Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Sami has been ruled out of the forthcoming home series against Bangladesh with an ankle injury. Sami twisted his ankle playing for Kent and is expected to be out of action for up to six weeks.”Sami will be returning home soon to start treatment on his injury," explained Samiul Hasan, a spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board. "Although his contract [with Kent] was until August 10, he was available for the Bangladesh series.”Sami’s absence further weakens the side, with Shoaib Akhtar already haven been given permission to miss the series to enable him to fulfill his county commitments with Durham. However, even an inexperienced Pakistan should have few problems in overcoming Bangladesh.
Fans at today’s First Test match between Australia and New Zealand willbe entitled to either exchange their ticket or seek a full refundfollowing the washout of the third day.As less than 25 overs were played before the umpires decided to abandonthe match at 4.15pm, the Australian Cricket Board’s Refund Policy willapply.Holders of Ticketmaster7 tickets can exchange their ticket at the gateeither tomorrow or Monday for the remaining two days of the Test matchor seek to exchange their ticket for the VB Series One DayInternationals at the Gabba in January.Alternatively, they may seek a full refund. If they purchased theirticket at a Ticketmaster7 outlet, they should return to the outlet wherethey bought the ticket to arrange their refund.For those who purchased tickets by phone/fax/internet or at the groundtoday, they should mail the ticket and their contact details toTicketmaster7, PO Box 762G, Melbourne, 3001 within 30 days of the match.For any inquiries, contact Ticketmaster7 on 1300 13 61 22 or check theofficial ACB website – www.baggygreen.com.auYou can also view the ACB’s national refund policy here.
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly ‘keeping tabs’ on highly sought-after Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez, according to Planet Sport’s Graeme Bailey.
The lowdown: New deal not enough
Despite only signing a new contract in October 2021, the 24-year-old continues to be heavily linked with a move away from the reigning Serie A champions.
Reputable journalist Fabrizio Romano recently told his Here We Go podcast that Spurs were ‘looking at’ potential striker targets for the summer and Martinez is the latest name touted.
Previously pursued by Barcelona, ex-Inter strike partner Romelu Lukaku hailed the Argentine as a ‘beast’ prior to a 2020/21 league campaign in which the pair provided a combined 58 goal contributions (WhoScored) to lead Antonio Conte’s side to glory.
The report from Bailey (via PS) claims that both Tottenham and Manchester City are ‘keeping tabs’ on the frontman, whilst north London rivals Arsenal are also believed to be ‘very interested’.
Furthermore, it’s stated that the 37-cap Argentina ace is ‘keen’ on a move to the Premier League.
Recently a report from Tuttosport claimed that the Nerazzurri have already identified Borussia Monchengladbach star Marcus Thuram as a successor to Martinez amidst further interest from Liverpool.
The verdict: A match made in heaven?
Having already scored 40 times and provided 19 assists under the watchful eye of Conte, the Argentine striker is unlikely to have reservations over working with the Italian and vice versa.
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Under contract until 2027 and valued at an eye-watering £72million (Transfermarkt), it would take a huge fee to bring Martinez to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, with 16 goals and two assists across all competitions this term, the Lilywhites would be adding a high-quality operator to their ranks and should be willing to spend as such.
In other news: Italian source claims Spurs have made a decision regarding permanent summer transfer! Find out more here.
"I won’t be seeing you tomorrow, sir. I am going out of town," says an eight-year-old to the 70-year-old grey-haired gentleman in whites.Nari Contractor chuckles. "You see they are not in awe of me," he says to this reporter. "This is the result of interaction." Contractor is the director of the Cricket Club of India’s (CCI) Cricket Academy, and Interaction and Correction are the two buzzwords of the guardians of this academy. Contractor’s colleagues in this venture are: Hanumant Singh, the former director of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, and Vasu Paranjpe, former Mumbai player and coach.Interaction is an important tool coaches forget when they impart training to the players, feels Contractor. "If you can make the player express his viewpoint then half the job is done." Contractor says that the age gap between the coaches (average age: 60-plus) and the trainees (under-16) doesn’t matter, because the kids have respect for the elders and the transparency means that the unit gels well together.The unique thing about this academy is that players from across the country, plus a few from outside, get to hone their skills during the two-month-long camp at the spacious lawns of the Brabourne Stadium. The academy invites two players from each state association and prunes it down to 20 players after the selection trials. These players are not the top players of the individual state as the cream visit the NCA or the NCA’s three zonal academies or the state academies. Two players each from Kenya and Nepal respectively also took part in the camp this year.The normal day of the CCI trainee lasts up to six hours split into two sessions – morning and afternoon. The morning session starts at around 7am with stretching exercises, nets, a mini-break for breakfast and then nets again. The players come back in the afternoon sun to go through another session of nets along with physical training. Three days a week, there are yoga sessions, and then there are random, strenuous fielding practise slots.The academy is two years old and keeps adapting to the modern standards of the game and its various demands. Video analysis of each player is carried out, once when the trainee is inducted and again when the camp is ending. The video helps the player understand how he has progressed and also aids the coaches in correcting any defects that they may see.Films on cricket are also shown so that the trainees learn about the game from the likes of Don Bradman, Garfield Sobers et al. Fitness tests are carried out at the beginning and at the end of the camp to monitor the physical condition of a player. The player is given a programme he can work on after he leaves the academy and a CD about his progress at the camp.Bob Simpson paid a week-long visit and religiously worked with the players which boosted their spirits. One of the trainees who met Simpson’s eye was the 24-year-old Nepali Raj Kumar. Already a national player, Kumar is a short, sturdy, legbreak bowler and has impressed the coaches here with his fielding. Speaking in Hindi, Kumar says, "my action was very clumsy and back in Nepal there are no coaches to correct the faults. But this visit has taught me many things … like my body movement when I bowl. He [Simpson] told me the importance of each part of my body movement as I deliver the ball and now it has helped me get into a nice rhythm."Maurice Ouma, who was there for a week during Simpson’s visit, impressed everyone with his glovework behind the stumps. In fact, Simpson mentioned him in his column in The Sportstar as being better than their [Kenya’s] World Cup wicketkeeper.Contractor delivers the final word. "We can only take the horse to the well," he says. "From there, what it does is its business." Outside, the youngsters run, and run, and run.
A tap on the shoulder while fielding on the boundary’s edge at Lilac Hill today was the first that Adam Voges knew of his surprise call-up to the Australian squad, for Thursday’s third Test against England at the WACA.Voges, 27, a hard-hitting Western Australia batsman and part-time chinaman bowler, was the surprise pick in Australia’s 13-man squad, following the unexpected retirement of Damien Martyn. He duly celebrated with an impressive 71 as the CA Chairman’s XI overwhelmed their English counterparts by seven wickets.”It’s not quite sunk in,” said Voges. “To play a hometown Test at the WACA has been my boyhood dream. Obviously Andrew Symonds is in the 13 as well so I’ll just have to wait and see, but it would be amazing if it did come true.”Voges has enjoyed a fine start to the season with Western Australia, scoring two centuries and 320 runs at an average of 160 in his three matches, and Justin Langer, his state captain, described his selection as “outstanding”.”I always thought it was only a matter of time before he played cricket for Australia, either one-day internationals or Tests,” said Langer, “and it’s nice with the opportunity that has come up that he’s been selected.”I think it’s a very astute selection,” added Langer. “You pick character over cover-drives, and this bloke’s got a character. There are a lot of young blokes around who are very talented and can play all the shots in the world, but he is just a very strong character, a terrific young bloke with an outstanding work ethic, and he displays a lot of leadership traits.”Even if Langer did think his team-mate was in the frame for selection, Voges was completely taken aback. “I only learnt half an hour ago while fielding,” he said. “Tony Dodemaide tapped me on the shoulder and he said: ‘Come with me. You’re being substituted’. I thought I was in trouble. But instead I had a phone call saying I was in the 13. It’s all happened pretty quickly, and it’s been pretty amazing.”Voges holds the record for the fastest century in Australian domestic one-dayers, from 62 balls in 2004-05, but he insisted there was more to his game than big shots. “Over the past couple of years I was a bloke with a fairly attacking style of game,” he said, “but a winter over at the Commonwealth Bank Centre of Excellence tightened my technique, and hopefully I’ve got a reasonable game.”Voges was as taken aback as most of Australia by the news of Martyn’s retirement, and the first he heard of it was an announcement over the PA system at Lilac Hill, shortly before Dodemaide came looking for him. “I played a fair bit with Marto at WA,” he said. “He’s been a fantastic player, a legend of the game, and he played a big part in my development. Obviously it’s a shame his career has come to an end, but it’s definitely an opportunity for me.”Ironically, Voges was dropped by Western Australia only last month against Queensland, to accommodate the return of their Australian international players. “When you get Martyn, Gilchrist, Langer and Hussey all in one side, you can’t complain,” he said. “It was only for one game and if Marto hadn’t retired this opportunity wouldn’t have been here.”Andrew Hilditch, Australia’s chairman of selectors, said: “We are excited to give Adam this opportunity to join the squad. He is an outstanding young player and his inclusion in the squad is a just reward for his efforts to date.”
Mohammad Kaif has recovered from his hamstring injury, which he sustained on October 14, and is set to play for Central Zone in their crucial Duleep Trophy clash against West Zone at Aurangabad, starting on November 4.Wing Commander Baladitya, the manager of the Indian team, confirmed this and added that John Gloster, the team physiotherapist, had declared him fit after subjecting him to various tests.Kaif, who suffered a muscle tear on his left hamstring during the finals of the Challenger Trophy at Mohali, is likely to return to the side for the sixth ODI at Rajkot, to be played on November 9.His presence at Aurangabad, though, will be a huge boost to the Central Zone side in what will be a virtual semi-final clash. Simultaneously, the Sourav Ganguly-led East Zone will take on Zimbabwe President’s XI at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai and a victory will guarantee Central a spot in the final.
It was a happy homecoming for Andrew Strauss, as he celebrated his first Test in the land of his birth with an unbeaten 120, to give England the upper hand at the close of the second day’s play at Port Elizabeth. But afterwards he remained as phlegmatic about his achievement as he had been at the crease.Strauss has now scored centuries in his debut Test against three consecutive countries, following on from his efforts at Lord’s last summer, against New Zealand and West Indies, but laughed off the significance of his feat. “You can go on about those sort of stats all day long,” he shrugged. “Obviously I’m delighted I’ve done it, but I won’t be putting it up on the wall or anything like that! They’ve all been pretty similar really. In each case it’s been important to knuckle down and get runs early in the series, and fortunately it has happened.”It certainly didn’t feel any different being back in South Africa,” added Strauss, before confirming that no, he didn’t receive any jibes out in the middle, and no, he wouldn’t have understood the South Africans if they had chosen to address him in Afrikaans. “I have a few flashes of memory of my time in Johannesburg,” he said, “but I was so young when we left.”Strauss is now something of a lucky charm for England. He has yet to taste anything but victory in seven consecutive games, and on today’s evidence an eighth consecutive win is on the cards. “So much could yet happen,” he cautioned. “There’s been plenty of ebb and flow in this game, and it’s important we knuckle down tomorrow, see off the new ball when it comes, and make this innings count, as the wicket is only going to deteriorate.”There is already a hint of turn on offer, as Graeme Smith demonstrated in a brief spell before the close, and Strauss was hopeful that Ashley Giles would come into play as the game progressed. “That gives us confidence as we’re the only side with a specialist spinner,” he said. “The new ball skidded through for the first 15 overs, but after that it started to sit up a bit more. It’s a wicket to be patient on – you have to wait for the bowlers to come to you.”England had to face a tricky four overs before lunch, and a more jittery side might have had visions of Potchefstroom, where they collapsed to 3 for 3 in a similar space of time. But Strauss had no such fears. “We’ve got that defeat out of our minds,” he said. “It was a disappointment, but right from moment we lost that game we trained hard, practised hard, and mentally we were pretty good going into the first day yesterday.”England’s minds were certainly switched on to the task by the sight of Shaun Pollock bearing down on them. “Pollock is almost like a bowling machine,” said Strauss. “He’s always bang on the spot every time, which makes it hard for batsmen. He’s up there with the top bowlers in the world so we were kept on our toes. The wicket doesn’t really suit him, but he’s quality – you can’t take him lightly at all.”The bowlers out here tend to wait for us to come to them,” added Strauss. “So it is a case of playing it patiently. If we want to win game, then it’s crucial we build on today’s start and apply pressure on South Africa. It was the way we played all last summer, and we’ll try to do that again tomorrow.”
Although his performance was later overshadowed by Andrew Strauss’s efforts, Boeta Dippenaar’s third Test century – his first against England – was a huge achievement for a player who has been under intense pressure in the middle of South Africa’s unsettled batting line-up. With challenges for places coming from all angles, Dippenaar was a contented man at the close of play, as he contemplated a moment that might just change his career.”It really does mean a lot to me,” said Dippenaar. “There’s been lot of pressure on me in terms of positions, so to put in that sort of performance against a quality attack like England’s, is something special. Players like Hashim Amla have been pushing hard, so you know you have got limited opportunities to make your mark.”Dippenaar has bobbed up and down the batting order in recent seasons, but his new coach, Ray Jennings, is keen for him to stay in one place for the time being. “Ray wants me to keep on batting at No. 5 in the middle order,” he explained. “He’s adamant that I should stay still, which is comforting because I have fluctuated from time to time. It allows me to get a game-plan going for my specific role, and grow in that role.”Test hundreds are precious beasts, but Dippenaar claimed not to have suffered unduly in the nervous nineties. “I just took it ball by ball,” he explained. “Our game-plan at the start of play was to get to 350, and I knew that I needed to score at least 45 or 50 of those runs. My personal scores didn’t stick in the mind so much, so that took the pressure off.”As for what the future holds, Dippenaar was cautiously optimistic. “I like to think it’s a step in the right direction [towards a permanent place in the side]. There’s a lot of cricket still to be played, but it’s given me a huge amount of confidence for the rest of series. I think I’ve gone a long way towards making that No. 5 spot my own.”For much of the morning, Dippenaar was aided and abetted by the wicketkeeper Thami Tsolelike, a controversial selection ahead of the veteran Mark Boucher. He played a steadfast support role, and afterwards Dippenaar was keen to play up his performance. “Thami is a very very good cricketer,” he said. “Sometimes his selection has been overshadowed by political issues, but he showed today he can hold his own.”We probably finished up around 70-80 runs short, because we really needed to get to 400,” admitted Dippenaar – although he wasn’t giving up the fight. “We’re up against it a bit, but tomorrow we’ll come out fighting hard to turn it around.”
Rudi Koertzen and David Shepherd will officiate in India’s two-Test home series against New Zealand, while Ranjan Madugalle will be the match referee. For the one-day triangular series which follows, Shepherd and Neil Mallender will be the neutral umpires, while Madugalle will continue as match referee.The ICC also announced that four umpires who are not part of the elite panel – but are in the list of international panel of umpires – will officiate in Test matches this season. Tyron Wijewardena from Sri Lanka will stand in the Pakistan-Bangladesh Test in Karachi later this month, while Aleem Dar gets two Tests on England’s tour to Bangladesh and two more when England play Sri Lanka. Mallender and Peter Willey are the two other umpires who are not part of the elite panel but will officiate in Tests.A press release from the ICC also stated that Koertzen, Shepherd, Steve Bucknor and Brent Bowden will share duties in India’s four Test matches in Australia.Click here for the full list of umpires officiating in international matches this season.
National League continued in Bulawayo over the weekend, but it was not a good day for the Bulawayo sides which both lost to the visitors. At Queens the home side lost to Kwekwe by 82 runs, while Macdonald Club lost to Universals by 33 runs.Queens upon winning the toss sent Kwekwe in to bat, and a solid 70 off 93 balls from former international player Dirk Viljoen and a 74-run partnership with former national captain and coach Dave Houghton saw Kwekwe finish on 240-8 in their allotted 50 overs. `Pommie’ Mbangwa was the pick of the local attack with four wickets for 30 runs.Chasing 241 to win at 4.4 runs per over, Queens after losing two early wickets never looked like causing an upset. Former provincial player Neil Van Rensburg was top scorer with 48 runs.Universals scored 294 for eight against Mac Club in their 50 overs due mainly to a superb innings from young Blessing Mahwire who in a most delightful innings narrowly missed a well-deserved century by 6 runs. Mahwire’s innings showed potential in that he is one of a very select band of players who is prepared to use his feet and hit in the so-called V, straight, which eliminates any chance of mishits and is not easy to contain, as young off-spinner Steve Brown found out.In reply Mac Club only managed 269 for nine, with Wisdom Siziba scoring a fluent 55, a most encouraging knock from one of the latest players to graduate from the Academy.Players in Matabeleland are also aware that the names of the Matabeleland Logan Cup squad are due to be announced shortly and are hoping early-season performances will catch the eye of the selectors.
Leeds United could potentially make a move for Manchester United youngster James Garner this summer, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
The Lowdown: Garner impressing on loan
The 20-year-old was deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford last summer, instead joining Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan deal, having spent half of the 2020/21 campaign there, too.
Garner has caught the eye for Steve Cooper’s side, proving to be a key man by appearing 29 times in the Championship, as well as registering three goals and assists apiece.
The United midfielder has been linked with a move to Leeds in recent times, as Jesse Marsch eyes up his first reinforcements as manager at Elland Road.
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The Latest: Leeds backed to make move
Speaking to Give Me Sport, ‘insider’ Jones claimed a number of clubs will be looking at Garner this summer when asked who Leeds could be eyeing:
“Garner, I think, is somebody that a lot of clubs will be looking at. Southampton are linked with him as well, so he could have a lot of options to consider.”
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The Verdict: Solid summer addition?
While Garner remains unproven at Premier League level, he could be a shrewd addition by Leeds, and that’s assuming they are even in the top flight next season.
At 20, the Englishman is still very much an emerging talent – he has been hailed as ‘absolutely superb’ by journalist Sarah Clapson – but he is already excelling in the Championship, standing out as a key man for a Forest side in the promotion hunt.
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Garner could add some much-needed depth in the middle of the park, at a time when too much onus is on Kalvin Phillips, with the England international not even a certainty to stay this summer.
In other news, a key Leeds update regarding Raphinha’s future has emerged. Read more here.