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It was a woeful performance with both bat and ball by Pakistan, and one of clinical precision by Australia

Agha Akbar30-Aug-2002It was a woeful performance with both bat and ball by Pakistan, and one of clinical precision by Australia. As it plunged to its heaviest defeat ever, by 224 runs, Pakistan was not just mauled, it was toyed with and humiliated. And the pretender capitulating without a whimper wasn’t a pretty sight at all.Fired by career-best performances by Mathew Hayden (146) and Jason Gillespie (5 for 22), the Aussies started off the tri-nation PSO Championship in emphatic style.The Aussies put up 332 runs, and shot out Pakistan for a paltry 108 in 36 overs to make this Pakistan’s worst defeat, eclipsing the one by 198 runs against England at Trent Bridge in 1992.Pakistan was never in the contest as its chase went horribly wrong from the word go. Reduced to four for 13, it was all over bar the shouting as early as the seventh over. From then on, the only remaining interest left was the margin of Aussie victory. And also whether Pakistan would pass its previous lowest (132 in the ’99 World Cup final) against Australia. With the top order gone so early, the tail couldn’t wag for that long either.Waqar Younis tinkered with the batting order, sending Abdul Razzaq to open with Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi at number three, and pushing Saeed Anwar down to four. The ploy was a miserable failure, just as Younis’ every other move on what must be his day of horrors.Nazir again threw his wicket away by swishing at a wide, wide delivery in the second Gillespie over. Two balls later, Afridi was aghast as he saw his defensive shot deflecting from the ground to dislodge his leg-stump bail. McGrath uprooted Razzaq’s middle stump and next over Anwar shouldered arms to a straight one to be leg before. Four for 13 in the seventh over, and Pakistan was in the direst of straits.With the middle order bereft of class acts Inzamam and Youhana, it was beyond Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik to do the repair job and keep up with the scoring rate as well. The duo tried to hang in there, Malik occasionally indulging in his trademark off-drives. Came Shane Warne’s first over and Younis perished cutting a low and wide one into Gilchrist’s gloves. Malik poked at an Andy Bichel delivery to make it six for 67.Azhar and Latif got a partnership of sorts going, it took Pakistan to 95 at the end of 30th over, saving them the ignominy of the biggest defeat ever (Sri Lanka had beaten India by 245 runs at Sharjah in October 2000). But it was small consolation.Gillespie was brought back and he hastened the end with his second double blow in one over, sending back Wasim Akram and Younis. Shoaib Akhtar didn’t survive his next over.Hayden heroics:
When Younis won the toss and elected to bowl, he must have calculated that his pace and seam attack would wreak havoc on the Aussies.As the Aussies bludgeoned an imposing 332, their highest against Pakistan, he must have sorely regretted the decision. Hayden’s brute of a knock literally knocked the living daylights out of the much-touted Pakistan attack.Pakistan had no answer to Hayden’s (146, just 128 balls, 12 fours, 6 massive sixes) relentless charge. By the time he was fifth out with 10 balls remaining, as Shoaib Malik brought off a superb catch off Akram, the total was 316 and Pakistan’s cause was all but lost.The Pakistan attack apparently hadn’t learnt any lessons from the outing against Kenya. It kept bowling short and wide on both sides of the stumps, and the Aussie upper order was way better equipped than Kenyans to take good care of such stuff. It ripped them apart with ruthless precision.There were as many as 35 extras, and though Akram led the pack, each of them was guilty of transgression.To begin with, Gilchrist and Hayden took boundaries off Akram and Younis almost at will. Akram finally removed Gilchrist with one that seamed late, but it was not much of a relief. Ponting and Hayden kept the innings on a fast track. Razzaq came first change, and Ponting launched into him with a lovely straight-batted off-drive for four, and Hayden planted him beyond long-off fence for a six to take 15 runs from the over.When Akhtar was brought on, he too was not spared, Hayden pulling him to the long-on fence for a four to bring up the 100, off 96 balls. Ponting punished him even further with two fours and a six.Having lost his captain Ponting (65, 72 balls, 7 fours, 2 sixes) after a magnificent 128-run stand off 119 deliveries for the second wicket and Damien Martyn in quick succession (both snared by Afridi); Hayden continued in the same aggressive vein. He found a willing second fiddle in Jimmy Maher, and the two between them added 122 in quick time, the second century-plus stand of the match.The over-rate, painfully slow, and his pacers already clobbered all over the park, Younis bowled Afridi and Malik in tandem. The duo conceded 66 runs in 13 overs, way below par compared with the pacers!Though Akram bowled a much-better second spell, 92 runs were hammered in the last 10 overs. Akhtar bowled the most expensive single over as Hayden tore into him, taking 17 out of 21 conceded. Younis replaced him, but was treated with scant respect. Hayden took sixes off his first balls in the next two overs, while Maher too chipped in with a huge straight one off Akram. Waqar struck back by removing Maher and Akram accounted for Hayden, but by then it was really irrelevant.The Aussies had, for good measure, negated the psychological advantage that Pakistan had enjoyed after the series win in Australia with one big innings which put the match beyond the latter. What is worse, Pakistan never even made a fist of it.

Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic has revealed Glasgow Rangers left-back Borna Barisic will not be available for his country’s final group stage Euro 2020 clash against Scotland.

The Lowdown: Barisic struggling

Barisic was selected as part of Croatia’s 26-man squad for the European Championships and had been expected to start on the left-side of the back four.

However, he was ruled out of the opening clash against England, and also did not feature against the Czech Republic at Hampden Park.

The Latest: Out of Scotland clash

Now, Dalic has provided a further update on the 28-year-old. He said (via Glasgow Live):

“Borna has not trained with us for the last 5/6 days.

“He has trained only twice recently so that hasn’t been sufficient for me to be sure he can play an entire match. He’ll be with us and he’ll be there though.”

The Verdict: Crushing blow

This will no doubt be a crushing blow for all involved. Barisic, who has 15 goals and 56 assists at club level throughout his career (Transfermarkt), has proven himself to be an attacking threat – that is something Croatia could do with considering they have scored just once so far during this tournament (Sky Sports).

For Barisic, it will be even more disappointing given he plays in Scotland. It would have been a fantastic moment for him, but now he will only be there as a spectator. He will need to hope his side can get the right result on the pitch so that he can have a chance to play in the knockout stages.

In other news, Rangers have rejected several bids for this controversial ace.

As concerns start to mount in East London, a reliable West Ham source has dropped an encouraging update…

What’s the word?

The Irons are yet to complete any business since the transfer window opened last week, which is pretty understandable given the European Championships are on right now.

However, mooted striker target Patson Daka appears to be on the verge of joining Premier League rivals Leicester City, whilst it seems like manager David Moyes and the club have also been dealt a devastating setback in their pursuit to sign Jesse Lingard permanently.

But the anonymous ExWHUemployee has now delivered his thoughts on the current situation.

In response to one worried supporter on Twitter, he wrote:

“Unfortunately a lot of the players we are keen on are currently awaiting other transfers to happen (domino effect) before they are allowed to go with the Euros being on it means players are occupied etc. I know only youngsters but we have brought 2 in. Top ones to follow.”

Encouraging claim

This should come as very promising news to many in East London right now. After all, it’s still early days and the new season is still months away.

The Hammers have been handed some positive news in recent weeks.  The 58-year-old signed a new long-term agreement to remain in charge of the side.

He had steered West Ham from relegation candidates to the Europa League, recording their best-ever Premier League points tally and their highest finish since 1999.

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A little patience is now required as the club looks to work on getting transfers over the line. Moyes needs plenty of additions, none more so than upfront, where he only has an injury-prone Michail Antonio to call upon right now.

But even though Daka will be going elsewhere, it seems like the Irons’ hierarchy is working on other deals, with Ex claiming that the top targets are to follow in due course.

Moyes also has to put together his own recruitment team as he has been given the green light to bolster his scouting network by David Gold, David Sullivan and Karen Brady, according to Football Insider, so that could be another reason behind their delay in the transfer market.

All in all, it’s far from the time to start panicking just yet. As the reliable source says, things are likely to fall into place after Euro 2020, even if some targets are going elsewhere.

AND in other news, Moyes can seal biggest West Ham signing since Payet in “complete” 64-cap “technician”…

Doubts about Graham Thorpe’s fitness to return to international cricket after his lengthy absence from the game were dispelled at the Rose Bowl as he helped himself to 143 off the Hampshire attack

Ralph Dellor13-Sep-2002Doubts about Graham Thorpe’s fitness to return to international cricket after his lengthy absence from the game were dispelled at the Rose Bowl as he helped himself to 143 off the Hampshire attack. Surrey already enjoyed a lead of 91 on the first innings, but acting captain Ian Ward extended that with an innings of 156 – his second hundred in the match. When he was joined by Thorpe, they added 239 for the third wicket. At the close, Surrey had lost eight wickets and led by 513.Something of a flourish from the tail was not enough for Lancashire to avoid the follow-on against Kent. They were bowled out for 197, but Mark Chilton and Stuart Law made sure there would be a much better performance second time around. They shared a third wicket partnership of 164 before Law was out for 90. Chilton is still there with 89 and Lancashire lead by 16 with seven wickets remaining.Warwickshire, like Kent, have designs on second place in the table behind Surrey, and they had a good day against Yorkshire. Dominic Ostler converted his overnight century into a double and Warwickshire reached 601 for nine before declaring. With Matthew Elliott hitting 74 and Craig White 53, Yorkshire were on 261 for six at the close, still 340 behind.Somerset were second last season, but after defeat at the hands of Leicestershire by an innings and 18 runs, they consigned themselves to the second division next season. Leicestershire’s innings came to an end with the total on 310, but Somerset simply melted away in their second innings. Their first seven batsmen could only muster 33 off the bat as Javagal Srinath reaped figures of five for 25 and Somerset were badly beaten inside two days.In Division Two, Middlesex extended their lead by beating Derbyshire by 73 runs, although there was some fight from the home batsmen despite the fact that they were stripped of eight points for a sub-standard pitch. Phil Tufnell would not have seen too much wrong with it as he took five for 35 including the wicket of Michael Di Venuto for 71. In fact, at one point, it appeared that Derbyshire might have been able to pull off an astounding victory, but it was not to be and Middlesex are now assured of promotion.Essex went a long way towards joining the promotion party by forcing Durham to follow on at the Riverside. Michael Gough carried his bat for 75 as Durham were dismissed for 187. When Essex had Durham 81 for three in their second innings, they would have been justified in thinking of an early finish, but Brad Hodge (56) and Ashley Thorpe (95) added 136 for the fourth wicket. At the close, Durham were still 12 runs behind with only three wickets standing.Steve Rhodes (124) and David Leatherdale (120) could not extend their seventh wicket stand significantly, and Worcestershire were all out for 397 with Andrew Harris taking five wickets. Bilal Shafayat was a lone figure of defiance in Nottinghamshire’s second innings with 104, but the story of the day involved deputy wicket-keeper Jamie Pipe. Rhodes was injured while batting and could not take his place behind the stumps, so Pipe stepped in and took catches to dismiss the first four Nottinghamshire batsmen. Set 249 to win, Worcestershire lost both openers with only seven on the board and then two more wickets with the total on 35. With Graeme Hick still at the crease, they require another 208 on the final day.Despite a hundred from Craig Spearman and 89 from Matt Windows in sharing a third wicket partnership of 185, Gloucestershire were forced to follow on by Northamptonshire. Spearman and Windows got fifties second time around, as did Alex Gidman, but they were not enough to deny Northamptonshire who won by an innings and 59 runs.

Interest is growing in Slavisa Jokanovic’s Sheffield United right-back Jayden Bogle this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Sky Sports (via Football League World), who claim that Norwich City are interested in making a move for the 20-year-old right back in the summer transfer window.

The report goes on to state that the Canaries are looking to strengthen their options in defence ahead of their upcoming Premier League campaign, and have identified the £6.3m-rated Bogle as one of their top targets this summer.

Jokanovic must not sell

Having joined Sheffield United from Derby County in what was a £3.47m deal last summer, Bogle did not get off to the best of starts for the Blades last time out, although his Premier League debut campaign came in extremely challenging circumstances.

Indeed, over his 16 top-flight appearances for United last season, only 12 of which came as starts, the 20-year-old helped his side keep two clean sheets, as well as making an average of 0.9 interceptions, 2.1 tackles, 1.1 clearances and winning 4.4 duels per game.

The £20k-per-week right-back also chipped in for his side in an attacking capacity, scoring two goals and making an average of 0.3 key passes per fixture, with these returns seeing the former England U20 international earn a rather disappointing seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.54.

However, considering the youngster was playing for a team rooted to the foot of the Premier League table for the vast majority of the season, turning in fantastic performances week in week out was a near-impossible task.

And, considering the fact that United are now playing in the division below, Bogel’s metrics would very much indicate that the right-back would be an incredibly useful player for Jokanovic to have at his disposal next season, as well as one who, at just 20 years of age, has a great deal of developing still to do as a footballer.

As such, keeping the defender whom Chris Wilder dubbed a “quality” player would appear to be extremely important for United this summer, as Bogle very much seems as if he has the ability to help fire the Blades back to the Premier League next term – and with his potential departure representing something of a disaster for the club.

In other news: Update emerges on “complete” £16.2m-rated gem that should leave Sheff Utd fans buzzing

The Tasmanian Selectors have today announced the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers squad to play the Victorian Bushrangers in their first Pura Cup match of the season from Wednesday, 30th October to Saturday, 2 November 2002 at the MCG in Melbourne.

Tasmanian Cricket Association29-Oct-2002The Tasmanian Selectors have today announced the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers squad to play the Victorian Bushrangers in their first Pura Cup match of the season from Wednesday, 30th October to Saturday, 2 November 2002 at the MCG in Melbourne.CASCADE TASMANIAN TIGERS

Ricky PONTING (Captain)
Jamie COX (Vice Captain)
Sean CLINGELEFFER
Graeme CUNNINGHAM
Gerard DENTON
Michael DIGHTON
Michael DiVENUTO
Shane JURGENSEN
Daniel MARSH
David SAKER
Shannon TUBB
Shane WATSON
Damien WRIGHT

The 12th man will be announced on the morning of the match.Ricky Ponting has been named in the 13 man squad on the proviso that he is cleared to play by the ACB Selectors and coaching panel. The TCA is expected to have a firm indication of Ricky’s availability early next week.Graham Cunningham has impressed with his early season form with the bat and, on the weight of runs, has been included in the squad at the expense of Scott Mason. Scott Kremerskothen who played in last season’s Pura Cup Final is still recovering from an operation on his shins and was not available for selection.

Aston Villa are still eyeing a move for Burnley winger Dwight McNeil after The Telegraph’s recent transfer update.

What’s the story?

A report from Football Insider had previously claimed that Dean Smith’s side have their eye on the 21-year-old, and that the Premier League club are “lining up a huge bid for him”.

Then, The Athletic’s Gregg Evans revealed: “Villa already recognise the need for another wide player, and The Athletic understands Burnley’s Dwight McNeil is of serious interest, as is Emi Buendia of Championship winners Norwich. Extensive groundwork has already been done on both of them.

“The scouting department has closely scrutinised his in-game contributions, and McNeil is recognised as a player who brings additional options to open up a game.

And now, The Telegraph have claimed that Villa still have McNeil high up on their target list as they look to reinforce their squad ahead of the new Premier League season.

Premier League quality

The £43m-rated winger has been one of the few standout players for the Clarets since breaking onto the scene, and it’s something which has led to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp raving about him.

He said: “Dwight McNeil is such a good player, lovely left foot, doesn’t stop running. Every time I watch him he gets better and better, he’s got real quality and certainly a player that the top six to eight clubs will be looking at, and that’s no disrespect to Burnley because I don’t like saying that sometimes, but he is that good.”

With his ability to beat players one-on-one – his average of 1.8 dribbles per game in the Premier League was the highest of any Burnley player last season – McNeil could bring a new and exciting dimension to Villa’s attack.

That dribbling, and McNeil’s composure on the ball, is something very much akin to Villa talisman Jack Grealish, andled to Burnley manager Sean Dyche waxing lyrical about the kind of talent he is.

He said: “He’s a real talent. He’s a really good player, he’s improving, his calmness at the end – I’m saying get it in the corner – but he cuts in, and his calmness to cross it into a dangerous area, and then gets his reward.

“Before then, his calmness to dribble out of trouble – he’s a really good player, really good, and he can only mature.”

The Telegraph’s update on their interest in McNeil should surely have Villa fans buzzing given the kind of attacking flair the winger could bring to the club.

Meanwhile, Matt Maher has dropped a major Aston Villa transfer update…

With the seven-match series tied at 3-3, West Indies are playing an unchanged 11 for the last and deciding limited-overs international against India on Sunday.

Derrick Nicholas23-Nov-2002With the seven-match series tied at 3-3, West Indies are playing an unchanged 11 for the last and deciding limited-overs international against India on Sunday.West Indies won the first international by four wickets at Jamshedpur and followed up with a seven-wicket triumph at Nagpur in the second match.India then captured the next two matches. They won the third match at Rajkot by 81 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method after crowd trouble brought a premature end, and then won the only day/night fixture of the series at Ahmedabad by five wickets in the fourth match.The two teams then shared the next two matches of the series, with West Indies winning by five wickets at Baroda and India bouncing back by taking the sixth and penultimate contest by three wickets.West Indies are presently ranked sixth on the International Cricket Council’s limited-overs championship table and a win will move them a little closer to overtaking fifth ranked India.Squad: Carl Hooper (captain), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ricardo Powell, Ridley Jacobs, Vasbert Drakes, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting praised his players for battling back into the the VB series opener at the SCG to beat England comfortably by seven wickets after a slow start.

CricInfo13-Dec-2002Australian skipper Ricky Ponting praised his players for battling back into the the VB series opener at the SCG to beat England comfortably by seven wickets after a slow start.”We were probably a bit disappointed that England made as many as they did,” Ponting reflected. “They batted well at the start of their innings, our bowlers clawed it back through the middle and then our batsmen went out and did a fantastic job and reeled in the runs.”England’s total under lights of 251 for eight from their 50 overs soon looked inadequate as Australian openers Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden rattled off a century stand before the first wicket fell for 101 after 13.5 overs. Man-of-the-Match Hayden was dismissed just two runs short of his century.”The way that we came out today was terrific,” Hayden enthused. “We really wanted to chase runs and were off to a flying start. Then it was a terrific innings by Damien Martyn in difficult conditions. I guess we are at a stage with our batting where we are showing good experience throughout the innings.”England captain Nasser Hussain admitted England needed to reassess their strategy. Nick Knight hit an unbeaten 111 for the tourists, but their batting challenge faded in the closing overs.”We played some better cricket today,” said the England captain. “It’s pleasing to see the boys go out there and put on a show in front of a big crowd. The three games before I thought we were below par but today the big crowd and the big occasion lifted us a little, bit but it wasn’t enough.”The last 10 overs of our batting and their first 15 probably made the difference in the end, but we were a little bit better.”Hussain hopes that Nick Knight, who was unable to field during Australia’s reply having been struck by cramp towards the end of his century innings, will be fit for England’s second game of the triangular series against Australia in Melbourne on Sunday.”Nick was struggling with cramping all over the body and not just in one specific area, and the combination of that with new batters trying to get used to the pace of the wicket kept us down to 20 or 30 less than we should have got,” added Hussain.”When we went out to field he was shivering a little bit which tends to suggest dehydration, but he’s OK and we just have to get him right for Sunday now. He’s a fit lad but it was hot out there today and there were lots of ones or twos because of the nature of the wicket.”We are really going to have to work out some better plans for the first 15 overs. Hayden and Gilchrist did exceptionally well and you can’t let a side get away. The Sri Lankans will be exactly the same, they will come at you and for those first 15 overs, we are going to have to rethink our plans.”

Former Crystal Palace striker Marcus Bent has told The Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that he is surprised new Fulham boss Marco Silva was not considered for the job in the Selhurst Park dugout.

Prior to the appointment of Patrick Vieira, Palace looked at a host of managers in their quest to replace Roy Hodgson.

That includes Lucien Favre and Nuno Espirito Santo, who both at some point looked like they would be in charge of the Eagles for the upcoming campaign.

Silva, however, now managing Fulham after Scott Parker’s move to Bournemouth, was not a name under consideration and that has surprised Bent.

“I’m surprised a lot of clubs haven’t considered him for a while, to be honest,” the ex-Palace player said. “Maybe they’re looking at Vieira as a name, but I think he [Silva] would’ve been a good appointment.”

The Vieira appointment is an interesting one, with the Frenchman lacking Premier League experience, in contrast to 43-year-old Silva, who has had spells at Watford and Everton.

With his stature in the game, though, perhaps Vieira will be able to attract players at a time where Palace are undergoing a revamp. Their squad is, of course, down to the bare-bones right now due to expired contracts.