Sachin Tendulkar has offered valuable technical tips to the younger members of the Indian team in the training sessions in Melbourne ahead of the ODI against Australia on February 10.Tendulkar advised Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina on techniques to adapt to the conditions and the pitches in Australia, suggested tips to Rohit Sharma to improve his front-foot drives and counselled Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary on their stance.Gambhir was told not to have a completely side-on position at the crease, and instead open up his stance for a slightly two-eyed look at the bowler. This would allow him to offer the full face of the bat, and help him play through the on side more effectively.”The plan is simple, see the ball, hit the ball and play in the ‘V,” Gambhir had earlier revealed his theory of batting in Australia. “The conditions here give a batsman full value for his strokes, though you need a lot of courage and determination. It’s difficult to get on to the front foot when you are facing genuine quick bowlers like Brett Lee or Mitchell Johnson but there is very little chance when you are sitting on the back foot.” Tendulkar’s tips are designed to enable Gambhir score more freely in his preferred area down the ground.It is learnt that Tendulkar, while praising Rohit for his back-foot play, was keen that he leans more on to his strokes while driving through the off side to add more power and punch. After his session with Tendulkar, Rohit had his batting video taped by the team’s computer analyst Dhananjay.Rohit considers Tendulkar his favourite player and has sought his advice in the past too. In an earlier interview with Rediff, Rohit said, “It [Tendulkar’s advice] was very different from what you always hear from coaches. I mean what he said was practical, based on his own vast experience. He also told me when to take singles and twos and also when and how to accelerate, and so on and so forth. Believe me, it was very, very different from what we juniors hear from others almost every day.”Tendulkar worked with Uthappa and Manoj Tiwary too. Uthappa’s tendency to commit himself to the front foot came in for scrutiny, and Tendulkar suggested a slight sideways trigger movement instead of a big stride forward.Tendulkar noted that Tiwary places his feet too close to each other in his stance, which inhibits his movement either forward or back. Like he did with Gambhir, Tendulkar suggested that Tiwary open up in his stance which would help him drive towards mid-off and mid-on rather than committing himself to a cover drive.Tendulkar has also advised the youngsters to opt for lighter bats on the bouncier pitches of Australia as it would allow them to move more quickly into position.
Shane Watson’s successful return from a hamstring injury this week has Ricky Ponting excited about Australia’s options for the World Cup. Watson, who made 46 not out and took 3 for 60 in Queensland’s latest Pura Cup loss, would be in the selectors’ minds for the three-match Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series starting in New Zealand in a fortnight, Ponting said.”We haven’t really sat down and spoken a lot about the complete make-up of the squad for the World Cup,” Ponting told . “We’ve been waiting on a few guys as well, waiting to see how Watson comes up and those sorts of things. If he does make it into the squad, he basically plays as another fast bowler anyway. It would probably be five fast bowlers plus him.””We’ve all seen in the last week that he got through the game in Brisbane pretty well, made runs and did the amount of bowling he was supposed to do. He’s got a little bit of cricket under his belt but whether or not he takes part in the remainder of this series, I don’t really know. I just hope that he can recover as quickly as possible and start putting some good performances on the board before the World Cup comes around.”Ponting said Watson, who was promoted to open with Adam Gilchrist throughout the Champions Trophy, would be a strong chance to play at the top of the order should he prove his fitness for the World Cup. “I wouldn’t imagine he would be in the middle order anywhere,” Ponting said. “I think the middle order is pretty settled at the moment with Michael Clarke at four, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey and those guys.”Ponting said rather than take up an extra spot and make it harder for a specialist spinner like Brad Hogg to break back into the team, it could in fact help Hogg’s chances by altering the balance of the side. “What he does give is that flexibility you are after in any squad,” Ponting said. “We know he can bat at the top of the order, in the middle, and at six, seven or eight with his batting skill. We might be able to go in with three quicks and him in certain games. If he plays he gives an opportunity for Hogg or [Cameron] White to play.”
Around three months back, Rahul Dravid led India to a one-day series triumph, thumping Sri Lanka, then the second-best side, by an overwhelming 6-1 margin. Captaining a young side that was still reeling from the Greg Chappell-Sourav Ganguly episode, Dravid appeared to be blessed with a golden touch – averaging 156 with the bat and seeing almost every tacticcome off spectacularly.A drawn series against South Africa followed but it’s from tomorrow that he will embark on his stiffest captaincy test to date. The team will still be smarting from the thumping defeat at Karachi and a couple of players, who had a lean time in the Tests, are bound to be under pressure to bounce back. There have also been whispers circulating about dissension inthe ranks and victory, as Dravid will know, is the best antidote to silence all.Player watchA bruise to his spinning finger meant that Harbhajan Singh didn’t bowl on the eve of the game and Dravid admitted that the team wouldn’t risk playing him if he wasn’t fully fit in the morning. India were likely to go in with Murali Kartik as the lone spinner with Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathanand S Sreesanth making up the medium-pace trio. RP Singh and Zaheer Khan had some impressive bursts in the Test series but India may leave them out for want of more variety in their attack. The batting had a settled look about it with either Gautam Gambhir or Suresh Raina tipped to occupy the Supersub role.Pitch full of runs Inzamam-ul-Haq had no qualms in admitting that the surface at the Arbab Niaz Stadium, along with the rough nature of the outfield, could produce a “high-scoring game”. India may be tempted to go in with five specialist bowlers but they may just prefer to place some faith in their part-timers, hoping they can share ten overs around and limit the damage.Open-field strategiesThe Indian side preferred to train in the adjacent Gymkhana Ground, simulating match conditions and Dravid spoke about the benefits of such methods. “We thought we’ll give a chance for the bowlers to try out specific lines and set fields accordingly. We can’t do such things at the nets. It adds a bit of realism to the whole practice session. We get a clearer idea of where the ball is going on impact and where to set fields. It’s good to try it out once in a while.”The highlight of the session was the innovative field settings that one observed with Mahendra Singh Dhoni shifting from wicketkeeping to first slip to short square leg. Other fielders were also shuffled around with each bowler sticking to a particular line.A royal comeback?Ever since his superb hundred against Pakistan at Ahmedabad in April last year, Sachin Tendulkar has struggled. Barring the dazzling half-centuries against Sri Lanka in October – when he cracked 93 and 67 in successive matches – Tendulkar hasn’t crossed 40 in 10 of the last 12 games. A failure in each of his three innings in the recently concluded Test series – when he didn’t come to terms with Shoaib Akhtar’s pace – intensified the pressure and even emboldened headline writers to ask ‘Endulkar?’. The next five games may give the answers but one needs to be mighty brave, or mighty foolish to write off his highness, especially at the start of aseries that means so much.India (probable) 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid (capt), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mohammad Kaif, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Ajit Agarkar, 10 Murali Kartik, 11 Sreesanth, Supersub: Gautam Gambhir.
England captain Clare Connor is confident that her side can lift the World Cup for a third time when they head to South Africa this month. Australia are the one side who could stand in their way she says but England, the second favourites, have been working hard to ensure they leave no stone unturned in their quest for success.”I am hoping that we don’t meet Australia in the semis: I’ve got this vision of meeting them in the final,” 28-year-old Connor told Cricinfo at the launch of England’s World Cup campaign at the House of Commons on Monday.”But it might not be like that: we might beat them in the semis and meet someone else in the final. They’re the team with the mystery surrounding them. We’ve broken that down with New Zealand now because we beat them in the summer: that was an important series to win. The Aussies sit rightly above us.”England are ranked second in the world, thanks in no small part to their 3-2 series victory at home to the World Cup holders New Zealand last summer. And Connor believes that the team is gelling at just the right moment. “The mood is brilliant,” she says. “We have a strong sense of confidence in how the preparations have been going. We’re a team that’s been winning over the last 18 months so that helps hugely. It’s one big happy family. There’s a massive age range – 19 to 39 – and it’s a squad that’s just clicking more and more.”
But Connor is aware that the road to a successful World Cup is a long and difficult one, especially during the tournament itself. However, she revealed that England will be ready to cope with whatever challenges are presented to them. “We know that there might be disappointment along the way,” she admits. “With a World Cup you rarely win every game and we’ve talked about that, about coping with that pressure. It’s all part of it.”And England’s preparations were given a boost by working with experts in each discipline of the game. “I’m not just saying this – we couldn’t have been any more prepared,” she said. “We’ve had nutritional support, strength and conditioning support, bowling specialist, specialist fielding work with Trevor Penney. Fast bowlers have worked with Troy Cooley. Batters have worked with Graham Gooch. It’s been the whole package so we’re just raring to go.”
Young Bushranger all-rounder Andrew McDonald is to lead Victoria’s 2nd XI in game two of the Cricket Australia Cup in Western Australia from October 13-16.The team for the match at Richardson Park, South Perth has been confirmed and is as follows:
Andrew McDonald (C) Matthew Albers Liam Buchanan David Hussey Michael Klinger Bryce McGain Matthew Mott Sean Pietersz Peter Roach Graeme Rummans Tim Welsford Allan Wise
The Indian under-19 team lost two practice games against youth teams fielded by New South Wales in Sydney and are to play one more practice match against the Bradman Museum XI on Friday before leaving for Auckland to participate in the under-19 World Cup.The first match saw the Indians take on the New South Wales under-19 side in a match that the visitors lost by seven wickets. Chandan Madan, Stuart Binny, Deepak Chougule and Paul Valthaty were dismissed for cameo knocks in the twenties and thirties.The Indian batting failures saw New South Wales chase a moderate target of 194 in under 45 overs, losing just three wickets in the process.In the second game, the Indians bowled first and restricted the New South Wales Colts to 233/7 in their 50 overs. Siddharth Trivedi took three wickets, while Irfan Pathan took two.In the chase, the Indians faltered, with only skipper Parthiv Patel’s 42 and vice-captain Y Gnaneswara Rao’s 62 lending substance to the total. The pair put on 78 runs for the third wicket. The Indians were bowled out for 167 after being 150/5 in the 32nd over, losing the match by 66 runs.
Fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza has been named captain of the BCB XI that will play against the touring Zimbabweans in a one-day game on November 5. Four other members of the current ODI squad – Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman and Jubair Hossain – will also play in the warm-up game at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium, two days ahead of the first ODI.This will be Mashrafe’s first competitive game since July 15 after his planned return in the National Cricket League – Bangladesh’s first-class competition – had to be cancelled last month after he was hospitalised with dengue fever. He started training with the squad on October 29 but the team management is carefully managing his recovery from the illness.Das, Mushfiqur, Sabbir and Jubair will feature in the practice game in a move focused on giving them batting and bowling practice ahead of their first international encounter in nearly four months, a period in which these four players have played domestic first-class cricket.The selectors also included Shahriar Nafees after he finished as the highest scorer in this season’s National Cricket League with 715 runs at an average of 79.44 in six matches for Barisal Division. In the last match, he struck 168 and 174 not out.The uncapped members of the 13-member squad are Mehedi Maruf and Sunzamul Islam, and pace bowlers Delwar Hossain and Tawhidul Islam. Maruf, Sunzamul and Tawhidul have been impressive performers in this year’s first-class tournaments but Delwar’s inclusion came as a surprise given that he has only played a single first-class game so far in the 2015-16 season.BCB XI: Imrul Kayes, Anamul Haque, Liton Das, Shahriar Nafees, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Mehedi Maruf, Jubair Hossain, Sunzamul Islam, Delwar Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Tawhidul Islam.
Aston Villa have had a rather turbulent season in their latest Premier League campaign having sacked Dean Smith after a run of five consecutive defeats to then appoint Steven Gerrard in November.
Since the former Liverpool midfielder came in, the Villans have racked up five wins, two draws and six defeats, with only one of those wins coming in their past seven league games.
One player, in particular, that has not had the easiest of seasons in a Villa shirt is defender Ezri Konsa.
With 21 league appearances under his belt, the centre-back has only managed to earn himself a rather underwhelming overall performance rating of 6.44/10 from WhoScored, making him the lowest-rated player currently in Gerrard’s squad that has started more than two league games.
Looking at his defensive statistics, the 24-year-old, who has lost 35 duels this season, has only been able to achieve an average of one tackle per game, which is lower than the likes of Emi Buendia, Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Sanson.
The same can be said for his average of interceptions as well with just 0.6 made per game, the same number as Ashley Young and Axel Tuanzebe who have both played significantly fewer minutes than Konsa.
Even for clearances and blocks, the Englishman has not been able to match the same average as fellow centre-back Tyrone Mings, even though the 28-year-old is seen as a liability for Villa by 66% of voters in a poll ran by Football FanCast earlier this year.
Having got himself sent off in the 3-3 draw against Leeds United earlier this month, it could be argued that Konsa has been a liability for the Villans at times this season, despite previously being labelled as “Mr Consistent.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
With Calum Chambers being brought in during the recent January transfer window and having the likes of Joe Gomez linked with a summer transfer move to the Midlands club, the defender will have to fix up his performances throughout the remainder of the campaign or else he could be at risk of being left out of the team for the foreseeable future if Gerrard doesn’t believe in him.
In other news: Big mistake: “Bullish” AVFC gem with an “abundance of talent” is proving Gerrard wrong – opinion
The Australian team held a round-table discussion on the spirit of cricket on Sunday night, the first such meeting after the ill-tempered Sydney Test against India.The reported that leadership consultant Ray McLean, a former officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, moderated the session. Tim Nielsen, the coach, and the manager Steve Bernard attended along with the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland and operations manager Michael Brown.The focus was on the messages and criticism directed at the team after the Sydney Test, with all involved invited to trace their feelings on the match and the Spirit of Cricket pledge that was devised during Steve Waugh’s captaincy in 2003.”I think it will be a general chat about what we live by, what we stand for, the spirit of cricket that the Australian cricketers sat down and wrote down,” Michael Clarke said before the meeting. “I think it will be a general reminder of what we do to be the best team in the world and the things we can continue to improve on. It’s probably why Australia have been so successful, because we never say we can’t improve.”The session came a day before the meeting between opposing captains Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble, convened by Ranjan Madugalle, the ICC’s chief match referee, who has been appointed to mediate. Brad Hogg, the left-arm wrist spinner, is due to attend a hearing on Friday concerning offensive remarks made to Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Greg Chappell has reiterated that his face-off with Sourav Ganguly was never a battle between two personalitiesâ but merely a cricketing issue that was blown out of proportionâ. Chappell also said that he considered Ganguly’s comeback as one of his “success storiesâ, adding that the time spent away from international cricket had done him good.”I look at it as one of my success stories,â Chappell said in an interview to . “He has resurrected his batting and could play another three years for India, which is fantastic. The only way he could address certain issues was to spend some time away reassessing all of his goals and ambitions. Somebody had to tell him that.â”It was never Chappell v Ganguly,â he continued. “It was never a battle between two personalities. I only look at cricketing issues. How the others see it is their choice. The whole thing has been completely blown out of proportion. If the same situation arose, I would have the same view on it. It was about somebody needing to improve to offer 100% to the Indian team. Ganguly has come back extremely well and all credit to him. Zaheer Khan too faced similar issues and has responded well. Sometimes the only way you can enforce non-negotiable issues is through selection. But right now I have nothing but praise for Ganguly and Zaheer.âChappell believed that Virender Sehwag too would benefit from the current forced break, after having been dropped from the side, while expressing his faith in him. “Having some time away from the team might help him clear his head, freshen him up and help him come back with a much clearer focus,â he said. “We have had many conversations and we intend having several more conversations in the future. Like in all players, the mind sometimes gets confused. The time away will help him reassess himself what he wants to achieve and whether he has the passion to come back and play for India. I have no doubt he will.âSehwag and Irfan Pathan, he felt, could emerge stronger from their current loss of form. “India doesn’t have the sole possession of players who have bad days,â he said. “The level of expectation is so high that sometimes the perspective is lost.â