Kyle Mills will miss the third Test in Napier after failing to pass a fitness test on his injured left knee at training. Mills’ absence means that the 19-year-old Tim Southee will almost certainly make his debut as New Zealand have decided to choose their XI from the 13 remaining players in the squad.Southee made his international debut in the Twenty20 matches against England last month, where he impressed with his pace and control. He then joined the New Zealand Under-19 World Cup squad, taking 17 wickets at 6.64 to emerge as the Man of the Tournament.”He is a really good talent and he does swing the ball a bit,” said Andrew Strauss, who played alongside Southee at Northern Districts earlier this year. “He’ll be pretty excited to make his debut.”Even so, the loss of Mills will be a blow for New Zealand, especially after his performance in the first Test when he ripped through England’s second innings with four quick wickets. “It’s something I haven’t had before,” he said of his injury. “I’ve had strains and tears before and I know what they feel like. This is just the back of the knee.”It all started in the Twenty20 game back at Eden Park,” said Mills. “It’s sand-based and I dove into it and got jammed up, really. Ever since then it has been niggling me. It’s just been hard to run freely. Not only in the bowling but in the outfield as well.”Mills admitted that the strain of back-to-back five-day Tests had taken their toll. “After the heavy workload in the first three days of the last Test, it got tired there towards the end. It came up with a little tear in the top of my calf muscle. I don’t have an issue with my calf muscle at all. It feels fine. It’s just the inflammation around that tear that is giving me some problems.”Even though he will take no part in the decider at Napier, Mills will look back on the series with fond memories, and already has his sights trained on the tour of England in May. “At the start of the summer we were always considered the better one-day side and they were always the better Test side,” he said. “To win that first Test was huge for us and we probably only lost one session in the second Test when Ambrose got away from us.”I definitely feel we are competing with them,” he added. “I personally consider this as part of a six-Test series and whoever wins this Test match will get some momentum going into the Test series in England.”
Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, has called on his captain and most experienced batsman, Mohammad Ashraful, to start performing ahead of their fourth ODI against Pakistan in Multan.Ashraful has had a poor series so far, scoring only 47 runs in three innings, as Bangladesh have relied heavily on contributions from Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riad and Shakib Al Hasan. “I am concerned about his performances,” Siddons said. “As captain of the team, he needs to perform and score.”It can’t yet be said how captaincy has affected Ashraful’s batting. He averages two runs more than his career figure of 22.26 in 15 matches as captain, though he has only scored two fifties in that period. But when Bangladesh have done well, he has usually been at the centre.He looked to be getting some form back in the third ODI in Lahore, but he was run out when set, for 22. “Ashraful is the most experienced batsman in our side,” Siddons said. “Whenever he performs the team wins. I have spoken to him about it. The way he has been training I think a big score is round the corner.”Siddons will hope his words have the same effect on Ashraful that they did on Shakib. After the second ODI in Faisalabad, Siddons highlighted the need for his top six – particularly Shakib – to start scoring runs. Shakib responded with 75 in the third ODI, taking Bangladesh closer than many thought to Pakistan.”I put the heat on Shakib and Aftab [Ahmed] after Faisalabad and they responded well to it,” Siddons said. “I am now putting the heat on Ashraful in the same way. I am confident he will come good in the last two matches.”Bangladesh’s batting has improved as the series has progressed and their total in Lahore was comfortably their highest against established opposition, as well as their highest second innings score in an ODI. If Ashraful joins Tamim, Shakib and Aftab in scoring runs against an experimental Pakistan attack, we may well have a match on our hands.
A day after the Indian Premier League (IPL) banned Harbhajan Singh for slapping Sreesanth after a match in Mohali on Friday, it has emerged that the behaviour of both players had come under the scanner during the recent South Africa series in India, too.Harbhajan had to apologise to Ashwell Prince, the South African batsman, for abusing him during the third Test of that series in Kanpur last month and the South Africans “lost a lot of respect for Sreesanth” when he went after AB de Villiers, Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, told Cricinfo.Asked about the IPL incident, Arthur said he was not surprised because “when there are two such volatile players on the field, anything can happen.”Harbhajan was banned on Monday from the first season of the IPL after Farokh Engineer, the match referee, found him guilty of slapping Sreesanth. The BCCI has initiated a separate probe into the incident.”At the end of the day, we are not squealers,” Arthur said. “We strongly believe that what happens on the field stays on it. Besides, we were very happy with the general spirit in which the series was played in, and we left with very pleasant memories of the tour, especially the cricket that was played.”However, Arthur admitted that the behaviour of Harbhajan and Sreesanth during the India series “was not great” and said that the South Africans took up the Kanpur incident because Prince felt very strongly about it. “There was an incident in Kanpur. There was a hearing by the match referee (Roshan Mahanama) during which Harbhajan apologised to Prince. It was settled and we were happy with the apology. I am not 100 per cent sure what was said. But Ashwell felt very strongly about it at that time and that’s why we took it up,” Arthur said.”Sreesanth was just Sreesanth. Perhaps our players lost a lot of respect for him on the tour. He constantly abused AB de Villiers and it was very personal. But considering the general spirit in which the series was played, we didn’t feel strongly enough to complain,” he said.South Africa’s three-Test tour of India ended in a 1-1 draw after the visitors won the second Test in Ahmedabad by an innings and 90 runs before India came back strongly to level the series in Kanpur.
Joe Hussain, the father of former England captain Nasser Hussain, died in his sleep on April 26, aged 68. Nasser said his father had suffered from various health problems over the last eight months, including pneumonia.A native of Madras, Jawad played a solitary first-class match for Madras against Kerala in the Ranji Trophy, and also represented Madras University. He was a regular in the first division league of the Madras Cricket Club. He emigrated to England in 1963 but returned to India 18 months later, emigrating for a second and final time in 1975. He played club cricket in Essex and in 1995 took over the Ilford Cricketer School which has a remarkable record of producing first-class cricketers.Hussain’s two other sons both played a good standard of cricket. Mel represented for Worcestershire, while Abbas turned out for Essex 2nd XI.Essex wicketkeeper James Foster paid tribute to Hussain who coached him at Ilford for ten years from the age of nine. “He gave me a lot of advice when I was younger and looked after me a bit. Joe definitely improved my game – he was the type of coach who let you play, show off your natural flair and then correct you accordingly. He wasn’t shy in telling you if he thought you were being lazy. As a coach I thought he had the perfect balance.”Joe’s passing is a sad loss to cricket as he had a lot of friends and people who he has helped in the game. The Ilford Cricket School has run well as a real feeder system for Essex cricket over the years – for that Joe can take a great deal of credit. Joe was very passionate about cricket and was obviously a driving force behind Nasser’s success as well as being very keen for his other ‘boys’ [those he coached] to do well.”
Leicestershire are seeking to placate residents’ concerns over their plan to install permanent floodlights at their Grace Road ground as they seek to join the mass adoption of evening Twenty20 matches which are regarded as a vital component in ensuring English cricket’s professional survival.Without floodlights, Wasim Khan, Leicestershire’s chief executive, who has been entrusted with reviving the ailing county, has warned it could disappear within five years.Fourteen of the 18 first-class counties now have permanent floodlights, which has enabled them to push back the start times of matches in the NatWest T20 Blast, allowing spectators to get to the matches after work and acting as a prime driver of record attendance levels.Only Worcestershire, alone among the 18 first-class counties, have not begun to draw up plans for permanent floodlights – their New Road ground is on a flood plain – with the recognition now universal that they are essential for maximising the appeal of Twenty20 cricket in England.Of the late adopters, Gloucestershire were granted planning permission in April after Bristol City Council reversed its decision and overturned residents’ protests, an outcome that was also necessary for the county to stage matches in the 2019 World Cup.Somerset are also drawing up a planning submission for floodlights with the 2019 World Cup partly in mind, as part of the next phase of redevelopment at Taunton that will include improved drainage, a new stand and an upgraded scoreboard. They held a public meeting in September to appease concerns.Leicestershire’s submission is for 40 metre high permanent floodlights at Grace Road ground as part of a £1 million investment. This has been met with concerns in a resident’s meeting about potential light pollution in a residential area and the appearance of the floodlights.Khan said: “I spoke to the residents and tried to get across that the way cricket is moving we need to be sustainable or we might not be here in five years’ time.”We need the lights to be able to play later in the evening. It means we could start later T20 games later and get more people in the ground who would come after they finished work.”I understand people’s concern about light spillage but I think that is based on the experience of the temporary flood lights that the club used a few years ago. The science and technology has moved on so much since then. We are talking about getting the best floodlights available and there really will be minimal light spillage.”Khan hopes Leicester City Council will grant planning permission for the lights so that Leicestershire can start work on erecting them in February.Floodlights at county grounds now bear little resemblance to the temporary structures that were initially used in the early days of T20. They were barely adequate in terms of the quality of light cast on the playing area and light escaped over a wider area.Experience at other counties with permanent lights suggests that initial opposition has not been followed by widespread complaints once the floodlights have come into use. Far from being regarded as an eyesore – the sort of hostility reserved by some towards wind farms – some have even been regarded as alluring from a distance, as many who look upon towards Headingley’s lights from outlying suburbs such as Chapel Allerton can now testify.The reputation of T20 cricket in England was undermined during a quarter-final between Worcestershire and Hampshire at New Road in August. The match ended in farcical circumstances as bad light forced an early end to proceedings, Hampshire progressing to Finals Day with the help of rain tables, having bowled just 8.1 overs in Worcestershire’s run chase.
A paradox, a paradox, a most ingenious paradox. For so long unwanted when it comes to Australia’s limited overs plans, Nathan Lyon can take his latest omission from the ODI team as a sign he is actually closer than ever to a start at the next major ICC tournament.The World Twenty20 in India in March looms as the event in which Lyon will belatedly make his mark as a bowler in Australian gold rather than Test match cream. His exclusion from the squad to face India in five 50-over matches at the start of a new World Cup cycle means that Lyon can play out the remainder of the Big Bash League, honing his T20 skills ahead of 20-over series against India and South Africa that precede the ICC event.The selector Trevor Hohns said this year’s calendar had been a factor in the decision to use only Glenn Maxwell’s part-time off spin in the ODIs against India, allowing Lyon to play T20 for the Sydney Sixers ahead of the more pivotal tournament in India. Hohns said that the event on the subcontinent would require more than one spin bowler, meaning Lyon is firming as the man to make the trip.”Nathan is not far out of the picture … for one-day cricket, and of course with the [World] T20 coming up it’s probably ideal for him to go back and play some of those games,” Hohns said. “Also, if we look where we’re playing the first few games – you’ve got Brisbane, you’ve got Perth – normally you play with your faster bowlers there.”Glenn Maxwell has done a pretty good job in the spinning role when we’re only playing that one type of spinner-cum-allrounder, plus the quicks. I think we’ll find that, for the T20 World Cup in particular in those conditions over there, we’ll probably need a couple of spinners in our squad. I can’t see why [Lyon and Maxwell can’t play together] – depending on conditions, of course.”There was a contrasting verdict from Hohns on the young fast man James Pattinson, who has made promising progress in his first Test series back from injury since early 2014. At some times Pattinson has been irresistible, at others eminently hittable, as shown when Carlos Brathwaite went after him on the rain-hit second day of the SCG Test before he responded with a pearler to bowl the allrounder.Hohns said the panel had been happy with Pattinson’s progress, but doubted he would be a limited-overs prospect in the medium term as he build back towards his very best rhythm and speed. “With Patto as we know he’s just coming back from pretty extensive injury,” Hohns said.”He’s now played a few Test matches on the trot, so we’re thinking more about the future for him, rather than just clogging him up immediately and bringing up his workloads as they say. It’s more about management for him in particular. One-day cricket there’s probably a question mark there I must say, but certainly Test cricket we want him back flying how he was a couple of years ago and he’s not quite there yet, but gradually getting there.”As for Australia’s batting, Hohns noted positively that there was now an emerging sense of depth that has not been evident for some time. The likes of Chris Lynn, Travis Head and the indefatigable Michael Klinger are keeping pressure on the players being picked in the Test ODI and T20 teams, something the selectors view as vital to the success of the national side across all formats.”There’s quite a few on the fringes there and the back half of the one day series might give us an opportunity to have a look at a couple of those players,” Hohns said. “What we’re finding now with your Lynns, Khawajas, Travis Head another one, it’s really starting to build our depth back up again, and those are the players we want to have keeping the pressure on the blokes in the side. It’s all about depth and we’re starting to get there in the batting line-up.”
Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, who recently returned to competitive cricket after serving five-year bans for spot-fixing, have been registered for the Caribbean Premier League’s player draft, which will take place on February 11. The spot-fixing bans on Butt and Asif were lifted in September, and they made their comebacks in Pakistan’s domestic cricket in January.Mohammad Amir, the other player banned for spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test of 2010, made his Pakistan comeback during their recent tour of New Zealand. His name is also on the CPL draft list.Pakistan will be the most represented overseas nationality at the CPL draft, with 37 players including Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik. There will be 34 South African players in the draft, including Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir and Vernon Philander, 23 Australians, including Brad Haddin, Michael Hussey, Chris Lynn and Shaun Tait, and 20 Sri Lankans, including Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga, Lahiru Thirimanne and Ajantha Mendis.New Zealand will be represented by 11 players, among whom are Grant Elliott, Colin Munro and Nathan McCullum, and Bangladesh by seven including Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman. Outside the Test-playing countries, the draft will also include players from Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland and USA.In all, 289 players – 157 from West Indies and 132 from overseas – have been registered for the draft. This total does not include the six players – Faf du Plessis, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Kumar Sangakkara, Shane Watson, and one other name set to be revealed ahead of the draft – who will take one ‘marquee’ spot in each of the six CPL teams. Of the 157 West Indians, 16 have been retained by their teams ahead of the draft.
Punjab made a bad start, made a recovery of sorts through a fifth wicketpartnership of 52 runs and then slid again to be dismissed for 160 off 87.1overs at stumps on the opening day of their three day Vijay Merchant knockout tournament (under-16) semifinal against Uttar Pradesh at the EdenGardens on Tuesday.Electing to bat, Punjab ran into trouble early. Openers Tavish Gupta (8)and Varun Gupta (7) fell with only 22 runs on the board. Worse was tofollow as Vishwas Bhalla (4) and Rahul Arora (10) fell to Praveen Gupta andPunjab were 61 for four.Vipul Sharma (49) and Gourav Gupta (51) added 52 runs for the fifth wicketoff 21.3 overs but just as Punjab were breathing a bit more freely, VipulSharma was leg before to Rahat Ilahi. He faced 142 balls and hit four ofthem to the ropes. Praveen Gupta and Rahat Iralhi then got among thewickets as Punjab lost their last six wickets for 47 runs off 24.4 overs.Ilahi took two for nine off nine overs while Praveen Gupta was thewrecker-in-chief taking five for 50 off 23.1 overs. The gallant GouravGupta was eighth out at 150. He faced 101 balls and hit four fours and asix. It now remains to be seen whether Punjab’s modest score can keep themin the fight.
Carlton Baugh’s unbeaten 111 was the main stumbling block for the Australians on the first day of their tour match against a Jamaica XI, but any concerns were eased by the performance of Stuart MacGill. Less than a week before his return to the Test side, MacGill earned four wickets as the home team was dismissed for 297 in the final session.MacGill delivered 12 overs before lunch, claiming two stumpings and an lbw, and he recovered from some Baugh punishment to remove Gavin Wallace after tea, ending the ninth-wicket stand of 89. It was a solid pre-Test workout for MacGill, who has recovered from wrist surgery, and he finished with 4 for 79.While his team-mates struggled, particularly in the first session, Baugh, the former West Indies wicketkeeper, helped them out during an aggressive display. Dropped on 7 by Brad Haddin, Baugh made the tourists pay by hitting nine fours and two sixes during his 112-ball stay.Baugh entered at 117 for 5 and started the strong recovery, which gained momentum when he was joined by the No. 10 Wallace. Mitchell Johnson and Simon Katich had both picked up two wickets and it was left to MacGill and Brett Lee to finish off the innings.Haddin said MacGill made good use of a pitch that was like “rolled mud” and had picked up where he left off in the Pura Cup final in March. “The wicket was particularly conducive to spin, and I thought MacGilla bowled quite well,” Haddin told . “Simon, too. Stu looked like he had good rhythm, which is a good sign leading into the tour and having the Test match start in less than a week. He looked really good.”Haddin said his leg-side miss against Baugh was not a major worry, and he finished with three catches and two stumpings ahead of what will be his Test debut next week. “It’s always good to get some dismissals, but in all honesty in these sorts of games leading into the Test series, you’re more worried about your own rhythm and getting your game into order,” Haddin said.”Chances sometimes aren’t really a true indication of how the ball is going into the gloves. But today it felt like my rhythm was OK. We’ve got a second innings and a few more days before the first Test and with a bit of luck, I’ll be alright by Thursday.”In a sign they will pick a specialist batsman to fill the absent Michael Clarke’s place for the first Test next Thursday, Australia chose both Katich and Brad Hodge. Ashley Noffke was left out alongside Matthew Hayden, who was rested.Katich improved his chances of appearing at Sabina Park with 35 not out as Australia reached 89 for 0 at stumps. Phil Jaques added an unbeaten 44 in a good warm-up for the first Test.The home team won the toss and the first two breakthroughs came from Johnson and Stuart Clark. Brenton Parchment, the captain, has been named in West Indies’ first Test team, and he collected 25 as the Jamaica XI started with a 51-run partnership. Simon Jackson (29) and Xavier Marshall (30) also contributed before MacGill struck.
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…