Ian Smith, the former South Africa legspinner, died at the age of 90 on August 25. Smith represented South Africa in nine Tests between 1947 and 1957 and picked up 12 wickets. His career-best match figures of 7 for 189 came in his debut in Nottingham, where England were forced to follow-on.The presence of spinners such as Athol Rowan, Hugh Tayfield and Tufty Mann resulted in Smith not being able to add a few more caps to his Test career. However, Smith, who turned out for Natal, had an impressive first-class record, picking up 365 wickets in 97 matches at an average of 22.55″On behalf of the CSA Family I extend our deepest condolences to his family, his friends and his cricketing colleagues”, CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.
Sourav Ganguly is making a habit of boosting India on the opening day of a Test. If Alastair Cook dismissal at Lord’s allowed India to break the dominant opening partnership, Mohammad Yousuf’s wicket here put them firmly on top. With a ball that pitched outside off and moved in, he rapped Yousuf on the pads and couldn’t control himself when Simon Taufel responded favourably. Charging towards Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar and extending his arms in frenzy, he was a picture of sheer delight. “Looks as if he’s got the world-record number of wickets,” said a hack in the media centre. “More like the world-record number of appeals,” joked another.Squeals of the dayTalking of appeals, lozenge companies may be lining up to sponsor this Indian side. Appeal after appeal went up through the day, most of them being met with negative nods from the umpires. Starting with Zaheer Khan’s second ball of the day, when he struck Salman Butt high on the pad, the Indians shouted, howled and, finally, implored. To the umpires’ credit, there were only a couple of really close calls but the Indians, it seemed, were making up for the poor crowd response, making a lot of noise of their own.Wild slog of the dayShoaib Akthar’s first contribution to the series was a mighty slog sweep, one attempted with such fury that it seemed intended for Rawalpindi. Shoaib obviously didn’t read a straight one from Kumble and let out an expansive hoick, one that allowed a massive gap between bat and pad. The fact that it was the last ball of Kumble’s over, when Shoaib could have simply tried to survive and support Misbah-ul-Haq, made it appear more foolhardy.Entertainment of the dayAround mid-day, with India pegging away at the Pakistan middle order, spectators at the embankment to the right of the pavilion were treated to some off-field action by a vertically challenged person. Impersonating Ganguly’s bowling action and Munaf’s appeals, he prompted peels of laughter among the crowd. Even the police’s attempts to stop him didn’t find favour with the police chief himself patted the boy on the back and telling him to continue for a bit more time. Kamran Akmal’s dismissal, which occurred during this period, went unnoticed in a couple of stands.Six of the dayMohammad Sami did a fine job hanging around but showed he was capable of the big strikes too. His mighty six towards the end of the day, off a full ball from Ganguly, soared straight into the first tier of the balcony. It was a bold statement but maybe it was also a sign of protest: the gaudy red and blue paint at the end of the ground is proving to be a major eye-sore in an otherwise impressive stadium.
Somerset have confirmed that Justin Langer, who is retiring from Test cricket after the final Ashes Test at Sydney, will be their captain for the 2007 season. In a brief period at Taunton last summer Langer scored a career-best 342 against Surrey and amassed more than 400 runs in the Twenty20.The Somerset director of cricket Brian Rose told the Press Association: “I was delighted to agree a provisional contract with Justin at the end of his highly successful five-week spell with the club in 2006, which he has now confirmed.”We are absolutely delighted that Justin is coming back to join us as captain for the whole season, initially on a one-year contract with a provision that he may come back again for a further year in 2008.”Somerset have endured a barren period despite having the short-term assistance of players such as Ricky Ponting, Graeme Smith, Sanath Jayasuriya and Langer. The Twenty20 title in 2005 is their only recent silverware.”Over the last four seasons, Somerset have lacked consistent leadership -and this is what we expect Justin to bring, especially after his vast experience inTest match cricket and as captain of Western Australia,” Rose added. “His presence and influence on the side will boost our experienced players as well as helping us develop the younger players we have on the staff.”During his press conference at the SCG, Langer said: “I can’t imagine not playing for the next couple of seasons. There’s an amazing challenge at Somerset. They’re at the bottom of everything, and I’ve got a great regard for the coach over there and I’m looking forward to that challenge.
Justin Langer is only a “50-50” chance of playing in the third Test against South Africa after suffering a grade one hamstring tear in the opening match at Perth. Langer was today ruled out of next week’s Boxing Day Test at the MCG, leaving the selectors with a difficult set of decisions.Michael Hussey, who filled in during two matches against West Indies when Langer had a fractured rib, could be shifted back to his preferred position as opener, which would allow a space for Michael Clarke to return. However, Phil Jaques, the New South Wales opener, is in fabulous form after hitting 158 in a one-day game against South Australia on Sunday to add to his 400 Pura Cup runs this summer. The poor form of Andrew Symonds as the team’s allrounder – he reached a career-best 25 in his fifth Test – could also create a middle-order vacancy and the second-Test team will be named on Tuesday afternoon.Jaques told he was ready for a possible promotion. “You never know until you actually get there, but I’m in some good form at the moment and I’d like to take the chance if I got a chance,” he said. “If I got the opportunity I’d take it with both hands and enjoy every minute of it.”Errol Alcott, the Australia physiotherapist, said Langer would travel with the team to have treatment in Melbourne and rated him a “50-50” prospect for the match in Sydney starting on January 2. “Having missed the first two Tests this summer with a broken rib, I am bitterly disappointed at suffering another injury which will keep me sidelined,” Langer said. Langer injured his left leg in the second innings and needed Matthew Hayden as a runner for the closing stages of his 47.
Darren Lehmann has rejected talk of retiring after the Adelaide Test against New Zealand and wants to stay on until next year’s Ashes tour. Lehmann was picked for the first game ahead of Simon Katich and will look to secure his place on his home ground from Friday after making just 8 at Brisbane.”I’m definitely not retiring,” Lehmann told reporters as he arrived in Adelaide. “If I’m enjoying cricket I’ll keep playing and I certainly am enjoying playing – so there’s no thoughts of that in my mind at all.”Lehmann also said his team-mates had spoken to Adam Gilchrist, who has been under heavy scrutiny following his walking disagreement with Craig McMillan in the first Test. “We’ll support him in whichever way he goes and whatever help he needs he’ll get it,” Lehmann said. James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, said the walking debate had been “blown out of proportion” and Gilchrist did not deserve to be at the centre of it.Despite playing several seasons for Yorkshire, Lehmann has never been on an Ashes tour and wants to make the trip next year. “That’s the whole goal,” he said. “I want to get there and play a full Ashes tour.”
Another day of heavy drizzle interspersed with spells of more persistant rain meant thatonly 25.2 overs were possible on the final day of Glamorgan`s tour match against IndiaA at Swansea. With the loss of so much time over the three days, it was predictablethat the game should end in a draw, but not before the clatter of 7 wickets today as theseam bowlers found the moist and overcast conditions much to their liking. Had it notbeen for this intervention by the weather, this game would surely have had a positive outcome.Morning rain meant that play did not start until 11.30 a.m.,and during the hour`s playbefore lunch, the Welsh county lost a further four wickets whilst adding 32 runs in 13overs, including a spell of three wickets in consecutive balls from Amit Bhandari andLakshmipathy Balaji.Adrian Shaw was the first man to go as in the fifth over he touched a lifting deliveryfrom Balaji to wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel after adding 56 in 19 overs with Mark Wallacefor the fifth wicket. The new batsman Dean Cosker did not last long as he edged the fifthball of Bhandari`s tenth over into the hands of first slip, and then next ball DarrenThomas was yorked. Balaji then bowled Mark Wallace with the next delivery from theMumbles Road End as Glamorgan collapsed to 117-8.But Robert Croft and David Harrison then added 19 runs in the next four oversbefore another heavy squall sent the players into the St.Helen`s pavilion for an earlylunch, and further drizzle meant that there was a further delay of 65 minutes.To the third ball after the resumption, David Harrison drove Bhandari to Amit Mishra atbackward point, and then in his next over Bhandari bowled Owen Parkin to finish withfigures of 6-38 – the best on the tour so far, and the seamer`s second five wickethaul against county opposition.With just 42 overs remaining, it seemed there would be an opportunity for the visitors to have furtherbatting practice, but Satyajit Parab was caught at first slip off the fourth ball of the innings,bowled by David Harrison. Then seven overs later another shower drifted in from Swansea Bay with IndiaA on 13-1, and the players left the field for an early tea.The precipitation caused another twenty minutes to be lost, and then when the players returned,another shower came in after a further 17 balls had been bowled, bringing an end to a contest where theweather was the only winner.
The name Keith Barker is familiar to a certain generation ofBarbadians. It is likely to become far more widely known inthe coming years.Keith Barker was one of those outstanding all-roundsportsmen who were so plentiful prior to the recent age ofspecialisation.The youngest of his four sons, Keith junior, has alreadymade his mark as both cricketer and footballer inLancashire, England, where his father has lived since takingup a professional league cricket contract with the Enfieldclub in 1965.A fast bowler and effective lower order batsmen, Keithsenior was a stalwart in the BCL team in the annual matchagainst the BCA and good enough to play for Guyana while aprofessional with the Georgetown Cricket Club there. He alsorepresented Barbados in basketball and was a useful waterpolo player.There was never any doubt the sport the elder Barker wouldpursue. As with so many of his contemporaries, like SirGarry Sobers, Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, cricket was theonly one that offered a career opportunity.In contrast, Keith junior, a student at Manchester’sMoorhead High School who turns 15 in a few days time, willeventually have to make the choice between cricket andfootball.A left-handed batsman, with 12 hundreds already in the book,and left-arm fast bowler, he was in the England under-15cricket team last season and turned out for Enfield, hisfather’s first Lancashire League club.As a left-side striker, he has been on the books of PremierLeague football club, Blackburn Rovers, since he was nine.He signed a new two-year contract at the club’s academy lastsummer.Keith senior, now 65, retired him his job with theLancashire county council and recently back in Barbados onholiday, was naturally enthusiastic about his son’sprospects. But he was careful not to overstate the case.He noted that his close friend, former West Indies captainand Lancashire player Clive Lloyd was Keith junior’sgodfather but he had deliberately not made much of theyoungster’s sporting prowess to him.”When Clive first saw him play last season, he wanted toknow why I hadn’t let him know he had a godson with suchpotential,” the elder Barker said.John Heaton, secretary of the Lancashire Schools CricketAssociation, is not inhibited by such paternal reticence.”Keith’s rather special,” he told the press last season.”It’s remarkable that a lad so young could have scored somany fifties and hundreds. You look back to the MikeAthertons, Andrew Flintoffs and Phil Nevilles and he looksbetter than all of them.”Atherton, Flintoff and Neville were all high-scoring batsmenwho came through the Lancashire school system.Atherton and Flintoff went on to play Test cricket forEngland. Neville, like his brother Gary, was also a topfootballer and he chose to join the better known club at OldTrafford, Manchester United, rather than the neighbouringLancashire County Cricket Club.It is a decision young Barker is likely to have to makeeventually. At the moment, his father said, he just wants tokeep on enjoying both sports.The inevitable question, of course, is which team will hechoose if he does realise the promise he now shows andbecomes a top cricketer. England, the country of his birth,or Barbados and the West Indies, the countries of hisheritage?”We kid about it sometimes and he has a real feeling for theWest Indies and West Indies cricket,” Keith senior said. “Nodoubt about it, I’d like him to play for the West Indies ifever the chance came around but that’s only hypotheticalright now.”
There was an almost apologetic look on Misbah-ul-Haq’s face when he won his second toss of the series. As if to say, ‘sorry, Alastair, but you know what’s coming’. And there certainly was a case of déjà vu.The close-of-play score – 282 for 4 – was remarkably similar to last week’s at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium when Pakistan finished on 286 for 4, and there was even a sense of having seen it all before in the way Misbah disdainfully raced to his hundred in the final over.There is an expectation that this surface will deteriorate more rapidly than Abu Dhabi, which offered virtually nothing until the penultimate session of the match, so having first use was seen as a major coup, especially with Yasir Shah back in Pakistan’s ranks. Yet, despite Misbah’s hundred, England reached the close knowing they remain firmly in the contest after the bowling attack strained every sinew.An opening stand of 51 was countered by two pieces of sharp work at short leg from Jonny Bairstow. Then Shan Masood’s elegant fifty was snuffed out straight after lunch – both he and Mohammad Hafeez fell to that notorious helping hand, the break in play – and Younis Khan was extracted before his partnership with Misbah could swell to vast proportions. The final hour swung the day, but not the match.As on the first day in Abu Dhabi, there was a stark contrast between pace and spin: the four quicks compiled 57-16-138-3 and the two spinners 33-4-142-1. The value of having six frontline bowlers was again on display from Alastair Cook. He did not have to over-expose Adil Rashid or over-burden any of his quicks.The heaviest workload of the day went to Moeen Ali with 20 overs. He was introduced in just the eighth over and was also the man to feel the force of Misbah in the last, while the tireless James Anderson was the hardest-worked of the quicks, with 16 overs stretched across four spells. However, it was the effort of Mark Wood that was most notable – with a worthy nod to Ben Stokes who was still recovering from the effects of a stomach bug – even though his wicket tally remains limited.”It’s three or four overs as a bowler and then you are off and then the next guy has to back that up,” Wood said. “It’s no good, say, Jimmy putting in a great three overs and I come on and let the pressure off. I think that’s why we all look out for each other and are quite a close unit. You sort of have that badge of honour in these conditions, you know you’ve put a hard shift in and done it for the team.Mark Wood grabbed the key wicket of Younis Khan in a fine spell after tea•Getty Images
“I think the pitch is a little more skiddy than [Abu Dhabi], this comes onto the bat a little bit better. As a seam group I think we did our job, we set traps and tried different things. They attacked the spinners but I don’t think they bowled badly.”In Wood’s case, how his body reacts to back-to-back Tests is always the focus of attention. Against New Zealand, at Headingley, he laboured after his debut the week before; against Australia at Lord’s he struggled after impressing in Cardiff – and those matches were not in 35-degree heat. In Abu Dhabi he sent down 29 overs in the match, comparable to the other quicks but not a huge workload.Still, the strain needs to be carefully monitored; if he plays all three Tests in this series that will be above expectation. Wood does not hide his concerns, he has been happy to talk about them in the past, conceding surgery made be needed on his ankle eventually. Still, as a player deemed worthy of selection Wood can’t then expect special protection. Besides, it’s not in his nature to hold anything back.Each spell was full of hostility. In his first burst he attempted to unsettle Masood, who had not played the short ball at all well during his brief pair of innings in Abu Dhabi; then in his second spell, Wood twice stuck Misbah on the shoulder and the back of the helmet as the Pakistan captain turned his head away from short deliveries.What must go through the mind of a fast bowler, on these pitches, when the captain asks for a spell of bouncers? There was, however, a modicum of extra carry compared to last week and Wood threw his all into trying to make the most of it.”I tried to make more aggressive use of the short ball,” Wood said. “With my height, in these conditions, it tends not to go over them very much, it’s always at them, so I can use that to my advantage. But they played it pretty well, I know I hit Misbah a couple of times but he’s still out there and has a hundred so I’ll have to try again tomorrow.”After tea Wood produced an outstanding spell of 4-2-3-1; between him and Moeen the first 17 balls of the final session were dots, the 18th brought the wicket of Younis who was set solid on 56. A leg-side catch it may have been, but it is worth noting the build-up in the over – the third ball, a short delivery, made Younis flinch out of the line and the next he was beaten playing a flat-footed drive. Younis, a batsman enjoying the prime of his career late on, had been unsettled on a flat pitch.Next over, Wood gave Asad Shafiq a testing time, zipping one past the outside edge and then creating a nick which landed short of gully. In the fourth over of his spell he pummelled Misbah’s gloves with a rising delivery and nipped another past the outside edge. On another day, Wood could easily have had more reward. But although both batsmen survived, he had left nothing in the shed, or should that be the stable. Wood’s own horse may be imaginary, but England’s most certainly has not bolted.
Eddie Howe is now flying as Newcastle United boss as he is unbeaten in six Premier League matches and has guided the team outside of the bottom three in the table.
Fans may be starting to take to the former Bournemouth man in a way that they have not done since Rafa Benitez was at the club prior to Steve Bruce’s spell in charge.
However, it was not all sunshine and rainbows for the recently-axed Everton head coach as he made his share of errors with the Magpies.
Disasterclass
One player the Spaniard played a disasterclass with was central defender Chancel Mbemba. The DR Congo international played 59 times for the Magpies in three seasons, with Benitez joining midway through his first campaign at the club.
He averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.95 in 2015/16 as he produced top performances on a consistent basis in the Premier League. This showed that he had the potential to be a useful asset for the club in the top-tier moving forward, but it did not work out between him and his manager.
Former Porto player Steven Defour claimed that Benitez’s management of the defender resulted in his eventual departure, saying:
“Mbemba is a tough defender in the individual marking, he is a fast player who has passing quality and who risks going out to play from the defence, he has a good aerial game, he has talent and qualities to impose on FC Porto.
“I think he just could not stay at Newcastle, because they made him play right-back, a position that is not his. It was a shame.”
Five of his nine Premier League appearances in his final year at the club came at full-back, with Defour believing that his positioning caused him to want a transfer away from St. James’ Park. This shows that Benitez’s handling of the defender was directly responsible for the situation.
He sealed a move to Porto in the summer of 2018 for a fee in the region of £7.1m. Since making that switch, he has played 120 matches for the Portuguese side and his market value has skyrocketed from £5.4m to £13.5m – as per Transfermarkt.
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This shows that he has been able to kick on since leaving the club, with Benitez unable to extract the best out of him after a promising first year.
His use of the DR Congo machine was seemingly to blame and his soaring value since his exit suggests that the ex-Liverpool boss endured a howler with him during his time at St. James’ Park, as Newcastle have potentially missed out on keeping a quality player with a high resale value.
AND in other news, Fewer passes than Dubravka: Newcastle lightweight who made 0 tackles blew his chance…
Darren Lehmann will bolster South Australia’s fragile batting line-up when he returns to the side this weekend after recovering from a torn hamstring. Lehmann is one of four inclusions for the Pura Cup match against Tasmania starting on Monday at Bellerive Oval following the Redbacks’ 270-run humiliation at the hands of Victoria in their season opener.Cullen Bailey’s hopes of a national call-up this summer suffered a setback as he lost his place in the side following match figures of 1 for 103 against the Bushrangers. Jason Borgas, Cameron Borgas and Daniel Harris were also axed to make way for Shane Deitz, Shaun Tait and Andy Delmont.Deitz, who kept wicket last season and was one of South Australia’s most consistent run-scorers, might play as a specialist batsman as Graham Manou has been retained in the 12-man group. Delmont made his FR Cup debut in the middle order last week and could follow it with his first-class debut, while Tait’s successful return in the one-day match against Victoria has led to his inclusion for his first four-day game after elbow surgery.The Redbacks will also take on Tasmania in an FR Cup match in Hobart on Saturday and their limited-overs squad is more settled. The only change is the return of Lehmann at the expense of Cameron Borgas, who made 0 in the last game and a pair in the Pura Cup match. The Hobart games will be Lehmann’s first outings for South Australia since quitting the state captaincy at the end of last season.Tasmania have regained Ben Hilfenhaus for the one-day clash after his trip to India with the Australia squad, while Luke Butterworth also returns from injury. Ricky Ponting will miss the FR Cup game due to cortisone injections but is expected to be available for the Pura Cup match.South Australia FR Cup squad Matthew Elliott, Daniel Harris, Mark Cosgrove, Nathan Adcock (capt), Darren Lehmann, Andy Delmont, Graham Manou (wk), Ryan Harris, Mark Cleary, Jason Gillespie, Dan Cullen, Shaun Tait.South Australia Pura Cup squad Matthew Elliott, Shane Deitz, Mark Cosgrove, Nathan Adcock (capt), Darren Lehmann, Andy Delmont, Graham Manou (wk), Ryan Harris, Mark Cleary, Jason Gillespie, Dan Cullen, Shaun Tait.Tasmania FR Cup squad Michael Dighton, Travis Birt, Michael Di Venuto, Daniel Marsh (capt), George Bailey, Tim Paine (wk), Luke Butterworth, Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Brett Geeves, Ben Hilfenhaus, Adam Griffith.