England can finally claim a world-champion legspinner after Shane Warne announced he would base himself there when not playing in Australia. Warne plans to move to Hampshire, where he has a four-year county contract, within weeks and will return Down Under only in summer.”At the moment, it’s home and down the track it will probably be home for the family as well,” Warne told the Courier-Mail. “I’ll live over there and base myself there and come back and play my stuff for Australia and head back. I’m only in Australia for a couple of months each year.”Warne, who claimed his 1000th first-class wicket in taking 5 for 39 against New Zealand yesterday, has recently renovated his mansion in the Melbourne suburb Brighton, but he has bought a house and a car in the Hampshire city of Southampton. The lure of off-season commentary work in England, an escape from the intense local media glare and his wife Simone’s love of Spain were also seen as considerations for the move.”I like it over there, my family enjoy going to Spain and it’s only a couple of hours on the plane, so they enjoy that side of things,” he told The Australian. “My wife would love to live in Spain tomorrow, it’s a bit hard when you’re playing for Australia.”Now 35, Warne said he could end his career at Hampshire, but he has also re-set his Test goals to take 700 wickets and is currently on 573. “If I can keep playing for another couple of years it might be a chance, but it won’t be the main reason to keep going,” Warne said. “When I stop enjoying it I’ll stop playing. When little things come along, like today when I got my 1000th first-class wicket, you give yourself a little pat on the back. It was a pretty big achievement.”Warne, who first played for the county in 2000, has signed a two-year deal as Hampshire’s captain with the option to double the length, and Cricket Australia was not concerned where he lived as long as he completed his contractual obligations. “I’m looking forward and that’s showing some commitment to Hampshire,” he said. “I enjoy captaining the side. We had a very successful year there last year. Who knows? I might finish up my playing days down there at Hampshire as well.”
Javed Mianded, the Pakistan coach, has said Wasim Akram should know where to draw the line when it comes to coaching India.”What I am only worried about is that he does not give them tips on how to play reverse-swing,” Miandad said, adding that his own batsmen had developed a batting strategy to counter the late swing. Miandad was quoted by .Akram is currently working in Australia as a commentator, and has been observed mentoring India’s fast bowlers. This hasn’t gone down too well with many, considering India’s tour of Pakistan is little more than a month away.But Miandad said Akram was within his rights to teach bowlers how to reverse-swing the ball. “There is nothing wrong in that because a bowler must have the ability to pick up the art.”Miandad said that since Akram was a professional cricketer, there was nothing wrong if he was paid for his expertise. “Look, he is a retired player and this is his basic right to help out other players with his experience and knowledge.”He opined that players usually helped each other out, regardless of nationality. “As a former player, I know that in international cricket players do help out each other. Lots of people have approached me for advice if they have been going through a rough time. Similarly, I have also sought some advice at times,” he recalled.”But telling another team the trade secrets of our team, like how to play reverse-swing, I don’t think he would do it, and I hope he is not doing it.”
THE Western Australian Cricket Association selectors today announced the Western Warriors team to play the Southern Redbacks in an ING Cup match in Adelaide on Saturday, February 1, 2003.The team is:Justin Langer (Captain), Mike Hussey (vice-captain), Jo Angel, Ryan Campbell, Beau Casson, Murray Goodwin, Kade Harvey, Shaun Marsh, Chris Rogers, Callum Thorp, Brad Williams and Paul Wilson.Brad Williams, who was a member of Australia’s triumphant VB Series team last weekend, returns to the Warriors line-up. He replaces left-arm paceman Michael Clark.
The Indian team for the Triangular One-Day International Tournament will arrive on Monday the 16TH of July 2001 at the Bandaranaiake International Airport on Flight Number UL 192, at 03:35am.The New Zealand team will arrive on Saturday the 14th of July 2001 at the Bandaranaiake International Airport on Flight number SQ 402, at 12:05 am.We advise that you confirm flight details by calling Flight Information on 073-2377 or 073-2677 prior to leaving for BIA.All media persons are requested to kindly make their own arrangements in respect of ministry approval and security clearance or the BIA.Thanks for supporting Sri Lanka cricet.Acting Media Manager.
Tottenham Hotspur winger Steven Bergwijn will evaluate his options in the summer transfer window.
What’s been said?
In recent comments cited by Algemeen Dagblad (via Sport Witness), the 24-year-old discussed his limited opportunities under the management of Antonio Conte, before suggesting that, if his situation at Tottenham does not improve over the remainder of the season, he could look to secure a move away from the Premier League side at the end of the current campaign.
Speaking after the Netherlands’ recent 1-1 draw with Germany, Bergwijn said: “I don’t get to play much at the club. I am happy that the national coach has called me up, that’s not [the] obvious [thing to do].
“You don’t forget about football. But of course, you feel that you don’t play that much. It was nice to be here again. We have a good and fun group.
“I wouldn’t know [whether his form for the Netherlands can improve his situation at his club], we’ll see. Everyone wants to play, of course. I have to keep my head up and work hard in training. Then we’ll see what happens in the summer.”
Conte must axe Bergwijn
While Bergwijn is undoubtedly an exceptionally talented player on his day, should Conte not be a fan of the Netherlands international, it would appear wise for the 52-year-old to move the forward on in the summer transfer window.
Indeed, since the Italian’s arrival at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November last year, the £16.2m-rated winger – who John Wenham dubbed both “terrible” and “so out of form it’s untrue” earlier this season – has started just one Premier League fixture – playing a mere 215 minutes of league football over his 13 top-flight outings under Conte’s management.
However, in truth, the £73k-per-week attacker’s struggles at Spurs started long before the appointment of the former Inter Milan head coach, as, following his £27m signing back in January 2020, the 24-year-old has been given the nod from the off in just 25 Premier League fixtures – making a further 28 appearances from the bench.
And, considering his general level of performance over his two and a half years in north London, it is hardly surprising that the Dutchman has not managed to displace the likes of Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura, with Bergwijn averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.82 in 2019/20, 6.56 in 2020/21 and 6.75 so far this season – ranking him as Spurs’ 12th-best, worst and seventh-worst performer in each respective campaign.
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As such, with the winger having attracted interest in the January transfer window, still being just 24 years of age and possessing a decent Transfermarkt valuation, this summer would indeed appear the optimum time for Conte to offload the forward – as the price Tottenham can demand for Bergwijn would only decrease further after another season in which he spends the majority of his time on the bench.
AND in other news: Conte must finally axe “anonymous” 25 y/o Spurs dud who needs a “kick up the backside”
Greg King, the Indian team’s trainer, has informed the BCCI that he does not wish to continue with the job after the completion of the tour of Australia, a day after physio John Gloster expressed the same intent.”He [King] has said that he will not continue [as the Indian team’s trainer] after this tour [of Australia], citing personal reasons,” Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, told Cricinfo.King has been involved with the Indian team since August, 2003, when he took over from Adrian Le Roux, and was contracted with the board till December, 2007, but had decided on making the trip to Australia.Prior to his stint with the Indian team, King, who is a post-graduate in Human Kinetics and Ergonomics, was a fitness trainer with the Border squad in South Africa.King and Gloster’s exits mean that the board will have to fill two vacancies in the support staff when Gary Kirsten takes over as coach on March 1.
Jamaica’s deputy police commissioner Mark Shields on Wednesday denied media reports that a second autopsy would be performed on the body of Bob Woolmer. “I can assure you there is no post mortem, there is no planned second post mortem,” Shields was quoted by AFP.He added that any post mortem would only be announced in consultation with the Kingston coroner’s office. “If there was any question of a second post mortem it would be something that I would discuss with him and announce,” Shields said.Several newspapers carried claims that the first autopsy was not thorough, and some have gone as far as suggesting that there were enough inconsistencies to indicate that Woolmer might not have been murdered at all, but could have died after falling heavily against a bathroom sink.The forensic pathologist, Ere Seshiah, initally claimed that the results of the first autopsy had been “inconclusive”, and Shields conceded that this might become an issue in the event of a trial. “The jury may want a second post-mortem and if we arrest someone this week and charge them, the defence counsel will want a second.”Shields also said the quality of footage taken from the CCTV cameras in the hotel was better than expected. “There were some people in the footage that I’d met in the week after the murder of Bob Woolmer that I could clearly and easily identify,” Shields said.His priority was to locate and interview as many witnesses as possible. “We are working from the inside out – it is those that we know were close to Bob Woolmer, were associates of Bob Woolmer, people who were on the same floor or close to him from the time he returned to the hotel until the time he was murdered.”He also said that it was highly likely that people had left traces of DNA at the crime scene. “The reason we’re taking DNA samples from everybody is to exclude them,” he said.
Michael Hussey has praised the good showing by Stuart Clark, the New South Wales fast bowler, in his debut Test series in South Africa and believes he is in for the long haul. As Australia prepare to take on Bangladesh for the first time on their home soil, Hussey has singled out Clark as a potent threat to the opposition.”When Glenn [McGrath] made himself unavailable for the tour of South Africa, we definitely needed someone to come to the fore,” Hussey told Sportal, an Australian website. “He got his opportunity after a long wait – really – to play Test cricket, and he grasped his opportunity with both hands by bowling absolutely beautifully on tour.”Clark was a revelation in Australia’s recent 3-0 drubbing of South Africa, claiming 20 wickets at 15.85 in his first Test series after being called up as replacement to McGrath. Clark took advantage of bowler-friendly conditions to lead Australia in total wickets, strike-rate (35.4) and registered the best individual figures for his side – 5 for 55 in the first Test at Cape Town.Hussey added that while Clark’s Test debut was overdue, he made the most of his selection and should consider himself in the running for a place in this winter’s Ashes series at home. Hussey said he expected Clark to be as effective as he was in South Africa even on the Bangladeshi wickets that traditionally offer little asstance to fast bowlers. “I hope this is the start of a long career for him,” he said. “He’s a fine bowler and a good bloke to have around the team,” he said.The first Test begins tomorrow at Fatullah.
Australia’s one-dayer against New Zealand, which was to be held at Westpac Park in Hamilton, has been shifted to the Basin Reserve after complaints with the pitch. The match has been preponed by a day, and will now be played on March 1. New Zealand took on a World XI last week on the fresh strip, but 16 wickets fell for 164, raising concerns of its suitability for international matches. Shane Warne was vocal about his doubts over the wicket, and then the New Zealand Cricket Board decided to transfer the game to another location.The chief executive of the New Zealand board, Martin Snedden, said, “The Basin Reserve presented us with the best option for a mid week match,” before explaining that the pitch could be relied upon, and the venue made geographically logistical sense as well. “…with matches in Auckland before the transferred match and in Napier immediately after, Wellington suited us better logistically than a South Island venue.”We were also conscious of the need to avoid flooding the Auckland marketwith cricket, as Eden Park is already holding three major matches during theAustralian tour.”This is the first time we have held an ODI at the Basin since 1999 and weare looking forward to a good response from the Wellington public.”
The former Bangladesh captain Aminul Islam is trying his luck in Australia,with a view to regaining his Test spot. Islam scored a memorable 145 inBangladesh’s first Test, against India in November 2000, but has been outof the national side since December 2002.Islam, 36, has travelled to Melbourne to play for the Ivanhoe club. He toldthe Melbourne Age newspaper: "I haven’t retired yet. So I wantanother chance to play for Bangladesh again and this is the best place toimprove my game and improve my form."Dav Whatmore, the former Australian Test batsman who is now Bangladesh’scoach, encouraged the move. "I spoke to our coach before I came," saidIslam, "and he said `If you do well in Australia, you might have a chance’."Islam’s Aussie adventure didn’t start too well, as he was out for 13 in hisfirst match. But Paul Kennedy, Ivanhoe’s president, put that down to acombination of jet-lag and unfamiliarity with Australian pitches.