The loss of some of the best Australian players in history has not convinced Michael Clarke that the side is about to slide. Clarke, who has been promoted to vice-captain for the West Indies tour following Adam Gilchrist’s retirement, believes the team will not suffer any falls.Australia leave for the West Indies at the weekend for a three-Test tour and the squad carries a new look after the departures of Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Langer, Martyn and Hogg over the past two years. “Australia is playing as well as ever,” Clarke, who was part of the 2-1 Test win and CB Series loss to India, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Our squad is as good as it has ever been. We have definitely lost a few great players in the last two years, but people come and go and the game stays the same.”The wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has come into the outfit and is in line for his Test debut while Stuart MacGill is back following wrist surgery. The bowlers Ashley Noffke, Beau Casson and Doug Bollinger have also been recruited for the Caribbean trip.”The new guys that have come in have put their hands up and a lot of the guys are looking forward to fulfilling their potential to do well,” Clarke said. “Both Ricky Ponting and I are excited for what is ahead for the Australian team.”After leading the side in the Twenty20 internationals last season, Clarke has now assumed more Test responsibility and will work as an intermediary between the newer members and Ponting. “I am 27 years of age,” he said. “I know all the young guys and they can come to me.”Clarke did not join some of his older team-mates in India for the IPL and his main travel during the international break involved a visit to the United States with his fiance Lara Bingle. His father Les has Hodgkin’s disease and being with family was more important than extra Twenty20 games after a busy summer.”I made the decision for my body and to spend time with my dad,” he said. “It was really nice to be able to spend some time with my family and Lara – it was fantastic for both of us to spend some time together before I headed off on this tour.”Clarke said he felt it was important to get away from the game and the limelight. “I really needed it,” he said. “I love cricket, but at times it can feel like being stuck in a garage and I wanted to get back to that place where you are so keen to get back into it.”He said he now feels fresh and he was full of enthusiasm at the start of Australia’s pre-tour camp in Brisbane on Monday. “It’s great to be back with all the boys,” he said, “and I’m really enjoying some outdoor cricket training.”
The heady days of the World Cup are suddenly feeling a long time ago for Trent Johnston and the Ireland team. Their first one-day international since they ended the Super Eights adventure finished in a nine-wicket defeat against India at Stormont.Ireland’s cause wasn’t helped by a long list of key players missing for various reasons. Of their World Cup stars, Eoin Morgan, Jeremy Bray, Boyd Rankin, David Langford-Smith and Andre Botha weren’t available against India along with the Mooney brothers. Rankin, Langford-Smith and Botha are injured but Morgan has opted to secure a first-team place with Middlesex and Bray asked not to be considered for the matches.Since returning from the Caribbean there has been plenty of positive talk about turning Irish cricket at least semi-professional but, as Craig Wright warned about Scottish cricket, already that dream is looking a long way off. However, Johnston says it’s a route the game must take if the World Cup isn’t going to be a one-off.”It’s difficult,” admitted Johnston. “We don’t even have a first-class structure here. We basically come from club cricket to playing the best cricketers in the world.”We’ve got to have professional contracts put in place so players can get back to the standard we set in the West Indies. Four months we were away playing cricket and you could see in our performance over there we were a much better team.”We are amateur cricketers. We get together for two or three hours a week as a squad and train. I think you can see from our performances in the World Cup when we were 24/7 cricket, we were a different side. There’s a lot more pressures when you are back here, you’ve got kids, you’ve got families.”Except for their Intercontinental Cup victory against a weak Canadian side, Ireland’s form since the World Cup has been poor and they didn’t manage a single victory in the Friends Provident Trophy.”We’ve struggled this year against county teams so when you come and play against a team like India, with the quality they have, we are always going to struggle because we’re not together, we’re not a professional outfit.”We are in a rebuilding process. Our two opening bowlers [Whelan and Fourie], have probably played three or four games in total between them for Ireland. To open the bowling against [Sourav] Ganguly and [Sachin] Tendulkar is a huge step up.”But, at the end of the day, they knew how to bowl at the top of off stump to get here so why can’t they do it in the middle? That’s the disappointing thing, because I know they can do it. But I don’t want to be critical of our bowlers because they are young and inexperienced.”However, Johnston refused to be too disheartened and preferred to look towards the future. “We get together for three hours for a week and it’s impossible to compete against these guys. We’ve just got to learn to be more consistent.”We’ve got good young cricketers coming through and we’ve got to come back tomorrow [Sunday] and put in a good performance against South Africa.”
Inzamam-ul-Haq believes that Jonty Rhodes’ brief stint as Pakistan’s fielding consultant is going to show positive results in coming months.”I am not going to say that we will become very good fielders within three or four days but there is going to be an improvement in a few months once we start implementing drills being taught to us by Jonty,” Inzamam said.Rhodes, counted among the best fielders of his era, began his short coaching stint with Pakistan earlier this week with an eye on raising the standard of their fielding ahead of this summer’s tour of England.Inzamam said that he was very pleased with the initiative taken by the PCB saying that he and fellow teammates are looking forward to benefit from the tips given by the former South African Test cricketer and from the fielding drills being carried out by him at the training camp for the England series.”Jonty knows what he is talking about,” he said. “He has been a great fielder and we can learn a lot from him,” said Inzamam, who is counted among one of the poorer fielders in the Pakistani squad.But he made it clear that nobody should expect overnight results. “We are going to include the drills being taught by him in our training schedule and it would be after three or four months that the results will become clear.”Inzamam said that he wants the Pakistan team to improve in all areas of the game, especially fielding, in the lead up to next year’s World Cup.”There is always room for more improvement and I can assure you that all my boys are striving to get better with more and more hard work and commitment,” he remarked.
Aaron Nye will make his ING Cup debut for Queensland, missing four players on national duty in India, in the opening match of the domestic season against New South Wales at the Gabba on Sunday.Nye, 25, is expected to fill a middle-order role and will be hoping his domestic limited-overs career follows a similar path to his initial first-class experience.In 2003-04 Nye became the third Queensland batsman to score a century on Pura Cup debut when he made 102 against New South Wales at the SCG, an innings that helped Queensland snatch a spot in the final.The Bulls will be without the Test squad representatives Matthew Hayden, Michael Kasprowicz, Nathan Hauritz and Shane Watson, but Andrew Symonds and Wade Seccombe will return after missing the final loss to Western Warriors at the Gabba in February.New South Wales will depart for a training camp on the Sunshine Coast tomorrow and play warm-up matches against Victoria and Tasmania.Queensland Jimmy Maher (c), Martin Love, Andrew Symonds, Clinton Perren, Aaron Nye, James Hopes, Wade Seccombe, Chris Simpson, Andy Bichel, Ashley Noffke, Shane Jurgensen, Craig Philipson. (12th man to be named).New South Wales Brad Haddin (c),Nathan Bracken, Shawn Bradstreet, Stuart Clark, Phil Jaques, Jason Krejza, Greg Mail, Stuart MacGill, Don Nash, Matthew Nicholson, Aaron O’Brien, Matthew Phelps, Dominic Thornely (one to be omitted).
John Buchanan, the coach of the Australian team, wrote what he insisted was a “private” letter to the players after they were bowled out for 196 on the fourth day of the Adelaide Test. The Press Trust of India (PTI) has got hold of that letter, one that reveals his disappointment and the deep-rooted bond between him and his players.Buchanan’s disappointment was evident when he wrote, “I am so disappointed with the soulless, un-Baggy Green, immature performance [at Adelaide]. I love each and every one of you but like my own family, you thrill, you frustrate, you anger. I question, what progress have we made as a team, as individuals.”He also voiced his concern over the player’s priorities. “In the lead-up to this game and up till tonight, the issues that have dominated conversations, priorities and by definition (I may well be incorrect), your attention/focus/clarity-deal-making; sponsors, Tug’s [Steve Waugh’s] farewell to Adelaide; helmets; what the media is saying about you.”He cited a specific example to bring out the tough situations that the team had responded to in the past. “About this time, four years ago in Hobart [against Pakistan in 1999], Gilly [Adam Gilchrist] and JL [Justin Langer] responded to a `no-win’ situation with courage, conviction, and a toughness of character and concentration that is the pure fabric of the Australian cricket team. Today the only similar response I saw was Willo [Brad Williams who had injured his shoulder] bowling, batting, throwing and diving at mid-off!! What has happened in the interim?”Buchanan concluded by looking forward to the next two Test matches at Melbourne and Sydney. He adds, “However if the result does not go our way [in the Adelaide Test] then we would expect to see the Baggy Green spirit…the courage of Willo, Gilly, JL to be clearly on show to you all so that we march to the MCG and the SCG playing in the spirit.”When asked about the letter, Buchanan said it was “disappointing if it found its way anywhere.” He added: “It’s a matter between myself and the players, not just the players, the whole team. That would be my only comment.”This is not the first time that a leaked letter from Buchanan has found its way into the newspapers. On the Ashes tour in 2001, an inspirational note invoking theories put forward by Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, intended as a gee-up for his players, was pushed under the door of a reporter by accident.
The day after taking two wickets and scoring 41 runs in England’s second defeat at the hands of the Australians, Somerset all rounder Ian Blackwell reflected on the situation in the VB one day series.He told me: "What a formidable side the Aussies are, they are world class and will be very hard to beat. We knew things would be tough, especially with the young squad we have. We spoke before the tournament and we all agreed that Sri Lanka would be our ticket into the finals. We now have two massive games against them tomorrow and on Thursday."Regarding his own form he told me: "I am very pleased with the way that I am bowling and batting at the moment. I have come on in very difficult situations in each of the games and have performed amicably in both which has given me confidence in playing at the higher level."He continued: " Sometimes you can’t do much when you get a first baller, maybe a few nerves creep in and you don’t execute the shot quite as you would if you had been in for a little while.But these things happen in cricket which is why we play the game."`Blackie’ concluded: " I have learned a lot playing in these conditions and against the best players in the world. Things will be hard from here on in, the challenge has been laid down and I’m keen to take it up."
Part of New Zealand cricket’s tradition has slipped away with the news that Shell will no longer sponsor our domestic competitions.When a wrinkled one, such as myself, starts to talk about tradition and sponsorship in the same wheeze it might seem time to put on the carpet slippers and trade-in the exercycle.Yet Shell became the most munificent supporters of cricket in New Zealand with a gentlemanly regard for the ethics of the game and the support of those media people who covered cricket on newsprint, radio wave or television screen. Mainly because there was such a strong and sensible cricketing current running through the Shell administrations over the last 25 or so years.One of the first Shell men to work toward NZ cricket sponsorship was Trevor Barber, the former dashing Wellington captain who deserved more than one Test cap. Barber was with Shell in Auckland, a longish putt from the Herald office where I worked, and with a congenial hostelry just across the road. Barber, and perhaps Shell, did not want to belittle the great history of the Plunket Shield, and for a time there was the suggestion the two famous names be tacked together.My comment to Barber was that a hybrid trophy would offer no respect to Lord Plunket, nor sufficient commercial clout to Shell. So the Shell Trophy and later the Shell Cup came into existence. And flourished from Day One.When the sponsorship was first announced at Lancaster Park, David Tudhope, the head serang for Shell, politely side-stepped when I asked the cash amount of the three-year-sponsorship. That was a very sensitive issue, said Tudehope, not least because Shell was in the process of a wage blarney with their drivers, and they might not like the idea of Shell diverting thousands of dollars to cricket sponsorship.Why not ask the drivers what they think about the sponsorship, was my suggestion. Some days later Tudehope phoned back. The drivers thought the cricket sponsorship was a cracker idea, and by the way, it is about $120,000 over the first three years.With that basically sensible, straight-shooting approach the Shell sponsorship became a valuable and perfectly natural part of cricket coverage throughout New Zealand.It helped, of course, that there was a strong strand of cricket support among the Shell top brass. Tom McArthur almost overnight became a permanent and popular part of Auckland cricket. Barber flew the flag bravely, so did Barry Dineen later on, and doubtless there was similarly warm reaction throughout the country.In Auckland, Shell took over the media briefing and launch of each season – perhaps a couple of dozen folk, a few drinks and nibbles, a supply of that invaluable Cricket Almanack, and a generally genial introduction to another summer. Lately, and inevitably, the style of sponsorship changed. Shell began to direct more and more money to wildlife and charitable causes. In fact, with the heavier tread of the sponsors who clambered aboard the international team wagon, Shell must have wondered whether their loyalty was being over-stretched, their long financial support no longer given the strong billing it deserved.So it was probably inevitable that Shell, no longer the centre of cricketing attention, gradually turned its chequebook in other directions. But at least they left New Zealand cricket by the front door, and in style.Cricket will be lucky to gain such a loyal and long-service replacement for Shell. My only hope is that it is a sponsor with a handy headline-sized handle. Many years ago when the New Zealand Motor Corporation sponsored one-day cricket the NZMC principals sometimes wondered why they could not get their sponsorship mentioned in newspaper headlines or in the introductory paragraph of a match report. They were told that if they re-labelled the sponsorship as providing the Austin Shield or the Vauxhall Cup they would get more newspaper mileage. No-one in their right mind would throw the full New Zealand Motor Corporation Knockout into a headline or story. Surely there is a sponsor out there with a neat four or five-letter title so the tradition of the Shell series, Trophy and Cup, can be maintained.
After joining Celtic on a season-long loan deal last August, Jota rather quickly established himself as a first-team regular at Parkhead, with the 22-year-old turning in a number of highly impressive performances for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Indeed, the Portugal U21 international has so far scored ten goals and registered ten assists over his 32 appearances for the Hoops, leading to widespread calls for the Celtic board to activate their option to buy clause for the Benfica starlet – believed to be worth around £6.5m.
However, as the forward’s form has dropped off somewhat since the turn of the year, with the £18.5k-per-week dynamo currently being on a run of 15 games in which he has scored just two goals, would it still be wise for Postecoglou to make a move for Jota this summer? Our writers give their verdicts below…
Matt Dawson
“If Celtic can get a deal across the line for Jota then it would be a seriously eye-catching signing. Ange Postecoglou hasn’t been afraid to dip his toe into the market since becoming Hoops boss but this would undoubtedly be his best piece of business yet.
“Forget Kyogo, forget Reo Hatate and forget Cameron Carter-Vickers. All of them have been superb in the green and white but none possess the quite frightening potential that Jota has in his locker.
“Capable of opening up the sternest of defences, the Portuguese dynamo has racked up 20 goal involvements in all competitions this term, showcasing his stunning ability in the final third.
“Like McGeady, he can leave the full-back in a spin and it would not be a surprise if, further down the line, he sources a transfer fee that eclipses that of £25m Kieran Tierney and £13m Virgil van Dijk when they left Parkhead.
“A mesmerising talent who is taking Scottish football by storm in his debut campaign, a deal simply must be completed this summer to take Celtic on a further gear under Postecoglou.”
Vijievan Jeevathayalan
“Getting Jota in on a permanent deal should be an absolute no-brainer for Ange Postecoglou.
“The Portuguese wizard has fans on the edge of their seats with his close control and skilful dribbling, and it’s no surprise that, among his current teammates, he ranks second and third for dribbles and key passes per game this season.
“The Hoops have already had a small taster of what Jota can bring to the table, and ensuring he stays on a permanent basis would be a masterstroke from Ange.
“If Celtic are intent on creating a new era of dominance in Scottish football, then having quality players like Jota in the fold, is what will scare their rivals.
“Indeed, with a full league campaign under his belt, he’d light up Celtic Park even more than he already has.”
James Thompson
“Jota has already proven during his time at Celtic exactly what he offers the side in terms of intense attacking play and plenty of goals and assists – making it a no brainer for the club to try and sign him permanently.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“With a higher average of shots per game in the Scottish Premiership than the likes of Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi and Giorgos Giakoumakis this season, the Portuguese starlet has what it takes to terrorise teams in Scotland and Europe for years to come.
“Looking to the summer transfer window, signing Jota on a permanent deal would undoubtedly have the Parkhead faithful buzzing and give Ange Postecoglou a deadly attacking option in his squad moving forward.”
AND in other news: £3.5m down the drain: Celtic’s “rank rotten” £43k-p/w “passenger” rinsed Peter Lawwell
Netherlands’s last-gasp fight to stay alive in the Intercontinental Cup begins tomorrow with their latest match against the UAE in Sharjah.Currently positioned fourth in the table on 34 points, Netherlands face a tall ask to stay in the race: they need to collect maximum points in their last remaining three matches if they’re to reach the final. Not even a draw will suffice.”There is no doubt that we need 60 points in the next three matches to reach the final and the countdown begins in Sharjah,” Jeroen Smits, the Netherlands captain, said. “To win this match, we need 20 UAE wickets which will not be easy because of different conditions and the UAE will not be an easy opponent in its own backyard. But we have all that is required to win matches.”The situation is equally clear for UAE, though they don’t share the same hopes of qualifying for the final. Languishing at second-to-bottom, tomorrow’s game is their seventh and last of the tournament and they have only pride to play for.”Prior to the start of the tournament, I never thought we would go into this match playing for nothing more than pride. But if we are in this situation, it is because we have not played to our full talent and potential,” Saqib Ali, the UAE captain, said. “The team is disappointed to be in this situation but it will not stop us from playing hard cricket against the Netherlands. We will try to finish the tournament on a winning note and try to restore our battered pride and confidence.”There have been some exceptionally good individual performances but we have not been able to put together a performance which could win us matches,” Ali said. “Frankly speaking, our batters didn’t put enough runs on the board to allow the bowlers attack the opposition. But we are keen to finish the tournament with a good collective effort.”Netherlands’ prospects were dealt a blow, however, with the news that their legspinner, Mangesh Panchal, will miss out. Additionally, there is a doubt surrounding Pieter Seelaar’s availability. He was hit in the face by a bouncer in the last match against Namibia. “He will confirm his availability before the toss on Thursday,” Smits said, “but he took active part in the training sessions and I am confident that he will declare himself fit.”SquadsNetherlands (from): Jeroen Smits (capt), Peter Borren, Mudassar Bukhari, Daan van Bunge, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tom de Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Muhammad Kashif, Alexei Kervezee, Geert Maarten Mol, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Bas Zuiderent.UAE (from): Saqib Ali (capt), Arshad Ali, Khurram Khan, Mohammad Tauqir, Nizel Fernandes, Shadeep Silva, Fahad Alhashmi, Shoaib Sarwar, Alawi Shukri, Indika Batuwitaarachchi, Naeemuddin Aslam, Ahmed Raza, Muhammed Aman Ali, Amjad Ali, Rashid Khan, Salman Farooq, Abdul Rehman and Vikranath Shetty.
Ramnaresh Sarwan, the West Indies captain, has said that his team will look to play positively against England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, who took 6 for 129 in the first innings of the first Test as West Indies were bowled out for 437. Panesar had a record five lbw decisions given in his favour.”We hadn’t played him before Lord’s so he was quite new to most of us. He didn’t get many wickets with the turning ball but get got a lot of wickets with his arm ball and that is something that we’ll be looking at”, Sarwan said, speaking on the eve of the second Test. “One of the things we’re trying to do is to stay on top of their main bowlers. We saw when Australia played them they were positive against [Steve] Harmison and we have the similar type of approach. We’ll have a better feel of Monty [Panesar] in this game so it’s important that we try and stay on top”.Sarwan said that he was looking for the lower-order to contribute in the batting effort. The West Indies were 187 for 5 in the first innings of the Lord’s Test before vital contributions from the middle- and lower-order helped them finish with 437.Sarwan felt that the Headingley pitch looked to be slower and swing would be an important factor. “A few years ago when we played here and the Test match was finished in two days it was much better [for bowling] than what we see now. The pitches we’ve practiced on seem to be much slower and when you look at the Test pitch it seems to have a similar look on it. There would be a bit if turn on it I would think,” said Sarwan. “I think the conditions have a lot to do with the swing bowling so it’s important that we bowl consistent line and length and hold our chances when they come.””Generally in England you have to bowl a full length because the ball tends to do a lot more than the Caribbean. In the second innings at Lord’s we bowled quite a few short balls, in the first innings we were very hesitant about it and a couple of their players looked very shy so that’s probably a tactic we might be using in this game”Sarwan said that his team would look to build on their performances in the drawn first Test at Lord’s. He brushed aside the fact that West Indies did not have enough practice before the series saying that the time spent on field during the first Test had prepared them for this encounter.