A fully-fit Simon Jones is taking tips from Dennis Lillee ahead of England’s tour of India beginning in February.Jones suffered an ankle injury after the final Ashes Test last summer and missed out on England’s tour of Pakistan. In India for a fortnight prior to the arrival of the England side on February 13, Jones will work with Lillee at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. “It’s nice to be bowling again really,” Jones told Reuters. “It’s a good chance to be working with Lillee. I’m picking his brains.”Having played in India in 2004 during a successful comeback from a career-threatening knee injury, Jones said he knew what to expect of the pitches in India. “Obviously the conditions are pretty coarse out here, the grounds are very dry,” he said. “I think the ball will reverse swing. It’s only a question of how quickly. In Old Trafford it reversed after 15 overs. I don’t quite think it will go that quickly here.”On his own form – he has 59 Test wickets at 28.23 and was a star performer during the Ashes with 18 victims – Jones said it was a matter of getting back to full strength and putting to use an art he seems to have mastered – reverse swing. “I’ve been out here before with England A, and did okay. I got a couple of five-wicket hauls with reverse swing,” he said. “We are using a different ball this time. We’ll see what it is like.”England play three Tests and seven one-day internationals against India. Their tour kicks off with a three-day warm-up match at Mumbai from February 18.
ScorecardLeeward Islands made it to the finals of the Carib Beer Cup after drawing their game with Guyana in Essequibo. They will now face Jamaica in the title clash. Leewards managed 383 as Ridley Jacobs ran up a half-century with the lower order for company. He was finally done in by Mahendra Nagamootoo, who claimed 4 for 73. Guyana had required an outright victory to leapfrog Leewards in the points table and face Jamaica in the finals, but rain on the final day extinguished their hopes. Guyana ended the day on 131 for 3.
Steve Waugh was in belligerent mood when he came to answer questions at the end of an eventful first Test match against India. Much of his ire was directed against the local media which had skewered him in the wake of the first innings run-out involving Damien Martyn, though he also reserved praise for Sourav Ganguly and India, who made sure that what was expected to be a foregone conclusion finished up as a “50-50 Test match”. On who got more out of this Test: We both did. Our plan today was to take the four wickets, bat with some purpose, and then put them in for 20 overs. We batted really well on the first day, lost it a bit from there. But then, I though India batted pretty well.On whether Australia had underestimated India: They have some very talented players. And we know we’ll have to play quality cricket to win the series. This won’t be a one-sided contest, it’ll be a very competitive series. It’s going to take exceptional performances to win it.The positives for Australia: Today was a positive day for all of us. We wanted to finish strongly.Sourav Ganguly’s innings: He hit the ball very cleanly, made his runs very fast with a lot of boundaries. We’ve got to find a way to stop those boundaries. It was a gutsy knock considering the situation.The Australian bowling: Jason [Gillespie] and MacGill bowled well, and Nathan Bracken did well in patches. Bicks [Andy Bichel] gave it everything. I have no complaints. You can’t have a great day everyday.On whether India’s confidence have been boosted: Well, we had the tougher of the conditions when we batted. I’d have liked to have had a go at them when the pitch was green and seaming around. But like I said, I think both teams will go to Adelaide expecting a good contest.The Marytn run-out/sacrifice: I thought some of what I read about that was way over the top. It was a mix-up, these things happen in cricket. If you read the papers the next day, you’d think I’d committed a criminal act. Both of us were at fault, there was a mix-up, simple as that. There as a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of innuendo, and that’s not right. Let’s have some fair dinkum.On whether the emotional nature of his farewell tour could distract Australia ahead of the next three Tests: It’s not about me playing three Tests. It’s about Australia and India, and what should be three very competitive games.
Andhra Pradesh bowled Hyderabad out for 180 in their first innings, forcing them to follow on in their Ranji Trophy league match at Secunderabad on Thursday.Overnight on 55/1, Hyderabad lost wickets at regular intervals, and none of the batsmen could convert a start into a significant score. A Nand Kishore, at the top of the order, was the top-scorer, making 54 patiently off 208 balls. He was the seventh wicket to fall, with the score on 135, and only Jogram Shivaji Yadav lower down the order contributed further, making a brisk 36.Hyderabad did not do much better following on. At the close of play, they were on 68/2, with Nand Kishore unbeaten on 34 off 111. He was accompanied by Vanka Pratap, unbeaten on 12 at stumps.
After their poor batting performance of the morning Surrey’s nerves were setjangling further by a good opening stand between Stubbings and Sutton – whowas standing in for Lacey. Both players did well to keep out Bicknell whilescoring rapidly at the other end. Gary Butcher was introduced to the attackto try for five in five, he too was unable to break the partnership thoughand Derbyshire seemed on the verge of playing their way back into a gamethey had been comprehensively played out of on the first day….. UntilSalisbury joined the fray around a quarter past three to deliver thetwentieth over of the innings. At that time the score stood at 65 for 0 anda further three runs came from the first part of his over, one hour,thirteen and a half overs and twenty-nine runs later it was all over.Shahid and Hollioake’s close catching combined once again with anotherdemostration of wonderful spin bowling and some baffled and terrifiedbatting to wipe out a second innings, Saqlain – who’s figures stood at2-0-5-0 when his partner in crime joined him in the attack took adevastating seven for six in the next seven and a half overs while at theother end Salisbury, who’s turn it was to have less luck with the edgebagged 3-25.Dowman sought, for a brief time successfully, to survive and Munton, takingan intelligent view of his long term survival prospects, swung the batgamely for thirteen runs, entertaining in classic tailenders fashion beforeoffering a dolly caught and bowled to Saqlain but the rest of the team fadedaway so fast that it might have made some of their hosts feel undeservedlybetter about the morning’s batting effort.In the end eighteen wickets had fallen in less than two sessions of play ona blameless surface, it started to rain forty minutes after the close,drawing a veil over procedings. Surrey will be glad for innings win andtheir seventeen points and hope that the three batting points dropped do notcost them dearly while Derbyshire are now almost certainly destined fordivision 2.Saqlain was delighted with his short day’s work and season’s best figures.He has now overtaken Martin Bicknell once more in their private two horserace to be CC1’s leading wicket taker with 57 wickets to Bicknell’s 56,Bicknell will hope to retake the lead at Scarborough.
Crystal Palace showed during the previous summer transfer window they are capable of spending significant amounts of money on bringing new players to Selhurst Park.
The Eagles ended up splashing out significantly on their defence by signing Joachim Andersen from Lyon for around £20m and Marc Guehi from Chelsea for £18m.
However, one defender that the south London club weren’t so keen to spend money on and will now be thoroughly regretting is Virgil van Dijk.
According to former Palace manager Neil Warnock, he wanted to sign the Dutchman when he was playing at Celtic but was told by the hierarchy at Selhurst Park at the time that he was not worth the £6m transfer fee being touted for him as he was “too slow” and looked “too comfortable” in Scotland to be judged properly.
After making a £13m move from Celtic to Southampton in 2015, the centre-back scored seven goals in 80 appearances before joining his current club Liverpool in the 2018 January transfer window for a massive £75m.
Since then, the 30-year-old, who is currently valued at £49.5m according to Transfermarkt, has been a certified superstar for the Merseyside club, making 168 appearances with 16 goals and seven assists to his name.
During his time at Anfield, the former Hoops star has helped Jurgen Klopp’s side win the Premier League title and the Champions League in addition to beating the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the 2018/19 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award, highlighting the significant rise his career has taken since his days in Scotland.
Labelled as a “powerful” player by Erling Haaland, the defender has racked up a higher pass success percentage (89%) than any other Liverpool player to have started the majority of their Premier League games this season, showing his capabilities on the ball.
Off the ball, the centre-back has won 88.9% of his tackles, higher than any other player to have significantly featured in the league during this campaign for the Reds, highlighting his toughness and how difficult it is to play against him.
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So much so that Juventus striker Alvaro Morata once said that “when you go against Van Dijk, it seems like you hit a mountain.”
Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that Palace made the wrong decision by not securing Van Dijk’s signature when they had the chance. This was a seismic howler from Warnock.
In other news: Vieira struck gold on “massive” £31k-p/w Palace “tank” whose value has rocketed 200%
Adam Gilchrist has hinted that his retirement might be further away than he originally planned and says there is “a good chance” this year’s Boxing Day Test will not be his last. Gilchrist, 36, was mentally and physically fatigued at the same time last season during the Ashes campaign and at that stage he felt the end of his career was beckoning.”This time last year I probably would have thought this one would be my last but I’m really enjoying it now and I don’t know,” Gilchrist told the . “It might be but there’s a good chance it won’t be as well, so I’m not looking for any swansong or farewell. I’m just playing it as I go along and really enjoying it as well.”Gilchrist needs only five dismissals to pass Ian Healy’s Australian record of 395 victims and 14 dismissals would push him past Mark Boucher’s world mark of 403. Gilchrist has 391 victims from 92 Tests – Healy took 119 games to reach his total and Boucher has played 106 matches.”Just as it’s inevitable I’ll get to Heals’ Australian record, even if I was to go past and catch Boucher, he’s about four years younger than me so it will be inevitable that he’ll end up finishing his career with the world record,” Gilchrist said in the . “It’s something you don’t focus on too much.”During the Boxing Day Test Gilchrist will wear pink wicketkeeping gloves to raise money for the cancer cause the McGrath Foundation. Gilchrist’s sponsors will donate $18,000 per dismissal he claims in the Melbourne match.
The unpredictability of Pakistan shone brightly at Durban as they levelled the series with a 141-run victory which was as commanding as their effort at Centurion had been feeble. Shahid Afridi lit up the display with a scintillating onslaught, supported by a glowing century from Mohammad Yousuf, and even a floodlight failure couldn’t dim Pakistan.They were in control when Yousuf and Afridi joined forces in the 39th over, but what followed turned a tidy batting performance into a display of carnage. They added 129 in 11.4 overs, Afridi racing to 77 off 35 balls, and Yousuf a ton from 110 balls which lifted the total to a ground record 351 for 4, also Pakistan’s best against South Africa.The start of the pursuit suggested a match was on the cards – after all it is South Africa that chased 435 at Johannesburg – but in reality Pakistan always held the whip hand under the lights. Quick strikes either side of the 30-minute power outage, which came two balls before the 20-over mark that makes a match, secured the result. Mohammad Asif, sending down his 10 overs straight, was the bowler of the match while Abdul Razzaq and Afridi supported well.The result vindicated Pakistan’s tactics of jamming the side with batting, handing Mahmood a first ODI since February 2005, which meant the top order could play with freedom. The platform was laid by Imran Nazir and Younis Khan; then the pyrotechnics arrived.Afridi bludgeoned the ball to all corners of Kingsmead. His first six came off his fifth ball and five more followed, including two of amazing power from low full-tosses and another that hit the roof of a stand and finished in the road off a waist-high delivery. His half-century came off a blink-of-the-eye 20 balls. The South African bowlers, especially Andre Nel, fed him with the short stuff which stood up and asked to be hit. It was, a long way.This was also Afridi at his cheeky best, never better exemplified than when he twice walked across his stumps and swept Makhaya Ntini to fine leg. Then he brought out his best Kevin Pietersen impression, effortlessly flicking a full toss through midwicket on one leg.When Afridi walked out, Yousuf was on 52 and his century was almost a by-the-way moment such were the headline-grabbing feats at the other end. But it was a typical Yousuf knock, working the gaps and punishing the loose balls. He reached his 12th ODI ton in the final over and fed Afridi the strike at every opportunity.Even before the Afridi show, Pakistan had shown that they’d decided to get out of bed on the right side this morning. Nazir, recalled in place of Mohammad Hafeez, set the ball rolling with a rollicking 57 off 33 balls.
Charl Langeveldt hit back by trapping him with a fine slower-ball and with the innings only 12 overs old Yousuf and Younis Khan sensibly opted for accumulation, working the strike with sharp running which is not always a facet of Pakistan cricket. Younis was set for only his third ODI century but picked out long on against Graeme Smith’s offspin. When Inzamam-ul-Haq decided today was the right time to add to his run-out count, Pakistan’s progressed threatened to slow. Afridi put them firmly back in the fast lane.Asif again stood head and shoulders above Pakistan’s other bowlers and brought an edge from Smith which was well held at second slip. Inzamam gambled by using Asif for his full quota and in his final over showed signs of cramp. But just to sum up his immense efforts on tour he took drink, a deep breath, and removed Herschelle Gibbs.Either side of Asif’s blows Razzaq snapped up two equally sizable wickets. He took over from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan who’d bowled a miserable first spell, conceding 43 off four overs to loosen all Asif’s pressure. de Villiers had reached 43 off 46 balls before finding midwicket with a limp pull and two balls after Gibbs fell, Jacques Kallis feathered an edge to Akmal.With that the lights went out on South Africa’s chances of a win – and also on the stadium. For a while it appeared they might escape because 20 overs hadn’t been completed. However, play resumed and Ashwell Prince handed Mahmood a wicket with his first ball in ODIs for two years. After that the match faded away, but thankfully the lights didn’t and neither will the memories of Afridi.
Andy Moles is about to quit as Scotland’s coach after falling out with senior players, according to a report in today’s Scotsman.Moles, who took over the role in March last year, guided Scotland to victory in the ICC Trophy and gained them a place in the 2007 World Cup. But the newspaper says that despite verbally agreeing a two-year extension to his contract, he is about to step down.The players are reportedly angry that Moles criticised them at the end of last season before spending three months in South Africa running the ICC’s Winter Training Programme. While the Scottish board agreed to him taking on that role, it has alienated some of the team who felt he should have worked with them to prepare for a busy season.His position was discussed at a Cricket Scotland board meeting on Tuesday night and a source told the Scotsman: “There is unrest over several aspects of the coaching situation. It’s ironic after all the success the national side had last season but Andy seems to have lost the confidence of the players.”Roddy Smith, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, refused to confirm or deny that Moles was ready to quit. A statement is expected this afternoon.”The bottom line is that Cricket Scotland has failed dismally to target private finance,” a local source told Cricinfo. “Their players still resent the slightest degree of criticism, and I suspect they are going to get the fright of their lives in the coming months.”Moles is said to be frustrated at financial constraints imposed on him. But if he does stand down, then questions will be asked. Moles walked out as coach of Kenya after falling out with many of their leading players and also because of the board’s financial predicament. In fairness, at the time Kenyan cricket was a shambles, but many inside Kenya have not forgotten his time in charge.But Cricket Scotland might find replacing Moles is far from straightforward. Neil Drysdale, who follows Scottish cricket closely, wrote in the Herald: “It will be interesting to discover whether any international luminaries will be prepared to walk into an environment where backbiting and whispering campaigns are prevalent, where the salary is modest by comparison with the county jobs in England, and where the administrators have little chance of changing the system, given that expenditure is likely to drop this season, now that the Saltires are no longer involved in the National League, thus halving their number of attractive fixtures.”
Dinesh Mongia and Yuvraj Singh carried out the final rituals as North Zone registered a comprehensive seven-wicket win over South Zone in the Duleep Trophy league match at Indore. North Zone thus secured a final berth, and will face Central Zone on March 8 at Nagpur. Resuming on 4 for 0, North succeeded in chasing the target of 140 within just 23 overs. Yuvraj continued his scintillating form with a 38-ball 60, smashing seven fours and four sixes. He was well supported by Dinesh Mongia, who contributed a steady 52 in 60 balls.North faced a slight hiccup when they lost the top-three batsmen for 46. Then, Yuvraj and Mongia got together to smash a 100 runs and take North past the victory target. The North Zone batsmen were particularly severe on MR Shrinivas, who conceded 61 in 3.5 overs.