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Promising Canterbury batsman Shanan Stewart has been named in Canterbury’s squad of 13 for the State Championship which starts next Monday with the first game of the summer, against Wellington at Rangiora.The New Zealand Under-19 batsman and Academy player this year will be surrounded by experienced quality batsmen as Canterbury looks to regain the winning formula, not only in one-day cricket but also the four-day variety, under the leadership of the experienced Gary Stead.Stead is set to play his 50th game for the province and is only one run short of 2500 runs for Canterbury at an average of 37.29 – an average only bettered by Graham Dowling, Walter Hadlee and Chris Harris among those to have scored more than 2500 runs for the province.Chris Harris, until One-Day International requirements take him out of the scene, will be another to provide some security for the younger batsman.Canterbury’s attack also shapes as promising with the experience of pace man Warren Wisneski available again and surrounded by able support in Stephen Cunis, Wade Cornelius and Ryan Burson among the pace bowlers with Paul Wiseman, Harris and Aaron Redmond to look after the spin demands.Canterbury selection convener Craig Thiele said tonight he felt the side named had the potential to compete.While Canterbury had performed consistently in the one-day game, reaching the finals of the competition it had dominated last year, it had not performed in the four-day game over the last two summers.Thiele said he wanted to see more emphasis on the longer version of the game.The State Canterbury side for the State Championship is: Gary Stead (captain), Brad Doody, Jarrod Englefield, Michael Papps, Chris Harris, Aaron Redmond, Shanan Stewart, Gareth Hopkins, Paul Wiseman, Warren Wisneski, Stephen Cunis, Wade Cornelius, Ryan Burson.The Canterbury Draught A training squad to prepare for country match starting on December 1 is: Robbie Frew, Robbie Miller, Marcel McKenzie, Peter Fulton, Darren Reekers, Tim Papps, Mark Hastings, Ben Yock, Chris Sowden, Cleighten Cornelius, Carl Anderson, Andrew Ellis, Brendan Diamante, James Ward, Michael Davidson.

Celtic may well be without Giorgos Giakoumakis for this evening’s clash with St Mirren.

The Lowdown: Still no Turnbull or Furuhashi

Ange Postecoglou is already without key attacking players in David Turnbull and Kyogo Furuhashi due to hamstring problems, with the pair last seen prior to the winter break.

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Giakoumakis, who scored a hat-trick against Dundee last month, was absent from the draw with Hibernian on Sunday as the Hoops failed to break down Shaun Maloney’s side.

Daizen Maeda was the only centre-forward to make the trip to Easter Road and had an afternoon to forget, and it seems that could be the same this evening at Parkhead.

The Latest: GG 50/50

@PodTims relayed Postecoglou’s comments from his pre-match press conference on Tuesday on Twitter.

When it came to Giakoumakis, he is thought to be ‘50/50’ after an illness over the weekend, with Sky Sports believing he could miss out.

The Verdict: A blow

With Turnbull and Furuhashi showing no signs of an imminent return, being without Giakoumakis for another game isn’t ideal for Postecoglou.

Labelled as ‘class’ by teammate Josip Juranovic, the Dutch striker appeared to be finding his feet with four goals in two games against Raith Rovers and Dundee.

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Postecoglou may well have to rely on Maeda once again when it comes to leading the line, but hopefully, the Hoops will be able to score for the first time since Giakoumakis’ late winner against Dundee.

In other news: Ange can finally fix big Lennon blunder as Celtic now hold talks for ‘dangerous’ star – opinion. 

Rajesh Pawar, in partnership with Yusuf Pathan, decimated the Bengal batting © AFP

Bengal 370 and 86 (Pathan 5-36, Pawar 4-23) lost to Baroda 515 (Solanki 186, Yusuf 183) by an innings and 59 runs
Scorecard
After his super quick 186 on the third day, Yusuf Pathan teamed up with left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar to run through the Bengal second innings to take Baroda to an innings win in their first match of the season. The two spinners had taken the new ball on the third day and Pathan had struck in his first over itself.On the fourth today, they continued in the same vein as they reduced Bengal to 13 for 5 in 13 overs. A sixth-wicket partnership of 36 runs between Wriddhiman Saha and Rana Chowdhary provided some resistance, but the spinners struck again to skittle Bengal out for 86. The spinners bowled accurately as the four lbw and two bowled dismissals show.Delhi 244 and 295 for 2 dec. drew with Saurashtra 213 and 254 for 9 (Pujara 148*, Sangwan 4-70)
Scorecard
Cheteshwar Pujara got invaluable support from Sandeep Jobanutra and Sandip Maniar, the Nos. 10 and 11, as Saurashtra hung on for a miraculous draw against Delhi. After Delhi declared overnight, setting Saurashtra a target of 327 runs, Saurahstra lost their first eight wickets for 106 runs.That’s when Jobanputra joined Pujara and they made Delhi wait for 157 minutes and 35.5 overs to get their next wicket. Jobanputra scored a patient 35 in a partnership of 119 and left Pujara and Maniar another 16.2 overs to negotiate.Maniar hung in for 5 off 32 balls as bad light made Saurashtra’s task easier – play was called off with five overs to go. Pujara stayed unbeaten on 148 and was responsible for the one point that Saurashtra gained from the match.

Ravi Teja got to his century on the final day of the drawn game between Punjab and Hyderabad in Mohali © AFP

Uttar Pradesh 298 and 297 for 6 dec. (Kaif 122*, Shankara Rao 4-72) drew with Andhra 326 and 213 for 4 (Reddy 103*, Varma 89)
Scorecard
LNP Reddy and ASK Varma punished the Uttar Pradesh bowlers for the second time in the match, but they did not get enough time to get the target of 270 runs in a minimum of 48 overs. After UP had fallen behind in the first innings, their captain Mohammad Kaif scored a brisk unbeaten century to give themselves another chance in the game. UP got off to a good start, as Sudeep Tyagi got Hemal Watekar in the first over.After that, however, Reddy and Varma took the attack to the bowlers and it was UP who were looking to hang on for a draw and not vice-versa. Reddy got his second century of the match with a boundary off the last ball of the day. Varma had to stay content with a second half-century as he got out for 89 in the penultimate over. Tyagi was on a hat-trick in the last over, but Gnaneshwara Rao first denied him and then took a single to get Reddy on the strike for the last ball.Hyderabad 379 and 276 (Ravi Teja 111, Ladda 4-30) drew with Punjab 356 and 75 for 4 (Yadav 3-32)
Scorecard
Hyderabad, after they secured a first-innings lead on the third day, chose to play safe as they set Punjab a target of 300 runs in 33 overs and even though Punjab lost four wickets the result was always going to be a draw.Ravi Teja followed up the 55 in the first innings with a century in the second; when he got out in the 53rd over, he had scored 111 out of Hyderabad’s 160 then.Considering how quickly Punjab lost four wickets (in 28 overs), a competitive target set by Hyderabad would have made the end of the match interesting.

A violent electrical storm stopped play at Brisbane during the 1st Test in the 1998-99 Ashes series © Getty Images

Capacity 41,000
Record Tests 17, Australia 8, England 5, Drawn 4
Weather
Cricket coincides with the storm season in Queensland. The thunder and lightning are spectacular but the heat means things dry out very quickly. A remarkable electrical storm prematurely ended the Test in 1998-99 and in 1992-93 Dean Jones, Australia’s 12th man, wore a helmet to protect himself from hailstones.What to expect
Traditionally, this is a fast-bowlers’ pitch although under Kevin Mitchell junior, the second-generation curator, it has become one of the fairest in the world. The fast men get a good chance on the first day, the batsmen enjoy the flat surface on days two to four, and Shane Warne loves the extra bounce.What they players think
Matthew Hayden – “The pitch is great and it’s been passed through generations of curators, from Kevin Mitchell senior to Kevin Mitchell junior. It’s the thing I enjoy about the ground because it is the same – everything else about the ground has changed since I first started playing.”Devon Malcolm – “This is my favourite place in Australia. But the best part of it is not the Test ground but the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane. In 1990-91, we played in Carrara – when David Gower had his Tiger Moth ‘buzz the ground’ moment: it is beautiful, the beach stretches for miles, there are nice places to eat and drink – it was a pity we had to play cricket! As for the Gabba, it is a good place to play. They have extended the changing rooms – the last time I was there we had 16 players plus management stuck in a corner. There is usually a big crowd and, as in most places in Australia, if you do well and compete, the crowd are more generous. I can’t remember going to a place in Brisbane that I didn’t like. It was a clean city, with good places to eat. There was freshly-cooked Chinese food on the street outside our hotel. I roomed with Chris Lewis who eats irregularly – he’d have a sleep, then at 11.30pm pop downstairs and have fresh Chinese food. It was great.”

Matthew Hayden: ‘The pitch is what I enjoy about the ground because it is the same – everything else about the ground has changed since I first started playing’ © Getty Images

Ground history
The city’s second Test ground – the Exhibition Ground was used until 1928-29 – it is situated in the Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba – it’s shortened to the Gabba – and has gone through some drastic redevelopment during the last decade. The grassy banks, Moreton Bay figs and dogtrack have been replaced with modern, concrete stands, which may have removed some charm, but mean the ground offers superb facilities for the players and public. However, the most famous moment on the ground is one firmly from the past. The image of the deciding run-out in the tied Test of 1960-61, between Australia and West Indies, is one of the best known cricketing images of all time. In more recent times it has become a favourite haunt of Shane Warne, with the extra bounce from the often excellent wickets helping his legspin. In early 2006 a record crowd of 38,894 watched the first Twenty20 international in the country. This mark was promptly beaten six days later when Australia played South Africa in a full ODI. If everyone who has bought tickets turns up, the record aggregate attendance of 92,863 for England’s 1932-33 Test, will be surpassed on the third day.Ashes momentsAlthough traditionally home to the first Test of the series, Brisbane’s inaugural Test was the fourth in the 1932-33 Bodyline series – England secured the Ashes in a tight match notable for Eddie Paynter rising off his hospital bed to score 83 and rescue his side from a crisis. The 1946-47 series got off to a controversial start when England claimed Don Bradman was caught at slip when he had made a scratchy 28 – he stood his ground, the umpire gave him the benefit, and he went on the to score a big hundred and Australia won by an innings. In 1974-75 a beach bum called Jeff Thomson blew England away with some ferocious fast bowling, and in 2002-03 Nasser Hussain stunned a nation when he inserted Australia and watched his bowlers flogged into submission.Ashes stats
In both 1954-55 and 2002-03 England captains – Len Hutton and Hussain – won the toss, sent in Australia and lived to regret it. England’s last win – in 1986-87 – came when Australia stuck them in and ended up losing by seven wickets. So win the toss and bat seems to be the mantra.Where to go after play?
Matthew Hayden – “The Queensland boys enjoy going to the Story Bridge Hotel. There’s a good publican there and the Bulls popped in after their last Pura Cup victory.”

Andrew Symonds has been a one-day regular and is close to playing his first Test at home © Getty Images

The Queensland captain Jimmy Maher has predicted his state team-mate Andrew Symonds will earn a Test average of 50. Symonds has been included in the squad to face West Indies at Hobart from Thursday and Maher, who played 26 one-day internationals, said he could become a regular in the middle order if he kept things simple.”He is the sort of player who if he gets to 20 is very difficult to remove,” Maher said in . “The biggest thing is keeping it simple. When he keeps it simple with bat and ball he is dynamic.”Symonds has replaced Shane Watson, who is another Queensland allrounder, and his mixture of offspin and medium pace is not as attractive as his potentially brutal batting. “There is no reason why he can’t average 50 in Tests,” Maher said. “He’s a great player of spin and he’s sorted out his game against the quicks and medium pacers. The way the selectors are going with the allrounder role I see Shane Watson batting at No. 4 down the track and Symonds at five or six.”After playing two Tests on Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka last year, where he scored 0, 24, 6 and 23, Symonds is within touching distance of his first match at home after a long run in the one-day side. “If you need an injection of something when there is nothing happening, he is the man who can change things around,” Maher told the paper. “We used to call him ‘Golden Bollocks’ because he used to come on after the quicks had busted their guts and he would bowl gentle outswingers and get a wicket.”

Regardless of the selectors’ opinion, MacGill certainly has Ganguly’s backing© Getty Images

Calling Stuart MacGill one of Australia’s top spinners, Sourav Ganguly has expressed surprise at their plans to exclude him from the tour to India. He said that the Indians had not noticed other quality spinners in Australia, barring Cameron White, and claimed that playing MacGill and Shane Warne at the same time would be quite a challenge, according to the .Considering MacGill’s figures the last time the two teams clashed, Ganguly’s comments are unlikely to be taken seriously, and will be perceived as one of many pre-series mind games played out before the Australians arrive in India.”They must take MacGill. They’ll make a big mistake if they don’t take MacGill,” said Ganguly. “The wickets are going to turn, and he’s going to turn it a long way.” MacGill’s critics would say that taking him would be an equally big mistake, as he averages over 50 with the ball against India.Ganguly was convinced that Australia needed to pick their best side, even if they swung or turned the ball in the same direction. “I don’t understand … if you can have Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie both swinging the ball away, then why can’t you have two legspinners? You pick your four or five best bowlers.”Trevor Hohns had recently said that MacGill was not a certainty for the Indian tour, starting speculation about who the second spinner would be. In the past few series, Australia have opted to play one specialist spinner, and let part-timers turn their arm over.

All Today’s Yesterdays – July 23 down the years

July 22| July 24

1953
Birth of a batsman who took a while to find his feet in Test cricket butwent on to become the best of his generation. Graham Gooch scored 8,900runs in Tests, a record for England – after being dismissed for a pairon his debut, against Australia at Edgbaston in 1975. Pick of the bunch,333 and all, was his 154 not out against West Indies at Headingley in1991. According to the Wisden 100, only Don Bradman and Brian Lara haveplayed greater innings in a Test. He was also the first player with amoustache to play Test cricket for England since Peter Smith in 1946-47.

1994
The day Mike Atherton put some dirt in his pocket – and nearly lost hisjob. With England taking one hell of a beating against South Africa atLord’s, Atherton used the dirt to dry one side of the ball and so helpDarren Gough get some reverse-swing. Having dirt in his pocket was notillegal, but rubbing it on the ball contravened Law 42.5, and the matchreferee Peter Burge called him to explain his actions. Burge acceptedAtherton’s explanation, but the following day Atherton admitted lying toBurge. For that, he was fined £2000 by Ray Illingworth – half for lying,half for having dirt in his pocket – and crucified by the press. Illylater told anyone who’d listen that the fines saved Athers’ job. Lost inthe furore was a real spanking for England: they lost by 356 runs, andwere bowled out for only 99 in the second innings. That was a poignantnumber: Atherton weathered the storm and made a brilliant, bloody-minded99 in the next Test at Headingley.

1949
Birth of a world-class allrounder who lost a Test career because SouthAfrica were banned. By the time South Africa were re-admitted, Clive Rice was past his best – but his best had been considerable. A hardhitting batsman and aggressive pace bowler, he formed a famouspartnership with Richard Hadlee that bowled Notts to the CountyChampionship in 1981 and 1987. He was South Africa’s first captain afterthe ban, in three one-day internationals in India in 1991-92 – but itwas hardly a consolation.

1998
On the first day at Trent Bridge, Hansie Cronje scored acentury in his 50th Test, and launched a famous pre-planned assault onthe recalled Ian Salisbury, but South Africa went on to lose the match.

1851
Birth of pioneering Test batsman Charles Bannerman. Against England atMelbourne in 1876-77, Bannerman faced the first ball in Test cricket,scored the first run, the first fifty and the first hundred. By the timehe retired hurt with a damaged finger, he’d made 165 of Australia’stotal of 245, still the highest percentage of a completed innings in allTests. His highest score in his two subsequent Tests was an unremarkable30 – but his place in Test history is secure. His brother Alick, afamous stonewalling batsman, also played for Australia.

1949
Brian Close made his Test debut, against New Zealand at Old Trafford. At18 years 149 days, he’s still the youngest ever to play Test cricket forEngland. In 1976 he became one of the oldest: 45 years 140 days.

1934
On his favourite English ground, Don Bradman completed his second triplecentury in a Headingley Test, making 304 and sharing a stand of 388 withBill Ponsford, who hit 181.

1938
If it’s Headingley, it must be a big score by Bradman. The Don made 103against England. No triple century this time, but the pitch was trickierthan those in 1930 and 1934.

1884
On the last day of the first Test ever played at Lord’s, George Ulyettcompleted figures of 7 for 36 to bowl Australia to an innings defeat.

1942
Death of a double international. Andy Ducat died as he wouldprobably have wanted to die: batting in a match at Lord’s. He playedfootball and cricket for England, scoring the only goal of the gameagainst Wales in 1910 and making 3 and 2 in his only Test, against theall-conquering Australians at Headingley in 1921.

Other birthdays
1950 Alan Turner (Australia)
1952 Paul Hibbert (Australia)
1972 Floyd Reifer (West Indies)

New Zealand made a steady start against the Queensland Academy of Sport team in the first match of their Australian tour at Allan Border Field today.At lunch on the first day of the four-day match, the Black Caps were 3-78, with captain Stephen Fleming on five and Nathan Astle yet to score.Opener Mark Richardson top-scored with 40, while Matthew Bell made eight and Mathew Sinclair 17 in excellent batting conditions.Bell was the first batsman out when he was trapped LBW failing to offer a shot to much-hyped teenage quick Mitchell Johnson (1-24).Sinclair was bowled by emerging quick Damien Mackenzie (1-12) while Richardson, who looked sharp at the crease, fell to a catch behind off off-spinner ScottO’Leary (1-5).Richardson brought about his own downfall with an ill-judged drive at O’Leary’s first ball, providing wicketkeeper Chris Hartley with a juggled catch.The Black Caps arranged the four-day match in Brisbane after their Test tour to Pakistan was cancelled because of the terrorist strikes in the United States.The visitors named their regular Test batting line-up along with frontline bowlers Dion Nash and Daniel Vettori.

After fracturing his ankle in pre-season, Celtic winger Karamoko Dembele finally appears as if he is ready to mount a charge on securing a regular place in Ange Postecoglou’s first-team squad.Indeed, the 19-year-old winger – who is incredibly highly rated by both those at Parkhead and in the wider footballing world – is yet to play a competitive fixture under the 56-year-old Bhoys boss, although the England U18 international was included in the Greek-Australian manager’s matchday squad in the 3-1 Europa Conference League defeat against Bodo/Glimt last week.However, after once again featuring for Celtic’s B team in a 3-3 draw with Queens ParkÂon Tuesday, the £225k-rated winger looks to be building up his match fitness ahead of a potential return to first-team action in the coming weeks.Although, while it is true that Dembele did get himself on the scoresheet in the Glasgow Cup fixture, it was undoubtedly the performance of the player who replaced the 19-year-old, Tsoanelo Letsosa, that most caught the eye against the Scottish League One side earlier this week.

The next Dembele?

There already appears to be a great deal of excitement about the future of Letsosa, with Kolo Toure reportedly having urged Brendan Rodgers to sign the 17-year-old for Leicester City, while no less than 60 scouts were believed to have been impressed with the winger after staring for Scotland U16s in the Victory Shield back in 2019.

And, considering the impact Letsosa had after being brought on against Queens Park on Tuesday, it is not difficult to see why a number of top clubs have been keeping a close eye on the teenager.

Indeed, with Tommy McIntyre’s side trailing 3-2 in the 89th minute of the Cup tie, Letsosa receives the ball on the right-hand side of the opposition penalty area, sells an onrushing defender with a deft dummy before unleashing a thunderous drive into the far top corner to draw his team level – as can be seen below:

As such, should the youngster who Kick Off Magazine dubbed a “wonderkid” be able to keep up this form over the remainder of the season, the 17-year-old could very much become Celtic’s next Dembele.

Perhaps he could even overtake the 19-year-old in Postecoglou’s first-team pecking order – all that is required is for the 56-year-old manager to take a chance on the Scotland youth international.

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In other news: Ange must learn from his mistake and unleash “outrageous” Celtic dynamo vs Bodo/Glimt

‘I didn’t do myself any favours last week playing Queensland’ © Getty Images

Australia’s spin position for the first Test on Thursday is one of the most serious issues for team management, but Stuart MacGill took a light-hearted view of his spot on the opening day of squad training. MacGill was thrashed by Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds during a Pura Cup match last week and when the performance was combined with concerns over his fitness the selectors added Brad Hogg to the 13-man outfit.Hogg and MacGill, who is recovering from minor knee surgery, went head-to-head in a centre-wicket practice at Allan Border Field before MacGill was a guest speaker at a corporate function. “I didn’t do myself any favours last week playing Queensland,” he said. “Haydos and Symmo were batting and I threw up a few pies – I thought it was part of the team love thing – and they belted me. So the selectors didn’t like that too much and now I’m in a bowl-off.”An Australian 13-man squad is usually trimmed by one two days before the match and it is likely one of the spinners will be sent back to their state for the round of first-class matches. While Ricky Ponting may consider four fast bowlers for the receptive Gabba surface, MacGill is the favourite to win selection and gain the chance to replace Shane Warne.”I’m not ready to finish yet, whether it’s for Australia or New South Wales,” MacGill said. “I can’t wait to get into the swing of things because it feels like it’s been stop-start. And if it’s not Warney in front of me it’s someone else popping their head up, like Hoggy has this week.”