Resuming the innings on 219-2 after the tea interval, Lancashire lookedintent on building a big score quickly.Flintoff smashed his way to a half century off only 59 balls whilst Crawleywas playing the anchor role at the other end. Flintoff’s ability to hit hardand straight lofted drives featured strongly in his innings which was fullyappreciated by the spectators.His innings came to an end when he was caught at silly mid-off off a thininside edge. A wicket was desperately needed by Leicestershire at this point and once again their leading wicket taker this season, Anil Kumble, duly obliged.This brought Ganguly to the crease and he did not find life easy at thebeginning. Infact, he faced 17 balls before scoring.Leicestershires troubles seem to be mounting as not only were they missingtheir opening bowler Jimmy Ormond for most of the day through injury, butPhil Defreitas then pulled up in a delivery stride and did not bowl for therest of the day.With Lancashire now only a few runs behind it will be interesting to see howthey will play this game tomorrow. Their overall run rate per overthroughout the day was 3.6 and they should look to maintain and improve onthis from the start tomorrow.
Glenn McGrath has indicated his interest in playing in the Indian Cricket League (ICL). “It’s tempting,” McGrath, who retired following Australia’s triumph at the 2007 World Cup, told AAP.McGrath felt the ICL could be ideal for him. “Obviously, you can make a little bit of money,” he said. “Probably a month of cricket, get back, give me that fix of playing again – it might be all I need.”Reports have suggested that the ICL was keen on signing McGrath and his former team-mate Shane Warne. However, so far, only Brian Lara has signed up for the league. McGrath’s manager, Warren Craig, had earlier said that he had met with ICL officials.However, a return to the Australian team was ruled out by McGrath, who was attending a ceremony for the 20th anniversary of the Australian Academy in Canberra. “I played as long as I could mentally,” he said. “Physically the body feels great, but the mental side of it is another thing. Previously, watching other teams playing made me want to get out there. I couldn’t wait for the season to start. Now I think I’m glad I’m not out there.”McGrath said his move to retire from the game was correct. “For me it’s been the right decision, and I’ve had time to get used to it. To finish on a high – I couldn’t have asked for much more than that.” He was named the Player of the Tournament at the World Cup, finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the event’s history.
Three days is all it took for England’s summer to take on an entirely new complexion. Their performance at Old Trafford displayed all the qualities of ruthlessness and aggression that had been lacking in previous performances. Now they aim to carry that momentum into the Headingley Test and wrap up a morale-boosting series win that would avenge their 2-0 defeat in Pakistan last winter.The questions that had been raised in the opening encounter at Lord’s – Andrew Strauss’s captaincy, Steve Harmison’s hunger and Monty Panesar’s effectiveness – were given very emphatic answers. Then, two days after their win, England surprisingly decided to solve another conundrum – what to do with Geraint Jones. The move to drop him, because of form not his finger injury, and hand Chris Read a recall is interesting because of its timing. Read’s every move over the next two Tests will be scrutinised in minute detail, starting with his performance at Leeds.The likelihood is that Read will be the only change from the XI that stormed home at Old Trafford. Although only two England bowlers – Harmison and Panesar – took wickets in the last Test, the attack was well-balanced and showed how, in the worst-case scenario, England can go about winning Tests with four bowlers.Sajid Mahmood is the man under pressure for his place, but there were glimpses of his potential and he has the raw qualities of pace and bounce that Duncan Fletcher so admires. A return to Jon Lewis – for what would surely be another one-off game – would be harking back to the bad old days of horses for courses at Headingley, a strategy which has rarely proved successful. However, the pitch is not expected to suit Harmison as much as Old Trafford.The batting is ticking along nicely, even without contributions from Marcus Trescothick and Kevin Pietersen. They have yet to register a half-century between them in the series and at some point the youngsters are not going to rock up and score a century. “Of course I want to get runs every time I go out to bat so it is not an ideal situation,” said Trescothick, who averages 45 at Headingley. “I have not seen it as I would have liked to over the last couple of games or played as well as I can do. Hopefully, it will kick back in this week. It’s always nice when you turn up at a ground knowing the last time you were here you did well.”
After being in charge of England’s 5-0 one-day whitewash against Sri Lanka, Strauss is relieved to be on the winning trail as captain. “That was a pretty bleak day [after the final ODI] and the drive back to London that evening. But we take a lot of heart and a lot of confidence from what went on at Old Trafford.”Winning a Test match without Fred [Flintoff] was important for us just to prove toourselves and others that there is life without Fred. Hopefully, he’ll be back as soon as possible [from an ankle injury] but until then it is important we can churn out victories without him.”However, he is aware that England mustn’t let their focus drift: “I’m always wary of the match after games like that because it’s easy psychologically to take your foot off the gas a little bit and that is something we need to address and make sure doesn’t happen to us this week.”Pakistan can’t really sink much lower than Manchester; it was a display that showcased the worst side of their cricket. Bob Woolmer has a huge task to turn their form around for the final two games, but the mercurial nature of Pakistan cricket means they are just as likely to produce a matchwinning display at Headingley as they are to produce another dismal effort to match Old Trafford.They are set to field a new opening partnership after the double failure of Kamran Akmal at the top of the order and Imran Farhat’s broken finger. Woolmer has also hinted that they will consider altering the balance of their attack in favour of four pacemen instead of playing both Danish Kaneria and Shahid Afridi.In their current frame of mind, England won’t mind who they face. After a performance of such dominance as they produced at Old Trafford, and the ingredients of their success being pace and spin, thoughts are again heading towards the winter. However, England are well aware of the dangers of complacency. Pakistan have gained a steely edge under Woolmer and will be determined to keep the series alive.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss (capt), 3 Alastair Cook, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Ian Bell, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Sajid Mahmood, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Monty PanesarPakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Mohammad Sami, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Shahid Nazir 11 Danish Kaneria
Sri Lanka cricket board chief, Hemaka Amarasuriya, hinted at fresh board elections on Thursday night, arguing that the time had come to end a two-year period of control by interim committees.A government appointed interim committee has run Sri Lanka cricket ever since the suspension of an elected executive committee in March 2001 following allegations of financial mismanagement and constitutional malpractice.However, there have been increasing calls for fresh elections in recent months and the interim chairman Amarasuriya now believes the time is ripe for a return to democracy.”Interim committees are not good for the game and we have to decide what is now best for Sri Lanka cricket,” said Amarasuriya, adding, “I believe in elected committees with safeguards.”No elections have been formally announced by the sports ministry but Amarasuriya suggested his term in office is about to end and there have been strong rumours of elections being held after the current tour by New Zealand.
Border 239 for 3 (Henderson 126*, Pope 50) beat GriqualandWest 236 (Koortzen 64, Gidley 52, Bosman 42, Henderson 3-45) by 7 wickets ScorecardPointsTableBorder, with two games left to play, have made a bold bid for a Standard BankCup semi-final place with a win over Griqualand West in Kimberley. Griqualand West, losing, see their hopes of a place in the final four fall by the wayside.During the evening supper break some disgruntled members of the GriqualandWest community held an on-field peaceful protest against the recentannouncement that neighbours Free State had won the cricket franchise forthe area. A memorandum was handed over to the CEO of Griqualand West CricketBoard for forwarding to the United Cricket Board of South Africa.Winning the toss and batting first Griquas made the perfect start withPieter Koortzen and Martin Gidley putting on 89 for the first wicket. Gidley (52) was first to lose his wicket and was replaced by Benjamin Hector who added a patient 27. With the loss of Koortzen (64), on 148, Loots Bosman was allowedto score freely, and hit three sixes and two fours in his innings of 42from 22 balls.Losing five wickets for 32 runs in the final six overs did not do anyjustice to the Griqualand innings as they were bowled out for 236. Tyron Henderson the pick of the Border bowlers taking 3 for 45.Border starting slowly and lost two early wickets. They quickly fell behindthe required run rate. Henderson, sent in up the order, got the runs flowingwith his flurry bringing up his 50 in 47 balls and his first 100 in 85. StevenPope, a very willing partner and content to rotate the strike, lost hiswicket after reaching his 50 in 65 balls. The partnership was worth 138 runsand set Border up for the win.Craig Sugden, scoring a quick 28 off 17 balls helped Henderson, finishing ona career best 126, to reach the target in the 44th over.
No surprises came out of the New Zealand selection camp when the same team that trounced India by 10 wickets in just over two days was retained for the second Test starting in Hamilton on Thursday.But selection convener Sir Richard Hadlee, who gave the players a little tickle-up with comments about the lack of performance going into the Test series, provided a reminder that with a seven-match one-day series just around the corner there is no room for complacency among the New Zealanders.He said it was a “pleasing” bowling effort in the first Test, but he wants more runs from more of his batsmen in order for the side to achieve a more complete performance.Both teams have decided to stay in Wellington until their scheduled departure time on Tuesday.That should provide the Indians with a further reminder that had they been able to achieve more stickability at the crease in either of their innings, then they might have been attempting to bowl New Zealand out in far more favourable conditions later today and tomorrow.Wellington turned on one of its most majestic days today. There was barely a breath of wind on a sparkling, sunny and warm day that had the local populace out to take full advantage of it after a disappointing start to the summer.The New Zealand team for Hamilton will be: Stephen Fleming (captain), Mark Richardson, Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Robbie Hart, Daniel Vettori, Daryl Tuffey, Shane Bond, Michael Mason.While India’s selection is likely to be made closer to the Test start-time, there is every prospect that Tinu Yohannan will be given his chance, probably at the expense of Ashish Nehra or Ajit Agarkar.
Worcestershire Royals went top of Norwich Union League Division Two after a comprehensive 70 run win over Sussex Sharks at Horsham.Chasing 211 to win, Sussex were in with a shout when Richard Montgomerie and Chris Adams put on 63 in 18 overs for the second wicket.But Montgomerie’s departure – lbw to Stuart Lampitt for 42 – sparked an ignominious middle order collapse with saw five runs fall for six runs in 35 balls including Adams who drove left-arm spinner Matt Rawnsley to cover after making 33.Will House (34) held up Worcestershire until skipper Graeme Hick came on to take three wickets in three overs at the end as Sussex subsided to 140 all out.Earlier Vikram Solanki and Hick had accelerated in the second half of Worcestershire’s innings to enable them set a competitive total on a slow pitch.Solanki was out in the last over after making 63 off 69 balls although, crucially as it turned out, he was dropped by wicketkeeper Matt Prior off Mark Davis when he’d made six.Hick scored his second half-century of the season in the competition against Sussex while for the home side Mark Robinson was the most accurate bowler, taking 1-19 off nine overs at the start of the innings.James Kirtley took 2-41 and there were first wickets in the competition for two years for Jason Lewry and Chris Adams. But Sussex allowed Worcestershire to accelerate far too easily in the second half of their innings and it cost them a third defeat in four matches this season.
There are many players who never reach their full potential for various reasons. In this list I have focused on those within the Premier League years and those who never reached the heights their early years suggested they would.
10) Mark Kennedy – Kennedy was a regular at Millwall by 16 and his pacy wing-play had a number of top clubs courting him. He had the priceless commodity of a decent left foot and further enhanced his reputation with an exhilarating solo goal at Highbury to knock Arsenal out of the ‘95 FA Cup. His big move soon came but came too soon. A switch to Liverpool for a sum of around £2m made Kennedy the most expensive teenage footballer in British history but he came nowhere near repaying the fee and faith. 18 goalless appearances at Anfield later and Kennedy was carted off to Wimbledon in a move that began a nomadic career whereby he never did anything to justify the hype which accompanied a great goal and a few good performances as a kid.
9) Jermaine Pennant – Pennant epitomises the many players of supreme talent who’s main failings in the game were not combining their ability with the attitude it required to flourish. Arsenal made Pennant the most expensive trainee in history when they paid Notts County £2m for the 15-year-old in 1999, but a move to the big smoke was not necessarily the best thing a troubled kid from a crime-ridden area of Nottingham could have done. Pennant simply never grew into anything other than a super-skilled teen and thus never showed the maturity or application to succeed at Arsenal. A series of loan moves proved Pennant was infuriatingly inconsistent and when a second chance of the big time with Liverpool came in 2006, he never lived up to his billing their either. There have been plenty worse players than Pennant and still performing admirably for Stoke suggests his inclusion is harsh, but no England caps and no silverware shows the lost promise.
8. Matthew Etherington – Pennant’s partner in crime at Stoke has also gone on to find redemption in the Potteries but like his mate patrolling the other flank, he too must wonder what could have been. The lesser spotted English left-footed winger, Etherington’s performances as a kid brought him a trial at Manchester United and a move to Tottenham but again the expectations never materialised and after four fruitless seasons at White Hart Lane, Etherington was sold to West Ham. Throughout his stint in the capital, Etherington’s subdued on-field form was precursored with an off-field gambling addiction which led to a stint in Tony Adams’s Sporting Chance clinic. Etherington has since gone on to enjoy a decade of relatively continuous football in the top-flight without ever coming close to being one of it’s top performers.
[divider]Continued on Page TWO[divider][ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’] [divider]
7) Nigel Clough – It takes some doing to step out of the shadow of a figure like Brian Clough but in his own unflappable manner, Clough Jr looked like he was going to manage it as he became one of the most prominent strikers in English football towards the end of the 80’s. Short of inches and shorn of weight, Clough’s intelligent understanding and appreciation of the game was light years away from many other domestic players of his generation and saw him become the unwitting jewell in the crown of his Dad’s Forest team. Nigel played in two successive League Cup wins in ‘89 and ‘90 – scoring two against Luton in the first – and was also on the losing side in the ’91 FA and ’92 League Cup finals. But once his club were relegated from the inaugural Premiership, Clough left as the clubs second highest goalscorer of all time and a move to Liverpool awaited. Anfield was in revolution under Graeme Souness and in three years on Merseyside, Clough never adapted to being away from home and his stock slumped dramatically to the point he was playing in the Southern Football League Premier Division by the time he was 32.
6) Richard Wright – Unfortunately Richard Wright carries the can for a whole host of suspects who were supposed to be the great white light of English goalkeeping. Wright played over 200 times for Ipswich after coming through the ranks at Portman Road and his all-round assured keeping had him earmarked as the long term successor to David Seaman for both Arsenal and England. Alarm bells should have rung when he gave two penalties away on his international debut against Malta but nevertheless Arsene Wenger shelled out £8m for him to be the Highbury number one, but Wright departed after a single season, 22 appearances and numerous gaffes later. Now just 34 – a age many keepers consider their prime – Wright is hanging about in the Ipswich reserves to complete a hugely disappointing circumnavigation.
5) Joe Cole – Misunderstood genius or impractical luxury? The fact nobody has ever fully found a solution overwhelmingly suggests the former. Cole was instantly cast into the public eye after a sensational FA Youth Cup final performance for West Ham against Coventry in ‘99 and he was quickly inducted into the Hammers set-up at 17 and club captain by 21. His illuminating feet and dazzling array of flicks, tricks and showboats were eagerly lapped up by the nation and from a tender age Cole was expected to be the answer to a national flair drought. A move to Chelsea was supposed to conduit substance to style but his game was never fully embraced by the pragmatism of Jose Mourinho and nor did Cole make himself indispensable during a seven year stay at Stamford Bridge in which he scored just 40 goals. Now aged 30, the waiting has seemingly gone on for ever as Cole failed to establish himself as one thing or another during a career where he had the world at his feet.
4) Robbie Fowler – They dubbed him ‘God’ on the Kop but had Robbie Fowler been to confessional a few more times he may never have petered out by the time he should have been in his pomp. After starring in England u-18’s European Championship win in 1993, Fowler was quickly promoted to the Liverpool first team and marked his debut at Fulham in the League Cup with a goal, followed by all five in the return leg still just 17. The Toxteth terrier scored his first league hat-trick in only his fifth appearance for the Reds and had hit the back of the net almost 80 times by the time he was out of his teens. Injuries eventually took their toll and despite a brief flurry with Leeds, he never managed to recapture the lethal penalty box prowess which made him so dangerous in his youth. Fowler remains the fourth highest scorer in Premier League history with 162 goals but the fact that 120 of those came before he left Liverpool at 25 illustrates just what could have been.
[divider]Continued on Page THREE[divider][ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’] [divider]
3) Paul Merson – Merson made his reputation as the artist amongst George Graham’s artisans at Arsenal with his trickery and exuberance on the wing endearing him to the Highbury faithful. At 21, Merson was crowned PFA Young Player of the Year and earned his first league title courtesy of Michael Thomas’s last gasp winner at Anfield. Merson soon followed that up with another league title in ’91, an FA and League Cup double in ’93 and the Cup Winners Cup in ’94. However, his celebrations after defeating Parma in Copenhagen hinted at demons, with Merse joyously mimicking glugging down booze with a manic glaze in his eye. In November ’94 Merson admitted alcohol and cocaine addiction and underwent a three month rehabilitation which never completely put the Harlesden born winger on the straight an narra’, blighting a unique talent throughout the rest of his playing days at Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Walsall and Tamworth.
2) Stan Collymore – Tall and lean, quick and mobile and two footed, like many enigmas Collymore doubled up breathtaking forward play with the sort of mental issues which deprive players of ever delivering their true potential. A British record move to Liverpool’s ‘spice boys’ was perhaps not the best fit for someone with such hedonistic tendencies and even a move to boyhood heroes Aston Villa could not calm Collymore down. Demons eventually all got the better of the man who’s career dwindled out by the age of 30 after enduring further problems at Fulham, Leicester, Bradford and Real Oviedo. Three England caps was scant return for a striker who could genuinely have gone on to become one of the continents best had his mind not dictated otherwise.
1) Paul Gascoigne – They say there’s a fine line between a mad-man and a genius and in British footballing terms nobody echoes those sentiments more than Paul Gascoigne. Gazza was the raw talent who single handedly lifted English football from its post-Heysel doldrums, but who privately – and too frequently publicly – drove himself to despair. It was hard not to sympathise with the lovable rogue because everything he brilliantly did on his haven of the pitch, was spectacularly negated in some way. Few players light up whole World Cups like Gazza did at Italia ’90 and few, if any, English players have had such an impact on Serie A. But ultimately, Gazza did not have the mental capacity to cope as a world-class player and through drink, drugs and gambling, Gascoigne’s physical and mental state deteriorated as did his career. The true tragedy of Gascoigne’s demise is that every time you hear his name on the news now, you expect tragedy.
Follow John Baines on twitter @bainesyDiego10
[divider]
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.
Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton, in addition to Arsenal, are reportedly all attempting to bring Hungarian star Balazs Dzsudzsak to the Premier League in the summer. Dzsudzsak, who currently plays for PSV Eindhoven in Holland, is looking to move to a bigger club to progress his career and has already sounded out a move to England.
The 24-year-old told origo.hu that “I think the Premier League is one of the best, or maybe the best, football leagues in the world so it would be a great thing to play there. But it would be too early to think about this possibility. I want to sign to a bigger club than PSV. I haven’t made it a secret that this is my intention. But my coach, Fred Rutten, said honestly that I’m still not ready for the change.”
Dzsudzsak has been in fantastic form for PSV this season, helping them to the top of the Dutch Eredivisie table with 18 goals and 8 assists in the 33 appearances that he’s made in all competitions for the Dutch giants. The left-winger has been capped 33 times for his country, netting on 5 occasions, and is seeking a move after spending three years in Holland.
A number of European clubs are scouting the young Hungarian and if a firm bid was made in the summer it would be difficult for his manager to stand in his way. While question marks remain over Everton’s funds for a potential deal, Arsenal and Liverpool both have the budget and both have a good experience of shopping in Holland, as Robin van Persie for the Gunners, and Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez for the Reds have all made the move to the Premier League.
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.
Uruguay striker Diego Forlan has ruled out the possibility of returning to the Premier League with Tottenham.
Forlan has been in impressive form during the South Americans' march to the semi-finals of the World Cup.
The 31-year-old has bagged three goals in South Africa and has caught the eye of several Premier League managers.
However, after a disappointing two-year spell with Manchester United which was ended by a move to Villarreal in 2004, Forlan is not interested in returning to England.
Speaking last week, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp confirmed his interest in the now Atletico Madrid frontman.
"Tottenham are a club who are going in the right direction, but I have no interest in joining the Premier League with any club," said Forlan.
"For a start, Spain is much hotter and also it is my home now.
"We have a great team at Atletico and next season we will be aiming for a top-four finish.
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.
"We have some very exciting young players and I'm excited for the season.
"I will never play in England again, but I still actually look back with fond memories at some moments."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email