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Saqlain Mushtaq believes Australia’s selectors could ease the team’s spin woes simply by showing more faith in the slow bowlers

Brydon Coverdale31-May-2011Saqlain Mushtaq believes Australia’s selectors could ease the team’s spin woes simply by showing more faith in the slow bowlers. Saqlain, the renowned Pakistan offspinner, is in Brisbane for Cricket Australia’s annual “spin week”, a summit at the Centre of Excellence where tweakers from around the country have converged for special training.Australia does not have a full-time travelling spin coach – John Davison helps the slow men at the Centre of Excellence – and Saqlain has been brought in as a consultant for the event. One of the bowlers working with Saqlain this week is Jason Krejza, who conceded he was a “mental case” after being dropped from the Test team in late 2008.”The legend Shane Warne … is a big loss but because of that these guys have a problem,” Saqlain said in Brisbane on Tuesday. “He set the standard so high, these spinners need more time to settle. Australian cricket has all the varieties [of spinners] but they have to have patience – give them a proper chance and back the bowlers. If you are backing the spinners they will perform very well. You can’t make a spinner in a day or a month.”It’s a lesson that doesn’t seem to have been heeded by Andrew Hilditch’s selection panel over the past couple of years, despite many former players and commentators having already urged them to show patience with their spinners. When Michael Beer debuted in the Sydney Ashes Test in January, he was the tenth slow bowler Australia had used in Tests since Warne retired four years earlier.Of the remaining nine, Beau Casson and Bryce McGain were each dropped after one Test, while Xavier Doherty and Krejza were each given only two. Cameron White was inexplicably used as the frontline spinner for four Tests in India in 2008, despite hardly bowling himself for Victoria, Steven Smith was the lead spinner against Pakistan last year, and Brad Hogg and Stuart MacGill both retired soon after taking the job.Only Nathan Hauritz has been given an extended run in the Test team, and the patience shown by the selectors paid off. Since he was called up in November 2008, Hauritz has taken 58 wickets at 36.22, but he was axed last year after a disappointing two-Test tour of India – where even Warne struggled – and the spin cycle began again with Doherty and Beer for the Ashes.Krejza could consider himself one of the unluckiest of the batch. He took 12 wickets on debut in Nagpur, but failed to plug the runs in his second Test against South Africa in Perth, and was dumped for Hauritz. “I have been trying to give him an idea on how to grab your place again in the national team,” Saqlain said of Krejza, “how to believe in yourself, how to train and come back.”Krejza has been given a second chance at breaking into the Test side, having been picked for the Australia A tour of Zimbabwe next month. There, he will compete with the incumbent, Beer, for a spot in August’s Test series in Sri Lanka. If Krejza can force his way back into the baggy green XI, it would be a fine achievement after his dumping two and a half years ago.He is one of 15 bowlers at spin week, along with Hauritz, Beer, Steve O’Keefe, Jon Holland and Nathan Lyon. Doherty, despite playing for Australia as recently as the one-day series in Bangladesh last month, is not part of the group.

Sri Lanka finally took a decisive upper hand on the fourth afternoon as seamers Sanitha de Mel and Nadeera Rajaguru combined to demolish England’s top order and derail the hosts’ pursuit of an unlikely 369

Cricinfo staff24-Jul-2010Sri Lanka U19s 287 and 367 for 9 dec. (Rajapaksa 97, Peiris 66, Root 3-20) beat England U19s 286 and 169 (Manuel 39, de Mel 4-49, Rajaguru 3-51) by 199 runs
ScorecardThese two teams had matched each other almost perfectly over the first three days at Northampton, but Sri Lanka finally took a decisive upper hand on the fourth afternoon as fast bowler Sanitha de Mel and legspinner Nadeera Rajaguru combined to demolish England’s top order and derail the hosts’ pursuit of an unlikely 369 in their second innings.England’s disappointing showing with the bat had been foreshadowed by their struggles with the ball in the morning as some stubborn lower-order resistance allowed the Sri Lankans to declare at 367 for 9. Wicketkeeper Denuwan Rajakaruna (45) and Chathura Peiris (66) combined in a 102-run stand for the seventh wicket that tilted the match firmly towards the visitors.De Mel then dispatched Daniel Bell-Drummond and Lewis Gregory in his opening spell, and after the Sri Lankan bowlers made early inroads England were reduced to 75 for 5 just after tea. Jack Manuel (39) and Azeem Rafiq (16) steadied England and for a time it looked like a draw might be possible. But Manuel was out with an hour of play left and despite the best efforts of Jacob Ball and Atif Sheikh, England were dismissed for 169 in the 63rd over.Both teams will travel to Scarborough for the final Test in the two match series which begins on Tuesday.

Cricinfo previews the deciding ODI between England and Bangladesh at Edgbaston

The Preview by Sahil Dutta11-Jul-2010Match factsJuly 12, 2010, Edgbaston
Start time 10.45am (9.45GMT)Can Bangladesh do it again?•Getty ImagesBig pictureBangladesh lit up their English summer and breathed life into the series with their shock triumph in the second game at Bristol. Having gone 15 ODI matches and 247 days without victory they turned their fortunes around with a display of remarkable hunger and spirit.England were outplayed but Andrew Strauss would accept his team were a touch casual. Fielding lapses, ill-disciplined bowling and some loose shots betrayed a side not operating at full intensity. Defeat to set up a series decider at Edgbaston should stir them.While it was Bangladesh who were parachuting in replacements for Saturday’s game, it’s England now who have the concerns. Ravi Bopara has had to come into the squad after Ian Bell fractured his left foot and there must be some worry over the form of James Anderson.Since being left out of England’s triumphant World Twenty20 side Anderson has cut a forlorn figure and his returns this summer – seven wickets in five matches against Australia and three expensive scalps in this series – have been poor. Tamim Iqbal’s flashing blade is enough to unsettle even the steeliest of bowlers but, in the crunch game, Anderson must prove he can rise to the mantle expected of England’s most experienced bowler.Really though, there is only one story. Bangladesh are chasing a dream series win that just two games ago looked completely unthinkable. They won’t start favourites, they rarely do, but they could finish on top of the world.Form guide (last five completed matches)England LWLLW
Bangladesh WLLLLWatch out for…Andrew Strauss has been in sublime touch this series and has, by some distance, looked England’s best batsman. Curiously for a man with 18 Test hundreds, Strauss’s conversion rate in one-day cricket is poor. England have talked for a long time about making more centuries and given his form at the top of the order, the captain could set the example at Edgbaston by scoring his fourth. Rubel Hossain turned the game at Bristol on its head when his pacey slingers removed England’s openers. Missing from the first match he gave the Bangladesh attack some much-needed fire to accompany the wily spin duo of Abdur Razzak and Shakib Al Hasan. He will need to provide the same incision if Bangladesh are going to have a chance.Team newsFor the England selectors there is the familiar problem of balance. Six batsmen would mean Ravi Bopara gets his first chance since September 2009 but force James Tredwell out again and leave the attack looking a touch one-paced.Five batsmen may nudge Ajmal Shahzad, who impressed with three wickets at Bristol, aside because of Tim Bresnan’s more robust lower-order batting. But new-ball wickets have been a problem for England for a while so they’ll be reluctant to let Shahzad go.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Michael Yardy, 7 Luke Wright, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.Having secured a historic victory Bangladesh won’t be in a rush to meddle with the side. Expect an unchanged line up at Edgbaston.Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Jahurul Islam (wk), 5 Mohammad Ashraful, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Rubel Hossain, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Shafiul IslamPitch and conditionsFortress Edgbaston has been a happy hunting ground for England over the last few years. Most recently though, the Barmy Army was replaced by an equally vociferous Pakistani crowd for the two Twenty20 games Pakistan played against Australia. It made for a thrilling atmosphere and both teams will hope for similar capacity-crowds for the series decider. Edgbaston has been a high-scoring ground in limited-overs cricket this season and will suit the free-flowing batsmen in both teams.Stats and Trivia Bangladesh have only one memory of Edgbaston, and it’s not a happy one. In 2004 they were bowled out for 93 in their Champions Trophy game against South Africa. Only one member of their side from that day survives – Mohammad Ashraful.Apart from a depleted West Indies team ravaged by contract disputes, Bangladesh have never beaten a major Test-playing nation in a one-day series. Quotes”I’ve said before there were a few chinks in the armour of this England team and I guess them leaving a few players out of their side weakened them a bit.”
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“Ruthlessness is a skill in itself and it’s something we need to keep improving on.”.

Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad will work with the national team as a batting and fielding consultant to help them prepare for their upcoming tour of New Zealand and the 2011 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2010Javed Miandad will work with the Pakistan team as a batting and fielding consultant to help them prepare for their upcoming tour of New Zealand and the 2011 World Cup. This is the latest of his roles in Pakistan cricket, having been captain and coach and currently also director-general of the PCB.”It is a great feeling to be back in cricket gear,” Miandad told on the sidelines of a preparatory camp ahead of the upcoming New Zealand tour. “Coaching has always been a passion for me and I can help our players. It is all about fine-tuning them and preparing them mentally for difficult conditions and situations, since they have the talent.”Miandad, however, will not be travelling with the team to New Zealand later this month. “I have full confidence in the abilities of Waqar Younis [the Pakistan coach], and if there are two men dealing with the players, it may cause a conflict,” he said. “So, I have decided not to go with the team and prefer to give coaching tips to the players in the training camp here.”I hope the wickets at Christchurch and Eden Park and other venues are conducive for batsmen. But our batsmen will have to read their bowlers carefully. Pakistan must do well in New Zealand to enter World Cup in right frame of mind.”The New Zealand series is Pakistan’s last opportunity to finalise their World Cup plans. In recent times, they have been bogged down by controversies on and off the field, prompting one-day captain Shahid Afridi to play down the side’s World Cup hopes. Miandad, who holds the record for having appeared in most World Cups (six), could prove to be a valuable addition to the team as they search for stability ahead of the marquee event.Miandad has coached the team three times in the past, each association ending in acrimonious circumstances. In January, he was involved in a war of words with Ijaz Butt after the PCB chairman indicated that Miandad was costing the board almost Rs 1 million ($11,820) for his services as director-general.

Manchester United are expected to have several outgoings this summer due to contract expiration, but Erik ten Hag could be set to offload even more players as new transfer interest emerges.

What’s the latest?

According to The Athletic, Crystal Palace are interested in bringing back Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Selhurst Park this summer.

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The report suggests that there has been no official move made for the right-back, and no decision will be made on his future at Old Trafford until new manager Ten Hag has come in to assess the squad he has inherited.

This comes following the news that fellow defender Harry Maguire may also exit in the summer

Forget Maguire

This new development from Crystal Palace could be a huge benefit to the Dutch coach, who can finally axe the defender from the team as he attempts to rebuild the squad and revive the club when he joins this summer.

The 24-year-old defender who was dubbed “reckless” by Jamie Carragher, has been disappointing in his 26 appearances for the club this season with uninspiring and poor defensive performances throughout.

Wan-Bissaka has had two errors leading to shots, gave away a penalty to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, loses possession 14 times per game on average, has only won 37% of his aerial duels and only wins possession 0.3 times per game.

That proves the right-back is showing no dominance or threat in his position and making costly mistakes that have contributed to Manchester United’s poor season.

The Red Devils are said to be already looking at replacements to fill the boots in the right-back role, with the Daily Mail reporting back in January that they are eyeing up a move for Tariq Lamptey this summer, so this speculation about a move back to London for Wan-Bissaka could be a win-win situation for both the player and the club.

With Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani all set to leave on a free this summer, Ten Hag will likely have a busy transfer window ahead of him and we could see a number of new faces at Man United this summer whilst many old faces are shown the door to kick off the new manager’s revolution.

AND in other news: Huge blow: Man Utd dealt major injury setback ahead of Chelsea, Ralf will be gutted

Antonio Conte will be without as many as four first-team stars for the second leg of Tottenham Hotspur’s Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea this evening…

What’s the latest?

Spurs will need to overturn a two-goal deficit if they are to qualify for their second successive League Cup final but that seems an even bigger ask following a fresh injury update.

“[Eric] Dier, [Heung-min] Son, [Steven] Bergwijn, [Cristian] Romero all missing for tomorrow,” revealed Press Association Sport journalist Jonathan Veal to Twitter on Tuesday.

All four players missed the Lilywhites’ FA Cup third-round victory over League One minnows Morecambe at the weekend but the Blues present a much tougher test.

Big blow

Indeed, it is an even taller order for Spurs to get a result at home this evening as all four players would have improved their chances tenfold.

Aside from Harry Kane, who has been out of form for much of the season anyway, Son is Conte’s main source of goals and creativity. He leads the squad with eight strikes, four more than the Englishman, as well as assists (three) and key passes (1.9 per game), per WhoScored.

Elsewhere, without his first-choice defensive pairing of Dier and Romero, the Italian is left short on options at the back.

It means he will have to once again fall back on Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez, who were both at fault in the first leg last week, to partner left-back Ben Davies, who has been playing centrally.

Spurs also have the small matter of the north London derby on Sunday, so it’s a tricky dilemma for Conte – does he risk the remainder of his first-team squad in a game that seems out of reach or does he try and salvage a place in the final at Wembley?

That still remains to be seen but the Italian head coach will surely be frustrated – if not gutted – by these continuous and quite frankly, major injury problems, even more so as he faces his former club once again.

AND in other news, Contact made: Spurs have “sounded” out “phenomenal” 35-goal star, fans will be fuming…

Leeds United youngster Cody Drameh is set to join Cardiff City on loan for the remainder of the season, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Drameh earns minutes for Leeds

The 20-year-old is currently one of the brightest young players at Elland Road, with Marcelo Bielsa showing trust in him this season.

With Leeds suffering from a number of injury problems at the back, Drameh has five senior appearances to his name in 2021/22, featuring in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat away to West Ham in the FA Cup third round.

It could be that a temporary move away makes sense for the youngster, though, and it looks as though that will happen.

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The Latest: Loan exit close

Taking to Twitter on Sunday evening, Romano claimed that Drameh is on the verge of joining Championship side Cardiff until the campaign reaches its conclusion.

The Bluebirds’ bitter rivals Swansea City are also thought to have been in the mix but they have missed out on their man.

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The Verdict: Shrewd short-term move

Drameh looks like a young player with plenty of potential, but the evidence from this season is that regular minutes will be hard to come by at Leeds, making a loan move the best option in the coming months.

It will hopefully allow the defender to be a regular starter in a senior team, testing himself in a league which is famed for being hugely competitive and physical.

The hope is that Drameh will return to Elland Road a more complete player in the summer, having had a prolonged run of action at senior level for Cardiff as they seek to pull away from the Championship danger zone.

In other news, Leeds are interested in signing a young British player. Find out who it is here.

Now that the 2022 January transfer window has come to a close, Wolves and manager Bruno Lage will now have the rest of the season to try and end their Premier League campaign as strongly as possible with the players they currently have in their squad.

In terms of what business the Midlands club managed to do throughout the month, they secured deals for Chiquinho, Hayao Kawabe and Sang-bin Jeong, with the latter two then leaving on individual loan deals.

On the other side, Wolves also managed to loan out some of their current players such as Adama Traore to Barcelona, Bruno Jordao to Grasshoppers and Leonardo Campana to Inter Miami.

With the window now closed and time for reflection has presented itself, it could be argued that Fosun made a critical error during January that will have infuriated Lage – not bringing in a new centre-back.

The Wolves manager made it clear early on in the window that he wanted a new central defender in his squad with Romain Saiss away on international duty and the duo of Willy Boly and Yerson Mosquera out injured.

Despite being linked with moves for the likes of Benoit Badiashile and Duje Caleta-Car throughout the month, there were no reinforcements to their backline at Molineux.

Thankfully for Wolves, their reliable duo of club captain Conor Coady and Max Kilman managed to get through the month unscathed, with recalled loanee Toti Gomes playing in their game against Southampton and Brentford in the second half of the month.

Moving forward, with Boly and Mosquera eventually going to return from injury and Saiss from international duty, this should help with Wolves’ strength and depth at the back instead of having to constantly rely on Coady and Kilman.

Although, with Fosun not securing a deal for a centre-back when the 45-year-old made it clear he needed one, this could be seen as the Wolves owner not being willing to back the manager and strengthen the team when needed.

Either way, the January window is closed now and the former Benfica boss will have to make do with what he has in his squad until the summer transfer window opens, where it will be intriguing to see if Wolves try and secure a new centre-half this time around.

However, until then, if the Old Gold start to concede more goals in the league that could cost them points and potentially a European place; something that would lead to their failings in the January window being described as a big blunder from Fosun.

In other news: “I’d expect..”: Spiers drops behind-the-scenes Wolves claim, fans surely delighted – opinion

The New Zealand team, fresh from a dispiriting 4-0 one-day defeat in Bangladesh, has landed in India for what promises to be a far sterner examination

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2010New Zealand, fresh from a dispiriting 4-0 one-day defeat in Bangladesh, have arrived in India for what is likely to be a far sterner examination. Daniel Vettori’s side landed in Ahmedabad for a three-Test and five-ODI tour that begins on November 4 at Motera. It is their first bilateral visit since 2003.New Zealand’s tour of the subcontinent was planned as preparation for the World Cup that begins in February, but so far they have had a forgettable time on the field. They failed to make the final of the tri-series in Sri Lanka that also featured India, before being outplayed by an inspired Bangladesh side that made the most of home conditions, and the visitors’ inability to come to terms with them.The Bangladesh debacle was not received well back home, with New Zealand Cricket chairman Chris Moller terming the performance “very concerning”. The board called an emergency meeting with Vettori and coach Mark Greatbatch to review the tour, and set up a specialised committee to audit the entire framework of cricket in New Zealand, “from the grassroots right through to the elite level.” Greatbatch was scathing in his assessment of the tour, declaring that the team “played like d****”.The clean sweep in Bangladesh pushed New Zealand to seventh place in the ODI rankings, a sharp decline considering they were competing for second spot during the Sri Lanka tri-series in August. They will need a major lift if they are to compete with India, currently the top-ranked Test side and No. 2 in the ODI ratings.

Sourav Ganguly will captain an MCC team including Brian Lara against Pakistan, at Lord’s, on June 27 to mark the start of their tour of England

Cricinfo staff10-Jun-2010Sourav Ganguly will captain an MCC team that includes Brian Lara against Pakistan at Lord’s on June 27. The match marks the start of Pakistan’s tour of England, and is part of the MCC’s sponsorship of the neutral series against Australia under the Spirit of Cricket banner.It will be the first time the MCC has played a Twenty20 match at Lord’s and the team also includes Chaminda Vass, who is currently playing for Northamptonshire, Ian Harvey and Victoria batsman Aiden Blizzard. Glenn Querl, an MCC Young Cricketer, who has played for the Unicorns in the CB40 this season is also included.”MCC is delighted to welcome to Lord’s a Pakistani side who have a proven track record in Twenty20 cricket,” John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket, said. “Shahid Afridi’s men will face an exciting MCC team comprising world class performers and up-and-coming talent.”Brian Lara is one of the finest batsmen to have ever played the game and Sourav Ganguly is a world-leading Twenty20 cricketer. The match will provide spectators with a fantastic opportunity to see wonderful cricket and great cricketers.”Pakistan’s tour includes two Twenty20 internationals and two Tests against Australia before they face England in four Tests, two Twenty20s and five ODIs.