Duncan Fletcher has warned Kevin Pietersen to keep concentrating on his batting and not get carried away by his stunning first year in international cricket.Pietersen, who burst onto the international scene with three hundreds in seven one-day internationals against South Africa last year, became one of the biggest stars in the game after sealing England’s first Ashes victory in 18 years with a brilliant 158 at The Oval. Last month he capped his season by scooping two awards at the ICC Awards in Australia: Emerging Player of the Year, and One-Day Player of the Year.But, following reports that Pietersen was hoping to re-develop his offspin – an aspect of his game that was once his strongest suit – and become a genuine allrounder, Fletcher issued a wary response. “Obviously it would be useful for anyone to have an extra string to his bow, but Kevin’s got to be careful. He’s a top-four batter now, and when you’re up there in the front line, it’s very difficult to do two things at once.””That’s why we want to keep Andrew Flintoff at No. 6,” Fletcher added. “I’ve spoken to Jacques Kallis about this on numerous occasions, and you just can’t keep on doing both while still being the top batter in the side. Kevin is going to have to make a decision about what he wants to focus on.”Fletcher claimed that his earlier comments about Pietersen being “in for a shock” had been taken out of context, but he nonetheless re-iterated the pitfalls of international cricket. “He has come onto the scene quickly, and he just has to be careful that, when certain situations arise, he is ready to handle them. We are talking about basic cricket situations on the field. When your form drops off a bit, which can happen, and when luck runs against you a little bit, that can be a shock.”Ian Bell, added Fletcher, was one such player suffering from that situation. “Bell did very very well at the start, but now his form’s dropped off. There isn’t a cricketer that it hasn’t happened to, so it’s all about how you handle that situation. Good cricketers who come out of those slumps are the ones who go on to greater things.”
Namibia ended the first day of their Intercontinental Cup match against Kenya at Nairobi’s Aga Khan Club in a strong position. After being put in on a cloudy day by Hitesh Modi, Kenya’s new captain, they closed on 336 for 4, with Gerrie Snyman and Deon Kotze both unbeaten with half-centuries.Kenya’s new-look side performed admirably considering that three days ago many of them were not expecting to be playing. The arrival of several of the players who had chosen to boycott the fixture after lunch was surprising, and the fielders were hardly helped by the incessant taunting of a group of about 30 spectators who blew whistles, jeered mistakes and, in between, called for the resignation of Sharad Ghai, the Kenyan board’s chairman.The morning belonged to Namibia who lost only one wicket – JB Burger trapped leg-before by Rageb Aga for 34 – in taking their score to 107, although the Kenyan bowlers stuck to a steady line and length.Shortly after the break Lameck Onyango removed Stefaan Swanepoel for 26, courtesy of a superb diving catch by the wicketkeeper Abeed Janmohamed (115 for 2). Janmohamed, making his debut, had only arrived in Nairobi at 6.30am after an overnight flight from London.Namibia took control of almost all the remainder of the session, with Daniel Keulder (90) and Louis Burger (50) putting on 96 for the third wicket. But Kenya hit back as tea approached with two strikes in as many overs. Janmohamed completed a neat leg-side stumping off Rajesh Bhudia to remove Keulder, and then Burger was caught by Onyango off Kalpesh Patel.But in the final session Kenya flagged, and Snyman and Kotze batted Namibia into a strong position.
The off-field behaviour of champion Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne’s has again been thrust into the spotlight, with allegations arising from a South African newspaper that he has sent suggestive mobile phone messages to a Johannesburg woman.The Sunday Times quoted Helen Cohen Alon, 45, who claimed, among other things, she met Warne during the Australian tour of South Africa in 2002 and dated him several times.In a statement issued through his management, Warne refused to comment further.”We regard the allegations of the South African woman, Helen Cohen Alon, as a personal issue between Shane, Simone [Warne’s wife] and the relevant parties,” the statement said.Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said at this stage the issues raised rest between the individuals involved.”Cricket Australia is aware that international cricketers attract more public and media scrutiny than private individuals,” Mr Sutherland said.”There are obligations and standards incumbent on players, but there is also a boundary between their public lives and their lives as private citizens.”
Sat 13 Apr to Mon 15 Apr UCCE Cardiff UCCE (TAUNTON) (3 days)Wed 24 Apr to Sat 27 Apr CCH Sussex (Hove) (4 days)Sun 28 Apr BHC Warwicks (Edgbaston) (1 day)Tue 30 Apr BHC Glamorgan (TAUNTON) (1 day)Fri 3 May BHC Northants (TAUNTON) (1 day)Sun 5 May BHC Gloucester (Bristol) (1 day)Mon 6 May BHC Worcester (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 8 May to Sat 11 May CCH Yorkshire (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 12 May NUL Yorkshire (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 15 May to Sat 18 May CCH Leicester (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 19 May NUL Worcester (New Road) (1 day)Tue 21 May OR Wed 22 May P BHC ** Benson & Hedges ** (1 day)Fri 24 May to Mon 27 May CCH Surrey (AMP Oval) (4 days)Wed 29 May CGT Yorks CB (Scarborough) (1 day)Thu 6 Jun OR Fri 7 Jun P BHC ** Benson & Hedges ** (1 day)Sun 9 Jun NUL Warwicks (Edgbaston) (1 day)Wed 12 Jun to Sat 15 Jun CCH Hampshire (BATH) (4 days)Sun 16 Jun NUL Leicester (BATH) (1 day)Tue 18 Jun OR Wed 19 Jun P CGT *** CGT Trophy *** (1 day)Fri 21 Jun P Sri Lanka (TAUNTON) (1 day)Sat 22 Jun P BHC ** Benson & Hedges ** (1 day)Sun 23 Jun P Sri Lanka (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 26 Jun to Sat 29 Jun CCH Warwicks (Edgbaston) (4 days)Sun 30 Jun NUL Glamorgan (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 3 Jul to Sat 6 Jul CCH Surrey (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 7 Jul NUL Worcester (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 10 Jul to Sat 13 Jul CCH Yorkshire (Scarborough) (4 days)Sun 14 Jul NUL Yorkshire (Scarborough) (1 day)Tue 16 Jul OR Wed 17 Jul P CGT *** CGT Trophy *** (1 day)Fri 19 Jul to Mon 22 Jul CCH Sussex (TAUNTON) (4 days)Wed 24 Jul to Sat 27 Jul W. Indies ‘A’ (TAUNTON) (4 days)Wed 31 Jul OR Thu 1 Aug P CGT *** CGT Trophy *** (1 day)Sat 3 Aug NUL Glamorgan (Cardiff) (1 day)Wed 7 Aug to Sat 10 Aug CCH Kent (Canterbury) (4 days)Sun 11 Aug NUL Kent (Canterbury) (1 day)Wed 14 Aug to Sat 17 Aug WOMEN’S TEST Eng v Ind (TAUNTON) (4 days)Wed 14 Aug to Sat 17 Aug CCH Hampshire (Rose Bowl) (4 days)Sun 18 Aug NUL Notts (Trentbridge) (1 day)Mon 19 Aug F NUL Notts (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 21 Aug to Sat 24 Aug CCH Warwicks (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 25 Aug NUL Warwicks (TAUNTON) (1 day)Tue 27 Aug to Fri 30 Aug CCH Lancashire (tbc) (4 days)Thu 29 Aug U19 ODI Eng v India (TAUNTON) (1 day)Fri 30 Aug U19 ODI Eng v India (TAUNTON) (1 day)Sat 31 Aug P CGT *** CGT Trophy *** (1 day)Sun 1 Sep or Mon 2 Sep NUL Durham (Riverside) (1 day)Wed 4 Sep to Sat 7 Sep CCH Kent (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 8 Sep NUL Kent (TAUNTON) (1 day)Wed 11 Sep F NUL Leicester (Grace Road) (1 day)Thu 12 Sep to Sun 15 Sep CCH Leicester (Grace Road) (4 days)Wed 18 Sep to Sat 21 Sep CCH Lancashire (TAUNTON) (4 days)Sun 22 Sep NUL Durham (TAUNTON) (1 day)F = Floodlit matchP = Possible match
Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur side face a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night, with the Italian manager undoubtedly hoping his side can quickly bounce back from their 3-2 defeat at Manchester United last Saturday.
However, despite Spurs’ hosts this evening being in an extremely poor run of form at present, the Seagulls are nevertheless a much better side than their last five defeats on the spin would suggest – with a win against Tottenham potentially seeing Graham Potter’s side go level on points with Aston Villa in ninth place.
As such, Conte must ensure that his team selection is spot on at the Amex if he wishes to give his side the best possible chance of returning to north London with all three points – a result that could see Spurs close the gap to fourth-placed Arsenal to just three points, with the Gunners facing Liverpool tonight.
So, will the 52-year-old make any changes to the side that started the defeat at Old Trafford last weekend? Here’s how we think Tottenham could line up against Brighton, as well as the latest team and injury news…
With Conte recently revealing that all three of Oliver Skipp, Japhet Tanganga and Ryan Sessegnon remain sidelined due to injury, we predict the Italian will make just two changes to the team that lined up against United on Saturday.
The back four remains untouched, with Hugo Lloris starting between the sticks, and Ben Davies, Eric Dier and Cristian Romero making up Spurs’ three-man defence.
At wing-back, Matt Doherty once again gets the nod ahead of Emerson Royal on the right, while the disappointing display of the £34m-rated Sergio Reguilon – who Alasdair Gold claimed “everyone loves” – sees the 25-year-old drop to the bench, with Steven Bergwijn – who appears a perfect candidate at left wing-back – being given a chance to impress in a new role.
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In the middle of the park, both Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur retain their starting berths, while, in the front three, Dejan Kulusevski makes way for Lucas Moura – a player dubbed a “nightmare” by Dier – while Son Heung-min and Harry Kane remain unchanged.
AND in other news: Sold at £47m, now worth £100m: Levy will “cry every night” over his worst THFC mistake
Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain, has been summoned as a witness by a London tribunal that will hear umpire Darrell Hair’s suit against the ICC. Hair is suing for alleged racial discrimination in the aftermath of the Oval controversy.Inzamam was the Pakistan captain in that Test, which saw his side charged with ball-tampering. The team refused to take the field in protest against that decision, following which the match was awarded to England.Hearing of the case begins on October 1 at the Central Office of London Tribunals and is expected to last two weeks.A report in the said the summons would compel Inzamam’s attendance for cross-examination. Had Inzamam been in Pakistan rather than in England – playing county cricket for Yorkshire – the tribunal would not have had the power to call him, the report said.Hair’s lawyers, Finers Stephens Innocent, wrote to Inzamam requesting his attendance, but did not receive a reply. The summons, the said, was served in the presence of Stewart Regan, the chief executive of Yorkshire CCC.Inzamam now has to decide whether to fly back to Pakistan and return to England before the hearing commences or stay in London.Hair is to be represented by Robert Griffiths QC, an MCC cricket and general committee member, and will be opposed by Michael Beloff QC.He is likely to call on fellow umpire Billy Doctrove, with whom he stood at The Oval. Also expected to appear on Hair’s behalf are John Jameson, a former assistant secretary of the MCC, and Jimmy Adams, the former West Indies captain.Hair, who remains on the ICC’s Elite panel, was restricted to officiating Associate matches in the aftermath of the Oval saga.
South Africa have won the Hong Kong Sixes title after beating Pakistan by 12 runs in the final at the Kowloon Cricket Club. Nicky Boje was the star and claimed the Man-of-the-Match award after hitting 32 off 14 balls.Boje’s innings enabled South Africa to set a target of 104 off their five eight-ball overs and despite Tahir Mughal’s 26 off 16 deliveries Pakistan could only reach 91.India, the defending champions, finished third after beating West Indies in the play-off having earlier been on the end of an amazing Pakistan batting performance in the semi-final. Pakistan smashed their way to 132 with Yasir Arafat taking five sixes off one over.The host nation, Hong Kong, produced the major upset when they beat England by 47 runs in the fifth/sixth place play-off. Despite having the likes of Dominic Cork and Darren Gough in their line-up, England struggled in the field as Hong Kong reached 92. Mal Loye then fell for a first-ball duck and they could only muster 45 in reply.
Queensland moved into a dominant position at the end of the third day of their Pura Cup match against Tasmania at Brisbane. Queensland compiled 459 and Tasmania finished the day trailing by 43 runs in their second innings with only five wickets remaining after Australia A quick Mitchell Johnson took 3 for 6 in 20 balls.Called up to the Australia A side that recently toured Pakistan on the back of just six first-class appearances for Queensland, Johnson was watched by Australia’s chief selector Trevor Hohns. A left-handed quick, Johnson, 23, seems to have recovered from the injuries that have blighted his career since Dennis Lillee described him as a “once-in-a-lifetime” quick at the age of 16 and is in frame for a call-up to the full Australian squad to face West Indies.Jamie Cox and Michael Di Venuto started Tasmania’s reply to Queensland’s total well, seeing off Andy Bichel, who picked up six wickets in the first innings, Joe Dawes and James Hopes with ease as they reached 80. An inswinger from Andrew Symonds accounted for Di Venuto and he and Johnson worked well in tandem.Johnson found some extra pace to bounce out David Dawson and then had Cox and Birt caught in the cordon. Symonds picked up the final wicket of the day, inducing an edge off Scott Kremerskothen’s bat that was brilliantly caught at slip by Martin Love. Tasmania had lost five wickets for 59.Asked if he had thought of his international prospects, Johnson said: “No not at all. I’m just worried about playing first-class cricket at the moment. That hasn’t even popped into my head. I got on a bit of a roll [today] but that happens in cricket and it was a good feeling.”Earlier, the morning session proved crucial. With Queensland holding a lead of just five runs overninght and five wickets remaining, Tasmania needed early breakthroughs, and one came when Lachlan Stevens was removed by Adam Griffith – via the hands of captain Di Venuto – without adding to his overnight score.Tasmania’s joy was short-lived however. Queensland captain Jimmy Maher, unbeaten on 108 overnight, put on 92 with Chris Hartley before he eventually fell for 153. Next man in Andy Bichel offered no respite, adding a further 70 with Hartley as both passed their fifties. Queensland were eventually dismissed for 459, a lead of 191.
Sourav GangulyOn the pitch It’s definitely a very important Test match and it’s going to be a good cricketing wicket. It’s got a bit of grass covering on it and I think it’s going to be good for everybody: the fast bowlers, the spinners and the batsmen. It will turn as the match goes on, as the surface underneath the grass is pretty dry.On Tendulkar’s return To get a player like Sachin back would be a boost for any team. The way he batted in the nets, it did not look as though he has not played cricket for two months. And his bowling will be very useful as well.On whether there was a chance Parthiv Patel would open NoOn the opening combination We’ve had two specialist openers in the last two Test matches: we’ve considered Yuvraj as an opener. We will go into the third Test in similar fashion. The selectors will decide between Yuvraj and Aakash.On whether he called the curator and asked him to take the grass off the pitch I did that before the Test from Calcutta on the 20th. I don’t think he’s done much. Our strength is the spinners. But at the end of the day the pitch is up to the curator: I can only make a request. In the last two Tests we got pitches that helped the spinners, but obviously the curator here has his own ideas.Adam GilchristOn whether Australia have the edge We’re leading 1-0 so we’re just in front. But, like Sourav has said and I have said, there’s still a lot of cricket to be played. We saw in Chennai how quickly things can change. There’s still ten days’ cricket left.On the pitch It’s very difficult to judge what it’s going to do. It’s totally different to what we have come across so far. It looks like a good Australian wicket which is a bit of a surprise. We don’t know how it’s going to play: we have to wait and see and make our adjustments accordingly. If indeed it does play similar to Australian conditionswe’re going to have to make adjustments too, as we have been aligning our game plan to traditional subcontinental wickets.On Tendulkar’s return We’ve got plans about how we will approach bowling to him: we just have to execute them well. We have prepared for every Test this series as though Sachin was going to play.On the team composition We have the same 12 as the first two Tests, with one change: Brett Lee comes in for Nathan Hauritz.On whether Australia were under less pressure than India in this Test I think pressure comes from yourself. There’s expectations from others, but pressure comes from yourself. I don’t feel like any of us are carrying anything extra or less in this Test. There’s a temptation to feel we’re so close to achieving the goal that we set out with but we’re still a long way from that and we know it. There’s no different mind set for this Test. If we try to go negative and play for a draw, that’s not in our nature and we’ll get ourselves into trouble.
Day 1 of 3Berkshire made full use of a very flat wicket at the delightful Alderley Edge ground, batting to the 100 over 1st innings closure for a total of 466 – 5 wickets.Richard Howitt carried his bat for 170 not out-a career best score. His innings was a model of concentration, and chanceless, with a powerful array of shots all around the wicket.There were three centuries in the Berkshire innings, something of a rarity in Minor Counties cricket.Lee Nurse and Howitt put on 181 for the first wicket off 43 overs, before Robin Fisher bowled Nurse for a stylish 108.Julian Wood joined Howitt and runs continued to come freely before Fisher too bowled Wood for 29.The innings continued to gain momentum as Paul Prichard joined Howitt, the two adding 176 for the 3rd wicket in 35 overs, before Prichard departed for 101 off just 109 balls.Fisher was Cheshire’s most successful bowler. He worked hard through 42 overs of slow left arm for his 3 wickets on a wicket that gave bowlers little encouragement and certainly no margin for error.A mixture of bad light and drizzle halted play briefly, before Cheshire batted through the remaining seven overs untroubled, finishing the day on 16 for no wicket.Day 2 of 3Cheshire lost early wickets. Danny Leecha little unluckilycaught at slip, one of three wickets for Carl Crowe; Simon Ogilby caught at mid-wicket and Andrew Hall bowled by seamer Steve Bloyce.There was no further encouragement for the bowlers as Richard Hignett and Nafees Din gradually got on top- though both were badly dropped when well setadding 181 for the 4th wicket from 37 overs.Hignett departed with the score at 247-4, caught miscuing to mid on for 81. Mike Bolger was needlessly run out for 3 and at 260-5, a follow on situation was looming. Simon Renshaw gave good support to Din, 92 was added for the 6th wicket before Din fell lbw to Wood for an attractive 160.The declaration came at 409-6 from 93 overs leaving Berkshire 14 overs in the day to get their 2nd innings under way.Nurse and Howitt took the score quickly to 54 before Nurse was lbw to David Pennett for 16 and Howitt edged a good one to keeper Simon Ogilvy off the same bowler. Night watchman James Ettridge was caught-a little unluckilyat short leg off Simon Fisher and the day ended with Berkshire on 71-3, a lead of 128 going into the final day.Day 3 of 3Batsmen again flourished on the final day. Crowe and Prichard batted attractively, adding 82 for the 4th wicket before Prichard sliced to Hignett on the cover boundary for 61, scored off 48 balls.Wood and Crowe added 61 for the 5th wicket before Crowe departed for 39. Wood, batting at his forceful best, took his score to 158 from 123 balls before charging Fisher to be stumped by yards and promptly declared at 365-8.Fisher’s return of 5-87 from 27.1 overs was just reward for his control of line and length on a batting paradise of a wicket.The target of 423 in 51 overs was indeed a stiff one, but on a wicket that provided ideal batting conditions throughout, this equation was always going to be a difficult one, with a draw always the likely outcome.Unexpectedly, Cheshire were soon on the back foot as wickets tumbled. Leech played loosely to be caught at slip and Din drove uppishly to be caught and bowled by Steve Bloyce. Bloyce sustained his pace and direction to trouble the batsmen. He had Hall caught behind, Hignett trapped lbw and at 108 for 6 with 14 overs remaining, a Berkshire win was on the cards.James Whittaker and Mike Bolger had other ideas, taking the score to 143-7 before Whittaker was taken at short leg off Crowe. There was no further drama as Dave Pennett and Bolger batted out the last five overs, taking the score to 180-7 at stumps.Bloyce finished with 5-58 off his 18 overs – a first 5 wicket haul for the young Finchampstead seam bowler.Both sides take 10 points from the match. Berkshire lead the table jointly at this stage with 33 points, with Cheshire just 1 point behind.