchell Claydon removed Alexi Kervezee for a duck•Getty ImagesDurham completed their eighth win of the season by beating Worcestershire by 151 runs 15 minutes after lunch at Chester-le-Street. It was Worcestershire’s 11th defeat in 16 games, making their Division One survival all the more remarkable, and they subsided swiftly after reaching 128 for 2 in pursuit of 365.Despite a late flourish from Richard Jones, who hit Ian Blackwell for two sixes and a four in one over, the visitors were all out for 213. Resuming on 65 for 2, James Cameron and Moeen Ali played well for the first hour, defying the best efforts of Graham Onions.The paceman was clearly riled by the defiance of the left-handed Cameron, who survived a confident lbw appeal just before edging just short of first slip on 38. After successfully settling into the opener’s role in late season, Cameron confirmed that he is also capable of quality strokes.Onions had done the softening up and Mitch Claydon cashed in with two wickets in his second over. Shortly after lofting Blackwell sweetly over long-on for six, Ali fell for 38 when he edged a drive to Michael Di Venuto at second slip and three balls later Alexei Kervezee edged to Phil Mustard.Then Blackwell turned one into Cameron to have him lbw on the back foot for 47. Gareth Andrew clearly had no intention of hanging around and Blackwell bowled him through a reverse sweep for 15.Matt Pardoe made 27 before edging Blackwell to slip then leg-spinner Scott Borthwick found extra bounce to find Ben Scott’s top edge as he shaped to turn to leg. A simple catch lobbed to backward square leg.Kemar Roach wafted at the first ball after lunch and edged to slip and Borthwick claimed his third wicket when last man Alan Richardson drove to mid-on.

In the bigger picture England captain Andrew Strauss had plenty reasons to be content after securing a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka ahead of India’s visit

Andrew Miller at the Rose Bowl20-Jun-2011Andrew Strauss had plenty to be frustrated about as England’s Test series against Sri Lanka dribbled to a damp conclusion at the Rose Bowl on Monday. He was frustrated by the weather that closed in once again at tea; he was frustrated by his own dropped catch off Rangana Herath in the morning session that might have prised an opportunity for England to press for victory. And he was frustrated by his personal return of 27 runs in four innings, which now means he’ll be playing for Somerset against the Indian tourists next month, in a bid to find form before the first Test at Lord’s.In the bigger picture, however, Strauss had plenty more reasons to be content. Thanks to Sri Lanka’s extraordinary collapse in the first Test at Cardiff, his team did at least emerge with the series win that their dominance undoubtedly deserved, while his own struggles against the left-arm seam of Chanaka Welegedara were counterbalanced by the composed form of pretty much every other member of his team. With the world’s No. 1 Test side waiting in the wings, England look ready for a battle royale.”We’re looking forward to the challenge of taking on India, and hope we can be a difficult proposition for them,” he said. “I think we’re in good shape. A lot of the batsmen got a lot of runs in this series and are in good form; our bowling attack in this game was exceptional and at times at Cardiff was very good as well. We’re a confident team, and we’re used to winning and putting opposition teams under pressure – which we did against Sri Lanka.”I think it’s going to be a pretty significant series,” he added. “We know India are a very confident side in their own right and are used to winning themselves. We’ve got our home conditions, and we back ourselves to beat anyone in them, but it’s going to be a tough series and will hinge on those important moments and sessions – and we’ve got to make sure we’re able to grasp them.”Stuart Broad was hindered by a bruised heel, but appeared to be working his way back to rhythm•AFPWith that in mind, Strauss’s post-match focus was on the fine-tuning that went awry on the final day at the Rose Bowl, as a team that had been under the cosh since the first innings found enough resilence, through Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera, to bat through to the draw. “We just couldn’t create chances,” he said. “We had that one chance against Herath that was put down, and that might have made a slight difference. But they’re a good batting side. The wicket was a bit more placid today and two good players got stuck in.”Had the match not lost 184 overs to rain, Sri Lanka would have struggled to build enough of a lead to stave off defeat, especially with England’s batting looking at its most formidable for a generation. But looking ahead to the visit of India, it is the performance of England’s bowlers that was the biggest plus to come out of this series. Though they struggled with their lines at Lord’s and lacked penetration today, the variety and threat posed by each different member bodes well for the visit of one of the most feared batting units in the world.Chris Tremlett was named Man of the Series for his 15 wickets at 23.40, including a career-best haul of 6 for 48 in the first innings at the Rose Bowl, and Strauss believed he complemented the attack perfectly. “He did an outstanding job here. This wicket is in some ways tailor-made for him, with the extra carry and bounce, but he made good batsmen look under pressure – and that’s a great testament to his aggression and bounce and awkward lift and swing.”He’s certainly added a different dimension to our bowling line-up since he came into the team, and he’s very much at the peak of his powers at the moment. I’m sure batsmen later on in the summer will struggle against him as well. This is one of those series that never really got going, but we’re very happy to have won it and move on still in a jubilant mood.”Aside from Strauss, England’s other form concern was Stuart Broad, whose effectiveness was further hampered on the final day by a bruised heel. Nevertheless, after being stripped of the new ball to make way for Tremlett, he turned in an aggressive performance on the fourth evening that led to the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene, and Strauss was happy to believe he was coming back to his best.”What he did really well was he just banged out a length consistently, and created scoreboard pressure as well as bowling some really good deliveries,” said Strauss. “It just looked like he was in better rhythm, getting it through with good pace and bounce – and I’m sure he will have taken some heart from that spell.”

Whether Kevin Pietersen’s Ashes form was a freakish deluge or the start of a new phase in his ceaselessly fascinating career is a question that looks set to dominate England’s early-season agenda

Andrew Miller in Cardiff24-May-2011Only three Tests have elapsed since Kevin Pietersen produced the highest score of his international career, an unanswerably dominant 227 against Australia in Adelaide that ended the longest run-drought of his career. Whether, however, that was a freakish deluge or the start of a new phase in his ceaselessly fascinating career is a question that looks set to dominate England’s early-season agenda.Pietersen was certainly talking the talk as he faced the press in Cardiff ahead of Thursday’s first Test. With a firm desire to look to the future, but an avoidable urge to hark back to the recent past, he reiterated his ambition in all three formats of the game, while at the same time taking a swipe at those in the media whom he believes are out to get him.In particular, he took umbrage at reports that surfaced during the World Cup that he was preparing to retire from one-day cricket. That story gathered momentum when Pietersen turned down Andy Flower’s invitation to “bite the bullet” after being diagnosed with a hernia, and instead flew home from the campaign to undergo surgery – via a night out in a notorious London nightclub.When asked if it was a mistake to be seen out on the town while his team-mates were struggling to avoid early elimination from the World Cup, Pietersen was defiant. “Not at all. I don’t see why I can’t spend some time with friends and family members I have not seen all winter. I was really, really down at the time and wherever I went, whatever I was going to do, it was going to make the papers. Would I do it again? Yes I would.””I was in ridiculous amounts of pain, trying hard to get through it game-by-game,” he said of his injury. “I was shocked [by Flower] because I knew the pain I was in, but it’s gone, I have dealt with all that kind of stuff. I don’t want to look back. Everyone tries to bring me back in press conferences but I just want to forget about stuff and continue looking forward. I am fit, very ready, and very raring to go. The bug is back.”But beyond the bravado, the doubts still linger. As England embark on the start of a new four-year cycle, with the stated aim of becoming the No. 1 nation in world cricket, Pietersen’s place in the pecking order has never seemed so precarious, not least because his mindset has never been harder to second-guess. He finished the 2010 home season on the sidelines after being dropped for the first time during the one-day series against Pakistan, while his scores for Surrey this year – 30 and 48 against Cambridge MCCU, and 58 (out of 506) against Essex – are hardly definitive proof of his renewed hunger.With England’s top three of Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott set in stone, and Ian Bell firmly embedded in the middle order, Pietersen is at best the fifth batsmen out of six on the current team-sheet. With Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara scrapping hard for that final berth, it could be that such pressure is what he needs to push on towards the greatness he still believes is within his grasp.”There is a lot of chat about all these pressures on players,” said Pietersen. “I think the strength in depth in English cricket is amazing and there are probably only a couple in the team who are not under pressure and that’s great.”But there are so many people who say I’m not loving it, that cricket’s not my thing anymore,” he added. “I love cricket, cricket is my everything. I’m 30 years of age right now, what would I do tomorrow if I didn’t have cricket? I have only achieved half of what I’ve achieved in the game. I want to get 10,000 Test runs, I’m only four or five hundreds away from having the most for an Englishman [22]. I’m not far from what I want to achieve in the game.”I just want a fair crack at it, because there’s a lot of people saying things about me that are not true. A lot of people writing things about me that are not true, saying I want other things. I’m 30 years of age, I want to play for another five years. I don’t want any more bouts of surgery, I want to get through doing what I want to do.”I had a bad couple of years. I went away last September to do some soul-searching and sort myself out and tick some ticks and work with people who really know me inside out, and a month later I got a double-hundred in Adelaide and averaged 60 in the Ashes and I’m back playing as well as I have ever played. I am happy where I am as a cricketer at the moment.”Whether England are happy with where he is, is another matter entirely. Six years ago, when Pietersen exploded into Test cricket with his starring role in the 2005 Ashes, he was driven by a furious desire to prove his doubters wrong, and silence all those who criticised his motives and questioned his switch of allegiance from South Africa. Now, the doubters are mounting once again, but for vastly different reasons. Nevertheless, he knows what he needs to do to secure the last word.

Phil Hay has dropped a promising injury update concerning Leeds United centre-back Liam Cooper ahead of the Whites’ Premier League meeting with Chelsea on Wednesday.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic journalist relayed the comments made by Jesse Marsch in his pre-match press conference, in which the 48-year-old manager suggested that, after missing both the Manchester City and Arsenal defeats with a knee injury, the 30-year-old should be available for selection at Elland Road tomorrow night.

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Regarding the current condition of the defender, Hay said: “From Marsch’s press conference – Liam Cooper had a reaction to his knee injury ahead of Arsenal. He trained yesterday and Marsch is hopeful that he’ll be available for tomorrow’s game.”

Marsch will be buzzing

With Leeds United’s campaign very much getting to a point of being now or never if they are to secure Premier League survival, the news that Cooper looks set to make a return to the starting XI against Chelsea on Wednesday is sure to have left Marsch buzzing.

Indeed, over his 18 Premier League appearances this season, the £6.3m-rated centre-back has been imperious in the heart of the Whites’ defence, helping his side keep five clean sheets, as well as making an average of 2.1 interceptions, 2.1 tackles, 3.4 clearances and winning 6.9 duels – at a success rate of 67% – per game.

These returns have seen the Scotland international average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.07, ranking him as Marsch’s best performing outfielder in the English top flight.

As such, it is clear for all to see that the club captain’s return to the lineup tomorrow would provide Leeds’ chances of securing a much-needed three points with a huge boost – with Cooper’s availability perhaps being the difference between the Whites playing Premier League or Championship football next season.

AND in other news: “A very good investment”: Phil Hay drops teasing Leeds transfer update, Orta must move

Ricky Ponting wants more from his spinners after they again failed to take a wicket during the 60-run win over Kenya in Bangalore on Sunday

Brydon Coverdale in Bangalore14-Mar-2011Ricky Ponting wants more from his spinners after they again failed to take a wicket during the 60-run win over Kenya in Bangalore on Sunday. Jason Krejza has not taken a wicket since Australia’s first match of the World Cup, against Zimbabwe, while Steven Smith has managed only one for the tournament, on pitches that have generally provided some turn.Coming in to their title defence, Australia knew their pace attack was their strength, and were relying on Shaun Tait, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson to do the bulk of the damage. But after three victories and a washout, the pace bowlers have combined for 21 wickets at an average of 21.76, while Australia’s slow bowlers have only four wickets at 74.75.Against Kenya, Krejza and Smith were easily chipped around for runs during the middle overs, and it was a familiar trend after Sri Lanka and New Zealand also had little trouble handling the spin. That could become an issue in the knockout stages of the tournament, especially if the Australians find themselves up against quality handlers of spin, like India.”I still would have liked to see them making some breakthroughs for us,” Ponting said of the slow bowlers after the Kenya game. “Through those middle overs in this tournament when the ball gets old, and the wicket starts to spin, we are going to need our spinners to strike for us, and that didn’t happen.”However, Ponting was keen to point out that there was a certain amount of experimentation in his use of the slow men in a match that Australia were never in real danger of losing. Krejza bowled mostly around the wicket, Michael Clarke had a trundle for the first time in the tournament, and Smith was brought in to the attack much earlier than usual.”I tried a few different things with the spinners,” Ponting said. “Bowling Smith early in the Powerplays was just to give him some experience there and see how he would cope with the situation. It’s probably the first time he’s done that, so that should be good for him.”Jason tried a couple of different things tonight, bowled the majority around the wicket on a wicket that was spinning, just to get a bit of a feel for the conditions and what he can do in these conditions. There was a bit of experimentation from the spinners.”Australia entered the World Cup without their two preferred limited-overs spinners, with Nathan Hauritz ruled out due to a shoulder injury and Xavier Doherty suffering back soreness. The New South Wales left-armer Steve O’Keefe, who was in the 30-man preliminary squad, was also unavailable due to a calf problem.Australia qualified for the quarter-finals with their win over Kenya, but they haven’t faced a serious challenge yet after the match against Sri Lanka was rained out. Their final two matches of the group stage are against Canada in Bangalore on Wednesday and against Pakistan in Colombo on Saturday.

The ODI series is yet to begin, but Praveen Kumar has become India’s third first-choice ODI player to board a flight back home

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2011The ODI series is yet to begin, but Praveen Kumar has become India’s third first-choice ODI player to board a flight back home. Praveen has an elbow injury that can’t be risked, keeping in mind the proximity of the World Cup, and Ishant Sharma, who must have barely reached India, is coming back as his replacement.Praveen joins openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir on the injured list. Sehwag’s return to India was announced during the Test series, but he stayed back to take part in the deciding Test, in Cape Town. It was a precautionary move to not risk his shoulder before the big event. Gambhir, who missed the second Test with a hand injury, was hit in the elbow during the third Test. He fought the pain to help India save the Test, but had to miss the ODIs.Praveen, who last played an international match in December 2010 before coming here, is an important part of the Indian team for the World Cup, and hence the team management didn’t want to take chances. “With the World Cup also in place, we don’t want to risk him,” MS Dhoni said. “He has been a very good bowler, irrespective of the conditions, whether we are playing in India or abroad, he has done well for us.”India have grappled continuously with fitness problems over the last two years, wherein they haven’t played their first-choice ODI XI since their tour of New Zealand in 2008-09. “It would have been good to feature the main XI,” Dhoni said. “Since last February, we haven’t played the full XI that will maybe feature in the first game of the World Cup. But we are risking injury. We have to save quite a few players. We have a fair amount of niggles. We don’t want to miss any of he key players just before the start of the World Cup. Some of them have missed the whole season. I don’t mind them missing one more series as long as they are available right through the World Cup.”

The USA Cricket Association has been hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by the North American Cricket League

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2010Although Gladstone Dainty has announced an ambitious plan for a national Twenty20 tournament in the USA starting in 2012, the USA Cricket Association has been hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by the North American Cricket League (NACL).NACL, which describes itself as a “sports media and entertainment company dedicated to promoting cricket throughout the world, including so-called Twenty20 format cricket in the United States” claims that it has an existing deal with USACA which is in direct conflict with the board’s new initiative.A statement from NACL said that there were “nine causes of action” including breach of contract, fraud, misappropriation of proprietary business information and theft of trade secrets. It accuses USACA of embarking on a “fraudulent scheme to extract money from NACL and its investors”.NACL’s case centres on an agreement it says it entered into with USACA to promote and organise an official Twenty20 league in the United States. “The parties signed an interim agreement that granted NACL an exclusive period of negotiations during which USACA was contractually bound to cease negotiations with any third parties for the same rights.”While NACL continued to negotiate a master agreement in good faith, USACA had no intention of honouring the terms of the interim agreement and engaged in a fraudulent scheme to extract money from NACL and its investors.”The complaint further alleges that while NACL was negotiating with USACA in good faith, USACA entered into additional agreements with third parties from which USACA also accepted large cash payments for the licensing of the same commercial rights.

Newcastle United have now been dealt an injury blow on Jamal Lewis before they play Norwich City away from home in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Long-term injuries

The long-term injuries seem to be piling up for the St. James’ Park faithful, as more players join Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson on the sidelines.

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Eddie Howe recently admitted to the media in his pre-game press conference that he is unsure whether Ryan Fraser will be able to play again this season, while he is hopeful that Isaac Hayden will finally return to full training soon.

The Latest: Lewis operation

In his pre-Norwich press conference, Howe also revealed that Lewis has had another operation recently, and is hopeful that he will return in pre-season:

“He’s had a few operations and recently had another one. We hope this one has fixed his long standing groin problem. It’s been frustrating for him because he’s not felt 100%. I’d love to see him back in pre-season and show us the player he can be.”

The Verdict: Blow

Given that it is not guaranteed that the North East club will sign Matt Targett on a permanent deal from Aston Villa, Lewis may still have a place on Tyneside, and so losing him to a potentially long-term injury is certainly a blow.

It works the other way as well, as if Targett is signed permanently, the Magpies will surely want to find a buyer for Lewis, but they may not receive any offers for the left-back if he is out on the sidelines.

Either way, the fact that he continuously has to have operations is not ideal, and the Toon will just be hoping that his latest setback is not serious.

In other news, find out which ‘world-class’ magician is now a serious option for NUFC here!