Munaf Patel has been ruled out of the first two one-day internationals against West Indies later this month after being advised to rest for two weeks due to a sore ankle.Munaf picked up the injury during the early stages of the tour in South Africa and missed three ODIs and the first two Tests. He was selected for the final Test at Cape Town but was clearly not fit and struggled throughout the match, bowling just one over in the second innings.He was examined by Dr Anant Joshi from the BCCI when he returned to India and the rest period was advised. Therefore, Patel will miss the matches at Nagpur and Cuttack, which form part of a four-match series against West Indies as a warm-up to the World Cup.The injury is also set to rule Munaf out of the Ranji Trophy elite division Group B match against Mumbai at Nashik, starting on January 10.
India’s opening batsmen blitzed the West Indies before their bowlers and fielders ripped the heart out of the West Indies’ attempt to reach India’s colossal 284. India now face England in the semi-finals on Wednesday.Gaurav Dhiman (74) and Cheteshwar Pujara (97) added 110 from just 14 overs as India set off at a breakneck pace.And although Leon Johnson’s men restored order in the second half of the innings – opening bowler Javon Searles captured 6 for 68 – the final total of 284 for 9 was always likely to be too many for the West Indies.Dhiman and Pujara came out with all guns blazing after Ravikant Shukla won the toss and, against bowlers and fielders that looked off the pace, they raced along. The tone was set by the first ball of the match, by Searles. It went for five wides down the leg-side – one of 15 he bowled and 28 the West Indies conceded out of 33 extras – and after just one over India had 12 runs on the board.West Indies may have been suffering from their exertions the previous day when they beat South Africa, in energy-sapping conditions, to book their Super League quarter-final place. Whatever the reason, Dhiman, in particular, took full advantage. Three fours came in Kemar Roach’s third over, which cost 15, to bring up India’s 50 in just six overs. Johnson, in a bid to regain control of the match, turned to spin in just the eighth over.The change in pace made little difference and, after 10 overs, India had raced to 83 without loss; Dhiman and Pujara had registered only the second century opening stand of the tournament. They had posted the other one too, a brilliant 147 against Namibia last Monday.They were eventually separated when Dhiman was stumped by William Perkins and Pujara was then joined by Rohit Sharma who continued the assault. Sharma made his second successive fifty, scoring exactly 50 from 57 balls with six fours, and at 209 for 1 with 15 overs left, India looked set for a score of around 320.But Sharma’s dismissal led to a minor batting slide, and only Ravindra Jadeja (10) made double figures. Pujara eventually fell just three runs short of his hundred to Searles.The West Indies’ run-chase never got going. Their opener, Andre Fletcher, top-scored with 44 but the only other players to pass 20 were Searles (22) and Narine (29*). Vijaykumar Yomahesh (4 for 25) and Dhiman (3 for 27) ripped the top order apart, helped by brilliant fielding. Abu Nechim Ahmed’s flying leap at mid-on to catch Gajanand Singh was just one of the highlights of their effort.”We won the game in the first hour of our fielding effort,” Venkatesh Prasad, the India coach, said afterwards. “We were aware of their strengths as a batting side as we watched footage of them the night before the game.”We bowled to our strengths and stuck to the basics and that catch at mid-on will be one of the catches of the tournament.”
Australia’s preparations for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG have been dealt a blow with the news that Justin Langer – who made more runs (288) than the entire Pakistan team over two innings in Perth – might miss the game with a back injury. Simon Katich, the New South Wales captain, has been drafted into the squad as cover, and could open if Langer doesn’t recover in time.Langer suffered a lower-back injury during fielding drills conducted on Thursday, and Katich, who was distinctly unlucky to be dropped after a couple of outstanding knocks in India, may have to square up to Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami in his absence.AAP quoted Trevor Hohns, Australia’s selection panel chairman, as saying: “It is expected that if Justin can’t play, then Simon will open the batting with Matthew Hayden. We’re confident that he is that right man for the job.”He is a versatile batsman and a quality player who can bat in a variety of positions. He has performed well for Australia in the past, and we feel he can continue to do so if given another opportunity.”Langer’s partnership with Matthew Hayden has been one of the focal points of Australian cricketing greatness over the past few years, and with centuries against New Zealand and Pakistan, he is in prime form. But AAP reported that Errol Alcott, Australia’s physio, had said that he was only a 50-50 chance to play.Katich, who was dropping off Christmas presents when the selectors’ call came, said that the news came as a surprise to him, but added: “I guess it remains to be seen whether I play in the Test, but either way, it’s nice to know that I’m still in the selectors’ minds when it comes to picking batsmen to represent Australia.”
Each match has its unique way of making you rise to the occasion, said Sachin Tendulkar at a press conference before the Irani Cup at Chennai. As it turned out, it was Sourav Ganguly who provided him with the necessary inspiration, by putting Mumbai in to bat when he had the strongest batting line up in the country – save for Tendulkar’s absence – at his disposal. What little green there was in the wicket, was matched only by the look in the eyes of Rest of India’s batsmen as Tendulkar and Sairaj Bahutule ground a tired attack into the damp Chepauk dirt.There’s no doubt that people pay to watch Tendulkar bat, and the best value for money is available at the MA Chidambaram stadium. In six Tests at the ground Tendulkar has failed to score a century only twice. He’s scored more Test runs here than at his home ground, the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, and his average at Chennai is a better-than-Bradman 102.No wonder then that the green seats of the pavilion terrace had enough bottoms on them to raise a steady din all day. Clattering away on bucket-seats with an old pair of drumsticks, an irritatingly energetic young supporter made it amply clear that he cared not a damn what happened to the game. He merely wanted to watch Tendulkar bat all day.That Tendulkar was nowhere near his best had no effect on the enthusiasm of supporters. Every defensive push to mid-off was cheered, every clip off his ample thigh was watched all the way to the fine-leg fielder and every boundary was roaringly acknowledged. Overwhelming support notwithstanding, all was not well with Tendulkar. He cursed himself for repeatedly failing to make contact with his favourite paddle sweep. Even as he sailed passed the milestone of 17,000 first-class runs, this was nowhere near vintage Tendulkar.The Chennai crowd didn’t care though. Sections of the stands were actually packed, waiting for the Tendulkar hundred. If he reached the landmark before stumps, another would follow the next day, they reckoned. When he survived two vociferous shouts for lbw off successive Zaheer Khan deliveries, the crowd booed Zaheer for appealing and one cynic suggested that the lbw rule did not apply to Tendulkar on this ground.For most of the day Tendulkar was pleased as punch with the crowd. But there was one period shortly after tea that tested his patience. Every little flutter of cloth, every old man walking around looking for coffee, every flag-waving lout, every tiny thing in the crowd caused him to stop play. When a nattily dressed woman in a bright pink top and the latest fashion in sunglasses walked across to the press box to have a word, Tendulkar backed off. Not because she was a pretty face, which she is, but because Meena Dalal, treasurer of the Women’s Cricket Association of India, was distracting him.”The women’s season is just about to kick off,” said Dalal. “But equally importantly, talks with the Board of Control for Cricket in India are going well and our association is likely to merge with them by 2005. That’s just what women’s cricket needs.” Not minutes after she’d said that, the Rest of India side got what they needed. A quick delivery from Zaheer reared off a length, surprised Tendulkar and kissed the outside edge of the bat on the way to Rahul Dravid behind the stumps.He had spent over four and half hours at the wicket for 94, but Tendulkar was finally gone. All at a sudden, Ganguly’s decision to field did not look so bad. As if someone had pulled the plug at the cinema, the stands emptied out. “The story’s over, what’s left now? You guys might as well pack up and leave,” said one man as he walked past the press box. Not the most appropriate thing to say, but then again, not too far from the truth either.
Bashley had a double cause for celebration as both the first and second teams saw off their counterparts from New Milton in the latest round of New Forest Indoor League matches.Dean Miller’s fine unbeaten 47 had seen Milton reach a respectable 120 for 5 in their Division One clash. But Steve Latimore (21) and Shaun Lilley (22no) guided Bashley home to a two wicket victory with just three balls remaining.Meanwhile, in Division 3, Milton II fared little better. Their 102 for 3 was based around Jamie Snellgrove’s 36 not out. But thanks to 28 not out from Stuart Wait and 26 not out from Dave Morris, Bashley II wasted no time in knocking off the runs for the loss of just one wicket in the ninth over.Burley suffered a heavy loss at the hands of Esso. Only Paul Yates looked in any sort of form, scoring almost half the sides’ runs in a modest total of 85 for 5. Esso lost just one wicket in reply with Andy Parrott (25no) and Jason Ford (27no) taking them past Burley’s score in the penultimate over.An unbroken fifth wicket stand of 57 between Trevor Phillips (42no) and Ed Molloy (20no) resured Lymington from a potentially embarrassing situation against five-man Paultons. Lymington had slumped to 55 for 4 from 8 overs, but Phillips and Molloy batted sensibly to take their team to a much healthier 112.Wayne Smith then bagged two wickets as Paultons were dismissed for a paltry 56 with only Mark Weaver (21) making a score of any note.There was a high scoring match between north Forest rivals Ringwood and Godshill in Division 2. Godshill might have felt happy with their 129 for 3 (Gerald Pettley 28, Jim Harrison 28no, Alan Cousins 25no, John Hopkinson 25no), but Ringwood swept to a four wicket victory with seven balls remaining thanks to 26no from Neville Bush and an unbeaten 25 from Alan Gregory.Brockenhurst’s poor start to the season continued as they fell to defeat against Esso II despite a undefeated 47 from Dick Wickison. Brock totalled 105 for 4, but Wickison’s heroics were in vain as Jon Church (21) and Pete Miller (28no) ensured a three wicket win for the men from Fawley.
ScorecardLuke Wells battled more than two-and-a-half hours for 54•Getty Images
Somerset wrested back the initiative in dramatic style at the close of a rain-affected first day against Sussex. Resuming on 105 for 2 after the third of the day’s interruptions for rain, Sussex lost four more wickets as Somerset’s seam attack fully exploited the conditions, getting plenty of swing and finding movement off a wicket with grass left on it.Somerset had bowled tightly throughout the morning and afternoon but, despite two wickets in two balls from Lewis Gregory, saw countless deliveries beat the bat or drop just short of the slip cordon.The breakthrough came as Sussex were starting to edge in front after Luke Wells and Chris Nash had brought up a gritty 50 partnership in 23 overs. Craig Overton got a ball to cut back off the surface and trim Nash’s bails as the batsman was left in two minds whether to cut or leave.
New contracts for Gregory, Overtons and Bates
Somerset have acted to secure the services of three of their brightest talents on new three-year contracts. Lewis Gregory and twins Craig and Jamie Overton, who have all received England call-ups this year, have signed with the club until the end of 2018. Jamie has been invited to help England with their preparations ahead of this summer’s Ashes series and will meet up with the squad on Monday, where he will bowl in the nets ahead of the first Test in Cardiff. Somerset have also extended the contract of wicketkeeper Michael Bates, who was released by Hampshire at the end of last season. Bates was originally signed by Somerset on a one-month deal and has already made an impact with the gloves. Matthew Maynard said that the challenge for Bates now was to score runs and the contract extension would give him the opportunity to do that.
Four overs later, Peter Trego struck in his opening over to end a two-and-a-half hour vigil from Wells, who hit an elegant 54 off 122 balls, frustrating the Somerset bowlers in between the showers.Wells lived dangerously early on. Almost run out without facing in the first over, he edged a number of boundaries through the slip cordon during the morning session before starting to score runs on both sides of the wicket as the afternoon went on. He admitted after close that it was a pitch he never felt comfortable on, with the rain delays meaning he had to play himself in each time.Trego struck again in his third over as Craig Cachopa played forward and got an edge through to Jim Allenby at first slip. Trego’s figures by this stage were 3-2-4-2. The momentum firmly shifted Somerset’s way as they claimed a fourth wicket towards the close of play when Ben Brown edged Alfonso Thomas to Trescothick at slip for 9.Somerset had won the toss and put Sussex in. After surviving a tight, but never penetrating, opening spell, Wells and opening partner Ed Joyce started to look increasingly comfortable and score runs on both sides of the wicket before the first of the day’s interruptions for rain at 47 for 0 from 15 overs.One over after the resumption, Gregory struck with consecutive deliveries. First, Joyce got an edge through to Michael Bates behind the stumps, attempting to pull, for 28. Matt Machan then prodded at a good-length ball and edged to Allenby.It was a much tighter spell from Somerset, which saw them concede 25 runs from 8.2 overs before the rain returned with some force to bring an early lunch and leave pools of water on the covers and puddles on the outfield.Somerset’s director of cricket, Matthew Maynard, was impressed with the way his charges had gone about their business. “The way that we bowled today was very reminiscent of the way we bowled against Hampshire,” he said. “We were very disciplined with good skills and the ball was swinging but they didn’t try to get too greedy and try too many things, we just kept on trying to hit our lines.”I don’t think that we got our rewards in the first session but just said to keep on hitting good areas and going past the bat and hopefully find the edge which is what happened and we are in a good position after day one.”Wells pointed to the quality of batting still to come in the Sussex line-up and said that if they could scrap out a total between 200 and 250, it would be very competitive on this surface.
West Ham United insider Claret & Hugh has shared a very promising off-field development after the Hammers sealed an historic last 16 Europa League victory over Sevilla on Thursday night.
The Lowdown: Hammers make history…
The Irons enjoyed one of their best nights in recent memory as they clawed back a one-goal first leg deficit to turn the tie on its head, dumping their opponents out of Europe.
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Tomas Soucek’s first half goal sent David Moyes’ men on their way, taking the match to extra-time before a very fitting story took place.
Ukraine international Andriy Yarmolenko scored the winning goal to send West Ham through to the quarter-finals, amid his homeland suffering from Russia’s attempted invasion.
‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ rang around the London Stadium on what was a truly brilliant night for the club and every Irons supporter.
The Latest: Claret & Hugh share more good news…
According to club insider Claret & Hugh, sharing more good news after West Ham’s epic night in Europe, the Hammers could now be set for ‘bigger and bigger’ financial windfalls following the win.
The east London club have already been handed a £1.8m boost after reigning victorious over Julen Lopetegui’s side on Thursday, and depending on how far they go, they could earn as much as £7.4m just by reaching the final.
Even getting past Lyon and into the semi-finals would apparently earn the club £2.8m on top of the £1.8m received after beating Sevilla.
The Verdict: Extra incentive?
Moyes’ side needed no more incentive to go on an extended European run after midweek, but this financial aspect will play a role in further enhancing the motivations of those upstairs.
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While all of this money isn’t guaranteed to go into the board’s ‘coffers’, with various West Ham players apparently possessing Europa League participation clauses in their contracts, there is little doubt that GSB will have one eye firmly on the windfalls.
However, whether or not they reinvest that money into backing Moyes remains to be seen.
In other news: GSB prepare bid to sign ‘big name’ player everyone is ‘crazy about’…find out more here.
India Under-19 were dismissed shortly before stumps on the third day for378 off 83.2 overs in the first ‘Test’ at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.The tourists were three for no loss in the second innings, needing afurther 348 runs for victory.England Under-19 had been dismissed for 285 in 109.3 overs in themorning session. The visitors added only four more runs before they were bowledout, taking a slender 28-run lead into the second innnings. VidyuthSivaramakrishnan took the wicket, that of Monty Panesar. Justin Bishop remained unbeaten.Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Vinayak Mane came good in the secondinnings. Both hammered the medium pacers, piling on 58 runs in 13 overs.Gambhir displayed his explosive strokes in a brief stint at thecrease. He could not carry on to convert it into a big knock when he wasdismissed off the last ball of the 13th over. Kyle Hogg trapped him legbefore for 29.Mane was lucky as he was dropped three times. Monty Panesar failed to latch on to a mistimed pull shot at mid-on, with Mane on 24, and in the 29th over, Bell dropped Mane in the slips off Pattison. He was finally dismissed for 93 when Hogg held on to a catch off Pattison. He had hit 13 fours and a six in his 99-ball innings.The first session of the day produced 127 runs for the loss of one wicketin 32 overs. Ishan Ganda and Mane added 70 runs for the second wicket in 19overs. Ganda was lucky as he was dropped in the 29th over at backward pointby Nikki Peng off the medium pace of Pattison. Soon after lunch, Pattison enticed Ganda with a similar delivery and the batsman obliged with a similar stroke but this time Peng held on to the catch. Ganda was dismissed for 19 off 66 balls with one boundary.Gnaneshwar Rao, a century-maker in his last match, was soon out, trying to drive but succeeding only in returning a catch to Pattison to fall for tworuns. The top scorer of the first innings, Alind Naidu came out to bat and unleashed a barrage of wristy strokes. He raced on to 30 off 42 balls with four boundaries. He played two consecutive late cuts despite Bell being in the slips. But he holed out to Bell trying the same stroke on the third occasion.The visitors enjoyed the tea break as they had both the explosive Naidu andMane back in the pavilion. The Indian score was 243 for five wickets.Little did they know that the Indians had other plans. In the post-teasession, skipper Ajay Ratra and Kashinath Khadkikar turned the tide infavour of the hosts with a 141-run partnership off 24.5 overs for the sixthwicket. Ratra dominated as he raced to 94 from 92 balls. The partnership was broken when Khadkikar mistimed a drive to give Robert Ferley a return catch. Khadkikar walked back with 65 runs off 98 balls and seven boundaries to his name.Ratra became the second batsman to just miss his century when he chased an outswinger from McGarry and Mark Wallace behind the stumps latched on to the catch. Ratra had hit 13 boundaries. The Indian tail wagged as Dharmichand scored 26 runs off 32 balls including two fours. The hosts ended their innings when Siddarth Trivedi was taken by Pattison off Ferley.Pattison was the most economical bowler, bagging three for 32. Ferley picked up three for 93 with his spinners. McGarry and Kyle Hogg chipped in with two wickets each.The visitors faced one over from Vidyut and finished on three without loss.The England fielding had been poor. They dropped as many as six catchesduring the day. Panesar was guilty of not guarding the fenceeffectively. In fact, Panesar had a long and hard day in the field as hestruggled to gather the ball. The batsmen took on his throwing arm as theycollected extra singles off his throws from the boundary.
Stuart Law has taken over from Mark Chilton as Lancashire’s captain for the 2008 season.Law, 39, played one Test for Australia, but is now a British citizen. “It’s a role that would excite me at this stage in my career,” he said a few weeks ago. “I never came into county cricket aspiring to lead a side, but now all the reasons I said no to back then are not an issue.”Since joining from Essex in 2002, Law has become one of the Lancashire’s most prolific run-scorers, amassing over 10,000 runs in all competitions – with a first-class career average of 51.33.He remains the most successful captain in Australian domestic cricket, captaining Queensland to four Pura Cup titles and two one-day trophies – he is still Queensland’s all-time leading run-scorer in first-class cricket.Law recently signed a new 12-month contract with Lancashire, which will keep him at the club until at least the end of the 2008 season. Paul Horton is being tipped to be Law’s vice captain.
Darren Pattinson could make his first-class debut against South Australia at Melbourne on Friday. Pattinson, the Victoria fast bowler, has been called into the 12-man squad after Gerard Denton suffered a recurrence of the severe shin soreness that kept him on the sidelines before Christmas.Pattinson, 28, was plucked from obscurity for the limited-overs team earlier this season when the majority of Victoria’s contracted fast bowlers were injured. He played five games and proved a steady and economical performer.Brad Hodge has also returned to the line-up and will captain Victoria after his brief and unsuccessful foray into the Australia one-day team. Rob Quiney was omitted from the 12 to make way for Hodge.South Australia, who prop up the Pura Cup table in last place, will need a turnaround in form to challenge the second-placed Victoria. The Bushrangers are coming off a confidence-boosting come-from-behind victory against New South Wales last week when they chased down 360 in the fourth innings of a low-scoring game.Victoria squad Nick Jewell, Lloyd Mash, Michael Klinger, Brad Hodge (capt), David Hussey, Jon Moss, Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Michael Lewis, Darren Pattinson.South Australia squad Tom Plant, Jason Borgas, Matthew Elliott (capt), Daniel Harris, Mark Cosgrove, Ben Cameron, Shane Deitz (wk), Ryan Harris, Jason Gillespie, Dan Cullen, Shaun Tait, Cullen Bailey.