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Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal have reportedly entered the race to sign Newcastle United star Alexander Isak. Al-Hilal, who are looking for a new forward, are ready to compete with Liverpool to secure a transfer for the Swedish striker. The club are reportedly preparing a massive €130 million (£112m/$151m) offer to convince the Magpies to part ways with Isak.

• Al-Hilal eyeing move for Isak
• Ready to compete with Liverpool
• Isak could consider moving

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  reports that Al-Hilal know that convincing Isak to move to the Middle East at just 25 years of age would be a daunting task, but despite that challenge, they have reportedly gotten in touch with the attacker's agent as the club look to bolster their frontline ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Liverpool had earlier shown interest in Isak, but they have now turned their attention to Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike after being informed by the Magpies that their star player is not for sale. Isak had a dream journey in the 2024-25 campaign as he scored 23 league goals and finished just behind Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah. He also played a key role in Newcastle winning the Carabao Cup.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Amid speculation over Isak's future, his representative has dropped a bombshell as it has been claimed that the 25-year-old is indeed going through all the offers and is considering his options.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR NEWCASTLE?

  Eddie Howe's side will be back in action on Sunday as they take on Arsenal in a pre-season friendly in Singapore. It will be interesting to see whether Isak is involved after he sat out the heavy defeat to Celtic due to being distracted by the speculation.

Cummins, Starc and Smith rested while David, Warner and Stoinis will need to return home from their franchise duties early

Alex Malcolm24-Jan-20240:50

Finch: Players like Fraser-McGurk ‘don’t come around every day’

Mitchell Marsh is firming as Australia’s likely captain for the T20 World Cup after being named to take the reins for a three-match T20I series against West Indies.David Warner, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis have all been included and will need to return home from their franchise duties early while Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Steven Smith have been rested with Cricket Australia stating that all three will likely be included in the squad for the T20I series in New Zealand in late February.The selectors are yet to confirm who will be Australia’s permanent T20I captain having not made a formal decision after Aaron Finch retired following the 2022 T20 World Cup. Australia have only played two T20I series since then with Marsh leading an inexperienced team to a 3-0 triumph in South Africa before Matthew Wade took charge of a depleted team in India after the ODI World Cup triumph.Related

• Smith, Cummins, Starc return for New Zealand T20Is, Marsh to captain

• How Marsh turned a corner and made 2023 his own

• Marcus Stoinis re-signs with Melbourne Stars for three more seasons

• Stoinis to play SA20 after BBL, says ODI omission makes 'complete sense'

• McDonald: Maxwell 'needs to have a look at what he's doing'

Coach Andrew McDonald was absent for both of those series, with assistant coach Michael Di Venuto standing in for the South Africa series when Marsh was captain. McDonald is also not coaching the West Indies series with Daniel Vettori taking charge although he may be present for one of the matches in Hobart. Chairman of selectors George Bailey confirmed that a decision on the permanent captain will not be made until after the New Zealand series when McDonald and Marsh will likely get to work together.”I think we will make a decision about that post the New Zealand series,” Bailey said. “New Zealand will be the time when Andrew jumps back in so it’s a good chance to see how those two work together. Confident that’ll work, but we just haven’t seen it yet. That’s the way that’s tracking. Mitch will obviously get the opportunity here and likely to get the opportunity in New Zealand as well.”Marsh will captain on home soil for the first time and will have a very strong squad to work with. Smith will rest from the T20I series after captaining the ODI team in the three-match series against West Indies in the week before the T20Is but has stated that he expects to be in the squad for the New Zealand T20I series.Mitchell Marsh led Australia in a three-match series against South Africa last year•Getty Images

“I want to be a part of it, as anyone would, I suppose,” Smith said on Wednesday. “I’ve had a few opportunities to open and obviously did it well in the Big Bash. It’s different to international cricket, I know, but I haven’t had a huge opportunity there. I’d certainly be interested, but we’ll wait and see.”Bailey confirmed that Smith was being rested and would return for New Zealand.”It’s an opportunity for him to just have a really small break,” Bailey said. “He’s likely to return for that New Zealand series in some capacity, so he’ll continue to get opportunities.”Cummins and Starc are resting from all of the West Indies limited-overs matches after playing every home Test during the summer. Both are expected to play in the T20Is in New Zealand and two Test matches on the same tour but the selectors are mindful of their IPL workload thereafter ahead of the T20 World Cup.Josh Hazlewood has been included in the T20I squad to face West Indies despite resting from the ODIs. Hazlewood does not have an IPL deal and the six matches against West Indies and New Zealand will be his only chance to play the format before the World Cup.Warner has been recalled from the ILT20 as was long forecast by the selectors. David will also leave the ILT20 early while Stoinis will leave the SA20 early having been left out of the ODI squad after discussions with the selectors. All three will be required back in Australia on February 7 with the first match of the series to be played in Hobart on February 9.Glenn Maxwell, David, Stoinis and the two wicketkeeper-batters Wade and Josh Inglis will form the backbone of Australia’s middle-order at the World Cup. Bailey said no decision had been made on who would be the first-choice wicketkeeper at the World Cup but did suggest Wade was a vital cog at No.7.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I think Wadey has done a phenomenal job in that position across a long period of time and I thought he was wonderful in India post the World Cup in those five games, led the side really well, kept well,” Bailey said. “I continue to think that five, six, seven, those roles in that T20 side are the most challenging but really, really important.”I think we’re seeing that become a highly specialized and a highly skilled position.”I think Wadey’s held that No.7 spot down really, really well. But not taking away some of the work that Ingo has done with the bat as well and it’s not to say that both of them can’t play in the same team.”Matthew Short has also been included in the squad and has a chance to be part of the World Cup given his form and skillset as a powerful, flexible batting option and a part-time offspinner.Travis Head is likely to open alongside Warner as they did in the ODI World Cup but Short could slot in at the top as well. Bailey did suggest Australia would trial several combinations over the next six games.Australia have only named one spinner in Adam Zampa with Maxwell, Head and Short to provide spin overs as well. Australia looks likely to go to the T20 World Cup with just one specialist spinner in the XI again after winning the 2021 T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup last year with Zampa, Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood as the four specialist bowlers.But Bailey said they would likely take a second spinner in the squad to the World Cup later in the year. They just didn’t need to pick one in Australian conditions and decided that Ashton Agar and Tanveer Sangha were better off playing state cricket.”We didn’t feel like there was going to be necessarily the opportunity for those guys to play so they get the opportunity by going back to domestic cricket,” Bailey said.”I do think come the West Indies there’ll be a second spinner there without a doubt.”Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff and Nathan Ellis have been picked as the next three pacemen behind the big three and they appear to be vying for the last spot in Australia’s first-choice 15 for the World Cup.There is no room in the squad for allrounder Cameron Green. The selectors are keen for him to return to Sheffield Shield cricket after the ODI series to prepare for the Test tour of New Zealand given he is set to have a full IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore to put his name up for selection for the World Cup.”I think he’s a pretty special player in that format,” Bailey said. “He’s someone who’s going to go to the IPL so we’re going to get a really good look at him there. Just back into the Test side. He’s going to get an opportunity in the ODIs as well. So for him, as it is for all the all-format players at different times, it’s just balancing what the priority is.”His focus will continue to be on preparing for the Test format knowing that he’s going to get a really good block of T20 cricket in the IPL.”Australia T20I squad versus West Indies: Mitchell Marsh (capt), Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Arsenal defender William Saliba has issued a huge update on his Gunners future amid Real Madrid transfer links.

• Arsenal want new Saliba contract
• Linked with Real Madrid transfer
• Saliba drops update on his future

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Arsenal have reportedly been trying to extend Saliba's contract, which expires in 2027. The centre-back is said to be attracting interest from Spanish giants Madrid but now the France international has made it clear he wants to sign a new deal with the Gunners.

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  WHAT SALIBA SAID

  When asked about when he was going to sign a new Arsenal contract, former Nice and Marseille loanee Saliba told AFTV on Sunday: "Hopefully soon! God is great. This year, we will try to win everything."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Saliba has earned a reputation as one of the Premier League's best defenders, while forming a formidable centre-back partnership with team-mate Gabriel Magalhaes. The 24-year-old is a vital component of this Mikel Arteta team, and if he extends his stay, that will be a huge boost for the north London outfit.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Aside from Arsenal contract talks, the 6ft 4in defender – who has made 134 appearances for the Gunners – could feature for his side against bitter rivals Tottenham on Thursday as they continue their pre-season tour in Asia.

A stats lowdown on Trent Bridge, a ground where England have won each of the three times that Michael Vaughan has led the team

Mathew Varghese26-Jul-2007After “getting out of jail” – as Rahul Dravid put it – at Lord’s, a venue at which they have always struggled, India will be relieved that the second Test is in Nottingham. They have played three Tests at Trent Bridge, and while they lost in 1959, they drew their two recent encounters, in 1996 and 2002.India’s batsmen didn’t live up to reputation in the first Test, and the Big Three – Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid and Sourav Ganguly – will be under pressure to perform in the second. All three batsmen have good records at Trent Bridge, with a century apiece.

Ganguly and Tendulkar scored hundreds in the 1996 Test, during their 255-run partnership, the highest for India in England. They have scored more runs at Trent Bridge than any of the current English batsmen, who have all had an unusually quiet time at this venue.

However, given India’s bowling record, the England batsmen could get an opportunity to boost those numbers for the previous two Tests between the two teams in Nottingham were high-scoring contests.

Although India’s batsmen have done well at Trent Bridge, their English counterparts have done better: in 2002, they amassed 617, the third-highest
total at Trent Bridge. Harbhajan Singh conceded 175 runs, the most
in an innings at this venue.England have won three of their last four Tests in Nottingham. Their only defeat was against Sri
Lanka in 2006, when Muttiah Muralitharan took 8 for 70 in the fourth innings, the best
bowling figures in an innings at Trent Bridge.England, though, have won all three Tests under Michael Vaughan’s captaincy at Trent Bridge. Mike Brearley is the only other captain to have a 100% win record at the venue.

The team batting first at Trent Bridge doesn’t have any distinct advantage, having won 17 and lost 14 Tests. However, in the five matches since January 2002, the team batting first has won thrice and lost once, with one Test ending in a draw. The team winning the toss has chosen to bat in each of the six most recent Tests.Overall, the side winning the toss has won 20 and only lost 11 Tests. Since 2000, the toss hasn’t mattered much, the team that has won it has won three and lost two out of seven Tests.Although England’s bowling line-up is inexperienced, Monty Panesar and James Anderson have performed well in the only Test they have played at Trent Bridge. Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan are the only two Indian bowlers to have played at the venue.

Unlike at most grounds in England, spinners have an excellent record here – since 2000, they have taken 53 wickets at an average of 23. The overcast conditions and the threat of rain, however, could deny Panesar and Kumble the kind of success that other spinners – most notably Shane Warne and Muralitharan – have had here in the past.

Andrew McGlashan talks to Mal Loye about his experiences in Australia, being dumped for the World Cup and how he is now focussed purely on Lancashire

Andrew McGlashan11-May-2007

While England’s top-order floundered in the Caribbean there was one player who would have at least tried to clear the boundaries. But he was splitting his time between a pre-season tour of South Africa and the early throws of a domestic season. With every delivery patted down the pitch or left outside off stump the situation was crying out for Mal Loye’s aggression and innovation.Loye wouldn’t have solved all England’s woes and meant they were the ones lapping up the adulation of an adoring public instead of the Australians. Far from it, the one-day problems run much deeper than the top three but they are symptomatic of the larger malaise. However, Loye would have gone down blazing rather than blocking and England’s total wouldn’t have crept to nine runs in the seventh over of the virtual quarter-final against South Africa.He could certainly be forgiven for feeling a little bitter about the way he was discarded by England following seven matches in the CB Series. “After missing out on the World Cup I had a bit of a sulk,” he admits, “but after that all I have focused on is Lancashire, it’s all I can do. It’s what has made me successful.”Loye’s career record reads more than 13,000 runs in first-class cricket and more than 8000 in limited overs matches. He was on the verge of a Test cap in 1998 when called up to face Sri Lanka after Mike Atherton was injured. But at the last minute the selectors had a change of heart and went for Steve James. “They wanted an opener for an opener and I was told thanks but no thanks.”Loye has had to deal with his fair share of poor communication over the years so, recently, took it as a positive that he received a phone call to tell him he wasn’t in the 25-man development squad. “The selectors let me know that but that’s the only contact I’ve had in my whole career so I’ll take a positive from that. Now it’s about kicking on and getting some scores under my belt.” It’s been a mixed start to the 2007 season for him, a century at Edgbaston and a run of innings in the thirties and forties. “It’s frustrating, I keep giving it away.”

Even if Loye’s international career is done and dusted his brief stint at the top level is still packed with incident, some before he’d actually arrived in Australia. When Kevin Pietersen was hit in the ribs at the MCG, Loye was in New Zealand during a club stint with Auckland. “I was getting text messages and phone calls from people back home who were watching the TV and they were basically telling me I was in. Then Ravi [Bopara] got called up, but I knew I was close so there was still hope.”However, injuries were never far away and it wasn’t long until Michael Vaughan pulled a hamstring at Hobart. “I’d actually just played my first game for Auckland after coming back from an injury,” Loye explains. “Then I came off and noticed that Vaughan needed a runner and I was pretty sure after the feedback earlier that week that I had a good chance.”Two days later he walked out at The Gabba with Andrew Strauss against Australia. Nerves? “I just remember thinking I had nothing to lose. I wanted to make the most of the day because it might have been my one and only chance. If I’d been 24 I would probably have gone in very differently and put extra pressure on myself but as I was 34 I just thought I had nothing to lose.” And just to show he wasn’t going to hold back, the trademark sweep came out, against Brett Lee of all people. “I had a look at it and realised what a good pitch it was. Even though it was a low-scoring game it was a belter, and after watching the Ashes and a disappointing start to the one-dayers I just thought taking them on was the best way to go. Glenn McGrath said a few things but I was just enjoying it so much that I didn’t hear a lot.”

The results were mixed – but mainly on the low side – as Loye found out that McGrath, Lee and Co. don’t take kindly to such treatment. But, given his chance again, Loye would do the same despite taking a crack on the chin in the second final at Sydney. “I wanted to do it again next ball,” he said before explaining his variation of getting back on horse. “It’s a bit like when I had a car crash as a kid and later that same day I wanted to drive because the longer you leave it the more you are going to doubt yourself. It’s a shot like a pull or a hook which you can get hit playing and you don’t stop using those.”So, having watched from the sidelines, what did one of the country’s most aggressive one-day batsmen make of England’s efforts in the Caribbean? “As openers now you have to have an all-round game, you can’t just go in and play one way.” But he still offers his support to Vaughan, the man who took his place for the World Cup. “It depends on conditions. Everyone is going on about Vaughan but I think he has the game to smack it around and also the technical ability when it is doing a bit.”Loye certainly hasn’t given up hope of having another taste of the big time and the Twenty20 World Championship in September is giving him a target to focus on. “Ultimately it’s always at the back of your mind and to play in a tournament like that would be amazing but it depends the route the new management wants to take. I don’t know how they are thinking so all I can do is score runs for Lancashire.”For someone who waited so long for an opening it would be easy to feel contented with a handful of one-day caps and playing a helping hand in a rare one-day success. However, for Loye there is certainly not a feeling of fulfillment. “I’m not satisfied at all. To play at the highest level is to play Test cricket and if that never happens I’ll look back and it will be a huge regret. But you can only do so much and the rest is in other people’s hands.”

Sidharth Monga looks into the reasons why domestic batsmen come up short on sporting pitches

Sidharth Monga in Vadodara07-Jan-2008

A wicket fell every 13.2 runs in one of the shortest semi-finals in the Ranji Trophy – played between Uttar Pradesh and Saurashtra at Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. Fifty-four was the highest partnership, 21 overs the longest wicketless spell, and 32 of the 40 wickets fell to medium-pacers. The semi-final ended in all of 191.2 overs, and the question everyone would want to ask is: was the wicket so bad or has India found new sensational bowlers? The answer to both will be negative; UP’s Sudeep Tyagi, though, has the promise but a long way to go.The wicket was helpful, the bowlers smart, and the batsmen incompetent. The surface was firm, had some grass, there was a little moisture, and it afforded seam movement throughout the game. At worst the wicket was merely difficult, and at best sporting.The batsmen, all virtually born and brought up on paatas [flat tracks with no lateral movement], just did not show the application to tackle the moving ball, and never looked at ease. That none of the 40 dismissals came from a shot played early shows that the ball didn’t stop on the batsmen. Nine of the 14 caught-behind dismissals came off deliveries could have been left well alone.That runs could be scored on this wicket was shown by Mohammad Kaif and Jaydev Shah, the two captains, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kamlesh Makvana, the tailenders who showed the application and the will to hang on with the better batsmen. Kaif is not the owner of the best technique, but he showed the determination to negate the difficult conditions. He cut down on his strokes and once he got used to the movement, he accelerated. It took a special catch from Shah at mid-off to get him out.India have picked many a batsman based on the numbers in domestic cricket only to find them exposed as soon as they play at the international level – against better attacks on better wickets. When dropped, those batsmen have come back and continued to score heavily in domestic cricket.. That, and what happened at Vadodara, is a statement on the kind of wickets domestic cricket in India is played on and the quality of players it generates.Dilip Vengsarkar, chairman of the national selection committee, who watched the game, was singularly unimpressed. “There is nothing wrong with the wicket; they haven’t shown any application. They are playing way too many shots.”Kaif seemed to agree. “Domestic batsmen are used to playing on flat wickets. The moment they are given a wicket better than that, they seem to struggle,” Kaif said. “And when one or two fall to an inside edge, the others also go with the mindset that the wicket is not good to bat on.”It is interesting to note here that this is the first time the semi-finals are being played at neutral venues. At the same venue earlier this season, Bengal were 221 for 0 on the first day against Baroda, and in another match Baroda drew against Orissa. On both occasions, the team winning the toss had chosen to bat first. Here for the semi-final, when there was no home team around, the Moti Bagh Stadium track, which has a reputation of being helpful to the fast bowlers, returned to its characteristic self.It is obvious and an open secret that no association wants bowler-friendly wickets for its home matches and the curator has to work accordingly; unless the team is in dire need of an outright win, the tracks are all flat.The home captain has a big say in the kind of wickets prepared. Is it a surprise, then, that of all the 15 teams in the Super League, not one has a bowling captain?

It is fitting that Graham Thorpe is part of the TV commentary team covering the Kanpur Test: he was always a tough nut to crack, even on a difficult pitch

Sidharth Monga in Kanpur12-Apr-2008

It is fitting that Graham Thorpe, the former England left-hand batsman, is part of the TV commentary team covering the Kanpur Test: he was always a tough nut to crack, even on a difficult pitch. Along with Gary Kirsten and VVS Laxman, both present in Kanpur, Thorpe could well conduct a workshop on how to bat on a bad pitch, all three being ‘experts of tricky tracks’ in their own right.There was a certain bloody-mindedness Thorpe used to combine with his technical nous, and he usually reserved the best of both for difficult situations and pitches. “You need a lot of mental toughness in there,” he says of the up-and-down pitches, “Once the ball is gone it is gone. No matter if it has gone along the ground or spat at you, don’t be fazed by it.”Play the ball and not the pitch,” he says. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But there are tricks to do exactly that, according to Thorpe. Small adjustments like standing outside the crease to the pace bowlers, who can be just as dangerous as spinners on underprepared pitches, opening up the stance a bit, and rotating the strike as often as possible can help. “Don’t get pushed too much on to the back foot when facing the seamers,” he says. “Playing on bad pitches is a bit like playing reverse-swing, so a slightly open stance can help. You don’t want to be getting the front foot over too much, the ball can move in suddenly and get you lbw. You can afford to stand more on leg stump, and show more of your wicket.”Over the first two days, he has seen two clearly distinct approaches to countering spin on a breaking track: the South Africans waited back, played as late as they could, while the Indians, especially VVS Laxman, played Paul Harris mostly from the front foot, looking to either whip him through midwicket or go inside out. “It could be because of the kind of bowlers they were facing,” Thorpe explains. “Harris is more of a skiddy bowler, and he doesn’t have the pace variations of a Harbhajan. You don’t want to be cutting him too much. I am sure South Africa had that plan of working Harbhajan around the corner. To do that, they delayed the movement forward; they only came forward when it was thrown right up. [Hashim] Amla and [Neil] Mckenzie are very good at staying on the back foot.”

Kanpur 2008 reminds Thorpe of Colombo 2001: a similar surface, and a better bowling attack to face. “I remember it was a similar track. The ball had started spinning after the first ten overs. I came into bat in the middle of a collapse and managed to bat through.” He scored a match-winning unbeaten 113.How did he counter Muttiah Muralitharan on such a vicious track? “The key is in having a clear game-plan. You can’t just go in the middle and all of a sudden start trying different things.”I just worked on the principle that sometimes when the pitch is bad, there is just as much pressure on the bowlers as on the batsmen, maybe more,” he says. “As a batsman, you have to keep that in mind. When the bowlers can’t get you out on a bad surface, they start trying too much. On a bad surface, if the ball is turning a lot, it is spinning every ball. It’s easier than when only three balls spin and three don’t.”Only the really tough can even look beyond the pitch and try look at the bowler’s mindset, and it’s not surprising they come up with the most exceptional of innings on the most treacherous pitches.

Despite Vettori’s best efforts, his side fell to the bottom of the table in 2008

Brydon Coverdale29-Dec-2008

The consensus when John Bracewell stood down this month after five
years as New Zealand’s coach was that he had only done half the job.
They had established themselves as a consistently threatening one-day
side during his reign, but in the Test arena their poor results had
become as predictable as Chris Martin’s batting. Never was that
frustrating split more apparent than in Bracewell’s last year at the
helm.New Zealand’s Test schedule had been light in recent seasons; they
played only ten Tests in 2006 and 2007 combined. In 2008 they played
14 Tests and won four but three of those victories came against
Bangladesh. The most revealing moment came when they lost to Australia
in Adelaide and slipped to eighth on the ICC’s Test rankings –
effectively last, as only Bangladesh were below them.In the limited-overs format they thrived, with 10 wins from 15 ODIs.
They didn’t lose a series, beating England at home and away and
expectedly triumphing against Ireland, Scotland and Bangladesh. The
new coach, Andy Moles, faces the task of developing a team that can
perform in both versions. At least he has some of the building blocks.After a year of change in 2007, when they lost Nathan Astle, Craig
McMillan and Hamish Marshall to the ICL, there were a couple of even
more important departures in 2008. Within the first few weeks of the
year, Shane Bond had headed for the ICL and his New Zealand career was
over. Stephen Fleming also retired after the home series against
England, although his exit was as inevitable as the prime minister,
Helen Clark, losing office.Jesse Ryder, Daniel Flynn, Tim Southee and Tim McIntosh all debuted
and showed promise. Iain O’Brien went from a battling trundler to the
world’s No. 11 wicket-taker for the year. He also turned into a highly
entertaining blogger. Ross Taylor consolidated his reputation with the
first two centuries of his Test career.But for all the potential that their emerging men displayed, far too
much was left up to the new captain Daniel Vettori. That he was their
leading Test wicket-taker by a considerable margin was not surprising
– he collected 54 at 26.12 – but that he was third on their batting
List with 672 runs at 35.36 was a sad reflection of their top-order
woes.The incessant chopping and changing with the opening roles continued.
Craig Cumming and Matthew Bell began as the first-choice pair, Bell
and Jamie How were tried, then How and Aaron Redmond, and finally How
and McIntosh. And now How is struggling, so who knows how long the
current combination will last. It has created instability for the
middle order – hardly ideal with young batsmen trying to find their
feet at Nos. 3, 4 and 5. Flynn, Taylor and Ryder could provide New
Zealand with a firm batting core in the future, although 2008 was hit
and miss for the trio.When Flynn arrived on the scene during the tour of England, he would
have preferred miss than the hit he received. In his second Test, at
Old Trafford, he was struck in the face by a James Anderson bouncer
and lost a couple of teeth. Flynn walking off the ground with a
bloodied mouth was one of the enduring images of the year in New
Zealand cricket, but the way he returned to perform solidly for the
remainder of the year proved the team had found a fighter.The tour of England provided another memorable image when
Vettori and Brendon McCullum shouted their disapproval from the
players’ balcony at The Oval after England’s ODI captain, Paul Collingwood, declined to recall Grant Elliott, who had been run out after colliding with the bowler, Ryan Sidebottom. New Zealand went on
to win the series 3-1.At Test level they struggled to match England; they won the first home
Test, in Hamilton, and drew at Lord’s, but lost the other four Tests in the home-and-away tours. They were not helped by the absence of senior
men like Vettori and McCullum for the start of the tour after
they were given permission to stay longer in the IPL, where McCullum’s
incredible 158 in the opening match had set the tone for the tournament.A visit to Bangladesh brought more concerns than it should have; they
lost the first ODI and only won the Chittagong Test because Vettori
carried the side with bat and ball. The signs were not good ahead of a
tour to Australia and the comprehensive 2-0 loss to the No. 1 team was not a major surprise, although Southee continued to show his potential as a dangerous swing bowler after bursting onto the scene
with a five-wicket haul on debut against England in Napier.A more closely-fought home series against West Indies followed, but a 0-0 draw was not the ideal result. It was the first time Moles had been in charge of the side; the coaching role was one of several
management positions that altered during the year. And so a period of
changes on field and off ended with New Zealand at the bottom of the
Test table. The only way is up.New man on the block
Jesse Ryder. Happily for New Zealand there were options in this
category. Flynn and Southee in particular could be cornerstones of the
line-up for the next few years. Ryder has the potential to be not only
a key player but a cult hero. Unconventionally proportioned for a
top-level cricketer, his international career got off to a
smashing start in February when he slammed 79 from 62 balls in his
second ODI, against England in Hamilton, and then it threatened to
crash and burn when he put his fist through a bar-room window in
Christchurch after a late night of drinking. He hurt his hand so badly
that he could not make the tour of England, but on his return he showed
promise in Tests against Bangladesh, and West Indies.

Fading star
Stephen Fleming. It was strange that one of the most respected
captains of the modern era farewelled the game not leading his side
but as one of 10 men playing under the new skipper, Vettori.
New Zealand fans knew at the start of the year the end was nigh for
Fleming, although he surprised many by bowing out after the Napier
Test against Michael Vaughan’s men instead of kicking on for one last
tour of England. He left the game with scores of 59 and 66 in his
final Test and it was somehow appropriate for a man who, for all his
talent, should have made more than nine Test centuries, having passed
50 on 55 occasions.High point
In Tests there were precious few; three of their four victories came
against Bangladesh. Beating England in the first Test at home was the
standout, but it was followed by a pair of defeats. The other high
point for New Zealand in 2008 was coming back from 1-0 down after two
games to beat England 3-1 in the one-day series in England. That arguably their best achievement came in an inconsequential
limited-overs series says much about the state of cricket in New Zealand.Low point
Losing to Australia was not unexpected but the consequences of New Zealand’s defeat in the second Test in Adelaide made the outcome particularly disappointing. That game nudged them down the ICC rankings to below West Indies and Martin Crowe thought that was such a galling position to be in that it was quite possibly the country’s worst moment in Test cricket.What 2009 holds
For a team that clearly prefers the coloured clothing, next year
thankfully features a less hectic Test schedule. They host India for
two Tests in March-April and then head to Sri Lanka for three Tests in
August. At least expectations will not be high in either series; India
are one of the world’s best sides and Sri Lanka at home have beaten
India, South Africa and England in the past couple of years. A trip to
Pakistan later in the year may or may not go ahead; the same for the
Champions Trophy. The reality is that 2009 will be another development
year for an evolving side. It will also start to show whether Moles
can simultaneously run two successful sides instead of one, like his
predecessor.

A look at the far-reaching life of Learie Constantine, which successfully captures his extraordinary achievements

David Conn23-May-2009

The premise of this illuminating biography is to revive appreciation of Learie Constantine, the original West Indies cricket icon and pioneer in so many fields that he seems to have packed four lives into the one he was born into, in Trinidad in 1901. Readable, well-researched, admiring but not wholly uncritical, the book achieves its purpose, bringing to vivid life a remarkable man and period of history.Constantine’s journey was epic. The grandson of a slave in racially segregated Trinidad, Constantine bowled, batted and most notably fielded his “panther-like” way to a distinctively West Indian cricketing style. He fought endemic English racism, became a writer and broadcaster, was a key political figure in Trinidad’s 1962 independence, becoming the first black man in the House of Lords, his national-treasure status confirmed by an appearance on . Peter Mason delivers the facts, stats and details comprehensively and sums up authoritatively.In childhood Constantine and his brother, Elias, would practise throwing and catching by hurling crockery at each other while washing up, but adult life was a struggle and cricket became Learie’s escape. At 26 he determined to make his name on West Indies’ tour of England in 1928 and win a professional contract.He landed it with heroics against Middlesex at Lord’s; 86 in the first innings, 7 for 57 in the opposition’s second innings, then a match-winning 103 that had Lord’s members “hoarse from cheering” and boys dashing on to the pitch. Denis Compton, who joined Middlesex years later, found the old pros in the dressing room still talking about it.Constantine, his wife Norma and daughter Gloria then spent 20 years as the only black people in the Lancashire mill town of Nelson – surely one of cricket’s great stories. He was one of Britain’s highest-paid sportsmen and delivered consistently good value for it in the Lancashire League. They were objects of curiosity, but bore it well and made crowds of friends. Constantine even experienced his political awakening there, helping to finance the publishing of the , written by his friend and collaborator CLR James.There are many other achievements: Constantine’s landmark 1944 legal victory after his family was turned away from London’s Imperial Hotel by a manageress saying “We will not have niggers in the hotel”; his welfare work for Caribbean workers during the war; a career in island politics for which he was not ideally suited, his contribution important nevertheless.This fine account thoroughly justifies Mason’s concluding judgment of Constantine as “a great man”, or in James’ words, “a man of character”.Caribbean Lives: Learie Constantine
by Peter Mason
Signal Press, pb, 212pp, £9.99

The ominous question still lingers: is the win a sign that England are going to dominate cricket for the next decade, and what could that mean for the future of other nations?

Alice Dean21-Jun-2009New Zealand coach Gary Stead put it best. His side’s defeat to England
in Sunday’s ICC World Twenty20 final was, he said, like the amateurs
playing the professionals. He only meant it figuratively, insofar as his team were outclassed on the day against a surprisingly clinical England. At last, the home
side’s bowlers and fielders truly rose to the occasion in a way which
they hadn’t throughout the rest of the tournament.Stead was almost correct in the literal sense too, and therein lies a potential problem. The ECB has invested in English women’s cricket for more than a decade now, but the tree naturally takes a long time to first take root and then bear fruit. Only in the last 18 months have England looked like world-beaters. Now they have the World Twenty20, the World Cup and the Ashes in their pockets, and better investment than ever before.The ominous question goes thus: is this a sign that England women are
going to dominate cricket for the next decade or more, and if so, what
does that mean for the future of other nations?England’s women are, through Chance to Shine coaching contracts, the
nearest thing the women’s game gets to professionals; the gulf
between them and the rest of the teams is in serious danger of
widening. They have beaten world No. 2 New Zealand seven times in their last
meetings, while India, the third-best in the world, have been their whipping girls for several years.Only Australia – whose players have a contract-lite version of England’s, but still have to work – have presented anything of a challenge. Players can attend the Academy in Brisbane and have funding through grants, but one wonders what’s going to happen in the next few years when Karen Rolton, Shelley Nitschke and Lisa Sthalekar cart all their weighty experience off with them into the sunset.New Zealand lost captain Haidee Tiffen earlier this year – she wrote
on Cricinfo that this was partly down to a lack of funding – while
players such as Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine are in eternal danger of
defecting to their other international sports of basketball (Bates)
and hockey (Devine). The players are desperately keen to get more
financial assistance and, given their record, certainly deserve it.
Investment can only make the powerhouses stronger.England, partly due to the funding, have a well-gelled team who can
concentrate as much as they like on cricket. They have a young team
but one which is already very experienced and Charlotte Edwards – who
is the same age as Tiffen – intends to be around for many years yet.
And even though they have hardly played perfect cricket in either
tournaments this year, it’s still been more than enough to reign
supreme.So the future is certainly an issue. But at the same time, the
present is very much worth celebrating. England’s women already beat
their men to an ICC trophy when they took the World Cup in March, the
first tournament under ICC regulations. They promptly did the double on Sunday and
are flying the flag in style.The investment from the ECB continues to pay dividends and Edwards was
keen to note that the World Twenty20 success shows the 50-over tournament “was no
fluke”. The victory is also a win for women’s sport in England. While the
impact on the press may not be long-lasting in terms of a general lift
in column inches, the fact that writers and editors witnessed the
play at Trent Bridge, The Oval and Lord’s for the first time might lead them to look more kindly on the women’s game in the future.The double-header staging of the tournament has been an unmitigated
success. While there were no upsets in any of the games, the
cricket was exciting and there were some superb performances, such as the West Indies
batsman Deandra Dottin’s fastest international Twenty20 fifty against
Australia in Taunton, and New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins’ 89 not out
in Nottingham against India. The most memorable game will long stand
out as Australia versus England at The Oval where Claire Taylor, the player of the tournament, stroked her side home in thrilling circumstances.The ICC took a gamble on embracing the women’s game, or perhaps it
would be more accurate to say a calculated risk, the women having
already been on the same stage as the men in domestic and
international games. And the decision paid off handsomely.Women’s cricket has arrived on the world stage, and nobody tried to
boo them off. Rather, they applauded a surprisingly entertaining new
act which represented good value for money, and has the chance to
shine again in the future.With the format to be repeated next year in the Caribbean, the ICC can
both breathe a sigh of relief at the successful staging this time
around, but also give itself a pat on the back.The ECB, too, should be applauded for setting the example – and now
it is hoped other countries can catch up with their view to a golden future.