As a ploy to apply psychological pressure on the opposition, Rahul Dravid said India is fully geared up for the forthcoming Test and one-day series against Pakistan.”This series would be a step towards the destination of becoming one of the best teams in the world and put to test our skills against a tough opponent”, Dravid told a packed news conference in the team hotel in Lahore.Dravid, however, made it clear that a victory against Pakistan would not make India a challenger to Australia as the top-ranked side. “I think both teams know that in order to challenge Australia we need to start winning overseas more regularly. What the Australians have done in recent years is hard to match.”India are touring Pakistan for the second time in as many years to play three Tests and five one-day internationals. They begin their campaign with a three-day warm up match at Lahore on Saturday.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary The end came swiftly. Off the fourth ball of the morning, Talha Jubair was caught on the boundary. India swept the series, winning this Test by an innings and 83 runs to give them a win-loss-draw record of 6-3-3 for the year.Bangladesh were out of their depth once again in this series, except for a few glimpses of the heights that they could reach. Mashrafe Mortaza and Mohammad Rafique bowled as if the team’s hopes rested solely on their shoulders. And then there was Mohammad Ashraful, who mauled India’s bowlers as if he had an Australian passport. While the team continues to lose heavily, something has changed. There is more defiance and, with injured players returning, a new strength. They cannot be taken as lightly as they once were.India broke several records within the last fortnight. The bowlers took wickets, and nearly every batsman plundered the attack. This was seen as the ideal opportunity to build form before Pakistan visit early next year. But while Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar stroked big hundreds fluently, and Irfan Pathan decimated the opposition thrice, the runs and wickets have come against a team that blew hot and cold. Numbers rose – a welcome sight at the end of a turbulent year – but somewhere it will linger that they could not weather the storm when it mattered most, losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to a team that widened the chasm between themselves and the rest of the planet.
Mark Butcher completed his first first-class century of the winter, as England’s batsmen reacquainted themselves with the middle of a cricket ground, after a frustrating week of washouts and waiting. Butcher had been worryingly out of touch during the Bangladesh series last month, but was back to his fluent best as England reached 225 for 5 at the rain-imposed close, a lead of 44.With Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick taking a break from this match, the onus was on England’s Test specialists to come up with the bulk of the runs. And, with the exception of Nasser Hussain, who was unluckily bowled off his thighpad for a second-ball duck, they have so far delivered. Butcher added 93 for the second wicket with Graham Thorpe, whose eye for the gap was as astute as ever, and by the time Freddie Flintoff had walloped 47 from 53 balls, England were in a handy position.After taking their time to settle, Butcher and Thorpe rattled along at more than four an over. But, just when Thorpe looked to be hitting top gear, he allowed himself to get carried away after smearing two boundaries off Dilhara Fernando, and was caught behind in the same over, as he snicked an attempted pull (96 for 2).As England’s captain, Flintoff announced himself in the only appropriate manner – by hoisting his first ball for a six over square leg – and all but trod on his stumps in the process. He thumped three sixes in all, one of which clanged off the corrugated-iron roof of the green hut at cow corner. But, with tea approaching, Russel Arnold turned to the legspin of Bathiya Perera, and Flintoff clubbed his first ball down the throat of Chamila Gamage at midwicket (189 for 3).Butcher reached his century in emphatic style, by hoisting Thilan Samaraweera down the ground for a straight six, although England’s progress was slowed by two run-outs – Chris Read, who was beaten by a throw from point, and Gareth Batty, who was cruelly sent on his way after Butcher’s straight drive had clipped Samaraweera on the way through to the stumps. Before Geraint Jones could make an impact on his representative debut, however, the rains rolled in once again.
In the morning session, England had endured a frustrating half-hour in the field, as Perera converted his overnight 29 into an opportunistic half-century. England didn’t help their cause by missing two catches in the slip cordon, and they watched a host of edges fly down to the unguarded third-man boundary as the President’s XI moved along to 181 in their first innings.Perera took full advantage with an unbeaten 55, although he ought to have added just five runs to his overnight 29, when Geraint Jones fingertipped a diving chance to his right off James Kirtley. Nandika Ranjith was later dropped at second slip by Thorpe – his second miss of the match.Flintoff had earlier persuaded Gamage to fend a sharp chance to Batty in the gully, and Batty himself wrapped up the innings with the wicket of Ranjith, courtesy of Jones, who redeemed himself with another smart stumping.
England’s ICC Under-19 World Cup report card will not make good reading on the plane home tomorrow, despite a brave effort against South Africa at Lincoln Green today.A semi-final place is the prize for the Proteas after their 16-run victory, which came with 10 overs to spare on the last day of the Super League before the semi-finals begin on Sunday.”We’re very disappointed to lose our second close game in the space of a week,” said England coach Paul Farbrace. England threw away their chance of a semi-final berth last Monday when losing to New Zealand after manoveuring into a winning position.Consequently, the pressure created today by the need to win inside 40 overs (or was it 40.1 – nobody was quite sure) was too much, and Farbrace’s men will be at home in the UK in time for Sunday lunch.At that time South Africa will be readying itself to confront India, a team that “I’m not bothered about,” according to Proteas coach Hylton Ackerman.”I’m very confident playing India,” said the former international. “I’m just glad we’re not playing Australia!” Ackerman has already predicted an Australia-South Africa final for Saturday week.For England the tournament has been one of errors at crucial times and lessons that need to be learnt.For Ackerman, this was his team’s worst performance of the tournament.”We sneaked through with a poor display into the semi-finals,” he said. “Both sides played poorly,” he said. “The reason is they’re 19 years of age and don’t understand yet. That’s why it’s good to have tournaments like this.”Ackerman did not mince his words. “One or two players need to play for the team, not themselves,” he boomed. The headmasterly figure cited Stephen Cook and Hashim Amla as star pupils who have yet to do the work he has set them.The main task that everyone needed to master today was the law of the bonus point. England needed one, and for Ackerman, “England would have won if they hadn’t have to have got the point.”Optimistically, England manager James Whitaker was about to send a message to his final pair telling them they could bat on until the end of the 41st over in pursuit of the bonus point winning runs when Tim Bresnan was bowled by man of the match Ryan Bailey.Bailey (55 not out off 61 balls) and Ryan McLaren (30 not out off 41 balls) added 70 off 71 balls to get their team up to 212/5 off 50 overs. Thirty-five of them came from the last three overs to take the game away from England.”In the last over we gave away seven or eight runs we could have stopped,” said a frustrated Farbrace.Chasing 213 in 40.1 overs or less to keep an interest in the tournament, England began lustily, but openers Kadeer Ali (44) and Bilal Shafayat (38) did not take their promising innings on.Captain Nicky Peng and Shafayat went in consecutive balls after the first drinks break, when the few Barmy Army fans already in New Zealand were noisily sensing a textbook run chase from their team.Slow left-armer bowler Ian Postman took both wickets, using some flight to produce lofted shots. He recovered from earlier punishment to end with four for 56. His other key wicket was that of Samit Patel, who, like Ali and Shafayat had just began to dominate before holing out to the spinner.”Somebody in the top five has to get a score of 75-plus,” emphasised Farbrace. “We haven’t achieved that in this tournament.””The killer blow was losing Bilal straight after Peng,” he continued.”We’ve had lots of talks about finishing. We haven’t got enough finishers to win games,” said the former county wicket-keeper.”The key point is to find out about the kids that you’ve got and find who can cope under pressure.”England’s youngsters failed under that pressure in the finishing school of the Under-19 World Cup this week, while South Africa, despite “my best player, my Graeme Pollock, Hashim Amla, not yet bothering the scorers,” moving up a class into the final four and perhaps beyond.
Indian discard, offspinner Harbhajan Singh (5 for 88) and SandeepSanwal (5 for 82) wrecked the Jammu and Kashmir line up to help Punjabregister an innings and 193 run victory on the final day of the NorthZone Ranji Trophy match at the Burlton Park in Jalandhar on Wednesday.Punjab reaped a rich haul of 8 points from this outright win.Resuming at the overnight score of 118 for 3, the overnight batsmenAshwani Gupta (37) and D Mahajan (65) took the score to 150. Ashwaniwas the first to be dismissed, caught by Ricky off Harbhajan Singh.Ten overs later, Mahajan was bowled, giving Sandeep Sanwal his firstwicket of the innings. Then Vikrant Taggar (13) held the fort for afurther 10 overs in the company of Idris Gaudroo (18).But after Sanwal picked up Taggar and Shashi Kumar (13), it was just amatter of time before the innings folded up. Sanwal then held a returnchance to send back Sanjay Sharma. Idris who had battled for over 73minutes departed, bowled by Sanwal. Harbhajan then returned to pick uphis fifth wicket, that of Abdul Qayoom (7), to signal Punjab’svictory.
Leeds United could bring in a number of American players during the summer after the arrival of Jesse Marsch as manager, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.
The Lowdown: Marsch arrives at Elland Road
Marcelo Bielsa was relieved of his duties as Whites manager last month, in what was a big call considering the Argentine’s popularity at Elland Road.
Marsch came in as his replacement, being tasked with keeping Leeds in the Premier League after a largely disappointing season.
After back-to-back defeats against Leicester City and Aston Villa to begin his reign, the American picked up his first win as boss on Sunday as the Whites beat Norwich City 2-1 at home in stoppage time.
[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]
The Latest: O’Rourke expects American influx at Leeds
Spaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke believes that Marsch’s arrival at Leeds could be the start of an American invasion at the club.
The journalist predicted: “It’s all pointing to there possibly being a lot of Americans and players that Jesse Marsch knows coming to Elland Road in the near future.”
[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-37/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]
The Verdict: Aaronson this summer?
Reports that 49ers Enterprises are gradually taking more control of Leeds certainly seems to enhance this opinion, with an American nucleus growing within Elland Road.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
What it could mean is that the chances of signing Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson are enhanced this summer, with the 21-year-old linked with a move throughout January. Furthermore, he has worked with Marsch before at the Austrian club, so that pre-existing relationship could increase the chances of the duo working together once more.
The 18-cap USA international could be an exciting arrival, sparking an influx of signings from across the Atlantic in the coming years, assuming that the Leeds manager earns the time to make a lasting impact at Elland Road.
In other news, one key Leeds player has been linked with another Premier League club. Read more here.
Zimbabwe will tour Pakistan after the host country’s general elections which are set for January 8. The Zimbabwe tour will comprise five ODIs and two first-class matches and was confirmed by a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official on Tuesday.The tour request was made by Zimbabwe Cricket, according to the news agency.The two first-class matches, which will be played before the one-dayers, will assist Zimbabwe in rejoining the Test fold after their self-imposed exile which began back in 2005. The PCB official said: “They want their players to get exposure in the longer duration of the game as they are not playing Tests at the moment.”The venues for the first-class matches have not yet been confirmed. The one-day internationals will be staged in Karachi, Hyderabad, Multan, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura.
January 1993 – At 22, he replaces his Western Australia team-mate Damien Martyn in the Australia team and makes his Test debut in the famous one-run loss to West Indies at Adelaide. He was hit on the helmet by an Ian Bishop bouncer but made 54 in the second innings.June 1993 – Dropped for the 1993 Ashes tour as Australia decide to give Michael Slater his chance as opener and bump David Boon down to take Langer’s No. 3 spot.May 1997 – Plays the last of his eight one-day internationals. Despite a strike-rate of 88, he appears to be pigeon-holed by the selectors as a Test-only player.October 1998 – Having added only three more Tests to his initial run of five, is recalled to the No. 3 position for Australia’s tour of Pakistan. Begins with a first-ball 0 but confirms his place in the side with 116, his maiden Test century, in the second match of the series.December 1998 – Scores his first century on Australian soil, making an unbeaten 179 against England at Adelaide. His Man-of-the-Match performance helps Australia take a 2-0 lead in the series.November 1999 – Together with Adam Gilchrist, rescues Australia from a seemingly unwinnable position at Hobart. They join forces at 5 for 126 and drive Australia to victory chasing 369 against Pakistan. Langer’s 127 earns him another Man of the Match award.November 1999 – Follows up Hobart with his first century at his home ground at Perth. He is named Man of the Series after his 144 helps Australia to an innings victory.January 2000 – Makes his maiden Test double-century, finally falling for 223 against India at Sydney, setting Australia up for an easy win.July 2001 – Dropped for the first Ashes Test in England as Ricky Ponting is promoted to No. 3. Returns to the side as an opener for the last Test of the series, scoring 102 but retiring hurt after another severe blow to the helmet, this time from Andy Caddick. The match marks the beginning of his successful partnership with Matthew Hayden.November 2001 – Earns a Man-of-the-Series award against New Zealand after centuries in consecutive Tests at Brisbane and Hobart.
December 2002 – After a lean patch makes his highest Test score, 250, in the Boxing Day match against England as Australia take a 4-0 series lead.November 2004 – Passes 200 for the third time, scoring 215 against New Zealand at Adelaide to lead Australia to a 2-0 series win.December 2004 – Narrowly misses adding his name to the list of players with a century in each innings of a Test when, at his home ground against Pakistan, he makes 191 and 97.September 2005 – Finishes the losing Ashes series as Australia’s best batsman, scoring 394 runs at 43.77 when all the other Australians failed to average above 40.April 2006 – Becomes the tenth man and first Western Australian to play 100 Tests for Australia but spends most of the game on the sidelines at Johannesburg after retiring hurt thanks to a nasty hit on the helmet first ball from Makhaya Ntini. Against doctors’ order, he bravely prepares to bat in the second innings but is not required as Australia win with eight wickets down.November 2006 – Helps Australia get away to a dream start in their bid to regain the Ashes, making 82 and 100 not out in the team’s big win at Brisbane.January 1, 2007 – Announces he will join Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath in making the Sydney Test against England his last appearance for Australia.
As exclusively revealed to Cricinfo last week, Tatenda Taibu will be playing his club cricket in Bangladesh for the next few weeks following his decision to retire from international cricket.Taibu, 22, has signed a one-month deal with City Club in Dhaka that will run from December 11 to January 12. He was due to leave Zimbabwe at the weekend but is believed to have stayed behind as the situation there took a major turn with an emergency meeting called by stakeholders.”The whole negotiating process was being handled by a member of the Bangladesh Cricket Board and all I can say is I am happy to be concentrating on my game again,” Taibu told the Zimbabwe Standard.The paper added that Taibu will get performance-based bonuses in addition to such perks as comprehensive medical cover and general upkeep.It is likely to be a brief stay as Taibu has said that his priority is Zimbabwe cricket and he hopes the mess there will be resolved soon. “I’m hopeful everything will be back to normal in local cricket by January for me to resume my international career. I love my country and the only time I have considered leaving is to play cricket, but always to come back. After my 30 days in Bangladesh are up, I will come back home and hopefully be available for a proposed series against Bangladesh in January and then the West Indies.”
Bennett King, the coach of the West Indian team, has scoffed at rumours that Brian Lara was a difficult player to manage, but indicated that Lara might be allowed certain concessions in training to allow him to play longer.Talking to the media after the West Indian squad landed in Australia for the VB Series, King said: “I don’t know where it [the rumours] comes from and I was conscious of going in with an open book, having heard all the innuendo, and making my own opinion. But from my point of view, he smiles at me every day and I smile at him every day, so it goes all right.”King, who was earlier the chief coach of Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence, suggested that it was important to handle Lara well, so as to maximise his contribution to West Indian cricket. “We’ve got to be mindful of his longevity in the game and how we manage him so we get the best out of Brian for as long as he wants to play,” King stated. “Some people need to be treated differently and sometimes when you start maturing, you need to also be adaptable to some of their needs and the players around them need to understand that too.”He’s had 35 years in cricket and he’s hit ten million cricket balls in his career as it is, whereas a 20-year-old’s probably hit about 200,000, so it’s not going to take Brian that long to get into pretty good shape.”Talking about his experiences with the team so far, King said: “It’s been a pleasure to work with these boys from the islands and the limiting factor for them is the amount of resources that are available within the Caribbean to consistently train and put in the hours that some of the other nations have the opportunity to.”West Indies have been struggling in international cricket over the last few years, but showed signs of a resurgence last year, when they lifted the Champions Trophy after defeating England in a thrilling final. However, with Australia and Pakistan being the two other teams in the fray in the VB Series, West Indies will have their task cut out, and will start as underdogs in the tournament. They begin their campaign with a match against Australia at Melbourne on January 14.