The criticism of Australia’s conduct at the SCG has spread to other sports with three members of the country’s Hall of Fame calling for the team’s “moral compass to be returned”. John Bertrand, a sailor who won the America’s Cup in 1983, is the chairman of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and he wants a meeting with Cricket Australia to let it know its sides should be showing more respect to opponents.Australia’s behaviour during the match in Sydney has been under severe scrutiny. Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey have defended the team actions during the victory, but there have been a host of complaints in the fallout from a game that included issues over race, sportsmanship, umpiring, catching and walking.”We have a lot of clout in the sporting community and we will be saying to Cricket Australia that people need to step back and reassess what is happening here with a cool head,” Bertrand said in the Herald Sun. “The pressure to win out on the field has become too hot, and that pressure is all about winning at all costs.”That is not what sport is about … The fallout that we are seeing at the moment is not acceptable. It’s clearly damaging international relations and clearly a lot of people are upset.”Bertrand has joined the respected athletes Herb Elliott and Robert de Castella in believing the players are too arrogant. “Sport is only sport,” he said, “it’s not war.”Hussey said the players had “never stepped outside the rules or the laws of the game”. “We have a great pride in playing for the baggy green cap and for playing for each other,” he said in the Australian. “We know how hard it is to get an opportunity to play for Australia and we want to play as hard as we possibly can.”Neil Harvey, an Invincible from 1948, disagreed with Hussey and said Ponting “needs to look at himself”. “Certainly the captain needs to be stronger and keep his guys in line,” Harvey said. Harvey was also concerned by Australia’s failure to shake Anil Kumble’s hand at the end of the Test. “I don’t think they are very sporting.”
Tony Howard, the West Indies manager, has spoken boldly of his side’s chances in the World Cup ahead of their warm-up match against Kenya on Monday.”We have some quite detailed plans for the tournament and we plan to come hard,” he said. “We will think hard and play hard. We are in it to win it. We want it all. We want to win in front our home supporters. We are prepared to beat the best no matter what. We have no real doubts about our ability at this stage.”Few can forget Kenya’s remarkable win in the 1996 World Cup when they skittled the West Indies for just 93, recording their first one-day win. A decade on, Roger Harper – who made 17 batting at No.7 in that humbling match – is Kenya’s coach and remains cautiously optimistic over their chances.”Kenya is supposed to be the top associate country as far as cricket is concerned,” he said. “But it doesn’t mean anything unless you show it on the field and we have demonstrated this. I think winning the World Cricket League (WCL) meant a lot to this team, for Kenya as a whole, and we hope to do the same in the World Cup.”Kenya, buoyant after their impressive win in Nairobi three weeks ago, are also very familiar with Caribbean conditions. Three years ago, they were the invited overseas team for the West Indies domestic first-class championship, though they failed to win any of their seven matches.
In compliance with the Supreme Court orders the Indian board has appointed a 3-man panel to select the Himachal Pradesh Ranji team for the one-day matches starting from February 10Gurusharan Singh, the former Test player from Delhi, has been named the Chairman of the panel while Bhupinder Singh (Snr) from Punjab, and Sarkar Talwar, a first-class cricketer of long standing from Haryana, have been included as the other members in the panel. The two-day trial for the selection of the team would start on February 4 at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.Two rival factions of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association – one headed by Anurag Thakur and the other by Rajinder Zar – are fighting it out in the courts for the control of the Association. A Bench comprising YK Sabharwal, the Chief Justice, CK Thakker and RV Raveendran had on January 30 directed the Indian board to appoint a three-member panel to select the Himachal Pradesh team for the remaining domestic matches this season. The court had also stipulated that the Indian board “shall not included anyone from Himachal Pradesh” in the panel. As an interim measure, the Indian board would provide finance for the Himachal Pradesh team and the apex cricket body would be compensated for the same by the Association, which proved its credentials in the court of law, the court had said.
The two-man delegation from Pakistan has inspected the stadium in Mohali – the venue for the forthcoming first Test against India – after being shown around the ground today.According to Reuters, the Pakistanis – Zakir Khan, the general manager of the Pakistan Board, and Sohail Khan, the senior superintendent of the Lahore police – pronounced the ground and its facilities to be “excellent and very impressive”.Zakir told reporters that there was nothing sinister in his inspection, saying such visits were now commonplace and “a part of the cricket family system”.Sohail, meanwhile, claimed that reports that Pakistan were not keen on playing in Ahmedabad were only speculation. “It has all been generated by the press. We will talk to the local administration in Ahmedabad and the final decision will be taken by the two boards.”
CloseCanterbury 499 and 247 for 6 dec (Fulton 113*, Wiseman 35*, Patel 3-106) drew with Wellington 393 and 291 for 7 (Jones 82)Canterbury will regret batting on to leave Wellington a target of 354 runs on the final afternoon of their State Insurance match at the Basin Reserve. As it turned out, Wellington held out, seven wickets down, for the draw.Memories of being caught short before might have been on Chris Cairns’s mind as he delayed his declaration. The pitch was good enough for a strong Wellington team to chase on, but so far in this year’s series, Wellington have not always put a good performance together.Realising that they were on course to take no points out of the match, if they didn’t win, Wellington at least made a genuine effort for victory, but in the end the target was too steep. Richard Jones attacked and scored 82 off 122 balls before being caught at the wicket by Brendon McCullum from Paul Wiseman’s bowling.At one stage Wellington were 263 for 3, but time for an improbable victory was running out and the Wellington lower-order, with two experienced hands, Chris Nevin and James Franklin, holding out, Canterbury were denied.Earlier, Canterbury had the benefit of another century to Peter Fulton. It was his second of the season and when the declaration came he was unbeaten on 113, scored off 174 balls. Paul Wiseman, who scored 75 in the first innings, was also not out on 35 when the declaration came, having added 60 runs for the seventh wicket.Jayesh Patel, the Wellington offspinner, came in for some punishment, conceding 108 runs off his 16 overs, but he did pick up three wickets – those of Craig McMillan, Chris Harris and Cairns, when the chase was on for quick runs.
Stephen Waugh will not be selected in the Australian one-day international team to tour South Africa and Zimbabwe in March, it was announced today.The decision to omit Waugh from the one-day team was taken by the National Selection panel of Trevor Hohns (Chairman), Allan Border, David Boon and Andrew Hilditch.ACB Chief Executive, James Sutherland, said that in making the decision the selectors were meeting their obligation to put their judgement on the needs of the team ahead of all other considerations.”The selectors have one primary obligation to Australian cricket and that is to pick the team that in their judgement is the best side to represent our country. As difficult as it might be, they have taken this decision to fulfil this obligation,” said Mr Sutherland.Since making his debut in the shortened form of the game in December 1985, Waugh has made 325 one-day appearances, the last of them in the VB Series clash against South Africa in Perth on 3 February, an Australian record.Only India’s Mohammad Azharuddin (334 matches) has played more one-day matches, with Australia’s next most capped one-day player Border with 273 appearances.Only one other player, in addition to Waugh and Azharuddin – Pakistan’s Wasim Akram (323) – has topped 300 one-day matches for his country.Stephen Waugh said that he was disappointed by the decision but would be working to regain his place in the team.”Of course this is an extremely disappointing decision. The challenge for me is to now ensure that the Australian Test team wins the series against South Africa and to play well enough to force my way back into the one-day team,” said Waugh.Chairman of Selectors, Trevor Hohns, said it had been a tough decision to make.”Making this decision has been extremely difficult and it is not one that anyone likes but as selectors our responsibility is to pick what we believe to be the best side for Australia. We believe that there are now players ahead of Steve for one-day selection,” said Mr Hohns.”After reflecting on the VB Series, we decided that for the one-day side to continue to be successful and to prepare for the 2003 World Cup, it was time to make this change.”There is no ideal time to announce a decision like this, but by making the change now we hope that it will give the new captain a chance to step up and grow into the role well before next February.”It will also allow us to consult with that person so that he can have some input into the side that contests the one-day series in South Africa beginning next month.”In announcing the decision, Mr Sutherland also highlighted Stephen Waugh’s contribution to the one-day team.”Stephen has made an outstanding contribution to one-day cricket in this country as one-day captain over the past four years and has played a major part in building Australia’s record in this form of the game.”Waugh has captained Australia in 106 limited-overs matches with 67 wins, 35 losses, three ties and one no-result. Only six players have led their country more often in one-day cricket.With the bat, Waugh’s 7569 runs at 32.90 is the second highest aggregate by an Australian player, eclipsed only by his brother Mark, who has 8500 runs at 39.35 from 244 matches.Stephen also has 195 wickets to his credit in one-day internationals, leaving him 18th on the list of all-time leading wicket-takers in that form of the game. Of Australians, only Shane Warne (268) and Glenn McGrath (226) are ahead of him.Waugh also has two World Cup winning medals to his credit, first as part of Border’s side that beat England in Calcutta in 1987, then as captain when he led the team to a final win over Pakistan at Lord’s in 1999.That 1999 tournament also included Waugh’s highest score in one-day internationals, an unbeaten 120 against South Africa at Headingley in a must-win game for his side, one of three one-day hundreds he has scored.The selectors will as soon as practicable recommend a captain and vice-captain to the Australian Cricket Board’s 14 Directors while the squad for the seven one-day internationals to be played against South Africa starting in Johannesburg on Friday 22 March will be named in due course.Waugh will depart for South Africa with the rest of the Test squad on Thursday 14 February.
Hampshire will be giving a County Championship debut to at least one player, as both Irfan Shah and Chris Tremlett are included in the squad for the CricInfo Championship clash against top-of-the-table Middlesex at Southgate.The pair are in the squad of 12, that is without Alan Mullally, who is on England international duty.Tremlett has played one first-class game, against New Zealand ‘A’ two seasons ago, while Shah is included for the first time, with the prospect of a typical turning Southgate wicket requiring Hampshire to list two spinners.Team: GW White, DA Kenway, WS Kendall, RA Smith (capt), NC Johnson, LR Prittipaul, AN Aymes (w-k), AD Mascarenhas, SD Udal, AC Morris, IH Shah, CT Tremlett.
Celtic have been dealt a fresh injury concern regarding centre-forward Kyogo Furuhashi.
What’s the latest?
According to a recent report by the Daily Record, the 27-year-old hitman, who has not played for Celtic since December 26 due to a hamstring injury, has now been left out of Japan’s international squad for their crucial World Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks – something that would appear to suggest the striker is still some way off making a return to the pitch.
Supporters will be gutted
Considering just how impressive Kyogo has been for the Hoops since his £4.6m move to Glasgow last July, should the centre-forward indeed still be a number of weeks away from making a return to Ange Postecoglou’s starting XI, it would undoubtedly be a circumstance that will leave the Parkhead faithful gutted.
Indeed, over his 14 Premiership outings this season, the £4.95m-rated striker has bagged eight goals, provided two assists and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game – with these returns seeing the 27-year-old average a very impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.03.
However, it has not only been in Scotland that the £18k-per-week sensation has been in deadly form, with Kyogo also having scored two goals, registered two assists and created two big chances over his five Europa League appearances – with these metrics seeing the Japanese hitman average a SofaScore match rating of 7.10.
As such, with the Old Firm derby being the first fixture back after the upcoming international break – a game that could well be season-defining for the Bhoys – and Kyogo not being deemed fit enough to feature for Japan over the next fortnight, it would appear extremely unlikely that the centre-forward will make it back for the Rangers clash on April 2 – something that is sure to be a huge worry for Celtic supporters.
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AND in other news: Ange drops behind the scenes Celtic update that will leave supporters devastated
Everton’s Premier League status ahead of next season still hangs in the balance as they continue to flirt with the chance of relegation in 17th, however it has not stopped the club being linked with signings this summer, as fresh interest emerges from Goodison Park.
What’s the word?
According to 90min, Newcastle United are ready to sell their star player Allan Saint-Maximin this summer, with Everton joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in the pursuit to secure the signature of the French winger.
90min reports that they understand Everton are ‘keeping tabs on the situation’ although their interest is likely to only gain more traction if Frank Lampard can seal another Premier League season for the Toffees.
Other reports claim he could be worth somewhere in the region of £50m.
Richarlison replacement
Due to Everton’s disastrous season, Richarlison has been linked with a number of moves away from the club with both Arsenal and Manchester United being tipped to sign the Brazilian winger this summer, and if it was the case that the Everton star did leave come the end of the season, Saint-Maximin could be a worthy replacement.
The £93k-per-week Newcastle wizard who has scored five goals this season, has been highly praised during his time on Tyneside, with Gary Neville even hailing the 25-year-old “breathtaking” after his performance against Leeds United earlier in the season.
Neville told Sky Sports: ‘To see his speed, his movement, it’s absolutely breathtaking.”
If you compare Saint-Maximin to Richarlison it’s clear to see who is having the better impact on his team this season, with the Magpies winger more successful in his aerial duels, tackles and dribbles, as well as offering a higher shot and pass accuracy according to Soccerment.
With that being said, although the loss of Richarlison would be a shame as he has become a fan favourite, if Farhad Moshiri could fetch an eye-catching transfer fee for the Brazilian and then follow up by signing Saint-Maximin as a replacement in the same window, it could be a huge upgrade for Everton.
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The signing could turn out to be a superb piece of business for the club, especially if they can convince Dominic Calvert-Lewin to stay, giving the Toffees boss the opportunity to form a fierce attacking partnership between the Frenchman and their current star striker.
Ultimately, Lampard must focus on maintaining top-flight football at Goodison Park over the rest of the season if the club have any chance of attracting players of Saint-Maximin’s calibre and keeping hold of some of the key players in their current squad.
In other news: “Pretty likely…”: Insider drops huge Everton claim that’ll have Frank Lampard fuming
England have been penalised for maintaining a slow over-rate during the third Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Match referee Jeff Crowe found the team to be four overs short of the alloted time after taking all allowances into consideration.Captain Michael Vaughan was thereby docked 40% of his match fee and the rest of his team, 20% each. According to the ICC’s Code of Conduct, players are fined 5% of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.The Galle Test ended in a draw after rain thwarted Sri Lanka’s push for a victory on the final day. Sri Lanka won the three-Test series 1-0.