Shane Warne lost the plot while trying to break the world record at Bangalore and will “jump off the nearest bridge” if he falls short in the second Test.After three weeks of claiming he was not overly bothered by being on the verge of history, Warne has finally admitted that the milestone was messing with his mind. He needs only two wickets in the match starting tomorrow at Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium to overtake Muttiah Muralitharan’s tally of 532.Warne seemed certain to take the record on the final day of the first Test but, with four wickets up for grabs, lost his concentration after eight unsuccessful overs and was smashed by India’s tail. “Human nature takes over,” Warne, who bowled 60 overs at Bangalore, said. “You tell yourself you’ll be relaxed and patient, and I was for 55 overs. But as soon as the game was there to be won – we all knew we’d win on the last day – my own expectation and everybody else’s, the team’s, the spectators’, was that I’d get the last two wickets and get the record.”Warne will push for the mark at a ground where he had a “terrible game” and finished with the self-estimated figures of “0 for 2000” in 2001. He claimed 2 for 181 in India’s two-wicket victory that sealed the series. “You try and tell yourself there’s no pressure,” he said. “You just go out and play but the other day, I just thought, ‘There are four tail-end wickets to get, I only need two of them’. I just thought I’d toil away and toil away but after about eight overs for about 10 runs, nothing really was happening.”It’s a team game but when you get an individual record like that it’s a pretty major one so hopefully I can get it this game. Otherwise I’d be pretty frustrated by the end of the five days. I’ll be jumping off the nearest bridge.”Warne, 35, repeated his belief that Muralitharan, 32, was going to end up with close to 1000 Test wickets. “If I only hold the record for a week, at least I’ve got the opportunity to say I was the world-record holder,” Warne said. “If I get the record and play a part in winning the series, that’d be great. If I only hold it for a couple of months, so be it.”Asked how long he would keep playing, Warne replied: “If I hadn’t had that suspension I’d probably be finishing pretty soon. But having that year off and doing all my fitness stuff, and realising how much I missed the game, I’d like to think I’ve got a couple of years left.”
Hampshire Cricket will leave their final selection for the opening Frizzell Championship Division Two match until the morning of the game, starting on Friday (16th April) against Durham.The have chosen a squad of 13 players, as manager Paul Terry and new captain Shane Warne will decide the final eleven after inspecting the pitch.Michael Brown, Hampshire’s new opening batsman from Middlesex, Michael Clarke the exiting young Australian and Billy Taylor who returned to Hampshire from Sussex are all hoping to make their first-class debut for Hampshire.The Hampshire 13 are: Michael Brown, Derek Kenway, John Crawley, Michael Clarke, Will Kendall, Nic Pothas )wicket-keeper), Dimitri Mascarenhas, Shane Warne (captain), Shaun Udal, Chris Tremlett, James Tomlinson, Billy Taylor and Alan Mullally.
The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has congratulated Greg Blewett who today plays his 200th first-class game.In his 12-year first-class career, Blewett, 32, has amassed more than 15,000 first-class runs at an average of 46.55.Included in his 200 games are 46 Test matches and he is a current Australia A representative.Blewett is the leading run-scorer for both the Pura Cup and ING Cup for 2002/03, with 751 at 50.06 in the four-day game and reaching 486 runs at 54.00 in the limited-overs competition.The SACA’s chief executive, Mike Deare, said it is an enormous achievement for one of South Australia’s finest batsmen.”Greg is an immensely talented cricketer, with natural abilities, who on and off the ground displays enthusiasm and passion for the game.””Greg is without a doubt one of the finest batsmen South Australia has seen and we congratulate him on this outstanding achievement. And, I am sure there will be many more cricketing successes and achievements ahead for him,” said Mr Deare.
Champions Surrey gradually tightened the screw on Division One leaders Yorkshire at Headingley after bowling them out for 206 to establish a valuable first innings lead of 72.They then batted with great care in their second innings to close the second day on 171 for four to leave them a healthy 243 runs in front.The seam of Martin Bicknell and Ed Giddins and the spin of Saqlain Mushtaq caused Yorkshire all sorts of problems after they had begun the day on 61 for two and only Darren Lehmann batted with any great confidence.The Australian held the innings together while making a solid 52 off 91 balls with six fours but he was then bowled attempting to hit Saqlain over the top of mid-on.Gary Fellows and Gavin Hamilton fell to Giddins and Bicknell respectively after getting into the 20s and it was left to the last wicket pair of Ryan Sidebottom and Steven Kirby to see Yorkshire to their solitary batting bonus point.In overcast and humid conditions, Jon Batty and Michael Carberry gave Surrey a careful start before Batty was trapped lbw by Sidebottom at 25 but Carberry and Nadeem Shahid continued to put Surrey in charge with a second wicket stand of 65.Off-spinner Richard Dawson then enjoyed the best spell of his career as he had Shahid well caught at short mid-on by Lehmann for 33 and in his next over he flung himself to his left to take a return catch from skipper Adam Hollioake before he had scored.Carberry went on holding up Yorkshire until he was pinned back on his stumps and dismissed lbw by Dawson but Alistair Brown and Ben Hollioake kept each other company until the close, defying deteriorating light to put on 42.Brown ended on 42 and Ben Hollioake 23 while Dawson took three for 56 in 20 overs broken only by the tea interval.
Wolves face an unprecedented crisis as they prepare for the January transfer window from rock bottom of the Premier League table.
Rob Edwards’ side have collected just two points from 18 matches, still yet to pick up their first win of the campaign, whilst enduring 16 defeats.
The Midlands club also trail 19th-placed Burnley by nine points with the gap to safety appearing increasingly insurmountable.
The statistics make grim reading for supporters who have watched their team slip towards what increasingly looks like inevitable relegation.
Supercomputer predictions are suggesting they could finish the campaign with just 19 points. This would leave them perilously close to Derby County’s record low total of 11 points from the 2007/08 season, making them one of the worst teams in Premier League history.
Wolves forced to accept possible cut-price takeover bid after 'surprise' offer rejected
Fosun are attracting major criticism.
ByEmilio Galantini
Edwards inherited this mess following Vitor Pereira’s sacking in early November, with the Portuguese winning just 36.84 percent of his matches during his brief tenure and leaving Wolves anchored to the bottom.
Edwards arrived from Middlesbrough with a reputation for organization and defensive solidity, but he has been unable to halt the alarming slide towards the Championship.
The January window represents a crucial opportunity for Wolves to reshape their squad.
Sky Sports report that the club want to strengthen six different positions, including between the sticks, at right wing-back, central midfield, out wide, in the number ten role and sign a new striker.
The extent of required surgery reflects poorly on the summer recruitment that preceded this disastrous campaign, with several expensive signings failing to justify Wolves’ £100m-plus spend in the last window.
Wolves must also contend with the threat of losing key players during January.
Jorgen Strand Larsen continues to attract interest from the likes of West Ham, and the Norwegian striker represents one of the few sellable assets in Edwards’ squad.
His departure would leave the Wolves boss desperately short of attacking options unless suitable replacements arrive quickly.
The club’s transfer strategy faces a fundamental dilemma. Do they recruit players capable of mounting an unlikely survival bid? Or should they focus on building a squad ready to compete for immediate promotion from the Championship?
Wolves eyeing January move for Nashville star Sam Surridge
Reports now indicate Wolves are considering a move for a striker who finished second only to Lionel Messi in the race for the MLS Golden Boot this year.
Nashville forward Sam Surridge has emerged as a potential January target, according to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook.
The 27-year-old would satisfy the homegrown quota that currently limits Wolves’ transfer flexibility, with Nottingham Forest’s ex-number nine enjoying a stellar 2025 across the Atlantic.
Subscribe for deeper Wolves transfer-window insight Join the newsletter to get clear, actionable analysis of Wolves’ January transfer choices — from potential Sam Surridge moves to whether the club should chase survival or rebuild. Subscribe for focused coverage that helps you follow the club’s transfer strategy. Subscribe for deeper Wolves transfer-window insight Join the newsletter to get clear, actionable analysis of Wolves’ January transfer choices — from potential Sam Surridge moves to whether the club should chase survival or rebuild. Subscribe for focused coverage that helps you follow the club’s transfer strategy.
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He scored 31 goals across all competitions, and only Messi managed to net more in the MLS throughout this calendar year.
The forward has scored 51 goals in 87 appearances for Nashville since moving to America, with his prolific form representing exactly the type of attacking threat Wolves desperately lack.
The potential fee and structure of any deal remain unclear at this stage, and Surridge would need convincing about joining a club seemingly destined for relegation.
However, Wolves could offer guaranteed starting opportunities and the platform to showcase his abilities back in English football.
If the club drops into the Championship, having a proven goalscorer leading the line could prove invaluable during a promotion campaign.
Wolves now enter race to sign "superb" defender who could join on free transfer
The Old Gold need some inspiration from somewhere if they are to avoid the drop…
Jesse Ryder’s manager believes the batsman is a genuine chance to receive a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) contract and a place in the ODI squad to tour England despite his off-field problems earlier this year. The selectors are meeting in Christchurch this week to decide on the touring parties as well as the group of contracted players for next season.Missing from last year’s list will be Stephen Fleming, Craig McMillan, Shane Bond and Lou Vincent. Based purely on form, Ryder would appear likely to make the cut as he made his ODI debut in the home series against England and averaged 49 from five games.However, it is unclear whether the incident where Ryder punched a window in a local bar, leaving him with a severely injured hand, will be held against him. Ryder’s manager Aaron Klee said the batsman had used his enforced time away from cricket to lose five kilograms in a bid to show the selectors he was improving his attitude.”NZC have to weigh everything up – fitness, behaviour and injury rehab – and I’m sure they’ll weigh risks up along with the opportunity,” Klee told the . “He’s in with a shot. I think they are pretty pleased with Jesse but they’ve given me no indication whether he’s in line for a contract or might get picked for the one-day team.”Klee was confident Ryder would be fit for the one-day portion of the England tour if selected, although his hand will not have recovered in time for the Tests. However, he said while Ryder’s behaviour was improving giving up alcohol was not part of the equation at the moment.”He is 23. You are not going to change Jesse 100%, but if he can learn to make some smarter decision he will get over the line,” Klee said. “Going to a 23-year-old and saying you can’t drink any more is a big call.”He is still wearing a protective splint but he’s pretty much got complete movement back in his thumb and his index finger has three-quarter movement in it, so the medical specialists are pretty happy with it. We think he will be ready for the one-dayers if they want him, then we just need to find a club or a county second XI that he can get some cricket with beforehand.”New Zealand’s general manager Lindsay Crocker said the team management had not yet made a decision on Ryder’s immediate future. “We’ve got a very open mind on the subject, so yes, it will be a point of discussion for the selectors,” Crocker said. If Ryder does receive a contract from NZC he will be on a minimum of NZ$74,000 a year, with the top-ranked player to be paid $174,000.The contract list will be decided before the England trip although the new deals will not officially start until June 1. “Generally speaking, all the players on the tour of England will have got contracts,” Crocker said. “But often their relative rankings are a topic of much discussion among the players so we want to get them out of the way a bit earlier.”
Trevor Penney, Sri Lanka’s stand-in coach, believes his side are as tough as Australia, and can compete with them in all aspects of the game.Speaking ahead of the three-Test series against Bangladesh, Penney said: “[Adam] Gilchrist was the difference at the World Cup. Otherwise, I think we are pretty much level with Australia with our fielding, our bowling and our batting. We’ve got some great talent.”The Australians are brought up tough. They are a tough team. The thing is that we are tough now. That’s the line we’ve got to keep working on, practising hard and playing tough as we proved in England last year, in New Zealand and in the World Cup.”Penney says Sri Lanka’s improvement over the past two years has been noted by Sandy Gordon, the sports psychologist who has often been consulted since June 2005. Gordon was called in for the forthcoming series, too.”He was very pleased with the guys, the way they have matured mentally,” said Penney. “I think that’s important. We’ve had him about six times. He was complimentary about everybody. He thinks there is a massive lift in the mental side of the game.”Penney then talked about the passion he himself brought to the practices. “When you play all the time you need someone to lift you up a lot. When I am training them or practising with them I am keener than they are so I am passionate about every single thing. Fielding certainly comes out the way, the way they are fielding these days.”This is his first full series as coach of a national team, after taking over from Tom Moody who has gone to coach Western Australia. Penney, though, has had experience working under Moody for Sri Lanka.”Tom allowed me a free rein to do a lot of the coaching because often he will be either talking to reporters, attending selection meetings… We both understood each other really well.”Penney believes that trust is a big part of Moody’s legacy. “The players knew they could trust Tom wholly. He would never lie to them. He was always straight up front yet he did it in a pleasant way. He tells you straight, but in the next breath he will be helping you as well. I’ve learnt a lot from him.”Some people want to stay on the fence. They don’t want to say something to a guy even if he is a senior player. It’s been important for us because we had a lot of senior players who had to be dealt with around the bush. Tom just went in straight and levelled the playing field so that all players are actually equal in our team now.”What’s nice about this team is that they stepped up a standard now and they all expect it from each other.”Penney said playing away from home had improved the team’s mental toughness.”It has been a big plus point for Sri Lanka. They are ready to take up the challenge.Mahela [Jayawardene] as captain has been wonderful. He is so strong and he’s got the team right where he wants them.”
Kevin Curran was delighted with Zimbabwe’s performance as they thrashed Canada by 143 runs in the opening match of the Tri-Nation ODI series in Trinidad.”It was obviously important for us to win this game,” said Curran, Zimbabwe’s coach. “Having come from the West Indies tour where we were the underdogs, today we went in as a Test nation against an Associate Member.”We batted well until the last 12 overs where I thought we should have added another 30 or 40 runs. Yes, 220 was a winning score but if we had a perfect batting display we should have made 250.” Curran singled out Man-of-the-Match Piet Rinke for praise, saying he “played very well after a poor tour following good outings in the warm-up matches and the home series against Kenya before that.”We were outstanding in fielding and it was due reward for all the hard workwe have put into it that the first two wickets fell to run-outs. Tawanda Mupariwa and Blessing Mahwire bowled a good length and stuck to their plan. In fact, everyone pretty much stuck to the game plan. Today we got it together in all three departments and played very well.”But Curran was not impressed with the Queen’s Park Oval pitch, which he said was not suitable for a one-day international. “It’s got too much turn and if you get good spinners it could be tricky. On Saturday we will play on the same wicket, and if we face Canada again they have a couple of reasonable left-arm spinners.”
What was turning out to be an exciting series between Sri Lanka A and West Indies A has now been reduced to a damp squib, with the departure of eight players from the West Indies A side to join the ranks of the senior team.The three-match unofficial series was nicely poised at one-all, with everything to play for in the third and final match at the Saravanamuttu Stadium. But the match loses much of its edge and competitiveness with both teams having made dramatic changes. Sri Lanka A have strengthened their side by including two Test players, in Tillakaratne Dilshan and Farveez Maharoof, whereas West Indies A have called upon replacements who are inexperienced and will struggle to compete at this level.Ranaga Herath, the left-arm spinner, has been forced to withdraw due to a strained leg and has been replaced by the offspinner Suraj Mohamed. From the 14 named for the Test, batsmen Michael Vandort, Malintha Gajanayake and Gayan Wijekoon, the allrounder, will be the ones most likely to miss out, making way for Dilshan, Maharoof and Mohamed.Ian Daniel, the opening batsman, and fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige will get their first game of the series. Mohamed will play the support role to Sajeewa Weerakoon, the left-arm spinner who, with eighteen wickets in the first two A games, has been Sri Lanka’s outstanding bowler so far.Russel Arnold, the Sri Lankan captain – who has won a recall to the senior squad against West Indies – said that his team would play their normal game and not start thinking about the opposition. “It is not our problem what team they put out for the match. We will play to our potential and try to win.”He said that apart from a few players whom Maharoof had some knowledge of, he was in the dark about the rest of the newcomers. “Not knowing their capabilities makes it more difficult for the opposition to size up the opponents,” he said.The sides face each other again in five one-day matches, the first of which starts on July 13.
Hashan Tillakaratne tendered his resignation as Sri Lanka’s Test captain after they were whitewashed at home for the first time in their history byAustralia on Sunday. Tillakaratne’s 10-match tenure produced only one win and four defeats, and he had been widely expected to stand down.”I am stepping down as captain because it is high time that someone should take over and I can concentrate on my batting,” Tillakaratne, 36, told reporters. “I have spoken to the selectors about how I feel about it and they have accepted my resignation. We lost the series and if someone is going to take over then this is the time to do it with so many tours coming up.”Talking about the Colombo game, which Australia won with just eight balls to spare, Tillakaratne lamented: “I thought we pushed them to the wall, but they fought back and they played very good cricket. We learnt a few lessons down the line. I thought we could have won the series, but that is how the game goes. We need to show a bit of character when the going gets tough, but we were so soft – and I am sure that we could have saved this match. You should be able to play according to the situation but we threw our wickets away at crucial stages.”He admitted: “Fielding is a big concern, and there were some soft dismissals in the first innings.”Marvan Atapattu, the current one-day captain, is expected to take over fromTillakaratne for Sri Lanka’s two-Test tour of Zimbabwe in April and May.Other contenders for the job include Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Chaminda Vaas.