Leicestershire have released the 23-year-old seamer Nick Walker from his two-year contract.Walker, who joined the county in 2006 after a successful trial, has decided to follow a career in the City. He took 32 wickets in his 13 first-class appearances for Leicestershire, following his move from Derbyshire, and took a best of 5 for 59 against Somerset.Walker’s decision may in part have been prompted by the recent recruitment of Garnett Kruger and Nadeem Malik to bolster the fast-bowling attack.
Anil Kumble, India’s veteran legspinner, has said that the World Cup would probably be his last one-day tournament, a fact that would be an added incentive for him to do well at the event, starting in the Caribbean from March 13.”It will probably be the last one day series for me and it will be challenging. I hope I will be able to play a much bigger role this time,” Kumble said in a television interview to CNN-IBN. “The World Cup is a tournament everyone looks up to. The last World Cup was good for India, we played really well as a team. We have a very good chance of winning the World Cup.”Kumble, 36, has played in 17 World Cup matches, snaring 28 wickets. Though he was picked only for three games of the 2003 edition, Kumble would have fond memories of the World Cup, having ended as the highest wicket-taker in the 1996 tournament in the sub-continent. He is also India’s leading wicket-taker in both forms of the game – with 334 scalps in ODIS and 547 in Tests – and is expected to play a key role on the sluggish pitches in the West Indies.Kumble defended his current form, despite managing only five wickets in the six games after his return to the one-day side. “It is unfair to judge performance spread over three series on good batting surfaces. You cannot always get 3-4 wickets per match. The main purpose is to restrict runs. I have the experience and hence am not worried.”India’s squad for the World Cup has been termed ‘Dad’s army’ and Greg Chappell, the coach, recently admitted that fielding was the biggest concern ahead of the tournament. Yet, Kumble had a counter: “You can only do what you can as a fielder. We are all safe on the field. I’m not the most athletic. I have been like that ever since I started. I can’t change suddenly and become a Jonty Rhodes. I always put in a 100%. As a unit we have worked hard and we have fielded well.”
West Indies and Pakistan will discuss compensation with the ICC following Zimbabwe’s withdrawal from Test cricket, which leaves both countries short of two-Test series they expected to hold this year.The chief executive of the West Indies cricket board, Roger Braithwaite, told Cricinfo that they are currently weighing up the effect of no longer holding their two-Test series in April, which will impact on the income from television and sponsor rights. “Once all the implications have been assessed we will be speaking to the ICC,” he explained. “We are currently undertaking an internal review into the situation first.”Pakistan are also set to discuss the issue this weekend, as Zimbabwe’s decision means they are missing out on two Tests that had been scheduled for September. “I will be talking to ICC officials in Dubai on Saturday about this latest development which affects us directly,” the Pakistan cricket board director, Saleem Altaf, told Reuters. “We have certain contractual obligations with our television broadcasters and…[they] have sold bundled sponsorship rights for a four-year period. We want to know from the ICC if there are financial liabilities on us, who will fulfill them.”Meanwhile, Braithwaite said that they have already been in discussion with Zimbabwe Cricket regarding the remaining one-day internationals, but could not comment on how the altered schedule would work. However, he added that he was not overly surprised by Zimbabwe’s move to pull out of Test cricket: “It is obviously disappointing, but not a complete shock given the current situation.”India are the main visitors to West Indies during their home season, for four Tests and five ODIs. The tour is not scheduled to finish until early July, well into the rainy season for the Caribbean. But Braithwaite said there is no opportunity to bring the tour forward, even though it would be a bigger money-spinner than five ODIs against Zimbabwe. “There is very little flexibility regarding the India series as they have commitments against England”Braithwaite also confirmed West Indies’ commitment to the Future Tours Programme, but said that they were heavily involved with the discussions over a restructuring of the current five-year cycle. “As with all member counties we are committed to the FTP and are part of the discussions with the ICC about expanding to a 12-year programme – two cycles of six years – rather than the current two cycles of five years.”
Andrew Symonds loves playing for Australia but believes his heavy one-day load threatens his chances of another Test call-up. A fixture in the limited-overs side, Symonds misses the opportunity for regular first-class action that could help or hinder his case for a third match in the baggy green.”That is the difficult part of playing one-day cricket for Australia only,” Symonds said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “You don’t get to play domestic cricket and try and score big hundreds. It’s not the worst position to be in. I’m happy earning a crust the way I am. It’d be nice to play a bit more four-day cricket.”The Test squad for New Zealand will be named next week and Symonds is an outside chance if Darren Lehmann is dropped for good and Shane Watson remains unavailable with a side strain. “I’d love to have another crack at Test cricket and I feel as though I could do a good job,” he said. “Hopefully I can score a few more runs before this series is out and try and throw my name up there.”Symonds, who has played 113 matches, will have to rely on his one-day form to boost him into contention. Picked ahead of Simon Katich, he played two Tests in Sri Lanka last year and scored 53 runs and took one wicket. Katich is favoured to make the squad while Mike Hussey and Brad Hodge will also be discussed.Some New Zealand batsmen spoke to Gilbert Enoka, the team psychologist, on Wednesday following the two losses and Symonds said the move was worth trying. “Psychologically I’d rather be in our position than theirs, but by no means have we backed off the gas,” he said. “Whatever it takes to win. If they call a psychologist and they knock us over 3-2, it will be the greatest move of all time.”The third match is at Eden Park on Saturday and an Australia win will seal the series.
Pace bowlers Stephen John and Junaid Zia brought Pakistan Customs back on track against DHA for a berth in the first-class Patron’s Trophy. Twenty wickets fell on the opening day of the latest round in the Inter-Department Qualifying Tournament.Earlier in the day Customs were bowled out for 161 with Rizwan Saeed taking 6 for 58 and Nasir Khan 4 for 46, but then John and Junaid, bowling on a seamer-friendly pitch, shared ten wickets as DHA were shot out for 80. John took 5 for 20 while Junaid, who was recently adjudged the best player in the Emerging Trophy, took 5 for 46. He now has 31 wickets in the competition. Customs were 22 for 0 at the close stumps, a lead of 101 runs.Before the the match, Customs had 21 points from five matches against DHA’s 27 from four. If Customs secure maximum points in this game, DHA will be awkwardly placed as their last match is against leaders PIA who have already qualified to play in Patron’s Trophy with 36 points from five matches.Debutants Karachi Port Trust needed a winning draw against National Bank to qualify along with ZTBL from Pool C. They went off to a decent start, finishing the day on 221 for 3 off 65.3 overs, with former Pakistan junior captain Maisam Hasnain unbeaten on 86. Former Test opener Shadab Kabir scored 55.In Pool B, the battle for the second qualification spot behind Wapda is on in earnest. KRL and ARL are both locked at 21 points apiece, while PTCL were only three points behind before the start of this round. At stumps on the first day, KRL were in trouble against PTV on 184 for 6 from 47 overs, while PTCL were 135 for 1 in 31 overs against ARL.
The England Under 19 team narrowly won its first warm-up game, in advance ofthe ICC Under 19 World Cup, against South Australia Under 19 in Adelaide today.England batted first and posted 248 for 7 in the allotted 50 overs, Lancashire’s Kyle Hogg top-scoring with 83 not out. South Australia Under19, who looked set to win after reaching 230-3 in the 47th over, eventuallylost by just one run.In a tight finish, in which the hosts lost five wickets, the Australiansneeded three to win off the last two balls but only managed a single to endon 247-8. Kyle Hogg took three wickets for 49 runs in his 10 overs whilePaul McMahon from Nottinghamshire returned the economical figures of 10overs, one wicket for 25 runs.England’s next warm-up game is on Tuesday 8 January against Australia Under19 – the second match against South Australia Under 19 originally plannedfor Sunday 6 January has been cancelled. England will play a total of threewarm-up games against Australia Under 19 before leaving Adelaide for the ICCUnder 19 World Cup in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Sunday 13 January.England: 248 for 7 (Hogg 83 not out, Gordon Muchall 44, Kadeer Ali 31) South Australia: 247 for 8 (Hogg: 10 overs 3 for 49, McMahon: 10 overs 1 for 25, Samit Patel: 10 overs1 for 38)
Nottinghamshire fought gamely in their one-day match against Zimbabwe before going down by 5 wickets as the tourists warmed up for the forthcoming Tri-Nations Series against England and West Indies.Put in to bat Notts reached 207 before being bowled out in the final over of their innings with opener Guy Welton being the last man out for a splendid 94.Craig Wishart and Guy Whittall got the Zimbabwean reply off to an explosive start as they rattled up 19 runs in the first 3 overs. Wishart in particular looked in fine form until David Lucas, in an expensive opening burst, managed to find the blockhole and bowl him for 16.New batsman Murray Goodwin must have relished the prospect of a return to Trent Bridge having hit a century against England on the ground last month had to play second fiddle for a while. Whittall was dropped by Read on 9 but then set about the bowling crashing Tolley over midwicket for 6 to add to a couple of spanking pulls off Mark Bowen.With the score on 69 Notts picked up their second wicket thanks to a brilliantboundary catch by Usman Afzaal. Goodwin had hit Tolley to deep square leg but diving at full length Afzaal clutched the ball inches from the rope.Whittall’s entertaining knock camc to an end shortly aFterwards following the introduction of Andy Harris into the attack from the Pavilion End. A mistimed pull looped for an easy catch to Chris Read. The tourists were momentarily rocking at 79–3 and their snoring rate dropped alarmingly as Alastair Campbell found himself marooned on 1 for 11 overs.Andy Flower, though, was going along nicely until Richard Stemp trapped him lbw for 26 to make it 114-4. Grant Flower added 13 before being dismissed Giles Haywood’s first over. That brought Neil Johnson to the crease and he rapidly took the contest away from Notts, crashing four boundaries in an over off Richard Stemp on his way to 40 out of a 50 stand with Camphell.Zimbabwe reached their target with more than eight overs to spare.
Worcestershire v Birmingham, New Road, Worcester, 5.30Second-placed Worcestershire host top-of-the-table Birmingham in what promises to be a hard-fought, high-quality match. With 16 points, defending champions Birmingham are the most successful team in the country this year, while only Kent in the South Group can match Worcestershire’s tally of 14 points. Both teams should qualify comfortably for the quarter-finals but a win in this match would all but confirm it and both will also be keen to guarantee a home quarter-final. History favours the defending champions with Birmingham having won five of the last six matches between the two teams.Leicestershire v Lancashire, Grace Road, Leicester, 5.30Leicestershire are in sixth place and Lancashire are in fourth but both teams are level on ten points in a very tight North Group. Indeed, given their proximity in the league table, this match could prove to be pivotal for both teams.Leicestershire and Lancashire have both had inconsistent seasons. Leicestershire were arguably playing some of the best cricket in the country when they registered three convincing wins in four matches; Lancashire’s victories, by contrast, have generally been tighter, but they have a formidable record against Leicestershire having gone unbeaten in the last eight matches, with six wins and two ties.James Faulkner is set to return to Lancashire’s squad following his drink-driving charge after he was involved in a collision in a Manchester suburb while Leicestershire will miss Kevin and Niall O’Brien who are playing in the World T20 Qualifiers for Ireland and seamer Rob Taylor who is playing for Scotland.Yorkshire v Durham, Headingley, Leeds, 7.00Durham, who are fifth, have had one of the more bizarre campaigns this season, and have not won twice consecutively since their opening two matches. Five of their matches have been either won or lost by less than 20 runs; fine margins define the position they find themselves in now. They have an opportunity against a struggling Yorkshire to turn themselves into serious contenders for a quarter-final place.Yorkshire promised to give T20 greater importance to the NatWest T20 Blast this season, but such emphasis has not translated into results and they will need a miracle to qualify for the quarter finals, having registered just three wins in nine matches so far. They do welcome back Liam Plunkett from injury and have included Adil Rashid in their 14-man squad after he was released by England. Youngsters Ben Coad, Ryan Gibson and Josh Shaw have all been included and could make their senior T20 debuts.Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire, Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire, 6.30Derbyshire’s quarter-final chances are over with them having won just three times in 11 matches. Nottinghamshire, meanwhile, are not much better placed, having won four from 10 and none consecutively. The addition of Peter Moores to the coaching staff brought no miraculous change in fortunes last week. However, sitting in seventh place, they are just two points off the quarter-final places. “We’ve backed ourselves into a corner where we need to win all four,” said Nottinghamshire head coach Mick Newell. “If we do that, I’m pretty sure we’ll get through, but we have no room for manoeuvre.”Can Steve Finn pump up ailing Middlesex?•Getty Images
South Group
Hampshire v Surrey, Ageas Bowl, Southampton, 7.00This crucial match in the South Group brings together Hampshire who have lost three in a row and Surrey who have won three in a row. Only a fortnight ago Hampshire were seemingly well on course for a quarter-final place alongside Essex at the top of the table while Surrey were languishing right at the very bottom. Two weeks on and how things have changed.Hampshire are seeking their sixth consecutive appearance at Finals Day and began the season strongly, but close observers noted cracks appearing in their tried and tested formula. Seam bowling in particular has been a problem.Surrey’s season turned around following a stunning comeback victory away to Glamorgan on an inauspicious cold Friday night in Cardiff. They will be without Gary Wilson who is playing for Ireland in the World T20 Qualifiers, while Matt Dunn is ruled out with a side injury. Hampshire, who have won their last six home matches against Surrey, have named an unchanged squad from last week’s match against Glamorgan.Sussex v Glamorgan, The County Ground, Hove, 7.00Sussex in second and Glamorgan in fourth are in strong positions in the South Group and are both just a win away from top spot. However, with just two matches left after this fixture they will recognise the importance of a win over a quarter-final rival.Sussex’s defeat against leaders Kent last week ended their streak of four consecutive victories and they will be keen to recapture their form against Glamorgan, who have included Michael Hogan in their squad.”We’ve tended to play better away than at home in T20 so far this season,” said Glamorgan head coach Toby Radford. “So we’re looking forward to the game at Hove off the back of two good wins on the road against Somerset and Hampshire.”Kent v Somerset, The Spitfire Ground, St. Lawrence, Canterbury, 7.00Although Somerset are languishing in eighth place in the South Group they are only three points off Essex in third and still have a chance to make a late push for a quarter-final spot.”Every game is important,” said head coach Matt Maynard. “We have to look to try and win all four of our remaining matches to make sure that we qualify for the quarter finals. To do that we need to get out of the powerplay with the ball and with the bat because that has cost us big time. If we can get out of those first six overs in good shape we tend to win the matches. We have had a chat about it and we have put a system in place.”Somerset will have their work cut out against Kent who are have surprised many onlookers with their strong form this season, winning seven of their ten matches so far despite not signing an overseas player. Kent have made one change to their squad from their victory against Sussex last week, with Calum Haggett replacing the injured Ivan Thomas.Middlesex v Essex, Old Deer Park, Richmond, 5.30Middlesex won two matches in Game Week 2, but either side of that have not managed a victory and have now lost seven in a row. With four points from ten matches their quarter-final chances are all but over. With two top-four sides, Sussex and Glamorgan, in opposition, third placed Essex will sense an opportunity to move one step closer to the quarter-finals against a struggling team.Essex have turned their season around excellently having lost three of their first four matches and head coach Paul Grayson is thrilled with the progress. “If someone had said seven or eight games ago that we could have a chance of finishing in the top-four, we would definitely have taken that,” he said.Liam Dawson, on loan from Hampshire, is expected to make his T20 debut for Essex while Tom Westley has been included in their squad after recovering from injury. Middlesex welcome back international pace duo Steven Finn, released by England, and Mitchell McClenaghan, back from injury.
Ben Dinnery has now dropped a shock Everton injury claim involving Andros Townsend.
The Lowdown: Out for the season
The Goodison Park faithful confirmed in March that Townsend will be out for the rest of the season, after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during their 4-0 loss away at Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.
A scan on his knee revealed that he will have to now undergo surgery, before starting his rehab with the medical staff at Finch Farm.
The Latest: Dinnery claim
Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery, a medical expert who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in both medicine and data analysis, has claimed that Townsend may not be able to get back to his pre-injury levels until the 2023/24 campaign:
“Whether a surgery has been successful or not comes down to the definition of success.
“Is success a full return to play and pre-injury levels? If so, we won’t know for up to nine months, maybe even longer.
“Surgeons these days are well-versed in carrying out these procedures. There are very, very high success rates.
“In terms of the injury, I’d be fairly confident that it will all go as planned. But it will be several months before we know how Townsend has responded.
“It could be early 2023 before we see him back in contention. Then it might even be 2023-24 before we see him back to his pre-injury levels.”
The Verdict: Shock
It may come as a shock to some fans of the Merseyside club just how long it could be until Townsend fully recovers.
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By the 2023/24 term, he would be 32 years of age, and so there would have to be question marks over how long he could still perform at the highest level.
Townsend has ranked as one of the Toffees’ best players in the Premier League, and has contributed three goals and two assists (WhoScored), so losing him for such a long time will come as a big blow to Frank Lampard and the supporters.
In other news, find out which ‘excellent’ brute Kevin Thelwell is now plotting a move for here!
India’s prospects of challenging Australia in the ongoing Test series were jolted when an injured Zaheer Khan was ruled out of the series. With Sreesanth on the sidelines, it meant that both of India’s new-ball bowlers from the previous away Test series – in England – would miss part of the action in Australia.The constant injuries to Indian fast bowlers, according to Javagal Srinath, are due to two reasons: Indian first-class cricket doesn’t prepare fast bowlers for the physical and mental demands of international cricket, and that the players are not good at injury management at a personal level.”The injury management has to start from the players themselves,” Srinath said. “Fast bowling is all about self-learning. Injuries will always be a part of a fast bowler’s career. It’s how you manage them. Once you play international cricket, especially undertake fast bowling which is unnatural to normal life, you have to work around the injuries.”Knowing your body is very important. Outsiders can’t read your body at all, you are the best doctor and physiotherapist. When you can’t really understand your inner voices or body, you look out for help.”TA Sekhar, the head coach at the MRF Pace Academy, has an interesting take on it. According to him, most of the injuries have root in technical faults in the bowling actions. And the bowling coach travelling with the team can’t keep a tab on technical deficiencies, as the game strategy is foremost on his mind. And there is no back-end support in India to work on bowler’s techniques, to understand the inner voices the bowler himself can’t hear.Working around the injuries, according to Srinath, doesn’t mean hiding them and playing on. “If you carry an injury into a match, which calls for more than 100% effort, you are hurting both yourself and the team. If a bowler goes through a match with an injury and doesn’t perform up to his best, his career will be in tatters. If somebody is doing that, he is doing at his own peril.”Srinath doesn’t buy into the argument about the increased workload. “The workload has increased for every team, and not only for India. Earlier too, people used to go play county cricket for six months and come back and play international cricket. Workload is kind of over-rated. The body can take breaks at the correct times and you will be doing fine.”But once a player does get injured, India, according to Srinath, is primitive in terms of sport medicine and physiotherapy. “That is also compounding the problems at Ranji Trophy level and below. Only international players get the top facility.”A Ranji player has to take a big leap when he graduates to international level. “The gap is too big. The cricket played in Ranji Trophy is not even 20% of what you play at international level. In terms of quality of wickets, batsmen, in terms of mental make-up.”The turnover of fast bowlers and the quality has definitely improved since Srinath’s retirement, but none of the bowlers has been able to sustain the quality for a consistent injury-free time. The search, as we speak, is still on.