Matthew Hayden is proud of the way his team sticks together after Lou Vincent’s claims that Australian players are arrogant sledgers who “hunt like a pack of dogs”. “If he considers that to be the case, I’m not unhappy about it, to be honest,” Hayden said in Brisbane.”Regardless of what Lou says, it’s water off a duck’s back as far as Australia is concerned.” Hayden, who scored 117 against New Zealand on Sunday, said the comments reflected the competitive nature of Australian athletes.”It’s doesn’t matter what sport … we could be playing kick a cockroach from here to the wall and we’d want to be competitive,” he said. “In the heat of the battle New Zealand and Australia is one of the finest competitions you can play. They’re in our country and we’re very excited about the way we’re playing and we’re working exceptionally hard to what is ahead of us.”Hayden said one of the strengths of the Australian team was that they stuck together on the field. “We’ve had that mentality for as long as I can ever remember and it’s served us well,” he said. “We’ve been motivated by the fact we were under pressure, motivated by the fact that we needed to perform … we’re very proud of the fact that we stick by each other.”
With the 2007 World Cup a little more than a year away, both New Zealand and Sri Lanka have an eye on future targets going into the third one-day international at Wellington on Friday. For John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, the objective is to develop depth ahead of next year’s World Cup while the desperately out-of-form Sri Lankans would look to team up with a sports psychologist for much-needed mental analysis.The Sri Lankans are still struggling for self-belief after coming to New Zealand off a 1-6 hiding in India, and they have turned to Sandy Gordon, the South African sports psychologist, for help. Gordon will spend time with the team when they arrive in Australia next week to prepare for the tri-nations series there.”We’ve let ourselves down with some bad basics,” Marvan Atapattu, the Sri Lankan captain, said. “It’s a matter of winning one game. We are better than this and if we can win the whole thing changes.”From the New Zealand squad which won the second match at Christchurch, Nathan Astle has been dropped to make way for returning captain Stephen Fleming, while Jeetan Patel, the offspinner, has been brought in for James Franklin, the fast bowler.The surprising decision to drop Astle, New Zealand’s most successful one-day batsman who ground his way out of a batting slump with an unbeaten 90 on Tuesday, was part of the “squad mentality”, according to Bracewell. Heading towards the 2007 World Cup, player development across all positions took precedence over the individual.”They’re always tough decisions, but we need a squad mentality and I want to continue with the long-term planning towards the World Cup, which is developing a strong competitive squad in all positions,” Bracewell said.Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket has announced their team for the third National Bank series match against Sri Lanka at Wellington.New Zealand squad Stephen Fleming (capt), Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Jamie How, Hamish Marshall, Brendon McCullum (wk), Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Lou Vincent .
Richie Richardson, the former West Indian captain, has slammed the West Indies Cricket Board for failing to resolve the ongoing sponsorship dispute, and said it was time for business-minded individuals to take over the administration of West Indies cricket.Referring to the board’s decision to sack seven senior players, including Brian Lara, Richardson told , “I am not totally surprised, but I am really disappointed. It’s really sad. For some of our best players to be fit and not be represented on the West Indies team, is very disappointing and very disturbing.”Teddy Griffith, the board’s president, announced last week that sevenplayers, including Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle, would not be considered for selection for the forthcoming series against South Africa and Pakistan, owing to their individual sponsorship deals with Cable & Wireless, a rival of the board’s current sponsor Digicel.Richardson said that the board should have settled the issues a long time ago.”For these things to happen, I think it is really poor. We should be focussing on trying to make sure that West Indies cricket is returned to what it was some time ago and not to be making silly mistakes and having fights between the board and players. It’s just going to make things even worse.”This issue first cropped up in December last year, and has not been properly resolved since. “We’ve had a number of problems over the years, and the game has advanced and we have remained stagnant, if not retrogressed,” Richardson continued. “I believe the best thing for West Indies cricket right now is to give somebody who has serious money and who is a serious businessman and who is willing to invest in West Indies cricket and restore it. The biggest downfall in West Indies cricket is the administration.”I was frustrated with a lot of things as West Indies captain,” added Richardson, who led them in 24 Tests. “I just thought when are we going to start realising that everybody is changing and we have got to move with the times?” He also said that the board never respected the players, even dating back to the era of Clive Lloyd, and that “We got the impression then that all that we could do was to play cricket.”Richardson stressed that the game was bigger than everybody, and all that were involved in the current dispute needed to “come together and resolve this”.
Sri Lanka A 192 for 4 (Jayawardene 76, Nawaz 72*) and 244 (Herath 51, Bhandari 6-55) lead India A 369 (Gavaskar 60, Kaif 53, Badani 50, Herath 6-89) by 67 runs Prasanna Jayawardene and Naveed Nawaz made vital contributions as Sri Lanka A clawed back into the game against India A on the third day. India A added 65 more runs in the morning session, largely due to a plucky 42 by Ramesh Powar, before they were bowled out for 369. Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner, was the chief destroyer with 6 for 89.Both Jayawardene and Nawaz had fallen cheaply in the first innings, but they rescued their team from a precarious situation (49 for 2) by putting on 94 runs for the third wicket. Jayawardene hit nine boundaries, while Nawaz’s innings included four boundaries and a six. However, Jayawardene fell 24 runs short of a century when he was bowled by Ramesh Powar. Nawaz remained unbeaten at the end of the day and received good support from Thilina Kandamby, who hung on for more than an hour.Rohan Gavaskar(60) was the top scorer for India A, and Mohammad Kaif and Hemang Badani chipped in with useful fifties. Ramesh Powar ensured some late-innings impetus with a 61-ball 42, which included six boundaries. But Herath took the last three wickets and finished with six overall. He had also hit a fifty in the first innings, a useful contribution when his team was struggling.
New Zealand has been designated Middle Earth as a result of the release of the first film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but it is the middle ground the CLEAR Black Caps are seeking in the National Bank Series decider against England in Dunedin tomorrow.New Zealand have proven great starters in one-day series, both in Australia and at home this summer.England have been great finishers in India and in New Zealand.
NathanAstle Photo Photosport
But the home team are looking for the recovery that will see them repeat a series victory in Dunedin, just as they did in a high-scoring contest against Pakistan last summer.However, looking to the local conditions is not likely to be sufficient on its own.New Zealand has had serious batting problems exposed, especially with Nathan Astle being taken out of the batting equation by his own fault or through decisions against him. However, all the batsmen go under the microscope tomorrow after a run of poor performances.Conditions should favour the batsmen and while batting first has to be the main consideration on such a good pitch, the fact remains that New Zealand did win after an outstanding 280-plus run chase last year.That sort of score will not be to the fore this year given the nature of the lower scores since the bouncer law came into effect, but the game still has the potential to be the highest scoring encounter of the series.New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming ruled out opening the innings as he did last year.The batsmen had been selected as openers and that was their role. Fleming’s job was to get the majority of runs on the board and said he would be doing that in the middle-order.He hinted that New Zealand would retain the same 11 as in Auckland, meaning Brendon McCullum will bat on his home ground with Ian Butler again 12th man.Fleming said the instructions for the batsmen were simple: “It’s a fine line between being aggressive and being reckless and we spent too much time in the reckless zone.”What I’m asking for, and looking for, as a batting unit is that you are getting one or two performances, or half performances but you’re getting nothing else, so it’s all or nothing. And it’s not one, two or three players, it’s one or nothing.”What we’ve got to get is contributions. If a guy is having his day you have got to get guys supporting that with 30, 40 or 50 while he goes on to get 80-100. That’s how you get the big scores and that’s when you see (Chris) Cairns, (Chris) Harris and (Andre) Adams come in and finish the innings,” he said.
MatthewHoggard Photo Photosport
England had been bowling very well at the top of the innings and Matthew Hoggard had produced two especially impressive opening spells.”There’s a fine line between giving them respect and taking the initiative, that’s what the guys at the top and the guys through the middle have to assess,” he said.Having another dasher of a batsman in McCullum at the top of the order was a case of trying to extend the strike rate.It didn’t use many more overs, but it did require a higher risk rate.”That is what we are trying to do, create a longer period of the ability to get a strike rate,” he said.Fleming was also looking to take impetus from the Carisbrook crowd.”It’s a good crowd, a great crowd. We enjoy it, they are very loud. These are our people. It’s like Auckland. That’s why we were so disappointed. It’s the first time we’ve ever played in front of a full house in Auckland and we wanted to win desperately.”It’s the same down here. We get a good crowd, they’re very passionate about it. We just want to do well, so we will tap into that if we can and play well and get them on our side,” he said.The weather forecast is for a fine day and the perfect finale to a 15-game campaign for the CLEAR Black Caps in which the overall count is six won, eight lost, and one to play.
When play commenced on day three of the Shell Trophy match at Molyneux Park, it was quite uncertain who held the advantage.True, Otago held a first innings lead of 78 and that Canterbury one wicket lost in their second innings for 41 had a little to make before getting into credit but that should not have extended them too much and both sides seemed to have an equal chance of victory.Canterbury started slowly but lost the nightwatchman Stephen Cunis early on and from that point never really got on top of a controlled Otago attack.Jarrod Englefield batted well for a professional like 66 and looks a player of the future. He with wicket-keeper Gareth Hopkins was the only Canterbury batsman to score over 50. Hopkins carried his bat for 51 and while he was at the crease Canterbury had a chance of giving Otago a larger total to chase.But, he ran out of partners and that, as they say, is that. Captain Gary Stead with 28 and Robbie Frew with 38 fought hard but both would have liked to have carried on. The Canterbury innings finished at 224.The Otago attack bowled in a heat of 34 degrees and looked weary towards the end of the Canterbury innings and it would have to be said they impressed with their resolve. O’Connor (3-51), McSkimming (2-56), McCullum (2-10) and Cumming (2-11) were the main wicket-takers. Acknowledgement should however be given to Pryor (1-48) and Sewell (0-32) who improved his line and length from his first innings stint.Horne handled his attack well and the fielding was steady. Martyn Croy behind the Otago stumps looked very competent with an outstanding catch to dismiss Robbie Frew.Otago commenced its second innings needing 147 for victory and a faint chance that this total may be reached today but reasonably accurate bowling by Canterbury and the early loss of Mark Richardson put paid to that situation.Matthew Horne and Craig Cumming batted through to stumps with the Otago total at 39-1, and still requiring 108 for its 55th victory over Canterbury in a first-class game.As long as the weather remains dry this should be achieved tomorrow.
Celtic correspondent Kieran Devlin has claimed that Jota should be back for the weekend after missing the Scottish Cup quarter-final through injury.
The Lowdown: Jota’s absence
Jota, who has been a regular for the majority of the campaign, missed seven games prior to the winter break due to injury and was missing from the Hoops squad again on Monday evening.
Ange Postecoglou’s side ran out 3-0 winners at Tannadice and will now face Rangers in the semi-final at Hampden Park, looking to take another step towards a domestic treble.
The Celtic manager, who labelled the Portuguese winger as ‘unbelievable’, said the 22-year-old was missing due to a knock, while Liel Abada also missed out due to illness.
The Latest: Devlin shares news
Devlin ran a Q&A on The Athletic ahead of Celtic’s clash with Dundee United on Monday.
He relayed news regarding Jota and Abada, posting that the pair should both be back for the visit of Ross County on Saturday.
“Abada and Jota should both be back for the weekend against Ross County it seems.”
The Verdict: Phew
Plenty of Celtic fans may have been extremely worried after not seeing Jota or Abada in the squad on Monday, so this update is a real relief.
Jota has looked extremely dangerous during his season-long loan, contributing to 18 goals in 29 games and creating 49 chances. [BBC]
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The Hoops need all their stars available as we enter the crunch stage of the season, so losing Jota for an extended period of time would have been a big blow. Thankfully, that is not the case, and we may see Jota running down the wing at Celtic Park once again this weekend.
In other news: ‘Hope it’s not true… ‘ – Celtic pundit fumes at ‘massive’ Parkhead news after insider’s reveal
9 Brett Lee Australia might have spluttered on a couple of levels,but there was no problem with their main bowler. BrettLee continued his fine form from the Sri Lankacampaign and collected back-to-back Man-of-the-Seriesawards. He has become a reliable performer since GlennMcGrath’s departure and added to his reputation with24 wickets at 22.58 and a victim every 46.7 balls.8.5 Andrew Symonds Was fortunate with numerous umpiring decisions, buttook full advantage with the bat to post 410 runs. Theundoubted highlight was the unbeaten 162 that tookAustralia through the trouble of 6 for 134 to thecomfort of 463 at the SCG. A couple of half-centuriesand nine wickets added significantly to his value.8 Matthew Hayden Like Glenn McGrath in the 2005 Ashes, Hayden was soimportant to the squad that Australia lost the game hemissed. The right thigh problem ruled him out of theWACA Test and interrupted his outstanding run of 124,47, 13 and 123. He returned for the final match with103 and finished with an average of 82.00. With AdamGilchrist departing, Hayden’s value has increasedagain.7 Michael Hussey The rise of Hussey has been so strong over the pastcouple of years that his series was quiet by hisEverest standards. Only one hundred – 145 not out inSydney – and his first zero, which came at a crucialtime with a poor shot in Perth, contributed to hisreturn of 292 runs at a mean of only 48.66. Heis a leading candidate for the vice-captaincy.Michael Clarke A mature 118 concluded his campaign in Adelaide, whichalso included second-innings fifties in Melbourne andPerth, but the most memorable moments came in hisdramatic final over at the SCG. With 12 balls to goAustralia wanted three wickets, but Clarke needed onlyfive to seal the success. He learned from his othermistakes in that match and will battle with Hussey tobecome Ponting’s deputy.6 Phil Jaques The only match where he didn’t make an importantcontribution was in the loss at the WACA, where bothopeners experienced double failures. A pair of fiftiesopened his series and he recovered from the Perthdisappointment to post a patient 60 in the final Test,confirming he has the attitude for a lengthyinternational career.Ricky Ponting A two-paced century in Adelaide allowed Ponting tofinish a difficult journey on a high. The sight ofHarbhajan Singh caused significant wobbles in theopening two Tests and Ponting became a target for histeam’s performance in Sydney. The loss in the thirdmatch added to his pain, but his side regained focusand worked hard for a draw to record a 2-1 result.Mitchell Johnson Ponting persevered with Johnson throughout and heresponded with 16 wickets that displayed his promise.He will need to show more penetration to prove he isworthy of a long-term appointment and will also hopeto correct a technical problem with his wrist positionat delivery. When given the chance, his batting waswildly impressive and, thanks to a couple of not outs,he was briefly averaging the same as Bradman.
5.5 Stuart Clark After starring since making his debut, Clark had aquieter series that wasn’t helped by him constantlybeing relegated to No. 3 on Ponting’s fast-bowlinglist. A haul of 4 for 28 in Melbourne seemed to sethim up for the rest of the contest, but apart fromanother four-victim collection in Perth he was unableto maintain his potency on pitches that didn’t help.Clark’s strike-rate of 62.5 was also well down on hiscareer mark of 49.9.4.5 Adam Gilchrist It was not the sort of series Gilchrist would havewished for in his final Test assignments. He dropped ahandful of catches – some easy, some hard – andmanaged only one half-century, albeit a crucial one asAustralia struggled in Perth. One of the misses inAdelaide told him he had to retire and the ovations hereceived will be recalled instead of his low outputwhenever this series comes up.3.5 Brad Hogg Showed good signs in his first three innings, takingtwo wickets in each, but failed when it mattered onthe final day in Sydney and Adelaide. Without hisdominance of Sourav Ganguly, who he dismissed fourtimes, Hogg’s series would have been even more barren,and his best contribution came with 79 under severepressure at the SCG. He will look forward to returningto his preferred one-day format.2 Shaun Tait The selectors finally gave in to the hype and playedfour fast men in Perth, a move that backfired for theteam and Tait. He delivered only 21 overs for thegame, which Australia lost by 72 runs, and did notcapture a wicket on a surface that suited a moretraditional line-up.Chris Rogers Picked for a home-ground debut when Hayden wasinjured, Rogers was unlucky with an lbw decision on 4in his first innings and looked comfortable in making15 in the second. Will be ready for a call wheneverHayden or Jaques slip in the future.
Brad Hodge’s bold declaration 117 runs behind ensured a thrilling final day at Melbourne as Jason Borgas helped South Australia extend their lead to 288. Hodge, who made 124 not out, conceded first-innings points in an effort to set up a fourth-innings chase but Borgas made sure Victoria’s task would remain a difficult one, steering the visitors to 5 for 171 at stumps.Borgas made 68 and showed South Australia’s trust in their new top order might be well-placed and Ben Cameron also displayed signs of his talent, reaching 32 not out at the close. But Bryce McGain and Andrew McDonald hampered the rest of the batsmen in their attempts to bat out of their collective slump. McGain’s 3 for 58 included Borgas, who was bowled, and the dangerous Mark Cosgrove for 19.Hodge and Hussey resumed at 2 for 191 and Hodge brought up his second Pura Cup century of the season. The pair’s 241-run partnership ended when Hussey was out for 131 but no other batsman reached double-figures and Hodge gambled on Victoria copying their successful fourth-innings chase against New South Wales.They overhauled the target of 360 at Sydney in a low-scoring match last week and should they pull off a similar victory against the Redbacks it could rocket them to the top of the Pura Cup table.
Chris Cairns requires just 80 runs to complete the unique double of 5000 one-day runs and 200 one-day wickets, and he has an ample opportunity to do so as the third one-day match against Sri Lanka begins at Wellington on Friday.Only Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis have recorded this feat, and Cairns has two opportunities remaining in the series to join them. He picked up his 200th ODI wicket when he dismissed Tillakaratne Dilshan in yesterday’s encounter at Jade Stadium in Christchurch, becoming only the second New Zealand cricketer to do so after Chris Harris.”We don’t have many guys that have got 300 hundred odd wickets in our game, so 200 is a pretty good haul,” Cairns said to the yesterday. “Even if you’ve been around the game for a long time you still need the confidence. Jacob (Oram) and I have a really important role when Kyle (Mills) and Shane (Bond) have been bowling particularly well and it’s important that we back them up, but we haven’t quite nailed it yet.”New Zealand have already won the series owing to their sole victory before the Boxing Day tsunami aborted the 2004 tour, but the remaining two matches give Cairns an ideal opportunity to knock the target off before the team’s month-long hiatus ahead of the tour to West Indies starting in late February.”I’ve never been one for setting milestones as such. I’ve been somebody who enjoys them when they come along rather than seeking them,” Cairns said. “It’s often when you sit down and reflect that you feel pretty chuffed with what you’ve down, so it’s nice to reach it. To get a further 80 odd runs to tie it in would be nice, but that’s a by-product of what I do.”