Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistan’s assistant coach, appeared before a three-member performance evaluation committee constituted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to explain his team’s disastrous performance in the World Cup.Mushtaq, who is due to leave for England in a few days, was the first member to appear before the committee, which will also question Inzamam-ul-Haq and a few other members of the squad. Mushtaq was questioned on several matters pertaining to the team’s disappointing show in the hour-long session with former Test cricketers Ijaz Butt, Saleem Altaf and Salahuddin Ahmed.”There is no excuse for the poor performance which has really disappointed the nation and I can only apologise to public for that,” Mushtaq said while speaking to Karachi-based daily .He shrugged aside claims that the team’s preparation for the mega event was not up to the mark and played an imperative part in Pakistan not progressing to the Super Eights. He added that the team failed to deliver on the field in successive losses to West Indies and Ireland.Talking about the Bob Woolmer murder, Mushtaq criticised the lack of security measures taken for his team in the Caribbean.”The security arrangements for the foreign teams in Pakistan are a lot better than what I saw in the West Indies,” he said.He also denied rumours that Shahid Afridi was questioned for longer by the Jamaican police over the death.The performance evaluation committee, constituted last week, is expected to submit its final report on Pakistan’s campaign within a month.
Stuart Clark hopes he can be the man to fix Australia’s end-of-innings bowling problems. The Australians have struggled to close out opposition batsmen in the final overs since the Chappell-Hadlee Series and the continued absence of Glenn McGrath means Ricky Ponting is still searching for a reliable replacement.”I’d like to be the death bowler, I am getting better at that,” Clark told AAP ahead of Friday’s Twenty20 International at Johannesburg. “If they want to give me the new ball, I’m happy to do that, or bowl first change. If they want me to bowl at the death, I’m happy to do that as well.”Clark made his debut during the Super Series last October and has played 11 ODIs and taken 19 wickets. He has become a regular fringe member of the side since he was picked as a squad replacement for McGrath in England and he will enter the five-match one-day series as part of the first-choice bowling line-up including Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken. “You only get limited opportunities and you have to make the most of them while you’re out there,” Clark said.The Australians have talked about dealing with the hostile crowds predicted for the series, but Clark said the reaction was not a concern. “It doesn’t matter where you go,” he said. “When we went to New Zealand, the crowd was parochial towards New Zealanders. When South Africa come to Australia, the Australian crowd climbs on board for us.”It’s part of being an international cricketer. It’s the same in domestic cricket. Queensland don’t like NSW and Western Australia don’t like anyone.”
Shaun Pollock is unlikely to participate in the second Test against Zimbabwe due to an ankle problem he sustained during the series against England. His discomfort was visible in Zimbabwe’s second innings of the first Test, where he bowled only five overs.Shane Jabaar, the South African team physiotherapist, believed the Shaun’s ankle would not recover in time for the Test, which begins on March 11. Supersport quoted him as saying, “Shaun will consult a specialist about his sore ankle on Wednesday, but I do not think he will play in the second Test.”Jabaar also spoke about the injuries afflicting Graeme Smith, Charl Langeveldt and AB de Villiers. “His ankle remains problematic and we are treating it,” Jabaar said of Smith. “However, we need time, that is something we do not have.”But he had some good news. He confirmed that AB de Villiers did not have a broken finger and that Langeveldt’s hamstring problem was recovering well. “Charl is responding well to treatment and will remain in the squad,” said Jabaar. “I cannot see his injury preventing him from playing in the second Test.”
Tamil Nadu 110 for 2 and 188 (Paul 7-44) trail Bengal 400 (Haldipur 100, Sanyal 89) by 102 runs Scorecard Shib Sankar Paul, the Bengal medium pacer, forced Tamil Nadu to follow-on on the third day of the Elite B match at Tirunelveli. Paul, who has been Bengal’s bowling hero this season, took seven wickets as Tamil Nadu caved in for a mere 188. Without three of their main batsmen, Tamil Nadu struggled, with only S Badrinath (86) averting a complete disaster. However, they put up a better show while following on by losing only two wickets for 110, with Badrinath still unbeaten at stumps.Rajasthan 53 for 4 and 168 trail Karnataka 350 (Rowland 81, Arunkumar 58, Bharadwaj 50) and 145 by 275 runs Scorecard Karnataka wrested the initiative with a good batting display on the third day of the match against Rajasthan. Barrington Rowland and Vijay Bharadwaj hit fine half-centuries as Karnataka set a victory target of 328. Rowland, carrying on his rich vein of form, hit seven boundaries in his 81. Rajasthan had their backs to the wall at the end of the day when Dodda Ganesh and Venkatesh Prasad reduced them to 53 for 4 and set Karnataka up for their first victory of the season.Uttar Pradesh 22 for 1 and 205 trail Mumbai 332 (Morris 93*, Thakkar 71) by 105 runs Scorecard At one point Mumbai were 258 for 8 and UP had done a good job in restricting their lead. But Robin Morris hit a breezy 93, and ensured that Mumbai finished with lead of 127 runs. Morris’s 120-ball innings included five sixes and six fours, and he put on 74 runs for the last two wickets. Earlier, Bhavin Thakkar also chipped in with 71 to prop up the total. Praveen Gupta, the left-arm spinner, was the most successful bowler for UP with 4 for 79. In their second innings, UP lost the wicket of S Shukla early and will have to battle all day tomorrow if they are to deny Mumbai an outright victory.Delhi 198 for 6 (Dahiya 61) and 195 lead Railways 234 by 159 runs Scorecard In a low scoring game, Railways gained a small lead, but Vijay Dahiya and Pradeep Chawla played valuable innings for Delhi and set up a fascinating final day at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Dahiya struck 61 and Chawla remained unbeaten on 48 as Delhi went ahead by 159 runs for the loss of six wickets. Harvinder Singh picked up three wickets and finished as the most successful bowler for Railways.Hyderabad 199 for 4 (Anirudh 68, Vinay 53) trail Assam 537 (Sathish 133*, Sukhvinder 112) by 338 runs Scorecard After being battered on the first two days by the Assam batsmen, Hyderabad made a sedate start to their innings, compiling 199 runs on the third day. Anirudh Singh and Vinay Kumar hit fifties, but Hyderabad lost four wickets and were still 338 runs adrift at stumps. Assam may have batted for too long to force an outright win, but first-innings points are almost assured.Punjab 323 for 8 (Dharmani 98, Sodhi 66, Mongia 60) trail Baroda 369 (Martin 149, R Parab 54) by 46 runs Scorecard Both teams jostled for the first-innings lead as Punjab finished the third day still 46 runs behind with only two wickets standing. Pankaj Dharmani marginally missed out on a hundred and Reetinder Singh Sodhi hit 66 as Punjab inched towards the Baroda total. Earlier Dinesh Mongia had also hit a fine 60. Rakesh Patel picked up four wickets and Baroda will look to polish off the tail and pick up first-innings honours.Plate Championship First Round Vidarbha 52 for 2 and 287 (Gawande 60) lead Tripura 337 (Sachdev 110, Jaiswal 76, Acharya 6-65) by 2 runs Scorecard 198 runs were scored on the third day as both teams lost wickets at regular intervals. Tripura gained a vital 49 runs first-innings lead, with Chetan Sachdev scoring a stroke-filled 110. But by the end of the day, Vidarbha erased the deficit, losing two top-order batsmen in the process. Madhusudan Acharya, the offspinner, enhanced his burgeoning reputation by adding three wickets, including Sachdev, to end with career-best figures of 6 for 65. Tripura gained the first-innings bonus points and will look to their spinners to get them an outright win tomorrow.Goa 41 for 1 and 235 (Swapnil 126, Mohanty 5-44) trail Orissa 466 (Mullick 134, Mohapatra 83, Behara 87, Jakati 5-99) by 190 runs Scorecard Pravanjan Mullick blasted 134 off just 163 balls and Orissa stamped their authority over Goa on the third day. Biswa Mohapatra and S Behera, the openers, hit eighties and Orissa finished their first innings at 466. Shadab Jakati was the most successful bowler ending with a five-wicket haul. Goa suffered a setback in their second innings as AA Swapnil, the first-innings centurion, was forced to retire hurt – something that may prove vital in the ultimate outcome.Jammu and Kashmir 226 for 5 and 96 (Vashisht 6-32) trail Haryana 304 (Shafiq 71, Snny 66, Ganda 57) by 21 runs Scorecard Jammu and Kashmir 229 for 5 and 96 (Vashisht 6-32) lead Haryana 304 by 21 runs.After dominating Jammu & Kashmir for the better part of three days, Haryana would have expected a quick finish today. But J&K improved on their first-innings total of 96 to reach 229 for 5. J&K were tottering at 159 for 5, but Dhruv Mahajan, the captain, and Manzoor Dar steadied the innings with an unbeaten 70-run partnership and were on 42 and 30 respectively at stumps. Services 79 for 2 and 233 lead Himachal Pradesh 291 (Virender Sharma 134, Fazil 5-73) by 22 runs Scorecard Virender Sharma led the way on the third day, as Himachal Pradesh gained a first-innings lead of 58 over Services. It took a run-out to end Sharma’s impressive 134, and with it, the Himachal innings for 291. Fazil Mohammed and Arun Sharma claimed the bowling honours to finish with 5 for 73 and 4 for 90 respectively. Services began their second innings cautiously, reaching 79 for 2 at close, with an overall lead of 22.
Nepal secured its semi-final berth for the ICC Under-19 Plate Championship by beating Scotland by 48 runs in Auckland today.Nepal had the benefit of a 102-run opening partnership between Kanishka Chaugai (43) and Yashwant Subedi (45) and built on that with Bardan Chalise adding 30, Sakthi Gauchan 31 and Binod Das 27 not out to see the side to 205/5 off their 50 overs.Stewart Leggat took two for 28 with his off spinners and Moneeb Iqbal two for 33.Scotland got off to a poor start and while Brendan McKerchar scored 42, Steven Gilmour 29 and Iqbal 28 but the side could only total 157, as Gauchan finished with three for 32.Nepal will now play Bangladesh in the Plate semi-final at Lincoln No 3 on Wednesday.
Australian all-rounder Andy Bichel claimed a career-best 6-44 asWorcestershire wrapped up ther first CricInfo County Championshp DivisionTwo success of the season with a 252-run triumph over Gloucestershire inBristol.Bichel has already provided several important contributions with the batsince his arrival at Worcestershire this season, but this was comfotably hisbest performance with the ball.The 30-year-old Queenslander bowled an excellent line and generated impressive speed at times on an easy-paced pitch.With Alamgir Sheriyar offering notable support, Worcestershire’s win wasnever in doubt as Gloucestershire, 35-3 overnight, were bowled out for 155 inpursuit of 408 for victory.The home side continue to set the pace in one-day cricket, but theirfour-day form has been poor this season.Chris Taylor and Kim Barnett were dismissed early on as they chased widedeliveries from Sheriyar and Bichel respectively to give catches towicketkeeper Steve Rhodes.The Worcestershire wicketkeeper snaffled another catch when Mark Alleyneedged Sheriyar in front of first slip and, from 76-6 in the 36th over, therewas no way back for Gloucestershire.Jeremy Snape and Reggie Williams provided resistance with a seventh wicketstand of 51, but both fell quickly after lunch.Williams departed for 28 to the third ball after the break when he wascaught at second slip by Graeme Hick off Bichel.Then it became 146-8 when Snape, having struck eight fours in his 42, waswell caught at gully by Philip Weston from Bichel’s bowling.James Averis skied a catch to Stuart Lampitt off Matthew Rawnsley’s left-armspin and victory was completed in the next over when Bichel had Jon Lewiscaught at first slip.It was the first time Lewis had been dismissed this season in nine inningsin all forms of cricket.
Liverpool owners FSG are confident that Mohamed Salah will eventually reduce his demands and sign a new contract at Anfield, according to a fresh update.
The Lowdown: Salah’s future up in the air
The future of the Reds superstar Egyptian is one of football’s biggest stories currently, with the 29-year-old not yet agreeing a new deal.
Salah’s current contract runs out at the end of next season, meaning he could leave on a free transfer at that point, in what would be an enormous financial blow for Liverpool.
It is thought that the forward’s wage demands are proving to be the main stumbling block, with the Reds not willing to pay him astronomical money.
The Latest: Salah and Abbas to lower demands
There is positive news regarding the situation, however, with Football Insider claiming a source close to Liverpool has informed them that FSG believe a “huge” new deal for Salah will be agreed.
Agent Ramy Abbas Issa was not happy with the initial offer, but the club are confident he will lower his wage demands next time around due in part to the lack of options to move elsewhere.
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The Verdict: Tense few months ahead
If true, this would be a massive boost for the Reds, with Salah arguably the world’s best player throughout this season, scoring 20 goals and registering 10 assists in the Premier League.
Losing him at the peak of his powers would be devastating, even though no player is bigger than the club, and he is unlikely to be as loved anywhere else, nor play under a better manager than Jurgen Klopp.
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It could be a nervy few months of twists and turns, though, as Salah weighs up his options amid interest from other teams, including Barcelona.
In other news, Liverpool reportedly lead the race to sign one player. Find out who it is here.
The first day of matches in the Under-19 World Cup appear to be, on paperat least, a series of mismatches: Australia play Namibia in Penang,Malaysia face defending champions Pakistan in Johor, while England take onneighbours Ireland in Kuala Lumpur. The biggest mismatch, though, could beat the Kinrara Oval where India, who are expected to progress towards thefinal rounds, play the qualifiers from the East Asia Pacific region, PapuaNew Guinea.The difference between the two teams, and countries, couldn’t be starker.India are entertaining thoughts of a sizeable victory, keeping an eye onthe net run-rate in a group which includes South Africa and West Indies;Papua New Guinea have lost each of their 18 matches in their four previousappearances in this tournament. Millions of children play cricket in Indiawhereas only a few thousand play the game in Papua New Guinea, primarilybecause the facilities are minimal and the equipment too expensive.The Papua New Guineans realise that hardly anybody is giving them a chanceof upsetting India and the reality is that, apart from coping with theopposition, several of their cricketers will be facing additionalproblems, which are inconceivable for established teams like India.The majority of the Papua New Guinea team have never played on a turfwicket, because there isn’t a single turf facility in their country.Arua Dikana, Colin Amini, Lua Nou, Willie Gavera and Tony Ura and the onlyones who’ve had some experience on turf and that was because they went toAustralia as part of an East Asia Pacific squad. They don’t have anyacademies in Port Moresby, the capital city and the main cricketingcentre, either.Vic Williams, who is an employee of Queensland Cricket and has beenassociated with developing the sport in Papua New Guinea for the last twoyears, believes that turf wickets will pose the greatest challenge. “Thereare no turf wicket facilities in Port Moresby,” Williams said. “They playon concrete wickets with mats rolled out on the top.”The Papua New Guinea players appeared to be extremely fit and athleticduring their practice session at the Kinrara Oval. They had a high-energycatching session and were enthusiastically cheering each other on at thenets. Williams said that the players were at their best when they were”laughing and having fun”, but a huge problem area was sustaining theconcentration levels and intensity for the duration of the 100 overs.”They don’t get tested for 50 overs in the club cricket that they play.The boys can play good cricket but in short patches. So they need tostring those patches together and play good cricket over a long period oftime.”Unlike India, who won both their warm-up matches against New Zealand andEngland, Papua New Guinea lost theirs to Ireland and Malaysia because oftheir inability to sustain their performance through the course of thematch.”Our first 16 overs in the field against Malaysia were exceptional,”Williams said. “They were sliding, there were assists with flick throws,and two people were chasing every ball. But when we got to the drinksbreak, they fell apart and it went back to club stuff.”It’s about mental concentration and the ability to keep that [intensityand concentration] going over a long period of time. It’s a big learningcurve, to learn how to put together three sessions in the field and then three sessions with the bat. We should have won againstIreland. We were about 30-40 runs short with the bat because we lost ourlast six wickets for 12. Ireland got there with eight wickets down.”The problems with the Papua New Guinea batting are as simple as playingstraight when the ball is directed at the stumps. “They’re like the West Indianswhen they bat: they like to hit the ball and are a bit cavalier in theirapproach,” Williams said. “Against Malaysia, the biggest downfall was theshot selection. About six guys were out playing across the line. It’s apatience thing because they can get away with that in club cricket.”
“They’re like the West Indianswhen they bat: they like to hit the ball and are a bit cavalier in theirapproach”
Undoubtedly the problems are due to the lack of facilities at home. Onconcrete strips the bounce is true, so the players can hit across the line. They also get used to playing lofted shots simply because the grass on the outfields at Amini Park is often left uncut, which means batsmen don’t get value forwell-timed shots along the ground.A big positive, though, is Papua New Guinea’s bowling attack. In WillieGavera, Loa Nou and Jacob Mado, a left-arm bowler, they have threestrapping fast bowlers who hit the pitch hard at a sharp pace. ColinAmini, their captain, bowls offspin and has a doosra in his armoury.”For them it’s about learning how to wins games,” Williams said. “They’vegot self belief but they have to get across the line.” The odds of PapuaNew Guinea getting there against India might be negligible, but if they canbegin strongly and sustain themselves for the majority of the game, theymight just catch one off the tournament favourites by surprise.
New Zealand’s injury concerns escalated on Friday with Peter Fulton breaking a finger during the side’s warm-up win over Sri Lanka. Fulton was taken to hospital after he broke the little finger on his left hand taking a catch to remove Kumar Sangakkara in the Bridgetown game.Earlier, Fulton had impressed by making 59 as New Zealand built a solid total of 285. They are already without Mark Gillespie, the fast bowler, who has a nerve disorder that has numbed his right shoulder.New Zealand are hopeful Gillespie’s problem will be a short-term one, but Stephen Fleming told Gillespie was unlikely to play in their opening group match against England next Friday.Jacob Oram is still nursing the broken ring finger on his left hand, although he has been able to bat and bowl with excellent results in the two warm-up games.
Cricket Australia has called for lifetime bans on supporters found guilty of racial abuse following reports that India’s top lawyer has been called in to investigate ongoing complaints by South African players.James Sutherland, the Australia board’s chief executive, said that spectators who racially abused players should either face heavy fines or be banned from attending matches. He added that tougher penalties were needed to “allow cricket administrators globally to ban for life or heavily fine the small handful of miscreants who offend with weak-minded racist taunts from the relative anonymity of packed stadiums.”The weak-minded minority who are tempted to think ‘me too’ when they see or hear media reports of racist taunts might think again if they realised they faced bans or huge fines of the type that now apply to spectators who trespass on Australian cricket arenas.”We intend to talk to Australian federal and state governments who supported us by introducing heavy fines for on-field trespassers to see if a similar approach might be possible for racist spectators.”Sutherland’s comments came after the ICC announced it had asked Goolam Vahanvati, India’s solicitor general, to investigate incidents of racial abuse that have taken place in Australia during the current season.