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On Thursday, at SuperSport Park in Centurion, Morkel and Steyn exacted a carefully planned revenge for the pain inflicted on them by the Indian batting in Kolkata earlier in the year

Firdose Moonda at SuperSport Park16-Dec-2010Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel must remember Kolkata 2010 the same way the United States remembers Vietnam. That’s where they thought they had a chance to defeat an opposition that looked beatable, and that’s where they misjudged badly. They were wounded from all fronts, their morale was broken and in the end, they lost the battle.After their victory in Nagpur a week earlier, South Africa had an ideal opportunity to win the series in the subcontinent. That never happened. They collapsed to 296 on a turning track at Eden Gardens and conceded a massive 643/6 to lose by an innings and 57 runs. Dale Steyn bowled thirty overs and Morne Morkel 26, both conceding 115 runs apiece. Virender Sehwag, in particular, treated the pair as though they were nothing more than cheap rag dolls. Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman followed, although in less manic fashion, and then MS Dhoni joined the party. Steyn and Morkel were left hurting. On Thursday, at SuperSport Park in Centurion, they exacted a carefully planned revenge.”It’s the most important thing not to forget your aggression,” Morkel said after the first day when a mixture of that attacking instinct and ingenious strategy helped South Africa seize the advantage.The match was being billed as a contest between South Africa’s bowlers and India’s batsmen, in particular the openers on both sides, and it did not disappoint. Steyn versus Sehwag was considered the heavyweight fight but it lasted just three balls. The first two were regulation Steyn balls, shaping away outside off and Sehwag dutifully left them. In his next over, Steyn began with a similar delivery, moving away just a touch. Sehwag could not resist.He didn’t care that Hashim Amla was positioned at short third-man for in case he gave in to the temptation. The urge to hit on the up was too tempting and Sehwag went for it. In doing so, he scooped it off the outside edge to Amla giving South Africa immediate reward, even though they were prepared to wait. “We knew we would have to stay calm and patient and that he would give it away,” Morkel said.The middleweight clash lasted a few more rounds. Morkel was unrelenting as he banged in short balls by the half-dozen to Gautam Gambhir, but mixed them up well. He topped 151 kph at times and sent the ball whizzing around Gambhir’s ears in the first over. In the second over he bowled to Gambhir the real crux of the strategy emerged. Two short balls, followed up by a fuller one, and then another. When Morkel, elegant as a giraffe, reached down to save four off his own bowling from the second fuller ball, it was as though he was prophesising his own victory.He almost had his man in the next over when a nasty bouncer took something on the way through to Mark Boucher. Umpire Steve Davis thought it shaved something other than the glove. Morkel did not relent and gave Gambhir no scoring opportunities as the pattern of short, short, full continued. Gambhir survived Morkel’s first spell but just as he was relaxing, Morkel returned from the other end and continued the same trend. Two more short balls, and then Gambhir perished to the follow-up. He was too late on the full ball and the outside edge was comfortably taken by Paul Harris at first slip.The way Steyn and Morkel varied their lengths was crucial to their success. “They weren’t sure whether to go forward or back,” Morkel said. Steyn used the seam movement in exemplary fashion, particularly as he got the ball to go away from Rahul Dravid and in to Gambhir. Morkel’s height allowed him to extract the spongy bounce but he managed to mix the short balls with a range of deliveries that landed on a good length and ones that were full enough to tease the batsmen’s toes. It was that assortment that got Dravid out as he was hit on the pads by a delivery that stayed lower than expected.Steyn came out spitting venom after tea. The over he bowled to Tendulkar immediately after the break covered an entire spectrum. It contained a delivery that moved away, one that straightened, one that moved in, a bouncer and an over-pitched ball. In the next over, Steyn left Laxman aghast by getting right through him and pegging back his middle stump. He also got rid of Tendulkar, who was looking strong in the battle against Lonwabo Tsotsobe, with a ball that straightened.South Africa’s opening bowlers, who have been labelled the most fearsome in world cricket, out-thought the Indians with their follow-up balls. The straighter or fuller deliveries were proving to be the wicket-taking ones but they didn’t forget that the ball India have always been vulnerable against on tour was the short one.The pair has always been revered because of their styles complementing each other and Morkel said they aimed to exploit the variety to their advantage. “Myself and Dale are different bowlers. I’m six foot five but he is a bit shorter. I need to use my strength which is my bounce. I don’t get a lot of swing and shape off the wicket, but Dale does.”While they were dismantling the Indian line-up, some luck also went their way. Suresh Raina, who was considered a target for short balls, ended up edging a length delivery from Jacques Kallis to third slip. After his dismissal a recovery seemed imminent. Even the South African bowlers expected it. “They have a quality top six or seven and we were lucky that Harbhajan was run out today,” Morkel said. Harbhajan appeared confident before he was caught short of his crease by an underarm throw from Mark Boucher.South Africa will be aware that is still plenty of movement left in the pitch, but an Indian attack without Zaheer Khan is a far less scary prospect than one with him. Morkel has some advice for his batsmen when they get they turn out tomorrow. “You need to leave well. It nips about but it’s a touch slow.” First, South Africa have one more wicket to claim but they must sense that the end is close with a debutant and a captain struggling for form at the crease. Then the revenge will be complete.

While Morgan Schneiderlin may not have been the only transfer mistake made under the Farhad Moshiri regime at Everton, he certainly proved one of the most expensive, having failed to live up to his initial hefty price tag.

The Frenchman had originally made his name as part of the hugely talented Southampton side which stormed back into the Premier League in 2012 under Nigel Adkins, alongside the likes of Adam Lallana and Jose Fonte, having helped the Saints to navigate their way out of the third tier after joining in 2008.

His displays on the south coast alerted the attention of Manchester United, with Louis Van Gaal opting to fork out £25m for the defensive midfielder in 2015, only for the player to be moved on just 18 months later following Jose Mourinho’s appointment.

Despite failing to convince at Old Trafford, the Toffees and Ronald Koeman – in their infinite wisdom – decided that Schneiderlin was worth a punt, as they coughed up a fairly sizeable £24m to bring him Goodison Park in January 2017.

Schneiderlin’s Everton woes

In truth, those among the United hierarchy would have been rubbing their hands in glee at having been able to recoup almost their entire initial transfer fee on a player who had failed to nail down a regular starting berth and who, according to club legend Rio Ferdinand, posed “zero threat” in the middle of the park.

Nevertheless, the Goodison Park outfit went ahead with the deal, although they would eventually wish they hadn’t as the Frenchman went on to score just one goal in 88 appearances in all competitions over the next three years.

In fact, he had as many goal contributions in total as he did red cards (three), notably getting sent off in a Europa League defeat to Lyon in November 2017, with the dismissal leaving pundit Chris Sutton to suggest that the player “didn’t look like he wanted to be there”.

As it proved, Schneiderlin might as well not have been on Merseyside over the next few years, as he made next to no impact in blue, while he was infamously booed by his own supporters while entering the fray as a substitute in February 2018, just a year into his time at the club.

Having failed to ever win over the crowd or the string of managers who came and went at Everton, he was eventually shipped off to Nice in January 2021 for a fraction of his initial cost, with the Premier League outfit having been forced to accept that he was simply a lost cause.

Since then, the 32-year-old has made 56 appearances for his current club in all competitions, although he is still yet to find the net, while his market value has now dropped to a mere £3.6m – a reflection of his stark decline over the last five years or so.

In other news, £44m down the drain: Allardyce’s £69k-p/w disaster has rinsed Everton for 54 months

Khan Research Laboratories lead Karachi Whites by 349 runs to end any hopes the latter had of reaching the finals

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Dec-2010Khan Research Laboratories openers Saeed Anwar and Ali Naqvi added a mammoth 337 to bat Karachi Whites out of the game at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex in Karachi. Having started the day on 165, the two batsmen motored along in contrasting fashion. Anwar was the aggressor, scoring at almost a run-a-ball in the course of making 181, an innings that included 27 fours and a six, while Naqvi played the supporting role, taking 388 balls compared to Anwar’s 186, to make 180.It took the part-time offspin of Wajihuddin to finally break the partnership, as he trapped Anwar leg before. Wajihuddin then ended Naqvi’s patient vigil as well, getting him to nick one to the keeper. KRL would go on to lose three more wickets to end the day on 449 for 5, giving them a lead of 349 and putting paid to any thoughts Karachi Whites had of playing in the final.

Premier League outfit Crystal Palace are monitoring RC Lens midfielder Cheick Doucoure, according to the BBC, ahead of a potential summer move.

The 22-year-old has been a kingpin for the Ligue 1 outfit this term, making 34 appearances across all competitions this term with his side sat in eighth place.

Moreover, the Malian has scored one goal and registered four assists from defensive midfield this term and already boasts eight senior caps for Mali.

It’s no surprise that Palace are being linked with midfielders ahead of this summer with both Cheikhou Kouyate and James McArthur’s contracts set to expire this summer whilst Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher will be returning to west London with his future hanging in the balance.

The 22-year-old has been excellent for the Eagles this term, scoring eight goals and assisting a further three from midfield. Although, the chances of the Englishman returning to Selhurst Park on a permanent basis next season look slim, with it reported last month that Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is keen to have the midfielder next term.

Therefore, Patrick Vieira’s midfield will need a major overhaul in the summer, and Doucoure could prove to be the perfect candidate.

Valued at £9m, the 22-year-old could make the move to England for a bargain fee. Moreover, in a performance against Nice last month, journalist Andrés Onrubia Ramos claimed that the Malian was “destroying everyone.”

In Ligue 1 this season, the defensive midfielder has averaged 67.4 touches a match whilst completing 48.2 passes at an accuracy of 87% and 1.1 key passes.

Furthermore, Doucoure doesn’t shy away from the dirty work, contributing two interceptions, 2.2 tackles and 0.7 clearances a game.

Compared to Palace’s current preferred option in that deeper midfield role Kouyate, the Malian’s stats are generally better.

The Senegal international averages fewer touches with 41.2 whilst completing less than half of Doucoure’s passes at 23.6 at a lower accuracy of 82%.

Although, the two midfielders offer very similar defensive stats, with Kouyate averaging 1.2 clearances a game whilst also making two interceptions and 2.2 tackles.

Vieira has already made his desire to bring down the average age of his squad, having signed 19-year-old Michael Olise, 21-year-old Marc Guehi, 21-year-old Gallagher and 23-year-old Odsonne Edouard last summer.

Therefore, signing Doucoure would make perfect sense in an area that must be strengthened over the summer.

AND in other news: Lost the ball every 2.4 touches: Palace flop who lost 63% duels let Vieira down again

The ICC has published on its website an edited and encrypted 102-page version of the independent tribunal’s verdict in the spot-fixing case but barred it to readers in England and Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2011The ICC has published on its website an edited and encrypted 102-page version of the final determination of the independent tribunal that handed out its verdict on February 5 after the spot-fixing hearings in Doha. However, in light of the Crown Prosecution Service’s recent decision to pursue criminal charges against the three banned players – Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif – the judgement will not be available to readers in England and Wales.To others, the version available online is in a read-only format and will be available for a period of only seven days.”It is the ICC’s intention to be as transparent an organisation as is feasible and to publish all its reports and findings for the benefit of stakeholders,” ICC chief Haroon Lorgat said. “Publishing the full written determination of the tribunal is clearly in the best interest of cricket.” The tribunal, too, had recommended a full disclosure However, their hands have been forced by legal considerations.The determination came with a clear warning, prohibiting the publication or dissemination of the determination within England and Wales. It also laid out that any attempt to access it from within England and Wales would be deemed unlawful, and could invite legal action.

ESPNcricinfo previews the fourth ODI between New Zealand and Pakistan in Napier

The Preview by Sriram Veera31-Jan-2011Match FactsFebruary 1, Napier
Start time 14:00 (01:00 GMT)
Jesse Ryder returns to the top•Getty ImagesBig PictureChristchurch witnessed a quintessentially Pakistani style of play: start slow, build a base, retain wickets, and explode in the end. It used to be the norm in 1980s before Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail changed that in the 90’s, but once again, without a settled opening pair, Pakistan are returning to the roots. Not many teams can launch into a frenzied and mesmerising attack in the end overs like Pakistan can. Abdul Razzaq swinging like there is no tomorrow, Shahid Afridi swinging like there is no next moment, and the scarred opposition living on the boundary’s edge, waiting for the violence to end. As Luke Woodcock put it: “I’ve seen a bit of it on TV but to actually see it first hand, playing against him [Afridi] for the first time, it was a pretty special knock and he took the momentum away from us.”Mohammad Hafeez hit his maiden hundred in his 61st game, Ahmed Shehzad dazzled briefly in the second ODI, and Umar Akmal showed glimpses of the imperious flair he possesses. But what about Pakistan’s experienced middle order? For long, Younis Khan’s critics have said that he bats in ODIs like he is batting in a Test and vice versa. For long, Misbah-ul-Haq’s critics have said that he bats in all formats like he is batting in a Test. Their supporters will cite Christchurch as evidence of their effectiveness. Let Younis and Misbah play the middle overs, preventing a collapse, and set the base for the marauders to take over. The critics want the same thing but they wonder why the holding job can’t be performed with more purpose? Can’t Younis and Misbah take singles, keep the strike rotating, and score at a decent pace? Their career strike rates are just over 75, which is actually ideal for the job they do, but the criticism, especially against Misbah, is that he only makes up towards the end of his knock. The sedate approach at the start increases pressure on the others and triggers self-destructive ways or so the argument goes. It will be interesting to watch their approach in the next game.Their opposition, New Zealand, are experimenting, searching for the ideal line-up before the World Cup. The biggest puzzle is the position of Brendon McCullum. On the flat-beds of the subcontinent, considering that he is a regular Test opener, would it be better to play him at the top or keep him for later? Martin Guptill has been in great form, and Jesse Ryder is best while opening, so why not plug McCullum lower down to make use of the batting Powerplay? And what about Jamie How, who looks good in most innings but never carries on? He will get one more chance in the next game, this time in the middle order, and he needs to grab it.Tim Southee and Hamish Bennett are the two chosen ones for the fourth ODI. It was slightly strange to see New Zealand make Bennett bowl against the breeze in the last game. Will they give him a chance to go down wind and try and use his pace to unsettle the batsmen? Luke Woodcock, who had a good debut, lost out as Vettori and Nathan McCullum return. The pressure is on Nathan to put in a good performance to keep Woodcock behind in the pecking order.Napier, the venue of the fourth ODI, has been a burial ground for the bowlers and if the pitch remains flat and full of runs, Pakistan hold the edge over New Zealand.Form guideNew Zealand: LWLLL
Pakistan: WLLWL
Players to watch out for …Jesse Ryder has a great strike-rate (95.41) in ODIs but he has a better grasp of how to build an innings in Tests. If he can reprise that temperament in ODIs, his transformation into a world-class ODI player would be complete. The back-lift is minimal, the foot work precise, and the shot-selection is maturing rapidly. Ryder can be the backbone of this line-up in the World Cup.Umar Akmal has the shots, but does he have the temperament? There is a thin line between arrogance and confidence and he seems to be forever living on that edge. Pakistan would hope that Umar can fast track the transformation from boy to man and be more consistent.Team newsWaqar Younis, Pakistan’s coach, said there would only be one change: will the spinner Abdur Rehman get a chance, or will they try to bring in Asad Shafiq or Shoaib Akthar?Pakistan (probable): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Kamran Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Abdur Rehman/Sohail Tanvir, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Shoaib Akhtar/Wahab Riaz.How and Kane Williamson will both play in the middle order. Bennett and Southee will be the seamers while Vettori and Nathan McCullum are the spinners in the XI.New Zealand (probable): 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Ross Taylor , 4 Scott Styris, 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Jamie How, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Hamish Bennett.Stats and trivia Seven of the last 10 ODIs in Napier have been won by the side batting first. Afridi’s five sixes in the third ODI took his tally to 285, the record for most sixes in one-dayers. Sanath Jayasuriya is second with 270. It was also the 16th time that Afridi hit five or more sixes in an innings. Jayasuriya did it 11 times. Younis Khan averages only 29.30 from 18 games against New Zealand. In New Zealand, he averages 18 from three games. Quotes”Both teams search for consistency, and both teams struggle to get it, so we know we can turn their confidence around pretty quickly and hopefully put it in our favour. I think we need to look at that”
.”If you look at the way we bowled to him [Afridi], we gave him a number of opportunities to clear the ropes. We missed a chance to catch him, you just can’t afford to do that, so the onus goes on the bowlers to hit their lines and lengths … You can accept if they get hit from those areas, but if you are bowling half-volleys and length balls in the Powerplays you are going to be in trouble.”
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MS Dhoni has suggested India’s bowling line-up may change from match to match over the World Cup, depending on conditions and the opposition

Liam Brickhill in Bangalore05-Mar-2011The last three days have given MS Dhoni plenty to think about. Kevin O’Brien’s inspirational innings against England means a wary India will be taking no chances against the plucky Ireland side in Bangalore, while the reaction of irate Bangladesh fans after their team’s humiliating loss to West Indies will surely have stirred memories for India’s captain.West Indies’ team bus was struck by stones as they travelled back from their match against Bangladesh in Mirpur, while the also reported that a few fans on motorbikes threw stones at Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan’s Magura home, leaving a window-pane broken. Dhoni’s own home in Ranchi had been targeted in a similar manner, amid a wave of effigy-burning, by angry Indian fans after India’s loss to Bangladesh in the 2007 World Cup.”I think yesterday they missed the Bangladesh bus, because that’s what they were waiting for,” he joked, before taking on a far more serious tone. “It’s unfortunate, but in the subcontinent that’s how the fans react. They should remember it’s not the players living in that [Shakib’s] home right now, it’s the family members and they don’t have anything to do with cricket. You have to control your emotions.”[As fans] you have to back the players. You need backing when you’re not doing well because when you’re winning games and everybody’s with you, the emotions, the expectation level, the appreciation, everything is there. But the real fans of cricket will be with you when you’re not doing well, when you are a bit low, when the team is not doing well, those are the real fans of cricket. Others, they just follow the wins of the team; whenever they are winning they are big fans of cricket.”MS Dhoni says he was never going to take Ireland lightly as he has already experienced losing to an underdog•AFPA successful Indian team has had no such worries in this tournament so far, giving their legions of supporters plenty to celebrate even though their match against England ended in a tie. But if there had been any chance, at the beginning of the World Cup, that their encounter with Ireland might have been seen as an opportunity to experiment and rest key players, such thoughts were vanquished by the events of Wednesday night.”I’ve never said there’s any weaker side in the World Cup, because if you have very fond memories of getting beaten by Bangladesh in 2007 then you won’t commit that mistake,” Dhoni said on the eve of the Ireland clash.”For every team it depends on that particular day. There are individuals in every side who can play big innings, score at an amazing strike rate of 150 or 200, and that can really change the course of the game. So the preparation level remains the same and the intensity should be the same as when we play any other side.”Dhoni admitted to being impressed by Kevin O’Brien’s “unbelievable” knock, and glad that he had been a spectator to it rather than being on the receiving end. “We really enjoyed O’Brien’s innings. It was not against us, so as a spectator you can enjoy each and every hit. We enjoyed every bit of his batting and the Ireland innings.”Right from the very start he went after the bowlers but it was really impressive to see him change gears at the end because that’s what was needed at that point. As far as strategies [against him] are concerned, every day is different so accordingly you have to plan for how a batsman is playing. But he got run out, so we’ll try to get him run out in this game also.”A full-strength XI is a virtual certainty against a buoyant Ireland side who will be backing themselves to secure another major scalp, and Dhoni suggested that India would stick to the batting-heaving line-up as that is where their main strength lies.”You should always back your strength, that’s the most important part. Tomorrow we don’t want to feel ‘Okay now we would have been better off with seven batsmen’, and maybe you score 30-odd runs less and you find yourself in a place where there’s not enough runs on the board. We’ll be more inclined to play with seven batters, of course Yusuf [Pathan] and Yuvraj [Singh] can also bowl and be the fifth bowler for the side.”With four slots remaining for the bowlers, the question for India will be which combination of spin and seam to play: three seamers and one specialist spinner, or two of each? If two spinners are included, will it be R Ashwin or Piyush Chawla who partners Harbhajan Singh?Dhoni did not let on what India’s plans were, but did defend his bowlers for leaking 338 runs in the game against England, saying the Bangalore wicket was flat. “We played against England with a two-two combination. Some people may say it didn’t really affect the opposition but what we are saying is the wicket is behaving in a better way under the lights. What we have seen is that it’s not a seamer-friendly wicket and as the game progresses by evening it comes on very nicely to the bat – there’s no extra pace for the fast bowlers.”Dhoni suggested India’s bowling combination might change from game to game depending on the opposition. “If there’s plenty of left-handers in the opposition side then you may be inclined to play one more offspinner. Both Yusuf and Harbhajan are offspinners and both of them have bowled well. If the opposition are not very good at picking the wrong one from the legspinner then you are inclined to play Piyush Chawla.”Piyush just gives you that variation of the bowler who can take it away and also has the wrong one. And you already have Harbhajan and Yusuf to bowl offspin. Ashwin has done exceptionally well for us whenever he has played and he has bowled in the first 10 overs also, but you just pick the one that may be most suitable for that particular game.”

Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, took heart from his team’s performance to reach the final of the World Cup but described the defeat to India in Mumbai as “hugely disappointing”

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2011Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, took heart from his team’s performance to reach the final of the World Cup but described the defeat to India in Mumbai as “hugely disappointing”. It was Sri Lanka’s third defeat – starting with the World Cup in the West Indies, followed by the World Twenty20 in England – in a global tournament final since 2007 and Sangakkara regretted not grabbing what he said was a “once in a lifetime opportunity.””It is hugely disappointing but satisfying as well in a strange sense because we understand the magnitude of what we’ve done to get here,” Sangakkara said. “We can be proud of the way we played our cricket. We tried exceptionally hard to win games, but today unfortunately we couldn’t convert.”Sri Lanka had the upper hand after Mahela Jayawardene scored a sublime century to take them to 274 and Lasith Malinga struck early to remove the Indian openers. There had been confusion during the toss, which had to redone after, as Sangakkara claimed, Dhoni thought his counterpart had called incorrectly, while the others weren’t able to hear the call. Sangakkara won the second toss but said the score his team managed after batting first wasn’t adequate given the depth of the Indian batting line-up. “Batting first and putting those runs up on the board was never enough the way the Indians batted,” he said. “Their batting is unbelievable. They probably have the best top seven in ODI cricket.”Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni struck match-winning 90s to get India’s chase on track after those two early setbacks, and Sangakkara admitted his bowlers didn’t apply enough pressure. “After we got the first two wickets, we weren’t really tight enough with our bowling. We bowled quite a few loose balls and Gambhir and Kohli made us pay for that. MS really stuck it out there and saw through the tough periods. Once they matched and then went past the asking-rate, it was very difficult to pull them back.The World Cup eluded Kumar Sangakkara’s team in a gripping final•Getty Images”It was a great pitch, it lasted throughout. It turned a little in the middle part of the innings but the Indians are great players of spin. We didn’t bother them too much today apart from Malinga’s two wickets at the start.”Dhoni’s calm leadership under pressure has come in for praise this tournament and Sangakkara joined in. “Dhoni has been the epitome of captain cool. He’s intelligent, very smart in the way he does things.”It’s a combination of various factors that has helped them win in different conditions. We also have played very well against them, but playing at home they took that inspiration that one step further.”Sangakkara also lauded Jayawardene for helping Sri Lanka overcome a slow start and set a challenging target. It was the first time a batsman ended up on the losing side in a World Cup final after scoring a century. “It was an exceptional innings. He made this wonderful stage his own. He really showed us what he is capable of and what a classy player he is. He got us to where we reached, otherwise we were looking at a total of 240-250.”It doesn’t matter how often you play each other. It is the World Cup final. You need to do something special. We had that in Jayawardene and they had that in Gambhir and Dhoni. They were one step ahead of us.”Sangakkara also acknowledged the contribution of Trevor Bayliss, the Sri Lanka coach, who will be stepping down. “Trevor grounded us very well. A lot of old-fashioned hard work, a lot of common sense. He’s a man of few words but what he does say really counts. He’s been one of our most successful coaches.”

Chris Gayle has said he had written off IPL 2011 and was getting ready to resume international duties before being dropped from the West Indies team for the series against Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2011WICB chief Ernest Hilaire has said the board worked “exceedingly hard” to reach out to Chris Gayle before leaving him out of the West Indies squad for the first two one-dayers against Pakistan. Hilaire’s statements were in response to Gayle, who had earlier said the board hadn’t communicated with him before making their decision. Gayle is currently playing in the IPL, where he started off his 2011 campaign with a sparkling ton for Royal Challengers Bangalore, while West Indies are down 0-2 in the five-match series against Pakistan.”We can dispel all that Chris [Gayle] said by releasing the letters and emails,” Hilaire told the . “But we should not do that. You communicate with a player, you ask for his opinions, you ask for him to account on certain statements he made, you ask him what’s his position on certain things and you expect to be treated with a certain degree of confidence.”You expect when the coach pulls a player aside and speaks to him there is a certain level of respect for that conversation. And against that background I’m not going to try to prove Chris Gayle wrong. What’s more important is to state that we’re very disappointed in the way in Chris has decided to respond. I think he is being ill-advised. We’ve worked exceedingly hard to reach out to Chris – numerous attempts – letters, phone calls, emails. He is being advised and he will act in the way in which he sees best.”Hilaire revealed that the WICB had decided to allow Gayle to play in the IPL, since it did not want to deny him the opportunity. “We’ve stated – it is not that we do not want the players to earn a living,” Hilaire said. “We want them to earn a living but we also want them to honour their commitment to West Indies cricket. So we spoke to [Kieron] Pollard, [Dwayne] Bravo and Chris.”Last October when the three players did not sign the retainer contracts, we wrote to them and said ‘tell us what the issues are so we can address it moving forward’,” Hilaire said. “We had some exchanges, a couple of constructive ones, one not very constructive but we decided we were going to continue to engage the players. We did not want a situation where we pick the players to play for West Indies and they miss out on IPL, they are then bitter, disappointed, they wish they were at IPL. We would not benefit, they would not benefit.”Two of the players [Pollard and Bravo] were very cooperative, very supportive, that they can work out an arrangement with us where they can meet their commitments to West Indies cricket as far as the selectors would want them to but also get a chance to play in the IPL.”It did not exactly work out with Chris but when the point came and he said he was not available for selection, we did give him the NOC because it is not about revenge, it is not about denying him the opportunity.”Pollard, normally a first-choice pick in West Indies’ limited-overs’ squads, is currently playing in the IPL for Mumbai Indians. Bravo, who missed all but one game in the World Cup with injury, is playing for West Indies, but is set to miss the Test leg of the Pakistan tour to play in the IPL.

“It did not exactly work out with Chris, but when the point came and he said he was not available for selection, we did give him the NOC because it is not about revenge, it is not about denying him the opportunity.”Ernest Hilaire

Hilaire said the board was under the impression that Gayle was undergoing rehabilitation, and would be available to play Pakistan once he was fully fit. “We said to Chris repeatedly that as far as we are concerned you’re injured, you’re doing a rehabilitative programme, and that when you’re finished we want you tested and if you’re available we’ll pick you to play for West Indies,” Hilaire said. “If you don’t want to play we have no difficulty in giving you the NOC once you say you’re not available for selection, and he said he was not available for selection and we gave him the NOC.Hilaire defended the wholesale changes in the side – apart from Gayle, other seniors like Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul have also been left out – saying it was done with the intention of sparking a revival in the team’s fortunes.”If you look at West Indies cricket since the mid-90s a lot of the systems we had in place broke down,” Hilaire said. “There’s no discipline, there’s no application. We’ve been doing that for 15 years and we’ve been losing.”We need to put a new system in place. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar he can decide if he is training today, if he’s going to have treatment tomorrow, if he’s going to attend a team meeting. It cannot work that way.”So [the WICB] does not tell the selectors who to pick, we’ve said to the selectors that we want a team, we don’t want the whole team to surround one or two superstars so that if the superstars fail then everything collapses. We depend on two or three people to excel for us to win and if they don’t excel we lose. We don’t want that.”

Chaminda Vaas starred with bat and ball as the Northamptonshire continued their 100 per cent record in the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a nervy four-wicket win over Scotland

22-May-2011
ScorecardChaminda Vaas starred with bat and ball as the Northamptonshire continued their 100 per cent record in the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a nervy four-wicket win over Scotland.Preston Mommsen smashed an unbeaten 81 off 72 balls as the Saltires recovered from an awful start to post 200 for 5 of their 40 overs with Vaas taking 3 for 37.Vaas then made 68 off 88 balls as the Steelbacks reached their target with five deliveries to spare with Matthew Parker claiming figures off three for 41. Scotland won the toss and chose to bat but they soon lost Callum MacLeod for a duck when he blasted Vaas straight to David Willey at point.Josh Davey then also went without scoring when he edged Vaas to David Sales at slip but Fraser Watts managed to make 29 before David Lucas’ delivery clipped his off stump. Richie Berrington then missed an attempted reverse sweep and was pinned lbw by James Middlebrook for 28.It wasn’t until the 27th over that the Saltires reached 100 and the next wicket to fall was that of Luke Butterworth, bowled by Vaas for 20. Mommsen went on to complete his half-century off 54 with a four clattered through extra cover as he tried to push his side towards a competitive total.He and wicketkeeper Gregor Maiden did just that by adding 75 between them with the latter finishing on 32 not out. Chasing 201, Vaas was given an early reprieve when Davey dropped a simple catch at fine leg off Butterworth in the second over.But Stephen Peters perished for just seven when he was trapped lbw by Parker before David Willey (11) launched the same bowler to Gordon Goudie at deep mid-wicket. It was up for grabs when Alex Wakely was caught leg before by Butterworth to leave the Steelbacks reeling on 64 for three and behind the required run rate.Vaas made the most of his earlier good fortune by reaching 50 off 64 balls before finally departing by smashing Scotland captain Gordon Drummond to Mommsen at extra cover. Sales followed in the next over for 40 when he was bowled by Parker before Rob White was run out thanks to a superb throw from long-on by MacLeod.Sixteen runs off the 37th over, bowled by Butterworth, swung the game back in Northamptonshire’s favour and captain Andrew Hall and Middlebrook guided them home with scores of 21 and 31 not out respectively.