Ricky Ponting wants to forget Australia’s 10-run loss to West Indies and escape any further “slip-ups” when his team faces a must-win scenario against England on Saturday. Australia’s batting failed to overcome the tight West Indian attack at Mumbai on Wednesday night and the bowling lacked regular pentetration.The pitch has also been criticised but Ponting refused to blame the conditions. “There was a game there to be won and we weren’t good enough,” Ponting said in The Australian. “Chasing 230-odd, we knew it was going to be hard work, but thought that total was pretty gettable if we applied ourselves. But there were only a couple of guys with our batting that actually did that, and we still got pretty close. So it was a disappointing day for us.”Ponting did not think Australia’s situation – they need to win to stay in contention for the finals – would be difficult to turn around. “You have to look at every game in this series as a knockout game anyway,” Ponting told the paper. “As we’ve found out in the last couple of Champions Trophy tournaments, one little slip-up and you’re gone. We’ve got to forget about it [Wednesday night] as quickly as we can, talk about the areas we didn’t play well in and improve them come Saturday.”England lost their opening match against India and both sides will use the game at Jaipur to score early points ahead of the Ashes. Australia’s loss in the semi-finals of the previous Champions Trophy gave England an early edge for their 2005 success and Ponting has already spoken of his plans to go hard at his opponents. “England’s one-day form hasn’t been great, but they will probably lift a bit against us,” he said. “I’d like to think we can improve.”Ponting is also struggling with the bat and has posted only one half-century in his past seven innings. He made a single on Wednesday and was dismissed playing on to Jerome Taylor. “I haven’t made a lot of runs in the last few one-day games that I’ve played,” Ponting said in The Courier-Mail. “I’ll be okay, I’ll bounce back on Saturday.”
</tableMakhaya Ntini and Chris Gayle have been left out of the 12-member World XI team for the first one-day international of the ICC Super Series against Australia at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne on October 5.Australia have included Cameron White, the Victoria captain, in their team while Stuart Clark and James Hopes were left out. White will make his one-day debut in the first game of the Super Series. He had taken 2 for 49 for Victoria in the warm-up game against the World XI. Both teams decided to name their Supersubs before the toss.Sunil Gavaskar, the World XI chairman of selectors, confirmed that Virender Sehwag and Kumar Sangakkara will open the batting for the World XI. Meanwhile, Ricky Ponting said that Simon Katich will replace Matthew Hayden as Adam Gilchrist's opening partner.Teams World XI 1 Shahid Afridi, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Jacques Kallis, 6 Brian Lara, 7 Kevin Pietersen, 8 Andrew Flintoff, 9 Shaun Pollock (capt), 10 Daniel Vettori, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan, 12 Shoaib AkhtarAustralia 1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Shane Watson, 8 Andrew Symonds, 9 Cameron White, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Glenn McGrath, 12 Nathan Bracken
ESPN-Star Sports has won the telecast rights for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka next month. The rights, which were awarded by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), included radio-broadcast and on-ground sponsorship.The Hindu quoted Manu Sawhney, the senior vice president of the programming and event management of ESPN-Star, who said: “Securing the rights for the Asia Cup is an affirmation of our commitment to Asian cricket. There are already several Asian cricket powerhouses and the others are coming into their own.”The tournament will be held between July 16 and August 2, and will include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE and Hong Kong.
Opener Mark Richardson scored 93 as New Zealand batted throughout the finalday of their drawn practice match against Sri Lanka A at Nondescripts CricketGrounds on Tuesday.The visitors, replying to Sri Lanka A’s 284, struggled against the legspinof Upul Chandana as they were bowled out for 283. The match was thendeclared a draw.Chandana claimed five for 98 from 33 overs, providing a timely reminder tothe Sri Lankan selectors, who will be finalising the Test squad tonight.They had been expected to plump for the young Kaushal Loukuarachchi, who hadimpressed in Sharjah, but Chandana’s fine all-round performance – he alsotop scored in the first innings with a breezy 55 – now provides them with adilemma.Apart from Richardson, who also cracked 106 in the opening warm-up game overthe weekend, none of the Kiwi batsmen scored heavily, although a handful madegood starts.Fellow opener Matt Horne (4) was bowled in the first over of the day byNandika Ranjith, a left-armer, who also claimed bowled Jacob Oram (26),ending a 44 run partnership with Richardson.Stephen Fleming (15), Matthew Sinclair (22) and Richard Jones (1) all failedto make maximum use of their last opportunity to acclimatise to localconditions before the first Test starting Friday.Robbie Hart, the wicket-keeper, did provide some lower-order resistance though, facing 98 deliveries for his unbeaten 34.New Zealand, after four consecutive days of match practice, now have acouple of days to recuperate and fine tune before the opening match of thetwo-Test series.
Recent Test form had been putting the team under pressure; so this was avery satisfying series win. We gathered our thoughts and reflected after thedisappointing loss in Kandy, before responding magnificently in the finalTest in Colombo. It was a fine team performance that will give us greatconfidence for the future.
Dav Whatmore National Coach
The star of the show, of course, was Muttiah Muralitharan. What anout-an-out champion he is. There were no demons in the wicket throughout thematch; it was easy paced, consistent in bounce, and offered very little inthe way of lateral movement. Murali, however, beat them in the air and offthe pitch during a marathon five-hour spell. It was an incredible feat ofskill, fitness, concentration and determination.Murali’s attitude throughout the three-match tour has been highlyimpressive. We have set out to play on new types of surfaces that offer fastbowlers greater assistance and none of the pitches deteriorated into thedustbowls that we have become used to at home in the recent past. Murali,however, who stands to gain most from crumbling surfaces, has notcomplained. In fact, he has thrown his support behind the move, which justshows that he has the team at his heart.When we batted, we placed a higher price on our wickets than we had done inKandy. Four batsmen capitalised on good starts to score centuries and thatis crucial. We will not win consistently if the batsmen throw away theirwickets after making good starts – 30’s and 40’s are not good enough, weneed big scores. Hopefully, we have learnt from the second Test and realisedthat we have to be tougher when we bat, especially in tight situations inthe second innings.The innings of Marvan (Atapattu) and Mahela (Jayawardene) were classyinnings and it was a terrific achievement for Mahela to score hundreds inconsecutive Test matches, but I would like to single out Hashan(Tillakaratne) and Thilan (Samaraweera) for special praise.Hashan had been under tremendous personal pressure after failing to click inthe first two games – he did though bat for nearly three hours in Kandy,which shows just the kind of grit and determination that we have beenlooking for. He must have been having sleepless nights before that innings,but he soaked up all the pressure and played some excellent strokes after hehad played himself in. To respond with an unbeaten century, his highest everscore for Sri Lanka, speaks volumes for his mental strength. He is extremelyfit too so, although he is 34-years-old, lets hope that he can keepdelivering for the next couple of years.Thilan has always been a workmanlike cricketer. He had forced his way intothe side with the sheer weight of performances with the A team and indomestic cricket. At every level in which he has played he has made the mostof his opportunity and did that again in his first Test match. When he firstwent out to bat with Hashan, we were expecting him to just play a supportiverole, which he did do for the first part of his innings, but after tea heplayed like a top order batsmen and reeled off some exceptional shots. Hemay not have bowled many overs in the game, but he picked up the key wicketof Ganguly to round off a perfect debut.Having established a lead of 376 India were left with over two days to bat.Although the wicket offered our bowlers even less assistance than in thefirst innings, we were always confident of winning, even after they startedso well, adding 107 for the first wicket. We just had to keep plugging awayand the bowlers did just that, maintaining a good line and length, which putthem under pressure and eventually led to those four wickets at the end ofday four.We have won a Test series for the first time since we beat Pakistan in March2000, but we will not be getting carried away. Sterner tests lie ahead. Wehave the West Indies here in November and we are off to England, SouthAfrica and Australia next year. These will be difficult tours and successwill be dependent upon us continuing to grow and develop as a team. We are,though, moving in the right direction.Indeed, one of the most pleasing aspects of this victory is that it wasachieved on good cricket wickets. Murali dominated the game in Colombo, butthe other bowlers all contributed, particularly Dilhara (Fernando) in Galleand Chaminda (Vaas) in Kandy. To win consistently abroad we need them tocontinue supporting Murali and do that we have to get used to this newsystem. If we hadn’t started practicing now then winning in May next yearagainst England would be very difficult indeed
Scorecard File photo: Rakep Patel his 12 fours and a six in his 58-ball knock•ICC/Zainab Malubhai
Rakep Patel top-scored with a 58-ball 80 as Kenya beat Namibia by 11 runs in Windhoek to register their second win in the ICC World Cricket League.Rakep built on the foundation laid by Alex Obanda, the opener, who made a solid 78-ball 52 as Kenya finished with 287 for 7 in 50 overs. Namibia were driven by Stephan Baard’s counterattacking 106-ball 132 that allowed them to stay ahead of the asking rate for the first 20 overs.But once Baard, the captain, fell, the innings came apart as they lost their last five wickets for 55 runs. That the second highest total for Namibia was 33 by JP Kotze explained Namibia’s woes as they were bowled out for 276 in 49 overs. Shem Ngoche, the left-arm spinner, inflicted maximum damage by returning figures of 3 for 53, while Elijah Otieno and Nelson Odhiambo, the pacers, took two wickets apiece.Both sides will square off again on Sunday at the same venue.
Newcastle United have been handed a much-needed injury boost ahead of their Premier League clash against Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
What’s the story?
After seeing Kieran Trippier need surgery, the last thing Magpies boss Eddie Howe needed was for another one of his right-backs to go down too, with Javier Manquillo missing the draw against West Ham.
But in better news for the Tyneside club, it appears he is now back in contention for the game away at Brentford at the weekend.
The Chronicle reported: “Howe initially feared the Spanish full-back could be out for an extended period over concerns for an ankle ligament injury, and Emil Krafth started in the 1-1 draw at West Ham.
“No return date has been given for Manquillo, but the 27-year-old was pictured back in full training on Wednesday, giving hope he could be fit to face the Bees.”
Huge boost for Howe
Having recently made his 100th appearance for the Magpies, Manquillo has been a player who’s perhaps gone slightly under the radar at St James’ Park.
The Spaniard certainly won’t be picking up any of the headlines anytime soon given how January signing Trippier has started life on Tyneside, but the reliable full-back has been a largely consistent performer for Newcastle.
An analysis piece done by The Chronicle earlier this week revealed: “In just 13 starts this season, Manquillo has made 40 tackles with only Sean Longstaff (41), Joe Willock (47) and Joelinton (51) making more. Those tackles have handed Newcastle possession of the ball 24 times – again, only the three players mentioned above rank higher.
“Manquillo tops the list in terms of tackles in the defensive third (26) and with the number of dribblers tackled (18) – a success rate of 56.3%.”
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With Trippier out for the foreseeable future, Howe desperately needed some positive news on the injury front when it came to Manquillo.
And with images showing him back in first-team training, it’s the kind of welcome boost that will give the Magpies another shot in the arm as they continue their resurgence under Howe.
Meanwhile, Newcastle could find their Shelvey heir in this star…
ScorecardThe second Test between India Under-19s and Sri Lanka Under-19s petered into a draw on the final day at Kandy, but there was enough time for Abhinav Mukund to crack another hundred.Mukund smacked 108 from 134 balls in India’s second innings, adding to his superb 205 in the first innings to take his team to 245 for 6. It was an impressive recovery for India having earlier been reduced to 50 for 4. Sachith Pathirana took 3 for 65, including the wicket of Saurav Tiwary who starred in a 145-run stand with Mukund, while Ishara Jayaratne took 2 for 33.Mukund finally fell for 108 and, with India leading by 349 runs, the match ended in a draw.
Inzamam-ul-Haq has lost the confidence of senior officials in the Pakistan Cricket Board as a result of the Oval ball-tampering row, according to former team manager Zaheer Abbas, who was removed from his post shortly after the Pakistan side returned home.Speaking to the BBC, Abbas claimed that the decision not to resume play after tea on the fourth day of the final Test was Inzamam’s alone and that “”Pakistan’s management is not happy with Inzamam at the moment.”He continued: “I requested him to go into the field at The Oval, chairman Shaharyar Khan requested also, and a few members of the cricket team, but he refused. After having protested we should have gone into the field and started playing. But Inzamam said to me ‘I don’t want to go in the field; if the boys want to go in the field then they can’. We know the captain didn’t listen to us at that point in time. Loads of people were there waiting for us to go and show our ability to them and see us playing.”He went on to say that Younis Khan, who resigned as stand-in captain on Thursday only to be reinstated following the dismissal of Shaharyar Khan as board chairman on Friday, was at odds with Shaharyar. “Once when Khan was in his room, Younis wanted to meet him,” Zaheer explained. “He had to wait 15 minutes to go and talk to him. A few other things cropped up and all of a sudden he said: ‘I don’t want to become a puppet captain of the Pakistan team’ – and that’s why he resigned.
Points TableHampshire’s excellent season ended on a disappointing note as they lost to Nottinghamshire and, in the process, were relegated to Division Two. Notts batted confidently to reach 248 for 5, with David Hussey striking a particularly savage 75 from just 53 balls. Rain forced a revised target of 165 to win, in 20 overs, but Hampshire were skittled out for 127. Despite an enterprising 36 from Jono McLean, Hampshire’s fate was sealed. Notts’ win also ensured their Division One status for another year.Gloucestershire beat Glamorgan in a high-scoring match at Bristol, but their win was in vain as they were relegated to Division Two for 2006. Set 263 to win, Craig Spearman got the home side on track with 81 from just 71 balls as Gloucestershire won by three wicketsDivision One champions Essex cruised to a seven-wicket win over Northamptonshire at Northampton. Northants posted 208, with fifties for Martin Love and Damien Wright. But a career-best 94 from Alastair Cook saw Essex home with more than four overs to spare.Lancashire brushed aside relegation fears with a 75-run win over Worcestershire at New Road. In a rain-affected match, Worcestershire were set 187 in 33 overs but were dismissed for 111 in the 29th over. James Anderson was remarkably economical in taking 3 for 12 from 5.1 overs. Lancashire’s 186 for 8 was built around Stuart Law’s 86. This defeat for Worcestershire relegates them to Division Two for 2006.
Division Two
Points TableLeicestershire beat Kent by 40 runs at Leicester, largely thanks to HD Ackerman’s knock of 78. The home side reached 280 for 5, and rain forced a revised Duckworth-Lewis target of 269 from 43 overs. But with the score on 170 for 6, rain once again intervened – this time for good – allowing Leicestershire through to a 40-run win.Somerset thrashed Derbyshire by 135 runs at Taunton to end a thoroughly forgettable season for Derbyshire. Ian Blackwell and Keith Parsons both hit 75 as Somerset hit 300 in their 45 overs. And, despite a brisk 62 from Hassan Adnan, Derbyshire crumbled to 165 all-out, with Blackwell turning in a superb performance in taking 5-26.Sussex romped to victory over Yorkshire at Hove, thanks to a woeful batting performance from the visitors. Put into bat, Yorkshire were blown away for 99 with Luke Wright taking 3 for 20. Derbyshire knocked off the required runs with consummate ease, and in the process took the Division Two title.Durham knocked a revised target of 154 to beat Warwickshire by 8 wickets – but both teams were promoted to Division One. Warwickshire were indebted to Dougie Brown’s 48 in their 187 for 8. Rain intervened for Durham’s innings, but they cruised to victory with more than four overs to spare, with Paul Collingwood unbeaten on 67.Surrey eased to an eight-wicket win over Scotland at The Oval. Craig White dug the Scots a score of respectability with 88 from 85 balls, as the visitors made 212 from their 45 overs. A rain interruption altered Surrey’s eventual target, which was reduced to 203 from 43 overs. They managed it without serious alarm, with Jon Batty hitting 51 and Scott Newman 80.