Daryl Tuffey’s involvement in the one-day series against Australia is over after a shocking performance in the third ODI at Auckland on Saturday.Tuffey started with four no-balls and four wides in a 14-ball opening over, eventually conceding 25 runs in a two-over spell. It took his total to 145 runs off 18 overs in the three games, and that left Stephen Fleming far from amused.”There was a lot of faith put in him for this game," Fleming told the Sunday Star Times. "There were question marks over his form from the first two games and that performance was certainly not up to international standard. You have got to be pretty disappointed when he bowled so well for us in the past and then he puts in a performance like that.”New Zealand coach John Bracewell went further, saying that Tuffey was suffering from a complete lack of confidence and would be sent to the New Zealand Cricket High Performance Centre to work with sports psychologist Gilbert Enoka and academy director Dayle Hadlee. "He went through a period of denial with his technique," Bracewell admitted. "It’s escalated and grown on him to a certain extent and he’s got to come to terms with that. It’s simple confidence, I don’t think he’s ever regained his confidence from his knee issue. That has affected his technique. He’s falling away."Tuffey’s problems might be in the mind, but Michael Papps’s were more physical. He was forced to go to hospital for a scan after being struck on the head twice by Brett Lee bouncers, one of which left a dent in his helmet and a large swelling on the side of his head. Despite continuing dizziness he was later discharged."They went hard at Michael," Fleming admitted. "They were always going to head hunt him because they knew he was probably going to be the guy opening in the Tests."
Former NSW team mates Greg Matthews and Adrian Tucker will compete in this weekends one-day final when Sydney University clash with Eastern Suburbs. It will be a different scenario for both men, who are more adept to bowling in tandem with each other. Mathews and Tucker were both members of the 1989/90 NSW Sheffield Shield sides victory mesmerizing opposition teams with their off spin and leg breaks. They will use all their experience in helping their respective teams when the Dolphins host the Student’s this Sunday at Waverly Oval.Adrian Tucker returned to Eastern Suburb’s Cricket Club after a two-year absence working the futures market in Hong Kong. The 34 year-old’s return has helped a revamped Dolphin’s team to the one-day final. In a twist of fate, former Dolphin and NSW teammate Greg Matthews will oppose Tucker when he takes the field for Sydney University. "Greg was the reason I originally came to East’s, back in 94. He never let up and convinced me to join the Club after we bowled so well in tandem for the Blues" Tucker said. "I learnt a lot of my trade off Greg and it will be different lining up against him this weekend."Eastern Suburbs earnt a place in the final after a crushing victory over competition leader’s Bankstown last weekend. Unfortunately they will miss Brad Haddin as he flies out to Sri Lanka with the Australian team tomorrow. Haddin scored a scintillating century against the Bulldogs and will be difficult to replace. Fortunately the Dolphin’s top batsmen are in devastating form, as Jeff Cook (201), Andrew Jeffrey and Mark Patterson have all scored recent centuries.Sydney University will be looking to add the one-day competition trophy to their cabinet, after securing last season’s premiership. The Student’s lose Matthew Phelps who has been recalled to the Speedblitz Blues team. They will look to the consistent form of Ed Cowan and the experience of Test Veteran Greg Matthews this weekend. Matthews has made an immense psychological impact on his young side, providing a newfound belief and determination that was evident in last season’s premiership success. He will no doubt get a different response from his former teammates when he walks through the gates at Waverly Oval this Sunday.
Peshawar qualified for next month’s Quaid Trophy Grade-I final with a clinical annihilation of a disappointing Sheikhupura on the second afternoon of the four-day encounter at Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar Tuesday.Sheikhupura succumbed to an innings and 78-run loss with the irresistible Fazle Akbar and young left-arm speedster Waqar Ahmed sending the visitors crashing to a paltry 65 all out in their second innings in only 94 minutes after a remarkable recovery by Peshawar’s lower-order batting.Peshawar made the final by topping Group-II with 72 points against Sheikhupura ended up with 60. Test discard Imran Nazir was unable to bat in Sheikhupura’s innings for unspecified reasons.Fast bowler Fazle Akbar, who has been out of favour with the national selectors at the moment, claimed three for 25 to end the match with excellent figures of seven for 81. The leading wicket-taker in the current is seven shy of reaching the coveted 100-wicket mark.Waqar Ahmed, meanwhile, has now picked up 74 scalps this season. Earlier, Peshawar, who won their sole title in 1998-99, took an unexpected first innings lead of 143 as their last three wickets combined to add 187 runs.Taimur Khan, who resumed at 47 in Peshawar’s overnight total of 138 for seven, fell quickly after scoring eight more runs.Arshad Khan, 11 overnight, however, found a reliable partner in fellow ex-Test man Kabir Khan. The pair added 92 for the ninth wicket before Arshad departed for a 132-ball 59, scored in 156 minutes.Kabir, better known for his left-arm pace bowling, finished with an unbeaten 66 off 135 deliveries in 167 minutes while Fazle Akbar contributed 23. The two right-handers were involved in a last wicket partnership of 56 in 43 minutes.
For much of the festive season the South African have been wondering out loud what it might be like to be play on an authentic home pitch. They found out on the first day of the second Castle Lager/MTN Test match against Sri Lanka at Newlands on Tuesday.On a pitch that offered more pace and bounce than any South African Test wicket this summer, Sri Lanka were bundled out for just 95 with South Africa fashioning 130 for two in reply before stumps.Shaun Pollock took six for 30. He had very good reason to be pleased with the way things went."The best thing I did was lose the toss," he said afterwards. "We always thought there would be a bit of bounce and that was what assisted us. All we did was use the swing up front and there was a bit of away movement and a bit of bounce and carry and I think, not having played on too many of those wickets this season, from our batting point of view the guys came in and said they’d had a workout. They hadn’t had balls coming on to them like that for some time."A bit of a workout it might have been for the South African batsmen, but it was doubly so for Sri Lanka. From the start of the tour the Sri Lankans have talked about adjusting to the bounce of the South African wickets. At Kingsmead they didn’t have to worry about it. At Newlands, however, the chickens came home to roost.But to attribute the Sri Lankan collapse entirely to the pitch would be unfair to the South Africans who bowled and caught superbly. Pollock, in particular, was quite magnificent.Although he is the slowest of the four South African seamers employed on Tuesday, his eyes lit up at a pitch that gave something back to him. He had a purple patch at the starting of the Sri Lankan innings, taking four for none in the space of 13 balls as the visitors slipped to 13 for four and he twice pinged a Sri Lankan helmet, something he hasn’t done for quite a while.Pollock had a beautiful away shape going that accounted for Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene and, coming in to the left-hander, Russel Arnold. He also slid one across Sanath Jayasuriya to once again sent the Sri Lankan captain packing cheaply and played a part in getting rid of Avishka Gunawardene, unsettling the batsman with a bouncer that rattled the earpiece. Mfuneko Ngam picked up the wicket in the following over.Ngam does not have anything like Pollock’s control, but he is quick and none of the tourists enjoyed facing him. He claimed three wickets after lunch, including that of Kumar Sangakkara who, alone among the Sri Lankans, seemed to have the stomach for it and although he is likely to drop out when Allan Donald returns, he has already demonstrated that he can fit in at this level.That there were runs in the pitch was shown when South Africa batted, but not before Herschelle Gibbs’ return to the crease. With all the talk of whether he should or should not be playing, it was almost inevitable that his return would be extraordinary. It was, but it lasted only two balls.One of the South African selectors has privately justified Gibbs’ return on the perfectly legitimate grounds that his ban was for six months, not six months and a couple of days or another Test match.In the end the 13 000 at Newlands saw Gibbs go tamely, pushing tentatively at Chaminda Vaas to be caught at the wicket. He was, however, fortunate in that his return was largely overshadowed by South Africa having such a good day.Gary Kirsten, dropped in the gully on 36 by Jayasuriya, helped himself to 52, Jacques Kallis ended the day one short of 50 and Daryll Cullinan looked in ominous nick on one of his favourite grounds. It is difficult to see how Sri Lanka can drag themselves back into this match.However well they bowl, they will have to hope South Africa make a mess of an excellent position. And even then, the confidence of their batsmen has quite clearly been undermined. Their tour has reached critical mass.
It was Peter Siddle, back home after the miniature epic two-Test series against South Africa in 2011, who described the result as “a good one-all series win”. Having humiliated the Australians in Cape Town, South Africa walked away unfulfilled. Having scrambled to a cathartic victory in Johannesburg thanks largely to Pat Cummins, Michael Clarke’s team were understandably chuffed, even if they did not win the series.Entering the Edgbaston Ashes Test there is a similar sense of the scoreboard not reflecting how the two teams see themselves. After a surprise defeat at Cardiff, Australia’s demolition of England at Lord’s carried the air of natural order restored, and the confident strut of the tourists appears to be that of a team in the ascendant. England, meanwhile, are the men on the run, having changed their team and batting order while also looking warily towards the fitness of the third seamer Mark Wood.It would be easy then to be lulled into the impression that Australia will rumble on smoothly to the retention of the urn, having responded to England’s opening salvo with a riposte more or less twice the size. A certain sense of the triumphal accompanied Australian celebrations at Lord’s, which is always a major event match for the number of Cricket Australia management, board directors and corporate backers present. In the midst of the post-match revelry, one or two sober observers could have been forgiven for thinking “hang on, isn’t it only 1-1?”Not only is it 1-1, it is also 8-3. That’s the ledger in Ashes Tests in England over the past decade, with the hosts stretching out a major advantage over that time by winning three series in 2005, 2009 and 2013. Lord’s was a vast Australia victory, but it was also a rare one. Similarly lopsided victories at Headingley in 2009 and Lord’s again in 2005 proved to be statistical outliers. The Cardiff result was far more representative of those recorded by Australian cricketers on these shores.More broadly, Australia sides have struggled for a long time to win consecutive Test matches away from home. Taking out the struggling West Indies this year, they have not followed an overseas win with another in the same series since New Zealand as far back as March 2010. That is not a record to be proud of for a team that speaks with plenty of awareness about consistent overseas success as the measure of a top team.Famously, England came to Edgbaston in 2005 having lost heavily at Lord’s and in desperate search of a way to get back into the series. Glenn McGrath duly trod on a ball, Ricky Ponting took leave of his senses at the toss and a classic encounter ensued. Clarke was the youngest member of that Australian side, and learned more in that one defeat than he had in any of the four series wins he had been a part of prior. A decade on, the memory lingers.”I think the most important thing I’ve learned over my career is you have to start again,” he said. “Whether that be as a batter coming off 100 or 200 or as a bowler you feel like you’re on top of your game, when you walk out there you start again. It’s a brand new game, so that’s really important for us as a team that we come with the same attitude we had at Lord’s, that same hunger to want to have success, but realise that we start on zero.”This team from what I continually see, the way the guys trained and prepared in Derby to their attitude here yesterday when it was raining, and guys still found a way to get done what they needed to, there’s no doubt that hunger’s in the system. It’s important for us to run with this momentum while we have it, take confidence from Lord’s but also remember how disciplined England were in Cardiff and we know how good an opposition they are.”The momentum Clarke spoke about has had to cope with various potential speed bumps on the way, as the team finds itself evolving and regenerating in the middle of an Ashes series. Clarke has had to deal with the demotion of his longtime lieutenant Brad Haddin for this match, having already watched as Ryan Harris retired and Shane Watson was dropped. There will be a lot of experience on Australia’s drinks bench this week, and a lot of young Ashes combatants needing to know this series is far from over.”When you’re on tour I see the success as being about every one of the guys who are here, not just the 11 who take the field,” Clarke said of the changing face of his team. “I’m not too concerned, obviously there’s some things that have been out of our control, but it’s about playing your best cricket. I said before this tour I was really happy with the squad we have because it was about options. Hopefully the squad continues to perform like we did at Lord’s.”Australia achieved a fine victory at the Home of Cricket, but it will mean little if they cannot follow it up here. Most reasonable measures of the two sides would have them doing so, particularly after Chris Rogers was passed fit to lead the line at the top of the order. But the consistency for which Australia have successfully striven down under in recent times has been absent for more than a decade in England. The test of their resolve is clear.
Manchester United’s academy has produced some exceptional players in recent years. This could date back as long as the Busby Babes, but looking at the last few seasons, there are several huge names who have graduated from the esteemed Carrington academy.
Marcus Rashford is perhaps the biggest, with the Wythenshawe-born sensation making 426 appearances and scoring 138 times for his boyhood club. More recently, Kobbie Mainoo broke into the first team, and whilst life is tough for him at the moment under Ruben Amorim, he is held in very high regard by the Old Trafford faithful.
Another Carrington graduate who has shone in the last 12 months is Scott McTominay.
McTominay's incredible last 12 months
Scotland international McTominay has shone during his season and a half at Napoli so far. He moved from Old Trafford, where he had been his whole life, for a fee of just £25.7m. That would prove to be a bargain for the Serie A outfit.
The 29-year-old has made 59 appearances for the Naples club, showing his threat in the final third and how hard-working he is off the ball. He’s found the back of the net 18 times and assisted nine in that time.
Twice in just a few short months, he has helped lead the club to silverware. McTominay was a key member of the Scudetto-winning side, scoring a remarkable overhead kick in the game which sealed the title. This week, he added to that by helping Napoli lift the Italian Super Cup.
He has been greatly rewarded for his form in a Napoli shirt, in the form of personal accolades. McTominay won the Serie A player of the year last season and finished in 18th place in the Ballon d’Or.
It was a sensational year for the ex-United star, who may wish they still had him at their disposal today. Well, they may have the new version of the Scot coming through the academy again.
Man United's new McTominay
There has been an influx of academy involvement in Amorim’s first team over the last few games. Tyler Fredricson and Bendito Mantato were unused substitutes against Aston, and Shea Lacey made his debut.
The winger was not the only academy debut at Villa Park. Jack Fletcher, son of United legend Darren, was brought off the bench, playing 17 minutes and becoming the 255th graduate of the esteemed Carrington.
Aside from his first-team bow last weekend, Fletcher has made a strong impression for the academy this season. He’s made 13 appearances across all competitions, scoring and assisting three goals apiece.
Fletcher stats per competition in 25/26
Competition
Games
Goals & assists
Premier League 2
7
3
EFL Trophy
2
1
Premier League Int. Cup U21
2
1
National League Cup
2
1
Stats from Transfermarkt
United are looking for their new McTominay, and in the 18-year-old midfielder, they may have someone who can eventually fill his boots.
There are certainly similarities between the pair, not least because they are eligible to play for Scotland. The Napoli star, of course, does, and Fletcher could in the future, although he does represent England U19s at the moment.
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However, there are more similarities than just that. McTominay, of course, has proved to be a real handful in the opposition box, especially in a Napoli shirt, and that is something that Fletcher excels at, too.
The new United first-teamer was described as a “goal threat” by Red Devils academy-centred page Academy Scoop over on X. He already has 11 goals for the club’s academy, showing he certainly has that same threat in the final third that McTominay possesses.
Losing McTominay was certainly a blow for United, but it must be a good feeling for United fans to see him achieving so much in Naples. They will now be hoping that, in Fletcher, they have someone who can be like the second coming of their academy graduate.
The fact that he has made his debut is positive, and it seems like the future is bright for another member of the Fletcher family.
Man Utd have their own Wharton & Anderson hybrid in £79m-rated "maestro"
This in-house Man Utd ace can solve their midfield issues.
England’s coach, Peter Moores, was left with plenty to ponder at the end of a troubling first day at the University Oval in Dunedin. After watching his probable Test batting line-up crumble for 131 in a mere 40.1 overs, there was little solace to be found in the efforts of his bowlers, who struggled for rhythm against a strong opposition, and conceded a lead of 46 with six wickets still standing at the close.”In general we played a bit loose and we paid the penalty for it,” said Moores at the close of play. “There is not much time now, they have got one more innings and they have got to make the most of any time they get out there. It’s all about getting into that Test-match tempo and getting into that way of playing.”Of particular concern is the form of Andrew Strauss, who was dropped from the Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka before Christmas. He has since been earmarked for the pivotal No. 3 position when the first Test gets underway at Hamilton next week, but with nine runs in two innings on the tour so far, there can be no guarantees that he will hold off the challenge of Owais Shah, who top scored with 96 in the two-day practice match earlier in the week.”We’re still trying to finalise our team,” said Moores. “We’ve had Owais with us for quite a long time, but we’ve not seen much of Andrew. Fortunately he got a hundred in his last game for Northerns last week, but he’s got to do the work to put his name in the hat. We’ve got an idea of our team, but this was a chance to look at our options, and we put a side out that gives us an opportunity to look at players.”One unexpected selection was Chris Tremlett. He had not been included in the original Test squad, but was kept on as cover after the one-dayers when Steve Harmison’s arrival had to be delayed to allow for the birth of his new child. He was given his chance in the starting line-up when Ryan Sidebottom sustained a grade one tear to his left hamstring. “While we’ve still got niggles we want to keep Tremlett on, because it’s obviously a long way to ship someone in,” said Moores. “He has a chance [for the first Test], and he wouldn’t have played in this match if he wasn’t in the frame. Places are still up for grabs in the bowling department, and we’ll take as long as we need to take to identify what our best team is.”That best team need not necessarily include Harmison. Not for the first time, and presumably not for the last, he produced an enigmatic day’s work, returning the unremarkable figures of 1 for 59 from 12 overs. “Steve’s had a challenging 12 months,” said Moores. “Today he bowled better, but he’s still not where he wants to be. He needs to find rhythm and consistency, which he was starting to find at the end of the West Indies series [in June]. But then he got himself injured through no fault of his own and that put him back.”At the moment, we are very conscious he needs to get outside and bowl because he’s not hitting his straps,” said Moores. “Physically he’s fit, but Steve will admit he needs to bowl to get into rhythm, at the moment he’s not had much bowling.” With Stuart Broad and James Anderson both waiting in the wings for their opportunities, Harmison will need to find his form soon. “We have other bowlers who are exciting cricketers,” said Moores, “and it’s a fair scrap to see who gets the Test spot.”
You can’t be too harsh on a side where most of the players don’t play at alevel higher than Irish club cricket, but for Trent Johnston, theAustralian-born captain, making up the numbers is certainly not goodenough. “It would be great if we can find the kind of performance we putin against Pakistan,” he said on the eve of the match against New Zealand.”We have sort of disappointed since then.”Since the St Patrick’s Day defeat of Pakistan, Ireland have never quitescaled the heights, going down meekly to West Indies before England andSouth Africa ground out fairly comfortable victories. Realistically, theaim was always not to finish bottom of the Super Eights, but afterBangladesh’s shock victory over South Africa on Saturday, even thatpossibility is looking remote.Bangladesh constructed their innings superbly, and then choked SouthAfrica with spin on a slow pitch, and Johnston admitted that theperformance had been a real eye-opener. “We watched the match andBangladesh performed fantastically well,” he said. “Their three spinnersare crucial to their plans and set up the win. It’s probably one area[playing spin] that we need to work hard on in the middle overs.”Ireland’s preparations for the game have been affected by a hamstringinjury to Andrè Botha, though Kevin O’Brien is certain to return aftermissing the South Africa match. New Zealand too have selection woes, withMichael Mason and Ross Taylor missing out, but the return of MarkGillespie should maintain the strength of a bowling attack that has beentremendous so far in the competition.Consistency, both on the field and in team selection, is paramount as faras Stephen Fleming is concerned. Wins in the four remaining Super-Eightsmatches will give Fleming 100 victories as one-day captain, and hereckoned that the side he currently led was more accomplished than itspredecessors.”I have been involved in World Cups where we chopped and changed a littlebit too much,” he said. “If you have 12 guys are in form and doing well,then keep them. This is a very skilled side, and I don’t think we havetrained in other Cups better than this.”We’ve come here with a fair of idea of what’s needed, we’re veryconfident and playing well but we’re also realistic as to how well we needto play. The hardest part of the job and the toughest week is coming up,with Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia.”Fleming first captained New Zealand 10 years ago in a six-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka, and though his win-loss record is an unimpressive 96-103, mostregard him as one on the game’s most astute leaders. Certainly, few canboast of 11 one-day wins against Australia.The challenge on Monday though is against a team that they know verylittle of, aside from video footage. Having thrashed West Indies andhammered Bangladesh, John Bracewell, New Zealand’s coach, insists thatthere won’t be any danger of complacency.”We take Ireland as serious as any team we have been playing,” he said, nodoubt aware that a low-intensity approach cost South Africa dearly againstBangladesh. “We have had people watching their games, we have videos, andrespect is a very key component of how we’re going in this tournament. Wemust respect the opposition and conditions.”In Shane Bond, New Zealand have the tournament’s outstanding fast bowler,and unlike South Africa, they won’t pay the price for not playing aspinner. Daniel Vettori is about as good as they get, but Johnston stillisn’t too pessimistic ahead of another game that most expect Ireland tolose.”It [the Bangladesh win] has given us probably some motivation to competewith these bigger teams,” he said. “We would like to finish seventh ratherthan eighth but for that we have to work hard.”Hard work and motivation alone won’t be enough though, not against a teamthat’s unbeaten in eight matches and looking the most likely to halt theawesome Australian juggernaut.
Steve Waugh, the former Australian captain, feels that the Indian selectors could have been more forthright while dealing with the axing of Sourav Ganguly, hinting that the issue should have stayed behind closed doors.Kiran More, the chairman of selectors, had recently told Cricinfo that Ganguly will not be recalled as long as the present selection committee was in office, and Waugh had a bit of advice for Ganguly.”It’s not for me to say whether he ought to still be playing for India, but it can’t be encouraging when the chief selector [Kiran More] says the present committee won’t pick him,” Waugh told , a Kolkata-based daily. “I understand Sourav wants to fight back, but it’s not going to be easy. Today, therefore, he should look in the mirror and make a call. Sourav has a lot of very fond memories to fall back on. With age, it’s never easy.”Waugh, currently in Mumbai on a business trip, felt the selectors missed the cue by not dealing with the issue in a more diplomatic manner. “Ideally, the selectors ought to have spoken to him behind closed doors,” he added. “Some of your younger players have been doing well and the focus, from what I gather, is on the 2007 World Cup. Perhaps, Sourav ought to have himself understood once he got dropped from the Test squad.”Waugh, who had been involved in some titanic battles against Ganguly-led sides, had experienced something similar. He was dropped from the one-day squad after Australia’s poor showing in the 2001-02 VB Series and it was mainly because of a fairy-tale century against England, at Sydney in 2003, that he could extend his Test career for another 12 months.
Shane Bond has ruled himself out of New Zealand’s series against Australia and feels that his back needs more time to recover completely. Bond, who is currently playing club cricket in Christchurch, was sidelined in May 2003 and a series of stress fractures to his feet and back forced the extended layoff.”Australia’s very unlikely,” Bond told . “I’d never expect to go from club cricket to playing Australia, so I think the chances of me playing them are 0%.” Bond had earlier entertained thoughts of returning to the Canterbury one-day side but he said, “The body is as good as gold but I don’t think I’m quite ready for Canterbury. I’m having some good days with the ball, but overall I’m still a little bit inconsistent.”Bond wasn’t ready to predict when he would return and added: “It is just week by week at the moment and we’ll see how things pan out. I’m playing both days this weekend so we’ll see how that goes. I didn’t think I did anything overly special last weekend, but the important thing is the back feels fine.”New Zealand are scheduled to play a five-match series against Australia, starting in Wellington on February 19.