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Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal have been axed as Bangladesh captain and vice-captain respectively following the side’s dismal performance on the recent tour of Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2011Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal have been axed as Bangladesh captain and vice-captain respectively following the side’s dismal performance on the recent tour of Zimbabwe. Their replacements have not yet been named.”Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal have been relieved of captaincy and vice-captaincy as their leadership was not satisfactory,” Jalal Yunus, the BCB media director, told . “They failed to lead the side during the tour. There are reports of indiscipline against Shakib. In certain areas, Tamim breached discipline. He argued with the head coach.”We thought they could improve their behaviour, but now we have no choice other than [to take] a hard line. We took this decision after receiving reports from the different people on tour.”Bangladesh were expected to prevail against Zimbabwe, who were making their Test return after five years out of the format, but slid to an embarrassing 130-run loss in the only Test in Harare. The defeat came after Tamim claimed that Zimbabwe’s opening bowlers, Kyle Jarvis and Brian Vitori, were ordinary. Vitori and Jarvis chipped in with four-wicket hauls as Zimbabwe completed victory. Bangladesh’s misery continued in the five-match ODI series that followed, as they went down 0-3 before winning the dead rubbers. The tour was Stuart Law’s first assignment as Bangladesh’s new coach.The BCB reacted to the loss by launching a probe to evaluate the team’s performance.Monday’s announcement ended Shakib’s eventful but troubled time in charge of the side. Despite being one of Bangladesh’s best players, and among the top-ranked allrounders in the game, Shakib’s off-field actions seemed to adversely affect his relationship with the BCB.When he was asked to take over as captain “permanently but on a series-to-series basis”, Shakib refused, a stance that did not go down well with the board. He led Bangladesh through a roller-coaster World Cup campaign where victories against England and Ireland came alongside embarrassing reversals against West Indies, South Africa and India. On the whole, Bangladesh did not live up to the expectations that followed their 4-0 triumph against New Zealand that preceded the World Cup.Shakib also had an uneasy relationship with the new selection panel, headed by former captain Akram Khan. Shakib said he was not consulted before the 15-man squad for Zimbabwe was picked, while Akram insisted he was.

Robin Uthappa says he wants to stay in the opening slot and continue playing aggressively

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2011Robin Uthappa smashed a half-century and a century in the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, while opening the batting for India Green, and is looking forward to what will be an important domestic season for him. Uthappa has not played for India since 2008 but believes his route back to the national side could be built based on an insistence on opening and playing his natural game.”I enjoy opening,” he told the . “I play my best at the top of the order and when things go my way more often than not I put the team into a good position. When I played for the Indian team, I chose to bat up and down the order for the sake of the team. But now I will stick to the opening slot. It’s a good start to the season and I will try to build on it.”In the first match of the Challenger Trophy, he reached 56 in quick time before playing a rash shot that led to his dismissal and a subsequent collapse, but Uthappa says he won’t curb his attacking instincts.”I am an instinctive player; when I feel like going for a shot, I back myself and go for it. There are advantages and disadvantages of instinctive and aggressive batsman. When it comes up right, it looks beautiful, but the same shot looks ugly when you get out. I am definitely trying to play longer because if I do that it would be beneficial for the side I am playing for. I am working hard on that, but you don’t expect results overnight.”I have played cricket one way all my life. It’s better for me to continue playing the way I have been playing. If I play like Rahul Dravid or S Badrinath, I won’t be very successful. I am going to play aggressively, that brings out the best in me. That’s the way my team and people like me to bat.”Uthappa had a mediocre IPL 2011 for Pune Warriors, not managing a half-century in 14 matches, but says he has been in good touch for the last five months.”I have been playing my natural game in the last four or five months. I enjoy myself when I open the batting and I really feel I am coming into my own. The season has just begun. It will be a very important season, especially with the Ranji Trophy coming up. I am ready for the challenge.”

Michael Hussey couldn’t believe that Michael Clarke was giving him a bowl, but, according to him, there was method to his captain’s madness

Daniel Brettig in Pallekele08-Sep-2011No one in Pallekele was more surprised to see Michael Hussey handed the ball than the man himself.On a hunch from Australia’s captain Michael Clarke, Hussey was brought on to disrupt a budding partnership between Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews, and in three balls’ time he had enticed Sangakkara to push a catch to short extra cover. Job done, Hussey sauntered back to his position at gully, where he had earlier held a blinding catch to remove Mahela Jayawardene.Hussey returned neat figures of 1-1-0-1 and joked at the end of the day that he was more than happy to bowl only the one over because he “was starting to stiffen up already”. According to him, there was method to Clarke’s madness.”I couldn’t believe Michael Clarke was going to give me a bowl,” Hussey said. “He did sort of say he wouldn’t mind giving me a couple of overs, because with a little less pace they [Sri Lanka] might chip one out to cover and, obviously, he was spot on. It wasn’t just about ‘let’s just give anyone a go’, it was about trying to bowl a little slower. The pitch was slow and it was a bit hard to drive. He’s certainly a thinking captain and yeah, he had the golden hand today.”It was a very valuable wicket for the team. I’ll take it any day of the week because he’s [Sangakkara] one of the best players in the world and they had a pretty good partnership going. To be able to break that and give the guys a chance with the ball reversing a little was very fortuitous I think.”Hussey’s contribution summed up a day when Australia’s skill and instinct was matched only by Sri Lanka’s underachievement. Under such circumstances it is little wonder that the visitors are well and truly on the way towards a first series victory anywhere since defeating New Zealand early in 2010.As for the catch, Hussey rated it one of his most significant snares, removing the batsman who had held up Australia’s push for victory in Galle with a masterly 105. “It’s pretty special. Definitely, was a great reaction from the team.”It’s always great to hang on to a spectacular catch but, more importantly, it was the wicket of Jayawardene who was a big thorn in our side down in Galle. I guess I was pretty lucky today in that the two wickets that were probably the key were in my hands.”Australia’s domination of Sri Lanka’s batsmen has been almost total. Ryan Harris and Trent Copeland were precision personified with the new ball, while Nathan Lyon again bowled with courage and variety to the middle order. The bowlers, Hussey said, deserved a lot of credit for his side’s success.”I think it’s a real testament to the way the bowlers have gone about their work,” he said. “They’ve been very patient. The surface out there is good. Despite it being a bit slow, making it hard to get the timing right, it’s only as good as the bowlers bowl. If they bowl with width or err in length, you’ll be able to score quite quickly out there. But our bowlers were very disciplined for long periods of time.”They’re very clear in their minds about what they’re trying to do and we’ve proven we can do it now for the first one and a half Test matches. But we’ve got to maintain that standard over longer periods of time if are to get back to where we want to be in the standings.”

While Taylor is enjoying the his role as a finisher, he said he is still learning to cope with its demands

Tariq Engineer29-Apr-2011Just in case Ross Taylor had any doubts about his role with Rajasthan Royals, Shane Warne made it very clear. Taylor was picked to be the team’s finisher, to provide that final, devastating kick that sets a winning total or ensures a successful run-chase. Anyone who watched Taylor’s assault on Pakistan in the World Cup league game knows he has the power to play that role. But while Taylor is enjoying the job, he said he is still learning to cope with its demands.”It is probably something that has been put upon me over the last three or four years,” Taylor told ESPNcricinfo. “It is different. It is not a role I do for my team back home in New Zealand, or for New Zealand at international level but it is something I do enjoy.”The position’s biggest challenge, according to Taylor, is the need to adapt rapidly to different situations, depending on the state of the game, and ensuring one preserves his wicket. This doesn’t mean simply smashing the ball from the word go. One still has to play himself in. The key, he says, is figuring out how much time one has before pulling out the big shots.”There are not many batsmen who can come out and smack the ball from ball one and do it consistently. So you still have to give yourself a chance. It depends on many runs you have to get and how many balls you have to go. Then you can decide how many balls you have to get in.”Taylor has been at the crease when Rajasthan went past the finish line in each of their three wins this season, all of which have come chasing, but he hasn’t had to really flex his hitting muscles yet; his top score in those games is 18. His highest score so far this season was an unbeaten 35 in the first game against Kolkata Knight Riders, a game Rajasthan lost by nine wickets. Should he crack into form soon, he may be able to give Rajasthan the final ‘kick’ going in the business end of the tournament.The franchise is currently fifth in the table with seven points from seven games, and Taylor reckons the one point gained from the rained-out game against Royal Challengers Bangalore might be crucial in the race to the semi-finals. “We have Mumbai and Chennai, home and away, over our next seven games and they are first and second in the table so it is going to be a tough road … but we have four games at home and we know how to play at home so hopefully we can show that.” He goes into the match against Mumbai Indians in Jaipur in the hope that it will do for his IPL presence what the match against Pakistan had done for his reputation on the world stage.Taylor said he had a smooth transition shifting franchises from Bangalore to Rajasthan. The opportunity to share a dressing room with some of the best players in the world, both Indian and international, as well as India’s younger bunch, is what he likes the most about the IPL. “You never get to do that, and seeing the way they prepare and the way they go about the business, I think I not only learn a lot for myself but it is good for world cricket as well.”On the flip side, Taylor says players having to choose between club and country is the biggest downside to the league. As more international players choose to play in the IPL, the problem is only going to get bigger, as will the clamour for creating a window in the international schedule for the tournament.”I think if you ask any international player, they will tell you there should be a window.”

Sam Harper’s half-century goes in vain as defending champions overcome Australia’s fight

Sreshth Shah in Potchefstroom28-Jan-2020In their chase of 234, Australia received a punch to the gut right at the start, when their in-form opener Jake Fraser-McGurk was run-out for a diamond duck. After that India’s right-arm quick Kartik Tyagi delivered three blows in his first two overs to put Australia down for the count which they couldn’t ever recover from, eventually losing to the defending champions by 74 runs at the first quarter-final in Potchefstroom. India’s win sets them up for a semi-final clash against the winners of the quarter-final between Afghanistan and Pakistan, while Australia can now, at best, finish fifth in the tournament.Tyagi, consistently clocking speeds in upwards of 135kph, was given the responsibility of beginning India’s defense. His first delivery was driven by Sam Fanning to mid-off, but he took off for a single while Fraser-McGurk was watching the ball and as a result was run-out without facing a ball. By the end of the over, Australia’s misery had compounded thrice over, with their captain Mackenzie Harvey lbw to a full delivery – although it pitched outside leg stump – and Lachlan Hearne bowled for a first-ball duck to Tyagi’s yorker.Tyagi’s second over was equally menacing albeit only half as rewarding, with the Australia batsmen playing and missing before No. 5 Oliver Davies edged a drive into the hands of Yashasvi Jaiswal in the slips. From 14 for 4, it was going to be a mammoth effort for Australia to win the game, especially after Tyagi struck again in his second spell, dismissing Patrick Rowe in the 21st over as his fourth scalp, to reduce the batting side to 68 for 5.But Australia were not willing to give up just yet. Fanning and No. 7 Liam Scott – who wasn’t in the XI but was batting as a concussion substitute following Corey Kelly’s injury while fielding – put on 81 for the sixth wicket. The partnership made India nervous, with India captain Priyam Garg shouting “body language, guys” to keep his team-mates zoned into the game. Fanning held up one end while Scott played more freely, but soon after the latter hit a six over midwicket, he was out caught-behind by legspinner Ravi Bishnoi in the 41st over. The score of 149 for 6, however, soon became 155 for 9 following a team hat-trick.Sam Fanning cuts•ICC via Getty

In the 42th over, Fanning was dismissed by an Akash Singh short ball for 75. The next ball Australia were eight down as Tanveer Sangha’s attempted jab-and-run didn’t pay off. Wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel picked the stray ball and aimed at the stumps with an underarm throw, effecting his fourth dismissal of the day, running Connor Sully out. Singh then cranked up the pace to No. 10 Todd Murphy to bowl him for a duck. It wasn’t long before Australia folded for 159, igniting celebrations from the handful of India fans who were present at the ground.In the first innings, India – asked to bat – had begun steadily but lost three wickets in the space of 21 runs to be reduced from 35 for 0 to 54 for 3 inside 16 overs. Seamers Kelly and Sully dismissed opener Divyaansh Saxena and Garg cheaply, while offspinner Murphy removed the No. 3 Tilak Verma.A brief recovery from India followed. Opener Jaiswal, scoring his third fifty in four World Cup games, combined in a 48-run fourth-wicket with Siddhesh Veer, but he was bowled by Sangha’s legspin just after the team crossed 100 in the 26th over. Murphy then deceived wicketkeeper-batsman Jurel with a loopy delivery that took his outside edge to take his second wicket, and when Veer’s attempted pull was top-edged to third man, India were at 144 for 6 with 12 overs to go.At that stage, it looked like India wouldn’t last the full 50 overs with Australia’s bowlers having exposed the lower order, but allrounder Atharva Ankolekar got together with Bishnoi to drag India past 200. Bishnoi, who made 30 in 31 balls, was eventually run-out in the 48th over with India searching for quick runs, but Ankolekar provided a flourishing finish for India, reaching his half-century with a six in the last over.Ankolekar and Bishnoi ran their twos hard and found the occasional boundaries. Their 61-run stand for the seventh wicket came in 59 deliveries and raised India’s run-rate significantly. In their last two overs, Ankolekar and the last two batsmen scored 24 runs and India finished on 233 for 9. India had wrested the momentum from Australia by the end of the innings and after Tyagi’s three wickets in the first two overs of the chase, they always remained ahead in the game.

England have beaten Sri Lanka twice in the series but will be wary of the shocks Ranatunga’s men have inflicted recently

The Retropreview by Andrew Miller09-Apr-2020

Big picture

It’s taken England longer than most countries to wake up to the fact that Sri Lanka aren’t just here to make up the numbers any more – but you get the impression that the penny might finally be dropping. For twice in the space of the last three years, Arjuna Ranatunga’s men have delivered upon England defeats so seismic, it’s hard to imagine a day far enough in the future for the aftershocks to have stop reverberating.First came Faisalabad, in the quarter-final of the last World Cup, when Mike Atherton’s archaic, outdated England team were denuded by the soon-to-be World Champions in a crushingly one-sided encounter – one in which Sanath Jayasuriya’s 82 from 44 balls shredded a run-chase of 236 inside the first 25 overs.And as if that performance – or the entirety of Sri Lanka’s joyous, adventurous, cavorting run to the 1996 title – wasn’t enough of a wake-up call, then we had the events at The Oval in August last summer. Another almighty mismatch, but this time on England’s home soil, and in the format that they claim to hold most dear.Ever since England deigned to make a stop-over in Ceylon (as most of the entourage doubtless still called it) for their maiden Test in 1982, the Sri Lankans have got wearyingly used to being granted a solitary Test match at the fag-end of the English season – in 1984, 1988 and 1991 – or as an adjunct to a tour of India, as was the case for their famous maiden win in Colombo in 1993.But The Oval was something else entirely, as an England team that was daring to feel good about itself – having just seen off South Africa to win their first five-Test series for more than a decade – ran slap-bang into that man Jayasuriya again, with a contemptuously brisk double-century, and most of all, Muttiah Muralitharan, a player who you can be sure will be right in the thick of things once again in Adelaide tomorrow.Not that he would seek to be the centre of attention on this occasion, mind you. Though he rightly lapped up the plaudits for his 16 match-winning wickets last summer, including 9 for 65 in the second innings as England hurtled towards a ten-wicket humiliation, his reception in Australia has been less than cordial to date, including cries of “no-ball” from the Sydney crowd during Sri Lanka’s defeat against Australia last week.Muralitharan is doubtless getting weary at justifying an unconventionally jerky action, caused by a deformed elbow that he is unable to straighten fully and exacerbated by an extraordinarily supple wrist that imparts remarkable degrees of spin. But it is an action that has been cleared by an ICC Committee chaired by Sir Clyde Walcott and featuring such luminaries as Michael Holding and Kapil Dev, and that ought really to be the final word on the matter.And yet…the identity of the two umpires for tomorrow’s clash might suggest otherwise. For at Brisbane three years ago, in an otherwise nondescript clash against West Indies, umpires Ross Emerson and Tony McQuillan were once again on duty for a match in which Muralitharan was no-balled five times in his first two overs – one at each umpire’s end – even as his coach Dav Whatmore was taking up residence at square leg with a video camera to get his own evidence for the furore that was sure to follow.Will these two men dare to rattle the cage for a second time? There’s certainly a nervous expectation around Adelaide, one that mirrors the clear nervous energy that’s been in and around the Sri Lanka squad throughout their trip. Without putting too fine a point on it, they’ve been spoiling for a fight, as evidenced by Upul Chandana’s collision with Neil Fairbrother in Brisbane earlier this month, a set-to that required umpire Parker to step in. Moreover, they’ve been led with that habitual Napoleonic strut from their father figure Ranatunga, a man who wound Australia up no end in Hobart yesterday by calling for a runner for an apparent muscle strain, then cruising over the line with an unbeaten 45 to end his side’s eight-match losing streak.England, it hardly needs to be said, would be happy just to keep their heads down and focus on the strong vein of form that they’ve located since the latter stages of the Ashes. Without quite transforming their grim fortunes from the first half of their tour, they’ve battled their way to four ODI wins out of five and a healthy lead at the top of the C&U table.With Australia in some flux at present, amid Steve Waugh’s recurring hamstring issues and Ricky Ponting’s suspension for a bar brawl in Sydney, another win here would give them an opportunity to fine-tune ahead of the finals, and moreover ahead of the World Cup in May, their first on home soil in 16 years, which – after the disaster in 1996 – is just beginning to look like a challenge they’ll be ready to meet head on.But in the meantime, Alec Stewart’s men have got to focus on the present, and on a team that they are all too used to overlooking. It promises to get feisty, one way or another.

Form guide

England WWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WLLLL

In the spotlight

As a man who turns 32 in May, it’s surely too late for Graeme Hick to become the player we all thought he might be when he was earmarked as England’s Great White Hope in the mid-to-late 1980s. But after the traumas of his first seven years in England colours, there’s a sense at the moment of a player who is finding a new comfort in his own skin, particularly in one-day cricket – the form of the game where his physical stature can offset some of the technical limitations that Test-match bowlers have been able to expose over the years. He crashed a career-best 108 to see off Australia in Sydney last week, and followed that up with a frill-free 66 not out to rout Sri Lanka in Melbourne. And given that so much about Hick’s game seems to stem from confidence, England’s management would do well to bottle his current mindset, and ensure it is in plentiful supply come May.All the focus will be on Muralitharan tomorrow, but Sri Lanka’s matchwinners are numerous and multi-faceted. Not least the batsman that England know and fear perhaps more than any other in recent times. As England found to their cost in both of those famous defeats above, Sanath Jayasuriya’s popeye-like forearms love nothing better than to carve an unsuspecting seamer high and hard over point for six, and though the surprise element may have dimmed since his starring role in the 1996 triumph, the shock and awe that he can bring to his game when he’s in the mood remains unrivalled. So far in this series, he’s been somewhat hit-and-miss. One boundary-laden half-century, and a total of five runs from his other three innings. But you can’t be sure he won’t stop swinging in a hurry, and if he connects tomorrow, expect fireworks.

Team news

Perhaps with their home World Cup in mind, England have arrived in Australia with bits and pieces galore – the likes of Vince Wells, Mark Alleyne, Mark Ealham and the Hollioake brothers all equally capable of probing seam and swing and a lusty swing from the hip. The temptation may be to rope in an extra specialist in either department, with Dean Headley the obvious candidate in the bowling stakes and John Crawley on hand to shore up the batting. Ashley Giles could provide a second spin option to augment Robert Croft’s offies, although Adelaide’s short square boundaries might guard against that.England (possible): 1 Alec Stewart (capt & wk), 2 Nick Knight, 3 Graeme Hick, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Neil Fairbrother, 6 Adam Hollioake, 7 Vince Wells, 8 Mark Ealham, 9 Robert Croft, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Alan MullallyIt would be most out of character for Ranatunga to pull Muralitharan out of the firing line, in spite of the potential for controversy. Instead Sri Lanka are expected to keep faith with the XI who ended their eight-match losing streak in Hobart this week. Marvan Atapattu and Romesh Kaluwitharana, with 82 and 54 respectively, provided the backbone of their run-chase, before Ranatunga brought the match home. Nuwan Zoysa, their promising young seamer, seems set to miss the rest of the tour with a stress fractureSri Lanka (possible): 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Romesh Kaluwitharana (wk), 3 Marvan Atapattu, 4 Hashan Tillakaratne, 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Arjuna Ranatunga (capt), 7 Roshan Mahanama, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 Upul Chandana, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Pramodya Wickramasinghe

Pitch and conditions

It’s anticipated to be hard, hot and dry at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow. Temperatures in excess of 30 degrees Celsius, and a fast and flat surface in prospect. The pitch has some cracks, and a few patches of live grass but overall it promises to be a Les Burdett special. True, and full of runs.

Stats and milestones

• Roshan Mahanama needs another 52 runs to reach 5,000 in ODIs
• Chaminda Vaas is set to play in his 100th ODI, and Darren Gough in his 50th
• Sanath Jayasuriya needs one more wicket to reach 150 in ODIs, but his team-mate Muttiah Muralitharan could yet get there first, he’s on 146

Quotes

“It was brilliant playing in front of such a huge crowd, but a few people threatened to ruin it and I had to think of the safety of the players. When the beer bottle came on it had gone too far but we won’t be taking the matter any further. Shane kept the golf balls but we got hold of the beer bottle so we can claim the refund.”
Alec Stewart reacts to crowd trouble during England’s match against Australia at Melbourne, where Shane Warne donned Steve Waugh’s helmet to help calm the situation. RetroLive

Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, has said his team has moved on from the stunning win against England and is focussed on beating Netherlands

Sidharth Monga in Chittagong13-Mar-2011A day after their crucial win over England, the Bangladesh team has already been promised rewards by a private business house: a million taka each to Mahmudullah and Shafiul Islam, the ninth-wicket partnership that fashioned the unlikely win, and a lakh each to the rest of the team. There was even a function organised last night, but the BCB had to get the festivities postponed. The World Cup is not yet over, and Bangladesh need to guard against this kind of complacency when they face Netherlands.It is an interesting situation that Bangladesh find themselves in. They are alive in the tournament, yet they also rely a lot on England and Ireland not winning their matches against West Indies and South Africa respectively. While that should leave them really charged up for the game against Netherlands, it is not hard to see why complacency can creep in. Netherlands have never played in Bangladesh before, and they are bound to encounter problems playing the spinners who tied England in knots.”Each time we play a game, we try to win,” Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, said. “So there is no complacency. That game is forgotten now, we move on. Whole new set of players, whole new set of plans, and possibly a whole new team.” The whole new team points to the possible inclusion of another left-arm spinner, Surhawadi Shuvo, because Netherlands have a lot of right-hand batsmen in their line-up.There are other possible distractions too. One of them is Bangladesh’s poor net run-rate, at -1.241. To secure themselves against the eventuality of England’s beating West Indies and Ireland winning their remaining games, Bangladesh either need to win both their remaining games, or win this one by a margin so huge that they rectify their net run-rate a bit. Beating South Africa, which is Bangladesh’s last game, is a huge task, Siddons admitted.Suhrawadi Shuvo could be picked for Monday’s fixture•AFP

“Mathematically if England win their next game, we can’t get in, unless we win against South Africa, which is a very difficult task,” Siddons said, the assumption being that Bangladesh beat Netherlands. “I am not going to guarantee that we will win against South Africa. We need to win the next two games. If England win their game, doesn’t matter what we do in this game if we can’t win the last game. Run-rate is very poor.”The wise thing would be to not go after the net run-rate tomorrow, instead just secure the two points, which going by rankings, they are expected to. Siddons agreed. “We won’t focus on the run-rate,” Siddons said. “We have got to win the match, and then win against South Africa, and we are through. That’s the main focus, make sure we look after the business here. Just execute our plans, no slip-ups tomorrow. And worry about the other results after that. Quarter-finals will be great, but we have got to play good cricket.”Boosting the net run-rate is not an easy task in Bangladesh, unless a team gets dismissed for 58. “The run-rate thing is really difficult here, because our wickets aren’t really 300-run wickets,” Siddons said. “Whereas over there [in India] it seems everybody is making 300 easily. Our pitches and our grounds are very different to those in India and Sri Lanka. Wickets are a lot harder to make big scores on here. You have to be very careful, chasing 300 on our wickets. Very difficult.”The distractions aside, Siddons was a confident man on the eve of the game. The reason is not hard to see. “Everyone’s confidence was a little knocked around [after the 58 all out],” Siddons said. “That [the win against England] gives us confidence again. Our bowlers are definitely doing the job, and our batsmen have stepped up and made enough runs to win the game against a very good team. It gives us a lot of confidence. This team [England] drew with India and beat South Africa, don’t forget that. And we beat them. We are ready to go for the next two games.”More importantly, what pleases Siddons is that Bangladesh have won both the games that went close. “I am really happy with the way we are winning the close games,” he said. “Against New Zealand as well [in the whitewash], we won a couple of really close games. And Zimbabwe. It’s starting to become a feature of our cricket. We don’t give up easily. If we get within striking distance, we come out in front rather than lose those games now, which wasn’t the case in our history.”Bangladesh will hope they can win against Netherlands without actually making it a tight game, but beware a side that has nothing to lose and a party to spoil.

The USA Cricket Association has announced that its general elections will take place on October 15, ended speculation and disagreement between certain factions regarding the date based on the wording of the USACA constitution

Peter Della Penna31-Mar-2011The USA Cricket Association has announced that its general elections will take place on October 15, ended speculation and disagreement between certain factions regarding the date based on the wording of the USACA constitution.USACA board member Shelton Glasgow, however, said that there is nothing to be confused about. “The constitution is very clear,” Glasgow said. “We have to hold elections this year. There’s been a hue and cry about elections being held in March where I think if persons were to read the document and understand what is written, in the electoral year, you have until a specific time to hold the elections. That election that was held in March [2008], that was held to satisfy an ICC requirement. We had to have had elections by a specific timeframe. That is why that was held.”USACA’s first election under the current constitution took place on March 29, 2008. The constitution states that each winner has to hold office for a term of three years. However, it also says that elections can be held at any time before November 30 of the election year, providing a loophole for the current office bearers to stay in power. Glasgow maintains that they are not in violation of the constitution.”That is something that was held [in March] for the first election or electoral cycle to make sure that we were compliant with the ICC requirements. I know people are saying, ‘It’s three years. They were in there for a three-year term.’ That is quite true. It says three years, but it also says within the electoral year, elections can be held within a specific time [no later than November 30].”Aside from the dispute regarding the constitution, Glasgow said the election was set for October in order to give time for member leagues to submit annual dues so that they can remain eligible to vote.”The USACA board met and agreed to extend the payment of dues for 2010 to May 31, to give the delinquent leagues a chance to become compliant,” Glasgow said. “So May 31 is when this should occur. They have to pay their 2010 and their 2011 dues.”Any leagues that do not submit their membership payment to USACA will forfeit the right to vote and Glasgow also said their players would be ineligible to participate in regional and national tournaments. According to a file posted on the USACA web site, there are currently 14 leagues out of the 45 who hold voting privileges that have not yet paid up.In addition to the pending league payments, Glasgow said that national elections could not happen before regional elections take place. The newly formed North-West and South-West regions have their first elections scheduled for April while the New York region has its election set for May 1.

Pep Guardiola has been handed a big boost at Manchester City this week, as despite concerns over Ilkay Gundogan’s wellbeing in midweek after he was on the end of a horror tackle, the German midfielder has confirmed on social media that he will be able for upcoming fixtures.

The former Borussia Dortmund man was one of City’s best performers in the 2-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain but there were serious fears that he would have to come off in the second half after Idrissa Gueye was shown a straight red card for his high challenge on Gundogan, which left him requiring treatment.

Whilst the 30-year-old finished the game, it would not have been surprising if he had carried on due to the adrenaline of the game only to realise afterwards that the injury was more serious than first thought.

However, after being asked by a concerned Man City fan on Twitter, Gundogan was quick to respond, reassuring fans that he is absolutely fine as he said: “All good. Thanks for all your messages”.

Therefore, it would not be a surprise to see him keep his place in Guardiola’s side for City’s important game against Crystal Palace at the weekend, where three points could seal the Premier League title depending on Manchester United’s result against Liverpool the following day.

The £36m-rated ace has been one of City’s top performers so far this season, averaging a 7.29 WhoScored rating for his performances in the Premier League, which is the fourth-best of any player in Guardiola’s squad.

His 12 top-flight goals also rank him as City’s top scorer in the league this season, so Guardiola will undoubtedly be relieved that the tackle from Gueye didn’t result in an injury and that the Germany midfielder should be available for the final few games of the season.

Hopefully he will be able to continue his impressive performances for City and help them potentially win the treble this season.

In other news… Forget Mahrez and KDB: “Exceptional” Man City beast ran the show against PSG

Chelsea were hammered this weekend as they succumbed to a 6-0 mauling at the hands of title contenders Manchester City.

The Blues were blown away in an opening 25 minute period which saw the home side go 4-0 up, and could do little to prevent the score being racked up further in the second half either.

It was a timely reminder to onlookers that things are not going well for Sarri at the Bridge, and following a 4-0 humbling at the hands of Bournemouth a few weeks back, we here in the Tavern feel there are a few players who Sarri should be looking to get rid of.

With that, we took a look at the Chelsea squad and the performance today, and picked out THREE players we feel the Blues need to move on quickly and bring in replacements for in order to move forward as a club…

David Luiz

Shambolic today at times, Luiz has never really covered himself in glory throughout his time with the club.

Mistake prone and often out of position, Chelsea need a proper centre half who can dominate much like John Terry did in years gone by. Luiz unfortunately, is anything but a John Terry.

Jorginho

It’s amazing really but Sarri insists on playing the Italian midfielder while trying to utilise Ngolo Kante in a more advanced position.

It’s clear as day for all to see – other than Sarri it seems – that Kante needs to in his holding midfield role, meaning there can be no room for the former Napoli man if that move happens.

Marcos Alonso

What has happened to a left wing-back who was once regarded as the best in the Premier League?

The Spaniard appears disinterested and looks to have his mind elsewhere. For all his talent, Alonso should be sold on by the Blues with a replacement sought in the summer.