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For Andrew Strauss the real task on this trip has been to manage the expectations of a squad that has more or less looked after itself on the field

Andrew Miller in Sydney02-Jan-2011The challenge of leading England in Australia is traditionally one of the toughest assignments in cricket, but for Andrew Strauss the real task on this trip has been to manage the expectations of a squad that has more or less looked after itself on the field. As the fifth and final Test of an historic series approaches at Sydney, Strauss has once again called on his players to keep their feet on the ground, and ensure that a hard-earned series lead in translated into a memorable series win.With the Ashes already in the bag thanks to England’s thumping innings-and-157-run victory at the MCG, Strauss recognises there may be a temptation to relax going into the final week of the series. However, he is sure that England’s focus will be back on the job after a brief burst of euphoria in Melbourne, and having turfed the team out of bed at 7.30am on New Year’s Day for a 9 o’clock nets session, there will be no excuse for cobwebs come the start of the match on Monday morning.”We had some quite big celebrations in Melbourne after winning the Test and rightly so because the guys deserved that,” said Strauss. “But we got to Sydney and had a fairly moderate New Year if I’m honest. It’s definitely a case of us keeping our feet on the ground and preparing for the Test match. There is no way we want Australia to win this Test match and draw this series. We are in a great position to win the series but we need to play well again this week. We don’t want to slip into bad habits.”In keeping with their standard practice, England will name their 11 on the day of the match, with Paul Collingwood expected to retain his place in the middle order in spite of his poor run of form. Australia, however, have already confirmed that two debutants will line up in their side – Usman Khawaja at No. 3 and the spinner Michael Beer, who has been kept on ice ever since his shock call-up to the squad in Perth. “It is not any huge surprise,” said Strauss. “But there will be some different challenges for us and we need to be well prepared.”By and large, that has been a given for England on this most meticulously planned tour. Aside from their shellacking in Perth, where their downfall was hastened by an inspired spell of bowling from Mitchell Johnson, they have been alert to the pitfalls presented in all situations, and quick to capitalize on any opportunity to claim the ascendancy. For Strauss, who had to overcome internal strife in the Caribbean during his first series at the helm in 2009, and external controversy against Pakistan last summer, the trip has been almost restful by comparison.”It’s certainly been one of the easier tours I’ve been on in regard to captaincy,” he said. “We’ve not really had any issues off the park. We generally play good cricket. The biggest challenge has been to keep the guys’ feet on the ground and make sure we don’t get ahead of ourselves. If that’s what you’re worried about as captain, you know things are going your way.”I wouldn’t say it’s been an easy tour,” he added. “It’s just that we have a tight unit, a bunch of guys who are all good mates, so you don’t have any squabbles in the camp or things that are going wrong off the pitch that take time. And that doesn’t surprise me because it’s been the case for 12-18 months. What has been very re-assuring is generally our cricket’s been good so we’ve had less to worry about too. But ultimately we’ve still got the end of this tour – this match and the one-dayers – so there’s still plenty of time for us to be challenged.”It will doubtless help England’s focus that the final week of the tour isn’t actually upon them as yet. In Johannesburg last January, their innings defeat was sealed as the squad were preparing en masse to fly back to England, and in recent times they’ve suffered similarly crushing results in the final Tests of pre-Christmas trips to the subcontinent – such as Colombo in 2003-04, or Galle last time around, when they were bowled out for 81 on the opening day of the Test only to be saved by rain.

For Strauss, who had to overcome internal strife in the Caribbean during his first series at the helm in 2009, and external controversy against Pakistan last summer, the trip has been almost restful by comparison

“We’re not in that position at the moment but there are other reasons for us to take our eye off the ball in this Test match and it’s important we don’t do that,” said Strauss. “It is a lovely feeling to know the urn is coming back with us but it will leave a bitter taste in the mouth if we aren’t able to play well this week. It is a big challenge for us because we have a lot of people patting us on the back and telling us how brilliant we are but the reality is that you are only as good as your next game. We have to really get stuck in here and make sure we play well again.”If you look at our record we’ve been very good coming back after defeats, less good after wins so that’s something we have to put right,” he added. “Sometimes there’s a reason for it, sometimes the other team just plays well and sometimes we need to put our hands up and say ‘we weren’t in the right place mentally to play that Test match’. We’ve talked about it a lot and the guys are very conscious about it. It’s certainly about trying to get back to basics and get right on top of the opposition again.”

Virender Sehwag, the India opener, has been named the Test Player of the Year during the 2010 ICC Awards ceremony in Bangalore

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2010Virender Sehwag, the India opener, has been named the Test Player of the Year during the 2010 ICC Awards ceremony in Bangalore. He won the award, the first of his career, ahead of Sachin Tendulkar, Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla, who were the other nominees in the category.”It’s fantastic to win the award, to take over the title from Gautam Gambhir,” Sehwag said after receiving the prize from Courtney Walsh. “I think I got motivated when Gambhir got this award last time, I was discussing with him that I hope I get it this time and I got it. I’m a huge fan of Test cricket and I love to play it more than Twenty20 or one-day cricket.”When I was growing up, I was playing lot of 10-over, 12-over games, so I had to score off every ball, same thing I have continued. I followed my instincts and played in the same way in T20, ODI and Tests. It’s a great strength to have.”Sehwag scored 1282 runs in ten Tests at an average of 85.46 between August 2009 and 2010, which was the period under consideration for the award. He was also named in the Test Team of the Year, which was captained by MS Dhoni.

According to GiveMeSport, there has been another big update in Tottenham Hotspur’s hunt to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers star Adama Traore.

The Lowdown: Spurs talks ongoing…

Over the last fortnight, Spurs and transfer chief Fabio Paratici have been in talks to sign the 25-year-old as Antonio Conte seeks a new makeshift right wing-back for his system.

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Tottenham have even attempted to negotiate a loan with an obligation to buy for Traore as this transfer saga seemingly drags on through to the last few days of the January window.

This comes amid Paratici’s efforts to complete other deals as they also reportedly close in on the signing of Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat and continue talks to offload club record signing Tanguy Ndombele.

The Latest: Personal terms completed…

Sharing an update on Traore, GiveMeSport have a promising development. According to their sources, Tottenham and the Spain international have now agreed personal terms to make him the fourth-highest paid player in Conte’s squad.

It is believed that the Lilywhites will pay Traore a bumper £120,000-per-week salary if they can agree a deal with Wolves as the north London club edge that little bit closer to his arrival, with the report describing this as a ‘significant breakthrough’.

All that’s left now is for Spurs to make a formal bid for the winger, as GiveMeSport claim they are eyeing an initial loan move ahead of a permanent transfer in the summer.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Signing Traore would undoubtedly boost Conte’s options at N17 and provide a much larger threat down the right flank.

As he seeks a carbon copy of Victor Moses, who the Italian re-moulded into a top- class right wing-back at Chelsea, the Molineux ace could certainly do a similar job across London.

Traore has averaged a hugely threatening 4.2 successful take-ons per 90 in the Premier League this season, a far greater return than any of Conte’s current options at Tottenham (WhoScored).

Described as a ‘world-beater’ by Wolves legend Steve Bull, agreeing personal terms with the 25-year-old certainly seems like one large step towards a potentially exciting addition as Spurs aim to finish the January transfer window on a high.

In other news: Club chiefs set for crunch board meeting today as Spurs table bid for their ‘special’ player, find out more here

West Ham United have been handed a big boost in their bid to secure a deal to bring Boubacar Kamara to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim in a rather big twist that Olympique de Marseille have now lowered their asking price for the defensive midfielder from €20m (£17m) to between €6m-€7m (£5m-£6m).

The Ligue 1 side are not believed to be against sanctioning the January sale of a player whose current deal at the Stade Velodrome expires at the end of the season.

The report goes on to state that West Ham are joined by Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma in the race to land the 22-year-old, with the Serie A side believed to be keen on a deal for the France U21 international in the current transfer window – something that could well force David Moyes’ hand in a move for the Marseille starlet.

Moyes must move

Considering just how impressive Kamara has been in France since breaking into the Marseille first-team, in addition to the fact that the defensive midfielder would appear to be available for an extremely reasonable fee this month, it would appear highly advisable for Moyes to make a move for the 22-year-old as soon as possible.

Indeed, over his 17 Ligue 1 appearances this season, the £22.5m-rated man has been in exceptional form for Jorge Sampaoli’s side, making an average of 1.1 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 0.9 clearances, 57.2 passes and winning 56% of his duels per game.

The £46k-per-week Frenchman has also chipped in going forwards for Les Phoceens, scoring one goal and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.8 shots and making 0.9 key passes per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who Rolando dubbed a “phenomenon” average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.04, ranking him as Marseille’s seventh-best performer in the top flight of French football.

Furthermore, with the 22-year-old also being more than capable of operating at centre-back – a position which Moyes has explicitly stated he is looking to strengthen this winter – Kamara’s impressive versatility will undoubtedly be a huge plus in the 58-year-old Hammers manager’s books.

As such, considering his fit to West Ham’s needs, his sheer amount of potential and his extremely reasonable asking price, a move for the defensive midfielder this month would indeed appear an extremely wise one for Moyes to make – as the youngster’s signing would appear to solve a number of issues in the Irons’ first-team squad.

In other news: “A deal is there…”: Ex drops teasing transfer claim that will have WHU fans sweating

It is perhaps fitting that Derbyshire have started to host cage fighting events at the County Ground in an effort to boost their income. For if anyone doubts the tough and competitive nature of championship cricket, they would do well to reflect on events

George Dobell at Chesterfield01-Jul-2010
ScorecardIt is perhaps fitting that Derbyshire have started to host cage fighting events at the County Ground in an effort to boost their income. For if anyone doubts the tough and competitive nature of championship cricket, they would do well to reflect on events at Chesterfield over the last four days.Two sides with little hope of promotion stood toe-to-toe trading blows in a brutal, bruising contest, until the casualties were plentiful and almost everyone involved could be ranked among the walking wounded. In a truly bizarre finale, the dying overs saw an injured bowler limping in to bowl to a batsman with a suspected broken arm. That the bowler was eventually replaced by one with a broken finger probably tells you everything you need to know.The end result saw Surrey claim just their third championship win in three seasons with 55 deliveries of the match remaining. The 23 points lifts them off the foot of the table and up to seventh place. While it’s probably too early to suggest they’re a team on the rise, they have now won two of their last three games and here showed some impressive spirit in the face of considerable adversity. After a couple of dire years, that’s a considerable step in the right direction.”I couldn’t be any prouder,” Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown said afterwards. “I’m almost lost for words.What you’ve just seen is 11 guys who were desperate to win and, how ever the game ebbed and flowed, just kept coming back.”It shows how far we’ve come. We showed great character and great bravery. To have a fast bowler on one leg but who just keeps running in is amazing. It’s more than I’ve ever experienced.”That one-legged bowler was Andre Nel. Clearly increasingly incapacitated by his hamstring injury, he nevertheless delivered 25 overs in Derbyshire’s second innings off a greatly shortened run and fully deserved the three wickets he claimed.There is just one caveat to his performance. For a fellow who has already served two two-match suspensions this season, his reaction to Nigel Cowley’s ‘not out’ verdict to an LBW appeal against Greg Smith was foolish to the point of recklessness.Nel was not Surrey’s only hero. Gareth Batty also kept going admirably despite adding a broken left index finger (sustained while fielding during the day) to his sore ankle, while Usman Afzaal contributed two important wickets with his part-time left-arm spin.And then there was Chris Tremlett. While he was never at his most accurate or controlled, Tremlett showed admirable grit and determination in carrying the attack and delivering 32.5 overs of sustained fast bowling. For a fellow with questions marks over his heart and commitment, this was an impressive performance.”He’s been the best Twenty20 bowler in the country,” Hamilton-Brown said, “and he’s bowled as quickly as anyone this season. It’s testament to the work he’s put in.”But Derbyshire, too, deserve credit from this game. Not only did they achieve the highest fourth-innings total ever made on this ground, but they achieved the third-highest fourth innings total in the club’s history.At one stage it even appeared they might pull off a remarkable win. At 205 for 1, with Wayne Madsen and Garry Park going well, all the pressure was on Surrey. The pair added 160 in 59 overs, scoring just 20 runs in the first 17 overs of the day, but gradually wearing down the Surrey attack and picking off the support bowlers.Madsen, in particular, was highly impressive in compiling his second century of the match and his fourth of the season. While he drives pleasingly, his game is built more upon a sound defence and impressive powers of concentration. He became the 15th Derbyshire batsman to score a century in each innings and, oddly, the third of Italian heritage. The others – as if you didn’t know – were Chris Bassano (against Gloucestershire in 2001) and Michael Di Venuto (against Middlexex in 2002).Derbyshire never gave up, either. Even after the loss of the ninth-wicket, Steffan Jones gave them hope and it is ironic that one of the killer blows was self-inflicted. Lungley, at the non-striker’s end, was struck a horrible blow on the right arm from a Jones drive and was forced off the pitch with a suspected broken arm. It says much for his bravery that he returned to face a further 21 balls after the loss of the ninth wicket.Derbyshire will rue a couple of key moments, however. Firstly the dismissal of Smith, clipping obligingly to mid-wicket, was soft and unnecessary, while the ‘dismissal’ of Nel to a no-ball on day three proved very costly. The extra runs added by Surrey’s final batsmen could well have made all the difference.Derbyshire have now lost four of their last five championship games and sit perilously close to the bottom of the table. They have shown glimpses of better form here, though, and deserve better fortune in the weeks ahead. The return of John Clare and Graham Wagg would help greatly.Tremlett made the key breakthrough the ball before lunch when Park was drawn into playing at one outside off stump that kept horribly low. Afzaal then struck in successive balls, luring Madsen into edging an outrageously slow long-hop that was surely designed to entice a rash shot, before Chesney Hughes edged one that was pushed on with the arm. Wes Durston’s unhappy return to the first-class game ended when he shuffled in front of a straight one, before Smith and Peterson clipped to mid-wicket and Lee Goddard was trapped in front by one that nipped back. Groenewald edged to slip and Tremlett produced a perfect yorker for poor Lungley to secure the win. Moments later, the rain began to fall heavily.So, a dramatic end to a hard-fought contest containing nine players with international experience and played in a competitive spirit. Whoever said championship cricket lacked quality, intensity or passion? It’s just a shame that Mark Nicholas wasn’t in Chesterfield to see it.

A big Rangers transfer development has emerged over their interest in signing a young Scottish prospect…

What’s the talk?

According to the Scottish Daily Express, Gio van Bronckhorst is plotting a six-figure bid to sign Aberdeen diamond Lancelot Pollard this summer.

The report claims that they want to get a deal done quickly to avoid missing out on him as he is attracting interest from south of the border.

Liverpool and Manchester United are both said to be keen on the young talent, with Jurgen Klopp’s side holding an ‘active’ interest in him. It remains to be seen whether either side are willing to join Rangers in making a bid for his services.

Supporters will be excited

The supporters will surely be excited by this news as it shows that the club are attempting to snap up future stars to improve their academy.

Fans will be delighted that Ross Wilson and the head coach have an eye on developing the youth ranks at Ibrox as well as making additions to strengthen the first team. They will want to see a blend of experience and youth come through the door in the summer to bolster van Bronckhorst’s team now and in the years to come.

The likes of Leon King and Alex Lowry have made their way through to the senior side this season after impressing in the academy, whilst Nathan Patterson was sold for a club-record fee in January to Premier League side Everton.

This highlights the value in maximising the potential of the B team. Not only can Rangers develop players, like Lowry, who can break into the team to make an impact for the Gers but they can also find gems who they can sell on for a huge profit in the future.

Therefore, attempting to sign Pollard will excite the fans as he could be a player who goes on to be a huge success at Ibrox in the years to come. Although, there is very little data available on him so it is difficult to judge whether or not he will be able to make it in Glasgow.

However, the youngster must be catching the eye for Aberdeen as he is now a sought-after talent, which suggests that he has shown great potential with his performances this season in the youth ranks.

AND in other news, Body blow: Van Bronckhorst now set for huge Rangers disaster over £27k-p/w “rock”…

Crystal Palace have been enjoying a great start to their season so far, with the side signing a number of young players who have been important to their good form in the Premier League, and the good business could continue into the January transfer window if Patrick Vieira can make an important decision.

What’s the word?

According to MailOnline, Burnley are interested in signing Christian Benteke from Crystal Palace to replace Chris Wood, who left the club this week to join Newcastle United, leaving Sean Dyche’s side in a weak position whilst battling relegation this season.

The report suggests that Burnley have made an enquiry for the Palace striker and the South London club are open to selling Benteke during January, but are only interested in a fee of between £10m-£12m.

Vieira must axe Benteke to sign Nketiah

The Eagles have been strongly linked to signing Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal this month, but with Mikel Arteta trying to squash the rumours by insisting he will stay with him at the Emirates, the move could be set back until the summer when the 22-year-old will be out of contract unless Palace are in a position to offer a high bid for the striker.

They could discover the money to do exactly that by axing Benteke before the window closes.

The £120k-per-week Palace forward has been subject to his fair share of criticism over his time at the club with former Eagles midfielder, John Salako, claiming Benteke “can’t do anything” back in 2019:

“I really feel for the lad to a point because he just can’t do it. It’s like he’s got his boots on the wrong feet. He just can’t do anything right; it’s amazing.”

Benteke has been a loyal player to Palace with 37 goals and 12 assists in 168 appearances, but at 32-years-old, it could be the perfect opportunity for Vieira to move him on and inject further youth into the squad, developing the future of the team by giving more opportunity to the likes of Michael Olise and using the money made on the sale to Burnley to purchase a young striker in Nketiah.

The Clarets will surely be keen to sign a striker as soon as possible to boost their chances of survival after losing Wood, so the French manager must make an important decision quickly on whether he cashes in on Benteke or not.

In other news: Aaron Ramsey to Crystal Palace is feasible

Ricky Ponting is starting to think seriously about the Ashes contest which starts in November and his quest to reclaim the urn

Cricinfo staff19-Jun-2010For the second time in his career Ricky Ponting is an Australian captain needing to reclaim the Ashes on home soil following another series defeat in England last year. Last time it served as a huge motivation as Australia stormed to a historic 5-0 whitewash during the 2006-07 contest and similar emotions are already starting to brew inside the skipper.Since the previous series ended at The Oval last August talk has been about the return contest which starts in November although players from both sides have insisted attention remains focussed on more immediate challenges. Now, though, with Australia having arrived in England for a five-match one-day series Ponting admitted the Test series is starting to loom large.”Whenever there is a big series coming up the build-up starts a fair way out – and for the Ashes it’s already started,” said Ponting. “The Ashes is probably on all of our minds a little bit. It’s exciting for the game – there’s nothing bigger as far as I’m concerned than an Ashes series.”When it’s in Australia as well and we need to win it back, it adds a little more to it. I’m expecting the guys to be in exactly the same frame of mind as they were for the return bout last time.”Pretty much from now until the Ashes are over and done with in the middle of January, everything we do will have some sort of focus on the Ashes series. There will be no excuses for us come late November.”Ponting wasn’t part of the Australia side that lost the World Twenty20 final to England in Barbados last month having retired from the format. Michael Clarke, who captained that team, played down the potential impact on the result on the Ashes and Ponting took a similar approach with regard to the upcoming five ODIs which start at The Rose Bowl on Tuesday.”I don’t think it will have much impact on the Ashes at all. There is a long way to go before the first Test match,” he said. “[But] the guys will now want to push for a place in the Test team.”There won’t be much we don’t know about England by the end of the summer. We already know each other pretty well. We’ve played a fair bit against each other and we’re going to play a little bit more, but I like that.”Australia’s squad for the one-day series includes a number of fringe Test players pushing for an Ashes place including Cameron White, Ryan Harris and possibly young legspinning allrounder Steven Smith.

Everton manager Frank Lampard has revealed that Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be missing for the club’s FA Cup clash against Brentford.

What’s the story?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against the Bees in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, the new Toffees boss revealed: “DCL picked up a small knock so he won’t be available. We hope he can be back for the games coming up.”

Lampard will be gutted

The striker has only managed just six appearances in the Premier League all season, scoring three goals, with all three of those strikes coming in his opening three matches back in August.

In fact, even despite those injury troubles seeing him miss such a large chunk of the season, Calvert-Lewin actually somehow remains fourth-top scorer, and only three behind the men in first, Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend.

Back in May, former Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti waxed lyrical about the striker after watching him score the winner away against West Ham, saying: “The goal he scored today is a goal of a top striker.

“It’s a goal where the striker prepares his movement and moves at the right time with a lot of speed and then he was cold in front of the goalkeeper. He hasn’t scored a lot of goals like this. He’s scored most of his goals from crosses or with one touch in the box. This is a goal of a top striker.”

Lampard no doubt would have been desperate to see Everton’s most potent goal-scorer and leader up front to be available for his first game in charge, not least for a cup match that could eventually see the new Toffees boss lift his first trophy.

It’s exactly why the update on Calvert-Lewin is likely to leave him absolutely gutted.

Meanwhile, Everton facing a Rafa Benitez-esque howler…

Mark Greatbatch, the New Zealand coach, has said he is willing to step down if asked, following a run of 11 successive defeats in ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2010Mark Greatbatch, the New Zealand coach, has said he is willing to step down if asked, following a run of 11 successive defeats in ODIs. New Zealand Cricket will be conducting a comprehensive review of the team’s performance, and Greatbatch’s position could be under scrutiny, though the board has retained Daniel Vettori as captain.”If it’s in the best interests of New Zealand cricket to make a change, I’d accept that,” Greatbatch said, upon his team’s arrival in New Zealand from India, where it was beaten 5-0. “At the end of the day it is about us winning games and becoming better. We are struggling to find that consistency and if it’s me, it’s me.”Greatbatch, however, said his original tenure – which began in January this year – was until the 2011 World Cup and was keen to stay on until then. “I’ve been asked to do this job through to the World Cup and I’m committed to that.”Greatbatch said his main focus at the time of his appointment was batting. “In the public’s eyes I’m the coach, but in reality I took the job as the batting coach and as a person to help Dan in other areas like selection and to take the load off him at times.”I feel for Dan at the moment. He is pretty battered and bruised but he keeps going. He was ill in that last game, but he kept it to himself.”Though New Zealand had a bitter experience in the subcontinent in their preparation for the World Cup, with series defeats against Bangladesh and India, they have an opportunity to make amends against Pakistan at home. The teams play six ODIs as part of a full series, and a change in the batting order was one of the things Greatbatch was looking to try out.”We had some plans for the one-day series in India but with Ryder going home injured we couldn’t do it. He’s open to it [batting down the order], it’s not a foreign idea to him. I think he can do it. It’s an older ball, he’s a left-hander, he plays spin well and is a power player.”We were also going to try Brendon [McCullum] down the order for a couple of games with a view to getting an idea what our best line-up is, but he was injured too for a while.”