Greg Chappell has been given credit for transforming the Indian team and improving the quality of cricket in the country by Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president.”I have talked to the players and others as well and all of them have confided that Chappell is doing a fine job. It is he who has helped in improving the general quality of Indian cricket,” Pawar has been reported as saying by PTI.Asked if the BCCI would announce special incentives for the Indian team to win in Pakistan, Pawar said: “I do not believe in such incentives in sports. It is their duty to win. Such culture should be discouraged in sports.”Attempting to bury the controversy over the selection of Sourav Ganguly for the Pakistan tour, Pawar said that it was a justified inclusion. “There was no pressure on selectors to pick him in the team,” he clarified. “Earlier we used to send a 15-member team, but now since it is a 16-member team, the selectors felt that Ganguly merited selection.”He also added that – contrary to public belief – there had been no pressure from Parliament to included Ganguly. “Tell me, who was going to answer the debate in Parliament? The sports minister? He does not know what the selection matters are. I feel such issues should be kept away from Parliament,” Pawar said. “Ganguly is a great player and he has contributed immensely to Indian cricket. He is going through a lean phase. Even Sachin Tendulkar was going through a similar lean phase until he hit that record 35th Test hundred. Ups and downs are part of the game. The team management will decide how to use Ganguly in the forthcoming series.”
Zimbabwe A and Bangladesh A lock horns in the third and final four-day Test match, which gets underway at Kwekwe Sports Club on Friday. Bangladesh have already secured the series with back-to-back wins.Zimbabwe A first-choice wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Mufambisi has been ruled out of the game because of injury and the selectors have called up Wisdom Siziba, a useful keeper and a top-order batsman.Another change is the return of Andy Blignaut who is expected to bat an No. 6. in place of Gregory Strydom who has struggled with the bat. Blignaut, who was one of the rebels who went on strike last April, announced that he was prepared to play again earlier this week.Terrence Duffin and Vusumuzi Sibanda are again expected to open with captain Dion Ebrahim, in need of runs, coming in at No. 3 while Kudakwashe Samunderu and Chamunorwa Chibhabha complete the top order line up.With Mluleki Nkala still injured, Blessing Mahwire will lead the bowling attack with Waddington Mwayenga, Campbell Macmillan and legspinner Graeme Cremer.Golam Nowsher, a member of the Bangladesh selection panel arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday and managed to see his side complete their 190-run victory on Tuesday. Mohammed Enamul Haque (jnr), who picked up ten wickets in the first match but was rested for the second game is likely to return.
A century from Michael Dighton, his first in the Pura Cup for two years, along with a triumphant return to bowling by Shane Watson, helped Tasmania take the upper hand against Queensland on the third day at Hobart.Shattering the tedium of day two, Tasmania declared at 4 for 402 before tea to edge ahead of Queensland’s first innings of 8 for 400 declared. A hard-hitting Dighton was an unbeaten 127, his first ton since February 2002, while Dan Marsh was 80 not out. Their stand of 171 runs off 216 balls guaranteed Tasmania two first-innings points after they started the day on a sluggish 3 for 170 off 71 overs.Tasmania are second in the Pura Cup table with 20 points, with Queensland in third on 16.Watson, after a year-long rest from bowling, today took the coveted scalps of Queensland’s Martin Love and Stuart Law. Queensland were 4 for 140 in their second innings at stumps, leading Tasmania by 138 overall, with newcomer Craig Philipson unbeaten on 23 and James Hopes 30.Watson snared Love, caught at first slip by Marsh for 11 in his second over, and later bowled Law for 45 in his fourth over. He finished the day with 2 for 23 off six overs. Watson had been limited to batting only after suffering back-related stress fractures, and was forced to withdraw from the 2003 World Cup squad because of the injury.After the game, he admitted to being extremely nervous before sending down his first ball. “I am just glad the first ball came out on the wicket,” he said. “After the first ball, it was really good, I was really confident with everything. Every time I bowl, it feels a lot more comfortable.”Bagging a couple of wickets was a massive bonus. The plan was to try to bowl two five-over spells in one day, but because of the situation of the game I will probably bowl one more spell of five tomorrow” Watson added. “I was pretty happy with the pace that it came out today and hopefully I can keep progressing with that.”He was also confident Tasmania were up to the challenge of a run chase tomorrow. “I reckon, as we’ve shown before, we can chase at least 300 in a day,” he said. “We are pretty confident, if we are set that we will be able to achieve it.”Watson, meanwhile, was more philosophical about his future in the international arena: “I am trying not to set too many goals, that will look after itself in the long run.”
The former England opening batsman Geoffrey Boycott is facing an anxious wait into the New Year before finding out whether he has beaten cancer.Boycott, 62, who scored more than 8,000 Test runs for England, was diagnosed with the illness in September and has spent the last few months undergoing intensive treatment.Doctors believe he has a good chance of recovering fully from the cancer in his neck. He is awaiting further results at his home in Woolley, near Wakefield.”The diagnosis was a bolt from the blue,” Boycott told the Yorkshire Post. “I felt a lump when I was shaving one day. I told the doctor and I was being tested within days.”The rest you know. There were four lots of chemotherapy. And then I began the radiotherapy on October 22. I asked her [the oncologist] what the prognosis was and she was very positive, very relaxed.”Of course there are no guarantees in this situation, but she says I have agood chance and I’ll be fighting it. It is the treatment that takes so much out of me. The side-effects are terrible – burns in the neck and chest.”As the radiography slowly takes then burning starts on your neck and throat and tongue. I used to enjoy my food – not excessive amounts – but I always likedgood-quality food and a glass or two of good wine. But after a while the effectsof the radiotherapy meant I started only taking liquid food. Now I can’t bearhaving anything on my mouth or tongue.”I used to be able to get exercise by getting out for a walk, but more recently I have got tireder and tireder and when I was coming home from the treatment at 3.30, I haven’t felt like going out again. The last couple of weeks have been very difficult. I haven’t felt like walking.”Now I’m being fed eight to 10 hours a day – so you’ve pretty much got to sitstill all day. I’m just spending my time reading and talking to [his partner]Rachael [Swinglehurst] and talking sometimes on the telephone.”I have to take a month’s rest now and I’m seeing her [the oncologist] again in the middle of January. While it is still too early for tests to tell about the primary because of the swollen tissue, which has to settle down, as far as we know the treatment – make that torture – should have worked.”
In Sunday’s Norwich Union Division One match at Trent Bridge between Notts Outlaws and the Gloucestershire Gladiators the domestic one–day seventh wicket record was broken.Jeremy Snape, the 25-year-old all–rounder, hit his maiden century and Mark Hardinges, on his debut in the competition, scored 65.The pair had come together with the Gladiators Innings in total disarray at 33-5. 25 overs later they had added 164 before 23-year-old Hardinges was stumped by Chris Read off the bowling of Australian Greg Blewett. Snape batted until the conclusion of the Glouca innings to remain undefeated on 104 not out.The existing Sunday League record for the seventh wicket had been 132, set by KR Brown and NR Williams for Middx against Somerset at Lords in 1985.160 had been the overall seventh wicket mark, set by CJ Richards and IR Payne for Surrey against Lincs in a NatWest match at Sleaford in 1983.
A big update has emerged regarding Newcastle United and their pursuit of Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford.
What’s the talk?
Transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed that the Magpies are one of two clubs set to be at the front of the pack for the England international this summer. He has revealed that PIF are ready to go head-to-head with Arsenal to land the Red Devils ace, with the attacker potentially on his way out of Old Trafford at the end of the season.
Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “I think as soon as Rashford’s future came into doubt, we did a story on the fact that Arsenal and Newcastle would be the two teams expected to lead the chase for Rashford, and I think that is the case.”
Joy to watch
Manchester United reporter Rich Fay once dubbed Rashford a “joy to watch”, and that is what the 24-year-old would be to the Newcastle faithful next season if the club can reach an agreement for him.
He is a proven Premier League performer who has the ability on the ball to get fans off their seats with excitement. In 293 games for the Red Devils, he has scored 93 goals and provided 58 assists, including 59 goals and 39 assists in the top flight.
Rashford is reportedly valued at €100m (£84m) by Manchester United, and it may be justified by his age and his form from last season.
Whilst he has only scored four times in the league this term, he managed an outstanding 11 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League in the 2020/21 campaign. This shows that he does have the ability to score and create goals on a regular basis at the top level, even if he is not showing it at the moment.
He also led Europe in completed nutmegs that season, with 18 in the top flight. This was after he also topped the charts in 2019/20 with 13 nutmegs, which suggests that he will be a joy to watch for supporters as he makes defenders look silly with his impressive dribbling.
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At the age of 24, he also has plenty of time left to develop and improve even further. He is not at the end of his career and lacking the time to develop his game, which means that Howe can work with him to help the English forward to fulfill his potential and become a major player for the Toon.
It is now down to PIF to ensure that they win the race between themselves and Arsenal to bring Rashford to St James’ Park.
AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops exciting Newcastle United transfer update, fans will be buzzing…
Shane Warne has backed Sachin Tendulkar to score heavily against Australia on what will be his last tour of the country. Labelling Tendulkar as the best batsman he has played against, Warne said in the Herald Sun: “There is no doubt he will play one or two special innings in this Test series. Absolutely no doubt, he will play a couple of unbelievable breathtaking innings.”I don’t believe just because he is getting old, he is finished. Given the conditions, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide are going to be pretty flat, I expect Sachin to get lot of runs.”He also reminded the Australians to be wary of an experienced Indian batting line-up and that, on a flat surface like Melbourne, the tourists are capable of large totals. “Two of the Tests are in Sydney and Adelaide. Melbourne has been very, very benign and flat. If you don’t take wickets with the new ball, you are in for a long day in the field.”However, Warne said it would take an all-round effort from India to beat the Australians at home, with a special effort required from the spinning duo. “It will be down to Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh [to take 20 wickets in the match]. Sydney and Adelaide are spinning tracks. They will go in with two spinners and the wickets will help their batting. Also, it will help their quicks, especially Zaheer Khan, with reverse swing in Sydney and Adelaide.”
Herschelle Gibbs has appealed against the two-Test ban imposed by the ICC, claiming that he had not made any racist remarks during the first Test against Pakistan at Centurion. Gibbs communicated his appeal through the South African Cricketers Association.”Gibbs says he has not made any racist remarks nor has he been racist to any one and therefore he has not transgressed any rule of the ICC regarding racism,” Tony Irish, secretary of the South African Cricketers Association, said. Irish added that the association was also concerned about the negative effects of stump microphones, as far as the privacy of players is concerned.With the ban suspended till the ICC takes a decision on the appeal, Gibbs could still play in the second Test at Port Elizabeth starting January 19. The disciplinary hearing with Cricket South Africa, originally scheduled for January 23, is likely to be held between the second and third Tests. The ICC has announced that the name of the Appeals Commissioner and the date for the appeal will be announced in due course.
Tributes to Kerry Packer, founder of World Series Cricket and the one-day version as we now know it, have come in from many cricketers past and present.Packer was remembered affectionately by commentators at the MCG during the second day of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and South Africa. Richie Benaud, the former Australia captain, remembered his first meeting with Packer fondly. “We first met during the formation of World Series Cricket. There was never anything mundane or orthodox about him,” Benaud said. “At the meeting I had with him, the thing that struck me most was that he was concerned only with the players. It was his job to put (the poor state of cricket) right, and put it right he did. He was absolutely brilliant.”Benaud, recruited to commentate on the first World Series match with Bill Lawry, recalled a defining moment from the late 1970s when Packer’s imaginative concept found a place in Australia’s sporting legacy. “He was the man who opened the gates at the Sydney Cricket Ground when Australia played the West Indies in that terrific day-night match, the first one ever at the SCG,” Benaud said. “The gates were shut, but he declared them open because there were streams of people coming into the ground. That is the abiding memory I have of Kerry to do with cricket.” Lawry also spoke of Packer’s influence on the game and sent his condolences to the grieving family. “It’s been a wonderful journey for me and this is a very sad day because Kerry Packer changed cricket forever and changed it for the better.”Tony Greig, the former England cricketer, summed up the day as a loss to the game of cricket. “Cricket has lost one of its greatest friends and supporters. Australia has lost a truly great Australian,” Greig said on Channel 9 before the second day’s play at the MCG. “People will not know how different things could have been without Kerry Packer. He was a very generous man, a bloke with an incredible sense of fun and that charisma that was around him.”Ricky Ponting, whose side donned black armbands as a mark of respect at the beginning of the second day’s play, described Packer as one of the “all-time great figures of Australian cricket”. “It’s an extremely sad day for Australian crcket and the whole team passes on its condolences to the Packer family today,” Ponting said. “A few of our guys in the side knew him a lot better than I did, Shane Warne being one of those. Shane was a pretty close friend of Kerry’s, so it’s an extremely sad day and it’s a huge loss for the cricket community.”Warne himself issued a statement through Cricket Australia. “I would like to pass on my condolences to the whole Packer family on news of the passing of a great man in Kerry Packer,” he said. “He has been a wonderful and very close friend of mine for over 13 years. We shared a lot of time together talking about life, business, sharing funny stories and, in particular, cricket which was his love. These memories will last with me forever. I will always remember you KP as a wonderful character, a close friend, and everyone involved in world cricket owes you so much.”Creagh O’Connor, Cricket Australia chairman, named Packer in the same breath as the late Don Bradman when speaking of Australia’s sporting icons.”That cricket is today taken for granted as a natural part of the Australian way of life is in no small measure due to his influence,” O’Connor said in a statement released at the MCG. “The so-called ‘Packer Revolution’ in the 1970s has left a lasting legacy in the way the game is played, administered and presented to the public via the influential Channel 9 telecast. On behalf of Australian cricket, including all at Cricket Australia and its member state associations, and on behalf of the players he so admired, I offer Mrs Kerry Packer and his children, James and Gretel, our sincere condolences.”Packer passed away at his Sydney home late last night, and is survived by his wife Ros, son James and daughter Gretel.
Shoaib Akhtar lashed out at his former captain Wasim Akram, accusing him of being part of a group constantly sniping at him.Akhtar, who returned home early from the tour of Australia, told reporters that he was fed up with being made a scapegoat whenever anything went wrong with the Pakistan side. And he singled out Akram for criticism.”I respect Wasim very much, he was a great bowler but his comments that I was no longer a match-winner have really hurt me,” Akhtar said. “I would say that he should keep his views to himself. If you look at the records when Wasim was captain, you would know who was taking most of the wickets.”Akhtar was speaking after pictures appeared in newspapers showing him with women in an Australian nightclub. “This is an age of technology and photographs can be tampered with easily,” he fumed. “Every day I have fans wanting their photographs taken with me, and say if a female fan comes up to me and puts a hand around my shoulder or holds my hand in so doing, those photos too could be shown to have been taken in a nightclub.”No explanation has been sought from me by the Pakistan Cricket Board or anyone else … they know that it has been another attempt to tarnish my image.”And he said that his injuries were caused by the workload he was being asked to shoulder. “I was bowling at speeds of 150km to six or seven batsmen who are all capable of putting on big scores. To win Test matches you have to have three genuine fast bowlers and there are only two bowlers currently bowling at speeds of 150, so there is always a chance of one getting injured; no fast bowler today is playing a full series. We need to play fewer one-day matches.”