Bob Woolmer’s murder has set off a debate over whether the World Cup should be called off. Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, made the opening statement on Thursday, saying the tournament would continue and ‘would not be put off by a cowardly criminal act”.”This is not the first time that tragedy has visited a sporting event,” Speed said, “but what we must all do now is to show how resolute the game is by proving ourselves strong enough to move on from what has happened.”However, Allan Donald, the former South African fast bowler who played under Woolmer, asked for the World Cup to be called off. “I just don’t know how this World Cup can continue under the shadow of what’s happened,” Donald told . “World Cup 2007 will be forever remembered for this [Woolmer’s murder]. My personal opinion would have been to stop, but knowing Bob he would have wanted this to go ahead.”I think everyone will continue this World Cup but, at the back of their minds, know that a tragedy took place. I just hope the individuals or individuals are brought to justice because Bob was a great man and would never go to the lengths to put his life in danger.”Goolam Raja, the South African manager, said the team wanted to continue. “He [Donald] does not speak for the team,” Raja told Cricinfo. “I think obviously the players are sad over the tragic events and the cause of Bob’s death does affect the team, but they want to continue on.”Michael Vaughan echoed Speed’s sentiments and said that the World Cup had to continue in spite of the tragedy. “It’s a horrific time for world cricket. We all knew what a good bloke Bob was,” Vaughan told AFP. “Whatever goes on the field, this incident is a lot bigger because someone’s life has been taken away. But I think the World Cup has to go on, the game has to go on. I can understand his [Donald’s] emotion and his thoughts there but the best thing for this game is to show it in a great light.”Cricket Australia also strongly agreed that the World Cup should continue while sending their condolences to the Woolmer family. Andrew Symonds also expressed his desire to continue. “The team is obviously sending our heartfelt regrets to his family,” he said. “Bob, being a cricket man, I would think that he wouldn’t want it to stop. I think he would probably want the games to roll on and the competition to end.”
Despite another catastrophic overseas tour, Daren Ganga, the West Indies opener, is upbeat about the immediate future and a turnaround in fortunes for the team.Speaking on Friday at the Grantley Adams International Airport in Bridgetown, Barbados, shortly after the squad’s return to the Caribbean from New Zealand, Ganga pointed to a level of team spirit, especially in the aftermath of a shock defeat in the first Test.Ganga said, “Since I made my debut in 1999, this team that we’ve got and the guys we have around, there is a certain uniqueness about the spirit and about the team unity. Although we lost that game and it was very hurtful, we stood by each other, we supported each other and we ensured that we played together.””The spirit that we have is unique. This is a unit that is working hard together and can make a difference. This is a unit that is willing to commit themselves to the success of West Indies cricket.”After an opening stand of 148 between Ganga and Chris Gayle, West Indies lost the first Test by 27 runs at Auckland when they were set 291 to win. They also tasted defeat by ten wickets in the second Test at Wellington before the rain-ruined third Test at Napier ended in a draw. Their fortunes in the limited-overs series were no better, losing the five-match series 4-1.”It was really, really hurtful to lose that first Test match knowing how close we were to winning,” Ganga said. “I thought we played really good cricket and deserved to win. Be that as it may, I think we are one session short of winning Test matches.””It’s good to see our performance on an overseas tour as well. Our record overseas doesn’t say much but we’re on the right path. It’s just a matter of us getting things together, working together as a team and ensuring that we play together as a team.”In the ODI series, West Indies were also in reasonable positions to press for victories, but were unable to capitalise.”It is just unfortunate that we didn’t click on at crucial points in games, both in the Test matches and one-day matches. We had New Zealand on the ropes on many occasions and it was just a matter of us not understanding the situation and knowing what was required at the point in time. We lacked the mental toughness and the tactical toughness as players.”The majority of the squad returned to the Caribbean, minus captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who traveled to the United States on business, while Brian Lara also has business matters in India and England.
A fantastic unbroken partnership of 277 between Michael Bevan and Michael Di Venuto gave Tasmania first-innings points on the third day of their Pura Cup match against New South Wales at Hobart.Resuming at 2 for 252, the two left-handers went on a boundary-hitting spree and cruised past NSW’s first-innings total of 367. Bevan’s seventh hundred of the summer, a record-equalling one, contained 21 fours and two sixes. Di Venuto also played his part with 157 not out from 231 balls, with 20 fours.The superb stand snuffed out any chance of NSW entering the final, as Tasmania declared at 2 for 400, a lead of 34. There were two rain breaks during the day, but NSW ended proceedings at 14 for no loss.
Pakistan’s batsmen will be hoping that Inzamam-ul-Haq wins the toss at Hamilton’s Westpac Park for the first Test against New Zealand which starts tomorrow (2200 GMT on Thursday). Two recent matches will leave them nervous as they contemplate batting on what, at its best, can be the finest Test pitch in New Zealand.Last year, India’s total of 99 was sufficient to gain them a first-innings lead. Wet weather in the lead-up to the match prevented the groundstaff from completing their preparation of the pitch, which continued to provide alarming assistance to seam bowlers throughout the match. Pakistan have had problems at Hamilton too: in their last Test here, three seasons ago, they failed to cope with the extra bounce on the surface and were bundled out for 104 and 118. New Zealand declared at 407 for 4 to win by a whopping margin of an innings and 185 runs, their greatest margin of victory in Test cricket.However, the pace and bounce also makes it an excellent pitch if the weather remains dry: on the last occasion Australia played there, Steve Waugh rated it one of the finest tracks outside Australia. Fine weather over the last few days has given Karl Johnson, the new groundsman, the time he needs to ensure that a quality pitch is available. Both Johnson and Stephen Fleming believe that the pitch will provide the expected early life during the first session but should then settle down to ensure an even contest.New Zealand may have thrashed them the last time they played here, but the current Pakistan unit has a far more cohesive feel to it. This squad also has significant firepower that wasn’t available last time around – Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami missed that Hamilton Test with injuries. With both being available this time, New Zealand’s opening batsmen will await the result of the toss quite anxiously as well.In fact, Sami had wrecked New Zealand in the first Test of that series – also his debut match – taking 5 for 36 in the second innings as New Zealand lost nine wickets for 26 runs. Shoaib and Sami will be working in tandem should Inzamam bowl first, and it promises to be one of the better shows in town since Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram bowled their side to victory here in 1993.Speaking to the media before the match, Inzamam said that while Pakistan were confident after their easy win against New Zealand in the home series, they also realised that the team which Chris Cairns captained was without several top players. “I am hoping the momentum can continue but every match is a new one.”Fleming has said that it will come down to a battle between Pakistan’s fast bowlers and New Zealand’s comparatively slower medium-pace line-up. “We will have to be very disciplined. It is a battle of two very different bowling attacks.” He also added that the pitch appeared a lot dryer than it was before last year’s Test against India. Talking about his own fitness, Fleming said that he had recovered completely from the abdominal strain which had forced him to miss the tour of Pakistan.New Zealand (probable): 1 Mark Richardson, 2 Lou Vincent, 3 Stephen Fleming (capt), 4 Scott Styris, 5 Craig McMillan, 6 Chris Cairns, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Robbie Hart (wk), 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Daryl Tuffey, 11 Ian Butler.Pakistan (probable): 1 Taufeeq Umar, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Yasir Hameed, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Yousuf Youhana, 6 Younis Khan, 7 Moin Khan (wk), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Danish Kaneria, 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Mohammad Sami.
Wet weather in Christchurch, the host venue for the International Cricket Council Under-19 World Cup, has claimed its first victims.Practice games scheduled for tomorrow have had to be cancelled.New Zealand Under-19 were to have played their England opposites on the Lincoln University No 3 ground while Sri Lanka were to have played a Canterbury Country team in Rangiora, a country town just outside Christchurch.But with incessant rain over the weekend pitches have not be able to be prepared. And rain, after a brief absence in Christchurch during today, returned again this evening.An extensive programme of games has been arranged for all sides at all three locations for matches on Wednesday and Thursday.The tournament’s opening game is on Saturday at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, the centrepiece ground of the New Zealand Cricket High Performance Centre at Lincoln University, between New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
If England A thought they were in for an easy ride against the callow youths of the West Indies third XI in the Busta International Shield today, they had a rude awakening.The youngsters, gathered from around the islands of the Caribbean, showed they were a match for England’s second team, with the ball at least.By the close of the first day’s play at the Grenada National Stadium at Queen’s Park, they had six England wickets in the bag and had restricted them to 249, a first day total that looked modest compared with the lunchtime score of 93 without loss.There may have been more wickets had a couple of chances been taken earlier – the drop that let opener Ian Ward off the hook when he was on 17, cost them 32 runs and Chris Read was also dropped at short leg on one before going onto make a useful 19 runs.After Mark Alleyne started the proceedings with a touch of good fortune by winning the toss and jumping at the chance to bat first on a flat and dry pitch, John Crawley and Ward, who have not faced a ball in the middle since the 2000 season finished in September, started out cautiously against the virtually unknown pace bowling attack of Jermaine Lawson of Jamaica and Kenroy Peters, a seamer from St Vincent.Both played and missed but once settled, produced some powerfully struck drives that were a pleasure to watch for the small crowd of English supporters, taking in a bit of cricket while holidaying on the spice island.The pair built a sturdy platform of 101 before Ward became the first wicket of the day, beaten for pace by Lawson, who had swapped ends. He fell one short of his half century but Crawley, who looks in superb form, made no such mistake and sailed past his 50 by pulling off-spinner Rodney Sooklal thunderously through mid-wicket for four.Crawley apparently made a bold prediction over lunch that batting in the afternoon session would be less straightforward than it had been in the morning because the ball, which turned out to be a Dukes ball rather than the favoured Kookaburra, had softened up markedly. The loss of Ward less than four overs after lunch proved him to be right.Crawley was bowled for 65, 12 overs later, looking to hit Lawson away off the back foot. The ball nipped back and took an inside edge, much to his irritation, with the score on 143, and the batsmen realised they were in for a rough ride. A couple of careless shots by England A debutant Usman Afzaal and the more experienced Vikram Solanki added to the demise with England going into tea having lost four wickets.The session between tea and sunset, in which West Indies had to complete their minimum quota of 90 overs but in fact bowled nine more, was to prove a vital passage of play. But in the sensible hands of Aftab Habib, who plugged away for three hours for 41, any alarms were avoided and the day ended with honours even.For Crawley, his 65 was a start in his bid to recover his full England place but disappointing since he had his eyes on a hundred.”I should have made a hundred. I was hoping for one but I played a slightly loose attack and paid the price,” he said after the close of play.”But I think we finished with honours even and if we can add another hundred to the total, which we should be able to do, we should be in a good position.”
Celtic have seen many players come through their youth academy and go on to become important first-team figures for the Hoops such as Calum McGregor, James Forrest and Anthony Ralston among others.
However, it seems as though the Parkhead club could be in danger of letting one future star slip through their hands in the coming months.
What’s the talk?
Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist and transfer insider Pete O’Rourke had this to say about the possibility of Hoops youngster Ben Doak leaving the club in the near future after being linked with a move to Premier League club Liverpool in recent weeks.
He said: “To see him possibly leave for a move down to Liverpool would come as a blow because I think Celtic did have high hopes for him in the future that he could become a regular in the first team.
“That’s why they were offering some minutes this season as well.”
Not good news for the Hoops
As O’Rourke mentioned, the teenager has played in two SPFL games for Ange Postecoglou’s side in this campaign, the first of which came back in January where he played 22 minutes against Dundee United which was then followed by a brief three-minute cameo in the Hoops’ 3-0 win over Rangers.
According to Bhoys Analytics on Twitter, Doak is a name that “Celtic fans should get familiar with” before naming him a “generational talent”, highlighting the buzz and excitement around the teenager.
Taking all of this into account, it seems as though the Parkhead club are very much in danger of seeing their young prospect follow in the footsteps of previous Celtic players to make the move to the Premier League. For instance, the likes of Victor Wanyama, Virgil van Dijk, Stuart Armstrong, Fraser Forster, Kieran Tierney, Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard have all departed.
Although Ange Postecolgou’s side are doing pretty well in the SPFL at the moment sitting at the top of the league table with 76 points on the board from 31 games played, losing Doak will definitely be a blow for them in the long term.
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Should the youngster end up moving and making a name for himself on the big stage at Liverpool, it would not only dishearten a lot of Hoops supporters but would surely leave them gutted at the same time.
In other news: Daily Record drop big 11-word Celtic claim, unforgivable error could be inbound
Pakistan wrapped up the Mobilink Cup with a comfortable 37-run victory over Zimbabwe in what was, ultimately a dour, lifeless encounter in Multan. The only spark was provided, inevitably, by Shahid Afridi, who lit up the affair with a 52-ball 85, in the process rescuing Pakistan from a perilous 78 for 5. Zimbabwe battled away in their chase of 273, in particular Sean Williams and Brendan Taylor, but as has been the case at various points on this tour, they let healthy advantages slip.In Hyderabad, they frittered away a promising position going in to the final ten overs and then dropped catches to make matters worse. Here, they had Pakistan reeling halfway through their innings, but somehow managed to concede nearly 200 runs in the second half to, essentially, the lower-order.Until then, they had been disciplined, which was the doing mostly of Tawanda Mupariwa and fine opening spells from Elton Chigumbura and Gary Brent. The tone was set from the very first over of the innings, Chigumbura probing outside Salman Butt’s off stump. It was a maiden and many more followed as Brent, at Mark Ealham’s pace, found some lovely away-going curve against a left-handed opening pair.Brent finally found reward for an outstanding spell when Butt cut to point in the 15th over. Thereafter, as Chigumbura finished his quota, Mupariwa took charge with a career-best spell. His first ball, a delicious, tempting in-dipper trapped Younis Khan in front. In his very next over, Nasir Jamshed pulled straight to short midwicket.Zimbabwe were ecstatic when Shoaib Malik was run out, and they went beyond as Mupariwa reeled in the big one, Mohammad Yousuf. In truth, they didn’t so much lose grip as have it snatched away from them by Afridi. He came in to this series the subject of debate: selectors wanted him to play, the team management were not keen. And yet, he has been indispensable thus far, taking wickets in Karachi, taking Pakistan over the line in Hyderabad and saving some blushes here.Afridi’s methods were no surprise; he equalled Sanath Jayasuriya as the leading ODI six-hitter, blasting six of them here and he was busy through the innings, running hard, but forever with an eye on the big heave. Ray Price was lofted for the first six and by the time Chamu Chibhabha was struck for two more a little later, a 34-ball 50 had been brought up.
Misbah-ul-Haq provided typically Misbhah-esque support, running hard, improvising and finding the occasional boundary, but this was Afridi’s show. Keith Dabengwa was lofted and bludgeoned as a century stand came up, but just when a first hundred in nearly three years loomed, he miscued Mupariwa to point. A few overs later Misbah fell in typically Misbah-esque fashion, reverse-sweeping, but Pakistan pushed on to a daunting total.Zimbabwe still had a chance, as Pakistan’s bowling hadn’t made an impression through the series and the wicket was flat. Sohail Tanvir, the one bowler who has made a mark, stymied early, fanciful notions sending back both openers. When Tatenda Taibu was run out in the 15th with just 50 on the board, it seemed over.But Williams and Taylor then revived the innings with a partnership which put Zimbabwe in control of another portion of the game. They went about it intelligently, picking up the few boundaries they could, but hustling every run on offer. Williams hit three boundaries in his 50 and Taylor only two, yet the two put on 105 at just under five an over.But just when it seemed Zimbabwe would launch a final surge, they again let slip the initiative. Taylor was stumped in the 36th over, with 118 still needed, and as so often happens, the partner went soon after. With Williams went the match. Pakistan will be concerned at an inability to bowl out Zimbabwe a third game running, but the visitors will rue yet another game where they were in it at various stages, only to lose it at critical moments.
How does one even begin to process what just happened at Sabina Park today?Ireland, a team of part-timers and county cricketers, knocking the fourth-ranked ODI team in the world out of the World Cup. Even saying it out loud doesn’t help – it’s almost too much to take in.For the fans in the ground today this will go down as a day to compare with famous Irish underdog victories in other codes such as Munster beating the All Blacks in 1978 (which every Munster fan ever born claims to have been present for – a tall tale that will be replicating itself among the cricket fraternity after today) or Ireland beating Italy at USA 94. But instead of Ray Houghton, Paul McGrath and Packie Bonner it was the lesser-known names of Niall O’Brien, Jeremy Bray, Boyd Rankin, Kyle McCallan and Trent Johnston that will rightly be lauded.The fans are a big part of this World Cup week and the “Blarney Army” has made its mark on the tournament for its exuberant support of the team – one of the memories of the day for me will be the singing of “Are you England in disguise?” following the dismissal of Mohammed Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq. Who would have thought Irish fans would have had the chance to have the temerity?There is something else to rejoice in for followers and journalists alike in this incredible story – the refreshing openness and honesty of the Irish set-up. Here is a self-aware group of players with just the right amount of self-belief to take advantage of situations like today and make something happen. Throughout they have remained close to their fans and nearly always have something interesting to say.What will this mean for Irish Cricket? Increased awareness among the public and more money – both private in the form of sponsorship and public in the form of the Irish Sports Council. These are the two things the game needs the most. We in Ireland are no different to any other country – the corporate dollar goes to the sports that make noise and provide success stories and today’s result will entitle cricket in Ireland to a piece of that pie – a small piece maybe, but enough to make a difference to a sport trying to make itself noticed among the behemoths of gaelic games, soccer and rugby.After the Zimbabwe tie on Thursday the Irish Times ran with a picture of Andrew White celebrating taking a wicket on its front page on Saturday – that was something that’s never happened before for Irish cricket, and it was a move guaranteed to get a lot of attention from the non-cricketing sporting public. Imagine what they’ll make of today’s incredible tale. What is more, it was a win that will almost certainly ensure they are a part of this Caribbean World Cup for another four weeks at least.Irish rugby had a horror day of last-minute drama and close calls that didn’t go their way – but perhaps their bad luck in northern Europe was balanced out by the luck the Irish cricket team made for itself at Sabina Park. Ireland are fast becoming the story of this World Cup and that’s something these players – these fitness instructors, postmen and teachers – deserve.
Even though the England opener Marcus Trescothick has ended weeks of speculation, by telling Sky Sports News that he returned home from the tour of India because he had been laid low by a viral infection, there is still plenty of interest surrounding the issue.During Somerset’s media day at Taunton he did not speak to the press, as he was shadowed by Colin Gibson, the head of the ECB’s communication department. Even in his TV interview he did not give any more specifics about the illness, but said that personal factors and spending time away from his family had also been partially responsible for his decision.”The main reason was that I picked up a bug when I was out there,” Trescothick told the news channel. “The second part of Bombay really hit me hard; I wasn’t sleeping and couldn’t shake it off. We moved to Baroda, and it didn’t get any better; I wasn’t eating or drinking, and it really took its toll.”At the time all that the England camp would say was that he had left the tour for personal reasons and it asked the media to respect his privacy, which it has done.Trescothick admitted that the endless toll of touring and playing had taken its toll. “We play so much; we spend 300 nights a year out of our own house either travelling the world or at hotels preparing for games in England. Touring Pakistan and India are probably the hardest you can do, because it is not easy to take your family away to that part of the world. You spend a long time away from home.”The Somerset chief executive, Richard Gould, told the : “I’m sure the press have found it frustrating, but the most important thing is that we get Marcus in the best frame of mind for the new season.”The fact he was forced to return home was a combination of things – stress, the virus and being away from his family for long periods of time. I was taken by surprise by the degree of scepticism that has been shown about his explanation.”Richard Bevan, the chief executive of The Professional Cricketers Association, has also offered sympathy for players like Trescothick who are so stretched physically and mentally by a punishing international schedule. Trescothick admitted six years of continuous cricket with England had been taking its toll.”We have to find a balance and a bit more common sense,” said Bevan. “You don’t want the game brought into disrepute. The ICC are certainly sympathetic. The chief executive stated in his annual report … that the demands on international cricketers are enormous.”What the ICC have to do is develop clearer and longer-term plans. They have to improve communications with the stakeholders. We want them to get younger players on the board. They will have different ideas on international cricket and player burn-out. They need to forge stronger links with the international players’ association (FICA).”Last week it was revealed that Trescothick was back training with Somerset, although he admitted that he was still suffering from the virus until about three weeks ago.To read Trescothick’s interview with Sky Sports News click here.