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Cricinfo previews the second game of the second season of the IPL

The Preview by Jamie Alter17-Apr-2009Match factsApril 18, 2009
Start time 16.30pm (14.30GMT)Big PictureWill Shane Warne again be able to lift Rajasthan?•Getty ImagesIt’s the top of the pile versus the cellar dwellers. The inaugural IPL winners take on the Bangalore Royal Challengers, who finished seventh of eight teams. Despite the loss of leading performers Sohail Tanvir and Shane Watson, this is a Rajasthan Royals unit that, under Shane Warne’s expert leadership, did a fine job of masking their frailties in 2008. Rajasthan were largely written off after losing their first game, but an inspirational Warne made sure his players reveled in the role of underdogs. The result is fresh in everyone’s minds. It’s natural, then, to believe this bunch will improve and rise to the occasion – though the corrollary, of playing under the pressure of being reigning champions, is equally valid. The other big question mark is how well the crop of Indians who have never played in South Africa adapts.Bangalore suffered from a lack of confidence and inexperienced Twenty20 players in 2008. Like Rajasthan last year, Bangalore could use their underdog tag to lift their game. And, like Warne, the man to help them is the exuberant and brilliantly talented Kevin Pietersen. Pietersen will be available for only the first two weeks but how quickly he adapts and inspires Bangalore may dictate how they start their campaign. He could also be the buffer between the players and a difficult corporate boss. What should also work for Bangalore is the number of their clutch players in form.Form guideBangalore’s Jesse Ryder was in super form in the home series against India, while Dale Steyn and Pietersen are coming off good series too. The allrounder Roelof van der Merwe has turned heads in the Twenty20s and ODIs against Australia, and is being marked out as one to watch in the IPL. Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher have done well in their recent international games against Australia. Nathan Bracken has been poor in the ODIs against South Africa, managing just three wickets at 60.33 in four games. Robin Uthappa has not played much cricket lately, nor have most of the other Indians in the squad. Rahul Dravid, though, is coming off a consistent Test series in New Zealand.From Rajasthan’s batting line-up, Graeme Smith will come straight off the ODIs against Australia. Yusuf Pathan played the limited-overs leg of India’s tour of New Zealand but the likes of Swapnil Asnodkar, Tyron Henderson and Ravindra Jadeja haven’t had any international competition for a while. Shane Watson, who recently came off a long-term injury, joined the Royals for their training camp in Cape Town but will fly out with the Australian team next week. Rajasthan will be boosted by the return of Munaf Patel, who achieved reasonable success with the Indian team during their tour of New Zealand.In from the coldWarne hasn’t played competitive cricket since lifting the inaugural IPL trophy last year. That may give cause for concern, but then Warne has never been one for rigorous practice. Just toss him the ball and wait. Always the entertainer and a shrewd tactician, the legendary legspinner is an impact player.Watch out forWarne v Pietersen. Both are solid mates, having played together at Hampshire, and both have swapped compliments in the press. Warne and Pietersen have had a few heated exchanges on the field at the international level. Pietersen loves attacking, Warne loves being attacked. Watch out for a battle of wits.Friendly fireSteyn v Smith: South Africa’s captain will now be facing his strike bowler. It’s nice to be able to give the new ball to Steyn and help him set fields, but having the world’s fastest bowler hurtling down in steamy Cape Town is something else. Both are tough cookies, so don’t expect either to lack in aggression.Team newsLike Rajasthan, Bangalore have serious headaches when it comes to picking four overseas players. Bangalore failed to spark last season, but the addition of Pietersen and Ryder add much-needed oomph to the batting. That’s two spots, leaving the likely candidates to be Steyn and Roelof van der Merwe, both South Africans. Ross Taylor, Bracken, Kallis and Boucher are likely to miss out. Steyn is Bangalore’s best bowler and he has said the inclusion of van der Merwe, a great Twenty20 spinner and destructive batsman, was likely to balance out the loss of Zaheer Khan. Unlike Ryder, Taylor does not bowl. Bracken has been in poor form in South Africa, while Bangalore are unlikely to use an overseas spot on Boucher and Kallis, who did nothing worth remembering last season. Praveen Kumar is a shoo-in and the men to back him up include Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Pankaj Singh. Though Anil Kumble has done nothing of note in Twenty20 he may be considered for his experience.Bangalore Royal Challengers (probable) 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Roelof van der Werwe, 7 Sreevats Goswami (wk), 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Pankaj Singh.Rajasthan will be keen to use Watson’s services – though he will play as a batsman – before he departs for Australian duty in the UAE from April 22-May 7. Last year’s Player of the Series is a likely starter, filling the No. 3 slot. Warne and Smith will fill two more non-Indian spots, leaving England’s Dimitri Mascarenhas and South Africa’s Henderson fighting over the other allrounder’s berth. Warne has talked up Henderson and his experience in local conditions so he may get preference. South African fast bowler Morne Morkel and the Australians Shaun Tait and Shane Harwood will be competing as strike bowlers. It is indeed a complicated situation for Rajasthan.Among the Indian players, Warne said he had high hopes from Kamran Khan, 18, the left-arm seamer from Uttar Pradesh who bowls with a slingy action and surprising pace.Rajasthan Royals (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Swapnil Asnodkar, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Yusuf Pathan, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Tyron Henderson, 7 Shane Warne (capt), 8 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 9 Munaf Patel, 10 Sidharth Trivedi, 11 Kamran Khan. 2008 head-to-head recordRajasthan won both games against Bangalore last year, one home and one away. The first in Bangalore was a seven-wicket victory and the second, at the fag end of the tournament, by 65 runs.Quotes”Having Kevin Pietersen as captain will be interesting, as he has knowledge of local conditions and of batting over here – and it will be good to have his experience.”

A win for Deccan Chargers will push them at least to second place, but the game carries enormous importance for Kings XI Punjab whose erratic form requires necessary correction

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya09-May-2009Match factsMay 9, 2009
Start time 12.30 pm local time (10.30GMT, 16.00 IST)Big PictureIs time running out for Herschelle Gibbs?•AFPThe IPL is now past its halfway stage and despite the jostle for a place in the top four, the results of today’s matches will not radically alter the points table. Though the teams will compete for spots among themselves, they won’t slip down to below the top four.Deccan Chargers averted the threat of slipping into the danger zone by way of their win against Mumbai Indians, who imploded at a significant turn in the tournament. A win for Deccan will push them at least tosecond place, but the game carries enormous importance for their opponentsKings XI Punjab whose erratic form requires necessary correction.Punjab have failed to retain the momentum of three consecutive wins to lose three in four, and will have to emulate Deccan, who put an end to their run of three successive defeats with a win against Mumbai, to narrow the gap between the teams. A win for Punjab will not earn them the coveted berth as one of the leading four teams yet – they will also have played ten games, while Deccan would still have a game in hand – but will mark an important step towards attaining that objective. A sixth defeat, on the other hand, will leave them languishing at No.6, hand them their third loss in a row and severely undermine the hard work to fight back to contention in the early phase of the tournament.Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)Deccan Chargers: WLLLW
Herschelle Gibbs, after a bright start to the IPL, has been in terrible form managing just eight runs in his last four innings, including three ducks. Gilchrist, too, has been patchy in his previous four outings and it’s usually been the middle order which has propped up Deccan. Their bowling came good against Mumbai, with part-timers of the likes of Rohit Sharma and T Suman stepping in for the missing Pragyan Ojha to successfully defend their target.Kings XI Punjab: LLWLW
Problems up the order for Punjab as well. They have persisted with Karan Goel despite his poor run – he’s had scores of 0, 12, 20, 1 and 14 in his last five innings, and Sunny Sohal has had two poor games, with as many runs to his name. However, they’ll be relieved that Simon Katich struck form againstChennai Super Kings, with Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardene contributing well to almost take them home.Watch out forDeccan had been struggling at No.3 with both VVS Laxman and Azhar Bilakhia doing little to impress, but the promotion of T Suman against Mumbai almost reaped results. His two towering sixes off the Harbhajan Singh marked the highlight of his innings, and it won’t besurprising if Deccan send him up again. He also proved an extremely handy offspinner, snapping the wickets of Pinal Shah and Dwayne Bravo, and conceding just 14 in his spell.Team newsWill Deccan leave out Gibbs? They do have the option of experimenting with the top order, sending Suman to open with Gilchrist. They’ll be boosted by the return of Andrew Symonds, who is likely to be given a go. They didn’t miss Ojha all too much against Mumbai, but if he’s fit, either Harmeet Singh or Shoaib Ahmed may have to sit out.Deccan Chargers: (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), 2 T Suman, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Andrew Symonds, 5 Dwayne Smith, 6 Venugopal Rao, 7 Dwaraka Ravi Teja, 8 Ryan Harris, 9 Shoaib Ahmed/ Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh, Harmeet Singh/Pragyan Ojha.VRV Singh was included in place of Ramesh Powar against Chennai, and was clattered for 36 in two overs. Apart from the option of bringing back Powar, Punjab could again switch VRV for Vikramjeet Malik as they had done earlier in the tournament. Brett Lee also returns from his trip to the UAE, but didn’t play a game when he was available in the early part of the competition. Goel remains a worry, and Ravikant Shukla and Sahil Kukreja remain as replacement options.Kings XI Punjab: (probable) 1 Sunny Sohal, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Irfan Pathan, 7 Ravikant Shukla, 8 Sreesanth, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Vikramjeet Malik/Ramesh Powar, 11 Yusuf Abdulla.Stats and triviaThe opening wicket in the last three games averages 1 run for Punjab, and14 for Deccan.Yuvraj has averaged 42.5 in his last four innings, and has hit two half-centuries.The pace duo of Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Abdulla has gone for aplenty in Punjab’s last three games. They’ve conceded 210 runs in 21 overs at an average of 70.Head-to-head recordShaun Marsh and Jayawardene steered Punjab to a comfortable seven-wicket win, chasing down 164 after Rohit had made a fiery 76.The second game was much more closely fought – Deccan’s top order clicked, with Gilchrist, Gibbs and Sharma each making sizable contributions to post 175. Marsh and Kumar Sangakkara led the reply with an 84-run stand, before the middle order chipped in to take Punjab home with three balls to spare.

Peter English previews the second Ashes Test at Lord’s

The Preview by Peter English15-Jul-2009Match factsThursday, July 16 – Monday, July 20 2009
Start time 11.00 (10.00 GMT)
Graham Onions is in line for a recall as England try to find a way of taking 20 wickets…with or without Andrew Flintoff•AFPThe Big PictureThe series resumes after a nail-biting final hour in Cardiff in which England clung to the mightiest of draws after being dominated for most of the match. Since then time wasting and Andrew Flintoff’s retirement have become the big issues, but the teams will not be focussing on the pre-match hype when the first ball is delivered.They will be more intent on a brisk start and continuing their on-field battles in a contest that has already provided more heat than the St John’s Wood tube station in summer. Australia enter the match disappointed they are not leading 1-0, while England are buoyant to be level. The visiting batsmen fired at Sophia Gardens, roaring to 674 for 6 before declaring, and their bowlers fell one wicket short of victory. The bowlers on both sides will be more excited by the conditions on offer in this game.Nothing gets an Australian’s neck prickling like the sight of Lord’s and the players’ baggy greens gain extra power whenever they bob through the Long Room. England’s leaders can’t understand why their team hasn’t beaten their Ashes rivals in 75 years here. Another chapter will be added to the dusty pages of history this week.Form guide (last five matches, most recent first)
England – DWWDD
Australia – DLWWW
Watch out for …Lord’s is a place for the captains to star. Andrew Strauss missed out twice in the first Test, scoring 30 and 17, and needs to inspire his batting team-mates after they all gave away reasonable starts last week. The home of cricket is also Strauss’s county ground for Middlesex, so he knows everything about the revered address. He has not scored a century here since 2006, but has reached triple figures three times on the way to averaging 58.17 in 11 matches.Ricky Ponting, who has made 27 runs in three Test innings at Lord’s, must stand up if his side is to maintain its intimidating batting intensity. In Cardiff Ponting breezed to 150, becoming one of four Australian century-makers, but the second Test will be played in different conditions and against a team that now remembers the last hour of batting, not the 181 overs of bowling.Team newsStrauss wants to go with five bowlers – Ian Bell has been released from the squad – but his biggest worry is Flintoff’s injured knee. Flintoff is bowing out of Tests at the end of the series and will be desperate to play while Steve Harmison is acting as his cover. Graham Onions was in the squad in Cardiff but didn’t get a game, increasing his chances of appearing at Lord’s, where two spinners are not a viable option.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ravi Bopara, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Graham Onions.Stuart Clark will be talked about but don’t expect any changes to Australia’s XI. Ponting should confirm the side later on Wednesday and it would be a shock if any of the players who pushed England last week are omitted. Brett Lee remains out with a stomach problem.Australia (probable) 1 Simon Katich, 2 Phillip Hughes, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Marcus North, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.Pitch and conditionsDraws have been common recently at Lord’s, but all the bowlers will feel this pitch is a raging seamer compared to the block of cement offered in Cardiff. There was an attractive green tinge on the surface on Tuesday and even though the grass was cut shorter on Wednesday, there is sure to be some life in it for the fast men. The same strip was used in 2005, although nobody is expecting a repeat of the 17 wickets that dropped on the opening day. The forecast is for sunny intervals on Thursday, rain on Friday and some showers over the weekend.Stats and trivia Australia have lost only one Test at Lord’s, in 1934, since the 1896 tour In 33 matches at headquarters Australia have won 14, drawn 14, and lost five England have been successful in 43 of 116 Tests at the ground, but have drawn six of their past seven encounters Don Bradman’s 254 in 1930 is the highest score at Lord’s in an Ashes contest, ahead of Wally Hammond’s 240 eight years laterHedley Verity’s 15 wickets in 1934 are the best here by an Englishman in an Ashes game. Bob Massie’s 16 for 137 in 1972 leads the overall list Ponting needs 65 runs to overtake Allan Border’s Australian record of 11,174 Test runs Quotes”If you have gone for 670 runs and taken only six wickets then it is probably not a great option to reduce your bowling attack. We are pretty happy with the five bowlers.”
“I’ve got to start from scratch again, like we all have to do, after we didn’t quite get the result we were after last week. It’s up to me to lead the way with the bat.”

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has hit out at Kevin Pietersen for making critical comments about Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Cricinfo staff29-Mar-2009Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has hit out at Kevin Pietersen for making critical comments about Shivnarine Chanderpaul.”Every time he [Chanderpaul] gets runs he never fields,” Pietersen told the . “There’s always an injury or something. That has really got on my nerves here. It leads me to think he plays for himself.”Gayle said Pietersen had “no right” to make such comments. “I did talk to him and told him, ‘You don’t need to stoop to that level’. He didn’t actually apologise and if he could apologise that would be nice,” Gayle told .”We’re all big men. There’s no need to go to that level and try and degrade other players. No-one wants to be degraded in this manner. We’re all human beings and everybody is playing this sport to enjoy the game but to take it to that level is very disappointing.”Whatever issues he had, he should have kept to himself. I’ve played with Shiv for years and, as a captain, I get tremendous support from him both on and off the field. His batting in both forms of the game has been brilliant and to hear these sorts of comments out in public has been very disappointing.”Pietersen, however, had praised Gayle. “I’ve loved playing against Chris Gayle,” he said. “He’s funny and relaxed but he’s a real competitor. He’s a comedian with a heart of gold and this series has been played in a real good spirit.”

South Africa offspinner Johan Botha has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action by the match officials after the fourth ODI between Australia and South Africa in Port Elizabeth on Monday

Cricinfo staff14-Apr-2009South African offspinner Johan Botha has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action by match officials after the fourth ODI against Australia in Port Elizabeth. Botha will undergo a bio-mechanical assessment of his action, but is eligible to play international cricket at the discretion of Cricket South Africa (CSA) while the test results are pending.The report was filed by the three umpires officiating Monday’s one-dayer – South Africans Brian Jerling and Rudi Koertzen, and Sri Lanka’s Asoka de Silva – who cited concerns over Botha’s quicker ball and doosra. Botha will be tested within 21 days after CSA receives a formal notice from the ICC.Gerald Majola, the CSA chief executive, said the development was disappointing for the team but hoped Botha would complete the ICC process in time for the World Twenty20 in June. “It’s very disappointing for the team, especially considering his performance over the recent past,” Majola told Cricinfo. “But there’s nothing we can do. We will follow the procedure laid down by the ICC. Hopefully, he will be cleared before the World Twenty20.”The appointed specialist will report to the ICC with the result of the bio-mechanical assessment within 14 days of the test. If the action is found to be illegal, Botha will be suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect. He would have the option of applying to the ICC for a re-assessment of his action at any time.Botha’s action was previously reported after his Test debut against Australia at the SCG in January, 2006. He was suspended from bowling the following month when testing confirmed the illegality of his action. In September 2006, Botha’s action was once again found to be illegal even after he had worked on it. He then corrected his action, which was deemed legal upon re-testing, and he resumed playing international cricket in the 2007 Afro-Asia Cup.”I have put a lot of work into my action,” Botha said during the recent one-day series in Australia. “It probably took 10 months from my first test to the one I passed. I still have (the doosra), but I probably don’t bowl it as much as I used to. Definitely, it is possible to bowl it legally.”My doosra actually tested lower than my off spinner for elbow extension. I think my doosra was at 9 per cent, and my offie was at 11 per cent, which are both well below the limit. With the doosra, your wrist cocks to a point where it is actually harder to extend your elbow. I just use it better than I did in the past.”

Sachin Tendulkar will miss the fourth one-day international against New Zealand in Hamilton on Wedensday because of an abdomen injury

Cricinfo staff10-Mar-2009Sachin Tendulkar will miss the fourth one-day international against New Zealand in Hamilton on Wednesday because of an abdomen injury. The Indian team management will monitor Tendulkar’s fitness and he has not been ruled out of the final ODI on March 14 as yet.Tendulkar sustained the injury when he was hit on the stomach by Iain O’Brien during the second match in Wellington. He played the third game but aggravated the injury during his innings of 163 off 133 balls; he had to retire hurt at the end of the 45th over. Scans have revealed that Tendulkar has suffered swelling and bruising.The news is a blow to India since Tendulkar has been solid at the top of the order with scores of 20, 61 and 163 in the series. With him missing, Gautam Gambhir will open with Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma is likely to make a comeback.

Tottenham Hotspur could look to sign another defender in the next transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes.net, Spurs want to sign Inter Milan colossus Stefan de Vrij in 2022 and view him as a leader that could partner recent summer signing Cristian Romero at the back.

Back in June, the north London outfit were first linked with a move for the 29-year-old Dutch international, per Football Insider, who then claimed that he was valued in the region of £45m following a title-winning campaign at the San Siro.

It remains to be seen exactly how much de Vrij would command, especially as he’ll be in the final year of his contract this time next year. Transfermarkt also value him at £45m.

Imagine him and Romero

Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici could well create a formidable defensive partnership for the next few years with a move for the 49-time international.

At 29, he would offer some solid experience in the backline and could be the perfect influence on Romero, who at just 23, has several years to go until he reaches his peak.

Throughout the summer transfer window, it was thought that Spurs were looking for two centre-backs and that’s something that they haven’t yet been able to accomplish, so a move for de Vrij would make a lot of sense when business reopens at the turn of the year.

The 6 foot 2 powerhouse played a crucial role in Inter’s title win as Antonio Conte’s side recorded the best defensive record of anyone in the Serie A in 2020/21.

In 32 league appearances, he averaged an impressive 93.8% passing accuracy, which displayed his incredible ball-playing ability and shows exactly why he’d be a fit in Spurs’ new system under Nuno, who likes to play out from the back.

Furthermore, the Dutchman averaged two aerial duels won and 1.3 interceptions per outing, too, and that goes to show that he’s not afraid to use his physicality, whilst he also has intelligence in being able to read the game, as per WhoScored.

De Vrij’s former Lazio teammate Mauricio waxed lyrical about his centre-back partner back in 2018. He told ESPN (via Football Italia): “Stefan is a great defender and deserves to be at a big club. He’s very tall, he’s strong and fast, he runs a lot – he’s a monster!” before later adding: “He’s a calm defender who never gets agitated.”

It’s that sort of presence that Romero could need in north London over the next few seasons.

A player like Eric Dier may have started the 2021/22 campaign in red-hot form, recording three successive clean sheets on Spurs’ way to the top spot and being nominated for the ‘Player of the Month’ award but last season’s mistakes are still fresh in the memory and the club should not pass up on the opportunity to sign an instant upgrade.

So forget what Nuno already has at his disposal, Paratici and co must launch a bid for de Vrij in the next window. On the above evidence, he and Romero would be a scary duo that would cause many a Premier League attack problems.

AND in other news, Spurs receive huge transfer boost over £34m-rated “complete player”, Nuno will be buzzing…

The Zimbabwe captain, Prosper Utseya, has cited his side’s discipline as the key to their victory in the ODI series-opener against Bangladesh in Mirpur. The game nearly slipped away from the visitors while chasing what appeared to be an easy 125, but they

Cricinfo staff19-Jan-2009
Ray Price, was undoubtedly the hero for Zimbabwe, with a career-best 4 for 22 and an unbeaten 23 from 52 balls © AFP
The Zimbabwe captain, Prosper Utseya, has cited his side’s discipline as the key to their victory in the ODI series-opener against Bangladesh in Mirpur. The game nearly slipped away from the visitors while chasing what appeared to be an easy 125, but they held their nerve to win by two wickets.”I think we are a more disciplined side and if we continue to be like that then we should win the series,” said Utseya. “We knew that the wicket would do a little bit especially with the new ball so we needed guys to apply themselves and one batsman in the top four to bat through and others could bat around him. We need the batting to improve. I think we are letting ourselves down in batting I don’t think [in] chasing 125 we should be winning by two wickets.”Ray Price was undoubtedly the hero for Zimbabwe with a career-best 4 for 22 and an unbeaten 23 from 52 balls, including consecutive boundaries to win the match. With six needed from the last over, bowled by Nazmul Hossain, Price charged and swung the first ball for four before flicking the second to the ropes to seal victory.”I am very happy,” said Price. “I think I have been an underachiever with the bat. It was very important that we concentrated today. It is important to take it game by game and ball by ball and not get ahead of yourself and play positive cricket.”You have to be patient at all times in cricket and I am also lucky because of the kind of fielders we have. They make my job a lot easier. I focus on bowling every ball on the off stump. And also I guess the variation.”The failure of the top order had caused yet another upset for the hosts. And the disappointment was writ large on captain Mohammad Ashraful’s face during the post-match interview.”I guess it was the pressure of not being able to score,” he said. “They bowled a superb line and we couldn’t get the score ticking. I had told the players and the coach before going out to toss that we would bat first if I call correctly. The wicket looked hard and I thought if we survive the first ten overs then we would be able to post something like 220 which can be defended on this track.”But we soon realized that this was probably a 160-170 pitch and we wanted to get there. Unfortunately the top-order failed again and we had the impossible task of defending 124. The pitch remained difficult longer than we had anticipated.”He also defended his decision of not opting for a spinner in the final over, and said the bowling department was not the real concern. “We discussed our options and I did speak to the spinners, but probably their confidence level was not quite right and we had seen that the Zimbabwean batsmen at the crease were not too comfortable with pace.”You have to remember that these guys are very new in international cricket and given a bit of time they’ll have the confidence to bowl in such situations but at the moment the bowling is not our problem. The bowlers have been magnificent for a number of matches now.”The second game of the three-match encounter will be played on Wednesday at the same venue, and Ashraful believed the batsmen would have to come good if Bangladesh were to stay alive in the series. “We just have to get a decent score on the board. That is the only area where we are struggling. If we are at our best in all three departments then we should be good enough to bounce back.”

Lots of Wolves fans have been left buzzing as the Midlands club released their third kit for the 2021/22 season.

Footage of the new shirt was released on their Twitter page, with players like Raul Jimenez, Ruben Neves and Adama Traore modelling it.

The jersey boasts a pre-dominantly white colour, with traditional Old Gold strips across the shoulders and around the sleeves and neck line.

After the home and away strips, it is safe to say that Castore have done a good job here once more, as the Molineux faithful will now be looking forward to their team wearing it throughout the campaign.

Nonetheless, it is now available to buy on WWFC’s website for those supporters eager to grab hold of and wear it when going back to games.

Wolves fans on third kit

These Wanderers were left buzzing as the third kit was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was ‘stunning’:

“Stunning”

Credit: @BVitler

“That is beautiful”

Credit: @jaijjordan

“Castore have smashed it with all 3 kits this season”

Credit: @joee290896

“Work of art”

Credit: @rmpoodles

“Wow doesn’t get better, beautiful well done Castore”

Credit: @GodersTim

“Love love love love it”

Credit: @clolouisez

In other news, find out what Fabrizio Romano update has been lauded by Wanderers here!

An England XI will take on Warwickshire to provide vital first-class match practice fo the team ahead of the first Ashes Test against Australia

Cricinfo staff18-Dec-2008Preparation is the key to England’s Ashes campaign, according to chairman of selectors Geoff Miller. The ECB has announced its fixtures list for the 2009 season and, with the Ashes understandably taking the top billing, a three-day warm-up match has been slotted in between an England XI and Warwickshire immediately before the first Test against Australia in Cardiff.”We put a relevance on everything we can arrange to our advantage, and the best possible preparation is a very big part of that,” Miller said. “Pete [Peter Moores, the England coach] and Kevin [Pietersen] are very hot on the best preparation. It is down to how we think we can be sure we do it as well as possible.”The warm-up match at Edgbaston represents vital first-class match practice for England, many of whose players will have spent much of the preceding five weeks playing Twenty20 cricket – either for their county’s Twenty20 campaign or in the World Twenty20 which England are hosting. Moores could have opted to send the players back to the provinces – a decision which would have favoured the counties – but instead has decided to keep the team in one place.”There are County Championship games,” Miller acknowledged. “Pete makes that decision, and we felt that having everyone together – playing with one another and being with one another – would make it easier to control the preparation and create the right atmosphere in the squad.”There is a big difference between Twenty20 and five-day cricket – and, of course, we want to be sure everyone is ready to do his best.”While England will take on Warwickshire, there will be an even greater contest close to Edgbaston: the England Lions against Australia at New Road, a match that Miller said broadens the selection pool.”The Lions are very much part of our playing strength in depth,” he said. “It is not just a Test unit. Whoever is picked against Australia [for the Lions at Worcester] will know they are very much part of it.”Of course they could get in [the squad for the first Test in Cardiff]. You never know what might happen – and form, at that time of year specifically, is going to be very relevant.”