Simon Helmot has been named the Victorian Cricket Academy coach, a newly-created position as part of the state’s revamped high-performance structure. Helmot, a former club cricketer in Melbourne and coach of the ACT Comets, will be in charge of Victoria’s male and female elite pathway squads and will coach the men’s Under-19 team.Helmot’s coaching career began when he led two Melbourne grade sides, Hawthorn-Waverley and Fitzroy Doncaster, to premierships before moving to Canberra. He was handed the reins of the Prime Minister’s XI, which crushed England by 166 runs in the lead-up to the Ashes last November.Tony Dodemaide, Cricket Victoria’s chief executive, said Helmot was the ideal candidate for the new role despite not having first-class playing experience. “Simon has an excellent record as a coach and leader,” Dodemaide said. “He has proved to be extremely talented, innovative and enthusiastic.”Helmot said he was indebted to ACT Cricket for giving him the chance to develop his coaching skills but was keen to return to Victoria.
Shahriar Nafees, the Bangladesh opener, has been fined 20% of his match-fees for dissent during the third one-day international against Australia at Fatullah.Nafees was found guilty by Jeff Crowe, the match referee, for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct that relates to “Showing dissent at an umpire’s decision by action or verbal abuse”.After he was given out leg before to Mitchell Johnson, Nafees shook his head and gestured with his bat in the direction of the Bangladesh dressing-room as he walked back. He was reported by Ian Howell and Nadir Shah, the on-field umpires, and AFM Akhtaruddin, the third umpire.”The player admitted what he had done was wrong and I took this, together with his previously exemplary conduct, into account,” said Crowe. “However, it is important to show that dissent of any sort at an umpire’s decision is unacceptable and the player’s punishment for his actions illustrates that fact.”
Nathan Astle, one of the heroes of New Zealand’s fighting draw in the first Test against India, will be returning home immediately after the second Test in Mohali starting on Thursday. Astle is to have aggravations in his left knee assessed.The tour is Astle’s first since knee surgery after the World Cup earlier in the year. Despite his problems with the knee, and illness, he scored a century and an unbeaten half-century as New Zealand held out the Indian attack. Astle will be replaced for the one-day tri-series by Chris Nevin.Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand team manager, said: “Nathan has had some aggravation in his left knee since early in the tour and he is returning home to have the injury examined by a medical specialist. It is difficult to ascertain the exact nature, or extent, of the injury. The Black Caps on-tour medical panel feel it is unlikely he will aggravate the injury further by playing in the second Test.”However, there would be a greater risk of aggravation of the injury during the triangular tournament because of the more strenuous fielding demands in one-day cricket. The aim of sending him home is to try to ensure he is fit for the home international series against Pakistan and South Africa.”Nevin flew out for India today with four other players who are joining the side for the tri-series, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum and Kyle Mills.
England A were set a daunting target of 367 on the third day of their Duleep Trophy match against East Zone in Amritsar, after a day of hard toil for their bowlers. East Zone resumed in the morning on 65 for 3, and though they soon slipped to 132 for 5, the tail showed impressive resilience to hoist the total to a daunting 308.England’s bowling honours were shared by Sajid Mahmood, leading the attack since the departure of Simon Jones, and the captain James Tredwell, who added four more wickets to his first-innings 5 for 101, but conceded his runs at exactly five an over.East Zone, who had secured a first-innings lead of 58, took control once again in a sixth-wicket partnership of 106 between Laxmi Shukla (60) and Devang Gandhi (59). Tredwell eventually broke through, but England A’s prospects were dented by the sight of Shiv Sunder Das striding out at No. 9. Das, who has already played 23 Tests, made a century in the first innings and had decided to put his feet up in the second, but he eventually used his feet well to make 55, before Mahmood dismissed him to bring an end to the innings.England, who learned a thing or two about approaching tricky targets in their humiliating defeat against South Zone last week, made the worst possible start to their chase when Scott Newman was bowled by Shib Paul before for a fourth-ball duck. Michael Lumb then followed, lbw for 13 (25 for 2) and that victory seemed rather a distant prospect. But Ed Smith (33) and Kevin Pietersen (29) carried England safely through to the close without any further alarms, leaving them needing a further 288 on the final day for victory.
The West Indies Cricket Board has been informed by the International Cricket Council that it will hear the case to allow the reinstatement of batsman Marlon Samuels in the West Indies team for the Cricket World Cup 2003 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya on Friday.The ICC on Thursday contacted Rev. Wes Hall, president of the WICB, in South Africa and notified him of the meeting, after a formal written application by Roger Brathwaite, acting chief executive officer of the WICB, and telephone communication between Rev. Hall and Malcolm Speed, chief executive officer of the ICC, who also heads the World Cup technical committee."The president has already stated that we will do all in our power to have Marlon play in the CWC 2003 and resolution of this matter now rests with the ICC," remarked Michael Hall, the chief cricket operations officer of the WICB.West Indies face South Africa in the opening match of the CWC 2003 on Sunday at Newlands in Cape Town.
A young Ugandan cricketer, 18-year-old Kenneth Kamyuka, has caught the eyeof World Cup tournament director Dr Ali Bacher at the ICC Trophy in Toronto,Canada.So much so that the executive director of the 2003 Cricket World Cup issuggesting that the youngster be given a trial in South Africa.Kamyuka is a member of the Uganda team that has had everyone talking inToronto. The African team came to the tournament ranked 21 out of the 23competing nations, and they finished in a commendable 10th position overallat an event contested by the amateur teams of world cricket, the so-calledassociate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC).Dr Bacher described Kamyuka as a “very lively young fast bowler” whocaptured seven wickets in the 41 overs he bowled during the tournament. Inaddition, he showed himself to be swashbuckling lower-order batsman, hittingan undefeated century off just 54 balls to take Uganda from 90/8 againstMalaysia to a highly respectable total of 220/8.”Knowledgeable people I have spoken to in Toronto agree that Kamyuka is aplayer of immense potential. I will speak to the United Cricket Board (UCB)when I return home to suggest that we bring him to South Africa and give hima trial, like they do in soccer, to test that potential.”Dr Bacher heaped praise on the whole Ugandan team for their exemplaryshowing in Toronto. “They are a 100 percent indigenous team and were truly thespark of the tournament. They ended in 10th place and just missed out onhigher honours by losing a playoff with the United Arab Emirates.”Dr Bacher said a lot of the credit for Uganda’s improvement should go toHoosain Ayob, a South African who, as the ICC’s development manager forAfrica, had done fine work in driving the game on the continent.
Nottingham Forest are interested in signing £180k rated Newcastle attacking midfielder Elliot Anderson who has been labelled “classy” and “like Peter Beardsley” by Graham Carr.
What’s the talk?
Forest are said to be rivalling QPR and Preston North End for the 19-year olds signature, according to The Mirror, via Football League World.
He has two senior appearances for Newcastle United to his name. With that said, they may want to hold onto him for a little while longer meaning a loan move might be more likely.
Given where Forest sit in the Championship table compared to the others vying for his signature, they should be in pole position.
He is currently on loan at Bristol Rovers in League Two where he has excelled contributing six goals in just 15 appearances for the Pirates, helping Joey Barton’s side in their push for promotion.
A perfect replacement for Johnson
Anderson could be the perfect replacement for ‘prospect’ Brennan Johnson who has been targeted by several Premier League clubs, including Newcastle.
They would be huge shoes to fill with Johnson topping the goal scoring charts at the City Ground this season with 14.
He may have less experience overall, but he is slightly younger than the Reds’ star who only burst onto the scene himself last season.
Forest is also the perfect place when it comes to developing young talents, this season their academy has achieved success by reaching the FA Youth Cup semi-final where they are still yet to face Chelsea.
There are also certain aspects of the game where Anderson is already excelling. When it comes to total shots per 90 minutes he sits on 3.62 compared to Johnson’s 1.96.
One thing his parent club would have to assess is how much game time he would get. If Forest do end up losing Johnson then it would make this move even more likely.
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.
They will also be without striker Lewis Grabban whose contract is up at the end of the season.
As Newcastle have already shown interest in 20-year old Johnson, maybe a deal involving the two could be done. Either way, it can’t be long until we see both players at a higher level than they currently are.
IN other news: Nottingham Forest had a stinker with Nicklas Bendtner…
Former England and Middlesex batsman Clive Radley, who has been the head coach at Lord’s since 1991, received his MBE today for his services to the game.”My first professional contract was in 1962 and I never imagined I’d still be involved 46 years later,” said Radley, who played eight Tests and scored 26,441 runs in first first-class career.”Clive is an invaluable part of the club set-up and, under him the MCC Young Cricketers programme has gone from strength to strength,” MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw said.”In an age of county cricket academies, Clive has proved that the programme is still relevant and plays a vital role in developing professional cricketers and giving opportunities to unsigned talent from all over the world.”
Hundreds, hundreds, hundreds. That has been England’s mantra throughout this tournament. If one of the top six reaches three figures, so their reasoning has gone, then victory will surely not be far behind. That wish was granted, as Kevin Pietersen, the world’s No. 1 one-day batsman, recorded his fourth ODI century (but his first, strangely, since that epic debut tour of South Africa two winters ago). And yet still it was not enough. Australia proved too versatile and England too brittle, as their hopes of qualification receded ever further.But at least England have a World Cup centurion at long, long last. Incredibly, this was the first by any of their batsmen since Graeme Hick plundered 104 not out against The Netherlands in 1995-96, and more extraordinarily, their first against a Test-playing nation since Graham Gooch’s legendary sweep-athon against India in the 1987 semi-final. Two barren decades later, it’s little wonder they aren’t really a side to take seriously as World Cup challengers.Even when it came, the carping couldn’t be helped. Pietersen’s innings, it has been whispered, was self-centred. “I was a bit surprised he didn’t step his innings up earlier,” Ricky Ponting said. Even Michael Vaughan, in the middle of praising his man, couldn’t help slipping in that “he wanted to get a hundred”, as if it was suddenly a crime to be cautious. And in a sense it was. So much has been invested in England’s powerhouse pairing of Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff that neither can be permitted to dawdle. Not even when, in Pietersen’s case, he didn’t really have an alternative.England’s tactic in this World Cup of building a platform then leaping gleefully into the final ten overs has been about as successful as Greg Louganis’ back-flip at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. On the one hand Pietersen has been co-opted into the sheet-anchor role that the top-order, with the exception of Ian Bell, has failed to provide; on the other, Flintoff is so hopelessly out of sorts with the bat that he would barely be worthy of a No. 9 slot in a combined World Cup XI.He’s not the only one struggling for runs, however, and Vaughan was quick to admit to his own latest failing. By the time he had inside-edged Shaun Tait on to his stumps for 5, England’s captain had mustered 83 runs in six innings in this tournament, and now averages less than 27 in his 83-match career. “It’s very frustrating,” he said. “It’s as frustrating for me as it is for everyone watching, I can tell you. It’s just not happening. That’s sometimes the way batting goes. “Comparisons with Mike Brearley’s captaincy are no longer being made in the flattering, cerebral sense. For all the nous he brings to England’s fielding effort, the burden of his failures at the top of the order are being felt all the way down, not least by Flintoff, whose grotesque innings of 4 from 19 balls ended in a neither-one-thing-nor-the-other stumping. “It can be quite tricky playing down that bottom order,” Vaughan said. “Freddie will be the first to admit he’s probably just struggling a little bit at the minute, as I am.”
The inflexibility of England’s approach was what brought them down. From 164 for 2 with 20 overs remaining, a total of 300 was not an inconceivable goal, but Ponting’s cunning use of the third Powerplay toppled them over the brink in familiar yet spectacular fashion. Having held it back until the 27th over, in came Glenn McGrath, and down fell Bell – the rock on whom Pietersen’s late assault, were it to come, had to be built.”Ian played really nicely,” Vaughan said. “That third Powerplay period is a real difficult time because you’ve got two guys in and you know they want to make the most of it. He’d hit the ball beautifully over extra-cover so I don’t begrudge him at all for trying to take that shot on. He played a tremendous knock and showed what a class player he is.”But it’s a sorry state of affairs when accidents, such as Bell’s untimely dismissal here and his unfortunate run-out against Sri Lanka, turn out to be fatal. “We are very, very close to being a real good one-day team,” Vaughan said, but his words rang a little bit hollow after the squandering of two positions from which good one-day teams would have to be dragged kicking and screaming. “I know we’ve lost two games but we’ve put two good teams under a lot of pressure.”Ponting actually agreed with that sentiment, although that probably says more about the lack of challenges his team has faced so far in this tournament than anything else. “Today’s been our biggest test, no doubt about it,” he said. “England should have made 270-280, no question, and our run-chase was big enough anyway. We did what we had to do, but we had plenty of batting to come and we could have taken risks earlier if needed. But we’d sewn things up and carried on to win the game.”Six matches, six wins, and not a close encounter among them. Australia’s juggernaut rumbles on to Barbados; England, meanwhile, face a testing encounter against Bangladesh, whose victory over South Africa provided them with today’s lifeline. They’ll need some hundreds in that game for sure.
Durham reproduced the sort of steamrollering form that earned them a double-promotion last season, as Kent crashed from a carefree 169 for 2 to be left teetering on the brink of defeat at Canterbury. In reply to Durham’s 574 for 9 declared, they lost their last eight wickets for 110, with Graham Onions riding the gravy train for a career-best 3 for 91. All out for 340 and swiftly re-inserted, Kent then continued their capitulation. Onions bagged both openers, David Fulton and Robert Key, before Callum Thorp and Gareth Breese made light work of the middle order to leave Kent just two wickets from defeat.No play was possible on the final day at Old Trafford, as Lancashire’s low-scoring contest with Hampshire petered out to a disappointing draw. After conceding a first-innings deficit of 30, Hampshire had lead by 24 overnight, thanks to an unbeaten opening stand of 54 between Michael Brown and James Adams.Warwickshire converted their overnight 308 for 5 into a useful 147-run lead against Sussex at Hove. Robin Martin-Jenkins kept chipping away to take 4 for 78, but 58 from Jim Troughton and 42 from Michael Powell kept Warwickshire on course. That position looked even healthier when Sussex lost both openers with just 32 runs on the board, but Michael Yardy and Murray Goodwin steadied the nerves with an unbeaten 74-run stand for the third wicket.Yet more rain at Trent Bridge reduced Nottinghamshire’smatch against Yorkshire to an complete non-event. Only 14 overs had been possible on the first and second days, in which time Notts progressed to 69 for 1.
Division 2
A brilliant 172 on debut from Cameron White was not enough to rescue Somerset, as they lost their last two wickets for the addition of 19, to slump to defeat by an innings and 7 runs against Gloucestershire at Bristol. Unbeaten on 153 overnight, White did his best to postpone the inevitable, but two strikes from Ian Harvey was enough to seal the match.Darren Gough followed up his first-innings five-for by smacking a joyful 52 not out from No. 11, to haul Essex right back into contention against Northants at Chelmsford. Essex had been deep in the mire at 234 for 7 overnight, but fifties from James Middlebrook and Graham Napier lifted them to 381, a mere 16 runs from first-innings parity. Not content with that, Gough then added the early wicket of Stephen Peters for 7, before Ryan ten Doeschate grabbed three important middle-order scalps, to leave Northants precariously placed at 147 for 5.Derbyshire discovered that the The Oval really is their home from home, as they forced Surrey to follow-on in a fixture that had to be rearranged after severe flooding in Derby. After closing on 256 for 4, Surrey lost their last six wickets for 43, as Mohamed Sheikh grabbed his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Given that they are expected to bounce straight back into the first division, this was hardly the sort of performance they had envisaged, but Surrey knuckled down second-time around, with Scott Newman and Jonathan Batty added 152 for the first wicket. Neither man could get past the nervous nineties, however, and at the close Surrey led by a mere 40 runs with just seven wickets in hand.