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Three players who have already competed for their states at senior level head an impressive line-up of young cricketers who have been selected today as the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy (CBCA)’s scholarship holders for 2001

John Polack27-Apr-2001Three players who have already competed for their states at senior level head an impressive line-up of young cricketers who have been selected today as the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy (CBCA)’s scholarship holders for 2001.Highly talented Western Australian batsmen Shaun Marsh and Scott Meuleman and exciting Tasmanian pace bowler Brett Geeves join with eleven other players who have made a similarly big mark in underage cricket over recent years.The CBCA programme, run under the auspices of the Australian Cricket Board and the Australian Institute of Sport, offers twelve-month scholarships to a select band of aspiring Australian players every year. In 2001, it enters its fourteenth year of operation in schooling accomplished young players in all facets of the game.The Academy has already helped nurture a range of outstanding state and international players. These include current Test stars Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Michael Slater, Brett Lee and Ricky Ponting.The full list of scholarship holders for 2001 is:Duncan Betts (Qld), Travis Birt (Vic), Rowan Brewster (NSW), Mark Cosgrove (SA), Xavier Doherty (Tas), Brett Geeves (Tas), Mitchell Johnson (Qld), Shaun Marsh (WA), Scott Meuleman (WA), Luke Ronchi (WA), Daniel Smith (NSW), Michael Thistle (WA), Matthew Weeks (SA), Tim Welsford (Vic).

This season is one that Wolverhampton Wanderers will be keen to move on from quickly.

They didn’t spend wisely last summer and have been made to rue a number of injuries to some of their most exciting players.

All of that has culminated in what looks set to be a bottom half finish for Nuno Santo and his team.

On the chalkboard

Another big issue for Nuno has been the club’s defence. They have looked particularly ordinary this season and if anything summed that up, it would be a run of 13 games from November to January where they only kept a solitary clean sheet.

The Old Gold have struggled for shut outs again in recent times, being hammered 4-0 by Burnley at their own ground.

One of the main culprits for a long time has been Romain Saiss. The Moroccan has had a peculiar season where, because of injuries, he’s been asked to play at left-back.

He was particularly poor against Aston Villa back in March when he defied the laws of physics by missing a simple opportunity from a few yards out and disappointed from a defensive point of view.

Saiss registered a pass success rate of just 70% that evening and lost the ball on 15 occasions. He only managed to complete one tackle throughout the contest too.

Unfortunately, he was also a mess against Burnley over a week ago. As they were dispatched at Molineux, the defender was all over the shop. He was dispossessed for the fourth and final goal as he gifted the Clarets a chance to score.

The solution

The answer to their woes from a defensive point of view could be Jack Hendry, somebody linked to Wolves in the last few months.

The 25-year-old is a Celtic player but he’s enjoyed a very fruitful loan spell with Oostende in Belgium.

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He’s been named the best player in the Belgium top flight this season and has thrived in Alexander Blessin’s system. That happens to be in a three-back, making him absolutely perfect for Wolves and Nuno.

The Portuguese’s preferred formation at Molineux has been with three defenders so Hendry would surely fit seamlessly into the set up at the Midlands.

That said, he’d offer a lot more than just tactical knowledge and familiarity.

Standing at a colossal 6 foot 4, the Scottish defender is a giant at the back and is particularly dominant when it comes to winning aerial battles.

For instance, he has won three aerial duels per game this term, more than anyone in the entire Wolves squad.

Crucially he is more confident with the ball at his feet, an area of Saiss’ game that’s been getting him in a tangle this term.

His pass success rate stands at 80.7% while Hendry’s is an impressive 85.1% throughout the current season.

Described as a “useful weapon” by Blessin, he’d be a valuable addition to Wolves this summer. Nuno and Jeff Shi need to make sure they conclude a deal.

AND in other news, Wolves could finally replace Jota by luring £71m “outstanding talent” to Molineux…

Veteran batsman Peter Bowler , now in his seventh season at The County Ground feels that Somerset have got as strong a team now as they have had during his time at the club

Richard Walsh22-May-2001Veteran batsman Peter Bowler , now in his seventh season at The County Ground feels that Somerset have got as strong a team now as they have had during his time at the club.Peter of course was with Derbyshire when they put paid to Lancashire in the Lord’s final to lift the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1993.”I really feel that we have a good chance of winning the Benson and Hedges Cup, the players are in a confident mood and we must be one of the four best sides in the country. Yorkshire also have a good side , especially Australian Darren Lehmann and of course their England players.But we expect to win on Wednesday, he said.”Peter was missing from the Somerset scene earlier in the season to allow him to take some more law examinations which are ‘an ongoing thing.’ These are completed now so he can now"concentrate on playing cricket for the rest of the season.”Despite his success in both the County Championship and Norwich Union League matches against Kent, Somerset’s young all rouder Pete Trego doesn’t think that he will be in the side for the Bensons match against Yorkshire.”I have done very well over the last five days,” he told me on Sunday evening,” my batting is coming along well, and I felt very comfortable at the crease.I don’t think that I will be playing against Yorkshire, but would like to wish all the boys who play the best of luck.”

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Tottenham Hotspur legend, Paul Stewart, has claimed that Harry Kane is very likely to leave this summer as he is an ambitious player.

Kane has been heavily linked with a move away this summer as Tottenham continue to fall behind their rivals and after another season of not winning any silverware, Spurs’ number nine could look for pastures new.

After bursting on the scene in 2014 with 21 goals in 34 games back in 2014, Kane has managed to score 164 Premier League goals but has still not won a trophy with his boyhood club despite making two finals in the last two years.

Speaking on what Kane’s future may look like beyond this season and how he has ambitions that Tottenham may not be able to match, Stewart exclusively told FFC:

“‘I’m not sure whether Harry Kane will be there next season because he’s one of the best strikers in the world and he’s not winning trophies.

“You’ve got to say he’s been loyal to the club but he’s ambitious and he’s not getting any younger. So, I think we’ll see him move on in the summer.”

Tottenham signed Carlos Vinicius last summer on loan as a back up to Kane but the Brazillian has only scored one goal in the Premier League this season as the club continues to struggle to find a suitable backup option.

They’re still without a permanent manager but Ryan Mason, who is in temporary charge, has managed to oversee two wins and one loss in the league since he got the job.

Celtic have been warned to move quickly or risk losing out on Peterborough United striker Siriki Dembele.

Noel Whelan, formerly of Aberdeen, discussed the potential transfer with Football Insider.

The lowdown

24-year-old Dembele scored 11 goals and provided 12 assists in 45 appearances for Peterborough as they secured automatic promotion from League One.

Overall, the striker has netted 25 times and set up a further 28 goals in 122 outings for The Posh.

Dembele is about to enter the final year of his contract at the Weston Homes Stadium, and the club’s Director of Football Barry Fry doesn’t currently expect him to commit to a new deal.

According to Football Insider, Celtic are one of many clubs eyeing him.

His younger brother, Karamoko, already plays for the Hoops, but arch-rivals Rangers are said to be in the hunt, along with Fulham and Crystal Palace.

Dembele is a supremely versatile forward. He’s just about played the majority of his games as a centre-forward, but has also notched 26 combined appearances as a left-winger and attacking midfielder.

The latest

Whelan reckons it would be good business for Celtic but cautioned that ‘goalscorers don’t hang around’.

“There’s no doubt they need new strikers in there,” he said.

“If you can get a player on the cheap who is a good standard and will do very well in the Scottish Premiership, it’s a no-brainer.

“But they have to get a manager in there to get a deal done as quickly as possible.

“Goalscorers don’t hang around too long and god forbid you don’t want Rangers swooping in there and beating you.

“They need to get things in place before you start buying players. The manager is the priority.

“He can bring his players, you can’t judge him if he fails with someone else’s players.”

The verdict

Dembele probably shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement for Odsonne Edouard, were the Frenchman to leave, because he’s not really an out-and-out number nine.

But his versatility would make him a valuable asset to any of his suitors and he’ll surely be available for a relatively small fee given Fry’s public admission over his contract.

Clubs are bound to pounce on bargains of this nature, but Celtic feel like a club in limbo at the moment, almost paralysed until they finally resolve this managerial uncertainty.

In other news, Danny Mills made this claim about John Kennedy.

The Zimbabwe cricket team stepped up their preparations for the Second Test against India at Harare, the match venue, with both the captain Heath Streak and coach Carl Rackemann confident that the side will put up a more polished performance than

Larry Moyo14-Jun-2001The Zimbabwe cricket team stepped up their preparations for the Second Test against India at Harare, the match venue, with both the captain Heath Streak and coach Carl Rackemann confident that the side will put up a more polished performance than they did in the First Test.The side had extensive practice in the nets with the ball and bat, and also did a lot of fielding practice. Zimbabwe batted woefully in the first innings of the Queens Test and were dismissed for a mere 173, a record low for the venue. The bowlers then struggled with the Indian tail, resulting in the tourists taking a commanding 145-run lead. India went on to win the match by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match Zimbabwe Sun series.It was India’s first away win in 15 years and also their first Test win in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe lost two frontline bowlers, Streak and Henry Olonga, a last-minute replacement for Travis Friend, in the match and had only three bowlers for India’s second innings.Streak and Friend are back in the squad for the Second Test which starts on Friday. Streak was confident that he would be in a position to play. “I am giving it one more day of rest before I go flat out in the nets. It should be fine. Our physiotherapist (Amato Machikicho) is quiet confident and I also had an orthopedic surgeon have a look at it in Bulawayo and he was pretty certain that it should be fine.”Streak added that Friend had responded well to treatment after suffering a muscle strain, which forced him to pull out of the Bulawayo Test on the eve of the opening day.”Friend looks good. He was in the nets today and he is bowling with some good pace. It looks as though he is fully fit for the game. Hopefully he wakes up tomorrow feeling good and we won’t have a similar problem like we had in Bulawayo.”Streak said that although they had always played under pressure, this time they were under more pressure to try to level the series. “Being 1-0 down we are under more pressure to try and pull it back. We realised where we had our downfall and the guys are working very hard in the nets to try and rectify that. We batted badly in the first innings. We hope to put it right in this Test and we are ready to go.”He felt that they could have restricted India to a smaller first-innings total than the 318 they made. India had slumped to 178 for six after the dismissal of leading batsman Sachin Tendulkar in the 53rd over. But they were allowed to bat for another 36 overs in which spinner Harbhajan Singh, coming in at number nine, made his highest Test score of 66. It was India’s second highest contribution after the 74 by Tendulkar.”Obviously we always realised that their top order was the danger and we really worked hard but I think that the loss of Henry Olonga put an extra load of work on the bowlers. We let Harbhajan Singh get away with a bit more than we should have, which allowed their tail to wag. Hopefully we won’t let that happen again with a better balanced side, without any injuries.”Carl Rackemann was impressed with his side’s preparations. “Firstly these practice wickets are the best I have seen them and that’s a good start for us. And our worries of injuries: Henry is going to be out but Heath Streak is coming back. Travis Friend has had a good bowling session today and he looks good.”So we look like going into the Test without any injury or fitness worries. Skillwise today has been a very good day in batting, bowling and fielding. On Thursday we will spent a little bit of time talking about the game and the last match in Bulawayo. Our first innings batting is high on the list of the things to be discussed. It won’t be as physically demanding, especially for the bowlers playing in the match.”The Australian coach said that they had learnt a lesson from the Bulawayo Test. “I think the batting in the first innings was filled with poor shot selection, playing a wrong shot to the wrong ball and lacking patience while at the crease and we were also not positive. We are going to address that. In the Second Test we have to bat like we did in the second innings at Queens in both innings.”Rackemann was also disappointed with the way Harbhajan Singh was allowed to score his 66 from 125 balls, hitting 10 fours and a six. “Principally Harbhajan Singh was the man who did most of the damage and we have to make sure that it does not happen again. We will have to bowl differently to him than the way we did in Bulawayo and make sure that there is no repeat of that."

Wayne Rooney has been dealt a huge blow to his hopes of bringing Teden Mengi back to Derby County this summer.

 What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Manchester Evening News, who claimed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is planning on including the 19-year-old centre-back in his first team squad at Manchester United ahead of next season.

It is believed that Rooney is keen to keep the £1.35m-rated England under-19 international at Pride Park this summer following his loan spell at the Championship side in the second half of the 2020/21 season.

Rooney will be gutted

While Mengi did not feature all that much for the Rams after joining in the January transfer window, with the defender featuring nine times for the club – something which was primarily down to the 19-year-old’s loan deal being cut short after picking up a season-ending injury – the youngster nevertheless impressed from the heart of the Derby defence.

Over these nine Championship appearances, Mengi helped Rooney’s side to keep one clean sheet, as well as making an average of 1.1 interceptions, one tackle and 2.4 clearances per game, in addition to winning 3.8 duels and completing 86% of his attempted passes per fixture – culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 6.67.

Indeed, upon his return to Manchester United, Derby’s 35-year-old manager stated his belief that Mengi had been “fantastic” for his team, adding that he had witnessed the defender “grow with each game” that he played for the club.

In the same interview, Rooney went on to reveal that he would “keep in contact with United” regarding the possibility of bringing the 19-year-old back to Pride Park ahead of next season, something which would appear to indicate the manager’s desire of securing a deal for Mengi this summer.

As such, the news that Solskjaer could kibosh Rooney’s plans by including the defender in his United first team squad next season will likely come as a blow for the Derby gaffer, as missing out on a player of Mengi’s talent will not make Rooney’s task of leading the Rams on a charge up the Championship table any easier come next season.

In other news: Key figure drops Mel Morris claim which will surely have Derby County fans buzzing – opinion

Chris Harris might be New Zealand’s leading One-Day International wicket taker but his desire to be a serious bowling option for the Test side has seen him develop a new bowling style

Lynn McConnell15-Jun-2001Chris Harris might be New Zealand’s leading One-Day International wicket taker but his desire to be a serious bowling option for the Test side has seen him develop a new bowling style.The 31-year-old has been working during the winter on a new action which sees him bowling with his left foot on the ground, instead of his familiar left-foot-in-the-air style that he has used throughout his career.The new style results in him bowling quicker and produces more spin. Harris started out as a medium-slow inswing bowler who then developed a leg roller option.While those two options were effective in one-day play, it is the Test arena which still beckons for him.”I have been seriously working on it. After last season I enquired of the selectors where they saw me and I was told to be considered for the Test team I needed to be a wicket-taking option,” he told CricInfo today.Harris is eyeing a role for himself similar to what Colin Miller fills for Australia.”I wouldn’t have changed otherwise,” he said when confirming his desire to become more of a Test regular.Harris has played 19 Tests for New Zealand but his 15 wickets have been at a cost of 66.93 compared to his 164 ODI wickets at 35.95.Making the change hasn’t proved easy.”After 25 years of bowling in one way it is pretty hard to change. It has been pretty tough but I am getting their slowly,” he said.He will not be trying his new style in one-day cricket in Sri Lanka next month and it is more likely to be the New Zealand domestic season before it is unveiled.”It could be that in the future I could bowl both styles during one-dayers but that would depend on conditions,” he said.Harris was happy with how his one-day summer finished up last season, and especially after the treatment he received during the home series when Andy Flower unleashed his reverse sweeping on Harris.”That’s not happened to me before. But I was happy with the way I came back against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. I just went through a little phase when things didn’t go too well against Zimbabwe,” he said.NZC’s director of player development Ashley Ross, who has been working with Harris said that Harris’ delivery style meant he wasn’t getting as much power into his bowling as he could.”His lower body power was not being transferred to the trunk and the bowling arm. He always released the ball with his left foot in the air and he was getting his power from a very small portion of his body.”His new style will be more efficient and while it is hard to quantify, he has probably picked up 20km in speed, and bowls more at Nathan Astle’s speed.”By bowling medium pace leg rollers he is also working at utilising the extra power on the side of the ball to bowl a genuine leg spinner.”Once he has it worked out he will have more variety in his bowling.”Chris is a very talented guy and he will have to see how it happens in the heat of battle,” Ross said.Shayne O’Connor had a similar problem, but not to the same degree, and like Harris, once his left foot was in the correct place he had a lift in the speed he could bowl.Harris also has another change coming in his life. He and wife Linda are expecting their first child in two months.

Guyana were only partially in the driver’s seat at the end of the second day of the Busta International Shield final, but if it had not been for Sewnarine Chattergoon, Jamaica may have had their hands firmly on the steering wheel.

Staff Reporter06-Apr-2002Guyana were only partially in the driver’s seat at the end of the second day of the Busta International Shield final, but if it had not been for Sewnarine Chattergoon, Jamaica may have had their hands firmly on the steering wheel.Chattergoon’s teammate Reon King, earlier in the day, had cleaned up the Jamaican tail, turning in a much-improved performance from the previous day. He returned figures of 4-61, but the real star of Guyana’s bowling was Mahendra Nagamootoo. The leg-spinner picked up one more wicket to equal the record of 48 in a regional season.The hosts lost three wickets within the first half-hour of play, even though Gareth Breese and Ryan Cunningham looked fairly comfortable at the crease. Breese made 12 off 61 balls before being castled by a King special. Cunningham remained unbeaten on 26 off 48 balls, unable to elicit any support from the Jamaican tail.Bowled out for 277, Jamaica faced further obstacles as the Guyanese openers put on 66 for the first wicket. But Chattergoon was dropped twice – on one by wicket-keeper Keith Hibbert, and on six by skipper Robert Samuels at first slip.Azeemul Haniff was the one to depart first, caught at mid-on in trying to hit off-spinner Breese over the top. Chattergoon himself survived two more chances in the 40s, the second coming just after Lennox Cush was caught at silly mid-off by Leon Garrick.In the post-tea session, Jamaica’s spinners restricted the flow of runs, testing the patience of Chattergoon and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The latter made 10 off 42 balls before he was trapped in front by Breese, not offering a shot to the ball.Barely four overs before stumps, Chattergoon desisted from playing a shot to a ball from Cunningham that spun viciously and knocked back his off-stump. Chattergoon made 66 off 254 balls, hitting five fours in his innings.Ramnaresh Sarwan (24*) and night-watchman Azib Ally-Haniff (4*) saw Guyana through to the close of play without any further mishap. The visitors were on 149 for four, the runs coming off 77 overs. For Jamaica, Breese and Cunningham picked up two wickets each.

A reliable journalist has dropped a fresh claim as Tottenham Hotspur continue to search for their next manager this week…

What’s the word?

According to football.london’s Alasdair Gold, current Belgium boss Roberto Martinez is not thought to be in the running for the vacant Spurs job despite emerging reports.

Writing to supporters on Twitter, he revealed:

“As plenty of people are asking about Roberto Martinez, as I’ve said before he is someone Spurs like but he’s not believed to be a contender right now for the current vacant managerial post.”

Sky Sports (via The Sun) had claimed that the 47-year-old was in talks with the North London outfit over potentially taking charge after this summer’s European Championships, whilst the former Everton and Wigan man has been linked previously as one of four likely appointments, as per The Athletic.

Great news

This exciting development should come as fantastic news for much of the Lilywhites faithful as Martinez is just not the man for Spurs.

In recent weeks, the fans have been seen protesting against chairman Daniel Levy and their ownership group ENIC following failed proposals to form a breakaway European Super League but truth be told, that was merely the catalyst to make their point heard as they are also disappointed with years of underachievement and failure.

Indeed, Spurs lost yet another final this season, being defeated by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup at Wembley. It means their 13-year wait for silverware rumbles on.

It also means that Levy must get his next appointment spot on, not just to appease the fanbase but to get Spurs back on the right track, and Martinez would only deal them another blow.

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He may be in charge of the world’s best-ranked national side right now but he’s rarely with them, meeting up just a few times a year, so he cannot take much credit for the individual development of those players in recent times, whilst Belgium still haven’t been able to harness all that talent into winning a tournament.

The former Toffees disaster also has an appalling record in the Premier League, where he has won just 30.5% of matches across seven seasons. By comparison, Jose Mourinho was sacked in mid-April with a win rate of 52%.

Everton certainly seemed to regress under the Spaniard, with Jonathan Wilson claiming in Eurosport that it was down to “systemic” problems that he couldn’t fix.

Furthermore, in The Athletic’s report on Martinez, they claim that whilst he would be the ‘safer bet’ from the four options, he is one that is ‘not a universally popular candidate with the fans,’ so this news should certainly come as a major source of encouragement.

In response to Gold’s claims, you get the feeling that this is certainly the case, too.

One member of the Spurs faithful joked that he would call his firstborn ‘Alasdair’ whilst another described it as “beautiful,” with a further supporter deeming the reporter “the people’s champion.”

As evident above, many in North London will surely be absolutely buzzing by this latest update and they should be excited if Spurs’ list boils down to the other candidates, on which Ajax’s Erik Ten Hag and Brighton’s Graham Potter likely feature.

AND in other news, Levy can boost his chances of keeping Harry Kane by hiring 49 y/o who’s the “ideal candidate”…