He is the son of a policeman, an amateur poet and, according to his captain, “the glue that holds the middle order together”. Simon Katich got stuck into India’s bowlers on the third day of the Nagpur Test and scored a vital 99, helping his side to a score of 202 for 3, and a lead of 415. It was an innings of both art and application, and though it ended in heartbreak, one short of a well-deserved hundred, it put Australia in a commanding position at the close of play.It wasn’t easy, and the Indians did not throw in the towel, but held on tight as the Australians pulled it away, inch by inch. Katich walked in shortly after lunch, after Matthew Hayden inside-edged a Zaheer Khan ball onto his stumps (19 for 1), with runs hard to come by. Zaheer bowled with venom and accuracy, back at his best, while Ajit Agarkar was more controlled than in the first innings, beating Justin Langer repeatedly with his away-going deliveries.It was a strange phase of play. The pitch had slowed, the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat as well as in the first innings, and there was a fair amount of lateral movement. Langer was out of sorts, and the bowlers kept things tight, while throwing in the odd unplayable ball. The first seven overs of the afternoon session were maidens, and 16 runs came off the first 15. Could the bowlers run through Australia to set up a spirited chase in the fourth innings?Not while Katich was there. Once he settled in, Katich began to open up, and played the spinners as if his little sisters were bowling to him in the back yard. His footwork was assured, whether playing late on the back foot or stepping out, when he repeatedly got to the pitch of the ball. He smashed Anil Kumble out of the attack just before tea, hitting two fours to deep midwicket in a 10-run over, and made 38 off 31 Kumble deliveries. Kumble went for 62 in his 13 overs, and was a silhouette of the man who took 13 wickets at Chennai.Murali Kartik bowled better, unafraid to give the ball air, extracting significant turn, and throwing in the quicker, flatter one every now and then. He accounted for Langer who, deceived by the flight and eager to accelerate, hoisted him to VVS Laxman at a widish long-on (99 for 2). Later, when Katich was on a nervous 99, Kartik trapped him plumb in front (171 for 3). But he did not otherwise trouble either Katich or Damien Martyn, who made 41 poised runs and was unbeaten at the close.
India’s bowlers had nothing to be ashamed of, for, once again, it was their batsmen who had let them down. In this series, while the Indian specialist batsmen have struggled, at least the lower order have fought hard. The last five batsmen added more than 100 runs in each of the last three innings, but this time, the tail did not budge, let alone wag.After Shane Warne induced an edge from Parthiv Patel in his first over of the day, Australia took the new ball and wrapped up the rest of the tail. Mohammad Kaif reached his second half-century in a row, but couldn’t handle McGrath, nicking a typical corridor ball from him to Warne. Jason Gillespie took the rest of the wickets to finish with 5 for 56, outstanding figures that hid the fact that his fellow bowlers were equally magnificent.But the Australian bowlers, unlike India’s, have been backed up by their batsmen, and that has made all the difference. Miracles do happen, but rain is not forecast in Nagpur any time soon, and India have, for much of this game, seemed daunted by the occasion rather than inspired by it. Don’t bet on a comeback. The game in Mumbai will be a dead-rubber Test.
Graeme Smith, South Africa’s new captain, has launched a remarkable verbal attack on Lance Klusener, describing him as a disruptive influence on the side.Last week, Klusener was left out of the South African squad for the forthcoming tour of England and also not awarded a central contract. When asked about the reasons behind the decision at a business breakfast in Cape Town, Smith did not hold back. “We decided Lance as a team man can only cause hassles and we want to move forward in SA cricket,” Smith said. “To be honest Lance, as fantastic as he is, can sometimes ruin a team.”His ability as a cricketer is very good, but his ability as a team man is not very good and he kind of can infect a team and bring down the youth.”Klusener expressed surprise at Smith’s remarks, saying that the only official comment he had received came from Omar Henry, the chairman of selectors, who had told him the reason for his omission was the need to bring in new blood. “It’s becoming a joke," Klusener told South Africa’s Star newspaper. "Does anyone really know what’s going on out there? For the current captain, who’s played a couple of games with me, to come out with the so-called real reason at a cricketing breakfast is almost laughable. What’s really disturbing is that, whatever the reason for my being dropped, no one in authority has made any effort to sort it out.”
Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was fined 75 percent of his match fee bymatch referee Cammie Smith for bringing the game into disrepute inyesterday’s game against Sri Lanka where he was seen using abusivelanguage at Sri Lankan batsman Russell Arnold when the batsman wasgiven out.The 29-year-old skipper attended a disciplinary hearing last eveningwith Smith after India’s 46-run victory.Ganguly, in fact had returned on Wednesday for the match against SriLanka after serving a one-match suspension for bringing the game intodisrepute earlier in the tournament.Ganguly first lost his cool when Arnold survived a vehement caughtbehind appeal before directing a stream of verbal abuse at the lefthander when umpire Gamini Silva gave him out lbw next ball.Smith spoke to Ganguly, both umpires, Russel Arnold and MahelaJayawardene, the non-striker, immediately after the match, but said hewould announce his decision only on Thursday morning.The ICC had recently made it clear that it is the responsibility ofthe captains to ensure that the game is played "within the spirit ofthe game."According to the latest laws of cricket, it is against the spirit ofthe game "to direct abusive language towards an opponent or umpire."
Celtic are now working on a deal to welcome Wilfried Nancy’s first signing in the form of a much-needed goalscorer, according to recent reports.
O'Neil urges Celtic to give Nancy time
Celtic were back on track thanks to Martin O’Neil’s excellent interim spell. The 73-year-old rolled back the years and got the Bhoys firing on all cylinders again. Ultimately, though, he was simply just there on an interim basis. It was never a permanent job and when the time came, he passed the torch to Nancy.
So far, however, the Frenchman has failed to take that torch and has instead been burned by the heavy weight of the flame – becoming the first manager in Celtic history to lose his first three games in charge. In short, it has been the most disastrous start possible for Nancy, whose worst moment has undoubtedly been the Scottish Cup final defeat against underdogs St. Mirren.
The pressure is already increasing on the new manager to turn things around at Celtic Park, but O’Neil has urged for patience. The former interim boss told talkSPORT earlier this week: “I had the time of my life there and I feel about 26 or 27 now at the minute.
“You’ve got to give the man a chance, please. I know in this day and age that results are important in the off but if I go back to my own experience, I never won until my tenth game at Leicester. The crowd were baying for blood.
“So I know the feeling but give it a chance. I know it’s disappointing to lose a cup final. You cannot make a judgement on anybody over three games.”
What should certainly help Nancy is the January transfer window and the chance to mark his own stamp on the Hoops, who could sign Younnes Ebnoutalib.
Celtic working on Ebnoutalib deal
According to Bild in Germany, as relayed by Sport Witness, Celtic are now working on a deal to sign Ebnoutalib from SV Elversberg. The forward is currently the top scorer in the 2. Bundesliga and has attracted the Scottish giants as well as Eintracht Frankfurt as a result.
Celtic star who was an "outstanding find" is now a bigger flop than Palma
This Celtic star who started brightly now looks like an even bigger flop than Luis Palma was at Parkhead.
ByDan Emery
Unsurprisingly, however, Ebnoutalib is unlikely to come cheap. Reports are claiming that Elversberg have set their price at as much as €10m (£9m) ahead of the January transfer window. Whether Celtic are willing to pay such a price as soon as next month remains to be seen.
After scoring nine games in his opening nine league games – a record which now stands at 11 in 16 – Ebnoutalib earned deserved praise from Antonio Mango. The U23 scout claimed that the 22-year-old is “prolific” and that should be music to Celtic’s ears ahead of January.
Fabrizio Romano drops blunt 15-word update on Wilfried Nancy's Celtic future
When you’re next in a book store, look out for . That is the title of a book Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, is threatening to write, presumably to shed light on some of the decisions made in South African cricket that have been questioned in the aftermath of back-to-back series losses.As expected when defeats are analysed, everything from selection to the make-up of the support staff will come under scrutiny and, with South Africa being shot out for their two lowest totals since readmission over the last two series, the absence of a batting coach has been glaring. But Domingo explained it was not for lack of trying.”Everybody thinks we have not been looking for a batting coach but we’ve been trying for the last year,” he said. “Every team’s got it. England have got one, Australia have got one, India have got one. We’ve offered the position to quite a few people and we offered the position whilst things were going well not whilst we’ve been bowled out for 80 and 90.”In the near future, South Africa hope one of the people they have offered the job to will take it. “We’ve been looking for somebody and we’ve got somebody in mind. We are waiting for him to commit to us. We’ve had a few people who said they were interested but they wouldn’t commit to it simply because traveling is not that fun when you are away from your family for a long time and when there is a lot of pressure and a lot of criticism you are faced with when things don’t go well. It’s probably easier to say it and write about it than to actually get down and do it.”Domingo did not reveal who the “somebody” was and was not asked whether former captain Graeme Smith could be the man, although that seems unlikely. Smith became the fourth batting consultant in Domingo’s tenure, after Gary Kirsten, Mike Hussey and Lance Klusener, when he was roped in for a net session ahead of the Newlands Test. Hashim Amla, captain at the time, thought Smith had signed on for the full series but his commentary commitments prevented him from doing that.So continued a drawn-out saga which started when Smith suggested there was unhappiness in the team camp in Durban, where the first Test was played, before being pulled into the tent. Once back out, following the Johannesburg Test, Smith said everybody should be questioned, including team management.One South Africa player, Dean Elgar, moved quickly to defend the back room, who he said deserved a lot of praise. AB de Villiers, who was criticised in the media by selector and commentator Ashwell Prince, remembered how when some former players were active, they said they would “never become like that” and take shots at the team.Against the waves of attack, the South Africa squad stood firm, which pleased Domingo even more than the consolation win in the final Test against England.”The main thing I take out of it was the way side responded to a lot of noise that has come from the public and the media,” he said. “When you have one or two bad series, everybody makes you sound like you are the worst players and the worst coaches in the world which is not necessarily the case.”That’s why when you do have one or two good series you are not necessarily the best side in the world and the best coaches in the world. You’ve got to keep a balance. Our players have maintained their composure really well through some tough times. To play the way they have played these last couple of days makes the coaching staff really proud because it has been a tough series.”The Centurion win may silence some of those sounds but even if it doesn’t, Domingo has learned to shut most of it out. “When you’re losing, there’s always going to be a lot of noise so you’ve just got to believe what you are doing as a team is good enough to withstand that,” he said. “Hopefully this performance will quieten that noise until something else comes up.”There may be another six months before that something else actually happens because that is the gap between Tests for South Africa. In that time, despite inactivity, South Africa hope to be able to find some of what they had before, which Domingo somewhat enviously pointed out England have now.”England are very fortunate that they have what South Africa had a year or two ago – four frontline seamers and a spinner,” Domingo said. “South Africa don’t have someone like Ben Stokes who scores hundreds and takes five-wicket hauls. Jacques Kallis used to do that. Their bowling all-round strength is a massive factor. Bowlers win you games and that has been the difference as far as I’m concerned – they have sustained the pressure a lot better than we did throughout the series.”Questions over the lack of a South African allrounder since Kallis have also swirled. Perhaps Domingo’s book will have some answers.
India A 524 for 8 dec (Patel 126, Badrinath 103*, Pujara 100, Uthappa 67, Rainsford 4-100) beat Zimbabwe Select 143 (Chawla 4-12, Ojha 4-45) and 148 (Masakadza 73, Chawla 6-46) by an innings and 233 runs Scorecard
Piyush Chawla bagged a match haul of 10 for 58 to lead India A to an innings-and-233-run victory against Zimbabwe Select on the third day at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, thus wrapping up the two-match series 2-0.Resuming at their first-innings score of 67 for 5, the Zimbabweans lost wickets at regular intervals to be shot out for 143. The Indian spinners, Chawla and Pragyan Ojha, shared the spoils taking four wickets each. With India having a massive 381-run lead, Mohammad Kaif had no hesitation in enforcing the follow-on.Just as in the first innings, Tino Mawoyo and Hamilton Masakadza, the Zimbabwean openers, got the team off to a steady start putting on 63 for the first wicket. Chawla then struck two quick blows removing Mawoyo and Vusi Sibanda. Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu joined Masakadza and the pair put up a brief resistance, taking the score to 115.Ojha had Taibu trapped in front, and Masakadza was dismissed in a similar fashion by Irfan Pathan for a well-made 73. With the fall of Masakadza’s wicket, Zimbabwe crumbled to 148 all out, with the last six wickets crumbling in 44 balls for addition of a mere five runs. Six of the Zimbabweans failed to open their account in the second innings.Chawla was the chief destroyer, picking up six wickets to finish with 18 wickets in two games. Pathan, who had finished wicketless in the first innings, did better in the second, picking up 3 for 12 from ten overs.The Indians now head to Kenya for two three-day matches and an ODI tri-series, also involving Sri Lanka A.
Michael Vaughan is planning to be in Australia throughout England’s Ashes campaign this November, even though it is almost certain he will play no part. Speaking to Vaughan revealed he plans to fly out to Australia the week before the first Test which starts on November 23 at Brisbane.”The rehab is going as well as possible and we’re looking at me batting (in the nets) in October,” he said. “The day I get on a plane to Australia will be the time people can start thinking I’m going to play cricket pretty soon, because I won’t go unless I’m about two or three weeks off playing.”Vaughan, who had knee surgery nine weeks ago, missed England’s tour of India earlier this year and was ruled out of the summer. Even the most ardent of optimists would rate his chances of playing any part of the Ashes as decidedly low, but Vaughan remains quietly confident that he will, at least, pick up a bat again before Christmas.”There’s a realistic chance I’ll be on a plane on November 17 and do 10 days of training around the first Test,” he said. “I won’t train with the team because it’s important they just get on with it but I hope to use the likes of Matthew Maynard, the trainer and physio.”Hopefully I’ll play some cricket in December. I’ll have to do that if I want to be available to play the one-day series (starting in January). If things go incredibly well, there’s a small chance I could play in the end of the Ashes, though if it’s 1-1 with two to play, I can’t see them saying ‘have a game’ when I won’t have played for 12 months. But who’s to say I won’t be able to tell them I’ve scored two hundreds in Perth and I’m available for selection? Whether I get back in, or come back in as captain, is for others to decide.”
“I won’t go in and say, ‘I’ve won the Ashes, listen to me’, but I’m there to speak to anyone if they need advice,” Vaughan insisted. “Andrew Strauss rings me regularly and I ring him and we pass ideas off each other. I don’t think anyone’s a wizard who can say, ‘This is the way to play’, because it’s all instinctive when you get out in the middle against a team like Australia. Plans can change every half-hour.”The England captaincy was a hot issue throughout the winter tour of India. With Vaughan absent, the captaincy was handed to Marcus Trescothick before he too withdrew from the tour owing to personal problems. Andrew Flintoff was next in line and named captain for their tour of India, and for the summer. He then broke down, though, missing the Pakistan series and handing Andrew Strauss the captaincy. Vaughan isn’t concerned who captains England; be it Flintoff or Strauss, and insists that his presence in Australia won’t be a hindrance to the appointed leader.”I have every confidence that whoever they pick will do a good job. They probably need a bit of my experience of captaining against Australia, but I think they’ll be fine. I may be more help to the younger players, who are there for first time. I’ll be there if they want a coffee. Whoever gets the captaincy will do okay.”I don’t think it has a huge effect because hopefully I’ll be coming back, but it will be a life-changing experience for whoever does it, because captaining in the Ashes is more intense than anything. Every decision will be analysed. Only time will tell how much I’ve been missed.”
Glenn McGrath has come out in support of his fast bowling colleagues Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz, and expressed the confidence that both will make it back to international cricket. He also voiced his desire to win the Super Series by comprehensively beating the World XI in the three-match one-day series and the one-off Test.Speaking to AAP, McGrath said: “It’s tough – they’ve broken up the fast-bowling cartel, we will have to induct a few younger guys into it. Sometimes it is like losing part of the family – I played my whole life with Mark and Stephen [Waugh] before they finished. I’ve got faith on all those guys coming back.” Gillespie and Kasprowicz were axed from the Test and one-day squads for this month’s ICC Super Series matches after disappointing performances in the Ashes.McGrath rubbished claims that the defeat to England marks the beginning of the decline for Australia. Pointing to the fact that the replacements also possess international experience, he said: “You look at the new guys coming in, everyone in the squad has played international cricket – they’ve all had a taste of it. Guys performed well at certain periods through the Ashes series and if we can put that together in a whole game, which we generally do, then we will be back before we know it. It’s pretty important for us to bounce back now and play some decent cricket, get a few more wins on the board – just back to ‘business as usual’ for us. This is where the season starts for us now, leading into the West Indies and South African Tests.”Explaining the reason for skipping the club games and not doing any bowling since the Ashes, McGrath said: “It’s probably more precautionary at the moment. I haven’t done any bowling since I’ve been back. I will build it up here and get ready for Wednesday – that was always the plan.”McGrath admitted that his freak accident on the eve of the second Ashes Test still rankled even two months after the incident. “It would have been nice to have that half a second again, put my foot three inches one way or the other. You try not to focus on it too much, because it is pretty frustrating, but it’s gone now.”McGrath also said he would not shelve his practice of giving pre-match public statements, targeting opponents or predicting the series scoreline. “If you look at every other series I’ve played in the last eight years, I said we’ll win 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 5-0, depending on how many Tests. To me, it’s no different to any other game, and I’m looking to win these one-dayers 3-0 and the Test 1-0 – sounds good, doesn’t it?” When asked which specific batsman he would target, McGrath said: “It’s hard to target one, isn’t it? So I might have to target the whole team. A match like this, I’m not even considering that, I’m just looking forward to the challenge of bowling to the guys who are classed the best in the world. That’s a true challenge for any bowler”.
Inzamam-ul-Haq has expressed his confidence that Pakistan will put in an improved performance in the upcoming Asia Cup and throughout the 2004-05 season. Looking ahead to the Asia Cup, which starts on July 16 in Sri Lanka, Inzamam told AFP: “My team is now revitalised and after some organised coaching I am confident that we will successfully defend our title.”Talking about the inputs that Bob Woolmer, the new coach, had provided during his short stint with the team so far, Inzamam said: “It’s not that we were not receiving good coaching previously but Woolmer has organised this team and has told us that we need to raise our commitment and performance level. He has told us that Australia should be the benchmark for us as in the coming season we are touring Australia.”Inzamam admitted that the biggest challenge to his team would come from India and Sri Lanka. “India’s recent performances are very good and they are on the rise, so are the Sri Lankans, and we need to raise our level to beat them to defend our title.”Pakistan are placed in group A, along with Bangladesh and Hong Kong, while group B includes India, Sri Lanka and UAE. The top two teams from each group will go on to the next stage, where they will play each other in a league format, with the two best teams squaring off in the final on August 1.After the Asia Cup, Pakistan will be involved in the ICC Champions Trophy in September, and will then host Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in a triangular one-day series, before touring Australia for three Tests and the triangular VB Series.”It is my aim to be on the winning side against Australia in Australia and my last chance will be later this year.” Inzamam was part of the line-up which was thrashed 0-3 on the previous tour, in 1999.
TRENT Bridge’s highly-acclaimed Fox Road Stand has already proved a hit with cricket fans and has now scooped a prestigious national design award.The structure, designed by Nottingham architects Maber Associates, received the accolade last night from the Civic Trust, one of the most respected environmental design award schemes in Europe.Nottinghamshire CCC Chief Executive David Collier said: “The Club is honoured to win this Civic Trust Award.”The stand was opened on time and on budget in June 2002 and won many plaudits from spectators in its first full season.”It takes the investment at the ground to more than £10 million in the past five years to create one of the most popular sporting and conference venues in the United Kingdom.”The Club wishes to record its thanks to Colin Maber and Huw Evans of Maber Associates for the excellence of their designs not only with the Fox Road Stand but also the Radcliffe Road, Hound Road and Office Redevelopments.”The 2,300-seater stand cost £1.9 million to build, taking the number of permanent seats at Trent Bridge to more than 15,000 – the minimum required by the ECB to host internationals.It was officially opened immediately prior to the NatWest Series One-day International between England and Sri Lanka in June last year.Project Architect Huw Evans of Maber Associates added: “We are delighted that the Fox Road Stand has gained a Civic Trust Award.”It provides recognition for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club’s commitment to good design at Trent Bridge, and also acknowledges the successful integration of a contemporary design into a traditional setting.”On handing out the award, the award judges said: “The stand design is an elegant yet simple solution, which has ensured that a sense of scale has been retained within the cricket ground’s traditional setting.”They also praised how the structure’s contemporary design has been integrated into a traditional cricket arena as well as its unrestricted views of the action.