Denying any involvement in leaking Greg Chappell’s controversial email last September, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), dismissed Sourav Ganguly’s charges against his group saying he did not expect loyalty as he was no more the chief of the Indian board (BCCI).”I am no longer in the BCCI. I have nothing to give. So, I do not expect loyalty from him,” Dalmiya told newspersons shortly after Ganguly’s email was made public by CAB dissidents.Ganguly blamed Dalmiya for leaking Chappell’s sensational email but Dalmiya said that Chappell himself had not wanted to send the mail to him. “Yes, I was one of the intended recipients,” he continued. “But in the meeting of the high-powered committee held in Mumbai after the controversy erupted, Chappell himself stated that he could not send it to me.The six-member committee, set-up to investigate that email, comprised Dalmiya, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the then BCCI chief, SK Nair, the secretary, and three former India captains — Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S Venkatraghavan. Asked whether he agreed with Ganguly that the email was leaked to damage his career, Dalmiya said “the e-mail does not concern me.”You put the question to those quarters who leaked it,” he said at a hurriedly convened media meet at the Eden Gardens. “This question can be best answered by the affected and those who made him affected.”
As if his transformation into a national hero wasn’t enough to be getting on with, Andrew Flintoff has been appointed an honorary selector as he prepares to play his 50th Test in front of an adoring home crowd at Old Trafford.Flintoff’s allround heroics set up an excruciatingly tight two-run victory for England in the second Test at Edgbaston on Sunday, and now he is to be called upon to assess the conditions at Old Trafford before England decide on their final XI for tomorrow’s third Test.The temptation to name an unchanged side must be strong, but England are toying with the idea of giving a debut to the tall Hampshire seamer, Chris Tremlett, whose key attributes of bounce could play a part on a rock-hard Old Trafford pitch.”We just want to see the conditions and have a good long chat with Freddie [Flintoff],” Michael Vaughan told reporters on the eve of the match. “It’s his home ground. He knows the conditions better than most, certainly over the last year or so.”We haven’t played that much here so we are going to try to use his experience and see which is the best way to go,” added Vaughan, whose Yorkshire team-mate Matthew Hoggard would appear to be the most likely candidate to make way if Tremlett were to feature in this Test.”We want to have a look at the options of normal swing [Hoggard’s speciality], reverse swing, bounce [Tremlett], all the areas that you cover in a normal game of cricket. “We probably won’t decide until the last minute.”Flintoff’s Man-of-the-Match performance at Edgbaston included bowling figures of 7 for 131 and crucial innings of 68 and 73. “It’s difficult to say if there’s more to come from him,” said Vaughan. “He didn’t get five-for and he didn’t get a hundred. That’s the one area where he could get better, but it was an incredible game for the team and it was certainly a magnificent game for Freddie.”England’s latest victory was their first in a “live” Ashes Test since the opening match of the 1997 series, also at Edgbaston. “I always think momentum’s great but it can be difficult to deal with,” explained Vaughan, whose dream of becoming the first England captain in nine series to win the Ashes is still alive.”Everyone said Australia had the momentum going into Edgbaston, but for the first three days we dominated the game and it was only that last morning where they came back into it. You really do have to wipe the slate clean and make sure we go into this game fresh.”Vaughan’s concerns in the captaincy department are as nothing compared to his batting woes. He has scored just 32 runs in four innings, but was philosophical about his bad trot. “When you are playing well and getting a lot of runs that kind of form has to come to an end,” he said. “When you get a run of low scores that has to come to an end.”You can’t keep getting low scores. You work hard, keep doing the right things, and it will change in the middle, it has too,” added Vaughan who scored three hundreds in the last Ashes series, in Australia in 2002-03. “Sometimes you have to give credit to the bowlers. They’ve put all the batsmen under pressure.”
Yuvraj Singh, almost a certainty to open in Tests next season, has revealed that he wished to follow the same route as Virender Sehwag.Yuvraj, who is currently at the training camp in Bangalore, spoke about how Sehwag had blazed a trail with regard to opening the batting. “He has done tremendously in the opener’s slot,” Yuvraj said. “So, if I can do the same and be as successful as Sehwag, it would be good for the team.”Having had a successful time as an opener with Punjab last season, Yuvraj was optimistic about his new role. “I think it’s an advantage because if one sees through the new ball, one can also score big runs. So, I am looking forward to the challenge.”In the last domestic season, Yuvraj opened in all the three matches that he played for Punjab. He found the transition very smooth and the report card included 138 against Delhi, 80 against Railways and 38 in a low-scoring game against Andhra Pradesh.When asked if he will return to the middle order if he did not succeed as an opener, he said: “When you play cricket at international level, you don’t think about ifs and don’ts. Whatever the situation, you have to go through it, and be positive about it.”
The South Australian Cricket Association has announced that Woodville batsman Daniel Harris, has been flown to Brisbane to take part in the Pura Cup clash against the Queensland Bulls, starting today (January 19).Harris replaces Jeff Vaughan, who injured his left foot in Brisbane yesterday. Vaughan was hit on the foot while batting in the nets, and sustained severe bruising.Fast-bowler Paul Rofe, who dislocated and cut his finger during the ING Cup game on Friday, has been declared fit for the Pura Cup clash.The Redbacks team to face the Bulls is:
Greg Blewett (c) Mark Cleary Mark Cosgrove John Davison Shane Deitz David Fitzgerald Daniel Harris Mark Harrity Ben Higgins Ben Johnson Paul Rofe Shaun Tait
Gloucestershire again suffered at the hands of Dominic Ostler as Warwickshire batted on remorselessly on another attritional day at Edgbaston.Ostler followed up his sparkling 134 in Tuesday’s floodlit National League game with a quickfire 92 which provided some welcome entertainment for a patient crowd as Warwickshire closed on 448-9.Ostler pulled and drove impressively as he struck 13 boundaries but he missed out on his second century of the summer when he was lured out of his ground by off-spinner Jeremy Snape and stumped by Reggie Williams.But Michael Powell, Warwickshire’s captain, made the most of a good batting pitch and an attack, depleted by the absence of Jon Lewis with a back injury, as he completed his first century of the season.It was the sixth Championship century of Powell’s career but, surprisingly, his first at Edgbaston.He began the day needing only three to reach three figures but managed only two singles from the first nine overs.However, he reached his century in style with a straight driven six off Martyn Ball and looked in no trouble at all until he edged Tim Hancock to Ball at slip on 133.Ostler then took control in a delightful innings in which he helped Warwickshire to secure a fourth batting point and to take the lead.He shared a seventh-wicket stand of 94 in 25 overs with Keith Piper who added to Gloucestershire’s frustration by making his first fifty of the season.There were four boundaries in Piper’s 115-ball half-century and he steered Warwickshire past 400 and to a useful lead of 88 which gave them a slim chance of forcing a victory.The start of play was delayed for 75 minutes by morning drizzle and an embarrassing breakdown of the ‘Brumbrella’, Edgbaston’s giant pitch cover.The motors failed and volunteers had to drag the cover off the pitch which was a hitch Warwickshire could have done without in the build-up to Thursday’s England v Pakistan One-Day International.
The 15-year-old has been called up the Scotland U17 squad, and has played the full 90 minutes in recent European Championship qualifying matches, while he has also captained his country at age-group level.
The Latest: Rangers lurking
As per Football Insider’s recruitment source, the Ibrox faithful are now fighting both Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion to sign Rice, and a recruitment source has revealed that the latter especially are ‘keeping close tabs’ on the attacker.
However, he cannot pen a professional deal with an English club until he is 17, while he only has to wait until he is 16 for Scottish teams, perhaps giving the Teddy Bears an advantage.
The Verdict: Exciting
Rice is certainly one to watch out for in the future, and the fact that the Light Blues could fend off Premier League competition for his services is exciting.
They already have some promising youngsters in the academy, like Juan Alegria and Tony Weston, and so adding Rice to the mix will surely catch the eye of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
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Nonetheless, the Gers will need to act fast if they are to tie him down, and could perhaps even look to sell him to one of those English clubs for a tidy profit down the line.
In other news, find out what potential ‘catastrophe’ for RFC has now emerged here!
Rajasthan Royals strolled to the top of the table with an eight-wicket win over Deccan Chargers, who offered little resistance in a match that was effectively decided in the first innings. Deccan posted a below-par 140 and looked listless as Rajasthan’s efficient batting chased the target with four overs to spare.After their batsmen collapsed in spectacular fashion following Adam Gilchrist’s dismissal, Deccan’s fielders, perhaps hindered by the dust storm blowing across the stadium, failed to save runs and apply any pressure on Rajasthan. Deccan have now lost six matches out of eight and, with six games to play, their chances of making the semi-finals look dim.It all looked very different at the start. Gilchrist, the stand-in captain, said his batsmen had the challenge of putting up a total that his bowlers could defend. He led the way, starting off the evening with a cover drive off the first ball and following it with a cut to backward point as Sohail Tanvir went for eight runs in the opening over. Shane Watson was flicked for a massive six to square leg when he sent down a half-volley and Munaf Patel was glanced for a four to fine leg.Herschelle Gibbs joined the fun by lifting Watson for four over cover soon after he was dropped by Graeme Smith when attempting the same shot. Gibbs struggled to pick Shane Warne and was nearly stumped off Warne’s first delivery – his foot was in the air and Mahesh Rawat removed the bails just as he brought it down to the ground. Gilchrist had no trouble negotiating Warne, but fans eager to watch a contest between the legspinner and the man who kept wickets for him, were to be disappointed for Gilchrist only faced four balls from Warne; he took singles from each.Only after he reached his fifty did Gilchrist, dropped on 52 by Siddharth Trivedi, start throwing his bat at nearly every delivery. He was dismissed when, in reaching for a wide one off Trivedi, he edged the ball to the keeper.At the end of ten overs, Deccan were at 74 for 1. When Gilchrist was dismissed, four overs later, they were 97 for 3. In the next three overs they lost three wickets for five runs – Shahid Afridi, who charged down the track to Warne and edged to third man, Rohit Sharma, run out by a direct throw from Warne, and Sanjay Bangar, who edged Watson to the keeper.
Much of this was, however, down to Rajasthan’s bowlers and fielders, who kept their cool while Gilchrist was batting and put the brakes on the scoring after his dismissal. Watson and Tanvir went for 20 and 16 respectively in their first two overs but they came back for their second spells determined to make amends. In his third over Watson picked up Bangar’s wicket and after Venugopal Rao hit Tanvir for successive fours, the bowler countered with skidding yorkers to slow Deccan.Deccan appeared uninspired by their low score and their lack of confidence may have worked to Rajasthan’s advantage as Smith and Yusuf Pathan edged and slogged their way to a 109-run opening stand. Yusuf lifted a good-length delivery off Scott Styris for six just after he was nearly stumped by Gilchrist. He then targeted Pragyan Ojha, hitting him for 17 runs in one over where he pulled a short ball for six, slog-swept to mid-off for four and then had a two converted to four after Rohit Sharma touched the boundary rope with his foot while fielding the ball.There was little answer to the attack. Gilchrist spent a lot of time talking to his bowlers – six were used in the first ten overs – and fielders but nothing seemed to work. Their spirit – or lack of it – was best summed up in the life given to Yusuf at 30. He top-edged a delivery from Afridi to midwicket and DP Vijaykumar ran uncertainly towards it and slowed down just as the ball fell in front of him.Deccan now lie just above the Bangalore Royal Challengers at the bottom of the points table and winning this game would have eased a little pressure in their bid to avoid elimination. They now face three tough games – two at home, against the resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians and one in Delhi against the Daredevils.
Shane Warne has rejected the comfort of the commentary box in Australia to spend more time with his children. With long-term links to the broadcaster and an easy-going style, Warne was heavily tipped to join Richie Benaud’s team when he retired after the Ashes.”We have said no to TV commentary,” Warne told News Ltd papers. “If I wanted to be in Brisbane for the first Test, then Adelaide and Perth and Melbourne etc, I may as well have kept playing.”The reason I retired was to have more time to myself for the children. I want to be there for the concert, I want to be there to play with them. That’s what I want to do with my time.”Warne, 37, is currently captaining Hampshire and is enjoying it so much he is considering extending his playing time in England. “We’ll see how it works out on our children,” he said. “For the short term, if the kids are happy, I have got a year to go on my contract but we could go longer than that if we’re happy. Everything is about enjoyment.”To see the full interview go here.
A four-wicket burst by the legspinner Cullen Bailey orchestrated a lower-order collapse as Pakistan A conceded a first-innings lead of 79 on the third day of the Top End Series match against Australia A at Darwin. Mohammad Hafeez anchored the innings and fell 20 short of what would have been his first double-century in first-class cricket. Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, took two wickets in successive overs late in the day as Australia finished at 2 for 57, with an overall lead of 136.Earlier, Hafeez and Shahid Yousuf continued their good work from yesterday and made the most of the drop-in pitch which favoured the batsmen. The pair added 78 before Yousuf was trapped leg before to the Australia offspinner Dan Cullen for 71. After captain Misbah-ul-Haq departed 13 overs later, Bazid Khan and Hafeez had a good partnership going till Mitchell Johnson got the prized scalp of Hafeez, caught behind by Brad Haddin. His knock included 19 fours and three sixes. Pakistan felt the pressure when Hasan Raza was dismissed soon after with the score at 5 for 353, but Bazid and Mohammad Salman restored some order with a 52-run partnership. Bazid reached his half century, but his dismissal, trapped leg before to Bailey, sparked the collapse. Bailey ran through the lower order, picking the last three wickets to fall and finished with figures of 4 for 71 as Pakistan finished with 431. Johnson had the next best figures of 3 or 93.Australia got off to a steady start in their second innings, with the openers Chris Rogers and Phil Jaques putting on 53. However, they were jolted by a double strike by Rehman, who first had Rogers caught by Rafatullah Mohmand. Mark Cosgrove didn’t last long, and was caught for two in the fag end of the day.
Beige Brigade co-founder Paul Ford who made such an impact on Australasian cricket grounds last summer will have a new role this summer.Ford has been appointed by the Auckland Cricket Association to its position marketing and communications manager.Sporting the infamous first colours of beige and brown devised by the Australian marketers for New Zealand when they first entered World Series Cricket back in 1980/81, the Beige Brigade became the unofficial supporters group for the TelstraClear Black Caps last year.Ford replaces Jason Cameron, who is leaving the position to pursue his athletics career.Ford has been working in Wellington for professional services firm Ernst & Young since 2000, specialising in the writing and production of various communications materials, as well as industry analysis. He holds university degrees in Law and English, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Journalism.His new role with Auckland Cricket will start on November 4. Cameron will continue in the position until then.