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Michael Owen says he still feels 'resentment' towards David Beckham following his infamous red card against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup.

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Owen resents Beckham for '98 red cardDidn't think he should have been sent offStill bitter over 1998 World Cup incidentWHAT HAPPENED?

Beckham received a red card for kicking out at Diego Simeone, before England went out on penalties to Argentina in the last-16 of the competition. The then-Manchester United player received a huge backlash from the English media and fans for months and months off the back of his actions. Now ex-striker Owen, who burst onto the scene for his country in that tournament and scored a stunning goal against Argentina in the same game, says he still feels bitter about what the winger did 25 years on.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT MICHAEL OWEN SAID

He said on William Hill’s Up Front with Simon Jordan: "Firstly, I don’t believe David Beckham’s kick out at Diego Simeone should’ve been a red card, but that is irrelevant. He made a mistake and that is where my resentment lies. For a lot of players you only get one shot at a World Cup, and he made a big mistake – he would admit that. You could say that it contributed to us being knocked out and that is a big thing.

"You can resent a lot of things if you use that word, and I do resent a lot of things. Paul Ince missed a penalty and I resent him choosing to shoot the ball one way instead of the other, in the same way I resent Beckham making the decision to kick out at Simeone.

"I resent his actions for all manner of reasons. It was a mistake that only he made and it makes you think that if he hadn’t done it, we could have beaten Argentina. I’m absolutely convinced that we would’ve beaten them with 11 men because we were the better team. We had an unbelievable team so of course I think to myself what could have been."

Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Beckham's red card in that World Cup was one of the biggest controversies in English football history. He was public enemy number one for a long time and his sending off certainly lessened his side's chances of advancing in the competition. But there have been better England sides since then and they have failed to win the illustrious tournament, and yet the fact that Owen has not gotten over this shows the scars from that incident run deep.

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WHAT NEXT?

Owen's comments may spark more debate about Beckham's red card and potentially lead to a response from the former England captain.

The Zimbabwe cricket team landed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore at 1.45 am on Tuesday to become the first Full Member nation to tour Pakistan since March 2009

Umar Farooq in Lahore19-May-2015The Zimbabwe cricket team landed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore at 1.45 am on Tuesday to become the first Full Member nation to tour Pakistan since March 2009. Zimbabwe will play two T20Is and three ODIs at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore between May 22 and 31 before departing on June 1.The visitors landed amid extensive security, with thousands of policemen deployed along the 14 kilometre route to a five-star hotel on the Mall Road, which divides the eastern and western parts of Lahore. The touring group – 16 Zimbabwe players, nine team officials and five board officials – was flanked by a large convoy of police commandos, after they had been received by two ministers from the ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz, along with the top brass of the PCB.The streets leading into Mall Road were closed off to traffic, petrol stations along the route were closed, and even the police vehicles on duty had been authenticated to guard against impersonation.”Safe and sound in Lahore … time for rest and training begins tomorrow,” allrounder Sean Williams said on Twitter.Pakistan has remained a no-go destination for major international teams since March 3, 2009, when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus while it was en route to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for the third day of the second Test. Eight people were killed during the attack – and some players were injured – at Liberty roundabout, located a kilometre and a half from the stadium.

#PAKvZIM We are in! #cricketthewinner @263Chat @ZiFMStereo @StarfmZimbabwe @ZBCNewsonline pic.twitter.com/N6WLM07yrv

— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) May 19, 2015

The incident had occurred when there was political instability in the region, because the Punjab government had been dismissed and replaced by Governor’s rule in the province.Since then, the PCB has been pushing hard to convince teams to tour Pakistan, who have been forced to play their home matches primarily in the UAE. Pakistan invited West Indies A in 2013 but the WICB refused to send the team and asked PCB to host them in UAE, which did not happen.Afghanistan, who received Associate status from the ICC last year, had visited Pakistan several times but their fixtures were low profile. The PCB also had talks with Cricket Ireland last year but the tour was put on hold following terrorist attacks on Karachi airport in June.The PCB had, through the years, used diplomatic channels in a bid to win back lost confidence and there were frequent visits by the European Union delegation at the PCB headquarters. Kenya was the first country from outside the region to accept an offer to tour Pakistan and played five one-dayers last year in December against Pakistan A.However, after in-depth lobbying with Zimbabwe Cricket president Wilson Manase, PCB managed to convince them to play a short series in the country. “It’s their (Zimbabwe) trust and confidence in us which will strengthen our cricketing ties with them,” PCB’s chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed said. “We hope to change the perception of the world about Pakistan and build the confidence of other foreign teams to come here.”Zimbabwe’s arrival in Pakistan came after days of uncertainty over whether they would go ahead with the tour. In the end, Zimbabwe Cricket decided to proceed with the tour against the advice from their country’s Sports and Recreation Committee. The ICC also said it would not send its officials to stand in the games, and allowed the PCB to appoint its own officials.

Former India bowlers Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath stressed that Zaheer Khan’s form will be crucial to India’s chances of doing well in the Test series against South Africa, which starts on December 18

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2013Former India bowlers Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath stressed that Zaheer Khan’s form will be crucial to India’s chances of doing well in the Test series against South Africa, which starts on December 18. Zaheer, who last played a Test for India against England in December 2012, was picked for the tour of South Africa and is the most experienced bowler in a pace attack comprising Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma.”Zaheer will be the leader,” Kumble told . “He will get reverse (swing) as well. [I] Just hope he bowls at his usual speed. He shouldn’t drop his pace, shouldn’t bowl within himself. It would be good if he can knock a few wickets upfront.”According to Srinath, Zaheer’s effectiveness would depend on him bowling the right spells. “Strength and energy will be critical to Zaheer. As for line, length and strategies, he is a master at that,” Srinath said to the newspaper. “It boils down to his core strength and [about] him coming in for the right spells and sustaining that energy. Another core area for Zaheer is the way he guides the other bowlers.”Zaheer is fourth on the list of leading wicket-takers in South Africa, behind Kumble, Srinath and Sreesanth. In six Tests, Zaheer has 23 wickets at an average of 32.52.Kumble, the most successful Indian bowler in South Africa – with 45 wickets in 12 games – said that the spinners would have to deal with the challenge of additional bounce on the pitches and a softer, used ball.”It does not spin much but you do get bounce from the surface,” Kumble said. “The spinners have to take that into account when they set the field. The ball tends to get soft after 20 overs, so the spinners need to handle that in the middle overs. Between the grounds, there is not much at Johannesburg but Durban does a bit more. And if the game goes to the fourth and fifth day, the spinners will have a role.”Kumble added that R Ashwin, India’s frontline spinner on his first tour to South Africa, could exploit the rough patches created by the follow-throughs of the pacers: “I enjoyed bowling there, bowling into the rough especially against a left-handed batsman. With Zaheer and hopefully (Lonwabo) Tsotsobe bowling (both being left-arm seamers), there will be a rough that Ashwin can exploit.”Both bowlers stressed that the Indian attack would have to get their lengths right, instead of merely relying on the bounce.”The length has to be neither forward nor backward,” Kumble said. “It has to be a length where after pitching, the height of the ball should be able to hit the knee roll of the pad and if the batsman snicks it, there is enough carry for the catch to be taken. You can’t just release the ball, even if there is swing you need to hit the deck hard.”

Allrounder Ryan McLaren has been called in as a replacement for the injured Wayne Parnell for South Africa’s Twenty20 series against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2012Allrounder Ryan McLaren has been called in as a replacement for Wayne Parnell in South Africa’s Twenty20 squad that will play New Zealand in a three-match series starting December 21. Parnell has suffered a wrist injury that has ruled him out for two weeks.McLaren will have the chance to play his first Twenty20 international since October 2010. He has had a productive domestic season so far, taking 15 wickets in six games at an average of 15.06, and scoring 179 runs at 44.75 in the recently concluded Momentum one-day competition. In his only first-class game this season, he took six wickets.He was also called up as a reserve during South Africa’s Test series against Australia, for the injured Jacques Kallis.A bowling allrounder, Parnell has had his share of injury woes before. In 2010, he had picked up a groin injury that stalled his international career and gave him little game-time, something he gained in the IPL next year. He has not had the most fruitful of careers since then – in the 14 limited-overs internationals he has played since, he has taken only seven wickets and scored 121 runs at 24.20.

Worcestershire are bracing themselves for flooding at New Road after heavy rain forced the abandonment of their Championship match against Nottinghamshire

Jon Culley at New Road29-Apr-2012
ScorecardNew Road could once again find itself under water due to the recent heavy rainfall•PA PhotosWorcestershire are bracing themselves for flooding at New Road after heavy rain forced the abandonment of their Championship match against Nottinghamshire.Umpires Michael Gough and Nick Cook decided soon after 9am that torrential overnight rain on top of an already wet outfield would make play impossible but the loss of the last day of a match heading for a draw may be the least of the club’s worries.The Environment Agency has flood alerts in place for the nearby Severn and Teme rivers and a spokesman said: “The Environment Agency is closely monitoring the forecast and rainfall, particularly in Worcestershire, as the river levels are already higher than normal in the rivers Severn, Teme and Avon.”Worcestershire chief executive David Leatherdale admitted he had his fingers crossed with rain forecast to continue through much of Sunday. “The river levels have risen considerably overnight and we are concerned about the effects that today’s rain will have,” he said. “There is nothing we can do apart from wait, unfortunately.”Contingency plans are in place to move fixtures to Kidderminster should the worst happen. The next scheduled first-team cricket at New Road is the Clydesdale Bank 40 match against Netherlands on May 7, followed two days later by a four-day match against Surrey, in which England’s Kevin Pietersen is due to make his only Championship appearance of the season.Worcestershire had to switch the final two matches of the 2008 season to Kidderminster after floods in September, although that was a minor inconvenience compared with the previous summer, when no cricket was possible on the ground from mid-June onwards, costing the club around £1 million in clean-up costs and lost revenue, largely from the loss of lucrative Twenty20 fixtures.New Road has a history of winter floods but the 2007 flood was the first to cause fixtures to be moved since 1969. The following year’s repetition had a direct bearing on the decision to demolish the ground’s historic Victorian pavilion and replace it with the glass-fronted Graeme Hick pavilion, built on stilts one metre higher than the 100-year highest water level.”It means that the pavilion can continue to be used for commercial activity but there is nothing we can do to prevent the field flooding if the worst happens,” Leatherdale said. “We would try to get the ground ready again as quickly as possible but how long that takes would depend on how badly it floods. A few inches in the car parks would be one thing, the ground under several feet of water quite another matter.”The 2007 flood left a quarter of an inch of silt covering the entire playing surface, which had to be reseeded in its entirety. No cricket was played until the following April.

Taufeeq Umar, the Pakistan batsman, defended his side’s cautious batting approach on the third day of the Mirpur Test, saying that the plan was to first get close to Bangladesh’s 338 without losing too many batsmen

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2011Taufeeq Umar, the Pakistan batsman, defended his side’s cautious batting approach on the third day of the Mirpur Test, saying that the plan was to first get close to Bangladesh’s 338 without losing too many wickets. “I think we were on the back foot [initially] and we would have been in deeper trouble had we lost two, three early wickets,” Taufeeq said. “We wanted to get closer to the [Bangladesh] runs and then see how it stands.”We wanted to stay at the wicket and wait for the bad deliveries. I think we were quite successful. Now we are in a good position and we will accelerate tomorrow and see how the things are going.”The safety-first batting strategy has worked well for Pakistan so far as they have won five out of nine Test matches this year. Taufeeq, whose patient accumulation at the top of the order has characterised this approach, made 130 today, his third century in 2011. He has made 828 runs this year, the most by a Pakistan batsman in 2011.Taufeeq said that his batting style was dictated by the instructions of the team management. “It all depends on what the team needs from you. If the captain and the coach say that you have to survive the new ball and then play shots, you have to do that.”He also said that while every Test hundred was important, the 236 that he made against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi earlier this year stood out for him. “I scored a double hundred against Sri Lanka and that was very special because I had not made a double hundred before. I think that century [104 against Bangladesh in Multan in 2001] was the best one because that was on my debut and I will always remember that century.”With only two days left in the game which has been affected by fog and bad light, Taufeeq maintained that Pakistan still had time to force a result. “Definitely we have got two days to go but it all depends on the weather. I still believe we have a chance. We have a world-class bowling attack that can bowl out any side if they get two sessions. If we can take a good lead we will try our best to win this game.”

In-form Durham finished their campaign with a fifth win in six games after beating Sussex by five wickets with a day to spare.

13-Sep-2012
ScorecardMichael Richardson’s half-century saw Durham home•PA PhotosIn-form Durham finished their campaign with a fifth win in six games after beating Sussex by five wickets with a day to spare. Michael Richardson struck 58 and Ben Stokes a quickfire 45 as Durham chased down their victory target of 165 after dismissing Sussex for 180 in their second innings.Despite their superb form at the end of the season, Durham had to settle for a sixth-placed finish in Division One after a miserable start to the campaign which saw them fail to win any of their first 10 matches. Sussex, meanwhile, remain 10 points ahead of them and will hang on to the fourth-place prize money unless Nottinghamshire win tomorrow.Durham skipper Paul Collingwood, who took over the four-day captaincy in mid-season, hailed the spirit in his side: “I couldn’t have asked for anything more in the second half of the season. We were in a dire situation but the players have shown a lot of pride and determination. Every single one of them has made a crucial contribution at some point.”Durham seamer Chris Rushworth took the last four Sussex wickets in the morning to achieve career-best figures for the third time this season, finishing with 5 for 38. Luke Wells failed to add to his overnight 51, falling to the 16th ball of the day when he edged Stokes to Phil Mustard, who claimed his 500th first-class victim. Rushworth did the rest, swinging the ball both ways to claim two lbw verdicts and a gully catch before last man Monty Panesar lobbed a catch to mid-on.Durham needed 165 to win and Mark Stoneman got them off to a fluent start, but Keaton Jennings made only one before fending a steeply-rising ball from Lewis Hatchett to second slip. Hatchett also skidded one through Stoneman’s back-foot defensive shot to bowl him for 24 before Stokes emerged at 34 for 2 and immediately cracked him for three fours.Stokes made 45 off 49 balls before lifting Panesar to long-on, then Richardson took over. He pulled Hatchett for his fifth four to reach 50 off 123 balls just before Dale Benkenstein was bowled by Panesar with 27 needed.The target was down to 15 when Hatchett straightened one off the pitch to have Richardson lbw, but previous captain Mustard easily picked off the remaining runs in partnership with his successor Collingwood.”We had a bit of a chuckle as we came off,” Collingwood said. “Phil has been magnificent and the struggle in the first half of the season was not down to his captaincy. It was a blip and it was a shock to us all, but I think the future is very bright.”

Warwickshire have stepped up their efforts to strengthen their fast-bowling resources by signing Richard Jones from Worcestershire on a one-year contract.

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2013Warwickshire have stepped up their efforts to strengthen their fast-bowling resources by signing Richard Jones from Worcestershire on a one-year contract.Jones joined Warwickshire on loan in August last season, but suffered the misfortune of getting injured in his first net session at Edgbaston.He made his debut for Worcestershire in 2007 and has gone on to make 41 first-class, nine List A and six T20 appearances for his home county. He has strong West Midlands connections: born in Stourbridge, he has also played for Old Hill in the Birmingham League.Dougie Brown, Warwickshire’s coach, has seen enough to believe that his bowling coach Graeme Welch can draw from Jones the same sort of improvement he has gained from the likes of Chris Wright, who was transformed after his move from Essex. The signing of Oliver Hannon-Dalby from Yorkshire before the start of last season proved less successful.Brown said: “Richard is an exciting prospect and is a very good addition to our squad. His arrival will create even more competition for places amongst a very strong bowling line-up. He settled in to the squad very well when he joined on trial in August, and Graeme Welch and I are looking forward to working with him ahead of the new season.”

A preview of the IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Pune Warriors in Mohali

The Preview by Rachna Shetty20-Apr-2013Match factsSunday, April 21
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Big pictureWhen they clash on Sunday night, Kings XI Punjab and Pune Warriors will be looking to shake off their inability to shut out games, and an inconsistency to carry forward a winning momentum, which has placed both teams in the bottom half of the points table. For Kings XI, their batting has been a let-down, with the experienced batsmen failing to shoulder the responsibility of guiding an innings. Their performance can be evidenced from one telling statistic: after five matches, none of their batsmen have scored a half-century. It’s a record they will be eager to erase. They will be buoyed by the arrival of Shaun Marsh, possibly Kings XI’s most valuable player. In 42 IPL matches for Kings XI, Marsh has scored 1603 runs at an average of 45.80 and a strike-rate of 135.96 and, with his fitness issues behind him, should be an automatic pick for the game, as Kings XI try to get past their batting woes against a good bowling attack.Pune have been patchy so far, following up a stunning victory against Chennai Super Kings with mediocre batting against Sunrisers Hyderabad. With the chase against Sunrisers under control, the Warriors batsmen, including Angelo Mathews, played some inexplicable shots to find themselves on the losing side and the middle order, in particular, needs to return to sensible cricket and back their top order better. Their next few fixtures are against top-billing teams and a win against Kings XI could help them gain some confidence going ahead.Form GuideKings XI Punjab LWLLW (most recent first)
Pune Warriors LWLWLPlayers to watchOne of T20 cricket’s journeymen, Azhar Mahmood has emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker for Kings XI so far after Praveen Kumar. It’s his batting, though, that Kings XI will need if they are to challenge Pune Warriors. He has scored 35 runs in four innings so far.With his effective swing bowling, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been the leading strike bowler for Warriors, providing breakthroughs at the start of the innings. This season, he has picked up seven wickets at an economy-rate of 6.00 and has also impressed with his tactical nous while opening the bowling.Stats and trivia In the five matches between the two teams, Warriors have won three times, while Kings XI have won twice. David Hussey is joint-second in the list of batsmen to score most ducks in Twenty20 cricket. Hussey has 14 ducks from 195 innings, behind Herschelle Gibbs (23 from 161)Quotes”There are still plenty of matches to go this season. So, everyone in the team has to back each other moving ahead and pray for the best.”

Richard Pybus, the former Pakistan and Bangladesh coach, has been appointed West Indies’ director of cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2013Richard Pybus, the former Pakistan and Bangladesh coach, has been appointed West Indies’ director of cricket. Pybus will provide cricketing expertise to help develop West Indies’ regional and international cricketers, over a three-year period starting November 1.WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead said Pybus was chosen after reviewing several applicants. “Securing the services of Richard is a major coup for the WICB,” Muirhead said. “I look forward to Richard joining us in Antigua and enhancing the work which we are doing, so as to ensure that all the necessary structures are in place to allow West Indian cricketers to develop and flourish. He has extensive knowledge in designing and managing successful cricket development systems both at the grassroots and elite levels, and we look forward to him building on the work we have already done.”Pybus, who was set to fly out to the West Indies on Friday, said he was keyed up for the job. “I am particularly looking forward to working with the West Indies teams, the first-class sides, the High Performance Programme and the educational structures, to ensure a rigorous, competitive system that feeds through elite players to international level.”Apart from two stints with Pakistan, and most recently a very short one with Bangladesh, Pybus has coached extensively in South Africa, at the franchise level. In the West Indies, he will be based at the WICB secretariat in Antigua.