South Africa, inspired equally by their pace attack and opening batsmen, crushed a bedraggled Pakistan by ten wickets in the only Twenty20 international at the Wanderers. After Alfonso Thomas led the bowlers in restricting Pakistan to a meager 129 for eight, Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman launched a spectacular attack against a rusty-looking attack to see South Africa home with 8.3 overs to spare, an absurdly large amount in such a short game.The unbeaten stand between Smith and Bosman was the highest for any wicket in this form of the game and the margin of victory, the most emphatic in Twenty20 internationals. Ahead of a five-match ODI series, due to begin from Sunday, this was as forceful a statement of intent as any.Smith’s good work began early, winning a handy toss and inserting Pakistan in what appeared to be bowling-friendly conditions. Bowlers are meant to be fodder in this format, bowling straight and hoping for the best but they were liberated here. The ball swung and jagged so much, an attack of Shaun Pollock, Thomas, Roger Telemachus, Johan van der Wath and Albie Morkel effectively became spinners on speed.Pollock was beating the bat from the start, making Imran Nazir’s first over back in quasi-international cricket a particularly testing one. It was a brief return, as off the first ball of the second Thomas found Nazir’s edge.Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal, shorn of keeping duties, settled briefly for a 47-run stand. They mixed swipes with boundaries and singles before and when Hafeez pulled an easy six over square leg, Pakistan were progressing well. But that was only a precursor to an almighty totter.Hafeez fell to Pollock, having brought the fifty up. van der Wath came, bringing pretty outswingers with him and had Akmal edging one immediately, giving de Villiers another opportunity to make a difficult catch look simple instead.
Telemachus was getting movement Murali would’ve been proud and with one sharply incoming concoction, he struck Shahid Afridi a painful blow in the groin, forcing him to retire hurt. Just before he finished, Telemachus ended a promising 26-run stand between Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik, either side of a 20-minute rain break. The bowlers continued to swing it, the batsmen to miss it; Morkel kept up the good work a lovely and the remaining batsmen were wrapped up quicker than you could say tail-end bunnies.Whether it was the conditions or the bowling we’ll never know, but when Smith and Bosman came out, they tore into Pakistan. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shabbir Ahmed began tightly but it wasn’t to last.Bosman sparked it, with a 16-run over from Naved-ul-Hasan, the fifth of the innings, inclusive of a fabulous pulled six. It rubbed off onto Smith who tonked 17 off the very next from Abdul Razzaq. Razzaq looked like a man who hadn’t played in two months, dragging the ball short, allowing a pumped Smith to merrily ransack him repeatedly over and through midwicket. Having been so willing an hour or so earlier, Pakistan’s bowlers found the pitch in no mood to be as friendly as it had been to their counterparts, offering little of the swing and none of the bite.As fours and sixes rained down, Pakistan disintegrated, bowling short, serving up no-balls and misfielding with alarming regularity. Akmal continued his appalling catching form, dropping Bosman at long-on, in the ninth over. It hardly mattered that he was an outfielder, the game was up anyway. The openers brought up their fifties, and the team’s hundred in the 10th over, and a few deliveries later sealed an emphatic win. Fittingly, they did so with another six.
Fazl-e-Akbar’s four wicket burst helped Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) take control of their second-round Patrons Trophy Cricket Championship Quadrangular Stage match against Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), on its second day at the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Stadium on Sunday.After having extended their overnight score of 243 for 4 to a healthy looking 369, PIA had table leaders PTCL tottering at a poor 147 for 6 in reply by the day’s close. Akbar has now taken his season’s tally in first-class matches to 49 wickets with his haul of 4 for 32 yesterday. PTCL are now 222 behind PIA’s score and still need another 73 to avert the follow-on.At stumps, Shahzad Malik was at the crease with an unbeaten 62 to his name, having faced only 99 balls hitting eight boundaries. He was involved in a fifth-wicket stand of 57 with the left-handed Usman Tariq, who made 21.Earlier, Faisal Iqbal narrowly missed reaching his 13th century in first-class cricket. But the later order batsmen continued to prosper. Faisal’s fifth-wicket partnership with Mahmood Hamid (35 off 61 balls with three fours) was worth 72. Faisal’s 91 runs came off 178 balls in just short of four hours with 11 fours. Ahmed Zeeshan (35), the wicketkeeper, and Tahir Khan (44) the offspinner then added 68 for the seventh wicket.Naved Latif from Faisalabad scored a scintillating 123as National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) raced to an 89-run first-innings lead over Habib Bank, on the second day of their second-round Patrons Trophy Cricket Championship Quadrangular Stage match at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Sunday.In reply to Habib Bank’s rather modest score of 261 on Saturday, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) have now reached 350 for 8 and should be at least looking towards gaining the three points for the first-innings lead.Naved hammered his ninth century in first-class cricket, facing a mere 167 balls in just short of four hours with 13 fours and five sixes. He came in with his team’s score at 119 for 3 and then saw three more wickets fall as the total reached 174. Naved found Yasir Arafat an able partner in a big 164-run stand for the seventh wicket. Yasir scored 62, hitting nine boundaries.Earlier, there was a 78-run third-wicket stand between Imran Nazir (62 off only 58 balls with nine fours) and the young Shahid Yousuf (40).
The ICC has announced the suspension of their Project USA initiative, which was aimed at developing cricket in the United States, because of concerns about the governance of the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA).Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, said that the issues had not been dealt with in a satisfactory manner: “The ICC is not satisfied that the USACA is meeting its obligations to review and restructure its governance to meet the needs of Project USA, and as a consequence Project USA is now suspended.”Speed added that the future of the three-way initiative between the ICC, the West Indies Cricket Board and the USACA would now be discussed by the ICC Board.”We have witnessed the unseemly and public debate surrounding the USACA elections,” said Speed. “At this stage we are not able to recommend to the ICC full members that they participate in Project USA given the unsatisfactory state of governance in the USA. I will now be preparing a report on the status of this project for consideration by the ICC Board at its next meeting in March.”The initial phase of Project USA began in 2004 with a feasibility study into hosting one-day internationals in America, to raise funds for the development of cricket there.
Much has been made of the specific plans that New Zealand’s think-tank draw up for each opposition batsman, but in the case of Akash Chopra, Ashley Ross and Stephen Fleming clearly missed a trick. In the tour games, Chopra had been troubled by the well-pitched-up delivery, often playing with an angled bat towards gully. However, in this match, Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram continually pitched it short with the new ball, allowing Chopra the luxury of playing off the back foot.
How Tuffey and Oram bowled to Chopra in the pre-lunch session
Daryl Tuffey
Jacob Oram
Front Foot
3
6
Back Foot
15
17
Min Footwork
5
8
Total Balls
23
31
Off the 23 balls that Tuffey bowled to Chopra in the morning session, only three times was he drawn forward; the corresponding figure against Oram was six out of 31. On a pitch which had neither the pace nor the bounce to aid the seamers, banging the ball in short was unlikely to meet with much success. The one chance that Chopra did offer was when he was drawn on the front foot by Tuffey in the third over after lunch. The ball pitched on a good length, just outside off – precisely the region where New Zealand’s bowlers should have attacked with the new ball – and Chopra obliged with an angled-bat defensive stroke. Robbie Hart made a hash of a regulation catch, but a look at the videos from today’s play might just prompt Fleming to chalk out a new plan of attack when New Zealand next bowl to Chopra. The way Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman batted in the last session, though, Tuffey and Oram might have to wait till the second Test at Mohali to get that opportunity.The Wisden Bulletin The Wisden Verdict: Planning’s not enough NZ View: Tuffey makes his point Roving Reporter: Screaming for Sa-chin Quotes
A decision whether the West Indies cricket team will tourPakistan or the series will be shifted to a neutral venue islikely to be confirmed in a couple of days.A Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman said onWednesday that thedecision could be taken at any moment in the next two orthree days.According to tentative programme, the West Indies team is toarrive here on Jan 25 to play Test and One-Day matches.The West Indies cricketing authorities were reluctant tosend their team to Pakistan due to security reasons in thewake of US led attacks on Afghanistan.Earlier, New Zealand had called off their tour to Pakistanin Sept due to the same reason. But recently, Sri Lankanunder-19 cricket team had toured Pakistan safely for a fiveone-day series which the host won 4-1.However, the ICC, in order to save its 10 year activityprogramme from further disturbance had decided that underspecial cirmustances a series could be shifted to anyneutral venue with the consent of both the countries.
Hyderabad had things their own way on the opening day of their RanjiTrophy semifinal against Karnataka at the Chinnaswamy stadium inBangalore on Tuesday. At close of play, the visitors were sittingpretty at 344/2 after VVS Laxman (163) and Mohd. Azharuddin (103)mercilessly punished Karnataka, with an unbroken 253 run partnership,for an apalling display in the field that saw three catches go downbesides several shocking misfields. Laxman’s seventh hundred in eightmatches this season and the 17th of his Ranji Trophy career also sawhim cross the thousand mark for the season.Combining power with finesse, Laxman played some exquisite squarecuts, leaning back and slicing the ball past point. He was also strongoff his legs and when the ball was pitched short, he pulled with regalauthority. Both batsmen made merry on a wicket which did not give thebowlers as much assistance as was expected.Both sides went in with three pronged seam attacks, with Hyderabadleaving out middle order bat D Vinay Kumar to accommodate Fiaz Ahmed,the third seamer. The left-right combination of Daniel Manohar andNandakishore opened the batting but the latter did not last long as hefell to Prasad for 11. There was a hint of outswing as the batsmanplayed defensively and the ball just about carried to Vijay Bharadwajat second slip who took a low catch to his left.Laxman started cautiosly, taking 23 balls to get off the mark with adisdainful pull to the square leg boundary off Mansur Ali Khan. Mansurwas unlucky when Laxman checked an intended drive and deposited theball in the no man’s land behind the bowler’s head. Hyderabad’s fiftycame up in the 18th over as both batsmen played the bowling withincreasing confidence.Laxman gave Ganesh a pasting with two charming pulls in one over tothe square leg and mid wicket boundaries. Sunil Joshi was brought onbut although keeping the batsmen on a leash, he did not pose anythreat to their well being. Suddenly however for no rhyme or reason,Laxman stepped down the track and tried to hoist Joshi over mid on. Hedidn’t get the intended elevation and the ball went at shoulder heightto Rowland Barrington, who dropped it to the universal disbelief ofthe fielders and the crowd. Laxman was then on 30 and the score at89/1.One run later, Prasad struck again as Daniel Manohar presented theblade in a defensive posture and got a tickle through to Thilak Naidufor 39 (95 balls). Prasad didn’t have a mid wicket to Azharuddin andhe was tempted soon enough to flick one into the gap only to get aleading edge that landed short of gully.The cup of the woe continued to fill for Karnataka as Akhil at secondslip grassed Azhar, then on 16, low down to his right. Akhil’s luckdid not change when he came on to bowl with Laxman taking threesucessive boundaries in his first over. Azhar had a lapse ofconcentration just before tea when he flailed at two balls outside offstump from Mansur Ali Khan. Vijay Bharadwaj got a hand to the firstbut could not hold on as it raced to the fence while the secondbisected Bharadwaj and Prasad at first slip just over their heads.Laxman got a couple of gift boundaries as Mansur Ali Khan let one slipthrough his legs at mid off and later Mithun Beerala fired in a throwat the bowler’s end which Joshi, daydreaming at mid on, failed tocollect. Laxman’s hundred came when he drove a ball into the groundwhich bounced over the bowler’s head and went down to the long offboundary. The umpires had to caution the Karnataka players shortlyafter when Mansur Ali Khan had expressed his displeasure over a legbefore appeal against Azhar that had been turned down.Dodda Ganesh was also upto his antics with some uproarious appealsfollowed by a trot down the wicket to stare at the batsman. But he wasput in his place as Azhar ferociously hooked him to the square legfence to go into his nineties. He finally got to his century off 167balls with a push past cover and Laxman’s 150 followed with a slicebetween gully and point that raced to the pickets. His career bestscore of 301 against Bihar should come under threat on themorrow. With the wicket expected to deteriorate later in the game,Karnataka have to pull out all the stops to prevent Hyderabad frombatting them out of the match tomorrow.
The Athletic’s Patrick Boyland has slammed Everton’s defence after their performance in the Toffees’ 5-0 loss to Tottenham, claiming that the club need a total overhaul there in the summer.
The Lowdown: Relegation-threatened
Frank Lampard’s start to life at Everton has not gone as he would have planned, as his side have lost four of their five Premier League matches with the ex-Chelsea man in charge.
As a result, the Toffees remain dangerously close to the relegation zone. They currently lead Burnley by one point, with just one game-in-hand over Sean Dyche’s side.
Everton still have to play West Ham, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal – who are all battling it out at the top of the table. Therefore, the possibility of relegation has never been more real than it is right now.
The Latest: Boyland’s claim…
Following the Toffees’ embarrassing display against Tottenham, Boyland took to Twitter, claiming that Everton need a complete overhaul of the defence:
“There is a soft centre to Everton which is preventing them pick up points on the road. Without Mina, the spine looks weak & they played into Spurs’ hands.
“A defence in urgent need of overhaul this summer.”
The Verdict: Defensive overhaul essential
With Yerry Mina still side-lined, fans will be worried by the lack of a strong presence in the Toffees’ back-line. Everton’s win percentage this season with the Colombia international in the team is monumentally different to the percentage without him: 40% with, 13% without.
During Sky Sports’ broadcast of the Spurs game, Jamie Carragher described Everton’s defence as “a Championship back four”, before later saying that was being harsh on some second-tier sides. Having conceded 46 league goals already, this seems hard to argue with.
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Therefore, it is crucial that Everton commit to a defensive overhaul in the summer transfer window, otherwise they may find themselves in the same situation next year – if they avoid relegation this season.
In other news: Everton: Pickford, Coleman and Keane’s nightmare performances vs Spurs
You all know the one that I mean. The 40 yard howitzer that stunned a nation ^.
(^Nation being people that watch the Carling Cup Quarter Finals, or YouTube…)
Ambrose is well known for wonderful goals, ask any non-Palace fan who our best player is and you’ll invariably get the response, ‘Darren Ambrose’. However Ambrose divides opinion amongst the Selhurst faithful, particularly this season.
On the one hand Ambrose is a match winner and big game player, scoring big big goals in important games. On the other, he is best described by the ‘gentleman’ who sits behind me in the Holmesdale Road stand, who we have affectionately nicknamed ‘F***k’s Sake’ due to his penchant for pessimism and expletive filled outbursts. Whenever Ambrose is brought on, or passes vaguely near the play, FS will shout one of the following:
“He won’t run.”
“’He’s not gonna challenge is ‘e?”
“Oh Ambrose can’t head it”
Ambrose is an enigma and can frustrate and delight in equal measures. One particularly frustrating game at Selhurst recently I said that could not understand how Ambrose continues to get in the team. It was politely pointed out to me that he is our top scorer and had set up something like 10 of of Palace’s last 12 goals.
Signed on a free from Clowntown in 2009 following their ignominious relegation into the lower echelons of the Football League, he proved to be an intriguing signing by then manager Neil Warnock. When I enquired about Ambrose amongst my Charlton associates, they were mildly disinterested that he had left them to join their most hated rivals. The feeling was that he had started well, and his Charlton career had petered out somewhat. He had been in the team that got relegated after all.
Ambrose had joined Charlton from Newcastle after his big money move there from Ipswich Town had largely fizzled out. Perhaps the same is now happening at Palace, he started well, so well and had two great seasons. I took much joy in posting on Facebook every time Ambrose slammed home goal after goal in his first season, to take his tally to 20 (more than he scored in four seasons at the Valley). Who could forget that massive goal he scored up at Hillsborough to keep Palace in the Championship?
Ambrose has had something of a stop-start season this year, and has struggled to find consistent form due to some niggling injuries, although has managed to play in 27 league and cup games. He’s also grabbed nine goals, to put him top of the Palace scoring charts. This has included goals in important games such as the equaliser away at hated Brighton and THAT goal at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup Quarter Final. I remember posting on Facebook at the Amex arena when Palace were a goal down and saying that we needed to get Ambrose on – he’s a big game player. Freedman sent him into the fray on 78 minutes. Wilfred Zaha equalised in the 79th, and Ambrose had grabbed the winner by 88.
The rumours of Ambrose moving away have always been there, and every time he wins a match he will be linked with a move to the Premier League or a bigger club. Neil Warnock, his former manager at Palace, is a constant suitor. Warnock tried to snaffle Ambrose away to QPR whilst Palace were in administration, but the incoming chairman managed to persuade him to stay.
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In my eyes, Ambrose will always occupy those two spheres of inconsistency and magic, but if you’ve got a player that can come off the bench and win you a game from a losing position, then it’s worth having him there!
My top five Ambrose moments that have written him into Palace folklore:
Incredible 37 yard free kick vs Aston Villa in the FA Cup Winner against Brighton at Amex Arena 45 yard screamer vs Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup Quarter Final The goal at Hillsborough on the last day of 2010 season to keep Palace in the Championship Just back from injury, Ambrose bent a wonderful curler from wide left, into the top right hand corner vs Watford at Selhurst in a run-of-the-mill league game.
Iran’s women’s football team has been banned from playing an Olympic qualifier because their Islamic dress broke FIFA rules.Females have to comply with a mandatory dress code in the Islamic state, which means they play matches in tracksuits and full head covers.
But FIFA rules for the 2012 Games state that teams are not allowed to display political or religious messages or slogans on their equipment.
The Iranian team was prevented from playing a qualifier against Jordan on Friday because of the dress code violation, and their forfeit handed their opposition a 3-0 win.
Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation Farideh Shojaei said Iran had made alterations to their uniforms after a similar ban last year, and that FIFA had approved those changes.
“We provided a kit. Mr Kafashian took it to FIFA and showed it to Mr Sepp Blatter. And they proved that this conduct conforms to the fourth article of the FIFA constitution, which says (a kit should be) devoid of politics or religion,” Shojaei said.
“And in reality, this kit is neither religious, nor political, nor will it lead to harm a player. They proved this, and Mr Sepp Blatter accepted this and we participated in the Olympics.”
FIFA banned the hijab in 2007 and informed Iranian officials before the match that they would not be able to play in head scarves for safety reasons.
The world governing body declared that Jordan were also told about the ruling – with the country deciding not to select players who elected to wear the Islamic dress.
At the 2010 Youth Olympics, Iran’s girls were able to play in specially designed head gear.
In May 2009 Stephen Ireland was named Manchester City’s player of the year. Things are never plain sailing in football, with a new manager and change in personnel Ireland soon found himself struggling to make the first team. Since then, Ireland has moved to Aston Villa and like the end of his Manchester City career, playing time has been severely limited.
I feel slightly sorry for the Cork born star, Ireland only joined Aston Villa at the start of the season, after being included in the deal that took James Milner away from Villa to Manchester City. It would seem the midfielder has been farmed from club to club allowing little time to settle and regain the form he once had at Eastlands.
With a lack of opportunities at Villa, Speculation surrounding the club suggests that Aston Villa’s new manager Gerard Houllier is willing to allow Stephen Ireland to leave the club in January, providing him with the finances to personalise the team.
It would appear that Stephen Ireland is affected more so than others when it comes to change. Since the departure of Mark Hughes at Manchester City and his move to Villa, he has failed to hold down a first team place and has subsequently fallen down the pecking order at whatever club he found himself at.
With a long list of injuries at Villa, I found it surprising that a fit Ireland was overlooked as Houllier went for youth instead of tried and tested in the games against Fulham and Blackpool. This does not bode well for the 24 year old and would spell out that his days at Villa are numbered. However, Could another move resurrect the career of this talented individual?
It is believed that Ireland would quickly slip in to Roy Hodgson current Liverpool squad, and could make a spectacular partnership alongside captain Steven Gerrard in the Reds midfield. Hodgson has been vocal over his expected transfer activity in the January transfer window, and his desire to improve upon his current Liverpool squad.
Could a move to Anfield be just the ticket Ireland needs in order to regain the form he once enjoyed at Manchester City? Was his rich vein of form at Eastland just a flash in the pan? I guess only time will only tell.
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