Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, says that the inexperienced one-day side must be given time to develop. England, after drawing the Test series in India, are trailing 0-3 in the one-day series with four games to play. “From our point of view it’s been quite a difficult series,” Fletcher told BBC Radio Five Live. “People must be a little bit patient with this squad. On Monday, there were six changes from the side which played very successfully against Australia.”England are without Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Ashley Giles. Kevin Pietersen missed the third ODI at Goa because of a stomach bug.”It makes it more difficult for the younger players, who don’t have that experience, to come in and perform,” said Fletcher. “When you look at the Indian side there’s quite a few players who have played over 100 games – we haven’t got one player who’s played 100 games. It shows you they are a very experienced side.”It’s very important that these players do learn and I think this series is a good experience for some of them. As long as we learn from our mistakes – and we’re going to make mistakes – it can only do them good for the future. We’ve still got a chance. There are four games to go and I still believe we have a positive attitude.”
Scorecard Anthony McGrath’s dominant unbeaten 165 helped Yorkshire to chase an unlikely 404 and pull off a dramatic victory against Leicestershire at Grace Road with six wickets to spare. In completing their mission improbable, Yorkshire posted their highest-ever fourth-innings score to win a match. It also gave them their third win in four matches. A confident Leicestershire had declared on the third day at 267 for 9, but an opening stand of 94 between Matthew Wood and Phil Jaques set up what was, in the end, a comfortable win. The openers fell within six runs of each other, but McGrath went on to add 84 with Michael Vaughan for the third wicket and 133 with Ian Harvey for the fourth as Yorkshire coasted home in style. McGrath’s epic innings came from just 218 balls and included 20 fours. Scorecard Graeme Hick launched a boundary blitz on the Derbyshire attack to speed Worcestershire to their target in less than 17 overs on the final morning. Hick blasted 62 from 48 balls with 13 fours, adding 96 with Stephen Moore as Worcestershire, claimed a full-points victory. Ian Hunter dismissed Stephen Peters early but that was the lone success for Derbyshire as their miserable start to the season continues. Reducing Worcestershire to 151 for six on the first day will now be a distant memory. It is difficult to see anything other than more struggles ahead unless the batsmen can build significant innings and give their attack something to bowl at. Scorecard A career-best 195 from Alastair Cook and an unbeaten 142 from Andy Flower guided Essex to a draw against Northants. Cook further enhanced his blossoming reputation with his eight-and-a-half hour innings, striking 27 fours, before he was caught by Martin Love off Ben Phillips. When Ronnie Irani fell quickly Northants still had hopes of running through the lower-order. But James Foster provided solid support as Flower remained steadfast. Flower’s century took 209 balls, so his last 42 runs took 121 deliveries, but his job was to save the match for Essex. They had been completely outplayed over the first two days but showed admirable fight qualities and will be stronger when Darren Gough and Alex Tudor return. Northants will feel they missed an opportunity, but the pitch was very good for batting, and although the bowling attack persevered it did not have the strike power to dismiss Essex twice.
Barbados 285 and 372 beat Trinidad & Tobago 265 and 146 by 246 runs Scorecard Champions Barbados completed their seventh straight victory, crushing Trinidad & Tobago by 246 runs at Pointe-a-Pierre. T&T, 60 for 4 overnight, subsided for 146 on the final day, with only Gibran Mohammed, their wicketkeeper, holding Barbados up for long with an undefeated 39. Daren Ganga, the T&T captain, didn’t add to his overnight 16 before falling lbw to Fidel Edwards, and Edwards ended some last-wicket fun from Marlon Black, who clubbed 16, by having him caught behind to finish with 4 for 48.Close 3rd day Leeward Islands 190 and 76 for 1 need another 329 runs to beat Jamaica 200 and 394 for 3 (Gayle 219, Lambert 60*) Scorecard Chris Gayle clattered 219 at St. Elizabeth and Jamaica raced to 394 for 3 at almost four runs per over. Maurice Kepple and Tamar Lambert helped themselves to half-centuries and Leeward Islands were set 405 for victory. They began their chase solidly, and were 76 for 1 at stumps with Wilden Cornwall unbeaten on 42.Close 3rd day Kenya 139 (Patel 59, M Nagamootoo 5-45) and 172 for 7 (K Otieno 70) trail Guyana 444 by 131 runs Scorecard Kenya found themselves in a deep hole at Georgetown, as they crumbled to 172 for 7 after being asked to follow-on. They had collapsed in the first innings too, in the face of some fine legspin by Mahendra Nagamootoo. Beginning the third day 104 for 5, the Kenyan lower order didn’t offer any resistance. None of the last five batsmen reached double figures and Kenya followed on, still 305 runs in arrears. Kennedy Otieno anchored the innings with a fine 70 and Hitesh Modi chipped in with 44. But the rest didn’t improve on their first-innings efforts with Neil McGarrell, the left-arm spinner, snaring three wickets. Nagamootoo finished with 2 for 37 and only the final rites remained at the close of play.Close 3rd day West Indies B 197 and 175 for 6 (Richards 59) trail Windward Islands 427 (Smith 154, Sammy 61) by 55 runs Scorecard Windward Islands were in a comfortable position at Grenada, as West Indies B were battling for survival. Having secured a 230-run lead, Windward Islands consolidated their position by reducing their opponents to 175 for 6 at stumps on the third day. Fernix Thomas (3 for 19) and Darren Sammy (2 for 31), the two opening bowlers, took all five wickets between them, as only Austin Richards passed the 25-run mark. All the other batsmen managed starts, but couldn’t kick on to a big score. Earlier in the day, Sammy had impressed with the bat with his 61 proving vital in propping up the Windward Island’s total. He got good support from Rawl Lewis (45) and Lindon James (36). Kenroy Williams was the most successful of the West Indies B bowlers and finished with 3 for 86.
Pakistan wicket-keeper Rashid Latif celebrated his inclusion in the World Cup squad by snapping up four catches as Allied Bank Limited (ABL) dominated the opening day’s play in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Group-II match against Karachi Whites.After being sent bat by Rashid, the ABL skipper, Karachi Whites failed to capitalised on a solid start provided by openers Agha Sabir and Maisam Hasnain on a placid track at the National Stadium.The reigning champions eventually capitulated for 195 in their first innings with former Test pacer Aqib Javed taking four for 51.The bankers then reached 70 for two in 14 overs at stumps with Bilal Asad (39) and night-watchman Arshad Khan (3) at the crease.Play was held up for 36 minutes in the first session by poor light after the match started in overcast conditions. But the time lost was covered up after tea in bright sunshine.Skipper Maisam and Sabir did quite well and almost survived the opening session against the pace trio of Aqib Javed, Tanvir Ahmed and Ata-ur-Rehman.Aqib struck on the stroke of lunch when he induced Sabir (27) to edge a delivery to Rashid with the total on 61. Soon after the break, Aqib trapped Wasim Naeem in front for four.Maisam also perished when he fell to off-spin of Arshad for 31.Asim Kamal, the dusky left-hander, batted doggedly for 147 minutes to top-score with a 108-ball 32.In between, Mohammad Masroor played some spanking strokes to score 27 off 38 balls before he was magnificently held by Rashid, diving low to right in front of first slip. Two balls later in the same over, Tanvir clean bowled Fahadullah for a duck. Thereafter, wickets fell at regular intervals. Aqib was ably assisted by by Tanvir who captured three for 53 and Ata, another ex-Test man, two for 45.ScoreboardKARACHI WHITES (1st Innings):Agha Sabir c Rashid b Aqib 27Maisam Hasnain c Wajahat b Arshad 31Wasim Naeem lbw b Aqib 4Asim Kamal c Rashid b Ata 32M. Masroor c Rashid b Tanvir 27Fahadullah b Tanvir 0Amin-ur-Rehman lbw b Tanvir 15Tahir Khan c Ata b Aqib 15Rizwan Saeed lbw b Ata 13Owais Athar not out 1Nasir Khan c Rashid b Aqib 5EXTRAS (B-4, LB-9, W-1, NB-11) 25TOTAL (all out, 57.3 overs) 195FALL OF WKTS: 1-61, 2-67, 3-81, 4-120, 5-120, 6-152, 7-167,8-181, 9-189.BOWLING: Aqib Javed 17.3-3-51-4 (5nb); Tanvir Ahmed 18-4-53-3;Ata-ur-Rehman 12-3-45-2 (6nb, 1w); Arshad Khan 10-2-33-1.ALLIED BANK (1st Innings):Usman Tariq lbw b Owais 5Bilal Asad not out 39Wajahatullah Wasti b Rizwan 16Arshad Khan not out 3EXTRAS (LB-2, W-2, NB-3) 7TOTAL (for two wkts, 14 overs) 70FALL OF WKTS: 1-17, 2-65.TO BAT: Naved Latif, Ijaz Ahmed Jr, Aamir Hanif, Rashid Latif,Tanvir Ahmed, Ata-ur-Rehman, Aqib Javed.BOWLING (to-date): Nasir Khan 6-0-26-0 (2w);Owais Athar 6-0-24-1 (1nb); Rizwan Saeed 2-0-18-1 (2nb).Summarised scores of other Group-II matches:*At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan:PAK PWD 270-6 (Afsar Nawaz 116 not out,Riaz Shaikh 88 not out; Azhar Abbas 4-73) v MULTAN.*Bahawalpur Stadium, Bahawalpur:BAHAWALPUR 241 (Bilal Rana 65, Hasnain Raza 43, Maqsood Akbar 32, Ahsan Raza 31; Rizwan Ahmed 6-88, Athar Laeeq 4-58) v DADU.
A medical expert has now dropped some more injury news for Everton involving Yerry Mina.
The Lowdown: Townsend joins injury list
Andros Townsend has now joined the Goodison Park faithful’s injury list alongside Mina, as he will miss the rest of the season after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in the 4-0 loss away at Crystal Palace in the FA Cup over the weekend.
As for Mina, Frank Lampard told The Liverpool Echo last week that the Colombia international is still ‘a few weeks away at best’.
The Latest: Dinnery on Mina
Speaking to Football Insider, Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis, has claimed that Mina should be starting light work next month, as he looks to recover from his injury:
“Mina’s place in that Everton team cannot be understated.
“All of the data shows that when he plays, they get more points. The issue is trying to keep him fit.
“He’s had only eight Premier League starts this season, only two this year, and only four since September.
“This latest setback came after return from another injury. So you ask, how do you manage this player?
“There are factors that will influence when he returns to play, such as the availability of Ben Godfrey, Mason Holgate, Michael Keane.
“Also, where Everton are in the table in two or three games time. If they get a couple of wins, that can change the complexion.
“Light work for Yerry Mina won’t be far away, maybe mid to late-April. But other factors come into consideration when deciding when he can play again.“
The Verdict: Worrying
These are certainly worrying times for the Merseyside club, given Townsend’s latest injury, on top of Mina potentially not returning to training until the end of next month.
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Of course, the central defender will not be ready to play games straight away, and Frank Lampard’s team will only have four matches left, plus any rescheduled fixtures, by the time May comes.
There is no doubt that they are a better side when he is in it, as four of the Blues’ seven wins in the Premier League have come when he is playing, and the fact that he was missing in the 5-0 drubbing away at Tottenham Hotspur, after which Jamie Carragher called the defence a ‘Championship back four’, says a lot for his credentials.
Nonetheless, Lampard will just want him back fully fit for their last few fixtures.
In other news, find out who has now joined the EFC mass exodus here!
Richie Richardson, the former West Indies captain, has backed Ramnaresh Sarwan to return as captain for the forthcoming home series against Sri Lanka and Australia, instead of stand-in captain Chris Gayle.”From way back, even when Shivnarine Chanderpaul was there, Sarwan was my man,” Richardson told the , a Barbados daily. “There is something about him that I like. He has the demeanour, the approach and I think he commands respect.”Sarwan, who was groomed for the job from the time he was appointed vice-captain in 2003, succeeded Brian Lara as West Indies captain before last year’s tour of England. When he was afflicted with recent injuries, Gayle took over and was able to inspire the team to a one-day series win against England and a maiden Test win on South African soil, prompting many observers to favour him for the job when Sarwan returns.”Gayle seems to be a different person when he assumes the role as captain of West Indies,” Richardson said. “For some reason he was able to get a response out of the bowlers in particular.”I’m sure whoever they choose as captain, it doesn’t matter as long as the team rallies around that individual and that individual goes out there, leads from the front, gets the guys together and tries to get the team to play better.”Nobody knows who is the ideal person, but at the end of the day, if we have support for whoever is captain, the team will perform better. I would go for Sarwan. If they remain with Gayle, I wouldn’t have a problem with that.”Richardson, one of 14 legends sitting on the Stanford 20-20 board of directors, is however not convinced that the team will be a force to reckon with until there are changes to the set up in the region. Among the things he wants to see are proper development programmes, a serious focus on youth cricket and a new culture in West Indies cricket.”We’re very fickle in the Caribbean. We all want success. As soon as there is a little success, we tend to get carried away. I’m always one to look way down the road. If you win a few matches, that’s not it. It’s how well prepared you are and how solid your foundation is to take you into the future.”It is important to get results, but it is more important to put a plan in place, invest in players and try and create a foundation that will propel our cricket way into the future.”
In the shape of Ashish Bagai, Canada can at least point to having at least one player who isn’t the wrong side of 40. The 25-year-old New Delhi-born, batsman-wicketkeeper will be at the peak of his powers in the Caribbean and will be crucial if Canada are to have even the slightest hope of being one of the two teams from Group C to qualify for the second round. They could probably give Kenya a game but no-one is backing them to defeat England or New Zealand.Bagai is one of the survivors from the 2003 World Cup in South Africa where he played in the 60-run victory over Bangladesh in Durban. He made just seven with the bat that day but took three catches to dismiss three of the top four Bangladesh batsmen to help set his country on its way.He has now played 24 ODIs making 701 runs for an average of 35 and a top score of 137 not out which he hit in the recent World Cricket League in Kenya where he was named man of the tournament. He finished that six-nation competition with two centuries and a fifty and an average of 86.25That kind of performance has pushed him up the pecking order and he is now vice-captain to John Davison. “It was a great thrill for me to win the [player of the tournament] award,” said Bagai. “I am really psyched and it is great for my confidence ahead of the World Cup. I had no idea I had won the man of the tournament. David [Obuya of Kenya] and William [Porterfield of Ireland] did very well. I knew I was close but those guys had great tournaments too.”With attentions now turning towards the World Cup, Bagai said he could not be happier with his preparations. “It has been perfect. I was at the winter training camp in Pretoria [late last year). That was perfect for me – I really felt I improved. And then we had a hard-fought ODI series in Mombasa and then the World Cricket League. It has been ideal preparation.”Bagai also has courage. At the ICC Trophy in 2001, he played a major role in the last-over win against the UAE despite spending a night in hospital after being hit in the face with the ball.
Once upon a time A teams used to serve as a feeder for international squads. The trends these days, however, show a reverse. Be that as it may, the forthcoming series of two unofficial Tests and three ODIs between West Indies A and England A is of major significance for everyone involved.When these two teams first met in a series of this kind in 1992, both squads comprised a seasoned professional as captain, a few others with international experience and mainly young, promising players on the verge of international recognition.Fourteen years later, the teams that have assembled in Antigua include familiar faces that have already played for the senior West Indies and England teams, but are now out of favour and are given a chance to re-establish their credentials.The West Indies A of 1992 included Courtney Walsh, a seasoned Test player as captain and three others with international experience – Carlisle Best, Clayton Lambert and Tony Gray. Nine of the 13 had not yet played Test cricket and seven of them – Jimmy Adams, Roland Holder, Junior Murray, Kenny Benjamin, Ottis Gibson, Robert Samuels and Nehemiah Perry – would later graduate to the international ranks.It’s the opposite this time around. Eight of the 13 – captain Sylvester Joseph, Narsingh Deonarine, Ryan Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh, Dave Mohammed, Tino Best and Jermaine Lawson – have had more than one crack at the higher level. Of the remaining five, three – Lendl Simmons, Sewnarine Chattergoon and Richard Kelly – have already worn West Indies A shirts, and only two – Dale Richards and Andrew Richardson, are newcomers to this level. It’s a similar comparison for their opponents.The visitors’ 14-man squad here includes nine players with international experience – captain Vikram Solanki, Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Rikki Clarke, Sajid Mahmood, Chris Read, Owais Shah, Alax Wharf – and there would have been a tenth had Ian Blackwell not been summoned to join the seniors in India.In 1992, the England A contained nine who had no international experience, six of whom went on to play Test cricket, while six had come to the Caribbean with senior England caps.The West Indies A team that toured Sri Lanka last summer also included 13 players who had the “benefit” of international exposure.The reasons for the reversal of trends are obvious. The quality of talent these days is hardly much to shout about, and perhaps there isn’t a lot of difference between those here and those in New Zealand with the senior West Indies team. Players hardly perform to maintain a settled place in the West Indies team and the end result is a rotation of personnel in what can be summed up as musical chairs.Case in point. Tino Best, who was a member of West Indies A teams of 2002 and 2005, graduated into the senior team in 2003 on the back of his outstanding regional season the same year. Dropped after a solitary Test, he gained few more opportunities and once more found himself in the A team ranks last July.The dispute between the leading players and the administrators led him being drafted in for the senior tour of Sri Lanka and he retained his place to Australia later in the year. Dropped by Barbados, the West Indies selectors ignored him for New Zealand, but he has another chance to show his mettle.Given the trends, it won’t be surprising if Best is back in the reckoning for the home series against India in June, and someone in New Zealand now, maybe Jerome Taylor, finds himself in the A team for the series against Sri Lanka A that coincides with India’s visit to the Caribbean.Best’s case is almost mirrored by fellow fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, who will also be embarking on a third stint with the A team. It is also a third chance for Lendl Simmons, who is still only 21, but has not exactly fulfilled the promise selectors saw in him when they sent him on the 2002 tour to England as a 17-year-old.In the circumstances where we’ve merely reshuffled the pack, the selectors have not been afforded a chance to introduce new young talent. Hence, no room for someone like Alcindo Holder, who expertly hit three half-centuries in his first first-class outing for Barbados or someone like 20-year-old Kittitian Steve Liburd, who made two half-centuries in his first two matches. Ryan Austin, whose 22 wickets were the joint third highest in this season’s Carib Beer Cup – has also been unrewarded.Having said that, the 13 in the West Indies A and their England rivals, have everything to play for in the coming weeks.
Dolphins 413 for 4 (Amla 177*, Kent 68*, Mall 66) leadEagles 334 by 79 runsScorecardA career-best 177 from Dolphins captain Hashim Amla put his team into afavourable position at the end of the third day of the SuperSport Seriesfinal against the Eagles at Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein on Saturday.Amla and Dale Benkenstein resumed for the Dolphins on 215 for 3 and, with the pitch easing up and the ball coming on to the bat, the batting conditions were ideal for the team to post a big first innings lead. Benkenstein was caught behind for 38 off the bowling of Victor Mpitsang in the tenth over of the morning: the only wicket to fall in the day as rain brought a premature end to the proceedings.During the 64 overs that were possible, Amla and Jon Kent took fulladvantage of the conditions to put on 171 runs for the fifth wicket withAmla going past his career best of 159 to end undefeated on 177. His 24boundaries off 374 deliveries showed that he has the temperament for thelonger version of the game. Kent scored his fourth half-century of the series off 118 balls as the two batted through to the early end of play.The Dolphins now lead the Eagles by 79 runs with six wickets in hand andstill two days of play remaining. Lifting the run rate should be theprime objective of the remaining batsmen with a result still firmly onthe cards.