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The Manchester United job is difficult enough – try not to make it even harder for yourself.

That would be the advice Ruben Amorim should have heeded in his final days in charge, having made a string of head-scratching, in-game decisions.

Be it substituting goalscorer Joshua Zirkzee at half-time against Wolverhampton Wanderers, replacing Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez with just minutes to play against Newcastle United, or even refusing to deploy a back four when chasing the game against ten-man Everton at Old Trafford.

While the Portuguese coach has steered the club into sixth in the Premier League, the past month has showcased a string of missed opportunities, winning just one of the last five home league outings, a run that included largely favourable opposition.

Rather than letting things derail further, INEOS have struck swiftly and ruthlessly, with all eyes on just who will be named the 40-year-old’s long-term successor.

Top target emerges in race to replace Amorim this summer

Much like with the case of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sackings in 2018 and 2021, respectively, United look to be seeking an interim, caretaker solution, before settling on a permanent appointment ahead of next season.

It would appear that that man Solskjaer is leading the race for the temporary role, with former colleague Michael Carrick also vying for his own Old Trafford homecoming.

In the case of Solskjaer, in particular, he is believed to be hopeful of doing enough to secure the job for the long-term, although the plan appears to be to go in a different direction, regardless of what happens between now and the end of the season.

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According to TEAMtalk, a new top target – alongside Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner – has emerged in the form of Marseille boss, Roberto De Zerbi, with the Italian previously interviewed for the role back in the summer of 2024.

The admiration from those at Old Trafford has remained since then, with De Zerbi himself said to be ready to leave France, viewing United as the perfect next step in his career.

It would appear that INEOS aren’t alone in their interest in him, however, with the 46-year-old also a candidate to potentially replace Thomas Frank at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Why De Zerbi could be another Amorim at Man Utd

Whether Amorim was aware of what was coming at that stage remains to be seen, although his explosive final outburst following the Elland Road stalemate highlighted his fractured relationship with the INEOS regime.

The former Sporting CP reiterated his desire to be the manager of Manchester United, and not the ‘head coach’, while pointing to the need for those above him to do their jobs.

Subsequent reports have suggested there was a schism regarding the club’s transfer dealings, with Amorim having been keen to sign the Aston Villa pairing of Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez, ahead of Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens.

A heart on his sleeve kind of coach with a radical tactical approach, there is certainly a shared likeness between the ex-United man and his potential replacement, De Zerbi, with the former Brighton and Hove Albion maverick also likely to go toe to toe with the Old Trafford hierarchy.

Indeed, part of the reason for his exit from the Amex in 2024 came as a result of a significant disagreement over the Seagulls’ transfer policy, with recruitment led by those above De Zerbi at the club.

An early departure at the Stade Velodrome also looked on the cards back in March, with De Zerbi refusing to take training following a loss to Reims, with the enigmatic coach seemingly always on the brink of exploding.

Amorim’s First & Last Man Utd XIs

vs Ipswich

Position

vs Leeds

Onana

GK

Lammens

Mazraoui

RCB

Yoro

De Ligt

CB

Heaven

Evans

LCB

Martinez

Amad

RWB

Dalot

Casemiro

CM

Casemiro

Eriksen

CM

Ugarte

Dalot

LWB

Shaw

Fernandes

RAM

Dorgu

Garnacho

LAM

Cunha

Rashford

ST

Sesko

In terms of tactics too, his approach has irked those in France. While not wedded to a back three like Amorim, the former Sassuolo man does appear to be confusing his playing squad, having repeatedly flitted between different tactical approaches and set-ups.

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That was noted by Louis Vix on the recent episode of the Totally Football Show, with the Canal+ journalist describing De Zerbi’s team as “unpredictable” and capable of moving from one extreme to the other, while noting that his “constant tactical changes” are putting his players in “difficult situations”.

Such criticism certainly should have a few alarm bells ringing, considering the likeness to Amorim, even with De Zerbi hailed as “one of the best coaches in the world” by his Marseille group.

United’s squad can’t afford another chaotic, combustible coach, and nor can INEOS, with the Italian arguably more likely to plunge the Red Devils further into crisis, rather than steadying the ship as needed.

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Manchester United have a new manager in their sights after Ruben Amorim’s sacking.

Posts 1 ByEthan Lamb

Chelsea are keen on a pair of Premier League talents who would greatly bolster their attacking ranks as they close in on a new manager.

When Chelsea lifted the Club World Cup trophy in July, their second of two trophies won under Enzo Maresca, few people, if any, would have foreseen that the Italian would be unemployed just six months later. On New Year’s Day, the Blues announced that they had parted ways with their manager, with the club fifth in the Premier League and tensions rising in the weeks prior.

Chelsea have been stuttering since beating Barcelona in the Champions League at the end of November, winning just two games out of their last nine across all competitions. Even still, Maresca’s dismissal has come as a shock, as it appeared that the Italian had offered the Blues some much-needed stability following the early chaos of BlueCo’s ownership.

Though other names have been touted for Chelsea, it seems that Liam Rosenior is the front-runner to replace Maresca.

Working at Strasbourg in France, who share the same ownership as Chelsea, the Englishman guided the club to a seventh-placed finish last season in Ligue 1 and since then, he has established them as a favourite for the Conference League, finishing first in the league phase.

For all of the risks that could come with appointing Rosenior, one issue that the former defender would not have is a lack of financial backing.

Chelsea want both Rogers and Nwaneri

As per CaughtOffside, Chelsea would be keen on recruiting more attacking bodies this winter, with one such target being Morgan Rogers. The former Middlesbrough man is in the form of his life for Aston Villa, where he has developed into one of England’s brightest talents since moving to the Midlands in 2024.

Unsurprisingly, Villa do not want to part ways with their number 27, though Unai Emery’s side faced some well-documented PSR struggles in the summer. That could, in theory, force the Villans into making a big sale sooner rather than later, which the Blues are monitoring given that Rogers, who could cost at least £80 million according to football finance expert Dan Plumley, is “high up on Chelsea’s list” of targets.

Subscribe to the newsletter for Chelsea transfer insight Dig deeper by subscribing to the newsletter for focused coverage of Chelsea’s interest in Morgan Rogers and Ethan Nwaneri, expert context on valuations and recruitment strategy, plus wider Premier League talent analysis.

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Also on the Stamford Bridge shortlist is Ethan Nwaneri. The youngster, who is comfortable operating either in central midfield or on the right wing, is one of several promising young talents at the Emirates Stadium, but has struggled for minutes this season. Such is his quality, that it may be Nwaneri departs North London in order to secure more minutes.

Whilst some may have expected Nwaneri, who is valued at £50 million according to Plumley, to leave Arsenal on a six-month loan, it would seem that in keeping with their current business model, Chelsea would pursue a permanent transfer which would have a better chance at success in the summer. Both targets are certainly ambitious for the Blues, but could be incredible additions for whoever Chelsea’s new manager will be.

Related Palmer will love him: Chelsea looking to hire "one of the best coaches ever"

This manager could be Chelsea’s ideal Maresca replacement

Posts ByJoe Nuttall

	Ryan Sidebottom: back in the wickets after a brief hiatus © Getty Images

Ryan Sidebottom was probably being a bit hard on himself when he announced that he was “bitterly disappointed” with his wicketless performance on the first day of the Lord’s Test against New Zealand, but when you’re the reigning England Cricketer of the Year, with a tally of 24 Kiwi scalps under your belt already, it’s only fair that you should set your standards high. Either way, he made swift amends after a good night’s sleep and a minor technical tweak, and duly swept through New Zealand’s tail with 4 for 5 in 9.2 overs.One of those victims was Jacob Oram, who applied himself gamely for a two-and-a-half hour 28, before Sidebottom undid him with a full-length outswinger that he nicked to slip. “He’s the best bowler I’ve faced at the moment, and I’m pretty keen not to face him again,” said Oram. “He’s bowling at a good pace, and swings it enough to cause guys trouble. If you’re able to swing it with accuracy, you’re going to be tough to play, and that’s the thing that strikes me the most about him. He’s right at the top of his game, and right back where he was in New Zealand, unfortunately for us.”Sidebottom was his usual modest self when discussing his performance, but admitted that – as the first anniversary of his Test recall draws closer – he now sees himself as the leader of the England pack. “Any bowler should think like that,” he said. “You’re playing Test cricket and you should put pressure on yourself. I see it as a responsibility, and I guess I’ve been around a bit more than Broady and Jimmy [Anderson]. It’s an added responsibility and one I’d like to take on.”It was Broad and Anderson who were England’s main men on the first day, sharing five wickets between them, and Sidebottom admitted that there had been some friendly jibes in the dressing-room after he had swept into the action today. “The lads were taking the mickey, saying I’d burgled a few wickets after all their hard work yesterday, which I agree with,” said Sidebottom. “I was bitterly disappointed with my performance yesterday, you’d like to back up Broady and Jimmy who bowled fantastically. New Zealand are strong in the middle order, but we think they got 50 runs too many in hindsight.”To Sidebottom’s credit, he was quick to identify why his performance had been slightly off the boil on the first day, and with England’s bowling coach, Ottis Gibson, on hand, he made amends immediately. “I didn’t run in with my arms enough yesterday, because when you do that they go into position rather than just being lazy,” he said. “But that sometimes happens, you can’t bowl well all the time. Maybe I was trying too hard as well in the first Test [of the season] at Lord’s. But I have no excuses, it was pretty poor from myself, and I wanted to come back today and bowl a bit better.”A feature of Sidebottom’s performance today was the number of short balls he bowled, particularly to Oram, who was pushed onto the back foot before being drawn forward again for his dismissal. “Today was a plan to be more aggressive and bowl a few more bouncers,” said Sidebottom, who suggested that Brendon McCullum in particular might receive a slightly more hostile reception when he comes out to bat in the second innings. “He’s a good player and he took the momentum away from us, but we weren’t as aggressive as we could be and we let him play a few front-foot shots. Although he’s quite good at hooking and pulling, no batsmen like it. It puts them off their play and the way they move their feet.”England’s day ended with Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss well placed in an unbeaten 68-run partnership, and Oram conceded that New Zealand were up against it in this match already. “We’ve got to make improvements or we’re going to be wiped off the park,” he said. “We didn’t enter the game hoping for a draw and we’re not playing for the draw at the moment, but they were probably as demanding as they were in New Zealand in the final two Tests there. They bowled with a lot more intent and the rewards came, but if the weather is overcast and drizzly, it’ll be an opportunity to chip away.”

	Andrew Symonds has been one of several batsmen to struggle during the CB Series, and he has also involved in the off-field debates over the IPL and the possible tour of Pakistan © Getty Images

The Indian Premier League (IPL) and doubts over next month’s tour of Pakistan are weighing on the minds of Australia’s players, according to the coach Tim Nielsen. However, Nielsen believes his men are not becoming too bogged down in such problems on the field.Australia completed a 50-run win over India in Adelaide on Sunday – the same day they were due to return their signed IPL contracts – but their batting remained a concern, with only Michael Clarke’s 79 lifting them to a competitive 203. Ricky Ponting failed again, later saying his slump was nothing to do with off-field worries, but Nielsen said the players did have a lot to think about.”[The IPL] is a big one because there’s been a few clashes of ideas from a cricketers association point of view and Cricket Australia and even the IPL,” Nielsen said. “It’ll be nice to have some certainty, a bit the same with Pakistan. But until the decision-makers get all the information they can we have to live with what’s going on and make sure we perform.”Most of Australia’s leading players are expected to be auctioned off to IPL teams on Wednesday after Cricket Australia finally cleared them to take part in the tournament. However, it is still unclear whether they will be able to play in this year’s league as it clashes with the scheduled visit to Pakistan, which remains in doubt due to safety concerns.”There’s no doubt those things going on have an impact on players,” Nielsen said. “It’s the same as anyone goes to work and there’s issues with their kids at school or a promotion they’re looking for and they don’t get it. All those things make it difficult. I guess we pride ourselves that once we get to the ground we can keep most of those things separate.”However, Australia’s results do not necessarily back up Nielsen’s comments. Andrew Symonds has voiced his strong opinions on the IPL and the Pakistan tour and he is suffering a CB Series slump with 38 runs from five innings. Ponting, as captain, understandably bears much of the team’s strain and has only 53 runs from his five matches. Matthew Hayden’s output has also been low, although Nielsen pointed out that Sri Lanka and India were also struggling to post big totals.”To say we’re all batting poorly is maybe not far from the mark but at the same time it’s been credit to all the teams that their bowlers have bowled very well,” Nielsen said. “We’re underselling the bowling a little bit. [Ishant] Sharma’s bowled beautifully and the Indians have bowled really well as a group. Our blokes have done a brilliant job.”You’ve got four or five guys in this series bowling 140-145kph plus, the new ball’s swinging away, the old ball’s reversing in, it’s not an easy life for a batsman. It’s certainly not panic stations, but it’s probably unusual that we’ve had three or four guys missing out at the one time and that’s what’s happening.”The Australians are now enjoying a few days in their home cities before reconvening in Melbourne on Thursday ahead of Friday’s game against Sri Lanka. Australia sit on top of the CB Series table and can secure a place in the finals if they win at the MCG.

Lasith Malinga is back after recovering from his ankle trouble © AFP

Ricky Ponting insists Australia are ready for Sri Lanka’s veteran bowlers Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas in Saturday’s World Cup final in Barbados. Australia beat Sri Lanka easily in the Super Eights match but Mahela Jayawardene chose to rest Muralitharan and Vaas while Lasith Malinga had an ankle problem.”Sri Lanka have a chance to make a statement against us,” Ponting said after Australia secured their passage to the final with a seven-wicket win over South Africa. “There’s no doubt Sri Lanka are a good team, but we are very confident after what we’ve done in the last seven weeks. Winning games with big margins gives us a lot of confidence.”We executed our gameplan very well the last time we played them. They had their full batting line-up and we bowled them out. We know Murali will do what he does. Lasith Malinga is bowling well and Vaas is a good bowler with the new ball.”Australia have won all ten of their matches in the Caribbean and are unbeaten in their last 28 Cup games, a run stretching back to the 1999 tournament in England. Saturday’s final in Barbados will be a repeat of the 1996 final when Sri Lanka beat Mark Taylor’s side by seven wickets in Lahore.

A map of Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Click for bigger © Glamorgan County Cricket Club

Cardiff will play host to their first-ever Test match when Australia next visit England in 2009, after being elevated to Category A status by an ECB review committee.Sophia Gardens, which recently unveiled a major project to overhaul the venue, will now join Lord’s, The Oval, Edgbaston and Headingley in hosting the lucrative Ashes Tests. Old Trafford, where 10,000 people were turned away on the final morning of last summer’s third Test, and Trent Bridge, the venue of England’s decisive three-wicket victory in the same campaign, both miss out.The decision was made by the ECB’s Major Match Group, chaired by Sir William Morris OJ, who said: “We congratulate Cardiff on joining the list of Category A (Test match) venues. We also express our gratitude for the support which the Glamorgan Club has received from the Welsh Assembly and Cardiff City Council for their development plans.””This is an historic day for cricket in Wales,” said Paul Russell, the chairman of Glamorgan. “The award of an npower Ashes Test Match will build on the Welsh Assembly’s exciting programme for the development of tourism through sport. The development of Sophia Gardens will transform the venue into a modern, world-class stadium and help Glamorgan Cricket enthuse a new generation of cricket players.”Glamorgan’s captain, Robert Croft, was thrilled by the decision. “I know that this news will provide cricket in Wales, and Glamorgan in particular, with a massive boost. I can still remember the day I made my debut as a full England Test cricketer. I know that throughout Wales this will inspire young cricketers to join Simon Jones and become the Test cricketers of the future.”In recent years, Cardiff has become a focal point for British sport, with the grand Millennium Stadium playing host to the Rugby World Cup final in 1999, as well countless football finals ever since the redevelopment of Wembley got underway. The Ryder Cup in 2010 has also been scheduled for the city, although an Ashes Test would arguably top the lot.The decision still has to be ratified, however, by Cardiff City council, for the redevelopment plans have met with some opposition from local pressure groups. Back in October, Russell threatened to relocate Glamorgan’s stadium to a new development outside of the city, if the plans were not approved.

The planned redevelopment. Click for bigger © Glamorgan County Cricket Club

Sophia Gardens has been Glamorgan’s home since 1967, in which time it has hosted five one-day internationals, the first being New Zealand’s shock victory against Australia in the 1999 World Cup. The most famous match was another Australian upset, which bodes well for 2009, when Bangladesh turned them over in the NatWest Series last summer. This year, Cardiff plays host to its first England match, against Pakistan in August.The MMG also unveiled the Test match allocations for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Chester-le-Street in Durham, which hosted its first Test last summer and was also in the running for the Ashes match, has been awarded a Test against West Indies next summer, which drew a muted reaction from the club’s chairman, Clive Leach.”Although ours was the second highest bid, on this occasion we were unsuccessful,” he said. “Both ourselves and Cardiff were prepared to pay significantly more to the ECB than those grounds on long-term staging agreements, who were not required to bid as part of this allocation process.””Obviously we are hugely disappointed at the outcome of the decision,” added David Harker, the chief executive. “We will look forward to welcoming the West Indies to the Riverside in 2007 and demonstrating to a global audience our ability to successfully host major Test Matches at the Riverside.”Jim Cumbes, Lancashire’s chief executive, was also philosophical about Old Trafford missing out on the Ashes. “Congratulations to Cardiff and good luck to them, but it is a big blow to Lancashire and to the North-West which is a hot-bed of cricket. Having said that, we did not have an Ashes Test in 2001 and we bounced back from that. We can do it again.”Forthcoming Test schedule2007
West Indies Chester-le-Street, Headingley, Lord’s and Old Trafford
India The Oval, Lord’s and Trent Bridge2008
New Zealand Lord’s, Old Trafford and Trent Bridge
South Africa The Oval, Edgbaston, Headingley and Lord’s2009
Zimbabwe Lord’s and tbc
Australia The Oval, Cardiff, Edgbaston, Headingley and Lord’s

Scott Mason, the Tasmanian batsman, has died from a heart failure in the Royal Hobart Hospital at Hobart.Mason, 28, who played 28 first-class games and eight limited-over matches for Tasmania, has missed the entire 2004-05 season owing to his heart condition. But he had been given approval to resume light training and was hoping to return to the first-class scene later this year. After facing a few balls in the net session at the Bellerive Oval on Thursday he had to be rushed to hospital.Jamie Cox, his team-mate and opening partner, paid tribute by saying, “Just such a likeable guy, and an inspiration, and I guess you could say tragically but ironically he was one of the heartbeats of our team. There aren’t enough words to say enough about this little mate, he was a beauty.”

Hussain: may lose his place to Paul Collingwood © Getty Images

The series remains all-square, and there’s everything to play for at the Sinhalese Sports Club. England are back on familiar ground as their three-Test series against Sri Lanka reaches its climax tomorrow (play starts 0430 GMT), and return to the scene of their triumph in 2001 with every reason to believe they can pull off another extraordinary series victory.After seeing off Muttiah Muralitharan and friends on the two pitches that ought to have suited Sri Lanka’s spin attack, England will be delighted that the SSC seems certain to offer more pace and swing to the faster bowlers. With due respect to Chaminda Vaas, that can only be good news for England’s seam-based attack, and Michael Vaughan has given every indication that he intends to field a better-balanced side that the one that held out for a draw at Kandy last week.The dilemma for England, however, is how best to climb through the window of opportunity that their labours have created. After playing with such patience and discipline for two Tests, they will have to tread a fine line between attacking intent and reckless abandon. And with that in mind, they face a tricky decision on which of their seven batsmen should be squeezed out in favour of an extra bowler.The only two men in line for the chop are Paul Collingwood, who has shown a cool head under fire and would be a reassuring presence at No. 5 if England lose the toss yet again and are forced to bat last, and Nasser Hussain, whose hot-headedness has created the talking point of the series so far. At the start of the series, it would have been unthinkable to enter such a crunch fixture without Hussain, the man who masterminded Sri Lanka’s last home defeat in 2001. But times they have a-changed.”We’ll have to decide whether we stick with the great experience of Nasser or take note of how well Paul has batted,” said Vaughan. “If you look at his dismissals, Nasser’s playing OK, and I always say that you are always only one innings away from a hundred. Nasser was unfortunate to be ill during the first Test, and he just needs some time in the middle.”Hussain’s time in the middle may just have run out for this tour, however. He has not been dropped by England since scoring a century against India at Edgbaston in 1996, but his ill-judged verbal assault on Muttiah Muralitharan has left him out on a limb. As England’s batsmen and tailenders demonstrated in fending off Murali for 96 overs at Kandy, it was the ability to read him from the pitch – not the lips – that was the key to England’s survival.Hussain’s alleged remarks had further implications within the England camp as well, as James Kirtley discovered when his bowling action was brought to the attention of Clive Lloyd after the match. Although Kirtley was eventually cleared, it was an unfortunate moment for the issue of chucking to be brought back onto the agenda.Kirtley is likely to retain his place tomorrow, on merit as much as through dressing-room solidarity, although the identity of his new-ball partner is less certain. The bold selection would be the fit-again James Anderson, a man who will go for plenty of runs but is the most likely source of unplayable deliveries. But with Andrew Flintoff complaining of a sore back in recent days, England are equally likely to turn to the indefatigable Matthew Hoggard to ensure that Flintoff’s workload is as light as possible.The spin pairing of Ashley Giles and Gareth Batty is unlikely to be altered, despite Batty’s relative ineffectiveness at Kandy and the attacking option that Robert Croft could provide. This has as much to do with Sri Lanka’s spinners as England’s – Batty’s excellent displays against Muralitharan have turned him into a key figure in England’s lower-middle order, and for all Croft’s proficiency with the bat, he cannot possibly make up in net sessions what Batty has learned through time in the middle.As usual between matches, Murali has spent the last three days with an ice pack strapped to his overworked shoulder, and no amount of positive spin from the Sri Lankan camp can disguise the fact that he is tired. He has already whirled his way through 164 overs this series, exactly twice as many as the next-busiest Sri Lankan, Kumar Dharmasena, and he was noticeably less effective in England’s second innings at Kandy.With that in mind, Sri Lanka are considering sending for the left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who was a success on the recent A tours of South Africa and India. Alternatively they may prefer to shuffle their reserves, which would mean recalling Upul Chandana in place of Dharmasena, and the fit-again Dilhara Fernando, to provide some extra new-ball firepower at the expense of his underused namesake, Dinusha.Whichever way you look at it, England are the team who hold the psychological high ground ahead of the third Test, even if they have yet to hold the upper hand in any of the matches to date. John Dyson, a coach whose mantra of positive play seems entirely at odds with the negativity of his captain, Hashan Tillakaratne, attempted to rock England’s boat yesterday with an astonishing tirade against their defensive approach in Kandy. But his words have been laughed off by England.Graham Thorpe, the man who secured the victory in 2001, was quick to respond. “We have got them under psychological pressure,” he claimed. “If we hadn’t been able to bowl them out on a green seamer on the final day in England, we would be very disappointed. I can’t see that it is any different for them.” Thorpe’s contributions at the SSC last time around were a pair of undefeated masterclasses on a turning, bouncing track, including the single finest century of his career. A repeat performance over the next few days would set England up for a very merry Christmas indeed.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Marvan Atapattu, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 6 Hashan Tillakaratne (capt), 7 Thilan Samaraweera, 8 Upul Chandana, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.England (possible): 1 Michael Vaughan (capt), 2 Marcus Trescothick, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Graham Thorpe, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Gareth Batty, 9 Ashley Giles, 10 James Kirtley, 11 James Anderson.Andrew Miller, Wisden Cricinfo’s assistant editor, has accompanied England throughout their travels in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

CoachDuncan Fletcher Photo CricInfo

England coach Duncan Fletcher has dismissed remarks made by Sunil Gavaskar about England’s performance on the recent tour of India.The Indian batting legend labelled the England side as “the champion whingers of the world.” Writing in an Indian newspaper, Gavaskar criticised England for complaining about inadequate training facilities, as well as mentioning the standard of umpiring. Before Christmas, Gavaskar blamed England for making the Test series boring because of the strategy of bowling Ashley Giles left-arm spin over the wicket into the rough in an attempt to restrict Sachin Tendulkar’s stroke play.Until now, Fletcher has ignored Gavaskar’s criticisms, at least in public. However, after the first training session of the New Zealand leg of the tour at the Westpak Trust Stadium in Hamilton, the England coach spoke out about the comments.”It’s very important to realise that he’s on the ICC panel and should have an unbiased opinion and secondly its very sad when a good wine goes sour.”However, Fletcher’s primary concern now is to prepare his squad for the first match of the tour in New Zealand against Northern Districts XI. This was the one practice session before a busy schedule of matches.The squad left Mumbai just hours after levelling the series with India at 3 – 3 with the thrilling two run victory in the final game. There were stops in Hong Kong and Auckland on their way to Hamilton.Fletcher said: “It can be quite a problem switching to an environment like this and I think the players are going to have to put quite an effort into getting switched on here. We don’t know at the moment whether that’s down to jet-lag or not. As soon as that last game was finished we travelled right through the night and the players could be tired.”It’s more difficult to adjust than people realise – it’s totally differentcoming from India to here and I have a feeling this game might have come alittle too early.”The only fitness worries for England centre on Ben Hollioake, the Surrey all-rounder who missed the last two matches in India with a knee problem, and fast bowler Matthew Hoggard, who was sent for blood tests after fainting on a flight from Kanpur to Delhi. However, physiotherapist Dean Conway is not ruling Hoggard out of consideration for the Northern Districts match.All-rounder Craig White was not expected to join the party until the arrival in New Zealand after having keyhole surgery on his knee. In fact he recovered quicker than expected and rejoined the squad in India. Having not played there, however, he is expected to be included in Hamilton.It is possible that White might be used to give impetus to the early middle order where there have been tendencies for England to be one-paced. They are expected to be given a good workout by a strong ND XI that includes five players with Test experience – Matthew Hart, Hamish Marshall, Simon Doull, Daryl Tuffey and Grant Bradburn.

Michael Slater has roared back to life on another day of unusual twists and turns in the Pura Cup clash between Tasmania and New South Wales at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The aggressive opener’s attainment of a thirty-third first-class century provided the main highlight of the second day’s play, at the end of which the Blues find themselves at a score of 4/193 in reply to the Tigers’ 362.Until the left arm orthodox prowess of Daniel Marsh (3/35) sent the Blues into a tailspin in late afternoon, this had largely been New South Wales’ day. Despite continuing to battle in vain to beat the bat of Ricky Ponting (187*), it began with the visitors managing to exert something of a hold over the right hander’s scoring rate by setting deep and defensive fields throughout the morning. This had the twin effect of drying up the Tigers’ progress and of reducing the star batsman’s chances of recording double centuries in successive Pura Cup matches. Once young wicketkeeper Sean Clingeleffer (21) lost his wicket as he drove a Shane Lee (2/47) delivery uppishly to point, the end for the locals indeed came quickly.Despite a rushed visit to hospital last week after the onset of difficulties with his breathing, Slater (100) gave the appearance of a man very much at the top of his powers as the reply began. Against an attack which battled for line and length, the Test opener thrashed twelve punishing boundaries in an innings which provided a heady mixture of aggression and defence. Together with Corey Richards (69), the energetic right hander guided the Blues to a score of 0/146 an hour before the close. By that stage, the upper hand in the contest had clearly been assumed by the visitors.Not for the first time in this match, though, fortunes turned in almost the twinkling of an eye. Courtesy of a brilliant tumbling catch full length to his right, Marsh initiated the demise of Richards. Sixteen minutes later, Steve Waugh (7) lobbed back a second catch, affording the spinner his hundredth first-class wicket, after being beaten by Marsh’s flight. Then, Slater himself became the third player in succession to be deceived, incredibly enough, by a full toss, driving back another regulation catch off a leading edge after the ball had dropped on him quickly in the tricky cross-breeze ripping across the ground. By the time that David Saker (1/58) trapped Brad Haddin (1) in front of his stumps with a yorker, New South Wales was suddenly 4/188 and matters were evenly poised again.Alongside the sight of two centuries and five ducks in the Tasmanian innings, the spectre of three return catches off full tosses provided another very peculiar touch to the game. Not as novel nor as intriguing, though, is the forecast that rain will sweep into an until now sunny Hobart during the two closing days of what has developed into a fascinating contest.