The moment came minutes after the tea break. The fifth ball of the 62nd over, bowled at 2.40pm, by Abdul Razzaq, was just short of a length and slanting into the pads, and Sachin Tendulkar moved across his stumps and tucked the ball to the on-side to scale another personal summit. With that run, he became the fifth player in the world, and the second Indian, to score 10,000 Test runs.Tendulkar, who came in to bat with the score on 156 for 2, after Virender Sehwag had powered India to a brisk start, was tentative early in his innings, playing out as many as 18 dot balls before getting off the mark. But he got under way with two crisp cover-driven fours off Shahid Afridi and from then on, with the scoreboard counting down the last few runs as he approached the milestone, his every run was cheered.After reaching the milestone he was especially fluent, showing shades of his old self, cutting and driving both the spinners and medium-pacers. Danish Kaneria’s attempts at curbing Tendulkar by bowling into the rough from around the stumps were wasted as Tendulkar got down on one knee and swept the ball fine for two fours, the second of which took him to his half-century. But just when he was looking dangerous, he went, edging a square-cut against Afridi to the wicketkeeper. Another record, the one that he is likely to cherish more, still awaits. For the moment, Sunil Gavsakar, the first man to score 10,000 Test runs, remains joint first with Tendulkar in the rank of century makers
Day 1 CloseBangladesh 86 for 3 trail Queensland Academy of Sport Invitation 201 (Caseldine 92, Hopes 53) by 115 runsBangladesh finished their first day of cricket in Australia evenly-placed at stumps. They dismissed the Queensland Academy of Sport Invitation side for 201 at Allan Border Field in Brisbane, and ended with a flourish, the last two balls being hit for a four and a six, closing on 86 for 3 – a deficit of 115 runs.However, the incumbent batsmen Mohammad Ashraful (33) and Rokon Al Sahariar (4), face the task of ensuring their side gain an appreciable first innings lead if they are to have a chance of a victory in this match which is part of the build-up to their forthcoming Test matches against Australia.When Bangladesh began their innings Javed Omar struggled against Damien MacKenzie and James Hopes, facing 37 balls before he was dismissed for a duck, caught in the gully by Craig Philipson off Hopes attempting a cut (23 for 1). Bowling his sixth over, Hopes had still not conceded his first run. Then off the last ball of the next over, Hannan Sarker, who had raced along to 19 was bowled by Steve Magoffin (27 for 2).The match may be a non-first-class fixture but six of the Queensland side have played first-class cricket, while Nathan Hauritz is an international. Both sides are playing 12 players in the match, with one batsman being replaced by a bowler at the change of innings.Bangladesh made good use of winning the toss and Tapash Baisya took two quick wickets to leave Queensland AIS struggling on 6 for 2. He claimed a third with the score on 10, bowling Aaron Nye for 3.Lee Carseldine held the top-order together during a 100-run stand with Hopes, although it nearly came unstuck when Hopes was dropped at forward square-leg off Anwar Hossain when the score was 33. Hopes eventually fell for 53 (110 for 4), but Carseldine continued in an increasingly dominant manner. He had reached 92 when he was caught by Baisya off Khaled Mahmud’s right-arm medium pace (165 for 5). Carseldine hit 15 boundaries and a six in his 115-ball innings. The Queenslanders were in trouble immediately when Philipson was run out for 5 two balls later (165 for 6).It was left to Chris Hartley to shepherd the lower-order through to 200 with his 20, off 43 balls, being only the third double-digit score of the innings.Baisya had good reward for tidy bowling during the day, taking 3 for 33 from his 14 overs while Mahmud took 2 for 34 from 12 overs.
Nick Knight was made man of the match and the man of series after England completed their five-match demolition of Zimbabwe with victory in the final one-day international in Bulawayo.Set 229 after Zimbabwe’s Grant Flower had scored a century, England coasted home by seven wickets with six overs and two balls to spare.Knight ended unbeaten on 80, and Paul Collingwood hit a rapid 56 from 46 balls, enabling England to romp home early.”It’s been a great series for me and a great series for the team,” Knight told Sky Sports.”We talked a lot about how we would play this series and it was good to makeit work. It’s been great cricketing weather and we’ve really enjoyed it.The England captain Nasser Hussain was full of praise for his players’ performance.”I was thoroughly pleased with the way we did it today,” he said.”The bowling, especially the last 10 overs, was great. The batting as well,the way we won in the last 10 overs was great. It was about a 250 or 260 wicket so we did what we wanted to by keeping them down.”Hussain is now looking forward to the forthcoming tour of India.”The hard task is to up ourselves an extra 25% for India,” he said. “We realise this is just a starting point. India will be difficult.”Zimbabwe’s stand-in captain Alistair Campbell admitted he was disappointed at the whitewash.”Who knows where we go from here,” he said. “We need to get together and plan our way forward, we need to turn things around. We’ve played non-stop cricket for about 18 months, it would have been great to have some time off.”
West Brom have the fourth most valuable squad in the Championship according to Transfermarkt with an overall value of £77.18m behind the likes of AFC Bournemouth, Fulham and Sheffield United.
One player in the Baggies’ ranks that contributes to their overall squad value is also one that the club didn’t need to spend a penny on.
Back in the 2015 summer window, the Midlands club secured a free transfer for 23-year-old centre-back Dara O’Shea from Irish club St. Kevins Boys.
Since then, the defender has gone on to make 36 appearances for their U18 and U23 sides combined, scoring two goals and providing three assists in the process.
For the senior side, the centre-back has made 60 appearances across all competitions with five goals and one assist to his name.
This season has seen the Irishman, who has been praised for his “unbelievable” improvement over the years by former Baggies manager Slaven Bilic, make just eight appearances in the Championship for Steve Bruce’s side having spent a significant period out injured with an ankle fracture.
Despite this, the defender has still managed to find the back of the net on two occasions and earn himself an impressive overall performance rating of 7.28 from WhoScored, making him West Brom’s highest-rated player, highlighting how valuable he is to the team.
In terms of his market value, Transfermarkt listed it at £135k back in October 2019, just a couple of months before he made his senior debut for the Baggies. Whereas it now stands at £2.7m, showing a significant increase based on what he’s done on the pitch and proving that the club hit the jackpot with him.
Described as being “like a sponge” by Bilic in terms of the focus he has on learning and improving his game, O’Shea is certainly a shining light in Bruce’s squad and for the club overall as a young player working his way through the youth ranks and becoming an impressive first-team figure.
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The defender’s rise also highlights the fact that clubs don’t always have to pay big money on players all the time and can instead focus on unearthing and developing young talents.
Moving forward, having only played in three league games since recovering from his ankle injury, it would be good to see the youngster get back on the pitch more regularly before the campaign ends.
In other news: WBA surely having nightmares over “unbelievable” dynamo whose value has rocketed 2033%
ScorecardFile photo: Pieter Seelaar top-scored for Netherlands with a crucial 49•Peter Della Penna
Late innings resiliency with both bat and ball ensured Netherlands escaped with a six-run win over UAE at Abu Dhabi on Friday to wrap up a two-match WCL Championship sweep for the visitors on Friday. The latest victory vaulted Netherlands past Hong Kong to the top of the WCLC table with 10 points to Hong Kong’s nine. The Dutch are currently undefeated in six games with 10 points coming from four wins and two no results.Netherlands scratched their way to 216 after being sent in thanks to Pieter Seelaar, whose 49 at No. 7 helped the Dutch rebuild after the double-blow of losing Roelof van der Merwe and Wesley Barresi in the space of three overs reduced the visitors from 108 for 4 to 112 for 6 in the 30th. Seelaar added 76 for the seventh wicket with Michael Rippon in the biggest stand of the innings and hung around until the final over before he was ninth man out but not before giving his side a defendable total.In reply, UAE were cruising at 158 for 3 after 37 overs, needing 59 more to win at a little more than four per over, when Timm van der Gugten shifted momentum in the match by removing Shaiman Anwar for 71, ending a 103-run partnership with Mohammad Usman. Van der Gugten struck again later in the over to nab Saqlain Haider for 1 and Usman was dislodged for 52 by Mudassar Bukhari off the first ball of the 42nd to make it 178 for 6.Still, UAE only needed 39 to win off 53 balls, but the run rate was choked successfully by Bukhari, Rippon and Ahsan Malik. In his first tour back since being reported at the World Twenty20 Qualifier for a suspect bowling action, Malik’s impact continued to show as he claimed 2 for 18 in his second spell of 3.3 overs at the death.Entering the final over UAE needed 13 to win with the last pair of Rohan Mustafa, on 21, and Manjula Guruge at the crease. A dot was followed by a six from Mustafa to bring UAE within one shot of leveling the score but Malik struck on the next ball, having Mustafa caught by Bukhari to end the match.
Turning the momentum Touring captains usually arrive in Australia under pressure but it was AnilKumble who applied it to the home side on day one. Australia’s openersreached 135 when Kumble unbalanced Phil Jaques with a wrong’un that thebatsman didn’t spot before achieving something unthinkable by out-classingMichael Hussey with a similar delivery. Talk in Australia prior to the Testcentred around how the Indians would react to Brad Hogg’s variations, butKumble created the immediate problems, taking three batsmen with googliesand two with legspinners.Beware of the captain It took a sublime 144 from Sourav Ganguly, their captain, to revive India onthe last trip in 2003-04. This time it was again their leader dealing theopening blow with five wickets. It was the second time Kumble earned a spoton the honours board at the MCG, emulating Bhagwat Chandrasekar, hisstate-mate, who also claimed five in an innings twice.Hogg’s happy holidays Boxing Day looked as if still Christmas for Hogg. As he sung thenational anthem, Hogg could not stop smiling at the thought of playing hisfirst Test since 2003. He, however, had to wait for action and after Australiaelected to bat, he settled down with a book in the first session. Hogg was calledlater in the day, made 17, and is looking forward to bowling into thefootmarks that will grow from the work of the game’s large contingent ofleft-armers.Everywhere man It seems impossible, but Shane Warne may have increased his presence at theMCG since last year’s Boxing Day when he took his 700th wicket in his finalTest on his home ground. Twelve months later, he is donating items to theMelbourne Cricket Club in the morning, playing with the schoolchildren onthe oval at lunch, being appointed to a leadership role with CricketAustralia and completing a stint in the Nine commentary box. But thatwasn’t all. Cartoon figures of Warne are shown on the sight-screen and thescoreboard promoting a beer company, so he can’t escape even if he doesn’tturn up for the rest of the game.He’s not a Victorian After having Warne to cheer for the past 15 years, Melbourne supporters wereleft without a local to celebrate and had to adopt. Ricky Ponting and AndrewSymonds received the greatest roars from the crowd of 68,465 when theywalked out to bat, but there was also loud support for each Indian wicketand the arrival of Sachin Tendulkar for his over before tea.Curator escapes a sledge Concerns have been raised over the MCG’s drop-in pitches following dreary domestic games this season and Matthew Hayden spent a lot of time talking about the surface at stumps. However, he wasn’t complaining too loudly and when asked if he thought the wicket was Test standard he said: “It’s hard to argue with that when I’ve got six hundreds on it. I’d be a game man to sledge the curator.”
Ireland put their World Cricket League disappointments behind them in grand style as they produced a record-breaking performance on the opening day of their Intercontinental Cup match against UAE in Abu Dhabi. Eoin Morgan and Andre Botha added an Ireland record 325 for the third wicket and they aren’t finished yet.They need to secure an outright win to move into the final against Canada; any other result and arch rivals Scotland will pip them to it. Fears that the team would be scared after three near-misses during the WCL were quickly put to bed as the batsmen made hay.Morgan and Botha went past the previous Irish partnership record of 304 between Jeremy Bray and Niall O’Brien, also against UAE, at Windhoek in 2005. Their next target will be the competition record of 331 which is currently held by Steve Tikolo and Hitesh Modi. Morgan, already with his highest first-class score, is also approaching the highest score by an Ireland play of 198 Ivan Anderson back in 1973.Between them the pair hit 34 fours and a six against eight UAE bowlers, who toiled for little success. An opening partnership of 122 between Bray and William Porterfield, who enjoyed a successful WCL, laid the platform but that was only a taste of what was to follow.
Umar Gul, the Pakistani fast bowler, and Tahir Khan, the offspinner, again shared nine wickets, as they did in the first innings, while Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) defeated Pakistan Customs by an innings and 57 runs on the final day of their fourth-round Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match at the United Bank Limited (UBL) Sports Complex Ground No.1 at Karachi.The win took PIA to the top of the five-team ranking, with 15 points from three matches. Customs, with six points from as many appearances have slumped to the bottom spot and, after the elevation of Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) in the table, they are now faced with demotion to next season’s Grade-II circuit.Umar, who is on the comeback trail after missing more than a year of international cricket through injury, completed 10 wickets in the match, taking 5 for 87 yesterday to follow his 5 for 64 in the first innings. Customs were all out for 267.Tahir, who turns 25 on January 9, turned in an impressive allround performance in the match. He captured eight wickets, four in each innings, and contributed a fine unbeaten 69 with the bat, off only 76 balls with six fours and three sixes.Customs’ best batsman was Afsar Nawaz with a solid 72, made off 146 balls with seven fours. Hasnain Abbas, the opening batsman, hit 10 fours in his 64 off 129 deliveries. The rest, however, did not last long enough.Customs now need to beat the record seven-time Patron’s Trophy champions Habib Bank, in the fifth and final round match starting at the same venue from Tuesday. PIA’s last Group A match starts from the same day against Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL), at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Sports Complex here. The top two teams from either group in the tournament qualify for the Quadrangular Stage round, which gets underway from January 15.Saeed Ajmal’s offspinners captured him a career-best 7 for 116 as Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) beat Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) by a convincing 101-run margin on the final day of their Patron’s Trophy match at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Sports Complex at Karachi.KRL thus got a lift from the bottom position in the five-team points table to the third spot. They may have saved themselves from relegation to next season’s Grade-II circuit, but they must still watch the proceedings in the fifth and final round of the group league, that starts from Tuesday. KRL, in fact, have completed their schedule of four matches, of which they lost three and won just one for a total of nine points. Victory for either SNGPL or Pakistan Customs in the last round, or for both, can still put KRL’s position in jeopardy.On Friday, they set SNGPL a win target of 350 but Ajmal’s devastating offspin downed them for an eventual total of just 248. He not only achieved his best first-class bowling figures, but also gathered his first 10-wicket haul at this level. He actually ended with 11 for 141 in the match. Misbah-ul-Haq, SNGPL’s captain, and the experienced Saleem Mughal fought valiantly in a fourth-wicket stand of 86 but the rest of the order couldn’t maintain the tempo and succumbed to Ajmal’s guile and relentless pressure. Saleem top-scored with 79 off 163 balls with four fours and three sixes. Misbah’s 72 included five fours and two sixes and required 161 deliveries to make.SNGPL will now have to try and beat Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in their fifth and final round match, starting at the same venue from Tuesday. Like KRL, it is now they and Customs who are trying to save themselves from demotion.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) completed a four-wicket win over Service Industries on the final day of their Patron’s Trophy match at the Sheikhupura Stadium on Saturday. It was their first win in three matches and Service Industries’ third defeat in four appearances. Having completed their schedule of four matches with no points at all, Service have suffered the humiliation of being demoted to next season’s non-first-class Patron’s Trophy Grade-II circuit once again.Having resumed at their overnight 184 for 6, Service managed to add only nine more runs in six overs yesterday morning to be dismissed for 193.This left ZTBL a modest target of 169 which they achieved with minor hiccups for the loss of six wickets. For ZTBL, Mohammad Siddiq, the fast bowler, captured a first-class career-best 6 for 55 in 26.5 overs. He was at the forefront enabling his team to clinch the first-innings lead, when he made an unbeaten 39 at No.10 and featured prominently in an invaluable 44-run last-wicket partnership.Atif Ashraf, the opening batsman, and Bilal Asad compiled a splendid 108-run stand for the third wicket after the first two wickets had fallen with only five runs on the board. Atif top-scored with 63 off 91 balls with 11 fours while Bilal made 47 off 78 balls with eight fours and a six. Naved Ashraf, the captain, then took ZTBL nearer victory with a fluent 28. For Service, Mohammad Irshad, with 3 for 51, and his new-ball partner Jamshed Ahmed 3 for 55 bowled well.In the fifth and final round starting from Tuesday, four-time Patron’s Trophy champions ZTBL will meet five-time winners National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground in Lahore. Neither team gained any points as the fourth-round Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match between National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) was fogged-out for the fourth day running at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground on Saturday. Even a single innings could not be played to its limit, as WAPDA, resuming at 249 for 9, added a solitary run when the match was called off due to poor weather, bad light and the heavy fog.WAPDA, who were the tournament runners-up in 2003-04, thus remain at second place in the five-team Group B table with 12 points from three matches. NBP have been Patron’s Trophy champions on five occasions and they continue to be at the third spot with a tally of nine points.With only 7.3 overs play possible on Wednesday’s opening day, the second day saw 60.1 overs being bowled. The count was down to 15.2 on Friday while a mere two overs could be sent down on the final day before the umpires decided to end the players’ agony.NBP will now play their fifth and final round match, starting from Tuesday, against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the same venue. WAPDA have their next match coming up from the same day against top-of-the-table Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), at the Sheikhupura Stadium.
Saleem Altaf, the former Pakistan medium-pacer, has been appointed as director of cricket by the Pakistan Cricket Board. He will represent Pakistan at all International Cricket Council and Asian Cricket Council meetings.Altaf’s appointment fills a gap left vacant after Rameez Raja’s resignation as chief executive of the PCB in August last year. Altaf will head a committee of five, comprising Imtiaz Ahmed, the former Test wicketkeeper, Naseem Ashraf, Mueen Afzal and Ali Reza. Meanwhile Abbas Zaidi has been named director of board operations, in charge of all non-cricket matters including administration, finance, marketing and media.”The appointments have been approved by the chief patron of the board after consultations with the chairman of the board Shaharyar Khan,” Zaidi was quoted as saying by Reuters.Altaf, who is 60 years old, played 21 Tests for Pakistan between 1967 and 1978, and picked up 46 wickets. He also scored one half-century.
England v Zimbabwe, 2nd Test, Chester-le-Street, Day One Thousands of northern prayers were answered when Chester-le-Street’s first day of Test cricket dawned fine. The trappings were all in place: the countdown clock, the expectant media chatter, the local boy Steve Harmison champing at the bit to bowl the first ball (he didn’t, because Nasser Hussain won the toss and batted). Even Phil Tufnell, the newly crowned King of the Jungle, was there.The ground looked a picture, and the crowd was a pretty good one. All that was missing was the usual tension associated with Test cricket – that worrying feeling that England were struggling for supremacy. After the Lord’s Test, where Zimbabwe rolled over and died on the third day, the general opinion was that England couldn’t lose. That feeling probably contributed to the mid-afternoon wobble, when three quick wickets tumbled as Douglas Hondo was briefly accorded supercharged status.Normal service was restored by Alec Stewart (no change there, then) and Anthony McGrath – and even McGrath’s mum might have thought it a bit fanciful a month ago if she’d been told he would soon have a Test average pushing 100.There has been much talk of whether this Zimbabwean side is the weakest ever to tour England. Despite today’s showing with the ball, they are certainly in contention for that dubious honour. Only Grant Flower of the batsmen has scored a Test century, and even he averages less than 10 with the bat in Tests in England.I was asked before the first Test to nominate the other contenders for Weakest Team Since The Last War, and probably alienated half of New Zealand by plumping for the 1958 Kiwis, who were bowled out for under 100 five times in five Tests, and would have lost 5-0 if it hadn’t rained for days on end at The Oval. They could make nothing of Tony Lock, who took 34 wickets at 7.47 with his slow left-arm spin. That tour came in the middle of what looks at first sight to have been a great run by England at home: 3-0 against West Indies in 1957, 4-0 v NZ in 1958, an unprecedented 5-0 v India in 1959, and 3-0 v South Africa in 1960 – 15-0 in four years. The record was spoilt a bit by going down 4-0 in Australia in 1958-59 … some things never change.It might have looked good, but actually it was a pretty dire time. All four of those sides were terribly weak – even the West Indians underperformed despite having some great names on board. One-sided cricket is boring, and cricketwise the ’50s are about the dullest decade on record – that’s the main reason one-day cricket started with such a bang in the 1960s. I’m quite relieved to say that I wasn’t around at the time, but reading about those series you’re struck by the inevitability of it all. Tension was absent.And there remains a lack of tension about this match, too. It wasn’t a great batting effort by England on a belter of a pitch. But it’s still hard to envisage Zimbabwe bowling England out cheaply twice, or England not bowling Zimbabwe out twice, although it might well take rather longer than a day. In 2000 the Zimbabweans bounced back after a similarly chastening defeat at Lord’s and competed well in the second Test at Trent Bridge. But the main man then was Murray Goodwin, a classy cutter who cracked 148 not out. Goodwin scored 35 this week – for Sussex, not Zimbabwe. Andy Flower, Zimbabwe’s best batsman by a street (or maybe a Streak), was attempting his usual rescue act after his side lost early wickets. That side was Essex, not Zimbabwe (and he failed, possibly because he had half an eye on events at the Riverside).It’s simplistic to say this, because there are political currents, undercurrents and crosscurrents at work here … but if Zimbabwe want to compete at international level, they can’t go on losing their best players. Otherwise they’ll go on losing their Test matches.Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden CricInfo.