Imran Khan, former Pakistan captain, said he doubted England would ever emulate Australia’s success and become the world’s top team because they lacked a quality spinner like Shane Warne.Imran told AFP, “England is a young emerging side and exudes the confidence of Australia but for them to emulate Australia-like success is difficult because they do not have a spinner of Warne’s quality.”Michael Vaughan’s team closed the gap on world champions Australia when they regained the Ashes with a 2-1 victory on Monday, their first win over Australia since 1986-87.Imran praised Vaughan and allrounder Andrew Flintoff for their roles in England’s success. “Flintoff is the pivot around which the England team revolves. He is a genuine allrounder,” he said. He added that in Vaughan, “England has a very determined sort of character as captain, quite unpretentious.”Following the conquest of Australia, Vaughan said his side would only achieve the top ranking if they beat Pakistan in the November-December series and India early next year.But Imran, who took 362 wickets in 88 Tests and led Pakistan to their first series win over England in 1987, said England would struggle on the subcontinent’s slow pitches.Imran added, “They have a fast-maturing pace attack but when they come up on wickets which do not have support for pace then they do not have the variety that Warne provides.” Warne led the Australian attack with 40 Ashes wickets.”I do not see them attaining the consistent success rate of Australia until they have a matchwinning spinner.”But he also had reservations about Australia’s future at the top, saying the side was on the decline because their players were ageing and the Ashes had shown that their batting could collapse under sustained pace pressure.”Australia is in decline… the most notable thing of the Ashes was that the Australian batting was exposed for the first time against a sustained pace attack.”The myth of Australian batting’s invincibility was broken, except for one innings at Lord’s when they did well after the England team was completely demoralised by a Glenn McGrath spell,” said Imran.He also said Jason Gillespie’s lack of form was also throwing the Australian attack out of balance.Pakistan, Imran said, could match England’s attack if they had fit bowlers but their batsmen need to improve their form. “They need a fully fit Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul and an in-form legspinner, Danish Kaneria. But for me the concern will be Pakistan’s batting.”Pakistan hosts England for three Tests and five one-day matches starting in Multan from November 12.
Sourav Ganguly has said that while he was encouraged by India’s performances last season, the players needed to guard against complacency and ensure that they improved on their display this year. Looking ahead to the 2004-05 season, which kicks off with the Asia Cup on July 16, Ganguly told Press Trust of India: “It is an important season for us. Last year was good and successful. We have to follow it with another good season – that is how you become a strong and good side.”Ganguly, who turned 32 today, admitted that his players could be rusty after a three-month layoff, but said that the challenge was to get into groove early. “The important thing is that we have to settle down quickly because just like any other team we are coming out of a two-and-half-month layoff. Getting the rhythm straightaway is never possible; so it is a challenge for us to get into rhythm and optimum level of confidence as quickly as possible.”India go into the Asia Cup as favourites, but Ganguly refused to underestimate their opponents. “It is always going to be tough since Sri Lanka will be playing at home and Pakistan is a good side. It is going to be tough for all three sides when they compete against each other.”India had played through most of last season without a couple of frontline bowlers, but the three-month rest has allowed both Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh to recover, a fact which delighted Ganguly. “I think after a long time we are back in full strength. Considering this we hope to do well in the Asia Cup.”Harbhajan back in the team is a huge bonus for us. If he can raise his standards on par with Kumble along with Zaheer, Irfan Pathan and [Lakshmipathy] Balaji, I am sure we will have an edge over the other teams.”
Jeff Thomson and David Hookes, the former Australian Test stars, have said that Steve Waugh should retire to allow Australia to build for the future."It’s time to move on and it’s a good time to do it when the opposition isn’t that good,” Thomson was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun and Daily Telegraph newspapers. Top-ranked Australia host bottom-ranked Bangladesh in a two-Test series in Darwin and Cairns next month.”What’s he going to prove if he plays Bangladesh?" asked Thomson. "Who cares if Steve Waugh gets a hundred? If Michael Clarke gets 100, I am sure everybody would be happy to see that or somebody else."Hookes, now a television commentator with Thomson, said that Ricky Ponting should be given the captaincy of the Test side. “I can’t see any point [in] Steve Waugh playing Bangladesh," said Hookes. "He won’t get a hit for starters."Hookes, who been a critic of Waugh for years, said that the 38-year-old Waugh’s presence in the middle order, alongside the 31-year-old Damien Martyn and the 33-year-old Darren Lehmann, would give it an ageing look.
Earlier today at The County Ground in Taunton Somerset Chief Executive Peter Anderson told me, “Somerset are busy gearing up all their powers of persuasion in preparation for the forthcoming meetings to discuss the future organisation and structure of first class cricket.”Mr Anderson continued, “The Chief Executive has been active writing articles for the national press and cricketing periodicals which have drawn letters of support from all areas of the country.”The Chief went on, “It was very pleasing to note that Graeme Hick has come out in favour of County Cricket – it needs more players to do likewise.”Mr Anderson added, “County Cricket is not all bad, and it is a silly notion to think that the standard of County Cricket is ever going to be the same as Test Cricket. It’s far to simple to say that if it can’t match Test Cricket it’s no good.”He concluded, “In the meantime Somerset are well advanced for the Regional Academy which will up and runing by November 1st. We hope to announce the new intake towards the middle of October. There are some outstanding young cricketers which augers well for the future of both Somerset and England cricket.”
Tottenham Hotspur have made an offer for Benfica left-back Alex Grimaldo, according to Naples-based radio station Radio CRC, as reported in Gonfialarete.
What’s the story?
The 22-year-old was a member of Barcelona’s famous youth academy before he was signed by Benfica in 2016.
The young Spaniard has quickly established himself as a key player for the Portuguese club, making 28 starts in the Primeira Liga last season, scoring one goal and assisting four.
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His form has attracted interest abroad, and according to the report, Spurs are in the driving seat to sign the hot prospect after making a bid, with Napoli and Borussia Dortmund waiting in the wings for the youngster who is valued at £18million on Transfermarkt.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255896″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Tottenham’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]
An exciting prospect
It’s unclear yet whether Tottenham are considering Grimaldo as a potential replacement for Danny Rose or as another option at left-back.
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What is for sure is that he plays exactly in the Tottenham way under Pochettino, as a very pacy and attacking full-back who is great on the ball.
If Rose does indeed leave Spurs this summer, Grimaldo would be a great option, but if not, perhaps there are other areas of the team that need more immediate attention than full-backs where they are particularly strong.
The date is 19 January 2022 at the King Power Stadium and the scene is set on a blisteringly cold night in the Midlands for the revival of one of Tottenham’s largely forgotten men.
Steven Bergwijn was slid through deliciously by Harry Kane after Youri Tielemans was robbed of possession and through he went, rounding Kasper Schmeichel before finding the net via the post.
It was a dramatic late goal as Spurs defeated Leicester 3-2 in the early weeks of the new year and it looked like a new beginning for the Dutchman too.
However, since penning terms with the north Londoners back in January 2020, the forward has failed to elevate his career with moments like his last gasp strike against Brendan Rodgers’ men coming few and far between.
We have only seen rare glimpses of the Netherlands international’s dangerous qualities and on that evidence, it is hard to argue that he has ever been worth the money.
Daniel Levy shipped out a seismic £27m for his services two years ago and in the 109 weeks he has been in English football, all you can say is that Bergwijn has been draining the owner’s bank account for a considerable period of time.
When you consider his weekly salary of £73k and his annual wages of £3.8m, he has set Levy back around £35m, a staggering amount of money for a player who hasn’t provided Tottenham with much on the field of play.
The 24-year-old is still young and possesses clear potential but he has found the net on just seven occasions in Spurs colours, meaning he’s cost them £5m per goal. Furthermore, his tally of only ten assists since signing means he has cost the Lilywhites £3.5m per assist.
Those numbers make for some pretty grim reading and with that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that he’s attracted some negative critics.
Only a few months ago, club insider John Wenham blasted the Dutch attacker for being “terrible all season.” What makes things even worse is that the current manager doesn’t rate him either.
Journalist Mike Verweij claimed on De Telegraaf’s football podcast (via Sport Witness): “Conte is also the one who opposed Bergwijn’s transfer from PSV to Italy. Inter were an interested club at the time, but Conte did not need him. Conte has only said two words to Bergwijn in two weeks at Tottenham Hotspur.”
That is a damning indictment of the player’s ability and attitude, meaning that this is a transfer that will only get worse with time.
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Of course, Conte’s desperate situation at the club could hand Bergwijn a lifeline if the boss does pack his bags and leave Spurs, but it would be a surprise if any new manager could extract more than the likes of Jose Mourinho and their current Italian head coach.
To put it simply; this is a transfer that hasn’t panned out well.
AND in other news, Spurs still paying price for Levy’s 2017 blunder over £53m “animal”, Conte isn’t happy…
The Jade Stadium in Christchurch has been renamed AMI Stadium following a new sponsorship deal. The agreement with the insurance company aims to increase the capacity to 43,000 ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup and the 2015 Cricket World Cup, which will be hosted with Australia.The stadium was originally known as Lancaster Park before Jade bought the naming rights in 1998. AMI and the venue management company Vbase are reportedly getting the community to help come up with a new name for the East Stand.The venue, which is home to the domestic side Canterbury, has hosted 40 Tests and 43 ODIs. Being a multi-purpose ground like Auckland’s Eden Park, it has used drop-in pitches for international matches.
Stuart MacGill has missed New South Wales training with a knee injury suffered during Australia’s five-day boot camp in the Queensland bush. In the post-mortem of the adventure the players complained only of aches and pains, but more than a week after the drills finished MacGill did not participate in a state session.The reported he was wearing jeans at Monday’s practice and refused to comment on his injury. “At this point we’re all just waiting to hear back from the doctor,” Trevor Bayliss, the New South Wales coach, said. “It’s really between [MacGill] and Cricket Australia at this point. It’s precautionary at this stage and we’re hoping he’ll be right to train next week.”Peter Young, Cricket Australia’s communications director, confirmed MacGill’s injury to the , but said the safety levels during the camp were “appropriate”. The paper reported up to four players were hurt during the exercises, which involved abseiling, day-long bush treks, mock terrorist exercises and navigating by the stars.”There are a few aches and pains … [and] Stuart has been told to take it easy for a week,” Young told the paper. “This was one of the main issues discussed before the camp, which in formal terms is called risk assessment or risk management. With this program, we were conscious that we did not want to risk our elite athletes.”During the squad’s warm-down at the Hyatt Coolum Stuart Clark told there were “a few people with body soreness and bruises”. “But if cricket was on tomorrow,” he said, “there’d be blokes running around saying let’s go.”
Irfan Pathan enjoyed another swing-fest on the opening morning at Harare, finishing with his best figures in Tests, and flattened Zimbabwe for a paltry 161 with a devastating mix of curve, swerve and seam. Gautam Gambhir then led a ferocious Indian batting assault and helped them end the day on an imposing 195 for 1, a lead of 34. They are now just a step away from another easy triumph.Zimbabwe knew exactly what they were up against when they had to face two left-arm seamers after Sourav Ganguly inserted them on a lively pitch. But such knowledge solved none of their problems. Pathan smacks his lips when he sees batsmen rooted to the crease, plonking their front foot down the track and failing to read the vicious dip into their pads. The Bangladesh batsmen found that out late last year, when he routed them 18 wickets in two Tests, and Zimbabwe were helpless when he treated them like sharp-shooting targets on the third afternoon at Bulawayo. Today was no different and his swerving darts had the batsmen edging, missing and finally falling.Brendan Taylor lasted just three balls before his technique was exposed – feet rooted to the crease, bat dangling out as the ball grazed the edge. Terence Duffin received a peach of an outswinger, Hamilton Masakadza missed a similar delivery that angled in; Tatenda Taibu got a jaffa that seamed away. The tailenders were plain clueless.Like his recent destructions, Pathan’s spell today was built on simplicity: full length – he only bowled seven short deliveries in all – good rhythm and just enough variation to unnerve the batsmen. Beating the batsman comprehensively by an away cutter is as much part of the plan as delivering the knockout inswinger the next ball and Pathan set all the batsmen up without too much of a hassle.Once he set the tone, the Indian batsmen seamlessly latched on to the momentum and pushed Zimbabwe further into a corner. Virender Sehwag kickstarted the innings with a run-a-ball 44 but he continued his mystifying trend of not making a big score against weaker teams – he has only one half-century in five Tests against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
However, Gambhir came into the Indian side with the reputation of being a domestic bully and he has often manhandled similar bowling attacks in first-class cricket where he averages close to 55. Today, he rarely let a loose ball go by – savagely cutting when provided with width – and spanked 17 fours in his assured effort. Unlike Sehwag, he isn’t one who will intimidate bowlers at the outset but, as his 116-ball 95 showed, he is well capable of chugging along at a considerable pace himself. Gambhir should face little opposition in reaching his second Test hundred tomorrow – his first was against Bangladesh at Chittagong – but it remains to be seen if he can replicate such innings against superior bowling attacks.One man who has done that for a number of years, Rahul Dravid, was with him for most of the innings and guided him along the way. Dravid survived a few testing overs from Heath Streak, the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers, when he came in but overcame that phase with minimum fuss. That was probably the only time all day when India were made to sweat.
Zimbabwe Brendan Taylor c Dravid b Pathan 4 (4 for 1) Terence Duffin c Laxman b Pathan 12 (31 for 2) Tatenda Taibu c Karthik b Pathan 0 (31 for 3) Dion Ebrahim c Karthik b Zaheer 14 (31 for 4) Heath Streak c Gambhir b Harbhajan 14 (75 for 5) Hamilton Masakadza lbw Pathan 27 (83 for 6) Andy Blignaut c Karthik b Pathan 13 (122 for 7) Charles Coventry c Dravid b Harbhajan 37 (136 for 8) Blessing Mahwire lbw b Pathan 1 (138 for 9) Keith Dabengwa c Laxman b Pathan 18 (161 for 10) India Virender Sehwag c Taibu b Streak 44 (75 for 1)
Shane Watson and Andrew Symonds are being considered as possible replacements for Brad Williams, who was yesterday ruled out of next month’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka.Symonds made his Test debut in Sri Lanka in March, and in the two Test matches he has played, has scored just 53 runs at 13.25 and taken only one wicket. Watson, who returned to the one-day side in Zimbabwe after overcoming back stress fractures, is yet to play a Test for Australia.Matthew Nicholson, from New South Wales, and Damien Wright, from Tasmania, are also in strong contention if the selectors opt for a fifth fast bowler, but Trevor Hohns hinted that he may take this chance to pick an allrounder. “This does test our fast bowling depth,” Hohns said. “Normally we would like to replace like with like but this does offer an opportunity to include an allrounder.”Nicholson, who played has played one Test, against England in 1998, was the leading Pura Cup wicket taker last year with 39 at 30.35. Wright finished the summer with 37 wickets at 26.48, while Paul Rofe, a South Australian, who took 35 wickets at 27.02, will also be discussed.