South Australia will offer four New South Wales players contracts before the end of the week in a bid to boost the struggling state’s batting stocks. Greg Mail, Aaron O’Brien, Tom Cooper and Grant Lambert could all be heading to Adelaide if the Redbacks coach Mark Sorell, who flew to Sydney on Monday for talks, has his way.South Australia deliberately targeted players on the fringe of the Pura Cup-winning New South Wales squad that includes ten Cricket Australia-contracted players. “We’re feeling pretty confident,” Sorell said. “They’re at a very strong state where lack of opportunity has been an issue and we think they will fit in very nicely here.”Mail, 29, played only four Pura Cup matches for the Blues last season despite making nearly 300 runs. Lambert, a useful 30-year-old allrounder, was used six times for 163 runs at 27.16 and nine wickets at 30.77. O’Brien did not feature at all, following semi-regular appearances over the previous six seasons, and Cooper is an uncapped rookie. Sorell said Cooper, 21, would be an investment for the future.South Australia must also find a captain for next summer after Nathan Adcock lost his Pura Cup position mid-season. However, none of the New South Wales players have been offered the job. “We have some good internal candidates at the moment,” Sorell said, “and we’ll address leadership when they sign.”The Redbacks have already picked up Michael Klinger from Victoria and are not chasing any other players. However, Sorell was disappointed to have lost out to the Bushrangers on Chris Rogers.Sorell also wants to keep the spin duo of Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey even though squeezing both of them into the side in 2007-08 was almost impossible. “I’m confident that that will happen,” Sorell said. “It’s a priority, there’s no doubt about that.”He is also hoping to retain Ryan Harris, the allrounder, but questions over his status have been raised after he used his British passport to sign as a local player with Sussex. South Australia want to speak to Harris over his intentions for the next Australian season.
Australian allrounder Ian Moran has received an unexpected call-up to rejoin the Scotland side after South African Arno Jacobs was released to join Leicestershire.Moran, who is this year’s professional at Uddingston, played nine matches last season.Roddy Smith, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, said: “Leicestershire wanted to sign Arno for the remainder of the season, and Cricket Scotland was delighted to help further his professional career by agreeing to the request. It is a shame to lose Arno after just three games, but I am sure he will be a great success for Leicestershire and we wish him well.”
The National Bank batsmen faltered in the second innings against Sialkot on the third day at the Multan Cricket Stadium, yet their team finished 241 runs ahead of the opponents with four wickets intact.After having gained a first-innings advantage of 102 runs, National Bank lost five wickets in the second outing for 72 runs. A sixth-wicket stand of 64 had them breathing again and they are back in the game hoping to achieve an outright win on the final day.Allrounder Mansoor Amjad, a legspinner from Sialkot having to play against his own regional outfit, came to National Bank’s rescue with an unbeaten innings of 30 as his team reached 139 for 6. Naved Latif, a former Pakistan batsman, quickly contributed 39 runs in his partnership with Mansoor, who had scored 122 in National Bank’s first innings. He also had figures of 4 for 102 in 27 overs as Sialkot were restricted 409 chasing National Bank’s first-innings effort of 511 runs.Sialkot resumed on 236 for 2 with opener Atiq-ur-Rehman unbeaten at 150. He managed to add only seven runs to his score, before falling to paceman Wasim Khan, who captured 4 for 90 in his 29 overs. Later, Abdul Rehman (49) and Kamran Younis (42) added 78 runs for the seventh wicket, but getting to 511 runs proved to be a difficult task. Mansoor’s fourth wicket was his 100th in his 33rd first-class appearance.A lead of 300 or thereabouts today would place National Bank in a good position to achieve an outright win. In any case, they will take the first-innings points if the match ends in a draw.
After a season which he will want to forget, Stephen Fleming at least had the solace of ending on a high with an innings victory over Sri Lanka. But no sooner had the dust settled on the Wellington Test then he was being asked about the tour of Zimbabwe in August.”If the information that I read suggests it’s not wise to go and that will make a difference, then that’s something I’ll consider,” Fleming told reporters, hinting that it is far from certain that he will make the trip. “Like the other players I’ll be reading a lot, watching the situation closely and trying to educate myself on what impact the tour will have. The players will take a lot of care over the decision and make sure it’s the right one in their mind for the right reasons.”But while the Zimbabwe tour will take centre stage in the coming weeks, yesterday Fleming was happy to dwell on a rare success. “It’s a special victory about coming back from the canvas to get some perspective on the whole summer,” he explained. “That was the goal of this series and it was rewarding. It was special for the young guys who have only experienced Test defeats. We were just happy to be in a commanding position and enjoying the fact we had a team under pressure for once this summer … we’d been under the pump for so long we forget how to enjoy the game. This game we made a pact to enjoy it and that shone through today. It was a pretty flat wicket. It was a good effort to bowl them out in a day’s play.”Fleming will be flying to England to join Nottinghamshire in the next few days.
On behalf of the family of David Hookes, the South Australian CricketAssociation (SACA) can confirm that a public funeral service tocelebrate the life of David Hookes will be held at the Adelaide Oval at11am on Tuesday, January 27.The Clarrie Grimmett (northern) gates and Phil Ridings (southern) gatesto Adelaide Oval will be open for public access from 10am.Seating for the public will be available in the Bradman stand and thewestern grandstands, with reserved seating for family, friends anddignitaries in the George Giffen stand.The Adelaide City Council have made the Pinky Flat and northern AdelaideOval carparks available to the public at no charge. Both carparks willbe accessible from 8am on Tuesday.The public are encouraged to attend what will be a fitting celebrationof the extraordinary life of David Hookes.
BRISBANE, Jan 21 AAP – Makeshift opener Clinton Perren completed an eight-hour assault on South Australia today as Queensland surged towards its fifth consecutive victory of the Pura Cup season.Perren unleashed a career-high 224, filling the opening spot vacated by Australian one-day batsman Jimmy Maher, to fling the Redbacks on to death row heading into tomorrow’s final day at the Gabba.The visitors will resume at 2-46 in their second innings, chasing 409 for victory, with captain Greg Blewett (21 not out) the main hope as he chases his third century in as many first-class matches at the Gabba.The Redbacks must match the patience of Perren, who crashed the tenth highest score by a Queenslander in an interstate match, as the Bulls rushed to 8-487 declared in their second innings.He faced 367 deliveries, hitting 33 boundaries as Wade Seccombe (70), James Hopes (39) and Lee Carseldine (37) helped Queensland overturn its 79-run first-innings deficit.Perren had resumed on 104 not out and celebrated the greatest day of his career when he carved Blewett to the backward point boundary to record his double-century, fulfilling a challenge set by his club teammate Maher earlier in the day.”Jimmy sent me a text message this morning asking if I’d ever scored a double century before,” Perren said.”I really hadn’t thought about it before that because I was only thinking it was nice to turn up to a match going out to bat on 104.”I’ve got a few messages from him since and it was pretty exciting to get 200 because I’d only got one double before, back when I was about 16 or 17.”Perren was a reluctant opener, hardly jumping at the prospect of replacing Maher when selectors asked him last Saturday.But he has booked himself into the opening role for the rest of the season as Queensland makes an ominous move towards its fourth consecutive Pura Cup title, eyeing a six-point lead if it wins tomorrow.They may be without Michael Kasprowicz tomorrow after the pace spearhead left the field with a calf-muscle spasm after bowling just two overs in the Redbacks’ second innings.But Queensland still inflicted wounds on the Redbacks. Joe Dawes (1-19) claimed the wicket of Ben Johnson (seven) while Adam Dale dismissed David Fitzgerald for a 34-ball duck.It completed a miserable day for Fitzgerald, who grassed a tough chance from Perren on 117.The Bulls were reminded of the value of Blewett’s wicket when the former Test opener smacked four boundaries in the final overs to limit the damage for the Redbacks.Ben Higgins finished 13 not out, joining 18-year-old debutant Mark Cosgrove as the men who must help Blewett fend off the Bulls tomorrow.The Redbacks need an outright victory to boost their hopes of overhauling frontrunners Queensland and Victoria in the race for a final berth.
Yorkshire Phoenix ended a run of three consecutive defeats in Division One of the Norwich Union League by gaining a 16-run victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks who are still searching for their first win after five outings.Craig White gave England hope that he will be fully fit again for the battle for the Ashes by working up his fastest pace since suffering his back injury and he weighed in with three for 30 off nine hostile overs in which he was unfortunate not to pick up more wickets.The England all-rounder was well supported by Chris Silverwood who returned to the Yorkshire side after a groin strain and snatched three for 28 and it was his two wickets in one over that put Yorkshire in command after Northants had needed 40 from the last five overs with six wickets still standing.Northants were well served by Russell Warren and Alec Swann who both knocked up 54 before being dismissed by Matthew Hoggard but the strike bowler was nowhere near his best form and had earlier been removed from the attack when his opening two overs cost 17 runs.Warren’s runs were made from 86 balls with four fours while Swann required only 65 deliveries, striking three fours and a six.Put in to bat, Yorkshire made a rapid start with 44 coming off the first seven overs before spinner Jason Brown grabbed three wickets in nine consecutive overs which cost him only 23 runs.Skipper David Byas held firm, however, and went on to make 52 off 93 balls with seven boundaries before having his off-stump uprooted by Tony Penberthy.Yorkshire continued to be put under severe pressure until Richard Blakey and Silverwood broke free while dashing up 49 together off the last five overs.They hammered 16 runs – Yorkshire’s winning margin – in the final over from Darren Cousins, Silverwood ending unbeaten on 27 from 20 balls with two sixes and two fours, and Blakey having three boundaries in his 26 not out from 27 deliveries.
West Ham United star Jarrod Bowen could miss both legs of the Hammers’ Europa League quarter-final against French side Lyon, with the 25-year-old’s injury worse than initially believed.
What’s the latest?
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the Englishman’s injury is ‘worse than first feared’ after fracturing a bone in his foot against Liverpool earlier this month.
West Ham had confirmed that the winger suffered ‘no significant damage’ following the injury on 6 March but it now appears as though Bowen will have to spend more time on the sidelines.
Supporters will be gutted
Having scored 12 goals and assisted 11 in 39 appearances this season, the Englishman is certainly up there as a seriously strong contender for West Ham’s player of the year.
This campaign has seen the 25-year-old playmaker develop excellently, building on last season’s tally of eight goals and six assists.
In fact, it was recently revealed to The Athletic by David Moyes that Bowen looked likely to have received his first-ever senior England call-up had he not sustained his injury.
The Scotsman said: “I hope we’ve got England internationals (at West Ham). We’ve got Declan Rice at the moment. With a bit of luck we might have had Jarrod Bowen if it hadn’t been for injury.”
Whilst his record in front of goal is his best in claret and blue to date with two months left of the season, most of those goals have come in 2022.
Since the turn of the year, Bowen’s form has been electric, scoring seven and assisting one in all competitions.
The major concern for Moyes and the West Ham faithful will be how much longer they’re going to be without their best goal output for with vital games fast approaching after the international break.
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Michail Antonio hasn’t scored in the Premier League since New Year’s Day whilst Pablo Fornals has two goals in his last 17 league appearances and Said Benrahma scoring once in his last seven.
With the race for a top-six finish still very much on and a Europa League quarter-final still to contest, the Hammers will be desperate to have their talisman back in contention as soon as possible as it could cost them a place in Europe next season.
In other news – Imagine him and Antonio: West Ham must land £18m-rated “weapon” likened to Beckham
Shane Watson is not concerned at overburdening his injury-prone body despite increasing his workload with extra cricket commitments during the off-season. Watson has signed up for a Twenty20 stint with Hampshire and he is hoping to be part of the Indian Premier League, which kicks off next month.His fitness worries continued this season with further hamstring problems, the latest of which occurred during a four-day game in late January. He did manage seven Pura Cup appearances, although he has had no international action since the ICC World Twenty20 in September.Watson said the best way to put his injuries behind him was to keep playing as much cricket as possible. “I’m probably most excited about the prospects of continuing to play some cricket,” Watson said. “I’ve enjoyed the past month or so with Queensland and would like to keep that going.”I’ve missed a fair bit over the past two seasons so I’m keen to keep playing for as long as I can during the off-season. Hopefully all going to plan, I can play in the IPL, head off to Hampshire and then have a break before enjoying a good pre-season with the Bulls.”His Hampshire stint is locked in and he is set to be part of the second IPL auction, to take place on Tuesday in Mumbai. Watson will be joined in the sale by his Queensland team-mate James Hopes, who says playing in the Twenty20 tournament would give his cricket a boost.”It can’t help but make you a better player, especially with the quality of teams they seem to be assembling,” Hopes said. “Hopefully there’s a spot somewhere for me.”
Andy Moles has been rewarded for helping Northern Districts win the State Championship in his first season as coach, earning a one-year extension that will mean he leads the side until the end of 2008-09. Moles, the former Warwickshire batsman who has also coached Kenya and Scotland, guided Northern Districts to their first title since 1999-2000.”I’m very pleased with how this year has gone and more importantly with the way the players have interacted with me,” Moles told the . “I guess this is the reward for what they see as someone who can mould the team into a consistent outfit.”Despite the team’s success – before 2006-07 it had only won the title four times in the competition’s history – Moles knows the first-class improvement needs to flow through to the limited-overs game. In the State Shield, Northern Districts finished fourth with only four wins from ten matches.”Our one-day form was very poor,” Moles said. “The way we played the game was a bit naive. We’ll be looking to implement a different game plan next year where we’re a lot more proactive and positive.”David Cooper, the side’s chief executive, said Moles had been outstanding in the first season of his initial two-year contract. “It was a decision that was a pretty easy one for us to sign him for another year,” Cooper said. “The signs are good for the team and where they’re heading and what he has done with the group. We’re looking forward to the seasons ahead.”