Stuart MacGill will be used in partnership with Shane Warne this summer to exploit the flawed techniques of West Indies and South Africa to legspin, but he is unlikely to be tried at the Gabba next week. Nathan Bracken, the left-arm swing bowler, was picked specifically for the seam-friendly pitch and would add extra variety to an attack of McGrath, Lee, Watson and Warne.However, Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, said yesterday that MacGill would stay in the panel’s thoughts for the rest of the summer, although it is unlikely he will be in the blueprint for the opening Test against South Africa in Perth. “It’s certainly something we need to consider seriously because they [MacGill and Warne] have performed pretty well together the last couple of times they’ve played,” Hohns said in . “Given the opposition we’re going to be up against, both countries, with all due respect, probably haven’t played legspin all that well for a period of time.”MacGill, who has played the past two Sydney Tests, said he was “a little bit surprised” to be picked in the squad for the first Test against West Indies, which begins on Thursday, and expected Bracken to start the match. “I wasn’t really anticipating being in the 12, and I wonder whether or not I’ll actually get on, as the weather looks pretty nasty up there,” MacGill told . “Whoever gets out there, I’m sure they’ll do a good job, but I’d say it probably favours him at this stage.”
England’s hopes of giving all their squad a decent practice against Namibia have been thwarted after local officials refused a request to allow 14 players to take part in each of the two warm-up matches at Windhoek.Although this kind of situation has happened on recent England tours – not always to the appreciation of local players and officials – the Namibian Cricket Association were having none of it."We want to play a proper, 11-a-side match and I know our supporters would want the same. We’re expecting a capacity crowd of 4,000," explained Francois Erasmus, the association’s chairman. "If England want to give everybody a game, they will have to use the three players who don’t appear on Sunday in Tuesday’s second match.""We wanted to play a normal 11-a-side game of cricket,” Deon Kotze, Namibia’s captain, told the Press Association. "It’s the biggest match we’ve ever played in and possibly even bigger than the World Cup because we’re playing this at home. It’s the first time we’ve ever had a team of the standing of England playing in Namibia.”The last – and only – time Namibia played England was in the 2003 World Cup when they took considerable credit despite losing; indeed, at one point they were ahead on Duckworth-Lewis before England rallied. “We enjoyed watching our young players bat and get us into a position when we were on course to win the game," Kotze reflected. "There was actually a bit of panic going through the English ranks, but unfortunately it didn’t last long enough.”And unfortunately for Namibia, they have not been given the chance to progress since then. Ahead of the World Cup they gained valuable experience by taking part in South Africa’s domestic competitions, but a restructuring of those tournaments brought that to an end.Their only major games of late have been in the Intercontinental Cup when they were eliminated by Kenya.
All Today’s Yesterdays – July 14 down the yearsJuly 13| July 151984 At Headingley, the beginning of a swift and famous one-handed demolition job. With his left thumb in plaster, and having been advised not to play cricket for ten days, Malcolm Marshall came in at No. 11 to shepherd Larry Gomes to a century – he even swished one to third man for four – and then shattered England’s second innings. Marshall took 7 for 53, operating off a shorter run-up, as England subsided from 104 for 2 to 159 all out. Wisden Cricket Monthly described his performance as, “Fairytale or nightmare, take your choice.” For England, the nightmare was just beginning – they were two Tests away from being blackwashed for the first time.1967 A nuggety left-hander is born. Hashan Tillakaratne’s career at the highest levellooked to be over until he was recalled to the Sri Lankan side in 2001-02.Them came the purplest of patches. In five Tests against India, Bangladeshand West Indies, he made 549 runs and was only dismissed once. Anaccumulator who has acted as a complement to the likes of Aravinda de Silva and Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne can be very hard to shift when set – over a fifth of his Test innings have been not out. His runs usually matter, though: he averages 74 when Sri Lanka win, 29 when they lose.1933 The slowest torture for Essex at Leyton, as Yorkshire’s Hedley Verity skittled them for 104 and 64 – in the same day. Verity took 8 for 47 and 9 for 44, and even though he took 15 wickets five times in his career, he never bettered his 17 for 91 here. The only man to reach 20 for Essex was Dudley Pope. He made 34 in the first innings – and was run out.1937 Birth of a teenage one-cap wonder. Khalid Hasan was only 16 years 352 days old when he lined up for Pakistan against at Trent Bridge in 1954. Four days later his Testcareer was over, after 17 runs, 2 for 116 – and an innings defeat. One ofhis wickets was Denis Compton – bowled for 278. In all Hassan only played 17 first-class matches, the last of them at the age of 21.1957 A two-Test wonder is born. New Zealand batsman Peter Webb didn’t havethe best career – 11 runs (off 86 balls) at an average of 3.66 – but hepicked a decent pair of Tests to appear in. At Dunedin in 1979-80, the Kiwis beat West Indies by one wicket, and in an ill-tempered second Test at Christchurch, Colin Croft had an infamous run-in with the umpire Fred Goodall. Webb was dropped for the last Test, but New Zealand drew the match and took the series – they were the last side to beat West Indies for 15 years.1873 An all-run 10. Lancashire’s Albert “Monkey” Hornby made 20 of hisside’s total of 100 against Surrey at The Oval – and half of them came inone fell swoop.Other birthdays 1982 Ranjan Das (Bangladesh)
North Canterbury’s Woodend School has taken out the South Island Milo Shield final with a comfortable win over Dunedin’s Balmacewen Intermediate.The final, played at Logan Park in Dunedin, was forced into a replay after the first match between the two was tied.Woodend applied the pressure second time around, cruising past Balmacewen’s 117 all out (in 19 overs) by the 22nd over.Woodend will now contest the national final in Palmerston North in December.
ScorecardManoj Tiwary made his 20th first-class century•PTI
Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary and debutant Naved Ahmed saved Bengal with the help of rain to draw against Karnataka in Bangalore. The hosts were in a dominating position when the day started, with a lead of 167 runs and two Bengal batsmen dismissed, before Tiwary’s unbeaten century and Naved’s 95 ensured Bengal got one point. Rain interrupted play minutes before tea and the match was called off within an hour after that.
‘Our spinners could have bowled better’ – Vinay Kumar
On the pitch: “This time the wicket became very slow, we couldn’t trouble any batsmen. Maybe if we had played a five-day game it would have been better. It happened in the Irani Cup; on the fifth day it was very difficult to bat on.” On Karnataka’s bowling: “Overall, we bowled well. Our spinners could have bowled better.” On Bengal’s batting: “Manoj played really well. If we had got Manoj and Saha… we were just looking at those two wickets. If we’d got them, one end would have been open.” On two draws in two games: “Compared to the last two years, this year the start has not been that great. But we conceded the first-innings lead in the first game and came back here. In the coming games, we will improve.”
Even if rain had not come down, Bengal were heading towards a comfortable position on a pitch that did not have much for bowlers. Tiwary and Naved saw through a watchful morning session and took their team into the lead when both were in the 90s with seven wickets in hand. Tiwary brought up his 20th first-class hundred, but Naved was soon run out five runs short of what would have been another century from a debutant this season.The most crucial part of the day was when Naved and Tiwary withstood the first session, as Karnataka started with a silly mid-off and short extra cover. The ball was fairly new and Sudip Chatterjee fell in the fifth over by going for an extravagant and unnecessary drive to be caught at second slip off Abhimanyu Mithun.At 65 for 3, Bengal’s deficit was still over 150 when Naved and Tiwary came together. The Karnataka bowlers persisted with a nagging and attacking line outside off.Naved relied on straight-bat shots to play the waiting game, and so did Tiwary by leaving more deliveries than his partner. Bengal were not looking for runs, they only had to play out most of the day and the two batsmen did exactly that by standing firm against Mithun’s first spell of 4-3-3-1.Tiwary allowed Naved to do the scoring early on to take the score past 100. Once the ball lost its shine, both batsmen scored freely. Tiwary started driving and punching comfortably and soon caught up with Naved. Vinay Kumar used all his bowlers with close-in fielders, but with no success and both batsmen reached their fifties before lunch.The story didn’t change after the break. Vinay brought himself on for another short yet unthreatening spell, and Tiwary started off by creaming a cover drive against Shreyas Gopal for four. Naved unleashed his firm drives as well and collected boundaries in consecutive overs to strengthen Bengal’s position further. Now that the partnership was appearing unbreakable, Karnataka’s only hope was the second new ball.Vinay took it as soon as it was available, 22 overs after lunch with Tiwary on 93 and Naved on 84, only to be flicked by the latter to the midwicket boundary, which gave Bengal the lead.The only thing left in the match was for the Bengal dressing room to applaud for the two centuries. Tiwary brought his up by nudging Vinay to the leg side but when he cut J Suchith to sweeper cover, Naved was late to react for the second run and an alert Vinay at slip caught Karun Nair’s throw to hit the stumps at the other end, finding Naved marginally short.When rain came down, Bengal were leading by 24 runs with six wickets in hand, and soon play was called off.Man-of-the-Match Tiwary said he was pleased with his team’s performance even though they got only one point in their opening match of the season. “We were looking for more [points], but happy to fight it out against the champion side after the situation we were in,” he said. “If there was no partnership between me and Naved, it would have been difficult for us.”This also shows that we’re heading in the right direction. There is a lot of improvement from last year. This type of effort from us was lacking the last couple of seasons.”
Liverpool are expecting to finalise an £8million deal for goalkeeper Simon Mignolet next week, according to the Daily Mail.
The Sunderland goalkeeper has impressed in the Premier League, after keeping 11 clean sheets for a side that finished just three points above the relegation zone.
And Brendan Rodgers is ready to bring in the Belgian, with current number one Pepe Reina being linked with a return to Barcelona.
Victor Valdes has just one year left on his contract at the Camp Nou, and Reina is one of a handful of keepers being mooted as Valdes’ replacement at Barcelona.
Rodgers therefore, has identified Mignolet as the best option for the Reds, as he looks to improve his squad.
“We need to build up the depth. I want to have people who might be disappointed because they’re not even on the bench. At the minute we don’t have that so it’s competition we want to get,” he said.
“I don’t want a massive group. We want a tight group with a real core of 17 or 18 players who feel they should always be playing and then supported by a few of our top young talents.
“We haven’t got that. We have one or two on the sidelines but we need more than that.”
Belgium goalkeeper Mignolet is anxious to raise his profile ahead of next year’s World Cup in Brazil, and a move to a top club like Liverpool could give him the opportunity to improve his World Cup hopes.
Will Mignolet be a good signing for Liverpool? Should Pepe Reina leave the Reds?
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Hyderabad were within touching distance of table-toppers Andhra after securing a 44-run win over Chhattisgarh in Valsad. Hyderabad, who wobbled in the in the second innings to be bowled out for 122, left their opponents a tantalising prospect of having to chase down 286 in little under three sessions to secure an outright win. Chhattisgarh fought, but were eventually bowled out for 241 in 84.1 overs to slump to their third loss this season.There was a ray of hope when Ashutosh Singh (67) and Amandeep Khare (44) resisted in the middle session, but their dismissal hastened Chhattisgarh’s collapse. Ravi Kiran, the medium pacer, took four wickets while Akash Bhandari, the legspinner, took three. This was Hyderabad’s third win in six matches.Services took three points from the draw against Himachal Pradesh, who ended the match with a score of 145 for 2 in pursuit of 401 in Surat. They started the last day on 197 for 4, with a lead of 302, and batted for another 27.1 overs during which Rahul Singh scored a half-century to help them score 295 for 9.Services lost Vikas Hathwala on the third ball of the day before Rahul scored 58 and Mayank Dagar finished with 4 for 61. Himachal saw an opening stand of 71 between Prashant Chopra (66) and Ankit Kalsi (23). While the openers fell by the 27th over, Himachal saw no more stutters and collected one point.Jammu & Kashmir were left to rue a delayed declaration as Tripura hung on to draw and salvage one point in Mumbai. Resuming on 198 for 3 after securing an 18-run lead, J&K were driven by Ian Dev Chauhan’s unbeaten 129 that swelled their lead past 300. Parvez Rasool, the captain, made 67 and Aditya Partap contributed 51 not out in the team’s total of 318 for 4. Chasing 337 in 59 overs, Tripura slipped and slid before finishing on 168 for 8 when play ended. That they starved off defeat was largely due to Rajat Dey’s unbeaten 53.Nitin Saini’s double century and sprightly lower-order contributions from Sanjay Pahal (58) and Harshal Patel (53) helped Haryana take the first-innings honours against Goa in Ghaziabad. After conceding a 155-run lead, Goa edged towards parity for the loss of five wickets when play ended. Amit Mishra, released from the Indian team during the second Test to feature in this game, picked up three second-innings wickets. Sumiran Amonkar, the opener, was unbeaten on 57 when both captains shook hands.Andhra, who took the first-innings lead, starved off Kerala’s challenge in Guwahati to walk away with three points and retain the top spot in the group standings. Set a target of 296 overs in 80 overs, they were well placed at 193 for 4 when both captains decided a result wouldn’t be possible. Hanuma Vihari, the captain, defied Kerala’s bowlers for 224 deliveries in his 53. Opener Srikar Bharat contributed 73. That Kerala, who conceded a six-run lead, were in a position to declare on 302 for 6 was thanks to Rohan Prem’s 89. Kerala, yet to record a win this season, are currently placed fifth in the nine-team pool.
Martin Suji, Kenya’s veteran fast bowler who has been suffering with a serious knee injury, has been asked to help the national squad prepare for their forthcoming ICC Intercontinental Cup and ODIs.Suji, 36, has not played a representative match for 19 months and there must now be serious doubts whether he will play again. But in the meantime, he will help Alfred Njuguna to coach the team until a long-term replacement for Roger Harper can be identified. He has some coaching experience with the title-winning Kanbis side.Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya’s chairman, told Cricinfo that Suji could bring much to the table in terms of his vast experience and that he had “plenty to give back to the game”.
After weeks of speculation, it has been confirmed that Darrell Hair will not stand in the Champions Trophy in India next month.”Darrell Hair will not umpire the ICC Champions Trophy on the basis of safety and security concerns,” Brian Murgatroyd, the ICC’s media manager, said. “An announcement on the appointment of officials for that tournament will be made in due course.”Asked if this was nothing more than a convenient get-out, Muragtroyd replied: “Not as far as I am aware”.Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, issued a press statement in which he said: “A decision has been made in consultation with the ICC president Percy Sonn, the ICC general manager of cricket David Richardson and myself that he will not umpire at the Champions Trophy amid concerns over his safety and security and also the safety and security of those around him during the tournament.”
Inzamam-ul-Haq has warned that England will find it tough to replicate their Ashes success when they tour Pakistan later this year for three Tests and five one-day internationals. England achieved a famous 2-1 series win against Australia, wresting back the Ashes after eight consecutive unsuccessful tries, but Inzamam insisted that the result wouldn’t count for much in Pakistan.”They have played very well to beat the Australians but they are not unbeatable and the conditions in Pakistan will not suit them,” he told Reuters. “They will face totally different conditions and it will be a hard series and tour for them, particularly their bowlers.”We are already preparing hard for England. Because we know they have a good combination but are not invincible and we have to work hard to beat them,” he said. “If our fast bowlers are not 100% fit, then attacking them with spin is an option because our conditions favour slow bowlers.” He also added that Mushtaq Ahmed, the 35-year-old legspinner, could be recalled to bolster the spin attack. Mushtaq has taken 185 wickets in 52 Tests, but the last time he played one was against South Africa in 2003.England’s bowling attack is currently built around their four fast bowlers, and while that might be a handicap in conditions not favourable to pace, in Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones they have two bowlers who can reverse swing the ball, a skill which should be invaluable in Pakistan. The lack of a world-class spinner, though, has raised question-marks about whether they can beat Pakistan, a concern expressed most recently by Imran Khan.England have played seven three-Test series in Pakistan, and in those 21 matches, only four have produced results, with both teams sharing two wins each. England’s last win there came in near darkness in 2000-01, when Graham Thorpe starred in a victory which won them the series.