Cricket Australia is keeping an eye on the political situation in Pakistan ahead of Australia’s scheduled tour there in February. However, no decision on whether the trip will proceed will be made until January at the earliest.Pakistan’s president Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency on Saturday but the Pakistan Cricket Board said there was no reason for cricket tours to be affected. Cricket Australia’s spokesman Peter Young said it was too early to determine if Australia’s tour should go ahead.”There will be an inspection tour closer to the date, but until then we’ll just be keeping an eye on things,” Young told the . Australia are scheduled to play three Tests and five ODIs in Pakistan in February and March. The last time Australia were supposed to play Tests in Pakistan the matches were moved to neutral venues in Sri Lanka and Sharjah because of safety concerns.
Three plucky half-centuries helped India Red seal a spot in the final of the Challenger Series, wrapping up the final league game by a comfortable 39-run margin. For the second time in as many days, the India Green batsmen struggled while chasing a big total under lights and went out of the tournament without making too much of an impact.Sourav Ganguly, the focus of all the attention, failed yet again but it was the lesser names that stole the bulk of the attention. While Gautam Gambhir continued his fine run and Robin Uthappa showed how adept he is at building an innings, it was the audacious Dinesh Karthik who dazzled for most of the first innings. Parthiv Patel battled briefly, and the tailenders swung their bats in the dying moments but, with the pitch helping spin and bounce, VRV Singh and Ramesh Powar sealed the issue.The India Red openers might have set the pace but it was Karthik, brimming with cheek, who stood out. Coming in at No.3, he consolidated a solid start, nudging singles and twos, before launching a thrilling assault. First came the lap shots – reminiscent of Douglas Marillier’s trademark scoop – then the sweeps – both conventional and reverse – and finally, when all one expected was improvisation, he went back the traditional route and punched down the ground. It was in the same venue, his home turf, that he shot into the national limelight two years ago and this innings would surely provide a fillip for his comeback bid. He was also instrumental in making a hash of Lakshmipathy Balaji’s figures, who’d begun accurately but soon had no answers to the unorthodox methods.While it was a sight to see Karthik hurrying between the wickets, despite the sweltering weather, another batsman, not for the first time, struggled with cramps. Uthappa continued his penchant for doing well in the Challenger Series – he shot into the limelight after a blistering hundred in last year’s edition – and, barring the dehydration factor, looked in control. He picked his shots cleverly and chipped away with singles in between meaty boundaries. He launched into Chawla in the 25th over, biffing two massive sixes, allowing India Red to reach an exact 150 at the halfway stage.
The other half-centurion wouldn’t have managed much without large dollops of fortune. Coming off the back of a fine hundred in the tournament opener, Gambhir capitalised on a dropped chance from Patel, the wicketkeeper, and was lucky to survive a perilous appeal for lbw against Piyush Chawla. Yet, he rode his luck, slapping crisp drives when offered width, and occasionally unfurled some emphatic strokeplay.India Green were jolted early. The bowler who caused most problems for them was Sreesanth, who, ironically, has been left out of India’s Champions Trophy squad. He generated disconcerting pace and didn’t hesitate to slip in the odd bouncer, running in with characteristic aggression and hustling the batsmen. He struck a big blow in his second over, nailing Ganguly with an incisive straighter one that kissed the inside edge and rocked leg stump. Unlike Zaheer Khan, who bowled impressively but was unlucky to be taken for runs, Sreesanth kept his economy-rate down and accounted for Wasim Jaffer when he tried to break the shackles.Praveen Kumar, sent in as a pinch-hitter, neither pinched nor hit and it was only because of Patel that India Green stayed on with a faint chance. He was let off on 21, when Sreesanth grassed a simple chance at fine leg, but battled on with an attractive mix of slashes and drives. The spinners, though, have come into their own in this tournament, especially when teams bowl second. Powar, not wearing his snazzy goggles but still looping it deliciously, generated grip and dip while Murali Kartik, not tossing it up that much but wearing his set of shades, frustrated with his control.Chawla and Mithun Manhas blasted 71 for the eighth wicket but by then India Red had decided to try out a few part-timers, allowing their main bowlers to take a rest ahead of tomorrow’s final. Chawla’s half century, with five fours and two blistering sixes, gave them the faintest of hopes but VRV Singh returned, generated pace and bounce, and was rewarded with four wickets at the end of the day.
India RedRobin Uthappa retired hurt 81 Gautam Gambhir c Kaif b Chawla 75 (177 for 1) Rohit Sharma c Manhas b Kumar 26 (254 for 2) Robin Uthappa c Kaif b Balaji 92 (303 for 3) Dinesh Karthik c Patel b Balaji 85 (306 for 4) India GreenSourav Ganguly b Sreesanth 3 (10 for 1) Wasim Jaffer c Karthik b Sreesanth 23 (53 for 2) Praveen Kumar c Kartik b VRV Singh 9 (69 for 3) Mohammad Kaif b Powar 34 (138 for 4) Suresh Raina c Sharma b Kartik 1 (139 for 5) Parthiv Patel c Sharma b Powar 69 (169 for 6) Hemang Badani c Sharma b Powar 18 (178 for 7) Mithun Manhas c Kartik b VRV Singh 34 (249 for 8) Lakshmipathy Balaji c Sreesanth b Zaheer 9 (278 for 9) Ashish Nehra b VRV Singh 0 (278 all out)
Tickets for the traditional end-of-season Australian Rules Football game at The Oval on October 8 are selling well, with over 10,000 already sold for the event.The main attraction is the game between Grand Finalists the West Coast Eagles and local Perth rivals the Fremantle Dockers which starts at 2.40pm. That will be preceeded by a clash between the Irish AFL side, the Green Machine, and the British Bulldogs.AFL first appeared at The Oval in 1972 but the end-of-season exhibition only became a regular fixture in the late 1980s.And in 2006 the ground might host Major League Baseball (MLB) after it was revealed that officials of Surrey had held discussions with MLB representatives. “MLB is very interested in playing games in Europe,” Paul Archey, the organisation’s senior vice-president said. “We’re investigating possibilities in Europe where we may be able to play regular-season games as early as the 2007 season. There’s a lot of interest in us playing in London, and I think selling tickets would be the easiest part of it.”Tickets for the event are £20 and are available on Surrey’s website or 0207 582 7764
After beating India twice in one month, Moin Khan said that he believed Pakistan had the firepower to do it a third time, during the Champions Trophy. Pakistan first romped to an authoritative win over their rivals in the Asia Cup, and then completely outplayed them on an uneven pitch in Amsterdam.The victories were significant, for they showed the improvement the team had made since Bob Woolmer became coach, and that they had put the series defeat against India behind them. Moin spoke about the pressure of facing India in front of a large Pakistani crowd away from home, as well as his own expectations. “In the last two games we dominated them, we beat them and I hope we’re going to perform in the same way,” Moin said to the BBC. “It’s going to be an exciting game because a lot of Pakistani people live here and support us. Definitely there’s going to be lots of pressure on both teams.”The match will be played at Edgbaston on September 19. Both teams have met only once before on an English ground: in the 1999 World Cup, where India beat Pakistan. But since then, Pakistan have beaten India seven times on neutral territory, while India have won three games.
Worcestershire 216 for 8 (Anurag 74, Leatherdale 62) beat Leicestershire 141 by 75 runs
Anurag Singh: important 74, despite hamstring injury
After enjoying the upper hand for much of yesterday’s play, Leicestershire were caught cold on the resumption of their rain-interrupted quarter-final at Grace Road, as Mark Harrity and Matt Mason took three wickets each on a slow seamer. Leicestershire resumed on their overnight 5 for 0, but immediately lost Virender Sehwag for 2 and never recovered. They stumbled to 60 for 6 in pursuit of Worcestershire’s 216 for 8, and only a desperate rearguard from Phil DeFreitas and Charlie Dagnall enabled them to reach the relative prosperity of 141.Sehwag was trapped lbw by Mason off the very first ball of the day, and though Darren Stevens crashed his way to 34 from 26 balls, the game was sealed when five wickets fell for 12 runs, including Stevens and the dangerous Darren Maddy in consecutive deliveries from Andrew Hall. It was sweet revenge for Hall, who had himself been dismissed first-ball by Maddy in yesterday’s play.Going into the match, Worcestershire had been deprived of three key players in Graeme Hick, Stephen Peters and Nantie Hayward, and their own innings had never really got going. They seemed destined for a heavy defeat when Maddy picked up three wickets in an over, including his former Leicestershire colleague, Ben Smith, for a duck, but Anurag Singh and David Leatherdale knuckled down and ground out a competitive total.Singh defied a hamstring injury to make a gritty 74, and Leatherdale followed his matchwinning 80 against Yorkshire in the previous round with a well-paced 62. They added 111 for the fifth wicket, but until the rainclouds rolled across the ground towards the end of the day, it scarcely seemed enough.
Nashua Western Province squads to play the Highveld Strikers in the SuperSport Series at the Wanderers Stadium, 12 to 15 October 2001 and Namibia in the UCB Bowl at Windhoek, 11 to 14 October.1) Graeme Smith 2) Rashaad Magiet 3) Andrew Puttick 4) H.D. Ackerman ( C ) 5) Jonathan Trott 6) Neil Johnson 7) Thami Tsolekile 8) Alan Dawson 9) Paul Adams 10) Claude Henderson 11) Roger Telemachus 12) Charl Willoughby COACHES: Vincent Barnes and Eric Simons Nashua Western Province Bowl Team Vs Namibia1) Ryan Cotterel 2) Ryan Maron 3) Renier Munnik 4) Sean Ackerman ( C ) 5) Warren Wyngard 6) Wesley Euley 7) Faghmie Jardine 8) Marc de Stadler 9) Grant de Kock 10) Paul Harris 11) Quentin Friend 12) Antonio Mullins Coach: Peter Kirsten
Max Sorensen has been ruled out of the remainder of Ireland’s tour of Zimbabwe and Namibia due to a back injury.Sorensen, the 29-year-old allrounder, was slated to play the four-day fixture against Zimbabwe A starting in Harare on Saturday, but will now return to Ireland immediately. He will also miss the Intercontinental Cup clash against Namibia in Windhoek starting October 24.Stuart Poynter, the wicketkeeper who was to leave the squad after the Zimbabwe leg of the tour, has provisionally been named as Sorensen’s replacement, subject to an approval from the ICC’s technical committee.Sorensen, who last represented the country in a T20I against Scotland in June, did not play a part in the ODI series against Zimbabwe, which Ireland lost 2-1. His last ODI was against South Africa, during the 2015 World Cup in March.
Almost a month into Brendan Rodgers’ first month at the Anfield reins and all has gone quiet on Merseyside. Transfer conjecture, as expected, continues to swell as the Northern Irishman continues to keep his recruitment plans under wraps. Rodgers will be frustrated at losing out on Gylfi Sigurdsson as the Icelandic midfielder closes in on a move to North London, whilst reported target Fabio Borini opted to continue his career revitalisation in Italy. After watching their rivals spend big to bring in some of Europe’s top talents you’d have to forgive Reds fans for thinking they’re being left behind. Especially when they pick up the newspaper on a morning to see they’re being linked with Victor Moses. But if theres one thing we’ve all learned from Rodgers’ short career in the dugout is that he doesn’t require big name players to bring success to a club. His principles are built upon finding players capable of complying with his strategic, passing philosophy. Money was spent in abundance during Kop idol Kenny Dalglish’s second coming but it’s unlikely the same level of funds will be afforded to Rodgers as the new season draws ever closer.
This week on FFC where does Charlie Adam’s Anfield career go from here and which Uruguayan playmaker to the Reds face a battle to sign?
Best of FFC
What next for Charlie Adam?
Does Steven Gerrard’s England form spell the end?
Time for the Premier League to renew it’s interest in Giuseppe Rossi?
Should Premier League clubs look to Txiki Begiristain to aid development?
The British Manager has suddenly become fashionable
Why US ownership could slowly move the goalposts in football
The TEN players whose ability does not match their reputation
Liverpool face transfer battle for Uruguayan
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Best of WEB
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Should Rodgers Stick & Improve, or Twist Current Squad? – Live 4 Liverpool
‘World Class’ football performance: A new definition… – Liverpool Kop
Liverpool FC – The transfer scramble – This is Anfield
Cyterszpiler confirms Liverpool interest in Vargas – Liverpool Kop
How Do Liverpool Go Forth Into Fourth? – The Tomkins Times
We’re Missing Out On Targets – Should We Be Concerned? – Live 4 Liverpool
The re-birth of Andy Carroll – This is Anfield
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Quote of the Week
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“We all look at how Swansea played last year – they were a breath of fresh air for the Premier League and I think that’s probably one of the reasons why Brendan Rodgers has got the job.
“He has a lot of experience coaching-wise – he’s worked with Jose Mourinho.
So we’re all looking forward to it. Obviously we’re disappointed for Kenny [Dalglish] and the staff because I got on well with them but we have to move forward and get right behind the manager” Jamie Carragher says he is relishing playing under Brendan Rodgers
Liverpool have been through a turbulent few years on and off the field which finally came to a halt with the arrival of the new owners last year and Kenny Dalglish’s return to the club in January. There were many reasons for their alarming decline, but one thing that seemed to have set the club on the slide on the field was the loss of Xabi Alonso, an integral part of the side, and someone that they still haven’t been able to replace two years on.
Alonso was a world class player, he formed an excellent partnership with Javier Mascherano, and alongside Steven Gerrard, completed one of the finest midfields around. He was a passing genius, as well as an intelligent player, and he provided the key link between the defense and the attack which Liverpool have lacked since his departure. Although it is a few years since he left, his absence in the middle of the field is still noticeable.
Alonso was a quality player, one as integral to the side as Gerrard was. When he was at the club and didn’t play, Liverpool looked like they were a man down, they lacked creativity and they have struggled with the hangover caused by his loss ever since.
Liverpool have tried to replace Alonso, but it’s a tough ask to replace such a world class player, particularly one with such a distinctive style. Lucas has come on a long way since the time he first donned a reds shirt, and he’s done well but he’s not of the same quality as Alonso, and he has yet to stamp his name on the defensive midfield role permanently.
At the end of last season, Liverpool seemed to have finally moved towards a new idea of how to play, with a new style under Dalglish. No longer did they look inept or ineffective in attack, and for the first time since Alonso left they looked creative, yet no one has staked their claim to be unchallenged in the central role. Alberto Aquilani, though his future remains uncertain, could write his name into the role. He is a different option to what Alonso provided in the past, quicker on the ball, with pace and trickery, he provides a more direct attacking threat than Xabi used to. He never really got a fair chance under Hodgson so he may prove more worthwhile this season if given the opportunity.
Charlie Adam is another, who it has been mentioned could finally fill the space left by Alonso, but he was quick to play down these comments. It is tough for every central midfielder who comes to the club because of the quality that went before. Adam is an excellent passer of the ball, with great vision, but he was quick to state that he is not another Alonso, he’s his own man. This is a new Liverpool, with new players, and under Dalglish it seems that it is time to stop looking back to what the side had in Alonso and finally move on.
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It seems that the time is right now to forget the past and look forward to the future, Liverpool now have an exciting team with talented players who will play in a different style which could be every bit as effective as Alonso once was. Somebody needs to step up to the plate in the middle of the park, and make the role their own, so that the loss of Alonso becomes a distant memory.
There is huge pressure on anybody going to step into central midfield, because of the quality that has gone before, but these players need to be their own men and they need to make the role their own, so Liverpool can finally move on from the loss of Alonso for good.
For more thoughts, comment and debate follow me on Twitter @LaurenRutter
Blackpool’s Ian Holloway suspected nothing would stop Manchester United as they battled their way back from 2-0 down at Bloomfield Road.
Hosts Blackpool led thanks to goals from Craig Cathcart and DJ Campbell and should have had a penalty when Rafael bundled over Luke Varney inside the area early in the second half.
But after being denied the chance to make it 3-0, Holloway’s worst fears were confirmed when the English Premier League leaders came roaring back.
Strikes from Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez pulled United level. But United were not merely content with saving their undefeated league record, and Bulgarian forward Berbatov struck again to seal a come-from-behind victory.
“No matter what you do they are not going to stop,” Holloway said.
“You’ve got to give them credit. The substitutions on the night, they’ve got such a great squad, their attitude and everything about them is fantastic. The tempo that they close you down (with) – my team are just not used to it.”
“Last time we faced that was Chelsea and they whooped us and Arsenal who absolutely murdered us.”
“We could have gone 3-0 up and it wouldn’t have been undeserved, would it?”
Speculation continues to mount that star man Charlie Adam – who had a transfer request declined on Monday – will be prised away from the promoted side. Holloway said that, such is the regard the Scot held in at Blackpool, that a tribute to a midfield lynchpin would not be out of place.
“I know Charlie Adam will go down in folk history and I might even start making a statue to him myself,” he said.
“Give me a pen-knife and a hammer and I’ll start carving it out of wood because I can’t afford a bronze one.”
Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson believes the comeback marks another chapter in the club’s long and proud record of never-say-die victories.
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“We have come from two goals down and, apart from anything, it shows everyone what can be achieved by producing our best,” Ferguson said.
“In the second half, there was some great stuff. That team can achieve a lot.”
“You can never say never because this club never gives in. The history tells you that, and that is why the history is so great. We never give in. When we got the second goal I thought we would go on to win by more because at that moment we were playing really well.”