All posts by h716a5.icu

Michael Hussey is happy to entertain the prospect of abandoning that role to open the batting should the dual duties of batting up top and keeping wicket be deemed too taxing for Matthew Wade

Daniel Brettig27-Aug-2012Michael Hussey is so established as Australia’s middle-order fulcrum that his absence from England earlier this year was considered by the team management to have been critical in suffering a 0-4 defeat. Nonetheless, Hussey is happy to entertain the prospect of abandoning that role to open the batting should the dual duties of batting up top and keeping wicket be deemed too taxing for Matthew Wade.Parental leave caused Hussey to miss the ODI tour of England, and he believes the break has refreshed him for assignments to come. On the eve of Australia’s first match against Pakistan in Sharjah, Hussey acknowledged the extreme heat of the UAE in August-September required a degree of flexibility in how the team’s resources were managed, and said he would happily accept a promotion if required to ease Wade’s burden.”I’m open to it, it doesn’t bother me,” Hussey said in Sharjah. “Whatever the team really needs I’d be more than happy to try to help out, as long as I’m somewhere in that batting order, I’m happy to bat anywhere from Nos. 1 to 11.”If Wadey did make a hundred in these pretty oppressive conditions batting first and then had to go straight out and keep, that would be a difficult thing. Or if we were chasing in extremely hot conditions and he fielded the whole 50 overs and didn’t feel like he could 100% concentrate on opening the innings for us then it might be something we could look at.”But he’s a pretty fit guy Wadey and I think he plays that role pretty well, what’s he’s been doing at the moment, so he’d have to be in a pretty bad way I think for them to try and change that tactic, but certainly we have to be flexible as batsmen, we’ve learned to become more flexible with Twenty20 cricket coming in and things like that, so I’d certainly have no dramas with it.”Though he started life as an opening batsman, Hussey began his evolution into the complete player of today when shifted down the order in English county cricket, and enjoys the posting in ODIs. His blend of power, timing, placement and hustled singles has been vital to Australia’s progress in many matches, particularly in the later overs when batting has become difficult for new batsmen coming to the wicket to deal with reverse swing, spin and the white ball’s loss of colour.”I’m just trying to play my role in the team and trying to play the situation of the game,” Hussey said. “It might’ve come off in the last game but there’s been hundreds of times that it hasn’t come off and it’s been up to other guys. But it’s certainly a role I enjoy, I like being in those tight, pressure situations, trying to work the team out of it, but I wouldn’t say I’m an expert at it or anything like that, I just try to do my role in the team.”The heat of the region at this time of year forced the bizarre scheduling of the ODI matches to span two days, concluding around 2am local time. Hussey said the Australians would not be using it as an excuse should they slip up against Pakistan over the next three matches.”I don’t think we’ll be letting the heat be an excuse for any poor performance,” Hussey said. “I’ve played in Chennai, even in just Twenty20 games, and that’s a lot hotter than playing out here. In Chennai the temperature might be only mid-30s but the humidity is unbelievable. That’s probably the most oppressive conditions I’ve ever had to play in.”Having said that, it’s still extremely tough here. I only batted for 15 overs the other day [to make 49 from 37 balls] and I was pretty knackered by the end of it.”

Pakistan will enter the final day full of hope, needing 326 with nine wickets in hand and two batsmen well set

Brydon Coverdale at Lord's15-Jul-2010Two summers ago in Perth, South Africa changed Australia’s perception about gettable fourth-innings targets. When Graeme Smith’s men cruised to 414 with four wickets down, it seemed that no aim was out of reach anymore, provided the pitch was true and the batting strong. Fast forward 18 months and the Lord’s surface is excellent, but Australia remain confident that Pakistan’s batting group boasts no JP Duminy or AB de Villiers clones.Pakistan will enter what will likely be the final day full of hope, needing 326 with nine wickets in hand and two batsmen well set, although Azhar Ali survived a perilously close lbw shout on the final ball of the day. Much will depend on the weather – when the clouds disappeared on the third day so did the swing – but given Pakistan’s first-innings capitulation for 148, Australia are certain they can complete their task, even under sunny skies.”We’ve got plenty of runs on the board,” the wicketkeeper Tim Paine said. “Right up until the last ball tonight we showed that we’re going to be creating chances. If we bowl well there’s enough there for us to keep them under pressure and create those chances to win the game. If we can get a couple of early wickets tomorrow and get stuck in to their middle and lower order, as we showed in the first innings if we put them under pressure we can take wickets pretty quickly.”While Pakistan will rely heavily on Salman Butt, who has been their most composed batsman in the Test, their two debutants Umar Amin and Azhar will be keen to make a name for themselves. In Perth, Australia were surprised by the poise of a newcomer, Duminy, and the similarities don’t end there.Back then, Australia’s bowling group featured a highly attacking spinner who leaked runs as he tossed the ball up to entice drives. Jason Krejza is gone from the side but in his place is Steven Smith, who is equally aggressive, and collected his first Test wicket when Imran Farhat pulled a long hop straight to midwicket.However, Smith’s first spell of Test bowling was far from poor; he aimed at the footmarks outside the left-hander’s off stump and gave the ball plenty of opportunity to spin. “For his first Test match there’s a lot to like,” Shane Warne said from the commentary box, and Smith’s fellow debutant Paine expects the spinner to play a key role on the fourth day.”He looked really good,” Paine said. “He started very well. As his spell got on, he got more dangerous. When he went around the wicket he started to spin a few quite a long way. He’ll definitely play a role at some stage tomorrow. I think early tomorrow if our pace attack get those early breakthroughs, I’m sure Smithy will cause the lower and middle order some trouble later on.”But the work begins with the seamers in the first session. And if there are clouds in the sky, there may be no silver lining for Pakistan.

Much to the delight of Eddie Howe, history didn’t repeat itself for Newcastle United this afternoon after the Tynesiders managed to keep hold of their 1-0 lead over Leeds United at Elland Road until the final whistle, after conceding a late equaliser in their 1-1 draw against Watford last weekend.

A goal from Jonjo Shelvey in the second half against Marcelo Bielsa’s side was enough to bring the three points back north in Newcastle’s attempts to avoid relegation. As well as securing their second league win of the campaign, Newcastle also managed to keep their second clean sheet.

One player who started for the Magpies this afternoon and certainly had an impact on the team’s defensive efforts was January signing Kieran Trippier, who completed the full 90 minutes in the right-back position with 57 touches of the ball.

In that time, the England international made three tackles, three interceptions and four clearances, highlighting how involved he was in keeping Leeds from scoring.

Trippier, who is currently valued at £16.2m by Transfermarkt, also won six of his nine duels, showing how difficult an opponent he was for the Whites’ attacking players.

This performance ultimately earned the former Tottenham and Atletico Madrid full-back a superb overall match rating of 7.5/10, making him Newcastle joint-highest rated outfield player on the day alongside the Shelvey according to SofaScore.

Chronicle Live also picked up on Trippier’s good performance by saying that “his arrival has made a huge difference. Cajoled and encouraged when needed. Battled hard and made key interceptions.”

Moving forward, if the 31-year-old can keep delivering this sort of display from now until the end of the season and help Newcastle potentially keep a few more clean sheets along the way, he could go a long way to keeping the Magpies in the Premier League…and maybe Howe in a job.

If Newcastle manage to avoid the drop at the end of the campaign, this win over Leeds could end up being a vital one for the club and Howe, with Trippier’s performance being a definite highlight this afternoon.

In other news – Terms agreed: NUFC could land masterstroke with gem whose “shorts look like underwear”…

Newly selected fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed is delighted that he has been rewarded for his hard work with a call-up to Pakistan’s Test squad, and hoped to cement a permanent place in the side

Cricinfo staff25-Jun-2010Newly selected fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed is pleased with his call-up to Pakistan’s squad for the England tour, and now hopes to push for a settled spot.”I am delighted that my hard work has been rewarded,” Tanvir told AFP. “It’s true that your hard work pays and now I will do my best to get a permanent place in the Pakistan team.”The 31-year-old Tanvir has earned his stripes at the domestic level, having played over 100 first class matches. He starred in Karachi’s victorious Quaid-e-Azam campaign last season, picking 97 wickets to force his way into the selectors’ radar.Tanvir is excited by the prospect of playing Australia, which he terms as a dream and hopes to do well against their strong batting line-up. He is confident that his experience with minor English club Peterborough Town will come in handy when he gets a chance to bowl on tour.Rashid Latif, former Pakistan captain and Tanvir’s mentor, credited his ward’s perseverance for making the cut. “I am sure Tanvir will be successful on the England tour because he pitches the ball up compared to other Pakistani bowlers who bowl short. And more so, he is very committed,” Latif said.

Burnley chiefs have allegedly set their sights on a trophy-winning boss as news from a Football Insider source emerges on the club’s manager hunt.

The Lowdown: Dyche era ends…

After nearly ten years with the Lancashire side, club legend and long-serving boss Sean Dyche was unceremoniously sacked by Burnley – much to the bemusement of outsiders.

Dyche previously lead the Clarets to a plethora of successive seasons in England’s top flight, avoiding the Championship drop on an arguable shoe-string budget when compared to some of the Premier League’s elite.

The 50-year-old departs Burnley amid their fierce battle with fellow relegation-strugglers Everton as they tussle with the Toffees and aim to maintain their first tier status.

Frank Lampard’s men currently stand a point above in 17th with one game in hand as Burnley hierarchy also work on appointing Dyche’s heir behind-the-scenes.

The Latest: ‘Burnley source’ shares Carvalhal news…

According to a ‘Burnley source’, speaking to Football Insider, former Swansea City boss and current SC Braga coach Carlos Carvalhal is a contender to become their new manager.

The 56-year-old is apparently being eyed ‘within the corridors of power’ at Turf Moor as club chiefs begin to hold a real interest in his possible appointment.

The Verdict: Ideal candidate?

While it is difficult to truly replace Dyche given his iconic status and marvellous job with the club before leaving, we believe Burnley officials could do far worse than Carvalhal.

As shared by journalist Miguel Delaney of The Independent, his ‘stunning’ tactics have taken Portugal by storm in recent seasons.

Carvalhal has received glowing endorsements from big name boss Jose Mourinho in past years, who called his compatriot ‘the manager of the season’ back in 2018.

He has also won trophies – clinching the Taça de Portugal trophy with Braga last season.

The Europa League quarter-finalist has also been called an ‘excellent manager’ by journalist Alex Goncalves, who is the founder of Portuguese football news website TugaScout.

Carvalhal, going by all of these facts, certainly stands out as a credible candidate.

Ricky Ponting has warned England they will find it “hard to come to grips” with the Gabba pitch

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2010Ricky Ponting has warned England they will find it “hard to come to grips” with the Gabba pitch despite their extensive preparation for the Ashes. The tourists will have had three warm-up matches by the time they reach Brisbane for the first Test on November 25, but Ponting does not believe it will help them deal with the pace and bounce of the surface.”With just a normal Brisbane wicket, visiting teams find it hard to come to terms with just how different it is up there,” Ponting said in the Australian. England played in Perth over the weekend and start a match in Adelaide on Thursday, before their final warm-up in Hobart next week.The tourists’ first look at the Gabba will come on the opening day of the series. “Our record there is unbelievably good and we want to make sure we continue that on,” Ponting said.”There’s been a lot made of England’s preparation, the fact that they’re here early and they’re playing lots of games, but they don’t play a match at the Gabba before the first Test. They’ll definitely still find it hard to come to grips with what they’re confronted with in Brisbane day one.”The pitch has caused lots of problems for batsmen this season with extra bounce and seam following an unusually wet spring. Queensland were dismissed by New South Wales for 75 and 96 in a Sheffield Shield game two weeks ago and Sri Lanka were knocked over for 115 in an ODI on Sunday.Australia’s last loss at the ground came against West Indies in 1988-89. “In my mind it’s been the best cricket wicket in Australia for as long as I’ve been playing the game,” Ponting said. “There’s always something in it for everyone. The fast bowlers always get something out of it, it spins late in the game, and it’s a great place to bat once you get in.”

Lalit Modi has asked Shashank Manohar and N Srinivasan to remove themselves from all proceedings involving the show cause notice issued to him and to instead constitute an independent panel to adjudicate on the issue

Cricinfo staff25-May-2010Lalit Modi, the suspended chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has asked the BCCI president, Shashank Manohar, and secretary N Srinivasan to remove themselves from all proceedings involving the show cause notice issued to him and to instead constitute an independent panel to adjudicate on the issue. This was communicated in an email – a copy of which is with Cricinfo – sent on Tuesday by Modi to the league’s governing council, which also contained a series of allegations over several decisions regarding the IPL.The mail is effectively Modi’s counter to the chargesheet served on him by the BCCI on April 26 – Modi’s official reply, which ran into 160 pages and 15,000 pages of supporting evidence, has not yet been made public.While part of the mail deals with issues mentioned in the chargesheet – including the ownership of the Rajasthan Royals franchise – the bulk of it comprises the alleged involvement of Manohar in the franchise auction process last March and of Srinivasan in the 2010 player auction. It is this involvement, Modi contends, that warranted the absence of both officials from the process that would investigate the charges against him.Manohar, Modi alleges, was responsible for the controversial decision to scrap the initial opening of tenders for the franchises and went out of his way to entertain former minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor and accept the Kochi bid much after the lapse of deadline.He denies the allegation that he tried rigging the bids in favour of two business houses for the two new teams added for the fourth edition of the IPL; instead he claims the bids were processed and vetted by the board’s corporate lawyers and counsel Akhila Kaushik, appointed on Manohar’s recommendation.He claims Manohar was party to the decision fixing the net worth of the bidder at $1 billion and that he discussed the issue of deposit also with him at the Governing Council meeting on March 7 and got his approval.He also alleged it was Manohar who pitched in for Tharoor to include the bid of Rendezvous after the deadline had lapsed. “You wanted me to wait till the Kochi bid came from Delhi,” Modi writes, adding that Manohar spoke to Tharoor and his secretary several times after he refused to entertain the minister’s request for extension of deadline.Modi has brought up the issue of the controversial IPL TV contract with Sony and MSM, claiming that Manohar was aware of the termination last year of the contract with Sony and the subsequent litigation and eventual settlement. The litigation process was, he claims, supervised by Akhila Kaushik, “who reports directly to you”.Srinivasan, Modi alleged, had been “instrumental in sponsoring complaints” against him and his participation would be “tantamount to him being a judge in his own cause”. Modi also said he wanted to cross-examine Srinivasan in the inquiry.Among the charges levied, Modi said he had “sufficient cause to apprehend bias” on Srinivasan’s part and that he had “consistently frustrated and exposed his attempts at misusing his position as Honorary Secretary of the Board, so as to confer a wrongful benefit to his team at the cost and expense of other teams and the BCCI.”Modi alleged that Srinivasan had tried to “alter or propose panel of umpires” officiating in the IPL matches and had circulated an email “directing a panel of umpires handpicked by him”. He claimed Srinivasan had attempted to ensure umpires from Chennai or Tamil Nadu stood in his team’s matches.Another charge Modi made against Srinivasan was that he had “consistently pushed tailor-made policies” intended to benefit the Chennai franchise. In support of this charge, Modi cited the proposal of franchises retaining seven players (four Indian, three foreign) for the 2011 season and beyond. Modi’s reply to the show cause says Srinivasan tried to get franchises to agree to the proposal and that the “only reason for doing so was to ensure that Chennai Super King retained its players.”Modi also alleged that Srinivasan had tried to ensure Kieron Pollard, who was bought by Mumbai Indians during a silent tiebreaker in the 2010 auction, could not play “by raising some frivolous issues with the West Indian Cricket Board.” Modi termed Srinivasan’s action a “brazen act of abuse of power”.He claimed Srinivasan had used his power to “alter the auction rules” so that Chennai’s purse would be $2 million as opposed to the $1.85 million that was mentioned prior to the auction. “Despite my opposition he used his clout as secretary to pressure the management to accept back-dated player contracts and cancel the contracts of one of his players so that he could have his full purse and thereby have an advantage in the bidding process vis-a-vis other teams.”Regarding the issue of Srinivasan’s alleged conflict of interest, raised by former BCCI president AC Muttiah, Modi said “false statements have been made in pleadings filed in Court” to protect the position of Srinivasan.”In the proceedings filed by Mr. Muttiah, it has been stated by the Honorary Secretary on oath that the Regulation 6.2.4 was amended after an action taken report was filed by the two-member committee consisting of Mr. Shashank Manohar and Mr. Niranjan Shah recommending amendment,” Modi said. “I state that no such committee was ever appointed, no recommendation was ever made, no special general body meeting approving such report and such amendment ever took place and hence Mr. Shashank Manohar, Mr. Niranjan Shah – the Vice Chairman – IPL and Mr. N Srinavasan have connived and played not only on the members of the Board but also on the Court.”

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke was pleased with the rounded nature of his team’s big win over Pakistan to give them a bright start to the ICC World Twenty20

Cricinfo staff03-May-2010Australia’s captain Michael Clarke was pleased with the rounded nature of his team’s big win over Pakistan to give them a bright start to the ICC World Twenty20. Australia posted 191, the best total in the tournament so far, before their fast men combined for eight wickets to confirm the 34-run victory.The triumph should be enough to see Australia through to the Super Eights, barring a disastrous loss to Bangladesh, and that would be a step in the right direction after they crashed out in the first round last year. Clarke said this year’s new-look squad was keen to prove itself in the shortest format.”There’s extra motivation from within the squad, we want to perform better in Twenty20 cricket then we have in general,” Clarke told reporters after the win. “I think our form has improved over the last 12 months and we’ve started really well. The key is going to be adapting to conditions and I think we’ve got a really good squad to do that.”It was a very good start from the boys. Obviously our batting sets the game up there, getting 191 runs. The bowlers did a great job as well in the first six overs up front and we caught really well as well.”The success of the pace trio of Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes and Mitchell Johnson went against the expected trend of the tournament, with the pitches having proved slow and low so far. Nathan Hauritz did not play against Pakistan and Clarke used the spin of David Hussey and Steven Smith instead, but he is happy with the options in his group.”All four fast bowlers in our squad are not just four fast bowlers who just run in and bowl at the same pace, and bowl the same ball every ball,” Clarke said. “They’ve got great variation, great pace and the key for those guys is their execution which they did really well today.”We’ve got two really good spinners in our squad, a couple of all-rounders and there’s a couple of us average part-timers who will bowl a couple of overs here and there. I think the strength of this squad is that we have a plan B, which a lot of other teams don’t have.”Pakistan defeated Bangladesh on Saturday, which means that only a healthy Bangladesh win over Australia in Barbados on Wednesday will prevent Pakistan and Australia from progressing. But after Australia’s warm-up loss to Zimbabwe, Clarke said the team would be taking no chances against Bangladesh.”Any team in this competition has a great opportunity,” he said. “We got beaten by Zimbabwe a couple of days ago. It just shows in this form of the game, you have to be at your best, it doesn’t matter who you are playing against. We certainly won’t be taking Bangladesh lightly. They’ve got some wonderful Twenty20 players who are very aggressive with the bat.”

An update has emerged regarding Newcastle United and their interest in Premier League metronome Douglas Luiz…

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic, the Villa midfielder has featured in discussions for the Magpies as they eye up deals ahead of the deadline on Monday.

The report claims that Yves Bissouma, of Brighton is too expensive for the Toon, whilst a move to bring Bruno Guimaraes to St James’ Park from Lyon is progressing nicely.

Better than Willock

Newcastle must ensure that they are able to get a deal over the line for Luiz in the coming days, as he could be a major upgrade on Joe Willock in midfield.

The current Magpies midfielder has averaged an unimpressive SofaScore rating of 6.63 in the Premier League this season, losing 53% of his duels over the course of the campaign since his permanent summer move from Arsenal. He has been unable to deliver consistently good displays in the top flight, and that is something Luiz could bring to the table.

For Villa this term, the former Manchester City man has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.96. He has won 53% of his duels and provided 1.4 key passes per game, along with registering three assists. Luiz is also an asset defensively as he has averaged 3.1 tackles and interceptions per game.

Pep Guardiola previously heaped praise on the Brazilian, saying: “He’s a guy who plays all of the minutes. He’s an important player for Aston Villa. A guy who’s clever with the ball, so physically strong. He’s a lovely, lovely guy. Today, when he was involved in the game, defensively, offensively, he was good.”

Jermaine Jenas once dubbed him “underrated”, and his aforementioned statistics in the Premier League suggest that the 23-year-old is deserving of applause.

The £52k-per-week gem has shown that he can be a reliable option in the top flight by producing excellent performances week in, week out, which Willock has been unable to do this season. Therefore, the Villa ace seems a much better player than the former Arsenal man at the moment and could be a terrific addition to Eddie Howe’s squad.

This is why the Magpies must work hard to secure a deal to bring him to Tyneside, along with Guimaraes, before the window slams shut on Monday. Luiz is a proven Premier League player, and his statistics suggest that he will be a major upgrade on Willock in the middle of the park.

AND in other news, Howe can finally axe shocking NUFC “nightmare” with “incredible” £100k-p/w monster…

Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will leave the club at the end of the season, according to former England goalkeeper and Sky Sports pundit Paul Robinson.

The Lowdown: Lack of minutes for Ox

There was a time when the 28-year-old was a key player for the Reds back in 2017/18 but those days seem like a distant memory now, despite being hailed as ‘outstanding’ by Jurgen Klopp more recently.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-28/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Oxlade-Chamberlain has been limited to just nine Premier League starts this season and he has been left out of matchday squads entirely of late, including the FA Cup semi-final against Man City on Saturday.

With the former Arsenal man out of contract in the summer of 2023, it could be that Liverpool decide to sell him at the end of the season.

The Latest: Midfielder backed to leave

That’s certainly what Robinson thinks will happen, with the ex-England man turned Sky regular pundit telling Football Insider that he expects Oxlade-Chamberlain to be at a new club in 2022/23.

The former Tottenham ace also claims Klopp’s midfielder will be ‘desperate’ to leave Anfield in search of playing time.

“It is a squad game. If he hasn’t got a game since February it is telling you that he is not really needed.  At this stage of his career, with the time he has left on his contract it looks like he will be leaving.

“To be part of a team challenging on all fronts is exciting. But it is only exciting if you are getting game time. Oxlade-Chamberlain will be fed up there. He will be desperate to play.

“The team was changed so much against Benfica so for him not to get a run out says a lot. He is far down the pecking order. He could leave because he will want to be playing.”

The Verdict: Suits all parties

It looks almost a certainty that Oxlade-Chamberlain will leave Liverpool this summer, given the manner in which Klopp is using him these days.

It makes sense for all parties for that to be the case, with the Englishman in need of regular football elsewhere, especially if he has any ambitions of making England’s World Cup squad later this year.

His time at Liverpool has reached its natural conclusion and young players such as Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott are better options moving forward, as well as incoming signing Fabio Carvalho.

In other news, Liverpool are thought to be planning a new contract for one player. Find out who it is here.