The Western Australian batsman, Chris Rogers, has been ruled out of action for up to ten weeks, after undergoing surgery to correct a chronic problem in his right hamstring.Rogers scored nearly 500 runs in six matches as an overseas player for Derbyshire this season, but after being bothered by the injury for the past 18 months, he underwent his operation at Mount Hospital yesterday."After a number of scans it was the only way to go," said Rogers. "I would have struggled to make it through the season without the surgery, as it was only going to get worse. I feel surprisingly good at the moment and I can walk around."Rogers has been Western Australia’s most consistent batsman for the past three seasons. In 2003-04, he made 864 runs at an average of 57.60, with four centuries and three fifties in eight games. These efforts earned him selection for Australia A in their three-day game against India at Hobart, where he starred with a half-century.Rogers hopes to return in time for the Pura Cup match against New South Wales at Sydney, starting on November 2.
Mike Powell became the first Glamorgan batsman to score a century in each inningsof the match against Worcestershire as he struck an immaculate 142 at SophiaGardens and together with a restrained 63 from David Hemp, he guided Glamorgan to a lead of 253 with twosecond innings wickets still standing.The pair shared a partnership of 148 in 47 overs for the third wicket after the visitors had gained afirst innings lead of 58 after their first innings ended in the fourth over of the morning. Glamorgan lost anearly wicket when Adrian Dale edged to first slip in the second over, and soon after the deficit had beenwiped off, they lost their second wicket as Jonathan Hughes was dismissed by Gareth Batty for 41.Hemp had already been batting for an hour and a quarter when Powell arrived at the crease, and as Hempcontinued to play watchfully, Powell soon went on the offensive, striking Batty for three consecutivefours and also lofting the off-spinner high into the seating at the Cathedral Road End. He continued todrive crisply as Hemp maintained his patient vigil at the other end, but their partnership ended whenHemp was run out for 63 off the last ball before tea.Shortly after the interval, Powell reached his second century of the match with a sweetly-timed coverdrive, having faced 164 balls and hitting 15 fours and a six, and duly entered the county`s record books asthe first man to score a hundred in each innings against Worcestershire.Soon after, two quick wickets fell to Justin Kemp, as the tall South African bowled Matthew Maynard witha ball that scuttled along the ground, and then had Mark Wallace caught behind for 3. But Powell remained defiant,and with Robert Croft dropping anchor in the final hour, the pair added 64 in 18 overs before Croft was bowledby the young off-spinner Shaftab Khalid. Powell continued to pepper the boundary boards, but on 142 he overbalancedtrying to drive Kemp, and after wicket-keeper Steve Adshead had removed the bails at the second attempt, Powell departed having struck 20 fours and a six in his four and a quarter hour stay at the wicket.Kemp took his fourth wicket as he trapped Mike Kasprowicz leg before shortly before the close, as Glamorgan endedthe day on 311/8. If the heavy rain that is forecast for South Wales tomorrow morning stays away,there is the prospect of an interesting final day`s play in what has been an enthralling contest so far.
Nashua Western Province star, middle order batsman, Ashwell Prince is set for a comeback this weekend when he represents the Western Province Bowl side against Natal Inland in a three day bowl match and a one day limited over match.Prince has not played competitive cricket since undergoing a shoulder operation in July. Last week he batted in the nets for the first time this season and although Western Province top the Supersport Series log, Prince is a vital cog in the one-day side and Western Province are hoping Prince has recovered and will be available for the full Standard Bank Cup Series that kicks off next week. Western Province start their Standard Bank Cup program against Easterns in Johannesburg on the 16 October. Western Province and Boland clash in their annual challenge encounter on Wednesday 14 October and if Prince comes through this weekend, unscathered, it is likely that he will play on the 14 October.Details of the Bowl match are as follows;
MEMORANDUM*********************MATCH : NASHUA WP BOWL vs KWAZULU NATAL INLANDCOMPETITION : UCB BOWL COMPETITIONVENUE : NEWLANDS CRICKET GROUNDDATE : 9 – 12 NOVEMBER 2001NASHUA WP BOWL SQUAD:WARREN WYNGARDRYAN MARONASHWELL PRINCEJONATHAN MCLEANSEAN ACKERMAN (CAPT)RENIER MUNNIKWESLEY EULEYMARC DE STADLERQUINTON FRIENDPAUL HARRISANTONIO MULLINSGARETH BERGRYAN TEN DOESCATESIRAAZ ABRAHAMSNASHUA WP BOWL MANAGER/COACH:PETER KIRSTENNASHUA WP BOWL PRACTICE SESSION:NETS – TUESDAY 6 NOV 15H00 NEWLANDSWEDNESDAY 7 NOV 16H30 NEWLANDSTHURSDAY 8 NOV 16h30 NEWLANDSKWAZULU NATAL INLAND SQUAD:J. BULLOUGHM. MARILLIERM. HAMPSON (CAPT)M. BADATT. ESSACKA. VAN VUURENM. NDLOVUS. DORASAMYA. NDOVELAP. LANDMANP. ANDERSONL. ADENDORFFG. STEWARTKWAZULU NATAL INLAND MANAGER/COACH:B. ROBERTSHOURS OF PLAYStart of Play : 10h00Morning Session : 10h00 – 12h10Lunch : 12h10 – 12h50Afternoon Session : 12h50 – 15h00Tea : 15h00 – 15h20Late afternoon session : 15h20 – 17h30UMPIRESMR M. JAMIESONMR K. VAN TONDERMR R. MACINTOSH – 3RD UMPIRE
The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has delivered an exciting teaser about Aston Villa’s plans for the summer transfer window.
What’s the story?
Steven Gerrard’s side have just hit a bit of a roadblock in terms of their form in the Premier League, with the Midlands club currently in a run of just one win in their past seven top-flight games.
And now, in a Q&A for The Birmingham Mail, Preece revealed: “14 games remaining, everyone’s playing for their futures. It’ll be another big summer of change. Fascinated to know what NSWE are thinking right now.
“It’s all pointing towards ANOTHER big summer. All eyes on Johan Lange and his recruitment team now. I think we all need to shelve this European talk.”
Exciting summer for Villa
While Villa of course lost Jack Grealish to Manchester City in a big-money move last summer, they did go out on a spending spree themselves, signing a number of high-profile players, not least the likes of Leon Bailey and Danny Ings.
It felt like the club had made the best out of a heartbreaking situation in seeing Grealish finally make his departure, and would no doubt have hoped their new signings could kick on and push the side to bigger and better things.
Sadly, that hasn’t turned out to be the case, and while Gerrard initially oversaw an impressive return to form in his first few weeks in charge, things haven’t been quite plain sailing recently.
After potentially thinking about a European challenge this season, NSWE will surely be looking over their shoulders and clubs like Newcastle who could pose a real threat to their ambitions of breaking the Premier League’s traditional big-six.
It’s exactly why a real big summer of investment is needed at Villa Park, and if the owners can dip into their pockets and splash the cash that Gerrard needs, then Villa will feel confident of taking that next step.
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Preece’s claim that a “big summer” could be on the horizon is sure to excite Villa fans.
Meanwhile, Villa could sign an Idrissa Gueye successor in this star…
Melbourne Renegades batsman Chris Gayle has come in for strong criticism for his comments towards a television presenter in an interview during his side’s victory over Hobart Hurricanes at Bellerive Oval, with Anthony Everard, the head of the BBL, promising action against the batsman., the broadcaster, also confirmed that Gayle would not be involved in their coverage for the rest of the tournament as a result of comments he made to their reporter Mel McLaughlin shortly after he had been dismissed.”I wanted to come and have an interview with you as well,” Gayle said to McLaughlin, when asked about how aggressively he had batted. “That’s the reason why I’m here, just to see your eyes for the first time. It’s nice so. Hopefully we can win this game and have a drink after. Don’t blush, baby.”Everard, who was at the game, was quick to sharply rebuke Gayle’s comments. “I heard Chris’ comments and they’re disrespectful and simply inappropriate,” he said in a statement.”We’ll certainly be talking to him and the Renegades about it. This league is all about its appeal to kids, families and females. There’s just no place in the BBL – or, for that matter, cricket anywhere – for that sort of behaviour.”Melbourne Renegades’ chief executive Stuart Coventry echoed Everard’s comments, saying “there is just no place for that sort of behaviour”.Channel Ten commentator Mark Howard, joined in the commentary box by former internationals Damien Fleming and Mark Waugh, quickly apologised for Gayle’s comments, but only after Ten’s official twitter account @TenSport had tweeted what Gayle had said, with the hashtag #smooth. That tweet has since been deleted.”We will be seeking an apology,” David Barham, Channel Ten’s head of sport, told , adding that he was “deeply offended” by Gayle’s comments. “We won’t be using him in the game anymore. Unless things change in the next few days, it’s not happening. It was totally inappropriate behaviour. Mel’s a working journalist doing a job.”Gayle has form in this department. In July 2014, when asked by a female reporter during the Caribbean Premier League about the surface the Jamaica Tallawahs, who he was captaining, would be playing on in their next game, Gayle responded: “Well, I haven’t touched yours yet so I don’t know how it feels.”On that occasion, a CPL spokesperson defended Gayle’s comments but he can expect shorter shrift this time, with Cricket Australia expected to make an official statement on the matter imminently.
Rahul Dravid, who resigned as India’s captain last week, has said that being the leader took a lot out of him.”I had done the job for two years and they have been pretty eventful couple of years,” Dravid told . “Obviously it takes a lot out of you and I felt that I was not enjoying it.”The decision was personal and based on my observation of whether I would be able to give it my very best like I have always tried to,” Dravid said. “Finally, you have to be comfortable yourself that you will be giving it your best and not going through the motions which will not be fair to the team.”Dravid indicated he considered quitting only towards the end of the ODI series in England. “I didn’t want to take any decision there [in England] without first speaking to my family and wanted to give it a few days back home to see if I felt differently before taking a final call,” he said. “This was the reason I couldn’t tell even the players because it was a decision I did not want to take lightly or without being sure.”Dravid played down talk of him throwing in the towel ahead of sterner challenges ahead, including playing Pakistan at home and touring Australia. “Every series is tough in international cricket and we are playing constantly all the time. So it’s not as if there is any break or period,” he said. “There is no real right time for decision like this except for the fact that you must truly enjoy the job and be committed to it and know that you can give it your all.”There is a shelf life to the captaincy in India in which you can give it your best. Maybe the shelf lives are becoming shorter as time goes by.”Dravid said the early exit from the World Cup in the West Indies and the loss in the final Test at Cape Town last January were the lows of his tenure while the Test series wins in West Indies and England were the high points.He downplayed suggestions that the captaincy had affected his batting. “Like when I was a player I had some good series and some bad ones. And it was the same when I was the captain.”
ScorecardAn innings of immense promise from Sarah Taylor enabled England to secure a three-wicket victory in the fourth one-day international at the Rose Bowl and with it the series against India. Taylor’s 61 was the outstanding innings of the day and she batted with an ease that no one else managed. England’s chase was not without its alarms, but they had enough in reserve as Jane Smit and Katherine Brunt carried them over the line with 26 balls to spare.India had fought back after a poor start as they lost both openers with just a single on the board. Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra added 108 for the third wicket to lead the fightback, however a clutch of late wickets restricted the total to below 200.England’s chase was rocking after an impressive early spell from Jhulan Goswami, who took three wickets in an eight-over burst that went for just 10 runs. She claimed two in two balls when Caroline Atkins inside-edged onto her stumps then Charlotte Edwards, again batting down the order, pushed at her first ball and was well taken by Karu Jain.It was anyone’s game at 17 for 3, but the innings was steadied by Claire Taylor and Jenny Gunn. India gained another vital breakthrough when Taylor was stumped down the leg-side, bringing Sarah Taylor to the middle. For the first match of this series she was selected as the wicketkeeper, in place of Smit, but she can more than hold her own as a batsman.In the third match, at Arundel, her 40 was full of class and at Brighton College she loses nothing in comparison with her male colleagues. This innings gave a wider audience a view of her ability as she timed the ball from the outset and was well-organised throughout. “It’s been a steep learning curve,” she said later, although such sentiments could have applied to India’s bowlers as she routinely punished them with conviction. Much of the batting up to that point had been a struggle, but Taylor found the gaps and had the timing to reach the fence.Her half-century came off 51 balls – “I’m looking to score at a run a ball” she later confirmed – but when she sliced to point the game was not quite won with 29 still needed. However, Smit – who had originally been left out as keeper in favour Taylor – used her experience to strike five boundaries, the final three arriving in a rush to seal the match.Despite India’s early wickets they had always appeared about 25 runs short after struggling to press the accelerator following the early loss of their openers. Raj and Chopra played well, in a record third-wicket stand between the two teams, but were reluctant to chance their arm. It was left to Hemlata Kala to pick up the rate with a well-paced 40 off 46 balls.England’s bowlers stuck to their task with Holly Colvin, who earlier in the day gained 10 A-stars in her GCSEs, producing an economical spell with her left-arm spin. However, it was England’s other young star who played the vital hand, and laid a marker for the future -“I’m loving it” she smiled – as the team managed to reverse their series defeat from the winter.
Richard Done, the former head coach of the Queensland Cricket Academy, has been appointed by the International Cricket Council as their new High Performance Manager.Done, a former New South Wales fast bowler, has been involved in Australian cricket for 25 years, and takes over the ICC role from Bob Woolmer, who is now in charge of Pakistan.Done’s task is to help to bridge the gap between the leading Associate nations of the ICC and the full members through such tournaments as the inaugural three-day Intercontinental Cup, the semi-finals of which take place in the United Arab Emirates from November 17.”This is a vital role in the development of the sport outside its traditional heartlands,” said Malcolm Speed, the chief executive of the ICC, who added that Done had been selected after an extensive search for Woolmer’s replacement.”After an interview process involving high-calibre applicants from eight of our Full Member countries, Richard emerged as the outstanding candidate with the skills and experience to help these nations develop,” Speed added. “I wish him every success in this challenging role.”Done, who has undertaken coaching assignments in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UAE, was senior coach at the Australian Cricket Academy for nine years, where he oversaw the development of several of the current Australian squad, including the entire pace attack of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz. He has also coached the Australian Under-19 squad on several occasions.Done’s first role will be to attend the finals of the Intercontinental Cup. After that, he will concentrate on preparations for the ICC Trophy in Ireland in July 2005, where the top five teams from the 12-team event will qualify for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. The countries currently on the High Performance Programme are Kenya, Namibia, Holland, Scotland and Canada.”Over recent years the ICC has demonstrated a genuine commitment to developing the sport around the world and I am excited about the opportunity to help contribute to this goal,” said Done. “I am looking forward to working with coaches and players to help these nations improve.”
At the start of yet another new era in Pakistan cricket, there was a distinct lack of occasion and atmosphere. The details of the match might be forgotten, but the day will be remembered as the beginning of what promises to be, if nothing else, one of the more intriguing relationships in cricket – that between Bob Woolmer and the Pakistan team.Pakistan’s ultimately facile victory over a strangely dispirited Bangladesh side was expected, as were the architects of the victory. It produced but the briefest glimmer of the benefits Woolmer might ultimately bring to Pakistan, but given that it was only his first game in charge, it also revealed some of the conundrums that he must address in the Pakistan team.There was a sniff of experimentation – you feel it wouldn’t quite be Woolmer if there wasn’t – in Shoaib Malik’s promotion to No. 3. Shoaib Akhtar cut down his run-up, bowled within himself, and looked threatening. But there were also reminders of the impetuosity of Yasir Hameed, and of the worrying ineffectiveness of Abdul Razzaq’s bowling.Hameed’s century was, statistically at least, an impressive feat, and his first fifty was accumulated in a pleasant, stylish and confident manner. His second, however, brought to light his limitations. Time and again, he went hard at the ball, bludgeoning and not caressing, as is his strength. Against a more testing attack, he might not have lasted much past fifty. But if his is a problem in his vast, unfulfilled potential, then Razzaq’s predicament is to the sting he once possessed as a fifth bowler.Whatever the reasons behind it – over-exertion, injuries, loss of pace or a combination of all three – the nature of it was crystallised by the first deliveries of his first two overs today. The first, a lazy no-ball, was slapped through the covers for four by Javed Omar, and the second was dismissed by Mohammad Ashraful for another boundary. He remained ineffective on a pitch that should have helped his bowling, and instead of searching for a sixth bowler, Pakistan must now find a fifth one who can safely go through ten overs.Shoaib Malik’s usefulness in the field and as a bowler further clouds the issue, and although the one-down option is interesting in its relative novelty, it was tried and discarded after a couple of matches against Australia before the last World Cup. Whether it is viewed as a long-term strategy or as a spur-of-the-moment improvisation, it seemed unnecessary today and disrupted what can be, in Razzaq and Malik, a lethal lower order. After a solid start, Pakistan’s loss in momentum as the last ten overs began was the result of this experiment.But Woolmer will have taken heart from the performances of the pace spearheads. Fast enough to trouble the batsmen, if not always the speed gun, both looked dangerous, although the quality of opposing batsmen will undergo a dramatic rise after the weekend. Shoaib heeded Woolmer’s advice and found some rhythm and reverse swing in his second spell, and looked controlled, while Sami allied movement and pace admirably early on. Inzamam-ul-Haq too played a part, with an effortless and pretty cameo, and although his value to the team as a captain is still uncertain, his value as a batsman is growing – and it has done so sharply since his leadership began.Drawing conclusions about the team – or the influence of a new coach – after a 76-run victory against Bangladesh is not only unfair, it is futile. The spirit, fight and organisation Bangladesh have shown of late were strangely absent, especially in their batting. While the bowling, with their own Razzaq, did well to pull back Pakistan, the complete inability of their recently strengthened lower order to deal with pace must have been frustrating for the other foreign coach with a little to prove – Dav Whatmore, the former miracle-worker for Sri Lanka who is now trying to do the same with Bangladesh.Tomorrow should bring another comfortable win for Pakistan, maybe with a dash less rustiness, against Hong Kong. Six points in a tournament from the first game is always a handy start for a new regime, but the entire camp will know that higher peaks will have to be scaled next week. Only then will we witness a further glimpse into what promises to be an eventful relationship.
Jerome Taylor, the 18-year-old medium-pacer from Jamaica, is the only newface in West Indies’ 14-man squad that will take on Sri Lanka in the firstTest which starts on Friday, June 20 at St. Lucia. Taylor is spoken ofhighly in the Caribbean, and an impressive ODI debut against Sri Lankacapped a highly successful domestic season.Taylor has played just seven first class matches, picking up 21 wickets atan average of 20.14, and was named the most promising bowler in the CaribBeer series this year. If he plays the Test, Taylor will become the youngestdebutant for West Indies since Alfie Roberts played against New Zealand inAuckland in 1956.The rest of the line-up is drawn largely from the squad which was beaten 1-3in the four-Test series against Australia. There’s room, though, for CoreyColleymore, who could be playing his first Test in four years. He has notplayed a Test since his debut against Australia in April 1999.Squad Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Devon Smith, Daren Ganga, Brian Lara (capt),Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Omari Banks, Carlton BaughJr (wk), Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Vasbert Drakes, Jerome Taylor.