Eighteen percent of first-class cricketers in England would risk incurring a year-long county ban by the ECB to play in the next Indian Cricket League (ICL), and 35% would consider retiring from international cricket prematurely, according to a survey conducted by the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA).The report canvassed the anonymous opinions of 334 players, including all the current England squad, providing “a comprehensive picture of the current cricketing landscape with particular reference to the Indian cricket leagues, the opportunity they offer and their potential threat to the domestic game.”Most significantly for England, the report said that 35% of England players “would consider retiring from international cricket prematurely to play IPL, primarily to avoid the grind of cricket and spend more time with their family”. The same percentage also believe that a day will arrive where they see tournaments such as the IPL and ICL ranking ahead of obligations to their country.Currently, the ECB restricts any player who represents the ICL and are likely to ban them from playing in county cricket for a year, but the vast sums of money are keeping the ICL and the IPL the hot topic of county dressing rooms up and down the country. 89% thought that freedom of movement should prevail, however.”Almost 100% of players see Indian cricket leagues as an attractive option and are hoping that a window in the Future Tours Programme (FTP), and scheduling that doesn’t conflict with the domestic season, can be created for them,” the report said. “36 players (11 per cent) have been approached to play in either the ICL or current IPL tournaments, with 27 players targeted specifically by the ICL.”Players believe the Twenty20 format and the newly formed Indian leagues create a level of threat to the fabric of the game as we currently know it. The restrictions put in place by the ECB prevent a player from participating in county cricket for 12 months if they play in the next ‘unauthorised’ ICL tournament in October, but 18% (60) said that they would sign up for ICL knowing there was a ban in place. A further 27% (90) were currently unsure at this time.”Michael Vaughan, who has said that the IPL is huge attraction for players and an exciting development for the game, believes Test cricket remains the top level but is a route to the high-earning leagues: “The findings are revealing in many ways. We have always said playing for our country was the priority. Test cricket is the pinnacle and we see that international cricket is at present the pathway to achieve selection to any other authorised tournaments,” he said.”We’ll continue to work the ECB to see if opportunities within the FTP can be created in the coming years. In the meantime, we have much important domestic and international cricket this summer beginning, with the Kiwi’s in a couple of weeks. Let’s concentrate on that for now.”Following today’s news that Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, has been ousted from his post, the survey also revealed cricketers’ dissatification with the governing body with 64% of England players having no confidence in the ICC and 57% believing decisions are made along party lines and not in the interest of cricket.
After deciding on a future in England, Gloucestershire fans will be hoping Hamish Marshall makes Bristol his home after a 55-ball 100 led them to a 61-run win against Worcestershire at Kidderminster. He launched 10 fours and six sixes while the next highest score was Stephen Adshead’s 22. In reply, Worcestershire never threatened once the opening stand between Vikram Solanki and Graeme Hick was broken. Ian Fisher collected three cheap wickets towards the end.
South Division
An unbeaten 50 from Sean Ervine guided Hampshire to a seven-wicket win in a 15-over a side contest against Essex at The Rose Bowl. Ervine faced 30 balls as Hampshire eased home with 16 balls to spare. Tight all-round bowling from the home side restricted Essex to 99 for 8 with David Griffiths claiming 3 for 13. Good news for England was the return of Ravi Bopara, who made 6 before taking a wicket with his medium-pace, to continue his recovery from the thigh strain which he picked up a couple of weeks ago.
North Division
Lancashire and Derbyshire had to settle for a point each at Old Trafford as the rains swept through.
Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, complimented Kevin Pietersen’s approach to batting following his two centuries in the Tests against Sri Lanka. Fletcher described him as a thinking cricketer with a solid gameplan for every bowler, and not a slogger trying to destroy attacks without any strategy.Pietersen was the star performer in the second Test at Edgbaston, with his 142 in the first innings constituting nearly 50% of his team’s total. He had an enthralling duel with Muttiah Muralitharan, stepping down the track regularly while the rest of the batsmen failed to get past 30. Pietersen braved a painful blow to the stomach by Lasith Malinga, the fast bowler, but continued batting in the same vein, which won the praise of his captain, Andrew Flintoff.”He doesn’t go out there and just play by instinct,” Fletcher told reporters. “Some shots maybe, but generally he’s got a good plan of how he’s going to play every bowler. He really thinks his game out and added to that he’s got some real talent.”Pietersen, originally considered a one-day specialist, announced his arrival with a bang in England’s tour of South Africa in 2005, scoring three centuries in the ODI series. Opinions were divided about his place in the Test side, but all doubts were put to rest in first Test of the 2005 Ashes series at Lord’s, as Pietersen scored two half-centuries and took on Shane Warne while the rest succumbed. His 158 at The Oval helped England save the Test and win the Ashes. In 13 Tests so far, his average stands at 50.12, with a healthy strike rate of nearly 71. He scored 158 against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in the first Test recently, making it three successive tons on England soil, and a century in the third at Trent Bridge will make him the first England player in history to achieve the feat of scoring four centuries in successive home Tests.”He’s new to Test cricket and he’s done very, very well,” Fletcher added. “He is exciting and I find him a very clever cricketer. People think he just goes out there and just plays the game, but he really thinks what he’s going to do. I just think he’s a very exciting player”.
England’s bowlers may have stolen the show at the Rose Bowl today, but up at Grace Road, Australia’s batsmen served up a timely reminder that stiffer tasks lie ahead. Led by a thumping 107 from Matthew Hayden and iced with a thrilling 59-ball 92 not out from Andrew Symonds, the Aussies ran riot, racking up a massive 321 for 4 in their 50 overs against Leicestershire, to ensure an overwhelming 95-run victory in their warm-up for the NatWest Series.Leicestershire did at least save face with the bat, batting out their full quota of overs, but victory never entered the equation. Tom New and Darren Maddy were pinned down from the start by Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath, and when Brad Hogg ripped out the middle-order with a three-wicket burst, Leicestershire had slumped to 120 for 6 and a rout beckoned.But Otis Gibson and Paul Nixon combined with a face-saving 94-run stand for the ninth wicket. Gibson’s 50 came from just 49 balls, including six fours and a six, and was only ended when McGrath returned for his second spell. All of Australia’s frontline bowlers claimed at least one wicket, with McGrath’s 2 for 33 from 10 overs the pick.Australia’s performance in the field was merely steady – but their batting had been spectacular. Hayden led the charge with 107 from 96 balls, and his example rubbed off on his team-mates. Damien Martyn anchored the performance with a solid and typically stylish 85, but it was left to Symonds to apply the coup de grace. He belted 10 fours and three sixes in a 59-ball onslaught, and was left just eight short of his hundred when the overs ran out.Following on from their Twenty20 victory over the Professional Cricketers’ Association at Arundel, the Australians proved once again that they are fully focused ahead of a tough tour. They won the toss and chose to bat first, and though Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting both fell cheaply, the Leicestershire attack was unable to stem the runs.Charl Willoughby, with figures of 0 for 37 from seven overs, was the best of the bowlers, but the spinners Jeremy Snape and Claude Henderson were taken apart, with 17 runs coming off one Henderson over. With England’s top-order faltering at The Rose Bowl, Australia have just ramped up the pressure another notch.
The Sri Lankan board has denied receiving an official report on Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action, and officials said that the results of the analysis would not be published until the receipt of an official report from Professor Bruce Elliott.The news followed suggestions that the results had been verbally communicated to board officials over the weekend and that an announcement was imminent. “We have not yet received an official report,” said Duleep Mendis, Sri Lanka Cricket’s chief executive. “We cannot make public announcements on the basis of informal or private conversations prior to the submission of an official report.”Contrary to earlier media reports, according to Mendis, a fullanalysis of Muralitharan’s controversial doosra had not yet been completed, and Murali, who is expected back in Colombo by Friday, was continuing the assessments with Elliott in Perth.Once an official report has been received, a bowling review group, convened by the board, will discuss the conclusions. If necessary, remedial action will be undertaken before the submission of a full report to the ICC within the stipulated six-week period.The board has indicated that a public announcement may be delayeduntil the ICC has received this report and has given the go-ahead for thedetails to be released.
England’s World Cup build-up continued smoothly in East London, where they romped to a comprehensive win over Border in their second lead-up match. After another clinical bowling performance dismissed the hosts for 202, England reached the target with 12 and a half overs to spare after a rapid half century from Marcus Trescothick set them on their way.Trescothick and Nick Knight had put on exactly 100 at less than a run a ball by the time the former was dismissed for 58, an innings punctuated by powerful drives. It included two sixes, one over point off Bennett Sokonyane and the other straight off left-armer Liam Graham.Knight was initially more cautious, but opened out to hit consecutive deliveries from Sokonyane to the off-side boundary in an over that cost 19 runs.Trescothick’s run-a-ball innings came to an end when he mishit a slower ball from Graham to square leg. Michael Vaughan maintained the healthy run rate by immediately driving Graham for two fours and a three. After making 29 from 26 balls, Vaughan was caught behind off Tyron Henderson.It was to be Border’s last breakthrough. Nasser Hussain joined Knight, and the two calmly knocked off the 62 more runs needed for victory, with Knight finishing unbeaten on 81 and Hussain 19.Earlier James Anderson, recalled along with Steve Harmison to England’s attack, made the first breakthrough with a lifting delivery that found the edge of Mark Bruyns’ bat for Ashley Giles to take the catch at gully.Giles then did even better at first slip, grasping a flashing edge from Michael Matika low to his left off Flintoff in the fourth over.Craig White, brought on as first change, broke through with his second ball, a bouncer that Laden Gamiet tried to pull, succeeding only in skying it back to the bowler.White struck again in his seventh over, as Justin Kreusch gloved another short ball down the leg side to stand-in wicketkeeper Marcus Trescothick.Harmison also took two wickets on his comeback from an ankle injury which ruled him out of the VB series finals. He trapped Pieter Strydom lbw with one that kept low, putting paid to a fourth-wicket stand of 46 between the Border captain and Pope.Craig Sugden was also adjudged lbw as wickets fell with regularity before Pope was joined by wicket-keeper Abongile Sodumo, who helped him add 81 for the seventh wicket.Pope eventually departed when he mishit a sweep off Giles to Michael Vaughan at short fine leg, and Giles then bowled Sodumo around his legs for 36. He then took his third catch, as Liam Graham pulled Harmison to him at fine leg to give the Durham paceman his third wicket at the end of the innings.
* Chowdhury is new Asian Cricket Council PresidentThe Asian Cricket Council, in its AGM held in London earlier thisweek, named Saber Hossain Chowdhury as its President Elect. In orderto revamp the ACC and equip and empower it with the necessarystructure and resource to enable it to respond effectively to thevarious challenges that it faces over the coming years, the AGM alsodecided to put a Governance Structure in place within the ACC.Ehsan Mani has been given the responsibility to draft appropriatedocumentation in this regard and it is envisaged that the newGovernance Structure which will include a full time and permanentSecretariat for the ACC will be functional from April 1, 2002.The unanimous decision of the AGM to elect Chowdhury effectively meansthat he will become the first President of the ACC to work under thenew and revamped structure. Chowdhury will take over as ACC Presidentduring its next AGM in 2002.* Sanjeev Chawla wanted in India despite being let off in LondonLondon-based Indian businessman Sanjeev Chawla, recently let off byScotland Yard in connection with match-fixing allegations, will beprosecuted in India and police have got sufficient evidence to nailhim, a top Delhi Police official said in New Delhi on Friday.Expressing surprise over the London Police’s decision to releaseChawla despite receiving letters rogatory seeking his extradition toIndia, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) KK Paul told PTI, “Chawlais wanted in a case here and we have sufficient evidence to prosecutehim.”Chawla, whose telephone conversations with former South Africa captainHansie Cronje Delhi Police claimed to have on tapes which blew the lidon the match-fixing scandal last year, was released by the Serious andOrganised Crime Squad of London Police on grounds of having”insufficient evidence to provide realistic prospects of conviction”.Paul said if Scotland Yard no longer wanted Chawla, “they can deporthim to India as the letters rogatory is already with them. We areinvestigating the Cronje-Chawla case. It is registered here in Delhi,”the Crime Branch chief said.* North Zone team for inter-academy tournamentKuldeep Rawat will lead the North Zone National Cricket Academy teamin the inter-academy tournament to be held in Bangalore from June 28to July 2.The other members of the team are: Gaurav Gupta (vice captain), RahulArora, Paras Dogra, Sumit Sharma, Gaurav Malhotra, Abhinav Bali, VivekKhurana, Kunal Lal, Abhishek Sharma, Himanshu Khullar, Ankul Jund andDeepak Joon.A four member committee consisting of Yashpal Sharma, Surinder Khanna,Chetan Sharma and Rajinder Amarnath selected a 13-member team toparticipate in the five day tournament. Six sides – the five zonalacademies and a Combined team – will vie for honours in the tournamentto be played on a group league basis. The teams will be divided intotwo groups and the group champions will meet in the final on July 2.* Joshi, Prabhudesai get Anandji Dossa awardsSheer passion and a commitment to serve the sport has rewarded twocricket scorers. Deepak Joshi and Rupesh Prabhudesai have bagged theAnandji Dossa award, instituted by the Association of CricketStatisticians and Scorers of India (ACSSI), for the best scorers ofthe year 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 respectively.The gold plated trophies would be presented to the two at theassociation’s AGM to be held in Mumbai in September, an ACSSI releasesaid on Saturday. Anandji Dossa is regarded as a doyen among Indiancricket statisticians.
Fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood could be rested from Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh next month in an effort to ensure they are fresh for the upcoming home summer. Australia are scheduled to play two Tests in Bangladesh starting on October 9, before returning home for six Tests against New Zealand and West Indies, and a two-Test tour of New Zealand.Hazlewood was left out of the fifth Ashes Test as he began to show the effects of a long series, and Johnson sent down 140 overs across the five Tests. Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s general manager of team performance, hinted that both men would need to be managed carefully with such a busy season coming up.”The selectors won’t meet to discuss the tour of Bangladesh for a couple of weeks,” Howard told the . “There’s some important consideration that needs to be given to managing our fast bowlers, not just in Bangladesh, but the full 10-Test season, and that will be part of the discussion.”Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood are two players that have had heavy workloads and need to be managed carefully if we are to give them the best chance of success throughout that entire period. Neither player has had a pre-season to prepare for the Australian summer and we think that’s particularly important.”Entering the Bangladesh series without Johnson could be seen as tempting fate, for he was the only Australian bowler to average under 40 during last year’s series against Pakistan in the UAE, and Bangladesh might provide similar conditions. If Johnson and Hazlewood are rested, it could mean the pace attack will be led by Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle.
Leeds United have failed to sign a new midfielder for fast-approaching on four-and-a-half years, though that is likely to change in the summer amid interest in Brenden Aaronson.
The last time someone was signed in the role was Adam Forshaw, joining from then-Championship rivals Middlesbrough in January 2018 – since then, the 30-year-old has dealt with a string of injuries, Samu Saiz left the club and Pablo Hernandez has also moved on.
You could argue that the Whites have overachieved in recent times, not only gaining promotion to the Premier League but also maintaining that lucrative position for nearly a third season.
But perhaps an answer could lie from within, in the form of academy dynamo Stuart McKinstry, who is just as capable of playing in central midfield as he is out wide.
The 19-year-old Scotsman bagged for the U23 squad on Monday night in their 4-0 rout of Crystal Palace, making it two goals and four assists from his 12 starts in the Premier League 2 Division 1 this season.
Only Sam Greenwood has been more creative, as per FBRef.
McKinstry, who has been likened to Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets by his academy peers, has been dubbed the ‘next big thing’ to come out of Thorp Arch by ever-reliable journalist Phil Hay of The Athletic.
Those comparisons highlight just how talented he is in multiple ways, to have the flair and dynamism of Messi and the powerful on-ball presence of Busquests. Leeds could have a real star in the making and potentially one fit to replace the legendary Hernandez at Elland Road.
“He’s a very confident ball carrier, he’s physically strong, good upper body strength, excellent feet, good at beating his man and creative. In his head, he probably feels he can play in other positions up front as well,” claimed Hay.
Meanwhile, McKinstry’s former Motherwell academy director Steven Hammell believes that he “will do wonderful things and become a household name in the next three or four years”, as he revealed to the Lanarkshire Live Sport Podcast, where he also dubbed him a “fabulous young player”.
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As one of the academy’s biggest creators, first-team boss Jesse Marsch could do little wrong in handing the teenage sensation more minutes on top of his two senior appearances going forward.
Leeds could finally replace Hernandez and, at the same time, save millions of pounds in the transfer market, should the American turn to the young Scot in the near future.
AND in other news, Leeds United in “pole position” for new signing…
Scottish cricket received a significant boost this week with the confirmation that a sponsor has been found to back a new national Twenty20 competition across Scotland this summer.The format has proved one of the most popular innovations in the sport during the past three years and Scotland will now have its own tournament, with Glasgow-based sponsors, Murgitroyd and Company, agreeing on a two-year deal. It is believed to be worth five figures.The existing 16-team Twenty20 events in the east and west of the country will be re-launched as the Murgitroyd Masterton Trophy and the Muritroyd Rowan Cup. In addition, two new regional competitions will be based in the Borders and the Caledonian district, and the four area winners will proceed to a high-profile national finals day at Shawholm, the home of Poloc CC, on August 3.In its initial format, this seems an ideal opportunity for cricket to raise its profile throughout Scotland in the months ahead. And although the prize money on offer – £600 for the regional winners, with a further £1000 up for grabs for the overall champions – may not be huge at this stage, this development is the most positive thing to have happened in Scotland’s game since the national side were invited to lock horns with the English counties in the NCL in 2003.”This is a fantastic sponsorship, which will spark the imagination and enthusiasm of the participation clubs,” said Cricket Scotland’s chief executive, Roddy Smith, who has worked behind the scenes with Keith Young, the CEO of Murgitroyd, to get the tournament up and running as quickly as possible. “Practically all the sponsorship fund will be returned to the benefit of the participating clubs and district organisers, and it is tremendous news. The new event will enhance and extend the enjoyment and competitiveness which has been a feature of Twenty20 wherever it has been played and this is sure to generate good crowds.”Cricket Scotland has faced criticism for a number of policy decisions over the last couple of years, but on this issue, at least, they deserve praise. As Paul Hoffmann, a former international player whose belligerent batting is likely to make him a very dangerous opponent in the abbreviated game, remarked: “We’ve watched the way that Twenty20 has taken off in England and what a success they have made of their showpiece finals day, and it will be brilliant to have something similar up here in Scotland, because I’m sure that the cricketing public will be really enthused by this.” So, one suspects, will Scottish-based TV producers, if the weather stays fair.