Phil Jaques is a modern opener who is ready to join Matthew Hayden at the Gabba next month, according to Mark Taylor. Taylor, who held a place at the top of the order for 104 Tests, said Jaques would be a fine choice to fill the gap left by Justin Langer.”I’d probably say yes he has done enough, he’s probably done more than enough,” Taylor said in the . “I have no doubt that if Phil is selected he’ll do a damn good job because he’s a very professional cricketer, he’s never whinged about continually making runs and being sent back to state cricket.”Two events since the start of the season have boosted Jaques’ claims to play Sri Lanka at the Gabba from November 8. His 167 in the second innings of the Pura Cup match against Western Australia gave him the edge over his rival Chris Rogers, who was then scratched with appendicitis. Jaques, who has played two Tests, has another chance to secure his position this week during games against Queensland at the SCG.”Being on the fringes is probably the hardest spot to be in on any cricket team,” Jaques, who was speaking at the launch of CricKids Playing in Harmony, told the paper. “Hopefully the pressure of being on that edge and trying to perform at a top level for so long will count in my favour.”Taylor has been impressed by Jaques’ play and the way he backs himself to score runs. “One thing about Phil is that he typifies the modern game … much more prepared to go for the bowling early on,” Taylor said. “He’s one of those guys who can be 80 not out at lunch. Back in my day I dreamed about being 80 not out at lunch. If I could be 80 at about tea I thought ‘this is good’.”
ScorecardTushar Saha’s magnificent spell of left-arm spin, the best figures by a Tripura bowler, put his side in a commanding position at the end of the second day’s play at Agartala. Saha, who ended with a superb 5 for 8 in 10.5 overs, and Vineet Jain (4 for 40) made full use of a lively pitch to reduce J&K from 91 for 4 to 128 all out. Tripura ended the day on a confident 129, with R Bainak, Rasudeb Dutta and SD Chowdhury making handy contributions. Scorecard Jai Prakash Yadav rocked the top order while Sanjay Bangar ran through the tail as Railways shot out Madhya Pradesh for 158, gaining a 145-run lead. Yadav prised out three quick wickets to leave MP limping at 44 for 4. Syed Abbas Ali put up a fight, stitching together a 69-run stand for the fifth wicket with Amay Khurasia (21) but Yadav trapped him to re-open the floodgates. One run later, Bangar removed Khurasia and proceeded to rip apart the tail as MP folded up meekly. ScorecardJ Arunkumar’s 78 helped Assam strengthen their position at the end of the second day at Guwahati, finishing on 288 for 6 with a lead of 154. Stitching together useful partnerships – of which the 73-run stand between PK Das and Arunkumar was the most prominent – Assam took control. Six of the seven top-order batsmen crossed 20 and though they chose to crawl along at less than three an over, Assam had gained a firm footing in the contest. ScorecardPowered by Faiz Fazal’s 70, Vidarbha finished 100 runs in arrears, with five wickets standing, by the end of the second day at Palakkad. Vidarbha were comfortablyplaced at 132 for 1 when the run out of Alind Naidu sparked of a mini-collapse, losing 3 for 4. However, O Afzal lifted Vidarbha out of trouble with an unbeaten 35. Earlier, Cheruvillil Deepak, overnight on 5, made 41 and steered Kerala to a healthy total. ScorecardSourabha Sehgal prised out three quick wickets, including centurion Yashpal Singh, as Orissa fought their way back at Cuttack. Services were sitting pretty at 310 for 4 when Sehgal got into the act, removing Sarabjit Singh before inducing Yashpal to edge behind. A cosy 317 for 6 turned to 319 for 8 when Sehgal and Sanjay Satpathy dealt two further blows. Niranjan Behera made an unbeaten 39 to steer Orissa to 71 for 2 at the end of the day. ScorecardAshok Thakur, the Himachal Pradesh left-arm seamer, impressed with a five-wicket haul to bundle out Jharkand for 146, giving his side an imposing first-innings lead of 140 on the second day at Dharamsala. Jharkand, after wrapping up the opposition early, lost wickets at regular intervals, with opener Manish Vardhan the only batsman to offer some resistance, scoring 43. Thakur gave his side the upper hand, getting rid of the top order. Himachal got off to a shaky start in their second innings, losing three wickets for 46, but Paras Dogra and Maninder Bisla added an unbeaten 49 till stumps to strengthen their position in the match.
Sharad Pawar, the Indian board president, has told Sourav Ganguly that he respected him as a “champion cricketer” who has done a lot for Indian cricket, when the two met in New Delhi on Tuesday.Rajiv Shukla, the BCCI spokesperson, said that Pawar and Ganguly discussed the state of Indian cricket and how best the team can prepare for the tour of Pakistan in January 2006.Pawar said, in a report in htcricket.com, that he was helpless in selection matters but told Ganguly that no further injustice, perceived or otherwise, would be done to him.Sourav Ganguly’s innings of 40 and 39 in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Delhi were not enough for him to retain his place in the Indian team for the third Test. The selectors, with one eye on the future and the other on addressing concerns over an opening slot, had picked Wasim Jaffer in the squad for the third Test against Sri Lanka.After the defeat of the Jagmohan Dalmiya camp – believed to have solidly stood behind Ganguly on all occasions – in the recent board elections the latest selectorial decision was widely seen as vindictive on the part of the new incumbents.However, Pawar, who categorically claimed that he was not party to the decision, had said, “As a cricket lover, I am hurt and shocked over the exclusion of Ganguly. In the Delhi Test his performance was satisfactory. Also, he was a victorious captain and we feel proud of him”.
David Hussey welcomed the West Indians with a century in the first match and his older brother Michael caused them more trouble with a crucial 70 in the second. But it was a horror collapse – the last seven wickets fell for 34 runs – that allowed Australia to level the two-match warm-up series.West Indies were easing towards their target after an aggressive opening from Chris Gayle and a half-century to Wavel Hinds, but the match turned when Cameron White accepted Ramnaresh Sarwan’s sharp chance off Nathan Hauritz and they freefell from 3 for 158. Hauritz and Brett Lee, who is likely to face the same opposition in the VB Series opener at the MCG on Friday, both picked up two wickets as all six of the attack were successful.Michael Hussey top-scored for Australia A as he and White saved the side from another top-order topple to reach 9 for 243. White, scoring his second half-century of the weekend, combined for 88 with Hussey at 5 for 84 in the 19th over after Brad Hodge had fallen to a spectacular catch from Xavier Marshall at backward point and Brad Haddin was caught behind by Courtney Browne. Browne’s third catch came from Hussey and further contributions from Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz pushed Australia A to a competitive total.Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the stand-in captain for Brian Lara who joined the tsunami charity game today, won the toss and had economical returns from his spinners Gayle and Samuels while Reon King took three expensive wickets.
It has only taken a couple of weeks in the job, but John Bracewell, the new Black Caps coach, has admitted to having itchy feet to get into his job when the New Zealanders return from their tour of India and Pakistan next month.So far he has been watching and selecting with an almost detached view, far removed from the emotion of the action. But after six years as chief selector at Gloucestershire, he knows there is an emotional attachment coming.”I see things slightly differently at the moment, but that will change when I am more involved,” he said.Bracewell, who left for England, just after New Zealand Cricket had adopted the Hood Report, said the scene had changed enormously in that time. “I heard the rumours around England that New Zealand had really got their act together. When I first went over there, they had the administration structure, including the administrators, and the coaching underway to the point it was leading edge. But now there is a trail of English coaches coming out here to the High Performance Centre to take in what is being done.”It is an evolutionary thing. New Zealand Cricket has been very lucky to have the right people in the right place at the right time. Initially, it was John Howell coming into the coaching role when there was no structure at all. But he made people feel wanted in coaching. He was a tremendous host, you would come to Christchurch for a meeting and you always went home with a buzz that what you were doing was appreciated.”Christopher Doig injected energy into the administration and brought John Graham in to sort out administrative matters with the team. The time has been tremendous, hopefully to this point,” he said, acknowledging that in many ways the flame of innovation and performance has been passed to him.”He has been increasingly informed with where NZC is at in its development. As soon as he applied for the job, information was made available to him, something he felt was probably aimed at ensuring he was in a reasonable position to answer questions when interviewed.Asked as a former spinner what he might be able to do about the dearth of spinners in New Zealand, his answer was typically Bracewellian – “The biggest issue is the captaincy situation.From what observations he has taken from 10 days of the annual pre-season matches at the Academy he said all captaincy had been done by remote control and spin bowlers couldn’t develop in that situation. “They lack self confidence because they lack self belief. Spinners must operate with the support of their captains,” he said.Bracewell had been impressed with the potential of spinners he has seen, but not with their treatment. “I have been impressed with the bowling talent, the athleticism of the players and the wicketkeeping talent.” The batsmen had been guilty of not adjusting to the conditions as quickly as they should have and they were approaching batting on the first day as if they were on the second, third or fourth day pitches.Bracewell cast his mind back to his own introduction to first-class cricket when his spin bowling was immature, something that had developed because he couldn’t bowl fast. He dabbled in spin-bowling at school when like most 1st XI’s his side lacked bowling depth and he used to pick up Brendon’s, his fast-bowler brother, scraps.”I spun it a lot without controlling it. Getting the ball to spin as much as I could was my total enjoyment in bowling,” he said.The change came when Bracewell went south to Dunedin to play rugby, and to try and get a place at Teacher’s College. “All I ever wanted to be was a teacher, I never had any other career in mind.”But in the meantime, he came to the attention of the Otago cricket selectors and it was the combined influence of Warren Lees, the wicketkeeping captain, and Stephen Boock, the left-arm spinner, that Bracewell’s own spin-bowling career took off. There was some fine tuning to be done, in fact, if it had been a television set the fine tuning knob would have taken more than a few twists to get it right.Bracewell credited Lees with being the finest manipulator of a game that he knew. And it all came down to the use of time left in a game, not the time to score runs, but the time required to bowl the number of overs to get the opposition out. And the best way to do that was to utilise the number of overs spin bowlers could send down in a given time. In the three-day cricket of that time that ability was vital, whereas nowadays with four days in which to play, captains were running out of time because they didn’t understand what they were trying to achieve. It had been an era in which there were a number of good spinners on the New Zealand first-class scene.And, consistently, the hardest of them all to keep out was Boock, now serving on the board of NZC. “Stephen Boock was a mean son of a bitch. His attitude to the batsman was, ‘You are not going to score a run off me.’ He was very hard on me. He would come up to me and say, ‘Our job is to keep this guy on 0 as long as possible. That’s how we will get him out.’ I wanted to rip the ball past him first ball but it was a discipline to have. Lees had Boock and Lance Cairns to keep it tight. I would give away a couple of fours an over, but because Boocky was not giving any runs away, the opposition were only scoring four an over.”The only captains he thought had this quality of understanding in England were Adam Hollioake, the Surrey captain, in the four-day game and Mark Alleyne in the one-day game for Gloucestershire.Reflecting on the possible Bracewell coaching style and how it would be seen by the New Zealand public, he said the team was entitled to due respect for its performances in Test cricket. The two-Test introduction the home series against Pakistan would be a useful opener for him to observe the chemistry of the team he has inherited.That would be the entrée to the main course as perceived by most with an interest in the New Zealand game, adressing the inconsistencies of the one-day side, during a five-match series with Pakistan and a six-match series at the start of the South African tour. He had no fears about making the changes required for greater ODI consistency. An overhaul was required in the team approach.He has watched New Zealand’s one-day performances in India from a distanceas he has seen the same frustrations as everyone else. But there was not only the inconsistency of performances, but the inconsistencies within performances.The answer would not be a quick fix. There would be a period of observation before the changes were felt. Obviously, he said, the New Zealanders were athletes, even their biggest players were athletic, which was in marked contrast to the Andrew Caddicks’ and Ashley Giles’ of the England team.”The New Zealanders are athletic. We are lucky that they have chosen cricket. Normally, we get second choice athletes, that’s what we were in the 1980s. Basically, we were players who weren’t good enough at our favourite sport, so we opted for cricket. We all came from the 1st XV-1st XI upbringing. It was probably Chris Cairns who first had to make the choice between the two. Cairns and Jeff Wilson both had to choose, and they went in different directions.”He has four years, the same time as yesterday’s strategic plan for the game in New Zealand. The timing is not without coincidence. Improving the one-day game has to be addressed now if the side is to perform to capacity in the West Indies in 2007.Bracewell has asked questions of himself about whether he is ready for the role? Whether his time away from New Zealand has prepared him sufficiently and whether he is good enough to do the job? And the answer?It’s probably best outlined in his description of having “the Christmas feeling”. The presents are all under the tree, but it is not December 25, and he can’t open them yet.
A brilliant unbeaten century from Chris Cairns has guided New Zealand to a four wicket victory over South Africa in the countries’ VB Series match here at the ‘Gabba ground in Brisbane tonight. With his team chasing a target of 242 for victory, Cairns (102*) thrashed the first ball of the 50th over to the extra cover boundary to simultaneously win the match and raise a richly deserved hundred.The powerful all-rounder had arrived at the crease with New Zealand at 4/73 in the 19th over as it struggled to stay within touch of the total of 241registered by the South Africans earlier in the day. When Craig McMillan (6) lost his wicket five overs later to leave the total at 5/98, it seemed thatthe prospect of four points was all but slipping away from the Black Caps’ grasp.However, with Cairns in increasingly confident touch, the New Zealanders’ hopes never faded completely. His strokemaking became increasinglybelligerent and, with excellent support arriving from Chris Harris (24) and Adam Parore (21*), the Kiwis were duly able to claim an outstandingvictory with five balls to spare.”It’s nice to achieve something that I have always wanted to do and that’s score a hundred in Australia,” said an elated Cairns after the match.”We just wanted to get the win tonight. Sometimes you realise that, when you get into that situation, you have more time than what you might think.”(Our achievement) hasn’t sunk in yet.”The New Zealanders’ chase had begun disastrously as Mark Richardson (0) perished from just the second ball of the innings. And, when BrendonMcCullum (37), Stephen Fleming (23), Lou Vincent (9) and McMillan variously joined the list of victims in the pavilion through the middle stages ofthe pursuit, there looked few ways out for the Black Caps.Cairns, though, was not to be denied and his partnerships of 62 and 84 runs with Harris and Parore respectively defined the difference between theteams.He had also played a major role earlier in the day in a lower order South African collapse that laid a vital platform for New Zealand’s firstlimited-overs victory over South Africa since February 1999.Together with paceman Shane Bond (4/37), undisputed man of the match Cairns (2/44) triggered a remarkable slide that saw the South Africanssurrender an imposing position at 5/231 to be dismissed – with only a further ten runs added to the score – just four overs later. Bond’s involvementin the fightback was particularly impressive after he had conceded 16 runs in one over to the aggressive Jacques Kallis (65) in the midst of anexpensive first spell.”The way we fought back and denied them a 270 to 280 score was fantastic,” enthused New Zealand captain Fleming after the match.”What (Bond) is showing is good mental toughness (to come back well),” he said.With opener Gary Kirsten (43), Kallis added 115 runs in an excellent partnership for the second wicket and then another profitable associationbetween Mark Boucher (51) and Jonty Rhodes (44) offered further momentum. But the innings finished on the same note of wicket-taking as it hadstarted – opener Herschelle Gibbs (0) having perished from the very first delivery of the match – and none of the Proteas was ultimately able to rivalCairns’ ability to translate a start into a genuinely big innings.South African captain Shaun Pollock admitted he was disappointed by a defeat that now hands leadership of the competition to the NewZealanders. He expected that there would be some changes to the side that will take on the so far winless Australia in another important game heretomorrow.
In the Ranji Trophy South Zone League match between Hyderabad and Goa atNFC Ground, Hyderabad, the last day’s play on Saturday saw Hyderabad beatGoa by 153 runs.Starting the day at 99/3 Goa had an uphill task to even stretch themselvesfor a victory. Hyderabad bowling was far too superior to let Goa chase fora victory. Goa’s innings was jostled when it lost the experienced PraveenAmre for 15 early in the day to Venkatapathy Raju, reducing themselves to114/4. Dinesh Rao went on to complete his half century but was dismissed on54 at the team score reading 162/5. Narendra Pal Singh (29.2-5-81-4) andMohammed Ghouse (17-6-43-3) ran through the second half as Goa were bundledout for 226 in 101.2 overs. Hyderabad cruised to a comfortable win andeight outright points. Goa went home with none.
2015August 24 Mark Nicholas – Clarke pulls his final few tricks August 23 Ian Chappell – Clarke second only to Taylor as captain News – Clarke’s parting plea for better Test pitches Press conference – ‘I didn’t let the emotions get to me’ – Clarke August 22 Daniel Brettig – Lyon is Clarke’s greatest legacy August 19 News – ‘I can’t wait,’ says Clarke on retirement Daniel Brettig – Clarke’s career ever so near to greatness Simon Barnes – Where’s the love for Clarke? Russell Jackson – A fan’s notes Brydon Coverdale – Gutsy in Cape Town, resilient in Adelaide Video – Clarke’s chance for glorious finale Press conference – Clarke looking to finish on a high Clickbait – The Michael Clarke highlights August 18 News – Clarke leaves behind a ‘legacy of aggressive, entertaining cricket’ – Mark Taylor Illustrated report – ‘A bloody good bloke to boot’ Gallery – Clarke’s career in photos Video – Chappell: Tactically, Clarke was second only to Taylor Video – Boycott: Australia won’t miss Clarke because of his recent form August 14 Numbers Game – The highs and lows August 11 News – ‘Baggy green culture eroded under Clarke’ – John Buchanan August 10 Video – Chappell: Not surprised Clarke’s career has been a short one August 9 Press conference – ‘Clarke will be remembered for courage’ – Sutherland August 8 Jarrod Kimber – A battle for greatness and love Press conference – ‘Been lucky enough to captain Australia’ – Clarke Video – Ponting: Clarke put his heart and soul into the game News – Clarke removes captain’s mask News – Clarke announces retirement after Ashes Video – Brettig: Clarke left with little choice By the numbers – A statistical look at Clarke’s recent poor form August 7 Video – Australia fans call for Clarke’s retirementAugust 5 News – Clarke is not retiring August 4 News – Stubborn Clarke digs his heels in
Rangers still have a few months left of the season until the summer transfer window opens and Giovanni van Bronckhorst has the chance to make whatever changes to his squad at Ibrox that he sees fit.
However, it seems as though the SPFL giants have been handed a boost in their chase to sign one player that has reportedly been on their radar.
What’s the news?
According to a recent report from German media outlet WAZ, Schalke goalkeeper Martin Fraisl is likely to leave the club at the end of the season as a free agent.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Rangers are interested in signing the shot-stopper, which means that this latest update about his potential exit in the summer will be a big boost for the Gers’ chances of securing his signature. It is even thought that the Glasgow giants have already offered him a deal.
Great news for the Gers
Since joining Schalke on a free transfer from Dutch club ADO Den Haag back in the 2021 summer transfer window, the 28-year-old has gone on to make 20 league appearances in which he’s managed to keep seven clean sheets along the way.
With 193 senior and youth club appearances under his belt across numerous clubs, the Austrian, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £5.9k-per-week according to Salary Sport, has kept 49 clean sheets in total and even managed to get himself on the scoresheet on one occasion as well.
In addition to this, with current Gers shot-stopper Allan McGregor now at the age of 40 and having the fifth-lowest save percentage of any goalkeeper in the SPFL this season, as well as conceding 37 goals in total, it would make sense for the Ibrox club to bring Fraisl in as a potential replacement for their veteran ‘keeper.
Hailed for doing an “excellent” job for the club by Schalke sporting director, Rouven Schroder, Fraisl could prove to be a great bit of business from the Gers if they’re able to secure him on a free transfer in the summer and he’s able to be an improvement on McGregor.
Moving forward, securing the Schalke shot-stopper on a free transfer once the summer window opens could be a good first step in seeing the club strengthen their squad and get ready for next season.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
With that in mind, this boost is certainly good news for everyone associated with the Gers.
In other news: Huge boost: 3-word Rangers update will leave Van Bronckhorst buzzing…
Neither of the three captains from Group B teams, Ihsanullah, Abraash Khan and Charith Asalanka, were short of confidence, but it was the Afghanistan Under-19 captain who firmly said that his team has set sights on the title.Ihsanullah, the younger brother of Nawroz Mangal, drew confidence from Afghanistan’s series win against Pakistan in October 2014, and said that the Under-19 side looked up to the senior team.”We beat Pakistan in their home so we hope we can beat them and top our group. We dream of winning the trophy, ,” Ihsanullah said. “Obviously, we are inspired by the national team and wish to play for them. Our future is so bright so now we are looking for this achievement. All our national players are heroes. There’s nothing in Afghanistan but cricket is getting very big, because of them.”Sri Lanka’s Asalanka, meanwhile, was wary of the expectations with his country having never won the Under-19 World Cup.”I think all teams will have target to win the World Cup,” he said. “I will have the responsibility to bring the trophy home. If I can, it will be for the first time, and it will be a big thing. I think it is a tough group. Canada, Afghanistan and Pakistan are good sides.”Abraash, the Canada captain, said that they were keen to get past the group stage for the first time and give a good account of themselves. “Our goal is to make the second round in this tournament,” he said. I know Canada has played many World Cups in the past, I played in the last one.”We never made the second round. If we really believe in our preparations, we can make it. We don’t play that much cricket. Sometimes it is good to be an underdog. People don’t expect you to do well. We are trying to change opinions in the World Cup.”Abraash took inspiration from offspinner Nikhil Dutta who has featured in the BPL and CPL, and said that Canada’s participation in the regional tournament in West Indies held them in good stead.”Nikhil and I are from the same club. We have played in the same team, Abraash said.” It is good to see him making big strides and hopefully we can all follow his footsteps. We won one game out of six in the West Indies regional tournament. It was a good tournament to prepare for the World Cup because it is a step up for us.”Abraash also identified Davy Jacobs, who has played for Eagles, Free State and Mumbai Indians among other teams, as a key figure.”Davy Jacobs is in my club,” Abraash said. He is not with the national body but he is the head coach in the Ontario Cricket Academy. We trained with him all winter and played with him all summer as well.”