11.30am Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAnother torrential downpour has forced the umpires to call off the first one-day international between Sri Lanka and India at the Sinhalese Sports Club. If the weather clears up, the second match of the series will be played here tomorrow.11am In keeping with the general theme of the past week here in Colombo, a smidgen of hope was quickly replaced by more rain and more disappointment for the few who had gathered with the expectation of watching some cricket. Instead of wondering how Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar would do in tandem – they have only opened together twice before, the last occasion being over five years ago – it was once again time to check the weather forecasts, though the dark sky above gave enough hints.It had dawned sunny and bright, and an inspection was expected at 10.30am with a view to starting play an hour later. But just as the ground staff were taking off the covers, with the clock edging towards 10am, there was another torrential downpour. The umpires announced an inspection for 1.45pm, but the downpour seems to have more or less ended any hope of getting in even the 40 overs required for a result. The second match of what should have been a three-game series is pencilled in for tomorrow, and Sri LankaCricket – who have enough on their plate after South Africa’s withdrawal – will desperately hope for some kindness from the weather gods.
Simon Katich and Michael Clarke gave Australia the edge with some attractive strokeplay in the final session, after Anil Kumble – who became only the ninth player in history to reach 400 wickets – had caused a jitter midway through the afternoon on the opening day of one of the most eagerly anticipated series in recent times. Backed by a vociferous home crowd, Kumble helped reduce Australia to 149 for 4, but with India leaking 139 runs in the final session, it was the Aussies that walked off with the day’s honours.Clarke used his feet beautifully to combat India’s slow bowlers, and showed tremendous maturity and flair on his Test debut. He often came down the track to Kumble, lofting him for one mighty six straight down the ground, and also dismissed anything pitched short with ease. With Adam Gilchrist for company, he took the bowling apart as the bowlers wilted in the final hour.The revival, though, had come earlier in the afternoon, with Katich’s splendid 81 leading the way. He was like a master at the snooker table, the angle at which the ball was hit as important as the power imparted. There were no crashing shots that singed the grass but just gentle, silken strokes played with lithe wrists.Katich came in after Matthew Hayden fell for 26, lofting a sweep straight to Yuvraj Singh at square leg (52 for 1). He got going by creaming Kumble through the covers, but soon after lunch, he was completely flummoxed by an offbreak from Harbhajan Singh. Unfortunately for India, Parthiv Patel couldn’t get his gloves around the ball. There was another semi-reprieve when he edged Zaheer Khan behind the stumps, but the replays of Patel’s collection were inconclusive, and Katich was given the benefit of the doubt.Despite losing wickets at the other end, as batsmen struggled against Kumble, Katich didn’t retreat into a shell. His placement fetched him twos and threes, and he brought up 50 in 104 balls, and, along with Clarke, pulled Australia out of a tricky situation. When he got to 81, Katich misjudged the bounce of a short one, which managed to wriggle through his defences to crash into the stumps. The crowd erupted instantly as the team huddled around Kumble, who had toiled for much of the afternoon without success after a double strike an hour after lunch.
Compared to Katich and Clarke, Justin Langer was edgy throughout his stay. After surviving a huge appeal for lbw off the first ball of the match, he misread a few short ones and copped blows on the back and chest. He was nearly run out in the 16th over when he danced down the pitch to Harbhajan and deflected the ball straight to short leg, where Aakash Chopra failed to complete the flick back on to the stumps. After lunch, Langer edged both Harbhajan and Kumble wide of the first slip.In between these strokes of fortune, there were some crisp sweeps and pushes straight down the ground. He brought up his 50 from 116 balls, but couldn’t keep out Irfan Pathan when he came back for his second spell, and a searing yorker deflected off his pads to uproot the off stump (124 for 2).The crank was revved up in that spell from Pathan as he consistently clocked 85mph while intelligently varying both swing and length. After an economical first spell, when he prevented the customary Australian flyer, this was the much-needed tourniquet that helped Kumble thrive. And Kumble pounced instantly as Damien Martyn was undone by extra bounce as he danced down the track. The ball popped from bat onto pad for Chopra to complete a simple catch (129 for 3).Darren Lehmann’s cameo of 17 was a nervous innings, as several uppish shots fell beyond the fielders’ grasp. A skyer over mid-on fell inches from Pathan’s grasp, and three cracking fours soon after added insult to injury. But an ugly heave at Kumble took the edge and Dravid lapped up the catch at first slip (149 for 4).Katich’s wicket, after he and Clarke had added 107, gave India a boost, but Gilchrist and Clarke wrested back the initiative with a dashing partnership. Gilchrist cut the very first ball he faced from Harbhajan for four, as if putting to rest all the nightmares of 2001. He raced to 35 at more than a run a ball as the fielders were left to chase shadows in every direction.Australia ended the day slightly better off, but they will know, better than anyone else, that Kumble still retains the ability to wreck even the most sturdy of fortresses.
Pakistan’s hopes of testing the Indian batting line-up again in the final Test at Rawalpindi suffered a blow when Umar Gul, the Man of the Match at Lahore, was ruled out with a back injury. Also missing from the 17-man squad were Shabbir Ahmed, Moin Khan and Abdul Razzaq. All three haven’t recovered from the injuries which kept them out of the second Test – Shabbir has shin problems, Razzaq has a back strain, while Moin has a groin injury.Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Fazl-e-Akbar, Abdur Rauf and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan – all right-arm seamers – were named as replacements. Naved played one match in the ODI series against India, while Anjum was part of the squad, but didn’t play a single game.Announcing the squad, Wasim Bari, the chairman of selectors, admitted that he was worried about the injuries to key players, but insisted that the replacements had the capability to fill the breach. “I am confident that the boys will put this [the injuries] behind them and display the same standard of cricket that earned them victory by nine wickets in the second Test.” The 17-member squad will be pruned down to 15 by the team management on Sunday [April 11].Squad Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Taufeeq Umar, Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Asim Kamal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Shoaib Malik, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Fazl-e-Akbar, Abdur Rauf, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.
The Kenyan selectors can hardly be accused of throwing untried youngsters into the World Cup fray. When they announced their squad for next month’s tournament, two names stood out. Asif Karim, the former captain and Davis Cup tennis player, and Alpesh Vadher have both been brought out of retirement for the occasion.In fact, the party looks remarkably similar to the one that travelled to England for the last World Cup, with one notable omission. Jimmy Kamande, whose bowling action came in for unfavourable scrutiny at the start of the 1999 tournament, is left out. He is a reserve, along with Lameck Onyango and promising batsmen Alfred Luseno and Maurice Ouma.Left-arm spinner Karim retired from international cricket after the 1999 World Cup, while Vadher has also been recalled to add some experience to the team that was found wanting on their recent tour to Zimbabwe.Further experience is provided by the outstanding batsman in Kenyan cricket, Steve Tikolo, who will captain the side and will bowl his off-breaks. Former captain Maurice Odumbe will also be expected to overcome his weakness against pace bowling to score the runs of which he is capable, and to bowl off-breaks.Full squad:Steve Tikolo (captain), Maurice Odumbe, Asif Karim, Alpesh Vadher, Ravindu Shah, Hitesh Modi, Brijal Patel, Martin Suji, Tony Suji, Thomas Odoyo, Kennedy Obuya, Joseph Angara, Peter Ongondo, David Obuya and Collins Obuya.
A number of members have asked Chief Executive of Somerset, Peter Anderson, whether or not Somerset are going to recruit Mali Richards, the 18-year-old son of Sir Viv Richards.The Chief Executive said: “Following his visit to The County Ground at Taunton for indoor nets earlier this year, Peter Robinson, who was a great friend of Viv’s during his playing days, is in contact with Mali, and if he wants a trial with Somerset it can be arranged.”
Tottenham Hotspur need stability, and they also need a clear and attractive culture to work its way back into the stadium, lifting the fans and filling within the first-teamers confidence and identity.
With Spurs 11th in the Premier League, one win from their past seven matches, Thomas Frank is feeling the pressure, and failure to see an uptick in form over the coming weeks will send the Danish coach’s fragile tenure in a spin.
But projects take time, and Tottenham could yet create something akin to Mauricio Pochettino’s nostalgic tenure. The likes of Heung-min Son and Harry Kane were the defining figures of that fruitful era, but Tottenham created a team that purred from head to toe.
Dele Alli is a shining example in that regard, having joined from MK Dons as a teenager in 2015. The prodigy’s rise not only elevated his team but also strengthened the connection with the fanbase too. Now, ENIC Group are looking to repeat the trick.
Spurs looking to sign their new Dele Alli
Tottenham are hoping to get busy in the January transfer window. Frank’s squad is perforated with holes, and they need patching up. However, away from the more pressing need for impactful additions, Johan Langa and Fabio Paratici are looking to add youth to the ranks too.
Antoine Semenyo is among the Premier League superstars on the London club’s radar, and Guglielmo Vicario’s woes have prompted scrutiny on Spurs’s goalkeeping plans too.
But Tottenham have an eye for an up-and-coming talent, and they’ve found a target who might become one of the very best in the business in a few years.
According to TEAMtalk, Tottenham have joined a long list of clubs in registering their interest in Leicester City starlet Jeremy Monga. The 16-year-old has already established himself in the Championship club’s first team.
While Chelsea, Liverpool and the Manchester giants are all namechecked, it is Tottenham who are singled out as pushing ‘very strongly’ for the left winger’s signature. One year ago, PSG came sniffing around and were informed that Monga, 15 at the time, would cost £15m. That figure is sure to have since ballooned.
Why Jeremy Monga could be the new Dele
Monga is very young, but he has already made his Premier League debut, becoming the second-youngest player in the top flight when entering the fray for soon-to-be relegated Leicester against Newcastle United in April.
Leicester were doomed, but the fact that he featured seven times until the end of the campaign makes a firm comment on his potential, with the physicality and speed to succeed at the highest level.
And yet he’s still so young. Monga is way ahead of schedule, settling into a big role at the King Power Stadium this term. In this, he could emulate Spurs’s former starboy.
Jeremy Monga – Championship Stats (25/26)
Stats (* per game)
#
Matches (starts)
12 (5)
Goals
1
Assists
1
Shots (on target)*
0.4 (0.2)
Pass completion
86%
Chances created*
0.5
Dribbles*
1.5
Recoveries*
0.4
Duels won*
2.8
Data via Sofascore
Monga’s ability to carry the ball forward apace has already handed him plenty of plaudits. He has been described by journalist Graeme Bailey as being “a generational talent”, having made more senior appearances than the likes of Premier League starboys Max Dowman and Rio Ngumoha.
He has only scored once in the second tier this term, but what a goal it was. That’s a teenager with jaw-dropping technical quality. That’s a player who, should he join Tottenham, would fall into the category of Dele-esque.
Dele scored 16 goals across 39 League One fixtures in 2014/15, his final year in the EFL before being plucked up to the big time by Daniel Levy and Tottenham.
The 37-cap England international’s personal problems are deeply saddening, but there’s no question that he was one of the best young talents in the world back in his heyday, with Pochettino even saying in 2017 that he’s “the best young player” in Europe.
Subscribe to the newsletter for Spurs transfer insight Get deeper coverage: subscribe to our newsletter for expert analysis of Tottenham’s pursuit of teenage talents like Jeremy Monga. Follow youth recruitment, transfer fits and what emerging signings could mean for Spurs’ squad identity. Subscribe to the newsletter for Spurs transfer insight Get deeper coverage: subscribe to our newsletter for expert analysis of Tottenham’s pursuit of teenage talents like Jeremy Monga. Follow youth recruitment, transfer fits and what emerging signings could mean for Spurs’ squad identity.
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More of a central attacking midfielder than Monga, the parallels are still there, with the Foxes starlet boasting all he needs to emulate his older countryman and make an age-belying impact at Spurs.
Though he wouldn’t be expected to take a leading role from the off in Frank’s system, Monga has what it takes to become the club’s finest winger since someone like Son.
He has what it takes to become a young superstar.
Spurs could land Poch 2.0 by hiring "one of the best managers in Europe"
Tottenham Hotspur could find their next Mauricio Pochettino by sacking Thomas Frank to appoint this manager.
Andrew Flintoff is “ready to go” for England’s first Test against New Zealand next month according his former team-mate, Marcus Trescothick.Flintoff, who was playing his second match for Lancashire since ankle surgery over the winter, bowled 16 quick overs to return figures of 2 for 40 against Somerset.”He’s ready to go,” said Trescothick after Lancashire closed on 60 without loss in reply to Somerset’s 238. “That’s as good as he’ll bowl – I don’t think he’ll get into a Test match against New Zealand in a couple of weeks’ time and bowl any differently. Bowling-wise, he’s ready.”It was tough. He bowled really well today – very consistent pace,” he said. “It was normal ‘Freddie’ – you never would have known he would have had much of a lay-off.”Trescothick was dropped three times during his 77 – twice off Flintoff’s bowling – but there was no let-up in Lancashire’s attack. James Anderson and Glen Chapple opened the bowling and, after Flintoff, Saj Mahmood bowled 14 overs to pick up 3 for 54.”You probably won’t see a better [Championship] attack all season than those four, and it was a real challenge,” Trescothick said. “They were Test match conditions out there for a quite a long time. If you can get runs against these guys, you can pick up runs against most people.”Flintoff’s ankle was operated on over the winter and he made his comeback for Lancashire in their drawn match against Surrey at The Oval last week. He only made 23 with the bat but returned the encouraging figures of 1 for 72 from 28 steady overs in Surrey’s 537 for 5 declared. “I have always been confident coming back but when you’ve had four operations you have a bit more knowledge about your ankle,” Flintoff said last week. “I just turned up here to play a game of cricket under no concern about how my fitness was going to be.”England’s first Test against New Zealand, who arrived at Heathrow this afternoon, gets underway on May 15 at Lord’s.
England coach Peter Moores insists there will be no hurried return to international cricket for Matthew Hoggard to prevent him from joining England’s list of long-term injury victims. A back spasm during the build-up to the first Test in India’s tour of England ruled Hoggard out of that match, and the next Test as well.”We need to get him back fully fit and get that back sorted because if it goes again it could be a long job,” Moores told Sky Sports. “He’s not ready yet. He came down to Loughborough and was assessed and managed to bowl a bit but his back is a bit stiff.”We might get him to bowl at Trent Bridge so the medics can keep an eye on him and build up his work-rate. What has been quite difficult for Matthew is the weather we’ve had … he’s not had much chance to bowl full stop.”Moores was speaking two days day after rain saved India’s blushes in the first Test, and said he expected India to put in better performances in the remainder of the series as they would have acclimatised.”I think they look a good team,” he said. “Their bowlers will have settled a bit as well because I think they found the slope at Lord’s quite challenging at first.”
Netta Rheinberg, the writer and administrator, has died aged 94. She played a distinctive role in advancing women’s cricket for more than 50 years, first as a player, but then – perhaps more crucially – behind the scenes.Her sole Test for England came in the 1948-49 tour, where she was player/manager, but she made a pair at Adelaide. Off the field she worked tirelessly for the cause, in the days when women’s cricket was an amateur sport, and was secretary of the Women’s Cricket Association in 1945, and for a decade from 1948.She wrote a regular column on women’s cricket for The Cricketer magazine, and also wrote a book on the history of the game, Fair Play: The Story of Women’s Cricket, with Rachael Heyhoe-Flint. Her dedication to the game was recognised and honoured in 2001 when she became one of the first ten women to be made honorary members of the MCC.
“It is unfortunate that, once more, the best players will not be representing the West Indies team.”So said Dudnath Ramkessoon, first vice-president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (T&TCB), who was reacting to the selection of a second-string Windies team for the July 9-August 14 tour of Sri Lanka, following the breakdown of talks between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the WI Players Association (WIPA).Eight players of the A team, who lost their second four-day match by an innings and 16 runs yesterday, are already in Sri Lanka and will be joined by another six, including Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain.Ramkessoon suggested the current situation, brought on by the sponsorship impasse between the board and the players’ association, was a disappointing one. “We are currently a second-rate team and only three players from the original lot are on this team,” he stated. “A full-strength first team would have been under pressure against this strong Sri Lankan team, so it will not be an easy task. How this team performs, we’ll have to wait and see. It will provide opportunities for other players to show their skills to the selectors that they should be considered for the first team.”Ramkessoon did admit, though, that in the mental department, the players will be less than ready for a tough tour. “You must go on tour proprerly focused, with your strategy planned to play against the opposition. With all that has gone on, I just don’t think these guys will be properly prepared psychologically to handle the rigours of this tourney.”And Queen’s Park Cricket Club administrator and former Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies opening batsman Bryan Davis said the board was left with no choice. “I could see why they had to pick a team, ” he said. “The whole situation is sad but I think the team that has been selected will do as best as they could.”Of course, the team will miss somebody like [Brian] Lara and to a lesser extent [Ramnaresh] Sarwan, but you don’t see that much of a difference … I don’t see any big thing … those were most of the same guys who handled themseves well in the Guyana Test match.”Davis believes WIPA’s tactics may have backfired. “I can’t see, with the militancy of WIPA, how a resolution could have come about. The cricket is most important while you are discussing things with the board, the cricket could have gone ahead but apparentrly they did not want it that way.”But Trini Posse member and avid West Indies fan Nigel Camacho and arguably Windies cricket’s number one supporter, Peter Matthews, were both disappointed with the final team selection and the current state of West Indies cricket. “I can’t believe they couldn’t solve this issue given so much time,” a “very disappointed” Camacho related, saying the negotations had been going on prior to the VB tri-nation series last December and blaming both the board and WIPA for the non-resolution of the impasse.Camacho also said the late decision by the A team players to succumb to the pressure and sign the board’s match/tour contracts was also responsible for the final outcome for the Sri Lanka tour. “I feel that the lack of solidarity among the players led to the downfall of the stance of the original players,” he explained. “Poor guys. They must have been confused because they were on the verge of trying to secure a spot on the senior squad, so it is unfair to them.”Camacho also believed the team would be outclassed in Sri Lanka. “It’s useless. I don’t think they will be able to compete. Pschycologically, this is not the way to prepare for this series and, besides, the last time they were there Brian Lara scored over 600 runs and we still lost. The composition of this young side … I don’t think they are capable of giving the Sri Lankans much of a push.”And a disappointed Matthews said the board doesn’t care about the fans of West Indies cricket. “I booked to go on tour. I’m a Trinidadian and pasionate about Brian Lara and as of right now I don’t think I’m going again. The bad thing is, there is not much as fans that we can do about Lara being left out. It just seems that when our stars reach the top, the board finds a way to shoot them down.”Matthews continued: “I think that both sides are dragging their feet. I think the fans deserve the biggest break. We have been paying through our nose and skin and nobody is thinking about the fans. I think the Board is taking the players and fans for fools…but I’m partially to blame because, technically, I continue to attend the matches …but all I want is to see the best team play .”Matthews concluded: “I came through the era of Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and company, and all that is going on in West Indies cricket now, I must say, meh heart hurting meh!”