Thx Gilly The sign-writers had either had a tip-off or worked late last night because when the public rocked up to the Adelaide Oval today the advertising hoardings from his mobile phone sponsor read “Thx Gilly”, echoing similar signs for Australia’s Ashes departees, Glenn, Shane and Justin.Gilly fires at Billy It was the only four of Adam Gilchrist’s 18-ball stay but wasn’t short on shock value. Gilchrist latched on to a full ball and drilled it straight down the ground, bulleting nearly two feett over the non-striker’s stumps. Umpire Billy Bowden could have been threatened with decapitation had he stood his ground but showed sharp reflexes to duck and swerve. 41 fours were struck in Australia’s innings but this was a potential umpire killer.Catch and clap Virender Sehwag’s sharp catch to dismiss Gilchrist prompted a mighty sigh in the ground but the fielder seemed to realise the value of the moment. Sitting cross-legged, he began to applaud as Gilchrist began his walk to the pavilion. As the rest of the fielders stood beside him and saluted a champion, Sehwag, ball in hand, clapped heartily.Scores level, play halted Soon after Andrew Symonds flicked a ball away to midwicket to get Australia to 526, a masked spectator jumped over the fence at the Cathedral End and pranced around the outfield. Policemen surrounded him as the crowd roared but he was up to the task for a while, dodging a couple of cops like a rugby pro.Just as he was overpowered, another spectator jumped in, this time with an Australian flag. He didn’t make any dodging attempts, though, and was led out without too much fuss. A third was merely pitiful: he didn’t even make it as far as the boundary rope, stopping to admire himself for getting onto the grass, before he was apprehended.A case of dropsy Australia’s fumbles continued when they came out to bowl. Michael Clarke was the culprit when, with Virender Sehwag on two, he spilled a straightforward chance off Brett Lee at second slip. Visibly nervous he appeared to have the ball covered before letting it slip through his fingers.India fumbled too. Two days’ fielding in the sun must have made Anil Kumble sleepy. He was hardly awake at midwicket when he dropped a sitter – some wag shouting “You’ve got to have at least one eye open, Kumbles” – to allow Mitchell Johnson to enhance his batting average, albeit briefly.From Bradman to Dravid … in one stroke Johnson began his innings with a Bradman-esque average of 99. Getting off the mark with a back-cut four, he passed the 100-mark and soon equalled Andy Ganteaume’s average of 112, the highest for any Test cricketer. He couldn’t do much more, though, and, trying to clear the field with a slog-sweep, holed out to long-on. Immediately his average dipped to a more Dravid-esque 56. A classic double-or-quit situation on a cricket field.
Clinton Perren and Chris Simpson upset New South Wales’ victory plans by avoiding the follow-on as Queensland posted 8 for 464 at Sydney. The Bulls, who need a win to stay alive in the competition, immediately declared and the Blues were 0 for 25 at the close.The home side’s first-innings 613 looked adequate when the Bulls fell to 7 for 309, still 155 runs short of making New South Wales bat in order. Lacklustre fielding cost the Blues, as Simon Katich dropped Ashley Noffke on 0 before he and Simpson compiled a 99-run stand to edge Queensland within reach.Simpson and Daniel Doran (30 not out) passed the required mark despite some great bowling from Grant Lambert. He took 3 for 0 from eight balls – it would have been 4 for 0 had Noffke been caught – with the second new ball and finished with 4 for 77.Lambert had little assistance as Simpson (85 not out) recorded his best first-class score and Perren continued his late-season form spike. Perren’s 110 was his first Pura Cup century in 2006-07 and featured 17 fours before he became Lambert’s initial victim.Katich, the New South Wales captain, left the field with an injured hand after his missed chance. He will now have to decide whether to set the Bulls a chase – the Blues lead by 174 runs – or accept first-innings points and focus on beating Tasmania in a top-of-the-table clash next week.
A six-wicket haul by Mark Gillespie, the fast bowler, put Wellington on top at the end of the first day in their State Championship match against Canterbury at Wellington. Canterbury lost their way after a solid opening stand of 85 between Todd Astle (56) and Michael Papps (25), losing three quick wickets for two runs, all falling to Gillespie. Chris Harris (29) and Andrew Ellis (28) staged a recovery, adding 45 for the fifth wicket, before Grant Elliot claimed both victims. Gillespie ended the day with figures of 6 for 78, his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket as Canterbury finished on 256 for 9 at stumps.Rain washed out the first day’s play in two State Championship games at Auckland and Hamilton between Auckland and Otago and between Northern Districts and Central Districts respectively. Central Districts and Otago are tied at second place with 26 points in the points table, with the former slightly ahead on net runs-per-wicket. Both games are scheduled to commence at 10.00am local time Monday morning.
New Zealand’s swing bowlers outwitted Sri Lanka’s batsmen to wrap up an emphatic series-winning, innings-and-38-run victory at the Basin Reserve. Sri Lanka’s hopes of a successful rearguard slowly faded during the fourth day as their middle order melted in the second session. Tillakaratne Dilshan fought back with a sizzling 73 from 99 balls in the evening, but by then it was too late.Farveez Maharoof, the nightwatchman, resisted in the morning with an impressive 36, Kumar Sangakkara collected 45 with a steely glint in his eye, Dilshan threw caution to the wind during a daring counter-assault and Chaminda Vaas stood firm for a while in making 38. But no Sri Lanka batsman was able to construct the big hundred needed to cancel out the 311-run deficit and save the game.James Franklin, bowling with his best rhythm of an otherwise inconsistent series, provided the key breakthroughs, claiming the prize wicket of Marvan Atapattu, one player capable of a long defensive innings, in the first session. He followed lunch with the scalps of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, and fittingly finished it off with the last wicket as Vaas chopped on.Franklin’s efforts were well supported by Kyle Mills, who rediscovered some rhythm and confidence to make his first real impact with the ball in the series, and Nathan Astle, who bowled gunbarrel-straight and wobbled it around enough to finish with 6 for 62 in the match. New Zealand’s best bowler in the series, Chris Martin, had a quiet day, but his dismissal of Sanath Jayasuriya yesterday started the victory charge.
For New Zealand, the 1-0 series triumph ended a difficult summer on a high. After their confidence-draining pummelling against Australia, they showed considerable fortitude to bounce back so strongly. The magnificent batting of Lou Vincent, an obvious choice as Man of the Match for his 224 that set up the victory, was surely the highlight.Sri Lanka, who were bitterly disappointed afterwards, were left ruing a disastrous wicket-tumbling first morning after losing the toss and being put in to bat. They fought hard in patches to reclaim the lost ground but were never likely to survive when the bad weather cleared, leaving them to bat six straight sessions for survival.They started promisingly in the morning as New Zealand were left frustrated by a wicketless first hour. Mills and Franklin initially lacked menace as the ball refused to swing, and Maharoof and Atapattu added 43. However, with New Zealand’s disappointment starting to mount, Franklin delivered the perfect line-and-length ball to draw Atapattu into one of his signature high-elbowed cover-drives. The ball was sliding across him and he edged straight to Fleming at first slip.Maharoof and Sangakkara then shared a useful stand, adding 48 in an 18-over period. Fleming, however, changed the bowling shortly before the break and Mills suddenly clicked, moving the ball away from the right-hander Maharoof, and eventually created a chance that was swallowed by Astle at second slip. It ended a promising innings from Maharoof, who showcased his obvious long-term potential as he occupied the crease for two hours, sheltering the middle order from the new ball.But Maharoof’s unexpected resistance was wasted during the afternoon as his team-mates crumpled. Soon after lunch Jayawardene (13) tried to leave a short ball from Franklin too late and ended up running a catch to Brendon McCullum off the face of his bat. Sangakkara played himself in watchfully and stroked a few elegant boundaries before his off stump was flattened by a full-length inswinger that found a gap between bat and pad to leave Sri Lanka on 137 for 5.Sri Lanka’s problems escalated in the second hour of the session as Astle was introduced with instant success as he persuaded Thilan Samaraweera (17) to nibble defensively at a gentle outswinger. The ball travelled quickly to Fleming, the only slip, but straight to hand. Shantha Kalavitigoda, under pressure in his first game, was then toppled in the final few minutes before tea by Mills.Dilshan, who was given a thorough working-over with the short ball after an unconvincing display in the first innings, was left with the tail and he decided that Sri Lanka’s only hope was attack. He came out after the break with Vaas, all guns blazing – flashing through point, crashing through the covers and launching one mighty six straight down the ground. Vaas followed his example with some equally meaty blows.But Dilshan was taking unsustainable risks and eventually overboiled, heaving wildly against a straight ball from Astle. It was an ugly and reckless smear that took the gloss off an entertaining innings. His departure hurried the match towards its conclusion as Upul Chandana missed a straight ball and Vaas dragged a wide half-volley on to his stumps.How they were out Tried to cover-drive but edged to first slip Nicked good ball for comfortable take at second slip Decided to leave too late and feathered catch behind Missed full-length inswinger that knocked back his off peg Prodded forward defensively and edged to first slip Brilliant one-handed catch after nicking outswinger Bowled after ugly leg-side slog Missed straight ball Dragged on while trying to carve through the covers
Everyone with a fair knowledge of cricketing `greats’ knows that Bob Appleyard is the only player to capture 200 first class wickets in his first full season and that in the winter of 1954-55 he helped England bring back the Ashes for the first time in 22 years.Appleyard’s triumphs are common knowledge, yet the many tragedies either side of his epic feats were known to but a few until Stephen Chalke gently coaxed them out of him for this splendid biography, written in conjunction with Derek Hodgson.Born in 1924, Appleyard soon lost the innocence of childhood as one hard blow followed another – just as it continued to do in his adult life. When he was seven his mother left home; when he was 13 he lost his younger sister Margaret to diphtheria and when he was 15 his father, stepmother and two little sisters were found gassed in the bathroom of their home.The young Appleyard was taken in by his stepmother’s parents who were devout Christians. He did not turn away from religion but embraced it and has worshipped regularly ever since.The war years held back his development but when he decided to join the Bradford League and went for nets at Bowling Old Lane he immediately caught the eye of club president Ernest Holdsworth, a former captain of Yorkshire 2nds.His Yorkshire debut came in 1950 when he played in three matches and took 11 wickets but there was little indication of what was to happen the following season. A deep thinking cricketer, Appleyard could already bowl pace or off-spin but the addition of leg-cutters and off-cutters made him as lethal as he was unique.In the middle of that season he fell ill for a short while and was treated for pleurisy but the following Spring, after only one match, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.With injuries bringing a sad and premature end to his cricket, Appleyard became a successful business rep and he was working for the British Printing Corporation in 1981 when it was taken over by Robert Maxwell. Appleyard quickly saw Maxwell for the crook that he was and when Maxwell dismissed him on the strength of trumped up allegations, Appleyard battled for a fair settlement and won, shrewdly taking his money out of the BPC pension fund at the same time!The death from leukaemia of his young son, Ian, and later the death of a grandson, John, from the same disease, have kept grief a regular visitor to Appleyard’s door but always he has battled on, fighting to bring Yorkshire back to Bradford Park Avenue for a while and being largely responsible for setting up the Yorkshire Academy on the ground as well.A shadow hangs over the future of Park Avenue again, but guess who’s determined that cricket will continue on the historic ground? The final chapter in the gripping Appleyard story may still be to write.
Australia v Netherlands:Adam Gilchrist (AUS) needs 134 runs to complete 5000 ODI runsAndy Symonds (AUS) needs 95 runs to complete 1000 ODI runsMichael Bevan (AUS) needs 111 runs to complete 500 World Cup runsAdam Gilchrist (AUS) needs 227 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Matt Doherty is looking like a man possessed at Tottenham Hotspur under Antonio Conte.
On Sunday afternoon, the north London outfit moved into the Premier League’s top four with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Newcastle United and the Irishman notched his second goal and fourth assist from his last six outings.
It’s been a complete turnaround for the 30-year-old, who has seemingly been on the chopping block until now. A prolonged run in the side has catapulted his name into the Italian’s starting XI on a regular basis recently – even out of position, as with this weekend, he has delivered.
Signed in a £15m deal from Wolves by Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2020, Doherty had struggled to truly make his mark at the club. By February 2021, his future at the Lilywhites was described as ‘uncertain’ by ESPN, who claim that the Portuguese was unconvinced by his progress.
Mourinho could even be heard berating Doherty throughout one encounter against Liverpool. And then under his former Old Gold boss Nuno Santo at the start of this current campaign, he still couldn’t get into the lineup, which is rather damning.
The Athletic believed he was one player that could’ve been sold by Nuno and sporting director Fabio Paratici.
It’s a very good thing they didn’t because he’s now thriving under Conte and the weekend’s impressive win displayed his true qualities, playing in a system that suits him right to a tee.
As per WhoScored, the £10.8m-rated Doherty has now made 11 tackles, six interceptions and seven key passes across his last six outings, proving to be a major influence at either end of the pitch for Spurs.
He was one of a few players to be graded a standout 9/10 by Evening Standard reporter Dan Kilpatrick in his post-match ratings column.
‘Forced out of position to left wing-back, he finished with a goal and an assist to continue his resurgence. Has shown tremendous character to rebuild his Spurs career,’ he wrote.
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Earlier in the year, Doherty was described as “utterly thrilling” by The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke, whilst analyst Statman Dave lauded him as “revitalised”.
Indeed, the £74k-per-week Mourinho flop is a completely different animal now.
AND in other news, Paratici could repeat Pogba masterclass at Spurs with “unbelievable” £36m-rated wizard…
A light-hearted cheer went up near the Prindville Stand around six in the evening. Umpire Billy Bowden turned down a loud appeal from Mitchell Johnson, when he yorked Rahul Dravid, and a small section of the crowd responded with, “We want Bucknor, we want Bucknor”. It was one of the few noises made on a rather quiet day, one where a genteel wave swept across the WACA.It’s been a tumultuous week but the events of the first day – for most of it at least – were disconcertingly slow. The anti-climax surrounding the pitch didn’t help but you would still expect some noise, at least from the grass banks. Things picked up towards the evening, especially with Australia fighting back with wickets, and a few spectators were even warned. One cheekily held a banner that read, “No more monkey abuses” and was promptly told to pack it in. Another tried his best to stir up the crowd but was led out of the ground when he began to swear.A crowd of about 16,000 watched the first day’s play. It’s worthwhile pointing out what had to say about the very first Test in Perth, back in December 1970. “It was perfectly organised, and nearly 85,000 spectators saw it. That number was nearly twice that at Brisbane, and gate receipts in the region of £50,000 were almost three times as large.” Thirty seven years since and the atmosphere seems to have diminished.The Australian cricketers behaved like schoolboys sitting on the front bench. The ferociously quick Shaun Tait actually apologised to Sachin Tendulkar after appealing for a caught-behind decision. No-one else appealed since it had rapped his forearm. There was soon another appeal against Tendulkar, a really close shout from Andrew Symonds, but the reactions were a sight for the times: Symonds cursed himself, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Clarke turned around to chat about it, and Ricky Ponting let out a gentle apologetic kick.And if the atmosphere got heated at all, there was the quiz show to divert the attention. Through the day, every ten minutes or so, a question would be asked over the public announcement system, urging spectators to send in their responses. Just as Brett Lee seemed to be setting up Tendulkar in a fine spell, we were asked, ‘Which Australian fielder has the most number of catches?’ Talk of enjoying a good contest.It was a fine day for cricket: hot, bright and pleasantly windy. Justin Langer was out there first thing in the morning and subconsciously started to step towards the middle of the pitch, tempted to indulge in some shadow practice. Soon he realised he was in his leather boots, not spikes, and didn’t need to practice at all. “The umpire looked up at me in a funny way and I thought, ‘This is not your stage any more’. I then just watched Ricky Ponting go through the motions.”Half an hour before the toss Langer was in the thick of the action, presenting Chris Rogers with his baggy green cap. It’s been more than a year since he retired but Australia’s next crop of openers isn’t allowing us to forget his style: Phil Jaques turned into a like-for-like replacement and Rogers, in Adam Gilchrist’s words, isn’t attractive but effective.Kerry O’Keeffe, the former Australian legspinner who regaled the press and corporate guests during lunch, felt Rogers had shown how colour-blindness wasn’t an impediment to Test cricket. He also reminded everyone of how John Rogers, Chris’ dad, played a few games for New South Wales. “There’s Gilchrist from New South Wales and now Rogers,” he said with the distinctive laugh that’s thrilled radio audiences across the country. Wonder what O’Keefe thought of Clarke’s latest crew cut, in light of his recent comments about NSW players being given a bottle of hydrogen peroxide along with their state caps.
Steven Price reports on the problems facing the average Zimbabwean wanting to watch his team play in the World CupIn the midst of growing civil unrest, now even watching our team in the World Cup is now considered luxurious for hard-pressed Zimbabweans who are suffering under an appalling economic environment and rigorous government oppression.On Thursday, as Zimbabwe fought out an enthralling tie with Ireland,thousands of Zimbabwean cricket fans and players here had to come to termswith the dismal reality of a World Cup blackout on the sole, state-runtelevision channel operating in the country.You don’t have to go further than this to search how Zimbabwe cricket hastumbled since the late 1990s when the committed and energetic administratorsat the time took a once “minority” sport to a higher level and a wave ofbroader participation and public interest. The only way to see the cricket was by subscription to the South African Supersports channel, something affordable to precious few, and even then the almost non-stop powercuts meant that only the handful of sports bars with their own generators – and who had enough cash for the fuel to run them – offered ball-by-ball coverage.Some of the main clubs – Harare Sports Club and Old Hararians are two – did show the games but one member reported that most people stayed away as they expected ZBC to show the matches. Anyway, given the times the matches are being played, only those with cars and a bit of cash to spare can afford to go to these bars. But even for most of them, its getting more difficult. Fuel prices are rising by the day.It is such a contrast with what has happened in the past. Zimbabweans were able to watch the World Cup in England in 1999 on the local channel, chiefly thanks to the efforts of the then capable and international-respected ZCU board andmanagement. Boosted by their team’s laudable performances in the tournament,cricket recorded unprecedented growth in Zimbabwe. In a country where signsof cracks were already appearing on the surface, it seemed then thateveryone wanted to be associated with cricket as the only positive facet ofZimbabwean life that was left.Then in 2003, Zimbabwe got five home games when South Africa hosted theWorld Cup. Those who were not privileged to watch the matches at the groundsin Harare and Bulawayo followed the action on local television. Again thanksto the old administrators, cricket has amassed a considerable following,many of them ordinary citizens struggling to afford a decent single meal aday, and living in fear of arbitrary arrest and torture by an insecure regime. Now there is barely anything worth watching on the propaganda-filled state channel.This leaves Zimbabweans depending on reports filed by two editors from thegovernment-controlled Herald newspaper, who are on a ZC-sponsoredvoyage in the Caribbean. The board has gone down this route before, and by paying for them to travel, criticism of the team can be minimised.As our team stuttered thousands of kilometers away at Sabina Park in Kingston, diehard Zimbabwean cricket fans slept the night pondering the future. They woke up Friday morning thinking how the match would have gone their way if they were afforded the privilege of watching their team’s opening World Cup match. They can be forgiven.One last thought. The two men running the game in Zimbabwe will have had no such problems. Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute reportedly flew to the Caribbean last weekend where they can relax in comfort with those within the ICC hierarchy who support them through thin and even thinner. It’s tough at the top.