All posts by h716a5.icu

Tillakaratne Dilshan has been appointed Sri Lanka’s captain for all three formats during the upcoming tour of England in May

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2011Tillakaratne Dilshan has been appointed Sri Lanka’s captain for all three formats during the upcoming tour of England in May following Kumar Sangakkara’s resignation from the post after the World Cup. Sri Lanka Cricket have not yet named a vice-captain to fill the role vacated by Mahela Jayawardene because “the prospective candidates are nursing injuries, and their availability for the forthcoming tour is still in question.”Dilshan’s appointment ends the speculation over whether he, or 23-year-old allrounder Angelo Mathews, would be named as Sangakkara’s immediate successor. Mathews is presently fighting to recover from a leg injury which he said could keep him out for eight weeks.In a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo, Sangakkara, who resigned with a view of giving the next captain enough time to build a team before the 2015 World Cup, had backed either player to take over the captaincy. “If they think Angie [Angelo] is too young then Dilshan will do a good job because he has these little touches for success. Anything he does on the field, he has this little knack,” he said. “I don’t know whether he will be the long-term candidate with his age, but if he keeps himself fit he can easily play the next World Cup.”Dilshan, 34, previously led Sri Lanka to a win in a triangular ODI series in Zimbabwe – the third team being India – in May-June 2010, apart from captaining the side in two Twenty20 internationals in 2008 and 2009. Presently with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, Dilshan is coming off a rich vein of form in the World Cup, in which he topped the batting table with 500 runs from nine matches at 62.50.

India pulled off a heart-stopping one-wicket victory over Pakistan in Townsville, to seal their place in the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup

The Report by George Binoy in Townsville20-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHarmeet Singh held his nerve to help India edge out Pakistan•ICC/GettyHarmeet Singh and Sandeep Sharma, India’s Nos. 8 and 11, batted with incredible composure for seven overs to score the ten runs they needed to drag a misfiring batting line-up to a one-wicket victory against Pakistan in the quarter-final of the Under-19 World Cup. India were cruising one minute, at 120 for 5 needing 17 more, and were sinking the next, at 127 for 9. Harmeet and Sharma, however, saw to it that their consistent excellence with the ball in this tournament – they dismissed Pakistan so cheaply – was not in vain.It so nearly was, though. Needing only 137 to secure a place in Thursday’s semi-final, India slipped to 8 for 3 in the chase. They needed one batsman to drop anchor and stay the course and their No. 3, Baba Aparajith, did that. He had a partnership of 68 for the fourth wicket with Vijay Zol that put India on course. Aparajith went on to score 51 and, with him batting so fluently, India moved slowly but surely towards their target. The required rate was never an issue; wickets were, but five were in hand.Then Aparajith drove one in the air and was caught at cover, with India 17 short. In no time at all Smit Patel edged Ehsan Adil to the wicketkeeper and Azizullah dismissed two more batsmen in the 41st over. Only one more Indian wicket stood between Pakistan and victory.Harmeet, who missed India’s last two league games because of an illness but replaced Vikas Mishra today, took charge. Sharma batted cautiously, blocking out an entire over from the spinner Zafar Gohar. Harmeet, the more competent batsman, was astute enough to see off Azizullah’s final over, which meant Babar Azam had no more seam options to call on.Runs came at Chinese water-torture pace, but the batsmen were unruffled. Harmeet and Sandeep blocked and blocked, and occasionally they dabbed for a single or two. Every ball survived was cheered by a small but vocal group of Indian supporters. Even when the target was within the reach of one lofted blow and all the fielders were in the circle, Sandeep did not do anything rash. He left it to Harmeet, who eventually chipped over square leg, ran the second run and then ran into 13 team-mates sprinting towards him.As Sharma joined in the celebrations, he could have scarcely believed that it had come to this, especially after the hammer blow he had hit Pakistan with early in the morning. Most teams have preferred to bowl first at Tony Ireland Stadium but Pakistan chose to bat on an overcast and drizzly day in Townsville – a brave approach considering it was their first game here and batting has been hardest in the morning. Their decision backfired.Sharma, who has swung the new ball both ways prodigiously in every game, struck with the first delivery of the match. He bowled a good length and pitched on legstump, drawing the left-hand opener Sami Aslam into the front-foot defence. Sharma got the ball to swing sharply just outside off and hit the edge, giving Aparajith a regulation catch at second slip. Four balls later, the same thing happened to Imam-ul-Haq, another left-hand batsman. Pakistan were 0 for 2.Barely five minutes had passed since the start, so Pakistan’s No. 4 Umar Waheed wasn’t fully padded up. He and the other opener, the captain Babar Azam, had a monumental repair job to do and they began it with composure. But Sharma and India’s other new-ball bowler, Kamal Passi, were there and thereabouts all the time, and Pakistan were 27 for 2 after ten overs.Harmeet came on in the 15th over and caused a stir immediately. His first ball hit Umar Waheed on the pad and the lbw appeal was turned down, after which Waheed could have been run out had Smit Patel hit the stumps. Waheed appeared shaken and Azam went up to him to have a word. The next ball from Harmeet was lofted towards the midwicket boundary.Ravikant had a patchy first four overs, bowling several wides, but began to wreck Pakistan’s innings in his fifth. He got Waheed to edge behind, and in his next over he bowled Saad Ali and had Salman Afridi caught behind as well. Harmeet had Mohammad Nawaz caught at slip soon after. Pakistan had lost 4 for 7 to slip to 62 for 6.Through all this, Azam had batted with concentration, holding his end up as wickets tumbled at the other. He was dropped on 36, though, by Harmeet, soon after a rain interruption. Aparajith ensured that error didn’t cost India too many, having Azam caught at midwicket soon after his half-century. The batsman was distraught, having been dismissed to a tame chip after battling through tougher times.Pakistan were 99 for 8 after a second rain break and Adil hit four sixes to lift them to 136. Two of those were massive blows, clearing the longest boundary at midwicket and then the sight screen. India’s seamers, however, came back to finish the innings off, Sharma picking up the tenth wicket with the first ball of the 46th over.A couple of hours later, Sharma was in the middle again, striving to prevent India’s tenth wicket from falling. The gut-wrenching end was the third such finish between India and Pakistan’s Under-19 teams this year. In an Asia Cup league game, Pakistan had won by one run. The final of that tournament was tied. The third time, it was India that scraped through by the narrowest of margins.

Geraint Jones, the former England wicketkeeper, will return to the country of his birth and play for Papua New Guinea in the World Twenty20 qualifying tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2012Geraint Jones, the former England wicketkeeper, will return to the country of his birth and play for Papua New Guinea in the World Twenty20 qualifying tournament.Jones will join up with the Papua New Guinea squad for a training camp in February before trying to help them earn a place at the World T20 in the qualifiers in March. Both finalists of the tournament in Dubai will qualify for the main event in Sri Lanka in September.Born in Kundiawa in the Chimbu Province of Papua New Guinea, Jones was raised in Australia before moving to Britain and gaining a contract with Kent in 2001. He made his England debut against West Indies in April 2004 and was part of the team in 2005 that regained the Ashes.Jones, who played two T20 internationals, has been out of international cricket since 2006. He lost his Test place in December 2005 and played the last of his 49 ODIs against Sri Lanka at Headingley in July 2006.His decision provides a major boost for Papua New Guinea and their general manager, Greg Campbell, was delighted at the news. “I couldn’t believe it when Geraint contacted us,” Campbell said. “He is genuinely excited about coming to play and helping us achieve the dream of a World Cup spot. He has played so many games at the highest level. His talent and experience will be incredibly valuable for us.”Papua New Guinea begin their World T20 qualifying campaign against Afghanistan on March 13.

A typically blistering half-century by Chris Gayle went in vain for Sydney Thunder as they fell short by six runs to Melbourne Renegades at Stadium Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2011
ScorecardA typically blistering half-century by Chris Gayle went in vain for Sydney Thunder as they fell short by six runs to Melbourne Renegades at Stadium Australia. The Renegades posted a middling total of 140, but a three-wicket haul by Shahid Afridi and some good death bowling stopped Thunder on their tracks.The Renegades promised a bigger score after their openers, Aaron Finch and Brad Hodge, added 82. Luke Doran, the left-arm spinner, claimed both wickets in three balls. The quick strikes put the skids on the scoring rate. Shahid Afridi managed one four in his 16 before he was dismissed by Luke Butterworth in the 18th over.Debutant Tim Cruickshank and Gayle got off to a sound start chasing 141, adding 59 in close to eight overs. Cruickshank perished for 15 when he tried to loft Afridi over long-on. Gayle carried on attacking, hitting five sixes and three fours en route to 75. However, he didn’t have the support he would have liked as wickets kept falling at the other end. The Renegades pulled it back thanks to the discipline shown by their bowlers, Dirk Nannes (0-10) and Afridi (3-21). When Gayle fell in the penultimate over, caught at midwicket, the Renegades had all but sealed their first win against Thunder.

Shaun Marsh and Michael Hussey drove Australia into a powerful position at stumps on the second day in Pallekele

The Report by Brydon Coverdale09-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShaun Marsh showed impressive concentration in his first Test innings•Associated PressShaun Marsh grew up dreaming of wearing a baggy green just like his father Geoff, and realised that ambition on Thursday. By Friday night he was able to go to bed dreaming of a long future in Test cricket and a potential century on debut, after he and Michael Hussey drove Australia into a powerful position at stumps on the second day in Pallekele.Marsh was unbeaten on 87 and Hussey was on 76 when bad light stopped play shortly after tea, and although both men were within sight of triple figures, the most important figure was the 90-run lead they had built for their team. With seven wickets in hand and three days still to play, it would take something miraculous for the Sri Lankans to get out of this hole.At least they know they have what it takes to trouble Australia; three top-order wickets before lunch proved that. But once Hussey and Marsh came together, two calm left-handers at opposite ends of their careers, all the momentum was sucked away from Sri Lanka.When Australia were 116 for 3 following the loss of Michael Clarke, a first-innings lead was still up for grabs. At the close of play, Australia were 264 for 3, and the only question was how many Sri Lanka would have to make to force the visitors to bat a second time.As the partnership grew, things became so desperate for Tillakaratne Dilshan that he even turned to Kumar Sangakkara, desperately hoping his arm would prove as golden as Hussey’s had for Australia on the first day. But Sangakkara’s sub-100kph seamers made Hussey the bowler look like Brett Lee, and the Australians had no problem seeing him off.Sangakkara even took the new ball during his second over, an extraordinary move for a man whose only first-class victim was Elton Chigumbura in a match against Zimbabwe A seven years ago. It was a sign of how helpless Marsh and Hussey had made the Sri Lankans feel.That’s to be expected of Hussey, but the composure shown by Marsh was remarkable. If he reaches his hundred, he’ll be the first Australian to score a century on debut since another patient Western Australian left-hander, Marcus North, who achieved the feat in South Africa in 2009.Smart stats

Michael Hussey’s 76 is his second half-century of the series following the 95 in Galle. He has now scored 921 runs in the subcontinent at an average of 57.56 with two centuries and five half-centuries.

Shaun Marsh became the third Australia batsman after Ricky Ponting and Stuart Law to make a fifty-plus score on Test debut against Sri Lanka.

The 148-run stand between Hussey and Marsh is the second-highest fourth-wicket stand for Australia against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. The highest stand is 206 between Darren Lehmann and Damien Martyn in Galle in 2004.

This is only the eighth time that Sri Lanka have conceded a lead at the end of the second innings in home Tests since 2000 (matches when Sri Lanka have batted first). They have won two and lost four on the seven previous occasions.

Since 2000, Australia have gained the lead at the end of the second innings (batting second) in 39 matches, including this one. They have won 33 and lost just two on the previous 38 occasions. All three draws, have, however come in matches played since January 2008.

But North was shielded down at No.6; Marsh was sent in at No.3, and saw wickets tumble around him early in his innings. Initially, he found his runs largely through singles, taking no risks, and even when the boundaries began to flow they were usually dispatched safely along the ground.He brought up his half-century with a classy off-drive for four off the legspin of Seekkuge Prasanna, using his feet to reach the pitch of the ball and directing it wide of mid-off. He put away three boundaries in that over, but all were safe strokes.Meanwhile, Hussey was punching through gaps, cutting late and finding runs with his usual ease. His only lean patch came when he spent 39 balls working his way through the 40s, before his half-century came up with a vicious pull for four off Suraj Randiv.Hussey had survived a tight run-out chance on 39 when he dived full-stretch to make his ground after sprinting through for a quick single to mid-off. It was another incredible display of athleticism for a 36-year-old, but was hardly surprising after his flying catch at gully on the first day.The direct hit from Lakmal would have found most batsmen around the world short of their ground, and it just added to the frustration for Sri Lanka after their first session had gone so well. The day started with a wicket before Australia had scored a run, as Shane Watson shouldered arms to Lakmal and lost his off stump.It was a terribly poor piece of judgment: the ball was too full and too straight, and Watson should have learnt from the previous delivery, which had narrowly missed off stump when he also chose to leave it alone. By contrast, Clarke probably should have stayed away from the ball that got him for 13; he followed the angle from the left-armer Chanaka Welegedara and loosely edged to slip.The other wicket to fall in that brief period of Sri Lankan dominance was Phillip Hughes, who worked hard for his 36 before he was caught at short-leg, having inside-edged onto his pad against the offspin of Randiv. It wasn’t a failure of an innings for Hughes, but nor was it a triumph like Marsh’s effort.At stumps, Usman Khawaja was padded up ready to come in next, which created an interesting subplot for Australian fans: when Ricky Ponting returns for the third Test, Marsh, Hughes and Khawaja will be battling for two spots.By then, the series could be decided. And Marsh might have been the man to decide it.

Stuart Clark, the former Australia fast bowler, is keen to play another season with New South Wales, despite being in contention to become chief executive of one of Sydney’s two Big Bash League sides

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2011Stuart Clark, the former Australia fast bowler, is keen to play another season with New South Wales, despite being in contention to become chief executive of one of Sydney’s two Big Bash League sides. Clark, who will be 36 by the time the next Australian season begins, has been interviewed for the role with one of the new city-based teams.The former international coach John Dyson is also considered a frontrunner, and both men could end up with jobs, with Cricket New South Wales set to make the appointments later this month. Sydney’s two Twenty20 sides for next summer’s new competition are the Thunder and the Sixers, and Clark must decide whether he wants to take charge of one of those outfits or extend his on-field career.”I’m leaning towards playing cricket at the moment,” Clark told the . “There’s no personal goals left. I’m lucky enough to have done pretty much everything in cricket [that I wanted to].”As much as I love playing cricket, there’s also life after cricket and what I want to do with life. It’s a tremendous opportunity; I’ll never shirk away from that. One of these Big Bash teams – I suppose that’s the future of cricket and gives me an opportunity to be involved and involved at the highest level.”As a player, Clark’s experience is valuable to the young New South Wales side, which he captained last season when Simon Katich was away on Australian duties. However, with Australia looking to younger bowlers, Clark won’t add to the 94 wickets that he collected in 24 Tests, the last of which he played on the 2009 Ashes tour.

Less than a month ago Steve Snell was playing Minor Counties cricket for Hertfordshire but on Sunday he will fly to the Champions League Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2011Less than a month ago Steve Snell, the former Gloucestershire wicketkeeper, was playing Minor Counties cricket for Hertfordshire but on Sunday he will fly with Somerset to the Champions League Twenty20 qualifier in Hyderabad.Somerset have been given a headache over their wicketkeeping position due to the likely England call-ups of Craig Kieswetter and Jos Buttler for the two Twenty20 internationals against West Indies next week. The matches coincide with the qualifying event in Hyderabad from where three teams will join the main Champions League event.Somerset went through a similar scenario at the end of August when Kieswetter and Buttler were both in the Twenty20 squad to face India and called up Snell, 28, for the final CB40 group match against Essex – which they needed to win to qualify for the semi-finals – where he made an unbeaten 18 and took two catches. He then played the following Championship match against Hampshire, but the feeling was that Somerset would gamble on using 19-year-old Alex Barrow behind the stumps.”I think we might have been made to look ridiculous had we not taken a specialist keeper,” Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, told the club website. “Alex Barrow could have done it at a pinch, but it wouldn’t have been fair on him. Steve Snell did a good job for us in the CB40 game with Essex and on the opening day of the Championship game with Hampshire so he was the obvious choice.”Snell, though, will not be needed if Somerset qualify for the next stage of the tournament because Kieswetter and Buttler will be able to come into the squad providing they get clearance from England. The same applies for George Dockrell, the Ireland left-arm spinner, who isn’t available for the early matches due to international commitments. Lewis Gregory and Max Waller would be the other two players to drop out if all the internationals became available.Somerset’s problems haven’t been confined to their wicketkeeper. Gemaal Hussain, the pace bowler, is having problems obtaining a visa for India and if it doesn’t come through in time his place will be taken by Chris Jones. However, they have been boosted by the return of Roelof van der Merwe, the South Africa left-arm spinner, who will be the second overseas player alongside Murali Kartik in a potent spin attack. Alfonso Thomas will captain the team in the absence of Marcus Trescothick who no longer travels overseas.The odds are stacked against Somerset heading into the qualifiers because of a congested schedule which has them flying out on Sunday evening having played the CB40 final at Lord’s on Saturday. They arrive in Hyderabad less than 24 hours before their opening match against Auckland on September 20.”We shall see how the players are on Tuesday morning after their long journey before making practice plans and, of course, our first game is that evening, starting at 8 p.m. Hyderabad time,” Rose said. “It’s far from ideal, but we are going to give it our best shot and in Twenty20 cricket you just never know. It only takes a couple of big individual performances to swing a game.”Somerset Squad: Alex Barrow, Nick Compton, Adam Dibble, James Hildreth, Gemaal Hussain, Murali Kartik, Steve Kirby, Craig Meschede, Arul Suppiah, Alfonso Thomas (capt), Peter Trego. Roelof van der Merwe, Steve Snell (wk), Lewis Gregory, Max Waller

Lancashire wound up with more to do than they anticipated on a day in which Kyle Hogg demonstrated for the second time in five days that he may be entering his peak years as a bowler

Jon Culley at Southport26-Jul-2011
ScorecardKyle Hogg ran through Nottinghamshire but they fought back impressively•PA PhotosLancashire wound up with more to do than they anticipated on a day in which Kyle Hogg demonstrated for the second time in five days that he may be entering his peak years as a bowler after a decade bedevilled by injuries and frustration.Hogg, who played the starring role in the Roses victory last week that put Lancashire on the heels of Division One leaders Durham, maintained his form here, completing his third five-wicket haul of the summer and raising his overall wickets tally to 36, the best of his career.At the height of his powers, he took three wickets in the same over without conceding a run, first getting lift and movement to defeat Alex Hales, caught behind off an outside edge at just the moment he was hoping to celebrate his call-up for the England Lions side to face Sri Lanka A next week.He then had Adam Voges leg before, on the front foot but not forward enough, two balls before seeming to surprise Steven Mullaney with a ball that the former Lancashire player edged on to his stumps. Hogg does not have lightning pace but his line here was immaculate.At that point, Nottinghamshire were 27 for 5, which was not what they had in mind when Chris Read won the toss and chose to bat first. In fact, after limping to 27 for the loss of Neil Edwards, who had nibbled one to the wicketkeeper in Hogg’s fourth over, Nottinghamshire had surrendered four wickets for no runs in the space of nine deliveries, Riki Wessels having played across one from Tom Smith.Before lunch arrived they were seven down, Read having played back to one from Glen Chapple to be leg before and Samit Patel, another in the Lions squad, having suffered a rush of blood against Gary Keedy. Lancashire’s principal left-arm spinner had bowled only two balls when Patel attempted to hit him out of the ground over mid-wicket. The ball instead soared into the sky off a leading edge, with Smith safely under it at mid-off.Yet Nottinghamshire did fashion a recovery. Graeme White was also tempted to test Keedy’s equilibrium and succeeded, twice hitting him for six, the second of which crashed on to a roof in Harrod Drive, which borders the south end of the ground, and had to be retrieved from the guttering.But Andre Adams was the real revelation. The New Zealander normally adopts the Patel approach from the off but this time was a model of restraint, with 33 off 54 balls, as he and White added 65 for the eighth wicket, even if the manner of his dismissal, caught at long on, was familiar in the end.Yet, for unexpectedness, Adams was trumped by Darren Pattinson, a man with only two scores above 30 in 67 previous first-class innings. The ball had lost its hardness and the Lancashire bowling a little of its venom, while neither Keedy nor Simon Kerrigan were getting much turn, but Pattinson played admirably straight and collected six boundaries before Chapple had Luke Fletcher caught at second slip, the last wicket pair having added a further 55 runs to claim a batting point, and Pattinson top scorer with 35 not out.Lancashire’s three bowling points cut Durham’s lead to two, enabling Paul Horton and Stephen Moore to lead the reply with confidence high. As they reached 67 without loss, Nottinghamshire will have wondered if the moment was right to bring their two spinners, Patel and White, into the action.But then their perspective changed rapidly as Adams at last made the breakthrough, trapping Moore with an inswinging delivery. When he then dismissed Horton and Mark Chilton to catches at the wicket in his next over, the former nibbling but the latter wafting at a wider ball, Lancashire were suddenly 68 for 3. Pattinson soon bowled Karl Brown and there is work to do on the second morning if the result – almost certain to be positive here, one way or another, unless the weather has some say – is not to go against them.Results have been plentiful for Lancashire this season, which is why few Lancashire members will have many complaints that not one Championship match will now be staged at Old Trafford this year.It had been planned, after the realignment of the square, that the last game of the season, against Hampshire, would serve as a small consolation to Old Trafford members disappointed with this season’s switch to Liverpool but Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s director of cricket, explained that with only five pitches to pick from, none of which would be in ideal condition, it had been decided to give a sixth match to Liverpool.As it happens, all four Championship matches at the Aigburth ground so far this season have produced results, three going to Lancashire, and there has not been a draw there in 10 matches since 2004. Little wonder it has become a popular venue, although not as popular, it seems, as Southport, where the first day of Championship cricket since 1999 attracted 2,606 paying spectators, the largest number for a Lancashire home Championship day this season.

The leadership could be Clarke’s for years or it might last the length of the fifth Test, depending on what happens when Ricky Ponting returns from his broken finger

Peter English in Sydney02-Jan-2011Every new captain has to deal with the ghosts of his predecessor, but Michael Clarke will have the real-life version in the dressing room. The leadership could be Clarke’s for years or it might last the length of the fifth Test, depending on what happens when Ricky Ponting returns from his broken finger.The temporary nature of Clarke’s promotion was highlighted by Ponting at an official function on Saturday when he responded to a speech from Julia Gillard, Australia’s prime minister, instead of Clarke. Ponting, who is hanging around to have his injury treated, has also been working as an extra coach by passing on tips to the batsmen in the nets. Yet he has told Clarke to make his own decisions.”Ricky’s made that very clear,” Clarke, Australia’s 43rd Test captain, said. “Once I take that field they [the decisions] will come from me.”The uncertainty over his tenure, and the troubled state of the team, makes it a difficult assignment for Clarke. A photograph of Clarke and Gillard in Sydney’s Sun-Herald today had a caption that said: “One of these people has the toughest job in Australia, the other is the prime minister.”Clarke starts the year with more responsibility, two debutants, concerns over his batting form and a mixed reaction to his appointment. The Ashes have already been retained by England and the hosts’ best-case scenario is earning a win that will draw the series. Australia’s past four captains have been promoted with the team on top of the world while Clarke’s men are taking water at No. 4.The environment limits what Clarke can do, but he has already made a notable alteration. Usman Khawaja and Michael Beer will receive their baggy greens from past Australian players instead of the captain, which has been Ponting’s preferred system. Clarke named the team the day before the game so the debutants could get used to the idea they were playing. Ponting had kept Beer waiting until just before the toss in Perth to tell him of his fate.Clarke received his baggy green from Shane Warne in Bangalore in 2004. While he was too excited to hear anything Warne said back then, he has since listened closely to all his advice and watched the way he played and led.”Warney was a very aggressive captain, I don’t think I’m that aggressive, but I’ve learned from him on the field,” Clarke said. “He’s a friend, first and foremost, but especially when I was a young player, he’s been a mentor as well.”I just hope that come tomorrow, I back myself, back my judgment, back my instinct. That’s what people who have helped me have told me throughout my career, as a leader and vice-captain. Hopefully I continue to do that.”He intends to be true to himself whatever happens. “Some people are going to like that, some people aren’t,” he said. “I’m not that concerned about it. What I’m concerned about is me getting out there and scoring some runs for Australia and helping this team win.”Clarke was relaxed, polite and cautious when he spoke on the eve of the game. He said his first days in charge had been fun, but the serious business of stopping England was about to begin. “There’s been a lot of talking about what’s happened in the past month and not achieving our goals that we set ourselves in India,” he said. “It’s a new focus, a new year.”The results have hurt Clarke and the campaign already feels like a defeat, even though it’s 2-1 to England. “I’ve been involved in four Ashes series and lost three of them,” he said. “I remember fondly in 2007 when we won the series 5-0. We still have so much to get out of this last Test match. We can’t regain the Ashes but we can level the series.”In a quirk of the modern game, Clarke will be captaining his maiden first-class match. When he has played for New South Wales, Clarke has been ordered around by Simon Katich, Brad Haddin or Stuart Clark, while Ponting has been the boss for all off his deputy’s 68 Tests. Clarke wants Ponting back and fit as soon as possible, playing until “in 10 years when he retires”.Clarke said he is “very comfortable” with Ponting being in the dressing room. “Ricky being around throughout this Test is a great thing for all the players, but especially for me to have this chance to be captain,” he said. “I can run things by him and I think it’s pretty important for the team to have him around.” Even though Clarke is the leader, it’s clear it’s not his team yet.

Newcastle United have been subject to plenty of attention over recent weeks regarding their January transfer window activity, the first under the ownership of PIF.

The additions of midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Lyon and right-back Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid were the standout deals struck by the Magpies during the month and they should certainly boost Eddie Howe’s chances of avoiding relegation.

However, there are other players already in Newcastle’s squad who were signed under the much-maligned Mike Ashley regime who have proven to be bargains, with Allan Saint-Maximin arguably top of that particular list.

The Frenchman was signed from Ligue 1 outfit Nice in August 2019 for a fee of £16.5m, which was reported to rise to £20m with add-ons, and he has been a revelation since.

Labelled “breathtaking” by Gary Neville earlier this season, Saint-Maximin has hardly missed a game since moving to the northeast, making 79 appearances for Newcastle whilst scoring 12 goals and registering 14 assists, averaging a goal involvement every 3.04 games.

However, his return in the Premier League this season is slightly better, with his five goals and three assists in 21 appearances amounting to a goal involvement every 2.63 games, which suggests that the 24-year-old’s stock is only going to rise even further. Moreover, according to SofaScore, the winger is averaging 4.3 dribbles per game with a success rate of 63%, whilst maintaining a 76% passing accuracy.

The Tyneside outfit have a real gem on their hands, as can be seen by the changes in the Frenchman’s market value during his two-and-a-half-year spell in the northeast.

Having been signed for an initial £16.5m, Saint-Maximin was worth £22.5m soon after joining Newcastle according to Transfermarkt.

That figure dipped to £18m when the pandemic hit just under two years ago, but the Frenchman is now back to his highest-ever valuation of £28.8m, an increase of 75% on his 2019 outlay, and it’s hard to argue that it won’t increase further if he maintains his recent form.

Transfermarkt also rate Saint-Maximin as the Newcastle United player with the highest current value, ahead of Bruno Guimaraes, who was signed for £40m last month whilst being valued at £27m.

Newcastle’s position in the Premier League is still very precarious. Howe’s side are a point behind 17th-placed Norwich with a game in hand, but Burnley (19) have played two games fewer than the Magpies.

It is imperative that Saint-Maximin maintains his good form and continues improving, as he could prove to be the man who makes the difference for the Magpies in their bid for top-flight survival.

AND in other news, “From what I’ve heard”: Waugh drops behind-scenes PIF claim that’ll intrigue NUFC fans…