The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA), in conjunction with Cricket Australia, has today announced various tributes in honour of David Hookes to occur across all levels of cricket this weekend in South Australia.Tomorrow’s One-Day International between India and Zimbabwe will see the SACA’s president Ian McLachlan lead a minute’s silence before the start of play.Both India and Zimbabwe participated in a minute’s silence prior to their match on Tuesday (January 20), therefore the SACA requested this opportunity for a small tribute to David Hookes for the benefit of the fans attending tomorrow’s game.The One-Day International between Australia and Zimbabwe on Monday (January 26) will see the West End Redbacks join the two international teams on the Adelaide Oval, following the national anthem, to observe a minute’s silence.The Redbacks will wear their Pura Cup uniform and SACA red cap during the tribute.All Grade clubs, both men’s and women’s, will wear black armbands this weekend and observe a minute’s silence prior to the start of each match.Flags at the Adelaide Oval will continue to fly at half mast throughout the weekend.
The XXXX Queensland Bulls will welcome back crafty swing bowler AdamDale and greet the arrival of teenage batsman Nick Kruger for their PuraCup clash against the Western Warriors in Perth starting on Saturday.Dale will make his return to the Bulls team for the first time sinceundergoing major shoulder surgery last season.The 1999 World Cup player has made encouraging progress since making hiscomeback at the start of the season, and helped the Queensland Academyof Sport to an outright win over Tasmania before Christmas.Kruger, a powerful left-hand opening batsman from the Valley club, isone of the leading runs-scorers for the QAS team in the ACB Cup 2nd XIcompetition this season.The 19-year-old has scored 293 runs at 48.33 so far for the QAS, whichis in a four-way tie for first spot in the ACB Cup.Kruger, who was not named in the Bulls’ squad of 23 players at the startof the season, will make his first class and Pura Cup debut if he playsin Perth.The Bulls will be minus seven front-line players for the match againstthe Warriors, with Matthew Hayden, Andy Bichel and Martin Love oninternational duty in the Fifth Test in Sydney and captain Jimmy Maher,Andrew Symonds, Ashley Noffke and Nathan Hauritz involved with Australia’A’ in Adelaide.The Bulls have also been buoyed by the return of quick bowler MichaelKasprowicz, who has overcome a hamstring complaint that forced him tomiss Queensland’s outright win over Tasmania before Christmas.Kasprowicz will captain the side for the second time in the absence ofregular skipper Maher, and will seek to retain his undefeated recordafter leading the Bulls to an outright against the Tigers at the Gabbaearlier this month.Opening batsman Daniel Payne, allrounder James Hopes and left-armspinner Matthew Anderson have all been selected in the Queenslandline-up for the first time this season.Kruger, Dale and Anderson will join the remainder of the Bulls playersalready in Perth on Thursday.Queensland play the Warriors in a day/night ING Cup match on Thursday atthe WACA.XXXX Bulls v Warriors, Pura Cup, January 4-7, WACA, Perth: MichaelKasprowicz (c), Brendan Nash, Daniel Payne, Lee Carseldine, Stuart Law,Clinton Perren, James Hopes, Wade Seccombe, Adam Dale, Joe Dawes,Matthew Anderson, Nick Kruger.
(The following is the full text of joint statement, given at the conclusion of WICB’s AGM in Barbados. The statment is that of President Patrick Rousseau and Vice President Clarvis Joseph).THIS afternoon we advised the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) of Directors that we are resigning from the WICB effective Monday June 4, 2001.It is based on the unacceptable position in which we find ourselves based on the issue of the termination of Mr. Ricky Skerritt, the Manager of the West Indies Cricket Team.The Board has taken a decision to reinstate Mr. Skerritt which brings into question our integrity and we are therefore unable to continue as president and vice-president and have indicated our resignations.Mr. Skerritt was evaluated by Mr. Joseph and myself during a debriefingsession after each tour and specifically after the England, Australian and South African tours. We came to the conclusion based on those evaluations and the performance of the teams that he is not in our opinion a suitable person to manage the West Indies team at this time.The Board challenged the process of the evaluation and was concerned whether the evaluation constituted a formal or proper evaluation. They also questioned our authority along with that of the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gregory Shillingford, to effect the termination without Board approval. We disagreed with that view.In our opinion the Board’s position directly challenged our competence and our integrity in carrying out the process. Since we are not prepared to carry out the directive to re-instate Mr. Skerritt we feel obligated to resign.When we started on the process of managing West Indies cricket we had set very clear objectives for bringing the management machinery of the Board to a state in which professionalism, efficiency and high standard of performance were to become operational norms. We stated clearly that this was going to be “a new dispensation”.The re-structuring, including the creation of new departments and theappointment of professional heads of department, has run into resistance and the process has gone slowly. The WICB must accelerate the process if the WICB is to operate successfully in the new situation in world cricket and meet the attendant obligations.
ScorecardNick Compton fought hard to stabilise Middlesex’s innings•Getty Images
Former England players Graham Onions and Nick Compton dominated the first half day at Chester-le-Street before rain arrived with Middlesex on 141 for 5.Onions took the first four wickets, including a spell of 3 for 2 in nine balls, to reduce the second-placed visitors to 18 for 3 before Compton dominated stands of 54 with James Franklin and 66 with Neil Dexter.The total was on 138 when Compton was fifth out for 71, gloving a leg-side catch to wicketkeeper Michael Richardson when trying to pull John Hastings.It was an unfortunate end to an assured innings, in which he left anything he didn’t need to play at but hit nine firmly-struck fours, mainly through pulls and cover drives.Middlesex were put in on an overcast morning and the first rain interruption, lasting 25 minutes, arrived after seven balls.Onions, out of sorts for much of the season, has worked hard at regaining his previous high standards and had his rewards on a day when his support was below par.His first ball – the seventh of the morning – was cut for four by Sam Robson but after the rain break a ball from Onions started on leg stump and swung past Robson’s outside edge, bringing a huge but unsuccessful appeal for caught behind.Paul Stirling and Robson both fell when shaping to drive, the Irishman going first when he edged to Paul Collingwood at first slip.Late in-swing found Robson’s inside edge on the way to middle stump, which was sent flying, and three balls later Onions swung one into in-form left-hander Dawid Malan to have him lbw.With three seamers injured, Durham handed a debut to James Weighell, an academy product from Teesside.He came on first change and after opening up with a maiden he conceded seven off his second over and made way for John Hastings.Both the Australian and Chris Rushworth, in his second spell, bowled round the wicket to left-hander Franklin without making him play often enough.Franklin was unusually restrained in making 16 of 54 balls before he played inside an in-swinger from Onions and edged it to Collingwood straight after lunch.Occasional extravagant seam movement allowed Weighell to beat Compton on 59, but two balls later Dexter clipped him through midwicket for an all-run four. Dexter was on 23 when the rain arrived with John Simpson on 2.
It wasn’t pretty, but Arsenal got back to winning ways on the road last night.
The Gunners ran out 1-0 winners against Everton and, in the process, secured their place atop the Premier League table for Christmas.
It was a crucial match for the under-fire Viktor Gyokeres as well, as, even though he still left a little to be desired, he did bury the all-important penalty and end his goal drought.
However, with a League Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace on Tuesday, Mikel Arteta has to make several changes, including dropping a starter who was even more underwhelming than Gyokeres against Everton.
The Changes Arteta could make for Crystal Palace
Starting between the sticks, and while David Raya has been brilliant this season, it’s only right that Kepa Arrizabalaga comes back into the team after starting the last two rounds.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Things get a bit more interesting when it comes to the defence, as injuries and availability might force the manager to start a couple of players he’d otherwise leave out.
However, one player who simply has to come into the side is Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was instrumental in one of the goals in the last round.
Moving into the middle of the park, it should almost go without saying that Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice should be rested for this game.
The two internationals are vital to the club, and with Mikel Merino and Christian Norgaard ready to step in, what would be the point in risking them ahead of a jam-packed Christmas schedule?
It’s a similar story on the wings, as Noni Madueke would be the perfect replacement for Bukayo Saka in this game, and Gabriel Martinelli could come in for Leandro Trossard.
Finally, perhaps the most interesting choice Arteta will have to make for this game is who leads the line.
On the one hand, Gabriel Jesus has generally looked impressive coming off the bench in recent weeks and could do with the game time.
On the other hand, Gyokeres finally got his goal against the Toffees, and therefore it might do him good to keep his place and build on that.
With that said, whatever the manager decides to do up top, there is another player who he should be taking out of the side, someone who underwhelmed on Saturday night.
The Arsenal star Arteta should drop
With most of the team already covered, it should come as no surprise that the player in question is Martin Odegaard.
Now, before the pitchforks and torches come out, the captain wasn’t terrible against Everton and is often scapegoated by fans, but he also wasn’t particularly good either.
In fact, the Norwegian international was probably the most underwhelming of Arsenal’s starters, including Gyokeres.
Odegaard vs Everton
Minutes
88′
Expected Assists
0.13
Assists
0
Big Chances Created
0
Crosses
1
Dribbled Past
1
Shots
0
Dribbles
0
Tackles
0
Duels (Won)
3 (0)
Fouls
1
All Stats via Sofascore
For example, in his 88 minutes of action, the former Real Madrid gem produced an expected assists figure of just 0.16, played one cross, failed to create a big chance, was dribbled past one, failed to take a shot and lost 100% of his duels.
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In all, it was just a frustrating display from the 26-year-old as fans know just how good he can be when he’s in the swing of things.
Therefore, his lacklustre showing and the need to protect him should see Arteta drop him for Tuesday night’s game.
Fortunately, the Spaniard has two excellent players who could come in to replace him.
Should he prefer more experience, he could opt for Eberechi Eze, who has already scored against his former club this season.
However, should he want to inject some more energy and unpredictability into the side, the manager could go for Ethan Nwaneri, who needs more minutes this year.
Ultimately, Arsenal are still on track for a stellar season, but Odegaard still needs to do a bit more in games.
116 touches & 87 passes: Arteta's 8/10 Arsenal star was better than Saka
It was yet another stellar performance for the Arsenal star, who played even better than Bukayo Saka.
A valuable half-century from Michael Clarke kept Australia afloat before a tigerish bunch of fielders backed up accurate bowlers to pull off a memorable 50-run win in Adelaide. Few would have given Australia a chance from the depths of 5 for 73 but so tenacious was the fightback that they pocketed a bonus point as well.A scorching day saw the bowlers take centrestage. Irfan Pathan led India’s charge before another left-armer, Mitchell Johnson, played a big part in the fightback. At 1 for 55, India seemed on course for an easy win but the contest opened up after they lost three wickets in nine balls, all to injudicious swings outside off. Once Mahendra Singh Dhoni fell to a moment of fielding brilliance, the match was headed only in one direction.Australia were revived, quite fittingly, by James Hopes, a medium-pacer who surprised with extra zip off the pitch. He broke a promising stand, inducing an edge from Pathan, before luring Rohit Sharma into a false drive. Johnson managed to pocket a wicket in between, tempting the in-form Gautam Gambhir into a fatal flash to point. India were still in the hunt, though, especially with Yuvraj Singh showing signs of regaining form. But Yuvraj’s shoddy swipe across the line to a long-hop and Dhoni’s poor call shut the final window of opportunity.Australia’s intensity rarely wavered. Adam Gilchrist missed a simple chance against Sachin Tendulkar early on, when neither him nor first slip went for the catch, but made up with five dismissals by the end. With 73 dismissals against India, Gilchrist now has the most for a wicketkeeper against any country. He didn’t do much with the bat but his performance behind the stumps, including a diving catch to finish the game, sealed a fine Adelaide farewell.Australia’s early slide began with Gilchrist falling, smashing his bat in the dressing room after his dismissal. To Ishant goes the credit of providing the initial breakthrough. Gilchrist was laying into Sreesanth when Ishant castled him with one that came in a fraction. Even before the dismissal it was clear that Ishant had sussed up the conditions early. He clocked up serious pace, going beyond the 152kph mark on one occasion, and extracted plenty of bounce from what was a good batting surface. He was duly rewarded with another wicket in his second spell – Andrew Symonds failing to gauge the bounce and chopping straight to gully – and showed the rest the value of a disciplined approach.Pathan picked up the baton effortlessly. He moved the ball enough to create doubts in the batsmen’s minds before slipping in the sucker punch of a ball outside off. Hayden didn’t account for the extra bounce, snicking one to the wicketkeeper, and Michael Hussey wafted lazily at one outside off. Like all of India’s bowlers, Pathan used the bounce in the track well and came back to nab two more wickets.Clarke, who fell to Pathan towards the end, turned in an invaluable knock, adding 72 with the gritty Brad Hogg. The duo, coming together when James Hopes was left hopelessly stranded outside the crease to a Harbhajan doosra, played the percentages well. They decided to cut out the risks and chipped away with singles and twos.Clarke began slowly but upped the strike-rate as his innings went along. He struck six fours but the signature strokes were the taps in the gaps followed by quick running between the wickets. He didn’t go on to his hundred, holing out to midwicket in his first real slog attempt, but his knock was crucial in helping Australia post a competitive score.
Following India’s shocking exit from the opening round of the World Cup, Dilip Vengsarkar, the Indian chairman of selectors, has defended the composition of the team and hoped that the elimination would serve as a wake up call.After winning both their warm-up games easily, India succumbed to an unexpected defeat in their opening match against Bangladesh and later went down to Sri Lanka in a must-win encounter. India sole victory was against minnows Bermuda, which wasn’t enough as Bangladesh advanced to the Super Eights on the strength of their two victories. Reflecting on the defeat, Vengsarkar put it down to “bad luck”, though he didn’t shy away from criticising the format of the tournament. Only two teams from a single group of four make it to the second round.”I think we picked the best possible team,” Vengsarkar was quoted in . “We looked at various options and tried to do a good job. But that one defeat against Bangladesh pushed us back. We may beat Bangladesh ten times out of ten but that one off day will rankle.”It was nothing but bad luck. I am not trying to offer excuses but we must accept that it was a bad phase and proved costly because of the format of the tournament.”Vengsarkar also backed the team management’s decision on the playing XI for the matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Anil Kumble, the most experienced bowler of the lot, was left out of both games while Dinesh Karthik was made to sit out of all three matches despite an impressive outing in the second and final warm-up match against West Indies.”In hindsight one can always say a lot but we must remember that we had some very competent people to make the decisions,” he said. “I back them because I don’t believe in ifs and buts.” Vengsarkar also extended his sympathy to the players given the mercurial reactions back home, with effigies and posters being burnt on public view, one which he described as being “stage managed”. He was critical of the reactions and blamed the media for playing it up.”It is very easy to criticise but I know how the players must be feeling,” he said. “It was shattering for them and for most of us here too but that doesn’t give us the authority to ridicule and humiliate the players. It is unfortunate that most of the TV channels are trying to provoke the common man with some unprofessional coverage. “With speculations that the future of certain players was in doubt, Vengsarkar acknowledged that the young players still have plenty of the talent and that they need to be persisted with. The Indian board is due to meet on April 6 and 7 in Mumbai to take serious decisions on changes of personnel in key positions in Indian cricket.”Most of the members in this team are in their early or mid twenties and promise a lot for the future. It is a good crop of talent and we need to have faith in them.”
Simon Jones was named one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year at a dinner in London on Tuesday.”It’s something I’ve wanted for a while,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of the other guys pick it up and when you do get it it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It was really nice to get it and it’s a real accolade, especially following the likes of other Glamorgan players like Don Shepherd, Alan Jones, Matthew Maynard and Steve Watkin.”Jones, who was presented with a leather-bound copy of the 2006 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack by his father, Jeff, during the evening, said that it capped an unbelievable 12 months.”To beat the Aussies was something special. We had a feeling we might push them but to beat them as we did was a great feeling. The reception we had from the crowds and the public was amazing, and it’s something I don’t think I will experience again.”At the dinner, Kate Hoey, the former sports minister who was the evening’s speaker, criticised the ECB’s decision to sell all TV rights to satellite broadcaster BSkyB while David Morgan, the ECB chief executive, sat feet away. She also slammed the handling of the Zimbabwe issue.Hoey concluded her speech by calling for government incentives to promote the game in state schools, with suggestions that grants could be offered to any which played competitive cricket. She also admitted that when she was in office, between 1998 and 2001, she struggled to get cricket taken seriously, but added that the situation had now changed with the success of the national side last summer.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that it is prepared to host the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. The tournament is supposed to be held by India, but if the Indian government does not provide a tax exemption for it, the ICC may decide to shift it to Pakistan.According to the Press Trust of India, Abbas Zaidi, the PCB’s director of media and public affairs, has said that the PCB has been promised a tax exemption for the event by their prime minister, Shaukat Aziz. Zaidi was quoted as saying: “The prime minister has assured us that if Pakistan has to host the tournament the government would not tax the tournament earnings which go to the ICC.”India was supposed to host the last ICC Champions Trophy as well, but it was shifted to England after the Indian government refused a tax exemption. Zaidi felt that that scenario might well be repeated here.”We are just waiting and watching,” he said. “India has the right to stage the tournament but in case we’ve to host it, we are prepared and we would be happy to do it for the ICC. But frankly speaking I don’t think India would like this tournament to go to Pakistan. It’s a prestigious event and the BCCI could succeed in getting tax exemption from their government.”The Indian board is doing all it can to get the required exemption. Ranbir Singh Mahendra, BCCI’s president, and Jagmohan Dalmiya, the ex-president, met India’s prime minister Manmohan Singh a few days ago to plead for an exemption. Manmohan promised to consider the matter, but no timeline was offered for a decision.Also read: A taxing problem
Cricket Australia has agreed to postpone the Pura Cup game between the Victorian Bushrangers and the South Australian Redbacks in view of the tragic death of David Hookes yesterday. Both teams had requested that the match – which was scheduled to start on January 23 at the MCG – be moved back, and Cricket Australia took note, rearranging the fixture for February 8 at the same venue.The decision was taken as a mark of respect to Hookes and his family, and also in recognition of his iconic status in both camps. Hookes made his name as a hard-hitting batsman with South Australia, and as coach, he had led the Bushrangers to the top of the Pura Cup standings this season.The Redbacks were expected to return to Adelaide on Wednesday.