Victorian Bushrangers left-arm fast bowler Mathew Inness fractured his right big toe in a freak accident at a Port Melbourne beach training session yesterday.”It happened in the last 30 seconds of a beach soccer game with Travis Birt accidentally kicking me right on the toe,” Inness said. “Obviously I’m extremely disappointed, but the upside is that I am hopeful of developing some form of protection for the toe and play in the ING Cup match against Tasmania on February 16”.Inness had several x-rays at the Prahran Sports & Medicine clinic after the incident, which confirmed a fracture and partial dislocation. Coach Mick O’Sullivan said the players had all but completed a 90 minute session at Port Melbourne before the mishap.Inness took 11 wickets last week to trigger Victoria’s victory in just three days against New South Wales.
Somerset answered their critics with an impressive batting performance against table-toppers Yorkshire at Bath when they scored a massive 553 for five declared.One performance that will be particularly pleasing to Somerset fans was the innings played by Matthew Wood who was making his debut. One aspect of criticism that has been levelled at the club recently has been its inability to produce batsmen, and the knock of 71 by the twenty-year-old from Exmouth, who has been on the second XI scene for three years, will help to quash the criticism.Responding to general criticism about the results so far this season, Chief Executive Peter Anderson said: “I’m only too aware that members and supporters are becoming very disappointed with the team’s performances on the field.”He went on to say that this was the third successive year that team selection had been disrupted by injuries to key players.”When you can’t field your best players, this affects the confidence of the rest of the team. It’s not our capability to play that has affected our results, it’s the lack of confidence,” said Anderson.Anderson pointed out that the club had signed fast bowler Richard Johnson from Middlesex in the winter to cover for the absence of Andy Caddick, but he had been injured. He added: “We kept Graham Rose, even though he is 36, because he is a class player and still useful as cover, but even he is injured.”
Everton cannot make the same mistake they did with Angers striker Mohamed-Ali Cho, who left Finch Farm back in January 2020 in search of a quicker pathway to regular top-flight first-team football – which he has since found.
It was, and remains, a warning shot to the club, that they need to give a chance to their exciting young talents, because otherwise, they will just become exciting young professional players at other rival clubs in the Premier League, or perhaps elsewhere in Europe.
However, one player that could follow on from Cho is 19-year-old midfielder Lewis Warrington, who currently is set to leave the club in the summer upon the expiration of his contract. however journalist Patrick Boyland has previously revealed that Everton want to extend his deal.
“Everton are talking to Warrington about a new contract because his current one expires at the end of the season,” said Boyland.
“He has made a lot of progress this season, has decent passing range and is strong in the tackle.”
Having made two goal contributions in nine appearances on loan at Tranmere Rovers, where he has been since January, the 19-year-old has established himself in the League Two club’s first team, who are aiming for promotion into the third tier this season.
He has shown plenty of energy to get up and down the pitch, making plenty of contributions in the final third already, as well as on average making over one tackle and one clearance per game.
With his energy and work ethic, he could become a similar type of player to Mateo Kovacic, who played under Everton boss Frank Lampard during their time at Chelsea together.
Indeed, the Everton website describes the teenager as the following: “A gifted all-round midfielder, he boasts impressive energy, and expansive passing range and eye for goal.”
Those are certainly traits that are synonymous with Kovacic, particularly when it comes to a passing point of view. It also bodes well for Warrington breaking into what is sometimes a lethargic midfield at Goodison Park.
If he does continue his rapid rate of development, he could replace midfield flop Andre Gomes, who has previously been labelled as “reckless” by Everton journalist David Prentice.
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The Portuguese 28-year-old has not justified his £112k per week wages this season at all, nor his £22.5m price tag, and having made just five Premier League starts and 12 appearances in the competition all season, it’s likely Lampard will look to move him on in the Summer.
In that scenario, Warrington would likely be presented an opportunity to impress in pre-season, and should he take it, he has the potential to go on and become a key midfielder for Everton.
In other news: £27.9m wasted: £70k-p/w liability who “drowned” at Everton rinsed Moshiri for 56 weeks
Tom Moody, the former Australian allrounder who coached Sri Lanka, has been confirmed as coach of the Mohali franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL).Moody is expected to be joined in the BCCI-backed tournament by fellow Australian John Buchanan, who is likely to coach the Kolkata-based team. reported that Buchanan will sign a three-year deal with the Kolkata franchise, which will have Sourav Ganguly in its team, within the next week. The stint will be Buchanan’s first serious coaching assignment since stepping down as Australia’s coach following the World Cup win in the West Indies last year.Greg Chappell, the former India coach, and Victoria’s Greg Shipperd are the other key contenders for coaching positions among the IPL franchises.The Mohali franchise also named Yuvraj Singh as the captain of its team. “We are pleased to choose Mohali as our centre ahead of all the other choices we had, as it is the best association (Punjab Cricket Association) and with excellent facilities,” Ness Wadia, a co-owner of the franchise, told the . “With Yuvraj as our captain and Moody as coach, I think everything has fallen into place for us.”Moody was sounded out last week as a candidate and was expected to take a call last Friday. He took over as coach of his native Western Australia after a successful two-year stint with Sri Lanka which ended after the World Cup in the West Indies last year.The franchise officials did not, however, reveal any further details on the team’s composition. The players’ auction is set to take place in Mumbai on Wednesday with a host of international players already signed up.Four local players have to be selected in the squad and IS Bindra, the president of the association, said a Ranji Trophy player would be given a $50,000 contract while an Under-22 player would be offered a minimum of $20,000. The tournament begins on April 18.
Graeme Smith remembers well the pain of the World Cup exit against Sri Lanka four years ago, but with his team now ranked No.1 in the world, he insists that memories of that defeat won’t be needed to inspire a winning start to the Super Eights at the Providence Stadium on Wednesday. South Africa made their task a little harder by losing to Australia in St Kitts, but with games against Ireland and Bangladesh to come after this one, Smith is confident that they can navigate a path to the last four.”I remember it being a pretty sad day,” said Smith when asked about that Durban exit. “I remember the disappointment on the guys’ faces when we knew we weren’t going through. To tie another game in the World Cup was massively disappointing. There are some guys who were part of those disappointments but this team is trying to set new standards. Asimportant as it is to learn from your mistakes, it’s important to generate your own personality and style and we’ve achieved that over a year and a half.”For three-fourths of the game against Australia, South Africa were well on course, with Smith leading the way. But once he started cramping up, the innings stalled and the vital carry-over points were lost. “Obviously, you’d love to start with two points,” he said. “It makes things simpler. Not having those two points, you know what you need to do, which games you need to win.”The presence of two unfancied teams has certainly changed the situation, and Smith admitted as much. “It does make things more difficult,” he said. “The big question on most of the other teams’ minds will be whether Ireland or Bangladesh can upset anyone else. You can’t take anyone for granted.”What we’ve learnt from these tournaments is that nothing seems to go according to plan. We’re just trying to keep our focus on this part of the tournament. If we can have a successful time in Guyana, it takes a lot of pressure off us heading to Grenada and Barbados.”The sternest test they face in Guyana will undoubtedly come from Sri Lanka, who drubbed Bangladesh and then brushed aside India to seal their place at cricket’s top table. “We saw a little bit of them,” said Smith. “They have some really talented cricketers and play well in these conditions. They’re one of the teams to beat, as they were in the Champions Trophy.”That game was played in a fairly heated atmosphere, given Sri Lankan allegations of South African cowardice after they abandoned a tri-series also featuring India. But with a place in the semi-finals on the line, South Africa powered to a 78-run victory on the back of disciplined bowling from a five-pronged pace attack.Smith though is wary of the threat that Sri Lanka pose, especially against the new ball. “They’ve got a pretty powerful batting line-up up front,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of options in their bowling, a good bit of variety. We’ve played a lot of times and they’ve always been good close games. We’ve had our times and beaten them, and they’ve had theirs and beaten us.”With so much rain having fallen over the past week, there’s also the possibility of a stop-start game on a new pitch whose behaviour no one’s keen to predict. “It’s something we have discussed,” said Smith. “It’s about getting 40 overs in over two days if the weather’s going to carry on like this. It’s pretty much out of your control.
“We’ve got a lot of options. Most of our guys are pretty comfortable with it [20-over cricket]. If that does happen, I’m sure we’ll be able to adapt. Hopefully it won’t reach that and we’ll get a full game of cricket. I’m sure the people here want that. They’ve been waiting for this, and you can feel the vibe around the place.”Following the defeat to Australia, much was made of the manner in which Jacques Kallis batted for his 48, but Smith understandably didn’t want to say anything too critical about a man whose batting has been the bedrock of recent success. “As we do after every game, win or lose, we debrief and discuss areas we can improve on,” he said. “It was a hard thing for me to comment on at the time because I was with the doctor and the physio getting ready to get back out there. But Jacques is an experienced cricketer. He might have made a mistake, he might not have. You just have to make sure the same mistakes don’t happen twice.”In hot and muggy Guyana, Smith himself will be doubly careful to avoid a repeat of what happened in St Kitts. “It was an unusual thing for myself,” he said when asked about the cramp that afflicted him. “I’ve scored hundreds in these conditions and never been through that. It came as a surprise to me and the medical team. They’ve got me on a hydration process to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”He was also asked for his views on happenings away from the field. With Bob Woolmer having coached South Africa in two World Cups, a question or two was understandable, but given the team’s unhappy memories of the match-fixing era, Smith fervently hoped that such speculation wasn’t true. “We get letters from the ACU [Anti Corruption Unit] all the time warning us how much will be bet on the tournament and all that stuff,” he said. “I’m pretty comfortable that they’re managing the game well. It’s hard for me to talk of other teams. I can only talk of my own. The players respect the game and having been through what we have, it would be sad if there’s any sort of spot-betting taking place.”Wednesday’s match certainly looks too close to call, but after so many debacles in the past, South Africa are doubly determined to live up to their No.1 ranking. “We let ourselves down at times against Australia, but also played some superb cricket,” said Smith. “The guys know that we’re a quality team and the confidence is still right up there.”That self-belief has enabled South Africa to stitch together the run of results that took them past a slumbering Australia in the ICC Table. But on a pitch that looks like it could have been made in Colombo, South Africa’s resolve will be severely tested and a Smith special might be just the clarion call that they need.
In contrast to yesterday, the fourth day of the SuperSport Series Final startedin overcast conditions that cleared into almost perfect weather. DaleBenkenstein, scoring 151, took the Dolphins into a very strong position with an excellent innings, mixing patience and aggression, after Doug Watson had done the initial groundwork with an innings of equal quality of 103.Dale Steyn got the Titans very excited in the early overcast conditions,but once the sun came out and the pitch flattened out the patience of theDolphins batsmen gained the upper hand. As the runs flowed fromBenkenstein’s bat, who also went past the 8,000 first-class career runs, theshoulders of the Titans dropped and crucial catches and fielding mistakesfollowed. Benkenstein gave chances on 88 and 140 but by then the damage hadbeen done. A run-a-ball 33 from Mornatau Hayward followed and the Titanswere 470 when Steyn took his fifth wicket to end the innings.With a target of 378 and the light failing quickly the Titans batted out thefinal 4.2 overs to end the day on 11 without loss and face a hard day at thecrease tomorrow on the fifth and final day.
In another twist to the ongoing sponsorship saga, Brian Lara has been cleared by the West Indies Cricket Board to play in the forthcoming series against South Africa starting on March 31. However, the six other players, including Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle, are still out in the cold.Lara, who has been given 24 hours to respond to the board’s decision, has agreed to do so within the stipulated time, according to a statement issued by the board. Consequently, the announcement of the squad has been delayed until later today.The reasoning advanced for accepting Lara was that Lara’s contract with Cable & Wireless, the company locked in an ambush marketing dispute with Digicel, the official sponsors of West Indies cricket, was deemed ‘pre-existing’ because it was signed in 2003, before the board entered into negotiations with Digicel.The board said that the invitation to Lara had been extended on the advice of its legal counsel. The other six players with personal endorsement contracts with Cable & Wireless were found ineligible by the lawyers because these were signed while the board was in the process of finalising its deal with Digicel.The board said, “The contracts were reviewed by counsel to ensure that the provisions did not fetter the Board’s use of its team rights or not impose on the players any obligations, which could cause them or the WICB to be in breach of the board’s sponsorship contract with Digicel.”All eyes are now on Lara, the incumbent captain, who has played no cricket since returning from the VB Series in Australia due to a wrist injury. Writing in the Trinidad Express, Tony Cozier, the veteran broadcaster and cricket writer, said that the West Indian selectors had reportedly recommended that Lara retain the leadership he has held, for the second time, since March 2003. “But it had to be ratified at a teleconference call yesterday by the 14 WICB directors, several of whom are known to oppose his reappointment.”
West Indians 618 (Chanderpaul 245, Jacobs 149) and 289 for 3 dec (Ganga 101*, Baugh 158*) drew with Free State 264 (Venter 79, Rampaul 5-55) and 97 for 2 (McLaren 53*) ScorecardThe West Indians’ only first-class match before the Test series gets under way at Johannesburg on Friday (Dec 12) ended in the draw that was the only likely outcome once Brian Lara opted for batting practice rather than enforcing the follow-on yesterday – but a rumbustious innings from Carlton Baugh, who slapped 158 not out in less than three hours, enlivened the final day and further dispirited the Free State bowlers.Resuming at 39 for 2 the West Indians soon lost Ramnaresh Sarwan for 1, but that only brought Baugh to the crease. Perhaps stung by the century his rioval for the wicketkeeping gloves, Ridley Jacobs, completed on the second day, Baugh hit out, collecting five sixes and 18 fours as he skeetered to a career-best innings. In all he faced 154 balls, in 178 minutes, and added an unbeaten 249 for the fourth wicket with Daren Ganga, whose own century – 12 fours and a six – was somewhat overshadowed.When Lara eventually put an end to the bowlers’ torture Free State needed the little matter of 644 to win. They satisfied themselves by pottering to 97 for 2 from the 32 overs possible before the captains shook hands. There was time for Ryan McLaren to complete his maiden first-class half-century before the close.The West Indians had an enjoyable time in Bloemfontein, with a heartening bowling performance in skittling Free State for 264 to set alongside two dominant batting displays. But as they travel down to Jo’burg they will be aware that South Africa at the Wanderers is likely to be a different kettle of fish indeed.
Results from the National Under-17 tournament games today at Nelson Park in Napier were:Central Districts 142 (P Pimm 70; L Crisp 2-12, A Corliss 2-29) tied with Wellington 142 (J Newdick 37, S Nightingale 22; T Gillespie 2-11, D Bolstad 2-19).Auckland 195/8 (S Bishop 60, D Raffaelli 32; A Devicich 4-31, P Carey 2-34) beat Northern Districts 109 (D Flynn 38, J Morgan 24; B Stevens 3-14, S McKay 2-18) by 86 runs.Canterbury 221/8 (D Crosbie 71, L O’Sullivan 28; C Smith 2-19, McClean 2-30) beat Otago 204 (S Simpson 55, H King 32; B Newton 3-31, J Baxendale 2-20) by nine runs (Duckworth/Lewis method).Points after round four: CD 11, Wellington 9, Auckland 6, ND 6, Otago 2, Canterbury 2.
In a story book finish, the Deodhar Trophy final between South Zoneand Central Zone ended in a pulsating tie at the KD Singh `Babu’stadium in Lucknow on Thursday. To Central Zone’s total of 298 foreight in 50 overs, South Zone were all out for 298 off the last ballof their innings. Skippers Amay Khurasiya and Robin Singh jointlyreceived the trophy.After Central Zone posted their imposing total, South Zone, after agood start, seemed to have lost their way in the middle overs despitea gallant 91 by `Mr Consistent’ VVS Laxman. And at 258 for nine after46 overs, it seemed over for South Zone. But in an unbelievablefinish, No 10 WD Balaji Rao and No 11 Venkatpathy Raju took South Zonecloser to the target with a mixture of aggressive shots and quicksingles. When they came together, 41 runs were required in four overs.But finally it boiled down to 11 off the last over and one off thelast ball. But Raju patted the ball back to the bowler Md Kaif and wasrun out in going for the all important single.At the start of the innings, South Zone needed virtually six runs anover and openers Arun Kumar and Amit Pathak gave their side anexcellent start by putting on 51 runs off seven overs before theformer was out to a splendid running catch by Kanwat at mid on for 21.The Karnataka batsman faced 25 balls and hit three of them to thefence. Off the last ball of the following over, Dodda Ganesh, promotedin the batting order, hit all over a dipping full toss fromShriwastava to be bowled for zero.Laxman joined Pathak and the two steadied the innings during a thirdwicket association which lasted 7.4 overs and realised 46 runs. But at98, Pathak who was batting well, was run out for 47. The Andhra openercompiled his runs off only 41 balls with the help of seven boundaryhits.Tamil Nadu left hander Sridharan Sharath joined Laxman and the twocontinued the good work by adding 59 runs for the fourth wicket off11.5 overs. Then Murali Kartik dived forward to pick up a return catchto send back Sarath. For his valuable 31, Sarath faced 42 balls andhit one boundary. As Vijay Bhardwaj walked out to join Laxman, SouthZone still required 142 runs for victory off 22.3 overs. But theyreceived a jolt when in going for a quick single, Bharadwaj was runout by a direct throw by Bundela for seven and South Zone were now 175for five in the 32nd over.Laxman, who in the meantime had crossed his half century, was nowjoined by Robin Singh and the run chase had reached a crucial stage.The two pushed the score along to 198 when Md Kaif deceived Robin witha flighted delivery and had the captain stumped for 15. At his going,South Zone still needed 101 runs off 12.5 overs but now had only fourwickets in hand.As wicketkeeper LNP Reddy joined Laxman, Central Zone were now thefavourites. But Reddy changed the equations by taking 13 runs off the41st over bowled by Yadav. Laxman and Reddy then took nine runs offthe next over bowled by Kaif and with eight overs left, South Zonerequired 65 runs for victory.Murali Kartik was now brought back into the attack and he sent down avery accurate 43rd over in which South Zone got only three runs. Withseven overs left, South Zone now needed 62 runs. Off the next overbowled by Sriwastava, South Zone scored another nine runs and Laxmanentered the 90s. Murali Kartik however struck a vital blow in the 45thover when he had Laxman brilliantly caught low down at extra cover byKhurasiya for a gallant 93. The stylist from Hyderabad faced 103 ballsand hit six of them to the ropes. But now with their main hope gone,South Zone, at 254 for seven, after 45 overs were clearly facingdefeat.Kumaran was run out in the next over, following a direct throw from MdKaif at extra cover. Another run out off the last ball of the sameover saw Reddy being the batsman dismissed. The bowler Sriwastava onhis follow through threw the stumps down at the striker’s end as thebatsman attempted a quick single. Reddy had hit 30 off 29 balls withfour boundary hits. South Zone now required 41 runs off four overswith only one wicket remaining.The last wicket pair of Balaji Rao and Venkatpathy Raju, throwingcaution to the winds, took eleven runs off the next over. South Zonenow needed 30 runs from three overs. Seven more runs off the next overfrom Sriwastava made the target now 23 runs needed from two overs. Offthe next over sent down by Yadav, the batsmen helped themselves to 12runs with Balaji Rao continuing to dominate the run getting. Now SouthZone required 11 runs from the last over.Off the first ball of the last over bowled by Kaif, Raju took asingle. It was now ten off five balls. Off the next delivery BalajiRao took a single. Now the target was nine off four balls. The crucialblow was struck off the next ball with Raju swinging the ball straightfor a splendid six, the ball just eluding the outstretched hands ofthe fielder on the boundary line. Now the target was a more realisticthree runs off three balls. Off the fourth ball, the 31-year-oldveteran left arm spinner but right hand batsman took a single. Now twowere needed off two balls. Off the fifth ball the batsmen scampered aleg bye. Now the scores were tied and South Zone required only one runoff the last delivery. Khurasiya, predictably enough, brought all thefielders in to save the one. Kaif took some time to bowl the vitaldelivery and Raju played it straight down the line. The batsmen tookoff for the all important run. But Kaif pounced on the ball and threwit at the stumps running out Raju at the non striker’s end. And anexciting match came to a pulsating end with a rare result. Which inthe final analysis was just about right for neither side deserved tolose. Balaji Rao’s unbeaten 30 off 20 balls with four boundary hitswas a little gem. Incidentally it was for the first time that thefinal of the tournament, which was first played in 1973-74, had endedin a tie.Earlier, put in to bat, Central Zone put up their challenging total,thanks in the main again to skipper Amay Khurasiya’s belligerence.South Zone got an early break when Dodda Ganesh had Jai Yadav, who gota century in the semifinal, leg before for ten. His fall broughtKhurasiya to the crease but a little later, RJ Kanwat was caughtbehind off Kumaran for 13.Gagan Khoda joined Khurasiya at 57 for two and the two got the Centralinnings back on track with a breezy third wicket partnership of 92runs off 15 overs. Khoda was content to play second fiddle to hiscaptain who blazed away with a number of dashing strokes, as thoughcarrying on from where he left off in the semifinal against West Zone,when he hammered 86 runs off 51 balls. Khoda made a sedate 34 off 46balls with two hits to the boundary before he was stumped by Reddy offVenkatapathy Raju.Khurasiya went along his merry way until, at 177 in the 31st over, hegave Vijay Bhardwaj a return catch. Khurasiya again got 86, this timeoff 74 balls with seven fours and a six. But South Zone’s joy atremoving a dangerous batsman was short lived as Md Kaif and Raja Alishared a fifth wicket partnership of 69 runs off 11.4 overs. Both thebatsmen got 41 but while Kaif took 53 balls over it and hit only oneboundary, Ali faced only 43 balls and hit two of them to the ropes.At 246 for four in the 42nd over with two well entrenched batsmen atthe crease, Central seemed well on their way to a total of over 300.But towards the end, they faltered. Kaif and Ali fell in quicksuccession and then wicketkeeper AS Srivastava was run out for 12 offeleven balls. Murali Kartik gave Ganesh a return catch off the firstball he received. Despite the gallant efforts of D Bundela, whocracked an unbeaten 27 off 24 balls with two boundary hits, Centralfell two short of the 300 mark. Both Srivastava and Kartik were out inthe last over. Medium pacers Ganesh and Kumaran, who each took twowickets for 53 and 42 runs respectively, were the pick of the bowlers.The match incidentally was a benefit for former Uttar Pradesh Ranjiplayer Neeru Kapoor who represented the state from 1964 to 1971. In 12matches, Kapoor scored 408 runs with a highest score of 62 againstVidarbha.