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Just one defeat away from a whitewash, the hosts are in dire need of a psychological boost ahead of the Tests

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya02-Jun-2010Match FactsThursday, June 3, 2010
Start time 09.30 local, 13.30 GMTThe Big PictureGraeme Smith has failed to convert starts in his last 11 internationals•AFPWest Indies are struggling, and their problems are not confined to performance. Their board CEO, Ernest Hilaire, delivered a scathing indictment of the state of affairs in West Indies cricket, telling fans they were in store for more “embarrassment” from their players in the years to come. Not just for the lack of quality, but an attitude that, he felt, favoured fame and wealth over excellence. Then came the incident involving Sulieman Benn, who was sent off the field by his captain Chris Gayle for disobeying instructions. All this during another disappointing series, which has helped South Africa recover from their Super Eights exit and continued West Indies’ frustrating run in front of their home crowds. Just one defeat away from a whitewash, the hosts are in dire need of a psychological boost ahead of the Tests.For South Africa, a win tomorrow will mark a continuation of the three-year dominance they’ve enjoyed over their opponents.Form guide (most recent first)West Indies: LLLLW
South Africa: WWWWWWatch out for…Graeme Smith: While several of his team-mates have cashed in on the tour, the South African captain has failed to convert starts. His scores in the four ODIs read 18, 37, 29 and 23, and thrice has he been dismissed by Dwayne Bravo. In his last 11 international innings, he has reached double-figures each time but his highest score remains 37. With three Tests to follow, he needs to get some confidence going.Chris Gayle: The captains share a similar predicament when it comes to individual form, but there has been little support from the rest for West Indies. Following his team’s failures with the bat in the first three games, Gayle had called on his batsmen to shoulder more responsibility. His own scores this series read 45, 26, 16 and 29 and with a significant burden to bear at the top in the Tests, he needs to hit form.Team newsWest Indies’ bowling lacked depth in the fourth ODI and they need Jerome Taylor, who was out of that game due to a niggle, back. David Bernard could be asked to sit out in the event of Taylor’s return.West Indies (possible): 1 Dale Richards, 2 Chris Gayle (capt), 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Darren Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Jerome Taylor/David Bernard, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Ravi Rampaul.South Africa didn’t need their best available line-up to beat West Indies in the previous game. But they will be eager to make a clean sweep of the series, and might be tempted to bring back Dale Steyn.South Africa (possible): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 JP Duminy/Alviro Peterson, 6 David Miller, 7 Johan Botha, 8 Ryan McLaren, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Charl Langeveldt/Dale Steyn, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.ConditionsThere are scattered thunderstorms forecast in Port of Spain tomorrow, increasing the possibility of a truncated fixture.Stats and trivia South Africa have swept the series 5-0 twice against West Indies, in 2005 and 2008. If they win tomorrow, it will be their second 5-0 victory in an ODI series in the West Indies. The Queen’s Park Oval at Port of Spain will be hosting its first ODI in more than two years. Teams have opted to field in the last six games here, winning three and losing as many.Quotes”For us, the players that comprise the limited-overs squad, it would restore a lot of confidence in us, after we performed so poorly in the T20 World Cup.”
“(Losing is) tough. Because in those four defeats, and if you take the two Twenty20s into consideration, five of those games we had a realistic chance of winning. Hopefully, we can put ourselves in a winning position again on Thursday.”
Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach.

Leeds United have been handed a triple injury boost ahead of their trip to the capital this afternoon…

What’s the latest?

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered an update on the injury crisis at Thorp Arch as the Yorkshiremen head back to the London Stadium to face West Ham United for the second successive weekend, this time in the Premier League.

Indeed, Marcelo Bielsa’s side were knocked out of the FA Cup last Sunday by the Irons but this time around, the Argentine will have a few more players available for selection.

“Team news for West Ham on Sunday – [Patrick] Bamford, Rodrigo and [Pascal] Struijk could all be involved, which is clearly a big and overdue boost,” the ever-reliable reporter tweeted ahead of kick-off.

Huge boost

This will come as a major boost to Leeds.

Bielsa has suffered from persistent and ever-mounting injuries throughout the 2021/22 campaign, so much so that the west Yorkshire giants find themselves at the wrong end of the table.

Right now, they are just six points clear of the relegation zone but some of the teams below them hold games in hand due to recent postponements, so things could quickly change – and that’s out of United’s control.

During last weekend’s defeat, the Argentinian started three academy prospects, whilst there were only three first-team players on the bench. Just last month, he was missing 11 players for the loss to Arsenal.

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Leeds have sorely missed the absence of Bamford, who has played only 22 minutes since mid-September.

Without him, Bielsa has had to deploy a whole host of names upfront, usually the likes of Jack Harrison or Daniel James, who are wingers by trade and do not possess the same goalscoring threat and attacking prowess in the penalty box

Struijk offers the side immense versatility in being able to play anywhere along the backline and in midfield, so his involvement bolsters Bielsa’s tactical options tenfold.

Whilst Rodrigo has been one of the side’s biggest creative influences, having averaged 1.6 key passes per game – a feat only bettered by Raphinha (1.8), as per WhoScored.

On the above evidence, fans around Elland Road and across the country should be absolutely delighted – and perhaps a little relieved – heading into today’s Premier League encounter.

Bielsa has been handed a big triple injury boost and that only bolsters their chances of getting revenge down in east London this afternoon.

AND in other news, Bielsa must ruthlessly axe “headless” £16.2m-rated Leeds dud today, he’s been shocking…

It was a familiar refrain from West Indies captain Chris Gayle, as he put the blame squarely on his team’s batsmen after losing the first Test to South Africa by 163 runs at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain

Cricinfo staff14-Jun-2010It was a familiar refrain from West Indies captain Chris Gayle, as he put the blame squarely on his team’s batsmen after losing the first Test to South Africa by 163 runs at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. “It is the batting to be honest with you,” Gayle told the . “We batted poorly in the first innings and that actually cost us the game very quickly.”Despite losing in three and half days, Gayle defended the make-up of the squad. “It is definitely the right selection. We have two guys out [Adrian] Barath and [Ramnaresh] Sarwan, and [Travis] Dowlin did well for us in the last series against Australia, and Brendan Nash was outstanding for us in the Test series as well.”We are in the rebuilding process and we asked a couple of batsmen to bat at positions they are not accustomed to, but it is something in cricket and, as batsmen, whenever you get a chance, you have to make the best use of it. But we are not going to use it as an excuse … we have to try and make the necessary adjustments for the next Test match.”There were a couple of bright spots for West Indies in the performances of Sulieman Benn and debutant Shane Shillingford. Benn, who was ordered to leave the field by Gayle in the one-day series for refusing to bowl over the wicket, picked up eight wickets and made his highest Test score – 42 – in the second innings, while Shillingford snapped up four wickets. “It was a good effort from the spinners and we always knew it was a spinning track,” Gayle said.Gayle expected the same squad to travel to St. Kitts and said West Indies could give South Africa more of a contest as long as the batting clicked. “This was the first Test and you want to give everyone a good chance, but I think it will be the same squad. I don’t know what condition Barath is in and we don’t know what cricket he has played.”Hopefully we can pick it up in the next Test match and put our best foot forward. If we can get the runs on the board … any first innings total over 350 is good, and it will actually put us in a position to challenge for the win.”Gayle also credited South Africa for playing good cricket. “There is no doubt about it, South Africa are a more experienced team … give credit to those guys, they kept running in hard,” he said.Meanwhile Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, was all praise for his bowlers. “Our bowlers were running on fumes there at the end, and it was not made any easier for us with them struggling with the run-ups from one end and a soft landing. It was another hot day, and we have had to work a little bit harder.”The pitch was not conducive to really exciting Test match cricket. It was about a long, hard graft, and we did that well, and we have won in three and a half days, so I am happy.”

West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice is attracting increasing interest in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Sun, who claim that Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have been handed a boost in their £100m pursuit of the 22-year-old as a result of West Ham’s poor form in December.

The report goes on to state that all three clubs, particularly Manchester United, had genuine concerns that David Moyes’ side could ruin their chances of securing a deal for the defensive midfielder by qualifying for a Champions League spot this season.

However, it is now said that, despite West Ham’s recent back-to-back wins over Watford and Crystal Palace, the Irons’ poor Christmas form has badly damaged the club’s chances of finishing in the top four come next May, something that would make Rice’s exit extremely likely.

Finally, it is revealed that United have already started putting in the groundwork regarding a move for the England international this summer, with a big bid expected to be launched by Ralf Rangnick’s side at the end of the current campaign.

Fans will be outraged

Considering just how important a part of the West Ham side Rice has become in recent seasons, the idea of the midfielder’s departure at the end of the current campaign is undoubtedly one that will leave the London Stadium faithful outraged.

Indeed, over his 19 Premier League appearances this term, the £67.5m-rated man has highly impressed for the Hammers, scoring one goal, registering four assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.7 shots and making 0.8 key passes per game.

The £62k-per-week defensive midfielder has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.8 interceptions, 2.3 tackles, 50.3 passes and winning 57% of his duels per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who Teddy Sheringham claimed is “invaluable” for West Ham average a rather astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.26, not only ranking him as David Moyes’ best performer in the top flight, but also as the joint 19th-best player in the entirety of the division.

However, while The Sun are quite clearly of the belief that West Ham are out of the top four race following their poor run of results in December, we are not so sure that the club’s chances of securing Champions League football next season are over just yet – as the East London side are currently just one point behind Arsenal in fourth place, in addition to very much being in with a chance of winning this season’s Europa League.

In other news: 12 defensive actions: £62k-p/w monster who made 41 passes ran the show for West Ham

Patrick Bamford missed Leeds United’s FA Cup defeat to West Ham with a fresh hip problem, according to reliable journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Leeds dumped out of FA Cup

The Whites were beaten 2-0 away to the Hammers on Sunday afternoon, exiting the cup at the third round stage.

A weakened Leeds team never really got going at the London Stadium and their focus turns solely to Premier League commitments between now and May.

Bamford was one of numerous key players not present in east London, but it turns out that he was due to feature until a late setback emerged.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Fresh Bamford injury

Taking to Twitter after the game, Hay confirmed that the striker was in line to face West Ham after another injury absence, only to be ruled out with a hip problem. The severity of the injury remains unknown, so Bamford could be set for yet more time on the sidelines.

The journalist revealed: “Bamford was due to start today but had a problem around his hip. Bielsa still waiting to find out the full extent of it.”

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The Verdict: Potential big blow

Bamford has been an enormous loss for Leeds for much of this season, with the entire attack blunted without him leading the line and proving to be a reliable source of goals and assists, like he was last term.

The 28-year-old has been limited to just five starts in the current Premier League campaign and Marcelo Bielsa desperately needs him back as his side look to pull clear of the relegation zone.

Aside from Raphinha, the Whites have been rather short on reliable scorers this season, so if Bamford’s latest injury is a long-term one, Leeds must look to bring in a striker in the January transfer window. Otherwise, they risk getting themselves into real trouble in the league.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly eyeing up a move for a young British player. Find out who it is here.

The ICL has accepted the resignation of Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq, paving the way for their return to official cricket

Cricinfo staff29-May-2009The ICL has accepted the resignations of Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq, paving the way for their return to official cricket, possibly as early as Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka which starts in late June.While some national boards have set a ‘cooling period’ before players associated with the ICL are considered for selection, the PCB is accepting both players into official cricket immediately. “They are available for selection now and that is a good thing,” Wasim Bari, director HR of the PCB, who has been handling the ICL cases, told Cricinfo. “Cooling period doesn’t come into it.”Yousuf had signed up with the ICL in 2007 but was lured out of the contract by the PCB administration of the day. However, legal wrangles denied him an IPL contract in 2008 and he rejoined the ICL in November. That virtually ended his career with Pakistan, but the latest development could see him back in national colours in little more than a month’s time.His team-mate Razzaq hasn’t played for Pakistan in more than two years, and had even announced his international retirement in August 2007 after being excluded from the national side for the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa. He had signed up with the ICL then, but earlier this month he said he was ready to pledge his future to Pakistan.

Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, has said his team’s victory in the Chappell-Hadlee trophy, was a fitting response to the 3-0 defeat inflicted by New Zealand two years ago

Cricinfo staff11-Mar-2010Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, has said his team’s victory in the Chappell-Hadlee trophy, was a fitting response to the 3-0 defeat inflicted by New Zealand two years ago. The hosts, then, had won the first game comfortably by ten wickets before going on to chase 300-plus targets in the next two.”It doesn’t matter how many series you play but you always remember the last series you played, especially if it’s a losing one,” Ponting, who didn’t play in that series, said. “That was just before the World Cup, and we were throroughly outplayed in that series and it led to people to write us off. We regrouped pretty well over there and obviously played well, and we’ve regrouped very well since we’ve been here.”Australia scaled down their revised target of 200 in 34 overs with almost three overs to spare, but the bulk of the hard work had been done by their bowlers, who hit back to bowl the hosts out for 238 after their openers had delivered a fiery start. Ponting, acknowledging the importance of change bowlers, lauded the performance of James Hopes and Nathan Hauritz, who shared five wickets to cripple the middle order and help consign New Zealand to a below-par score.”I think that’s pretty important out here,” Ponting said. “On this sort of ground, the new ball flies off the wicket and off the bat at a pretty good pace. And that’s what they [the New Zealand openers] did particularly well today, using the pace of our new ball bowlers really well, hit the boundaries and got the momentum going their way.”Then when Hauritz and Hopes came into the game, it was a lot harder to score. It was harder to hit those boundaries, we restricted them, took those boundaries away and created chances which we took. We got on a bit of a roll then, the momentum was in our favour.”Australia won their third consecutive game of the series to clinch the trophy, and Ponting, who led his team to its eighth successive ODI series win, said the turnaround, after the defeat in the first game, was a result of attacking cricket. The hosts have been bowled out in each of the last three games.”New Zealand got off to good starts in every game, it’s sometimes hard to reverse momentum in one-day games but we’ve been able to do that really well,” he said. “They got off to a fine start, we weren’t very good with the ball early on, so we just kept attacking and set attacking fields. We told the bowlers to keep hitting the areas and if they continued to play the big shots, we’ll take our chances and that’s how it worked out.”If you hit your spot and you challenge the batsmen to play big shots, or take risks to hit boundaries, then you have half a chance. The brand new ball didn’t do that today, we gave them too many soft balls to hit to the boundary and once we tightened things up a bit and challenged them, that’s when we were in the game a bit more.”Our fielding, too, has improved throughout the series and once you’ve put them under the kind of pressure that we did today, it becomes really hard to get back into the game. Our wicket-taking ability in the middle has been the difference in the game.”The Duckworth-Lewis system came into play again, and this time it was Australia who were left chasing a stiff target despite dominating with the ball. Ponting admitted the revised score had given New Zealand an opportunity to fight back, though his batsmen secured the target comfortably. “It was a bit stiff, I actually thought it might have been wrong,” Ponting said.”I thought that was about 30 runs too many. It just goes to show that none of those equations are going to be perfect. We probably needed to be rewarded more for having bowled them out in 44 overs. But when you’re chasing 200 in 34 overs on a ground like that – 200 in a T20 game is only a good score out here – we knew that if we didn’t buy ourselves out of the water early and lose too many wickets early, we should be able to manage the chase.”[Cameron] White played a very sensible and mature innings, and it was a good run-chase in the end.”Ponting hinted at changes for the final ODI in Wellington, and added the presence of experienced players in his side made his job easier despite the absence of Michael Clarke, who had to return to Australia for personal reasons. “It does present an opportunity to include some new names,” Ponting said. “A couple of guys are a little sore after the game tonight. We’ll see how they pull up in the morning. We’ll look at giving McKay a go. We need to look ahead at the Test matches.”I’m lucky to have people like Hussey and White, who have good cricket brains. . Although you’ve lost your vice-captain, there are plenty of experienced guys around. Little things like, I’d like to think, bring good teams closer.”

Leeds United have been handed a huge boost in their bid to keep Raphinha at Elland Road beyond the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Paul Gorst’s recent report for the Liverpool Echo, with the journalist stating that – despite Liverpool being believed to have scouted the winger on a number of occasions this season, as well as being heavily linked with a swoop for the former Rennes wizard – Jurgen Klopp’s side look unlikely to make a move for the 24-year-old in the winter market.

In his report, Gorst writes: “Leeds United’s Raphinha is another who club scouts are believed to be running the rule over, but a January move will almost certainly not be forthcoming.”

Bielsa will be buzzing

Considering just how important Raphinha has become to Leeds since his £17m move to Elland Road last summer, the news that Liverpool are not planning to launch an offensive for the Brazil international in January is sure to have left Bielsa buzzing.

Indeed, over his 30 Premier League appearances last term, the £34m-rated forward highly impressed for the Whites, bagging six goals, providing nine assists and creating 12 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 2.2 shots and making 2.1 key passes per game.

These returns saw the player who Illan Meslier dubbed “unbelievable” and a “storm” earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.14, ranking him as Bielsa’s third-best performer in the league as the Brazilian played a crucial role in his team securing a remarkable ninth-placed finish on their return to the top flight.

With Leeds having struggled so far in the current campaign, Raphinha’s performances have been even more important for his manager, with the £58k-per-week winger scoring seven goals, registering one assist and creating four big chances over his 14 league outings – returns which have seen him average a SofaScore match rating of 7.16.

As such, the news that the Reds do not look as if they will make a move for the 24-year-old this winter will undoubtedly come as a major boost to Bielsa and his side, as retaining the services of the Brazil forward would very much appear to reduce the Whites’ chances of being pulled into a relegation scrap come the end of the season.

In other news: Leeds eyeing 20 y/o beast with “a little Luis Suarez about him”, fans will be excited

Many Wolves fans have been slamming the performance of Adama Traore in their 0-0 draw at home to Burnley in the Premier League tonight.

It was a frustrating night for the Spaniard, who showed moments of brilliance at times when dribbling through the Clarets’ defence, but his end product often let him down.

Traore failed to score with all four of his goal attempts, while he was also inaccurate with five of his crosses, and lost the ball on no fewer than 17 occasions in total (SofaScore).

The winger also lost out on six of his duels and misplaced six of his passes (SofaScore) as the Molineux faithful grew more tiresome with him as the game went on.

He could not make the difference in the final third of the pitch as Bruno Lage’s team had to settle for just a point in the end.

Wolves fans slam Traore

These Wolves supporters slammed his performance on Twitter, with one fan going as far as to claim that Traore was a ‘liability’ tonight:

“Traore is the most frustrating player in world football”

Credit: @Scouse_Wolf

“Traore is a liability.”

Credit: @SwanWolf10

“Time to sell Traore. Useless!”

Credit: @jayaldridge50

“Yeah what was Adama Traore doing, that was embarrassing”

Credit: @Wolvesf42654430

“I just don’t see what Traore brings to this club. Selfish, arrogant and clearly doesn’t want to stay so get him out the squad. He doesn’t deserve that shirt.”

Credit: @ShaineRafferty8

“Traore couldn’t finish if there was no goalie”

Credit: @Ang5982

In other news, many Wolves fans have flocked to this transfer news!

Ricky Ponting says none of Australia’s bowlers from Brisbane are safeafter Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris were added to a 13-man squad forFriday’s second Test in Adelaide

Peter English at the Gabba29-Nov-2010Ricky Ponting has told Australia’s first-Test bowlers that none of them are safe for Adelaide, but Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus have the most to fear after Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris were added to the 13-man squad. The home attack managed only one wicket in the second innings at the Gabba as England pummelled 517, with Johnson, Hilfenhaus and Xavier Doherty struggling for impact.Johnson was the most disappointing as he went wicket-less for the first time in his Test career, while Hilfenhaus peaked with his breakthrough from the third ball of the opening morning. Bollinger is a left-arm fast man who was Australia’s best bowler of the past year and Harris is an expert at gaining conventional and reverse swing, which could be a huge asset in Adelaide from Friday.Johnson has never been dropped from the Test team but is the most vulnerable man as the teams fly south-west on Tuesday. Ponting said the bowler remained in a “reasonably positive” state of mind but “was not at his best”. “I don’t think anyone is certain yet,” Ponting said. “The fact we have brought two fast bowlers in, I’m not sure if anyone is certain.”Johnson’s bowling has been faltering for most of the winter and he was one of the players who was put on notice when the original 17-man squad was named for Brisbane. After responding with five wickets and a century for Western Australia, he suffered a quick relapse at the Gabba.He delivered 42 overs for 170 runs during the match and struggled with his speed and accuracy. While he is a player who gets better with more work, there were few promising signs.”I’m not singling one person out, because I don’t think any of our bowlers were at their absolute best,” Ponting said. “It’s all about working in a group and working in partnerships, and I don’t think we did that enough. We’ve got a lot of work to do as a group.”Peter Siddle was the most successful Australian bowler but even he failed to follow up his six-wicket opening on Thursday with a second-innings wicket. The pitch flattened out and England dominated, leaving Andrew Strauss’s stumping off Marcus North as the only success of a demoralising second innings for the hosts. Still, the draw did end a three-match losing streak, which was their worst sequence since 1988.Australia now have three days to finalise a Plan B as they prepare to face a pitch in Adelaide that is traditionally made for batsmen. Playing back-to-back Tests is a concern for both teams, although England gained extra recovery time by having their tough bowling days on Friday and Saturday. “If we get a flat wicket in Adelaide again,” Ponting said, “we have to make sure we are a whole lot better than we were in this game.”Harris and Bollinger were both picked in the inflated first-Test squad before being released due to fitness doubts. Harris, who moved from South Australia three seasons ago, was cut because he had only just returned from a chronic knee injury, which had sent him home from England before the Pakistan series in July.He convinced the selectors of his durability with four wickets in a one-day game for Queensland and six more in the Sheffield Shield fixture against Victoria that ended today. Ponting is a huge supporter, having seen Harris’ tireless work during his first two Tests against New Zealand in March.”There’s a lot to like about Ryan,” Ponting said. “The fact he’s had great success at international cricket, he’s one of the guys just meant to be playing.”Bollinger’s lack of bowling since picking up a stomach strain in India led the selectors to settle on Siddle for the first Test. It was a controversial decision until Siddle stormed to six wickets on the opening day, including a hat-trick. Bollinger will be released a day early from New South Wales’ Shield fixture against Western Australia in Perth.Australia squad Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Xavier Doherty, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Ryan Harris, Doug Bollinger.