Richard Collins, a consultant surgeon at the East Kent NHS Trust, will be Kent’s president for 2005.Collins, 61, who has been Kent’s medical adviser for the last 19 years and a committee member since 1999, was delighted with the nomination: “I am very conscious of the very notable names who have preceded me and will do my utmost to do all I can to help the cause of Kent cricket.”Although he doesn’t have first-class playing experience, Collins enjoyed his club cricket, having represented Buckhurst Hill in the Essex League for 16 years, and he has been a full MCC member from 1968. Brian Luckhurst, the current president, will introduce Collins as his successor at the next AGM, in March.
Bangladesh have often been accused of throwing it away all too easily, but they showed enormous determination and resolve on the third day of the first Test at Karachi. First, the bowlers grabbed Pakistan’s last five wickets for just 45 runs, and then Bangladesh’s batsmen – led by Habibul Bashar again – ensured that they built on the good work. By the close Bangladesh had wiped out the 58-run first-innings deficit and scored 163 for 3, a lead of 105. If Pakistan expected a romp in the park, it certainly didn’t turn out that way.Dav Whatmore’s influence was obvious on a team which, so far in their international career, have shown little relish for a fight. Pakistan clearly held the upper hand when play began, but Bangladesh bowled with tremendous discipline, choking the runs and chipping away at the wickets. Then, their batsmen displayed the solidity and patience which is expected in Test cricket. Bashar (82 not out) scored his second half-century of the Test – the fourth time he has achieved this feat – while Hannan Sarkar and Rajin Saleh gave him splendid support.As in their first innings, Bangladesh stuttered at the start, when Javed Omar was leg-before to Shoaib Akhtar for 13 (19 for 1). It very nearly became 19 for 2, when Bashar slashed at his first ball and was dropped by Yasir Hameed – the second day’s hero – at third slip. Bashar started off playing plenty of risky strokes, but then settled down to bat with more responsibility. The lack of pace and bounce in the pitch helped the batsmen too.Sarkar looked good for plenty more but played a rash sweep off Mohammad Hafeez to be trapped in front for 30 an over before tea (73 for 2). Sanwar Hossain went cheaply immediately after the break, but Saleh – playing in his first Test – showed excellent grit, temperament and technique. Especially engrossing was a confrontation with Shoaib late in the day, when Saleh was peppered with plenty of short stuff, but stood up on tiptoe to defend, or weaved out of the way. Shoaib was frustrated enough to hurl the ball at Saleh when he pushed it back to the bowler, but it did little to fluster the batsman. Saleh finished the day unbeaten on 27, but it was worth many more.Earlier, Bangladesh’s bowlers choked the runs with a sustained spell of line-and-length bowling, and then reaped the rewards as Pakistan lost quick wickets. Despite being denied a couple of plumb lbw shouts, the Bangladesh attack never eased the pressure. Mashrafe Mortaza got things rolling when he finally did win an lbw appeal, trapping Misbah-ul-Haq in front for 13 (303 for 6).Mohammad Rafique then nailed Shoaib Akhtar and Shabbir Ahmed as the first 15 overs of the day produced just 12 runs. Though two fours in Alok Kapali’s first over broke the tedium briefly, that also forced Khaled Mahmud to bring himself on, with telling effect. Mahmud’s only Test wicket had come in his second Test, and after toiling 106 overs in his next six matches, he finally had something to show for his efforts. A gentle half-volley outside leg did the trick, as Danish Kaneria played too early and scooped a return catch (338 for 9). Mahmud nonchalantly tossed the ball to the umpire, but the occasion wasn’t lost on his team-mates, who converged from all parts of the ground to celebrate a rare success, and the halving of his Test average to 240.Rashid Latif survived the flurry of wickets at the other end to remain unbeaten on 54, and by close of play, was left ruminating about the prospect of chasing a sizeable fourth-innings target.
Sri Lanka’s selectors made three changes to the squad that lost in Sharjahlast October when they picked a 15-man squad for the LG Abans Triangular ODISeries starting Saturday.Fast-bowling allrounder Suresh Perera comes back into the squad after hisbowling action, reported for being suspect by umpire Steve Bucknor in August,was cleared by a BCCSL panel of experts. He is set to be slotted into thenumber seven slot, providing Sri Lanka with greater dynamism in themiddle-order.Fast-bowler Nuwan Zoysa returns to one-day cricket following his fullrecovery from an ankle injury. He will be competing with Charitha BuddikaFernando and Prabath Nissanka for the third seamers spot.Leg-spinning allrounder Upul Chandana is the final change, drafted in tobolster the teams spinning options on the slow turning wickets expectedduring the tournament.The selectors decided not to pick a replacement wicket-keeper following afinger injury sustained by Romesh Kaluwitharana in Sharjah. Kumar Sangakkarawill keep wicket throughout the tournament and is expected to bat at numbersix.Strike bowler Dilhara Fernando was unavailable for selection because of thestress fracture identified in his back, which kept him out of the Sharjahfinal, whilst allrounder Dulip Liyanage has been dropped.Sri Lanka will play Zimbabwe, who lost both their practice games againstdevelopment sides, on Saturday at the Sinhalese Sports Club.Full squad:Sanath Jayasuriya (Capt), Marvan Atapattu, Avishka Gunawardene, MahelaJayawardene, Russel Arnold, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Suresh Perera,Kumar Dharmasena, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan,Charitha Buddika Fernando, Nuwan Zoysa, Prabath Nissanka
ScorecardA five-wicket haul from Akshay Wakhare bowled Bengal out for 164, but the hosts’ massive first-innings lead meant Vidarbha needed a challenging 297 for only their third win of the season. Starting the day at 141 for 7, Vidarbha managed their way to 202, thanks to Shrikant Wagh’s unbeaten 60. But only two other batsman managed double-digit scores, as Pragyan Ojha took 7 for 58 to bundle Vidarbha out in 69.1 overs and earn Bengal a lead of 132 runs. Bengal, however, lost wickets at regular intervals in their second dig, with only the captain Manoj Tiwary (63) producing a score of note. Wakhare collected 5 for 61 from his 22 overs, while Wagh chipped in with 3 for 27 to skittle Bengal in 62.5 overs. Vidarbha were 3 for 0 in their second innings when stumps were called. ScorecardEleven wickets fell in Lahli as Asam edged closer to their second win of the season. Arup Das took six wickets while the other Das -Krishna- claimed four to wipe out Haryana for 111 in 50.3 overs.Himanshu Rana top-scored with 27 and was among three batsmen to have passed 18. The fall of wickets seeped into Assam’s second innings as well with Ashish Hooda dismissing both openers. Tarjinder Singh, coming in at No.3, fell to Mohit Sharma for a 12-ball duck, but Amit Verma and Arun Karthik steadied Assam with a 76-run partnership.Offspinner Jayant Yadav had Karthik stumped four overs before stumps while Verma stayed unbeaten on 24 with the visitors 38 runs away from the target. ScorecardRobin Uthappa struck his second successive century to lead Karnataka to 400, from an overnight 255 for 3, before the defending champions declared. Left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh and pacer Suryakant Pradhan shared six wickets between them.While Uthappa made 148 off 257 balls, the other overnight batsman Karun Nair hit 73 before he became Dhiraj’s first victim. Odisha began poorly again, with one of their openers bagging a duck (Natraj Behera in the first innings and Rajesh Dhuper in the second). Odisha are still 168 runs in arrears.
A Newcastle United journalist has claimed that Ivan Toney will be a bigger concern for Eddie Howe than Christian Eriksen when they play Brentford.
The Lowdown: Eriksen debut?
Eriksen could reportedly make his debut for the Bees at home to the Magpies on Saturday afternoon, having not featured in a competitive game on a football pitch since suffering a cardiac arrest for Denmark at Euro 2020.
He recently featured in a bounce match against Glasgow Rangers, when he provided two assists in a 2-2 draw, and all eyes will now be on whether he makes a competitive return against the northeast club this weekend.
The Latest: Toney back for Brentford v Newcastle
As pointed out by Newcastle reporter Miles Starforth of The Shields Gazette, Toney will also be returning for Brentford, and he argued that the former Magpies striker will be a bigger concern for Howe than Eriksen, writing:
“The focus is likely to be on Christian Eriksen on Saturday, but the return of Ivan Toney, quietly sold by Newcastle in 2018, is arguably more of a concern for Eddie Howe.”
The Verdict: Point to prove
Toney will no doubt have a point to prove against his former club, for whom he only made sold to Peterborough United in 2018 after a few loan spells away from Newcastle.
He has not done too badly since, notching up 77 league goals combined for the Posh and Brentford over the last four seasons (not been kind to the Bees, he will want to get Thomas Frank’s side back on track.
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This is a big match in terms of the relegation picture, and the Magpies will no doubt have to keep Toney quiet if they are to claim another three points.
In other news, find out which £40.5m-rated star has ‘bewitched’ NUFC ahead of a potential summer move
Usman Khawaja has been left out of the third Test in Adelaide, raising the prospect of him having played his final match for Australia, with Australia’s selectors backing the positive approach brought by the Jake Weatherald-Travis Head pairing.As expected, captain Pat Cummins and offspinner Nathan Lyon return to the side at the expense of Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett.Khawaja missed the second Test in Brisbane having not recovered from the back spasms he picked up in Perth that prevented him from opening in either innings.Earlier this week Khawaja said he was 100% fit and eager to retain his spot. The prospect of him taking a middle-order role had been raised but the selectors have opted to retain Josh Inglis with Weatherald and Head continuing their opening partnership.Usman Khawaja remains out of Australia’s XI•AFP/Getty Images
They came together in the second innings in Perth to add 75 in the run chase before combining for 77 in the first innings at the Gabba with selectors seeing the value in what it has done to the England attack.”I think the big thing that’s shifted on us is probably Trav opening after that first Test and how good that has looked with the Weathers, so we’re pretty happy with that batting line-up,” Cummins said ahead of his first Test of the series after a back injury. “It didn’t feel like it needed to change in the middle order.”So far it’s looked like they [Head and Weatherald] have been able to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Whatever has been thrown at them, they’ve had an answer to. It’s really set up the platform for our innings.”I think you’ve seen people like Marnus [Labuschagne] and Steve [Smith] walk in after that as well and really get on the back of that and start their innings well. I don’t know if it’s scrambled the opposition, but it’s certainly kind of got that momentum, kept that scoreboard ticking over and started our innings brilliantly.”Khawaja turns 39 during the Adelaide Test and has averaged 31.84 since the 2023 Ashes with one century in 45 innings.Pat Cummins prepares for his Test comeback•Getty Images
Asked whether there was a road back, Cummins said: “Yeah, potentially. I think the selectors have been quite adamant [that] we’re picking a side each week, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s got to be exactly the same team as the previous week. We do that with the bowlers this week.”Obviously, Nathan Lyon’s coming back in. One of Uzzie’s great strengths he’s scored runs at the top, he’s scored runs in the middle. If we didn’t think he’d be good enough to come straight in, then he wouldn’t be here in the squad. So, absolutely, I can see a path back at some point, if needed.”Cummins, meanwhile, lauded the fact Australia were 2-0 up despite being stretched by injury, including himself yet to feature and Josh Hazlewood being ruled out of the series.”Incredible, I think it shows just great depth in the Aussie cricket system at the moment with fast bowlers,” he said. “When I said it’s almost worked out perfectly…we’re halfway through a series, I’ve come back on line, you’ve got Ness and Doggy who are resting from this week, but they’ve obviously got themselves into the series and are available for the last two games.”You’ve seen Jhye Richardson out the back bowling. So it feels like everything’s come together and we’re not just hanging on to the end of a series like sometimes you are. We’re actually peaking and hopefully there are heaps of resources available.”But the guys who have stepped in have been fantastic and I think it’s a huge credit to those guys who have stepped in but also the coaches and Steve managing those guys throughout the day.”Steven Smith missed training on Monday due to illness but was first in the nets on Tuesday.Australia XI for third Ashes Test1 Jake Weatherald, 2 Travis Head, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Josh Inglis, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Scott Boland
The Indian board has put down a minimum qualification of 25 first-class matches for the members of its technical committee. At its annual general body meeting yesterday, the BCCI also announced the formation of a women’s selection committee headed by former captain Anju Jain.Following a Supreme Court order to settle membership matters under dispute, the board has also decided to set up a member affiliation committee.Other decisions taken at the meeting include:Upgrade of venues Jaipur, Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and Visakhapatnam are likely to attain Test status if the cricket associations of Rajasthan, Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh fulfil the conditions stipulated by Alan Hurst, the ICC match referee, who inspected the venues recently.Hyderabad is scheduled to host the third ODI between India and Australia on October 5 and the ICC will wait for a report from match referee Chris Broad to see if the conditions have been fulfilled before granting it Test status. Hurst has asked the Hyderabad Cricket Association to remove CCTV cameras from the players’ dressing rooms to maintain privacy.Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Stadium hosted its only Test in 1987 between India and Pakistan and only after recent renovations has it begun to host ODIs regularly, including six Champions Trophy matches last year.Distributing television revenue The BCCI will distribute the Rs 9.36 crores (US$ 2.3 million) that it received as television revenue among the state associations that hosted Tests and ODIs during the 2006-07 season. India hosted the Champions Trophy and played one-day series against Sri Lanka and West Indies before the World Cup. So 12 associations – Punjab, Gujarat, Saurashtra, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Bengal, Goa, Baroda, Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Vidarbha and Orissa – will accordingly receive a share each of the revenue. The other members will share Rs6.7 crore (US$ 1.6 million) between themselves.World Twenty20 prize money The Indian team will receive their prize money for winning the ICC World Twenty20 after the BCCI receives the money from the ICC. “The winner’s prize money is US$ 490,000,” Niranjan Shah, the board secretary told the . “In all the team has won close to US$ 1million.”Annual report The BCCI has published an abridged version of its annual report and accounts which highlights the board’s activities over the last season.Technical Committee: Sunil Gavaskar (chairman), Chinmoy Sharma, Dr. MV Sridhar, Snehashish Ganguly, CR Mohite, Vinod Kumar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Yashpal Sharma, VK Ramaswamy, Niranjan ShahWomen’s selection committee: Anju Jain (chairman), Poornima Rao, Mithu Mukherjee, Vrinda Bhagat, Sandhya Agarwal, Niranjan Shah
Scorecard Martin Love has left behind a poor start to his season and smashed 186 – including 105 in a session – to put Queensland in control of their Pura Cup match against Western Australia at the WACA. Love, James Hopes and Matthew Hayden combined to help Queensland smash 414 runs on day two, leaving them at 7 for 480 in reply to the Warriors’ 208.Love struggled to find his rhythm in the first session, scoring 28 before lunch as Hayden (76) blitzed the bowlers, but he turned on a show in the second in which he plundered 22 boundaries. When he was finally caught behind off the part-time bowling of Michael Hussey, Love had hit 35 fours and one six, and become Queensland’s most prolific batsman with 27 centuries – one more than Matthew Hayden – and 10,084 runs.Love’s 186 came after he accumulated only 15 in his first four innings of the season. His comeback from poor form echoed last year, when he had averaged 14.88 in his nine previous innings and then scored 106 and 50 in a Queensland victory at the WACA. This season’s effort could not have come at a better time for the Bulls, who are on the bottom of the Pura Cup table with two losses.Hopes partnered Love in a 143-run stand and made 90 from 89 deliveries before he became Brad Hogg’s fourth victim. Hogg continued the new trend of spinners being the leading wicket-takers for Western Australia, finishing the day with 4 for 95.Chris Hartley (32 not out) and Andy Bichel (26 not out) added 52 before stumps as the Warriors’ pace attack struggled to break partnerships. After returning from the Champions Trophy in India, Shane Watson, who made 0, and Andrew Symonds (3) were the only Queensland batsmen to fail.
The problems in Mashonaland continue unabated. Cricinfo has learned that, at the weekend, a match between Harare Sports Club and Old Hararians had to be moved from Harare Sports Club to another ground after two senior Mashonaland Cricket Association (MCA) officials disrupted the game.Cyprian Mandenge, the MCA chairman, and Bruce Makovah, the province’s head selector, arrived at Harare Sports Club with two policemen and, according to witnesses, made threats to the players’ safety if they did not stop the match immediately. They are also accused of racially abusing certain players, and of telling others that they would never play for the province again.Their intervention followed a meeting of the MCA on Friday at which both clubs, along with Alexandra, Old Georgians, Takashinga, and Universals, were expelled from the association after the board accused them of insubordinance and trying to remove board officials when the clubs did not fulfill their Mashonaland Vigne Cup fixtures last weekend.Harare Sports Club is a private ground which is leased to Zimbabwe Cricket for matches organized by the board, and neither those concerned, nor anybody else not authorised by the club, have any legal right whatsoever to interfere with matches being played there. So at that point, the players decided to up sticks and continue the match at nearby St George’s College.Universals and Takashinga also played each other at the weekend in what could ultimately lead to a splitter league containing the six affected clubs. The six contain nearly all of the province’s international players.Stakeholders in Zimbabwe cricket are supposed to meet this week to try to resolve the standoff in Mashonaland, but the incident at Harare Sports Club has left serious question marks over Makovah`s fairness and integrity as a national selector.Mandenge took over the Mashonaland board chairmanship last week, but clubs have refused to recognised the new leadership. Four of the board members have been put under pressure by the clubs to resign.It was subsequently reported that the incident had been reported to the police, but given the fact that Mandenge and Makovah were accompanied by the police, it is unclear what further action is likely.
Steve Tikolo, the captain of the Kenyan team, slammed the ICC for the fact that Kenya have played virtually no international cricket since their semi-final appearance at the 2003 World Cup. “Most of us are really disappointed. After our World Cup performance we have hardly played any games,” said Tikolo ahead of Kenya’s first match of the Champions Trophy, against India. “Going 18 months without a single one-dayer makes us feel disappointed. We are not getting any respect.”When asked who he blamed for this, the reply came straight back with no hesitation: “Obviously the ICC, because they’re the custodians of the game all over the world. All we had was a series against Pakistan A and India A. That’s all that we had.” Kenya last played a one-day international against Pakistan at Sharjah in April 2003.At no point during the press conference did an obviously disheartened Tikolo mince his words. “If you have one-day status and don’t play any ODIs then the status is as good as useless. We need to play more games. We’d like to see more teams coming to Kenya. Triangulars are going on, but Kenya aren’t being invited.” He explained that playing top-flight cricket was critical to Kenya’s cricket future. “Without games you only go backwards. You need to play against the best to keep pace. Kenya’s future doesn’t look good.”Tikolo was also not particularly happy about the ICC’s claim to be working hard to globalise the game. “They are talking about globalisation of the game, but what they are doing with Kenya doesn’t point to that,” he said. But he thought the idea was still plausible: “It is possible to globalise the game. Look what football and rugby have done. I don’t see any difference in cricket.”But the lack of matches wasn’t the only bone Tikolo had to pick with the ICC. Their handling of the Maurice Odumbe affair has also not gone down too well. “Some players were mentioned by Maurice’s ex-wife, but I don’t think there was any substance to it. No investigations were done to prove this. And I think, on the ICC’s part, to let Catherine allege that some of the players were involved was very disappointing.”But despite all this turmoil, Tikolo insisted that his team was upbeat and looking forward to their matches in the tournament. “We’re looking forward to the game. It is a big one. Every team is going to come hard at Kenya after the performance in the World Cup. We are focused and we just need to concentrate on our game rather than think about the opposition. We need to play to the best of our abilities. We need to play cricket as it is played.”And what’s more, he does not believe that the games are lost before they begin: “Anything can happen on a given day. We can beat them.”If they do pull off a stunning upset – either against India or Pakistan – you can be sure the old whispers about the game being fixed will do the rounds. That angers Tikolo. “It is really disappointing when that happens. We gain respect only if we beat other teams. And for people to insinuate that these matches were fixed really hurts.”For the moment, though, it’s time for Kenya to put all that away, and concentrate on their first game against India.