Adam Gilchrist believes Australia’s attack is much better prepared to challenge India’s strong batting line-up than when the teams last met in Australia in 2003-04. During that visit India drew the series 1-1 and they posted strong first-innings totals of 409, 523, 366 and 705.Australia were without Shane Warne, who was sitting out because of his drugs ban, and Glenn McGrath, who had an ankle injury. Those two stars are now retired but Gilchrist is confident that any of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson and Brad Hogg can trouble India this time around.”They [India] have done well before without those two guys around, but I sense we’ve got a much more mature bowling group this year than what we did four years ago,” Gilchrist told the . “We have no doubt teams will feel a bit more confident without those guys in the line-up and that’s the challenge for us.”During the 2003-04 campaign Australia used five fast men – Lee, Jason Gillespie, Andy Bichel, Brad Williams and Nathan Bracken – and Stuart MacGill struggled to claim wickets. But Gilchrist was pleased with the way Australia’s new-look attack handled the recent Tests against Sri Lanka and he felt the bowling performances of four years ago would not be repeated.”The reality [of missing Warne and McGrath] kicked in during those first two Tests [against Sri Lanka],” he said. “I thought our bowling efforts didn’t wane at all. The guys stepped up in the absence of those two legends.”[India] certainly presents a bigger challenge because we’re playing against a more reputable batting line-up that will be confident against a team without those two players. There will be some hard slogs, but I think we’ve got the maturity there now to deal with it.”
West Indies captain Brian Lara is available for selection for defending champions Trinidad and Tobago against Barbados in the five-day Carib Beer Series Challenge Final, which starts on Thursday at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre.T&T team manager Omar Khan did not give any details on the final composition of the national squad to face Barbados, but he did indicate the possibility that Lara could play, along with his West Indies team-mate Dwayne Bravo. “Barbados is no easy side to beat. We had some good battles in the past and this one will be no different,” Khan commented.”But we have the upper hand,” he continued. “We have had a good season going into this final. We only played one bad day of cricket this season and that was on the third day of the first game against Barbados, which cost us the match.”Speaking about T&T’s five-run victory in the KFC Cup final against the Windward Islands last Saturday in St Vincent, Khan said: “It was a tremendous team effort.”Trinidad and Tobago have been unbeaten throughout the tournament and to have won makes it even more special. No other team has managed to go through the season undefeated and the guys will feel very proud to hold that special honour.”Trinidad and Tobago had some nail-biting matches in the KFC Cup which had many fans on the edge of their seats. In the semi-final against Guyana and then the final, T&T found themselves in some perilous positions. According to Khan, complacency is something the team has to work on, but he also noted that close finishes are what finals are all about.”The team that keeps their head on until the end and proves their character, displays their determination, heart and passion will win the game,” Khan said.”All team members put up a fight. When one fails, the others know it is time to come to the party. Everyone plays a part in the team’s success, it is a total team effort.”Commenting on Kieron Pollard’s performance, Khan said: “He has been excellent for us this season but now he needs to work on his shot selection. He needs to choose which ball to go after and to understand that at this level you need to play sensible cricket.”Pollard is a good player and a talented all-rounder. He has a very effective slower delivery. He has broken some crucial partnerships this season and he will definitely be a good addition to the West Indies World Cup team.”Khan also commended T&T skipper Daren Ganga for his excellent leadership on and off the field. The T&T squad will have a training session tomorrow at Gilbert Park, California before their clash with Barbados.
Kyle Mills, the New Zealand fast bowler, says that there shall be no premeditated sledging against Australia in the forthcoming Chappell-Hadlee Trophy which starts on December 3.Mills, who was among the wickets during New Zealand’s recent one-day series loss to South Africa, also featured prominently in some visible exchanges with Graeme Smith. He has, however, dismissed any chance of such banter with Australia, a side whose reputation for mentally testing its opponent is well known.”It’s nothing really, it’s just verbal banter,” he told stuff.co.nz. “It’s what happens out there at the time. Emotions get into it and it goes from there. But you’ve got to control what you control best. Most guys have played enough first-class and international cricket and what goes on the field stays on the field.”Mills even went to the extent of saying that Australia’s newbees – Michael Lewis and Stuart Clark, both fast bowlers, and Cameron White, the spin bowling allrounder, will be spared the psychological gibes. “You don’t pinpoint a player at the start of the series or the start of the game, it’s what happens out there,” Mills said. “That’s the beauty of cricket, I guess.”Probed to comment on his claims of becoming an allrounder, Mills said that it was still an aspiration – he hopes to bat at No.7 some day – but that he had neglected his batting in recent times. “There’re a few allrounders I have to get past first. It’s something I’d like to work towards but I just want to keep my bowling as it was in South Africa.”The first of three one-day matches will be played at Eden Park on Saturday.
Matthew Elliott and David Hussey led Victoria’s charge and helped them race to a comprehensive seven-wicket win in the warm-up game against the West Indians at the MCG. Chasing a modest 202 for victory, Elliott and Hussey added 129 in quick time as Victoria romped home with 18 overs to spare.After a hesitant start, Hussey’s excellent knock came from just 62 balls and included five sixes as the West Indian bowlers were taken apart. Elliott played the anchor role to near-perfection and though he was out late in the innings, the victory was all but ensured by then. Pedro Collins, the left-arm seamer, was the most impressive of the West Indian bowlers. He trapped Brad Hodge lbw for 3 and finished with figures of 2 for 26.Earlier in the day, the West Indian batsmen failed to capitalise on starts and no-one went on to post a big score. Chris Gayle gave them a blistering start with a 23-ball 33 but he fell in the fifth over and the rest didn’t cash in on the momentum. Apart from Gayle, six other batsmen – including Brian Lara – reached double figures but none was able to kick on to a sizeable score.The West Indians were reduced to 6 for 63 and only a fighting ninth-wicket partnership between Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw, the same pair who had starred in a historic triumph in the Champions Trophy final in September, enabled them to cross the 200-mark.For Victoria, Michael Lewis, Cameron White and Hodge, who bowls part-time offspin, snapped up two wickets apiece. Tim Welsford, the allrounder, claimed his first wicket for Victoria and it turned out to be the prized one of Lara – caught behind by Adam Crosthwaite for 24.”The players have played enough international cricket to do better than they did today,” the West Indies coach Bennett King told the AAP news agency.”Five of our top eight looked like they were in very good form and showed some very good signs but unforced outs can really cruel you in this game and that’s what what we had today.”We were playing a very good side but again I’d expect a lot better from our bowlers.”The players will only have two chances to practise ahead of the VB series which starts on January 14, when West Indies take on Australia at the MCG. They will play two more warm-up games – both against Australia A – in Hobart on Saturday and Sunday.”We’ve got a lot of work to do in the next week or so and with the week leading up to the VB Series we’ve got some good plans in place,” added King.
Nathan Astle’s 103 off 207 balls enabled New Zealand to save some face on the third day of the first Test between India and New Zealand, even if it didn’t quite take New Zealand to safety. Here is what he had to say:On his innings Well, I was going to play my game, right from themorning, and I think I did that pretty well. I got outto a reckless shot. I had wanted to be more assertive,and I just picked the wrong ball to do it. Everybodyin the New Zealand middle order plays shots, and Ithink we did that today. Craig McMillan took thepressure off me and played well, and we were able tokeep the runs ticking along.On the wicket It is a good wicket, although the heat is getting tous a little bit. We have to keep up our water intake,and it has become a mental game more than anythingelse. The wicket is getting a little turn, and it willturn more as the game goes on. Zaheer Khan’sfootmarks are also creating a rough for the Indianspinners, so if we do have to follow on, that willhelp them quite a bit.On being the first New Zealander since 1976-77 toscore a Test century in India Yes, actually I was aware of that. Before playstarted, we had a few facts put before us, and thiswas one of them. So it was actually good motivation.On the Ahmedabad ground It’s always nice to come back to a ground with goodmemories. [Astle scored a World Cup century againstEngland here in 1996.] It becomes easier to go outthere and bat, your mind is at ease a lot more.On New Zealand’s strategy for the remainder of thegame Well, we’re going to try to get to 300 first, and thenmaybe get a few more past it. If we do that, we’ll bea lot happier. We’ll have a shot at drawing this game,and can then go on to Mohali. If we are made to followon, however, it will be tough to last two days.
New Zealand’s world champion women cricketers fly out of Christchurch tomorrow morning after a week’s build-up at the High Performance Centre to top off a programme designed to compensate for the loss of their tour to India.The cancellation of the tour, due to security reasons, was a body blow for the CLEAR White Ferns who need to start working towards rebuilding their side.But the hastily-arranged three-game tour to Queensland is some compensation.The game has been viewed by the side’s administration as a six-game tour, three games having been played at Lincoln University this week as part of the tour and also an assessment of some of the younger promising players in the country.Team coach Mike Shrimpton said that before the cancellation of the Indian tour the players had built up well through the winter with fitness training, regular visits to Lincoln and, latterly, matches and were in a very buoyant frame of mind.”The cancellation was a huge mental letdown and I suspected it would be hard for them to get up again,” Shrimpton said, “but we’ve had a good week out at Lincoln in very good conditions and we are looking forward to it now.”A lot of runs were scored and the players looked in good shape and form.”The exercise was also beneficial from a selectorial point of view as some of the younger players were looked at in conditions tougher than what they had been in before.Shrimpton said he had a lot of time around the country during the winter and saw many of the younger players in action.”They are young in experience but rich in talent,” he said. And some of those players would benefit from the A team tour to Australia in February.Some were capable of forcing their way into consideration for New Zealand’s tour to Europe in the winter when they will take part in a tri-series with England and India.”Initially the players were a little rusty and there were a few cobwebs but we got some game plans set and our routines re-set.”It will be very competitive in Australia, our players have not had a lot of cricket and they lack playing time,” he said pondering the bad weather to have plagued New Zealand so far this summer.All players would play at least four of the six games in the programme in New Zealand and Australia.CLEAR White Ferns captain Emily Drumm said the week had been good and a full on experience.”I am quite excited by what has been done. It has been a really good opportunity to enjoy a bat on quality wickets. They are very good wickets at Lincoln and it is easy to score runs quickly and it was enjoyable to have a long innings,” she said.The tour and the preparations for the new players to learn what it was to be part of the White Ferns and it was also a chance for the older players to get out of New Zealand, and the cycle of playing among themselves for some fresh competition.The tour games are: all against Queensland on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday next week.
In a pleasant match, played from Zimbabwe’s viewpoint against the backdropof the country’s crucial elections, the touring team beat Somerset atTaunton by 21 runs with eight balls to spare. The weather was pleasant,although the ground was never quite half full, and the match was competitiveuntil the last four overs.Some sub-standard fielding showed that Zimbabwe’s thoughts may havebeen centred elsewhere, but a century from Neil Johnson and successfulbowling by Gary Brent and acting captain Heath Streak were enough to seethem home against a Somerset team missing, like so many county teams againsttourists, several key players. These included Test bowler Andy Caddick andcaptain Jamie Cox, with Marcus Trescothick taking over the captaincy.On a bright, fresh morning the Zimbabweans won the toss and decided tobat on one of Taunton’s traditionally good batting pitches with a fastoutfield. Both teams turned out fully clad in their gaily-coloured pyjamas,but the ground at the start was less than a quarter full.Craig Wishart opened with Johnson, the latter surviving a good lbwappeal by Graham Rose off the first ball of the match but quickly producinga classic off-drive to the boundary off Jamie Grove, followed by anotherthat left cover standing in Grove’s next over. Opposing bowlers should knowby now about Johnson’s preferences, but so many still take a while to learnwhere to avoid putting the ball. Wishart had a narrow escape on 4 when afirm chance to short extra cover went down.Johnson held centre stage, hitting ten fours in his fifty, which cameoff 62 balls. The opening pair put on 81 together before Wishart (18),trying to swing Ian Blackwell away to leg, only succeeded in lobbing a catchto Keith Parsons deepish at square leg.As he often does around this stage of his innings, Johnson slowed downafter his fifty and was overshadowed by Stuart Carlisle, who playedsome good drives and pulls. He was out for 40 to an extraordinary catch byBlackwell at long-on. A powerful on-drive looked like a six all the way,but Blackwell reached up and caught it left-handed, saved by the boundaryboard from falling over backwards. Had there been a rope instead thebatsmen would have been credited with a six. Zimbabwe were 154 for two inthe 34th over.Alistair Campbell was dropped at the wicket before getting off the markwith a leg tickle for four off Blackwell, followed by a drive to theextra-cover boundary. Both batsmen kept the score moving well, althoughsweepers now hampered Johnson’s off-side driving. The 200 came up in the43rd over. Johnson reached his century with a degree of fortune, AdrianPierson missing a difficult return catch which went through to mid-off for asingle. It took him 134 balls, but his second fifty contained only threefours compared to the ten of his first. He fell on 101, though, a loftedoff-drive off Peter Trego that was well caught low down running in atlong-off by Mark Lathwell. Zimbabwe were 222 for three in the 47th over.Murray Goodwin scored 5 before being bowled by a fine leg-stump yorkerfrom Trescothick, with the score on 232 for four. Campbell, concentratingon hitting straight, began to look more convincing and finished unbeaten on45, with Guy Whittall on 6, at the end of the innings. The total was 248for five, not a bad score but again Zimbabwe did not show the ability toscore heavily off their last few overs.Greg Kennis and Trescothick opened the batting for Somerset, the firstcautiously watchful, the second occasionally explosive. Trescothick beganby driving Johnson powerfully through the covers for four, and two overslater took two further fours on the leg side. After a quiet period he moveddown the pitch to the medium-fast Mluleki Nkala and carved him over thecovers for four. The bowler quickly gained revenge, though, with awell-disguised slower ball that had the batsman moving across his stumps andtrapped lbw for 25; Somerset 44 for one.Kennis and Piran Holloway batted well together and Somerset were makinga good challenge when the total reached 78 for one in the 17th over. ThenStreak struck, moving a ball in to Kennis (27) and having him dismissed lbwplaying forward.Mark Lathwell (13) batted usefully without really getting into hisstride, and he was out to a smart high catch at short extra cover by PaulStrang off Gary Brent. Somerset were 104 for three in the 25th over.Parsons (1) followed only two runs later, hitting across the line to afull-pitched ball from Brent and becoming another lbw victim.Michael Burns was quickly in his stride, driving Paul Strang wide ofmid-on for a classy four, while Piran Holloway became obsessed with thesweep, sometimes bringing good runs but at others clearly flirting withdanger, as he was on several other occasions backing up eagerly at thebowler’s end. The pair settled into a good brisk partnership but thescoring rate was gradually rising all the time towards eight runs an over.Holloway (55) finally drove Dirk Viljoen straight into the hands ofNeil Johnson at long-on; Somerset 177 for five in the 42nd over. Momentslater Burns on 37 was dropped, a difficult chance, near the square-legboundary. He celebrated with a powerful straight six into the sightscreento bring up his fifty, reached off 59 balls. Ian Blackwell (8) played acouple of powerful hits and it was still just possible that a bigpartnership by these two might have clinched the match for Somerset, but heskied Paul Strang towards mid-off where the bowler took the catch; 203 forsix in the 45th over. Still, with Graham Rose coming in, all was not lost.Burns played three successive good reverse sweeps off Strang for atotal of eight runs, but his fine innings eventually came to an end at 68when, deceived by a good slower ball from Brent, he hit across the line andwas bowled. Somerset were 220 for seven at the end of the 46th over. 29runs were needed in four overs.The decisive ball was the next one, as Streak returned and immediatelyyorked Rose (1) with a fine delivery. The two new batsmen Pierson and Tregowere never capable of making a challenge. Trego (3) fell lbw to Brent,trying to slog him to leg; 224 for nine. Streak wrapped up the innings at227 with another fine yorker, uprooting Grove’s off stump before he hadscored, with Pierson not out on 3. Brent returned the best Zimbabweanbowling figures, with four wickets for 36 runs off his ten overs.
Wolves are in the midst of a poor run of form having lost their three previous Premier League games with a 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace at Molineux over the weekend following on from away defeats against Arsenal and West Ham United.
As well as this poor run of form, another worrying aspect of the Old Gold’s season so far is their lack of goals scored compared to the other teams around them in the league table.
Bruno Lage’s side have only found the back of the net 24 times in 27 games, leaving relegation-battling teams such as Watford, Everton and Leeds United having scored more times.
With that in mind and the Midlands club’s chances of securing European football dwindling with every game lost, this could force Lage into making some drastic changes to his team at the top of the pitch.
One potential move that the 45-year-old could make would be to dip into the club’s academy to see if any of their young players has what it takes to step up to the senior side and add a much-needed spark.
In terms of who that player could be, 19-year-old centre-forward Conor Carty could potentially catch the eye of the Old Gold manager.
As a product of Wolves’ youth system, the Irishman has racked up a total of 64 appearances across their U18 and U23 sides, scoring 11 goals and providing four assists along the way, showing that he certainly has a lot of attacking and creative talent in him.
Labelled by James Collins as a player that is “growing all the time” that has delivered “threatening” performances for the U23s, Carty could be just what Lage needs to get his side firing.
Having had previous success with giving youth a chance earlier in the season with 19-year-old midfielder Luke Cundle, who delivered a “very assured” display in Wolves’ 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last month in his first Premier League start, the former Benfica boss could replicate that same sort of move by giving the young striker a chance to show what he’s capable of in the Premier League.
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.
After all, it can’t get much worse than Fabio Silva who has not found the net all season long.
If Carty did get a chance and the teenager is able to make the most out of any opportunity he gets to play in the first team, this could well put him in the frame to become a regular in the senior squad for next season.
In other news: “I’m sure..:” Insider drops behind-the-scenes Wolves claim, supporters surely buzzing – opinion
ScorecardMonde Zondeki, the right-arm fast bowler, tore through the West Indian batting line-up with five wickets to restrict the tourists to 193 after they opted to bat. Even though South Africa A replied strongly – 78 for 1 at the close with Neil McKenzie, the captain, unbeaten on 43 – the day belonged to Zondeki who played the last of his five Tests for South Africa over two years ago.Despite two early losses, the West Indians were well-placed at 83 for 2 before a flurry of wickets – including a second-ball duck for Shivnarine Chanderpaul – had them reeling on 112 for 7. A spirited fightback by Runako Morton (54) and useful 40s from Darren Sammy and Rawl Lewis helped them to 193. Sammy and Lewis shared 57 for the eighth wicket and hit 11 fours and a six between them.Charl Langeveldt and Vernon Philander took two wickets apiece to back-up Zondeki, who has been in excellent domestic form this season with 44 wickets in seven matches.South Africa A lost an early wicket when Alviro Petersen was bowled by Sammyfor 8. But Morne van Wyk and McKenzie put on an unbroken 63 for the second wicket as the visiting bowlers struggled in their only first-class fixture before a three-Test series starting in Port Elizabeth next Wednesday.
January 1995 – At 23, makes his one-day international debut against West Indies at Auckland. Scores 25 and takes 0 for 27.November 1995 – Having established his place as an opener, scores his first ODI century. His 114 from 128 balls against India at Nagpur drives New Zealand to a 99-run win.January 1996 – After a year in the one-day team, makes his Test debut against Zimbabwe at Hamilton. Scores 18 and 32 in a drawn game.February 1996 – In his first World Cup game, his 101 sets up an 11-run win against England at Ahmedabad.April 1996 – Makes back-to-back Test centuries on a tour of West Indies. His 125 at Bridgetown against an attack boasting Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Ian Bishop is his maiden Test hundred. He follows it up at St John’s with 103 but New Zealand go down in both matches.January 1997 – Scores his first Test hundred on home soil with an unbeaten 102 against England at Auckland.May 1997 – Records his best ODI bowling figures with a vital spell of 4 for 43 as New Zealand beat Pakistan at Chandigarh.June 1999 – Struggles through his second World Cup in poor form. Averages only 8.77 from his nine innings as New Zealand are eliminated at the semi-final stage.December 2001 – Top scores with 156 not out in the third Test against Australia at Perth as New Zealand draw the series 0-0.March 2002 – Smashes the fastest Test double-century, reaching the milestone in 153 balls against England at Christchurch. Finishes with 222, his highest Test score.March 2003 – Has a more successful World Cup in South Africa, making 102 not out against Zimbabwe and averaging 42.60 for the tournament.September 2004 – Takes the opportunity against the United States at The Oval to raise his highest ODI score, 145 from 151 deliveries.January 2006 – Is briefly dropped from the ODI squad to take on Sri Lanka at home but returns to the side with a string of high scores, including an unbeaten 118 against West Indies at Christchurch.January 26, 2007 – After a poor start to the CB Series in Australia, announces his retirement from international cricket, citing a lack of motivation.