Steve Waugh has said that he would like to retire at the end of Australia’s tour of India in 2004. He then intends to devote more time to Udayan, the Kolkata home for children of leprosy patients which he supports.According to a report by The Press Trust of India, Waugh said in an interview in Sydney: “I would like to end my career in India.” He has long described India as the “final frontier” for the Australian team to conquer, and swore after Australia’s defeat in 2001 that he would be back to set the record straight.That is not, however, reason for Khaled Mahmud and his boys to relax – Waugh has not forgotten Bangladesh. “The India series is still a long way off,” Waugh said, “and I am focussing on Bangladesh at the moment.” One can imagine him rubbing his hands in glee as he says this.For all the brutality Waugh inflicts on the cricket field, though, at heart he remains a softie. His support – monetary and otherwise – for Udayan has earned him immense respect in India. Waugh does not stop at charitable donations – the girls’ wing at Udayan was funded by him – but visits the home regularly. He explained his commitment thus: “Udayan is my pursuit for life. It is not something you start and give up. I am committed to continued support to Udayan.”We are soon going to start another school for 200 needy children,” Waugh added. He admitted that despite being a celebrity, raising funds was a difficult matter, and said that “it would be good to get some funding from businesses in Australia and India”.Waugh had recently announced his plans to make a film based on Udayan, which has already been scripted, though, as of now, there is no director or producer. Waugh did not clarify rumours as to whether he would act in the film, but merely said, pithily, “I am a cricketer”.Until next year, when Australia come to India, he certainly is.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), today announced a 14-member squad for next year’s International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Under-19 World Cup which will be held in New Zealand.The Under-19 World Cup, which will be held in January, 2002 will feature some 16 teams, and see the West Indies drawn in Zone D. Other teams in Zone D are Australia, Kenya and Scotland.The West Indies team will leave on January 10 for New Zealand, in time for the opening ceremony which takes place on January 14 in Christ Church.While in New Zealand, the West Indies will play two practice matches versus local opposition. The West Indies’ first match will be against Scotland on January 21. Their remaining preliminary matches against Australia and Kenya will be played on January 23 and 24 respectively. The ICC Under-19 World Cup will played from January 12 to February 10, 2002.The full team is:Narsingh Deonarine and Ron Matthews – GUYANA Ryan Nurse and Alcindo Holder – BARBADOS Donovan Pagon and Lorenzo Ingram – JAMAICA Dwayne Bravo, Llendl Simmons and Ravi Rampaul – TRINIDAD & TOBAGO Gareth Matthew (St. Kitts), Tonito Willett (Nevis) andGavin Tonge (Antigua) – LEEWARD ISLANDS Shane Shillingford (Dominica) and Darren Sammy (St. Lucia) – WINDWARD ISLANDS Reserves:Danza Hyatt and St. Clair Searchwell – JAMAICA Denzil James – TRINIDAD & TOBAGO Derick Bishop and Marlon Clark – BARBADOS Jeremiah Harris – GUYANA Team Management:Courtnay Daley – Manager – JAMAICA Gus Logie – Coach – TRINIDAD & TOBAGO David Cumberbatch – Physiotherapist – TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson will join the ICC’s elite panel of match referees as a replacement for the retiring Roshan Mahanama.However, Richardson will not take up his new position until early next year, when he completes his current tenure as manager of the West Indies team. Mahanama last week announced his intention to step down from the ICC’s elite panel at the end of the year after more than a decade in the role.The appointment means Richardson will become the first West Indian to serve as a match referee in Tests since Clive Lloyd, who retired in 2007. He also follows fellow West Indians Jackie Hendriks, Cammie Smith, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott, who all served as match referees in the past.”I am excited and honoured to have been selected for one of the most important jobs in cricket,” Richardson said. “Having been on either side of the fence, first as a player and then as an administrator, I think I have the experience and insight to help me contribute positively alongside some of the finest and most experienced match officials.”Richardson played 86 Tests from 1983 to 1995, as well as 224 one-day internationals. He was appointed team manager of West Indies in January 2011 and will continue to serve in the role until the end of the Test tour of Australia, which concludes with the Sydney Test from January 3 to 7 next year.”Until the end of the Australia tour, I will remain fully committed and focused on my current assignment as the West Indies cricket team manager and I would like to thank the West Indies Cricket Board for its support over years as well as the encouragement it provided to me in taking up this new role,” he said.The ICC’s elite panel of match referees is made up of seven former cricketers who officiate in Test matches, and Richardson will join Ranjan Madugalle, Chris Broad, David Boon, Andy Pycroft, Javagal Srinath and Jeff Crowe. The ICC’s general manager of cricket, Geoff Allardice, said Richardson would be a valuable addition to the panel.”Richie is one of the greats of the game, who is admired for not only his accomplishments as a batsman but also the way he captained the West Indies when he embodied traits such as integrity, leadership and sportsmanship in his dealings both on and off the field,” Allardice said.”He is very familiar with the demands of international cricket through his experiences as a player, captain and now team manager, and he will bring a fresh perspective to the role. On behalf of the ICC, I congratulate Richie on his appointment and look forward to working with him. We have no doubt that he will make a strong and important contribution to ensuring the game continues to be played in the right spirit.”
We’ve all seen Fat Sam patrolling the touchline, Madonna live-in-concert mic tucked inside his lug‘ole, looking every inch the modern man we all know him to be. The most self-confident man in Britain is known to be just one of a growing army of managers to enlist the help of ProZone – a means by which to attain statistical analysis on everything from the amount a player has run in a match to his use of the ball when in possession to name but two minute points. But in this modern age of ours, can stats prove everything in football, or is there still room for differing perspectives and the use of the naked eye to dissect the beautiful game?
The truth lies somewhere in between. Stats are great. On a personal level, I’m a huge believer in them. They’re crucial in helping to disprove some of football’s accepted truths – such as Owen Coyle’s Bolton side play passing football, Man Utd’s defence is watertight and that Jermain Defoe is anything other than a deeply average striker. I’ll beat these drums until my last dying breath, and all with the help of statistical information.
However, stats can also be deeply misleading. They can distort an argument because for without applied in the ‘right’ context, they can change turn a point completely on it’s head. They are merely a tool to be used to disprove theories and assists in arguments for the casual armchair pundit.
Just the other day after Frank Lampard’s wonderful display against Bolton in their 5-1 drubbing of Coyle’s side at Stamford Bridge, which included a Lampard hat-trick, did I see such an instance of deeply misleading and reprehensible statitude.
It was over on Twitter (you can catch me at JamesMcManus1 if you’re asking @shameless plug #hangsheadinshame) where a fellow Tweeter, Twitterer or Twatter depending on your preference, in a state of euphoria confidently declared: “Lampard now has 175 league goals in 350 games for Chelsea. Brilliant.”
Now, I know he’s been a prodigiously prolific goalscorer in the Premier League for nearly a decade now, but that still seemed a bit off to me. A quick glance at Wikipedia then proceeded to tell me that Lampard had indeed played 350 Premier League games for Chelsea, but that the 175 goals came across all competitions, for he had only a measly, hardly worth talking about 119 league goals for the club. In 518 career games for the West London side he had indeed scored 175 goals, a fine record, but did it really need the falsities to make it stand out as particularly impressive?
There is of course still room for the naked eye. Otherwise coaches all over the land may as well just pack up and go on home. We shall indeed surrender to the machines just over a decade after the Terminator films correctly prophesised. But instead of Skynet, it shall be the almighty ProZone’s altar that we bow down to in hushed and humbled prayer.
OptaSports provide the shining light by which others should look to follow. They offer up little nuggets of statistical gold without any inherent bias towards this club or that club as is often the calling card of those that cry out ‘lazy journalism‘ at the drop of a hat (yes, I am fully aware of what I‘ve left myself open to now).
Stats aren’t everything in football, they’re merely there to apply the context amidst all the fawning and bias that takes place in the media today. You can’t keep a good stat down, no matter how hard you try. It may not be sexy, it may not be what gets readers reaching for the paper in the morning, but context is everything.
You can follow me on Twitter @JamesMcManus1
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Essex’s Championship-winning captain Ryan ten Doeschate has signed a one-year extension with the club, putting an end to speculation that he would follow Ravi Bopara out of Chelmsford.Ten Doeschate told ESPNcricinfo he would “take stock” before committing to a new contract at the club after leading them to a second Championship title in three years, saying he was “deeply aware there’s a time to move on.”But after his team-mate of 16 years Bopara left the club to join Sussex on Wednesday, ten Doeschate confirmed that he would spend the 2020 season at Essex.Ten Doeschate said: “I’m really pleased to extend my contract at the club and my affinity for Essex and the players just grows stronger and stronger.”We had an amazing season in 2019, but we’re constantly striving to improve and we want to build on our success.”I’m excited about the challenges and battles we’ll face in 2020, and I’m looking forward to giving my all in what will hopefully another successful year.”Ten Doeschate captained the club across formats from 2016 to 2018, but relinquished the T20 captaincy to Simon Harmer this year. He has represented the club 477 times in all formats, scoring 27 hundreds and taking more than 300 wickets in the process.He is currently in the UAE, where he will hope to play a key role in leading Netherlands through the T20 World Cup qualifier.Anthony McGrath, Essex’s head coach, said: “Ryan is a huge player for us, both on the field and in the dressing room, so we are all delighted that he will be staying for at least another season.”He’s a natural leader and has led this side to some fantastic achievements over recent years, and hopefully with any luck, there will be more to come.”
Administrators and selectors detest senior players who attempt topick and choose their matches and tours and many careers have come to amessy end as a result of them attempting to do so. However, if it is the same selectors and administrators who make that decision, then all is well, it would appear.So while Shaun Pollock may have been surprised and even upset by hisomission from South Africa’s first Test starting line-up, 24 hours ofquiet reflection have probably helped him realise that he will no longerbe required to flog his 34-year-old body on flat, unforgiving trackslike this one in Karachi. He is being saved for the juicy pitches onwhich his now modest pace can still be effective.While South African captain Graeme Smith and coach Mickey Arthur have bothbeen careful to speak with the respect that Pollock deserves, neither was mincing his words, either.”He certainly isn’t being rested. It is a tactical decision that wehave taken and Shaun has been incredibly mature in responding to what wehave asked him to do,” Smith said on the eve of the first Test. “It is vital that we find time to blood one or two youngsters. We really don’t want to find ourselves reaching the point where Shaun retires and we haven’t given a couple of people the chance to playinternational cricket.”We have a couple of young and very exciting fast bowlers comingthrough and a two-Test series seems to be the perfect chance to exposethem to unfamiliar conditions while Shaun, with all his experience, isstill on hand to guide them and advice them from the sidelines.”Of course, Pollock may yet play. Having endured the unfamiliarexperience of being an international 12th man just once – for the World XI against Australia a couple of years ago – he might avoid the role again if Morne Morkel fails to recover from anankle injury.”He certainly isn’t out of the running for the first Test now thatMorne is injured and he most certainly will be considered for the secondTest,” Smith said. “When we get back to South Africa he comes right back intocontention. We have a good nucleus of bowlers now and selection is aboutchoosing who might be best suited for the conditions as well as about who is fitand in-form.”Arthur felt that the South Africans should be excited rather thandisappointed that Pollock was no longer regarded as a must for everygame.”I felt it was slightly misreported although I can understand whythe emphasis was on Shaun’s omission,” Arthur said. “We have lacked a bit of variety inthe past and that’s what we’re looking to achieve now. Makhaya [Ntini] bowls well to left-handers, Morne bowls a good line and gets steep bounce, Dale Steyn bowls a fuller length with genuine pace and swings it away, Andre Nel is all thunder and in-your-face and then we have Jacques Kallis to complete the pace attack while Paul Harris isdeveloping nicely as a spinner.”So where does that leave Pollock? “He is very much in the mix but we are trying to operate a horses-for-courses policy now,” Arthur said. “There are some pitches and overhead conditions in which he’ll still probably be our first choice. But in conditions that favour the batsmen, we can probably do without the second allrounder and play an extra strike bowler to try and take the 20 wickets needed to win.”
Close of play Scorecard and ball-by-ball details How they were out Uttar Pradesh ended the third day with a massive 416-run lead after Rizwan Shamshad paced his innings thoughtfully – playing the percentages when the bowlers were disciplined and exploding in the third session when he could manage some leeway. But despite the advantage UP currently enjoy the result is far from a foregone conclusion.When UP started batting today, the plan would have been simple. Put runs on the board at a fast clip, set up a target and push for a declaration in the last session. The plan was well under way in the pre-lunch session when Suresh Raina bolted off with a feisty fifty – 147 runs were rattled off in 35 overs – but hit a speed-breaker in the second session when they were pegged back by some niggardly bowling. But, post-tea, UP raced off again, thanks to the Shamshad show, to a position of strength from where they can apply pressure on the visitors.Never hurried into his shots, Shamshad, playing in his 105th first-class game, imposed himself in the last session in a serene manner, cutting and pulling Sarfraz Ahmed who didn’t hit the right areas. With one eye on the declaration, he dismantled Sarfraz before proceeding to tear apart the medium pace of Tahir Mughal. A fierce cut and a caressed cover-drive – he never looked ungainly even when going for the broke – was followed by a spanking pull as the runs leaked from both ends. Earlier, in the second session, when his partner Ravikant Shukla was strangled by the bowling, Shamshad had chosen to jog at an easy pace. Of course, there was a pull here, a lofted drive there, but for the main he chose to play quietly. Maybe, the plan was to run the bowlers to ground, preserve wickets and go for it in the last session. Jyoti Yadav was the ideal partner, rotating the strike with singles and slipping in a few biffed-hits to the fence. Shamshad fell, 12 runs short of what would have been his 20th first-class ton, to a very good tumbling catch by the substitute fielder Satvinder Singh, the local under-22 cricketer who had to take the field as Sialkot camp was hit by injuries, at square-leg when he top-edged a pull.The positive intent that Shamshad revealed in the last session was evident through the first session when UP came out attacking. Even, and especially, when a wicket fell, they counter-attacked. Rohit Srivastava took charge when Shiva Shukla fell after an innings that promised many more than what he ended up with, and when Srivastava departed, Raina imposed himself. Sadly, for a match named after Mohammad Nissar, the express Indian bowler of yore, Mohammad Asif, easily the best fast bowler on view, couldn’t showcase his bowling prowess due to a shoulder niggle. That not only would have disappointed the cricket romantics but also hurt Sialkot.Raina, who reached his 15th first-class half-century in the 42nd over of the innings, took time to settle down before the Srivastava dismissal sparked off the aggressive instinct in him. He waltzed down the track to the left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman and swung him over wide mid-on for two consecutive fours. But Rehman had the last laugh, dismissing Raina, at the stroke of lunch, by holding back the length when the batsman ran down the wicket and the ball spun to beat an intended flick shot.Shukla looked to be in a hurry right from the start. After a few airy wafts – he edged one past the slips in the first over of the day – he began to middle his shots. The straight drives and cover-drives were unfurled, and, just when it seemed he had the measure of the bowlers, Mughal produced a peach of a delivery to send him packing. The ball landed on a length on the middle and appeared to be heading straight on before veering away at the last minute. Srivastava took over with a vengeance – he dispatched Mughal for four fours in the space of eight deliveries. A fierce cut past point, just a ball after the Shukla dismissal, set him rolling and, in a blink, three pull shots were unleashed. However, he fell, going for yet another pull.After the aggression in the morning Sialkot attempted to come back in the game with a disciplined bowling performance in the afternoon. Although wickets didn’t fall in a heap, the run-rate slowed down. Sarfraz Ahmed harassed Ravikant Shukla with his probing line in the corridor of uncertainty. Time and again, Ravikant was beaten by the movement, once edging it short of second slip, as he kept playing away from his body. However, luck continued to favour him – he might well be tempted to buy a lottery ticket after the day’s play – as edges fell either short or were, when they carried, put down. Sarfraz dropped a dolly, when Ravikant was on 28, at mid-off in the first over upon resumption while another chance went down in the slips after he had gone past his fifty. To his credit, Ravikant didn’t let all this affect him and reached his half-century before he fatally flirted at a delivery outside the off stump.Going into the final day the match is intriguingly poised. Sialkot have the firepower of Imran Nazir, who dazzled in the first innings, and the experience of Shoaib Malik, who can either force or slow the pace as the situation demands, and would be quietly confident of saving the game and, maybe, even pulling off an unlikely victory. UP seems to be aware of this potential danger as evident by their decision not to declare even after Shamshad fell in the 88th over of the innings. Following Shamsad’s dismissal UP eked out only 35 runs in the 10 overs that were possible.There were two options for the hosts, either dangle the carrot of a possible chase or bat the other side out of the game and hope the task of playing for a draw proves an unbearable burden. Clearly they have chosen the latter. But with the wicket likely to break further on the last day, if UP can prise out some early wickets, they could be in business.
Shiva Shukla c Khalid Mahmood b Tahir Mughal 36 (57 for 1) Rohit Srivastava c Mahmood b Shehzad Malik 33 ( 95 for 2) Suresh Raina b Abdur Rehman 55 (165 for 3) Ravikant Shukla c Majid Jahangir b Tahir Mughal 64 ( 238 for 4) Rizwan Shamshad c Majid Jahangir b Mansoor Amjad 88 (326 for 5) P Kumar c Majid Jahangir b Tahir Mughal 1 (336 for 6) Piyush Chawla c&b Majid Jahangir 8 (361 for 7)
Ricky Ponting“Apart from when we won at Lord’s (first Test) we were never as good as England and they deserve to win the Ashes.”Michael Vaughan“Kevin Pietersen was outstanding, but there have been a load of individual performances throughout the summer. It has been a hell of a lot of hard work but they believed in themselves and they expressed themselves out on the pitch.”Kevin Pietersen“It is fantastic. The boys have been amazing. I’m speechless really, and the last two months have been fantastic. Wearing the earrings its not going to make me cover drive any differently. I showed today that I am not just a glamour boy. Its amazing to have my mum and brother sitting up there. It is just special.”Andrew Strauss“It has been seven weeks of emotional turmoil. I am proud to be part of this team. Everyone has contributed this season. It makes you proud to be representing your country. We have just been on the very edge of our nerves all summer. It was a great privilege to watch Kevin today.”Andrew Flintoff“We witnessed one of the great innings today. His support from Ashley Giles (who made 59) epitomised what this side is about. Everyone in the dressing room plays a part from the captain to the coach. We go out there and play as a unit.”Duncan Fletcher“It has taken a long time but I would date it back three to four years when I spotted some good young players who could play for England. We have to keep on improving if we are to keep winning.”Shane Warne“England were better than us; it is as simple as that. We had a great battle but we were never as good as England throughout the series.”
Cricinfo will be providing internet audio coverage of the India-Australia Test series, which begins in Bangalore on Wednesday October 6. A subscription to Cricinfo Radio for this keenly anticipated series will cost internet users just $7.99. The webcast begins at 04:00 GMT on the morning of the first Test.The match commentary on www.cricinfo.com/radio, which will be unofficial, is produced for Cricinfo by Virtual Studios in India, and features expert commentary and analysis from Raman Bhanot, Sunil Gujral and V. Srivatsa. The product will be available both in Windows Media and Real Player formats."There is no more keenly anticipated Test series in the cricket calendar than India v Australia," said Tom Gleeson, Wisden Cricinfo’s chief executive, "and we’re delighted to bring it to our huge global audience on Cricinfo Radio. We hope both existing customers and new users who haven’t listened before will join us for what is sure to be another classic series between the sides."Click here to sign up for Cricinfo Radio
Richard Johnson was absolutely delighted after hearing the news that he had been selected for the England squad that will take part in the Triangular One Day series later this summer.The Somerset bowler who is currently near the top of the first class bowling averages after capturing 23 wickets at a cost of just over 18 runs each has yet to make his One Day International debut for his country.The twenty eight year old paceman who joined the Cidermen in 2001 from Middlesex has proved himself to be a good signing and topped the Somerset bowling averages last season and the previous year was the leading wicket taker for the county.He said: "Obviously to play for your country is everyone’s ambition and one of the reasons why you play cricket and I am very pleased to be given my chance.""I heard the news on Thursday morning when David Graveney telephoned me at home to tell me. I thought that I might be in with a shout after doing well this season, and I’d had heard rumours but it still came as a bit of a shock when he called," he said.The Triangular One Day series that involves England, South Africa and Zimbabwe starts on June 17th and culminates in a final at Lords on July 12th.Meanwhile earlier in the day chief executive Peter Anderson reflected on Somerset’s exit from this year’s Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy on Wednesday at the hands of Surrey."After the game the dressing room was a desolate place to be, and the players were pretty despondent. However to try to put the result into perspective Surrey are currently unbeaten and at the top of National Cricket League Division One whereas we are in the lower reaches of Division Two and yet they only managed to beat us by six runs."He continued: "What we have to do now is to keep up our challenge for promotion back to Division One in the county championship, and with Richard Johnson being in the England One Day squad and likely to be called up and Andy Caddick injured, the coach and the players will have their work cut out to meet this challenge.""As a result of our defeat on Wednesday the coach and the captain know that we have to do some rethinking regarding the National Cricket League which has now become a priority," he added.Somerset are without a game in the round of championship matches that get underway today, but are next in action when they take on Worcestershire in the first game of the Bath Festival that starts next Wednesday.The county boss said: "We have our next crucial championship match at Bath on Wednesday, and the good news for those people who travel to the ground by car is that this year there will be no problem with parking on the Bath Rugby Ground, whatever the weather!"