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Australia’s bowlers vindicated Ricky Ponting’s bold first-innings declaration with a disciplined, aggressive display on the second day at the MCG

The Bulletin by Alex Brown27-Dec-2009Pakistan 4 for 109 (Butt 45) trail Australia 5 for 454 dec (Katich 98, Watson 93, Hussey 82, Hauritz 75, Ponting 57) by 345 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMitchell Johnson removes Imran Farhat lbw as Australia ran into Pakistan on the second afternoon•Getty ImagesAustralia’s bowlers vindicated Ricky Ponting’s bold first innings declaration with a disciplined and aggressive display on the second day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Shane Watson and Nathan Hauritz followed their enterprising half-centuries with a top-order wicket apiece, but the major blow was landed by Peter Siddle on the stroke of stumps when Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan captain, was ruled by Billy Doctrove not to have edged to Brad Haddin, only to have the decision overturned by the video umpire.Asoka de Silva’s ruling left the Pakistanis reeling at 4 for 109 in pursuit of Australia’s 5 (dec) for 454. Hot Spot and slow motion replays supported de Silva’s assertion that Yousuf gloved the ball down the leg-side in a flinching motion, but the knowledge will come as little comfort to the tourists, who are now faced with a mountainous climb to remain competitive in the match.Ponting demonstrated Australia’s ruthless intent by delcaring less than an hour after the lunch break on Sunday, having watched each of his first five batsmen, the nightwatchman included, notch half centuries. Mitchell Johnson was first to back-up his captain’s endeavour by trapping Imran Farhat lbw to a tailing delivery, while Watson, Hauritz and Peter Siddle swung into action in the final session to leave the tourists in a grim fight for survival.Hauritz, contending with a groin injury that hampered him throughout his 152-ball stay at the crease, coaxed Faisal Iqbal into a cut-shot that was accepted by Michael Clarke at slip. Watson then pressed home Australia’s advantage with an excellent spell of reverse swing bowling that accounted for Salman Butt (45) and severely tested the defences of Mohammad Yousuf and Umar Akmal.Much of the pent-up frustration of the previous day’s run-out was released when, from the beginning of his spell, Watson hooped the old ball both ways. His set-up of Butt was one to make Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s pioneers of reverse swing, proud – a succession of away-swingers followed by one which attacked the pads and survived a video appeal.Doug Bollinger ensured there was no respite for Pakistan’s batsmen, attacking the stumps consistently and conceding runs at less than two-per-over. But the final indignity for the tourists was inflicted by Siddle, whose removal of Yousuf eroded any optimism Pakistan had mustered on the second day. Yousuf looked the most assured of Pakistan’s batsmen, opening his account with a straight six off Hauritz and battening down thereafter, but his dismissal left only the brothers Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq standing between Australia and the tail.Earlier, Michael Hussey (82) and Hauritz (75) took Australia’s unconverted century tally to an unflattering 20 for the summer, but not before they had propelled the hosts into a position of dominance. Like Watson, Simon Katich and Ponting before him, Hussey appeared in superb touch on a flattening MCG surface. Strong on the cut shot and off his pads, the veteran left-hander provided further reason to believe the worst of his extended form trough was behind him as he registered his 19th Test half-century with a degree of fluency and poise all but absent in his batting for much of 2009.But with a ton in sight, Hussey fell victim to the impressive Saeed Ajmal, who posed a constant threat to the Australians with deft changes of pace, flight and turn. Ajmal rapped Hussey on the pads while attempting to sweep and was awarded a well-deserved wicket by Doctrove – one upheld by the video umpire on appeal.Ajmal might well have had Hauritz, the nightwatchman, dismissed earlier in the morning with a direct-hit run-out. Replays showed the ball striking the stumps with Hauritz short of his ground, however they could not prove definitively whether the bail was entirely out of the groove. Hauritz advanced his total to a career-best 75 with a series of strokes more befitting the Twenty20 arena before eventually falling victim to Abdur Rauf via the video. He was ruled lbw by de Silva after being initially spared by Rudi Koertzen, the on-field official.Of some concern to the Australian camp was Hauritz’s grimacing reaction to a quick single taken late in the first session. A groin injury almost ruled him out of this Test – Steven Smith, the New South Wales legspinner, was called in as cover – however his introduction into the attack after just nine overs of the Pakistan innings allayed concerns.The early use of Hauritz, coupled with the surprise declaration, were the latest in a series of aggressive captaincy moves from the reputedly conservative Ponting. An early closure and a rare enforcement of the follow-on in Brisbane last month set the tone for the summer, and the Australian captain maintained course in the first innings at the MCG with his pursuit of Pakistan.

Betty Wilson, one of the greatest women’s cricketers who was sometimes called Australia’s female Bradman, has died aged 88

Cricinfo staff22-Jan-2010Betty Wilson, one of the greatest women’s cricketers who was sometimes called Australia’s female Bradman, has died aged 88. Her decade-long international career lasted till 1958 and, in an era where there was little women’s cricket, she averaged 57.46 with the bat and 11.80 bowling offspinners in 11 Tests.She made a spectacular entrance to top-flight cricket, scoring 90 and taking ten wickets on debut against New Zealand in 1948. In her next Test, she became the first Australian woman to make an Ashes hundred, and topped that effort with nine wickets in the match. Other highlights in a legendary career include becoming the first woman to take a Test hat-trick, becoming the first person to achieve the double of a century and ten wickets in a Test, and signing off with a couple of centuries and 21 wickets at 9.71 in her final series.In 1985, Wilson became the first woman cricketer to be inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame and and that year the Under-21 National Women’s Cricket Championship was renamed the Betty Wilson Shield.She was born in Melbourne in 1921 and became part of the club cricket scene by the age of 10, joining Collingwood. In four years, she had graduated to the second XI of the Victoria side and at 16 she was in the state side. A natural athlete, she was also admired for her work ethic – practicing daily when most of her team-mates trained once a week.

A major update has emerged on the future of Steve Hitchen at Tottenham Hotspur this week…

What’s the word?

According to a Spurs inside source speaking to Football Insider, the technical and performance director is likely to remain in any potential stuff and recruitment cull at Hotspur Way due to his relationship with chairman Daniel Levy, on whom he has often relied in recent times.

Hitchen was responsible for transfers prior to the arrival of sporting director Fabio Paratici and notably recruited no fewer than £150m worth of talent during the summer of 2019 and January 2020.

It is believed that the Italian head coach wants to take full control of the Lilywhites’ transfer process this winter as his anger and disappointment at the club’s poor recruitment in recent years has been revealed.

He is said to have confidence in Paratici but does not trust some long-standing members of staff in north London.

This won’t go down well

Hitchen and his decision-making has often been criticised by large sections of the Spurs faithful over the years, which is hardly a surprise given his attitude when the transfer window swings around twice a year.

“The January transfer window is the worst transfer window. It’s a window of opportunity, it’s a window of panic, it’s never a window to plan… I hate it,” he claimed during Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing’ docuseries.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-hotspur-latest-team-injury-team-news-updates-transfers-gossip-rumours-antonio-conte-thfc” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

Meanwhile, some supporters have deemed his recruitment “shocking” and have regularly taken fire whenever his name crops up in the media.

Indeed, it’s hard to disagree as his major splashes of Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso (around £55m apiece) have failed to justify their club-record price tags, with other signings like Ryan Sessegnon, Steven Bergwijn and Jack Clarke all raising further question marks.

Throw in players like Davinson Sanchez, Serge Aurier, Matt Doherty and Juan Foyth over the years, and it’s not a great track record whatsoever.

Also, the fact that Conte does not have faith in him speaks volumes, so the Premier League and FA Cup-winning head coach should ultimately be heeded – if he does not want Hitchen, then Levy must ignore his loyalties for the sake of the club. Failure to do so would only anger the fanbase even more.

This latest behind-the-scenes development will surely leave Conte and those around N17 absolutely fuming.

AND in other news, Conte dealt further Spurs injury setback amid Cristian Romero update…

A key update has emerged on Rangers left-back Borna Barisic, regarding interest from English outfit Aston Villa…

What’s the talk?

Club media partner Heart & Hand Podcast has claimed that they have been told that there has been no contact between the two clubs at this stage.

Barisic has been linked with a switch to the Midlands, but the Gers insider has called any reports claiming that talks have been held are false.

They Tweeted: “Asked and been told there has been no contact between Rangers and Villa about Barisic. Any reports to the contrary are false.”

Delight

This update will surely delight Rangers fans as it suggests that there is no serious interest from the Premier League side at this stage. There is less than a month to go until the transfer window opens and you can forgive supporters for being concerned that Steven Gerrard may want to come back and raid his former club.

Whilst this claim from Heart & Hand does not entirely rule out the possibility of the Croatian international departing next month, it does show that nothing is in the works right now and there is no need to worry about his future at Ibrox for the moment.

Supporters would be delighted by him staying in Glasgow as he is a crucial player for the club and his exit would be a huge blow for Gio van Bronckhorst. He has proven his quality in Scotland over the last few years, averaging a SofaScore rating of 7.28 this season after achieving a score of 7.40 last term.

Barisic has won an impressive 61% of his duels this season whilst also creating 2.0 chances per game and making 2.1 tackles and interceptions. This shows that he is able to merge solid defending with quality on the ball to progress the play from left-back, which is why fans would be gutted by his departure and will be delighted by this update on the lack of concrete interest in his services.

Hopefully, Villa will look elsewhere to strengthen their squad instead of raiding Rangers and Barisic will remain at Ibrox in the long term. His statistics show how important he is to the club moving forward and how difficult it would be to replace him in the transfer window, providing another reason for why the fanbase will be buzzing by this news.

AND in other news, 180 duels won: Wilson sealed masterclass with “important” £14k-p/w Rangers colossus…

A round-up of the RBS Twenty20 Cup matches that took place on March 1

Cricinfo staff01-Mar-2010Group COne of the tournament heavies Faisalabad Wolves began their campaign by crushing Abbottabad Rhinos by 90 runs at the National Stadium. Mohammad Hafeez and Asif Hussain set up the win with an opening stand of 89 before Asid Afridi, the left-arm seamer on debut, dismissed Hussain. Afridi later made a big impact in the final over, taking four wickets in five balls to leave Faisalabad at 165 for 7. The astute Misbah-ul-Haq, with 40 off 26 balls including four sixes, ensured it didn’t derail his side from an impressive total.Abbottabad’s chase was never on, throttled early by Samiullah Khan Niazi. It turned out to be an evening for left-arm seamers as Samiullah dented the top order with three wickets. Abbottabad then lost three wickets with no addition to the score, including two to the excellent Shahid Nazir and at 57 for 7, the contest was long gone. Saeed Ajmal cleaned up the tail to finish with 3 for 4. Abbottabad are a traditionally weak side but were strengthened this year by the inclusion of a number of Peshawar players such as Yasir Hameed, Yasir Shah and Riffatullah Mohmand and will look to improve results.Group DKarachi Dolphins got off to a winning start making light work of Hyderabad Hawks at the National Stadium. They had much to thank the visitors for pressing the self-destruct button before crawling to 119, a target that was always going to be easy.Opener Shahzaib Hasan, a World Twenty20 winner, provided the fireworks during the chase, smashing 46 off 21 balls, including six fours and two sixes. Once Karachi had reached the halfway mark in just the fourth over, Khalid Latif continued the momentum, blitzing 32 off 15 balls. The openers’ charge was enough as the hosts sealed the win in the 10th over. Hyderabad had made a watchful start with opener Sharjeel Khan managing a near-run-a-ball 39, but three run-outs in the space of three overs meant they ended on a well below-par score. Fawad Alam was Karachi’s most successful bowler with 2 for 20.Group A Multan Tigers recorded their second consecutive win after cruising past Quetta Bears by seven wickets. Mohammad Hafeez and the tall Mohammad Irfan – at six foot ten, one of the tallest bowlers going – set it up by sharing seven wickets between them to restrict Quetta to a poor 99. Rameez Alam then scored an unbeaten half-century to guide them home within 17 overs. Irfan and Hafeez cut through the middle order to reduce Quetta to 59 for 5 and it was a position from which they never recovered. Hafeez finished with 4 for 17 while Irfan took 3 for 14 before wrapping up the innings off the penultimate ball. Multan lost Babar Ali off the first ball of the chase but Rameez piloted the innings to help them coast home.

Damien Martyn, the former Australian batsman, has headed home after being excluded from a trimmed Rajasthan Royals squad

Cricinfo staff25-Mar-2010Damien Martyn, the former Australian batsman, has headed home after being excluded from a trimmed Rajasthan Royals squad. He played only one game in the tournament after being surprisingly picked at the IPL auction, despite being out of top-level cricket for several years.”By the time you read this I’ll be heading home,” Martyn wrote on his blog. “The Rajasthan Royals squad has been trimmed to 19 players and it looks like allrounder Shane Watson might join us next week. That’s the nature of professional cricket and I knew from the start what my role in the squad was and how this might happen.”Martyn, 38, made a scratchy 19 in his only IPL appearance, against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, before being dropped for the next couple of games by Rajasthan. “I enjoyed my IPL debut last week and even though it wasn’t the best result (19 off 24 balls) it’s ironic that ever I was to play it had to be against the best bowler in the world. Dale Steyn, bowling 155kmph.”He also hinted that he was through with playing, and was looking at coaching opportunities. “I have enjoyed my time as a player but going forward I’m looking forward to new roles around the group, like all past players, getting my notebook out, sitting in the dugout and scribbling away.”Rajasthan made a poor start to the tournament, losing their first three matches but have bounced back with two victories in a row.

Tottenham Hotspur have been told that it would be ‘massive’ to tie down skipper Hugo Lloris to a new contract. 

Former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan was discussing the goalkeeper’s future with Football Insider.

The lowdown

Lloris’ Tottenham contract is due to expire at the end of the current season, but the publication have reported that talks are now underway over an extension.

The 34-year-old wants to pen a new multi-year agreement, and Spurs are keen to keep him. The Frenchman’s present deal sees him take home £100,000 per week, making him one of the six highest earners at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

His contract may be the club’s immediate priority, with every other senior star committed until at least 2023 aside from initial loan signings Cristian Romero and Pierluigi Gollini.

The latest

Whelan confessed himself surprised at the news from a Spurs source that talks were underway, having been under the impression that Spurs were looking for a replacement. However, he feels that it’s the right move, given that Lloris is still ‘one of the best goalkeepers in the world’ in his view.

The BBC pundit told Football Insider: “I think it’d be a huge plus, it really would be. For the past year and a half, we’ve been thinking that he’s going to go on a free, is he going to go to another club? Are they looking for successors to take his place?

“Wherever you mention Hugo Lloris’ name, he stands out as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. To tie him down would be a massive signing. Good goalkeepers like that are very hard to come by, they really are.”

Whelan also feels that agreeing a new deal with Lloris would send a message to the club’s other star players. He said: “The fact that he loves the club, has been there such a long time. It would just be a sign to the other players that they’ll do anything to keep the best players at the club.

“There’s no doubt about it. He’s a leader, he’s been the captain for Tottenham Hotspur as well. That to me is crucial.

“If they can manage to do that, that would show massive progress and an indication that they mean business.”

The verdict

Whelan may have seen a report from The Telegraph last month suggesting that Spurs were lining up an heir to Lloris in the form of Everton’s Jordan Pickford.

Could that be considered a downgrade? The Frenchman is comfortably out-performing his English peer in the shot-stopping metrics this season, having ‘prevented’ 0.8 expected goals while Pickford has conceded three more than he ‘should’ have (via FBRef).

What’s more, the Toffees netminder has an averaged one error leading to an opposition goal every 12.6 games in his Premier League career, compared to every 16.5 games for Lloris.

Perhaps Spurs have recognised that, as long as Lloris continues to deliver, it’s wise to stick by him. It’s little wonder that Whelan has talked him up so enthusiastically.

In other news, Kevin Campbell was thrilled by this transfer claim involving Conte

Rangers’ official Twitter channel has informed supporters of four changes to their 2022 fixture schedule.

Their clash with Hearts at Ibrox has been moved to 4pm on Sunday 6 February and will be broadcast live by Sky Sports.

Two further matches have been rescheduled later in the month as a result of the Gers’ progression to the Europa League knockout stages. Rangers finished second in their group, earning the right to play one of the Champions League group stage’s third-place teams for a place in the round of 16.

In last week’s draw, they learned that they would face Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, with the ties scheduled for 17 and 24 February.

Which games have been moved because of Rangers’ Europa League progress?

Their meetings with Dundee United and Motherwell have been shifted to midday and 3pm on the following Sundays, 20 and 27 February respectively.

However, most Rangers fans will probably be focusing on the clash with arch-rivals Celtic, with whom they may well battle for the title. The Hoops are now due to make the trip across Glasgow for a midday kick-off on Sunday 3 April.

While the European-enforced changes are understandable, some supporters were far from pleased with the Hearts clash in early February being moved to a 4pm Sunday kick-off amid fears that it could “cause chaos” in terms of travel to and from the match.

Rangers fans react to club’s fixture news

“Despise games being on a Sunday! That’s more games I’ll be missing. Saturday at 3, the way it’s meant to be!”

Credit: @Cassells777

“4pm on Sunday should be a crime”

Credit: @Innes1960

“4pm on a Sunday is horrible!”

Credit: @gazzagkl

“Time to scrap the TV deal”

Credit: @Robert39630284

“4 o’clock on a Sunday?? Na, I’m fighting.”

Credit: @ljt10x

“That 4pm game will cause chaos if Subway pulls its usual 6pm closure.”

Credit: @ibroxrocks

In other news, Noel Whelan has reacted to a ‘devastating’ blow for Rangers 

Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s incoming coach, has expressed “shock” at the clean-up operation in Pakistan which saw the PCB ban and fine seven leading players

Osman Samiuddin10-Mar-2010Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s incoming coach, has expressed “shock” at the clean-up operation in Pakistan which saw the PCB ban and fine seven leading players. Waqar is due to arrive next week in Lahore from Sydney to take over from Intikhab Alam and prepare Pakistan’s defense of the World Twenty20 title in the Caribbean in April-May.He will arrive now preparing to deal with the repercussions of the board’s decision to hand out year-long bans to Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik and open-ended ones to Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf.Of immediate concern will be the unavailability of Rana and Malik from the World Twenty20 squad; both have been key performers in the format in the past and Malik was in charge of the side that finished runners-up in the 2007 World Twenty20.In the longer-term Waqar may well have to do without Younis and Yousuf in the Test side, a worrying prospect for a batting side that has failed to cross 350 more than twice in their last 16 innings, often with both of them present.”It’s a huge shock for me definitely,” Waqar told Cricinfo. “I want to speak to the board about it to get more details on it before saying more, but it is definitely a big step.”Waqar was part of the touring set-up in Australia, appointed as a bowling and fielding coach for the series. That was his second stint in a coaching position with the Pakistan side, after spending nearly a year with the team and Bob Woolmer in 2006 as a bowling coach.Though he has spoken to the chairman since about the tour, he wasn’t called to the inquiry committee sittings. According to the PCB’s release, he did submit a report which the inquiry took into account.”It is a big step the board has taken and I hope they have solid evidence for taking the actions that they have taken,” Waqar said. “All evidence must be there and they must have spoken to a lot of people for this. Once a player is banned it is a label you have put on him so it is a big thing.”

Chris Hartley accepted the award named after his childhood hero as his exploits with bat and gloves earned him the Ian Healy Trophy

Peter English10-Apr-2010Chris Hartley accepted the award named after his childhood hero as his exploits with bat and gloves earned him the Ian Healy Trophy for Queensland’s Player of the Year. Hartley, who was called on to Australia’s Ashes tour briefly in 2009, completed an outstanding all-round season and became the second wicketkeeper behind Brad Haddin to collect 800 runs in a Sheffield Shield campaign.”To receive an award named after a great Queensland and Australian cricketer, and my childhood hero, is pretty special,” Hartley said after being given the trophy by Healy. “If you look back at the [previous winners’] names like Love, Maher, Kasprowicz, to put my name there is a really, really special feeling.”Hartley began the summer wanting to back up a strong season in 2008-09 and he achieved that with 827 Shield runs at 48.64, including two hundreds, and also collected 43 catches and a stumping. Despite the accolades – he added the state’s Sheffield Shield Player of the Year to his overall domestic prize last month – he remains behind Haddin and Tim Paine in the national wicketkeeping rankings.Ben Cutting, the fast bowler, was voted the players’ player after leading the Shield wicket list with 46 at 23.91 and capturing 15 victims in the FR Cup. Lee Carseldine picked up the one-day prize while James Hopes was the state’s most valuable performer in the Twenty20 competition.Luke Feldman, who starred in the senior team with 33 wickets at 23.96, was the Queensland Academy of Sport Player of the Year. Melissa Bulow, who was recognised for being only the second Queensland woman to appear in 100 state matches, won the major prize for the Fire.