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Michael Clarke hopes he has until the morning of Thursday’s first Test against South Africa to prove he is ready to play

Cricinfo staff25-Feb-2009
Michael Clarke’s fitness remains a concern for Australia © Getty Images
Michael Clarke hopes he has until the morning of Thursday’s first Test against South Africa to prove he is ready after struggling to recover from a nagging back injury. Clarke hasn’t played since the fourth ODI against New Zealand on February 10, but was wanting a couple of strong training sessions in the lead-up to the game in Johannesburg.”It’s certainly improving and I’m confident I’ll pull up all right for the Test,” Clarke said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “Any time you’re not playing in the games, like the one we had last weekend, or any time you’re not able to train 100%, there’s a few little nerves there about if you’re going to be OK.”Clarke has been dealing with problems in his back since he was 14. “It’s not like I’m not used to it,” Clarke said. “I know I have to do a lot of strength work, core work, rehab, swimming, stretching. I know my body well enough now to know exactly what I have to do to stay on the park. This injury is completely different to what I’ve had in the past, which is why we’re going so slow and steady with it.”However, Clarke is “not too concerned” and wants to ensure it doesn’t flare up in the future. He hoped he would have until the morning of the game to show he was ready. “The last few days have been pretty good,” he said. “The physio’s been happy with how I’ve improved gradually every day.”

The PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, has ordered an inquiry into fast bowler Mohammad Asif’s detention in Dubai last year for possessing opium. The board has kept Asif under suspension since he tested positive in the IPL; he last played for Pakistan in April 2008.A three-member committee, consisting of Wasim Bari, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper and now director of human resources, Sohail Saleem, a doctor, and Asif Sohail, the PCB’s acting director of media, will probe the matter. “We had sought the legal advice on this case and the PCB chairman has formed the committee to look into this matter,” PCB chief operating officer Saleem Altaf told the . “Moreover, the International Cricket Council had also inquired from us whether we had investigated the matter or not.” The committee, which will start work on Friday, has not been given any time-frame to conclude its investigation, Altaf said.Asif was detained at Dubai airport for 19 days in June 2008 on his way back to Pakistan from the IPL. Dubai authorities found 0.24 grams of opium in his wallet but decided, despite deporting him, the case was not worth pursuing. Asif admitted during an interrogation that he had used the substance earlier in the year.The PCB’s order comes soon after it emerged that the ICC was taking an interest in the case as well, having recently announced a revamped and stringent anti-doping policy. Altaf said the board had received a copy of the Dubai authorities’ investigations – leaked to the public earlier this week – from the ICC. “Yes, the ICC has inquired about Asif’s incident and have sent us the copy of the Dubai investigation,” he said. “We will provide them with more information once we receive legal advice from our lawyers.”Earlier this week, Pakistani senators had also demanded the board conduct a probe into Asif’s detention. The previous administration, under whom the incident took place, claims it carried out an internal inquiry and produced a report, which has not yet seen the light of day. In its latest order, the PCB has said Shafqat Naghmi, the board’s former chief operating officer, “stole (for reasons rooted in the ulterior) the file containing the order of inquiry as also the documents received from Dubai at the time the present management took over.”Asif was due to travel to New Delhi on Thursday to sort out financial issues with his IPL team, the Delhi Daredevils, but has delayed his departure. “I was due to fly on Thursday afternoon, but now I might go to New Delhi either tomorrow or on Saturday,” he said. “I have to go and sort out this money issue because I was not paid a single penny.”He is set to appear before the IPL drugs tribunal on January 24 in Mumbai. Asif had appealed against his positive test for nandrolone, with the level of the drug having varied in his two samples.

Odds-on favourites Oman crushed Bhutan by 213 runs in the final of the Asian Cricket Council Challenge in Chiang Mai

Cricinfo staff21-Jan-2009
Oman’s captain Hemal Mehta with the ACC Challenge Trophy © ACC
Odds-on favourites Oman crushed Bhutan by 213 runs in the final of the Asian Cricket Council Challenge in Chiang Mai. Put into bat, Oman amassed 322 for 9 and then dismissed Bhutan for 109.The decision to insert Oman caused raised eyebrows as the conditions looked perfect for batting, and so it proved. Maqsood Hussain, whose 76 runs in the tournament included 72 in boundaries, cracked 14 off six balls and from then on it was one-way traffic.The key moment came when Adnan Ilyas was dropped when on 8 by the wicketkeeper in the day’s third over. He raced to 50 off 38 balls and brought up his hundred off 95, and by the time he was bowled by legspinner Jigme Singye for 113 the game was all but beyond Bhutan. “We were waiting for the mistakes,” Bhutan’s coach Damber Singh Gurung admitted, “But we made them.”Bhutan did well to keep things under some semblance of control after Ilyas departed, the last 16 overs only producing 107 runs for the loss of six wickets, but the damage had been done.Oman’s bowlers were as tight as their batsmen had been rampant. Bolstered by an attacking field of four slips, Farhan Khan, who was named bowler of the tournament, took 2 for 19 and Hemal Mehta almost took a hat-trick as he finished with 3 for 22.Opener Kumar Subba set out his stall to bat through the innings, grinding out 40 off 103 deliveries, and at the halfway point Bhutan were 65 for 4. He was eventually beaten for pace by Awal Khan and the victory was completed in the 43rd over.In the third/fourth place play-off, Thailand, who were widely expected to make the final until their shock defeat by Bhutan, ended on another disappointment as they lost by eight wickets to Maldives. Thailand were skittled for 60 as daft run-outs coupled with Abdulla Shahid, who took 4 for 13 off his ten overs, took their toll. Maldives lost an early wicket but a second-wicket stand of 44 between Ahmed Hussain and Ahmed Hassan ensured there were no more alarms.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has dropped a behind-the-scenes claim at Aston Villa about what Johan Lange is pushing for from Dean Smith.

What’s the story?

The Midlands club enjoyed a busy summer transfer window which saw numerous players come in and Jack Grealish head to Manchester City, but one man who has kind of been lost in the shuffle over the past few months is Morgan Sanson.

Writing for The Athletic, Evans revealed: “It’s understood that sporting director Johan Lange was very keen for Sanson, who made his first appearance in 149 days for the under-21s last night, to be given a chance to show what he is made of, too. It was Lange who pushed hard for that particular move, with CEO Christian Purslow agreeing that a £14 million deal last January represented good value for money.”

He added: “Whether a perceived fragility comes back to bite Villa in their quest for the top half remains to be seen. Can Luiz pull it all together to become the defensive midfielder Villa are missing? Will Nakamba find some consistency? Or does Sanson fill the gap? The weeks and months ahead should provide some answers.”

Villa fans may be fuming

In what was a rather frustrating first half-season in English football for Sanson, the Frenchman made just nine appearances in the Premier League totaling 291 minutes worth of football.

Following his disappointing displays, former Premier League goalkeeper Paddy Kenny said: “I don’t see why they wouldn’t sell him if he’s not producing. It’s only six months and sometimes you’ve got to give players a little bit more time. Not everyone settles well in this country.

“But if they are interested in a couple more midfielders then that could be a sign. There’s no shame in cutting your losses and moving on. People make mistakes. You’re never going to get every signing spot-on.”

Such has been the disappointment surrounding him that reports emerged even in late March that Villa chiefs felt they had made a big mistake in bringing Sanson to the club, and that “he is said to be very difficult to manage, and proved to be so much trouble for two of his former agents they decided to let him go.”

The report added that “there is a feeling in the corridors of power the club ‘haven’t done their homework’ over the 26-year-old Frenchman.”

Given that Villa were after the likes of James Ward-Prowse over the summer transfer window, it was clear that Smith was looking to bring in a new central midfielder. The fact that they haven’t done so, and may need to turn towards a player who both the coaching and recruitment staff seemingly feel isn’t up to scratch, is sure to leave fans fuming.

Lange pushing for Sanson to be given a chance is understandable given that he has only been here for a few months, but should that have been at the expense of potentially pushing the boat out for landing one of their big targets like Ward-Prowse?

Villa fans may be livid over this latest update from Evans.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has confirmed a major boost…

In the late 1990s it looked as if Canada was set to become North America’s home for visiting international sides. A large, primarily Asian, expat audience turned up in big numbers to a succession of tournaments, usually held in September.The presence of India and Pakistan was crucial to the viability of the ventures, but as the political tension between the two escalated, the cricket sides became caught up and eventually India were forced by their government to pull out rather than face Pakistan. Without the prime draw, interest waned and the Toronto project was doomed. Soon after, the whole match-fixing saga broke and offshore venues for matches lost their appeal as the authorities looked to clamp down on bookmakers’ opportunities.But nine years later on, and Toronto is again hosting major cricket. Some would argue it’s too late in the year – early-morning temperatures struggle to hit 50 degrees – but with the international calendar jam-packed, you take what window you can get.The event has been made possible by substantial sponsorship by a Dubai-based company. However, the build-up has been anything but ideal. West Indies were on the original cast list, along with Canada, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but they pulled out as their board signed a deal to make all their players available to Allen Stanford. They were replaced by Zimbabwe, hardly an A – or even B-list – attraction.Promotion has been scratchy, not helped by rumbling uncertainty over the visa positions for two of the visitors. As late as Monday, both Pakistan and Zimbabwe were reported to be having difficulties. In the event, both made it, albeit with little time to spare.Temporary stands, accommodating up to 10,000, have been built in recent weeks, and the organisers have been bullish in their predictions of the turnout. In the event, there were never more than 1300 inside the ground today, with the bigger audience for the Pakistan match. The earlier game was not so attractive, either in terms of teams or time. The 9.30am start on a chilly autumn morning doesn’t appeal to many.The ground looks pretty good, the replay screens are big and the sightscreens impress. But the behind-the-scenes operation was hardly slick, with power outages and limited internet access for the media. What an event like this needs is publicity, and the PR machine has been, at best, spluttering into life. With a slicker operation, many more tickets might well have been shifted. Oh, and given that a picture is worth a thousand words, someone might have thought to ensure that there were photographers on the ground who would feed the world’s media.The hope is that the weekend will bring much bigger crowds, and talk is that when Sri Lanka play Pakistan tomorrow at 1.30pm in what should be a dress rehearsal for the final, there will be several thousand inside the hastily-constructed ground.Despite the glitches and grumbles, just getting top cricket to Canada is an achievement, and the organisers deserve credit for that. What they now need is three days of good weather, more spectators and some great cricket.

Aston Villa have made contact and are in discussions with Norwich City over a deal for Todd Cantwell, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Grealish’s exit

As we now know, Jack Grealish is no longer an Aston Villa player. He became the most expensive signing by a British club, joining Manchester City in a deal worth £100m.

Grealish has signed a six-year deal at the Etihad and will wear the number ten shirt vacated by Sergio Aguero, with Villa’s attention now on bringing in reinforcements following his exit.

Sky Sports believed Villa were expected to pursue Cantwell if Grealish left, and it seems as if they are doing just that.

The Latest: Source shares update

According to Football Insider, who were informed by a Villa source, the club are working on a deal for the 23-year-old.

Discussions are ongoing, so contact has been made, with Villa keen to make Cantwell their fourth big-money signing of the summer after Emiliano Buendia, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings.

Cantwell, who is under the same agency as Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho, has rebuffed attempts to extend his Carrow Road deal.

The Verdict: Good planning

Villa, as Christian Purslow admitted, have planned for Grealish’s exit, and it appears as if Cantwell, who has 15 assists to his name in his fledgling senior career, is their main attacking midfield target.

It’s good to see that Villa are already acting on bringing in a replacement, but it could take upwards of £40-£50m to sign the Norwich man.

You’d expect Villa would want to secure a deal relatively quickly with the new season just around the corner, so there could well be significant developments over the weekend on what has the potential to be a second record signing of the summer at Villa Park.

In other news: ‘So scary’, ‘You what?’ – Lots of Aston Villa fans erupt at confirmed news.  

ScorecardThe play-off for fifth and sixth places in the tournament evoked little interest, even before the start of another poor match, where Bermuda’s dismal batting display handed Canada the easiest of victories, by eight wickets and with almost half the possible 20 overs in hand. Bermuda decided to omit their most famous player, Dwayne Leverock, from this match to give their reserves an outing.Canada put Bermuda in to bat and the men in blue soon lost their opener Chris Foggo, caught off a skier to long leg for 7, followed by Orande Bascombe (2) to a lesser skyer in the covers. Inexperienced as they are in this form of the game, the Associate players depart to skied catches much more regularly than do the professionals.Wickets contined to fall, including that of Bermuda’s most successful batsman of the tournament, Stephen Outerbridge, lbw to Henry Osinde for 4. After ten overs, the score was an apparently hopeless 34 for 5, and once again incompetent batting by the top order had condemned a team to humilation and probable defeat. At 45 the remaining opener, Oliver Pitcher, sliced an easy catch to backward point after holding out for a dogged 15, and the sorry procession continued.The innings slid to a sorry conclusion for 70 all out in the final over, and the Bermudan players must have felt deeply demoralised. They never at any point looked like giving a good account of themselves with the bat and Pitcher alone reached double figures. Remarkably, there was only one boundary shot in the entire innings, hit by Foggo in the opening over. Four bowlers took two cheap wickets each; Osinde, with 2 for 12, had the poorest figures of them, but arguably did the most valuable job in shattering the very shatterable top order. Steve Welsh took two middle-order wickets for just six runs in three overs, and two good catches in addition tipped the scales his way for the Man of the Match award.The question was, could Canada do any better? There was no evidence of it from the first ball of the innings, which Mohammad Qazi popped up tamely to midwicket. Canada did not need to hurry, though, and the score proceeded to 32, at which point John Davison, some would say unusually restrained in his batting for a brisk 19 off 13 balls, skied a catch to mid-on after four overs.Geoffrey Barnett took over the post of responsibility and saw his team through to an overwhelming victory by eight wickets, scoring 33 comfortably off 34 balls, while Ashish Bagai backed him up with 15 off 16 balls. Canada, at least, can go home with a convincing win under their belts, but tinged with the knowledge that they peaked a little too late.

Aston Villa have confirmed that assistant manager John Terry has left the club after four years in the Midlands.

Initially signing as a player in 2017, the former Chelsea legend took the captaincy at Villa Park, registering two goal contributions in 36 fixtures for the Villans with one goal and one assist [Transfermarkt].

He then moved on to a role within the coaching setup under Dean Smith, helping the team to promotion back to the Premier League two years ago and keeping them there ever since, but he has now decided to leave the club in search of a new challenge [avfc.co.uk].

Interestingly, he has stated his intention to have a break from football to spend time with his family, although he is now the bookmakers’ favourite for the managerial role at Swansea City [Wales Online].

In light of his exit, loads of Aston Villa fans took to Twitter to express their feelings about the 40-year-old’s decision to move on. It naturally came as a disappointment to many, with Smith’s side having the joint-seventh best defensive record in last season’s Premier League as Terry helped to instil the nous from his playing days into Villa’s squad.

Aston Villa fans react

Replying to Aston Villa’s official Twitter channel, here is what some supporters had to say upon hearing the news, with one describing Terry as a “top professional” for his work at the club:

“will be a big loss actually”

Credit: @catrinedwards18″We will never forget how passionately you celebrated that goal against Arsenal”Credit: @AlexAstonVilla”A player and person I never wanted anywhere near Aston Villa! How wrong I was. You have been a leader on the pitch and showed players how to be the best they can. A true professional and I thank you for your service. Best of luck in your new adventure”Credit: @PhillPhillbull”Really gutted about this, he worked wonders with the defence last season. Wish you all the best JT, no doubt a successful managerial career awaits you”Credit: @ArborCorpKorea”NOOOOOOOO”Credit: @TyBracey”Disappointing news but a top professional. Huge part of where Villa are now. Will become an excellent manager”Credit: @moore_tomasIn other news, many Aston Villa fans react to this transfer update.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting praised his players for battling back into the the VB series opener at the SCG to beat England comfortably by seven wickets after a slow start.”We were probably a bit disappointed that England made as many as they did,” Ponting reflected. “They batted well at the start of their innings, our bowlers clawed it back through the middle and then our batsmen went out and did a fantastic job and reeled in the runs.”England’s total under lights of 251 for eight from their 50 overs soon looked inadequate as Australian openers Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden rattled off a century stand before the first wicket fell for 101 after 13.5 overs. Man-of-the-Match Hayden was dismissed just two runs short of his century.”The way that we came out today was terrific,” Hayden enthused. “We really wanted to chase runs and were off to a flying start. Then it was a terrific innings by Damien Martyn in difficult conditions. I guess we are at a stage with our batting where we are showing good experience throughout the innings.”England captain Nasser Hussain admitted England needed to reassess their strategy. Nick Knight hit an unbeaten 111 for the tourists, but their batting challenge faded in the closing overs.”We played some better cricket today,” said the England captain. “It’s pleasing to see the boys go out there and put on a show in front of a big crowd. The three games before I thought we were below par but today the big crowd and the big occasion lifted us a little, bit but it wasn’t enough.”The last 10 overs of our batting and their first 15 probably made the difference in the end, but we were a little bit better.”Hussain hopes that Nick Knight, who was unable to field during Australia’s reply having been struck by cramp towards the end of his century innings, will be fit for England’s second game of the triangular series against Australia in Melbourne on Sunday.”Nick was struggling with cramping all over the body and not just in one specific area, and the combination of that with new batters trying to get used to the pace of the wicket kept us down to 20 or 30 less than we should have got,” added Hussain.”When we went out to field he was shivering a little bit which tends to suggest dehydration, but he’s OK and we just have to get him right for Sunday now. He’s a fit lad but it was hot out there today and there were lots of ones or twos because of the nature of the wicket.”We are really going to have to work out some better plans for the first 15 overs. Hayden and Gilchrist did exceptionally well and you can’t let a side get away. The Sri Lankans will be exactly the same, they will come at you and for those first 15 overs, we are going to have to rethink our plans.”

For the second year running, Lincs earned a third round Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy tie against a First Class county

Lincolnshire CCC13-Sep-2002For the second year running, Lincs earned a third round Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy tie against a First Class county.But this time it was a close call as Cheshire came within four runs of snatching victory at Neston – and it was the final over bowled by captain Mark Fell which denied the home side the coveted third round clash.Earlier, having won the toss, Fell opened the batting with Cleethorpes’ overseas player Shane Deitz and the pair attacked the Cheshire bowling right from the first ball.Having put on 57 in a handful of overs, both were then dismissed, Fell bowled for 29 and Deitz lbw for 21 but this brought together Martyn Dobson and Richard Howitt who kept the momentum going with a stand of 84.And when Howitt was bowled for 31, the reliable Jonathan Trower joined Dobson in a partnership of 103 that ended when Dobson was caught for 90, which came off 118 balls.When Trower was stumped, having hit 67 off 54 balls, Lincs were 264 for five and at the close the total had reached 281 for seven.Simon Oakes and Jonathan Davies then denied Cheshire the chance to match Lincs’ flying start, both opening with maidens, and despite a first wicket stand of 122 between Currie and Bryson, the home side fell well behind the run rate.However, the dismissal of Bryson for 59, stumped off Dobson, saw Hignett’s arrival the crease and this turned the game, the number three hitting 84 off 56 balls and adding 122 with Currie before being bowled by Fell.Cheshire had 261 on the board when the third wicket went but the home side then lost the next three for the addition of only eight runs, Fell dismissing Currie for 94 and Oakes claiming his only victim.Fell struck again with the score on 274 and as he came in to bowl the last ball, the Lincs captain knew that, with a faster scoring rate off the first six overs, only a six from the batsman could lose his side the game. But instead the bails came off to give Fell four for 20 off five overs as Cheshire finished 277 for eight.Lincs now face several weeks wait to learn who they will face in the third round of the competition next May.