Well, after all the build-up, the speculation and the media hype, the Ashes series is finally under way. England, undefeated in five Test series, have locked horns with the best team in the world, and the encounter could hardly have got off to a more entertaining start.It’s fair to say that our preparations were disrupted, but the two injuries (to Graham Thorpe and Michael Vaughan) didn’t amount to a crisis. They presented two opportunities – one for a player who’s already acquainted with the England set-up, Mark Butcher, and the other for a player to come in for the first time – Nottinghamshire’s Usman Afzaal.The first day was unusual – sad though it was to lose Marcus Trescothick to the seventh ball, Butcher and Michael Atherton did really well to steady the ship with such a positive partnership. Then we had another of our collapses, but just when it looked as though we might be dismissed for less than 200, Andrew Caddick came in at No. 11 to play the innings of his life. When he arrived at the crease I urged him to be positive, not simply blocking, and my word how he responded! He cracked the bowling to all parts of the ground; it was the perfect innings for the situation, and the Edgbaston crowd loved every minute. From my point of view I was very pleased not to be left stranded on 20-odd not out; it was nice to get some runs and with Caddy blazing away at the other end, I had the chance to play a significant innings of my own.With Michael Slater opening the batting for Australia, it was no surprise that they came out guns blazing. It was an amazing end to an extraordinary day, and gave even more entertainment to the crowd.Seeing the back of Slater so early on the second day was just what the doctor ordered, but what can you say about Stephen Waugh? He simply showed once again why he’s one of the best batsmen in the world – his mental strength is absolutely phenomenal. Twin brother Mark was less fluent, and plainly not on top of his game, but we gave him every opportunity to stay there. I missed a difficult stumping chance and Trescothick couldn’t hold on to a catch at second slip – the bottom line is that you can’t afford such misses when you’re up against players of this quality.Australia are ahead on points after two days, and we need quick wickets to get back on terms. Nasser Hussain’s captained the team well and it’s good to see him restored to the side – and I’m not missing the captaincy too much after handing back the reins!
There were several reasons Arsenal failed to win the Premier League last season.
One was that Liverpool and, in particular, Mo Salah were practically unbeatable; another was that the Gunners drew too many games and had too many moments when they were subpar.
However, arguably the most significant reason of all was that, throughout the campaign, Mikel Arteta had to deal with an absurd number of injuries that utterly decimated the first team.
Unfortunately, Arsenal are on track to be as unlucky with injuries this season as well, with the backline being a particular concern at the moment.
However, there are some solutions, and one of them involves Arteta unleashing the Max Dowman of defenders.
How injuries are impacting Arsenal
Injuries are nothing new, and every team has to deal with them at some point, but what is also true is that last season and so far this year, Arsenal have been more unlucky than most.
Chalkboard
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This isn’t just a feeling either, as according to Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz, Ben White’s recent injury marks the 100th different injury the club have faced since the start of the 24/25 season.
That is more than any other current or ever-present side across the same period.
The good news for Arteta and Co is that most of his important attacking players are now back, with Kai Havertz reportedly aiming to return to the squad before the end of the year.
However, the bad news is that the club’s injury problems have shifted to the back, with Gabriel Magalhães, Cristhian Mosquera and now White all out of action.
Arsenal’s current injuries
Player
Injury
Return
Mosquera
Ankle
01/26
Havertz
Knee
12/25
Gabriel
Groin
01/26
Dowman
Ankle
N/A
White
Hamstring
N/A
Now, the manager does still have the likes of Riccardo Calafiori, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Piero Hincapie to call on, but it’s not that simple.
The Italian has a long history of injuries, and the Dutchman underwent surgery last season.
Therefore, with them already playing 1313 and 1668 minutes this season, they are in desperate need of rotation and rest.
Finally, the Frenchman has only just returned from a few weeks out with an ankle injury, so there is also concern that overplaying him in the coming weeks could be problematic.
However, in addition to having Christian Norgaard spend more time at the back, there is another potential solution to this problem: for Arteta to unleash Arsenal’s centre-back version of Max Dowman.
Arsenal's Dowman of centre-backs
Despite still being just 15 years old, practically every Premier League fan has now heard of Dowman; that is the level of talent Arsenal are dealing with.
He made his debut in the competition back in August, running circles around the Leeds United defence and winning a penalty.
Over the following months, he became the youngest player to start for the club in the League Cup and then the youngest player to play in the Champions League.
So, to be compared to, let alone described as the ‘Dowman of’ a youngster has to be pretty special.
Fortunately for Areteta and Co, special seems to be an apt way to describe Marli Salmon.
For example, respected analyst-turned-Como scout Ben Mattinson has been bold enough to describe the exceptionally talented prospect as “the best CB Hale End has produced.”
Moreover, Hale End expert Will Balsam has heaped praise on him for being “different gravy on the ball” and has gone as far as dubbing him the “crown jewel” of the club’s recent scholarship intake.
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The reason Balsam gives for this glowing praise is the fact that the teen phenom is already marrying technical composure with “freak physical attributes.”
It’s not just analysts that rate the youngster, though, Arteta seems to as well.
The manager took the 16-year-old on the pre-season tour of Asia and, alongside Dowman, handed him minutes against Premier League sides, minutes in which he shone.
Finally, the boss also trusted him enough to give him a runout against Club Brugge in the Champions League, making him the sixth youngest to play in the competition.
Ultimately, Arsenal are going through a defensive injury crisis at the moment, and while it won’t solve it entirely, Arteta can help manage it by unleashing Salmon.
Arsenal can revive Gyokeres by signing "the best winger in the country"
The international game-changer could be just the player Arsenal needs to get Gyokeres firing.
Shoaib Akhtar has said he had no point to prove to anybody when he went out to bowl against the Delhi Daredevils in his IPL debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders. “I just wanted to win the game,” said Shoaib, who ripped through Delhi’s batting with four wickets from three overs.With Kolkata defending a low total, Shoaib removed Virender Sehwag off the second ball of the innings, dismissed Gautam Gambhir in his next over and then took two more off successive balls in his third.Last month the Pakistan board banned Shoaib for five years on grounds of disciplinary problems but allowed him to play the IPL. He last played for Pakistan in November 2007.Shoaib said he was stressed but put everything behind him before the match. “For me, my team is the most important thing,” Shoaib said. “Kolkata is my home team. Eden Gardens is my home ground. Sharing the dressing room with Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav [Ganguly] was fantastic. They backed me. And I am really happy to perform. They put faith in me. And I am happy to deliver.”Ganguly, the Kolkata captain, acknowledge Shoaib’s performance. “He came to the country with lots [of things] happening behind him,” Ganguly said. “But he showed a lot of character.”Sehwag said it was the best Twenty20 spell he had ever seen but denied that Delhi’s batsmen fell to Shoaib’s pace.” We are used to pace,” Sehwag said. “We are all international players. I, Gautam and [Manoj] Tiwary. We batted too positively against Shoaib.”Their 23-run win keeps Kolkata at fourth place just above Delhi; their next match is against the Mumbai Indians on Friday.
Australia may not host a tri-series in 2008-09 for the first time in 29 years, but the event would return to the calendar the following summer and stay until at least 2012. South Africa and New Zealand are currently due to play five one-day contests each in two series rather than appearing in the format used for the CB Series.Cluttered scheduling, which has also led to Australia delaying the start of their annual limited-overs tournament until next February, is behind the programming proposal. India’s first Test will be in Melbourne on Boxing Day, which in recent history has been the second-last five-day contest of the season.Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s operations manager, told The Australian ratings and attendances showed the tri-series was still popular but “hiccups” existed in the scheduling. “There’s a hurdle again in 2008-09,” he told the paper. “We need to work with both New Zealand and South Africa to determine what the programme looks like. At this stage we have them committed for five one-day games each.”Official tri-series have been played in Australia since 1979-80, but the length of the tournament – it lasted a month and contained 14 matches in 2006-07 – has made it more difficult to attract two teams at the same time. Sri Lanka, who play two Tests against Australia in November, will return in January to join India as the visitors for the next CB Series.
The Asia Cup will be played every alternate year and Pakistan will host the next round in 2008, as has been decided by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in its annual general council meeting in Kuala Lampur. It will be the first time that Pakistan willl host the tournament.Apart from that, as per the rotation policy, the presidency of the ACC will be handed over to Jayantha Dharmadasa, the Sri Lankan board president, Saleem Altaf, the PCB director-operations told . Dharmadasa will take over on July 1.The 2006 Indian edition of the tournament was to be played in February, but was postponed to 2008 after the Indian board complained of an already hectic schedule for the season. Sri Lanka are defending champions of the cup, which they hosted in 2004.
At the end of his second stint with Hampshire, Shane Warne insists that county cricket is in good condition, although he believes that a few changes could improve it even further.”When I look back over another enjoyable season in England, I can see that county cricket is in good shape overall,” said Warne in his article in . “England are starting to play well because it [the County Championship] is competitive and producing some high-quality games, so the best players are learning how to win.”Having said that, I would change a few things here and there, he admitted. “One is the sheer volume of cricket; there is definitely too much at the moment. Players just don’t get the chance to practise or recover. I think the workload is a big reason why out-and-out fast bowlers are not coming through.”Warne, who played a vital role in Hampshire’s promotion to Division One with 51 Championship wickets at an average of just over 24 this season, suggested that the number of matches played be reduced from 16 to 12, with some counties playing each other only once, adding that this “could be organised on a system depending on finishing positions the season before.”Warne recommended that the National League schedule also be reduced to 12 games. “Put together, this would open up 20 days through the season for players to rest or work on their techniques. The Twenty20 Cup can stay as it is.”Warne also advocated the scrapping of bonus points in the County Championship, saying: “I think some teams have been playing for them this season instead of going all out to win. The difference between what you can earn for a win and a draw with full bonus points should be greater.”I accept there must be something for a draw, if only because of the way the weather can influence a game. It should be minimal – two points, say – to make sure that teams playing for big-scoring draws all season do not become champions.” Warwickshire, this season’s county champions, went through the season unbeaten, but only won five matches, and drew 11.Warne added that he believed counties should come to an agreement regarding the issue of overseas players, where every team would have to include eight players who are qualified to play for England, concluding: “The other three can be overseas, EU, or little green men from Mars.”
Mark Waugh’s long and prosperous cricket career ended only 22 days ago. Now his 17-year relationship with Sue Porter is over as well.Waugh, who retired after New South Wales’s season-ending Pura Cup game against Queensland at the SCG on March 7, announced the split today via his manager. Waugh and 51-year-old Porter were together throughout his 128-Test career and the vast majority of his 18 years with NSW.Leo Karis, Waugh’s manager, confirmed the separation. “Mark Waugh and Susan Porter have today mutually and amicably agreed to end their relationship,” he said in a statement. “Mark and Susan request that their privacy be respected at this time. There will not be any further comments made by either party.”Waugh, 38, met Porter when he was a 21-year-old working at a Sydney sports store. She was 34 at the time, and married with three children.”It wasn’t love at first sight,” Waugh wrote in his biography. “Sue was married, and I was just a young fella who was a bit naive when it came to girls.” Waugh’s book said Porter did not share his love of gambling on horses, and insisted on one gambling-free day a week when they were at home together.They had been engaged.
Sri Lanka’s cricketers have rejected a performance-related pay package for the forthcoming World Cup and refused to sign their player contracts.The Sri Lankan cricket board has therefore failed to the meet the January 14 ICC deadline for signing the players’ terms agreement.A statement released by the Sri Lanka Cricketers Association (SLCA) said: "The SLCA confirms that the controversial players’ terms agreement has not been signed by the Sri Lanka players."The SLCA are demanding that the Sri Lankan cricket board pay the players 20% of the monies that they receive from the ICC World Cup. At present they have been offered a 5% revenue share."The players of Australia and New Zealand are being paid 25%," said the SLCA. "The South Africans are almost there with 30% of the total money received from their board. In view of the above, the 20% that the Sri Lankan players are requesting seems reasonable enough.""The players are of the view that their rights have been stolen away by this Player Terms Agreement. The BCCSL, without consulting the players concerned, have signed the agreement until the 2007 World Cup. Therefore, the players have a right to claim these payments."The release, however, hints that the players would stop short of boycotting the tournament: "The players are clearly committed to participate in the World Cup even without such payments."Earlier in the week, the BCCSL offered the players a performance-based payincentives package, including an USD 100,000 bonus for lifting the trophy, as well as doubling their standard match fee of USD 700 per game.
Kent County Cricket Club today announced the coaching structure that willguide the Kent team to the end of the 2001 season. John Inverarity’sshort-term contract as Coaching Adviser is drawing to a close but hisexpertise has produced some excellent performances by the Kent team, layingfirm foundations for the future.John will be handing over the reins of the First XI to Chris Stone whojoined the Club’s coaching staff in March 1999 and in his short time at theClub has demonstrated his commitment to Kent’s young players. Alan Wellswill Captain the Second XI and Daryll Cullinan will assume the role ofDevelopment Coach, encouraging the development of the Kent Young Cricketersquads as well as the County’s young professionals.John Inverarity commented: “I have thoroughly enjoyed the past three months and have been excited by the huge potential within the Kent squad. Chris Stone is anexcellent coach and, under his guidance and Matthew Fleming’s captaincy, Iam sure that the team will soon reap the rewards of their hard work.”The Club will be considering a detailed report prepared by John Inverarityand will announce its coaching structure for the longer term in due course.
According to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, via TUTTOmercatoWEB, Tottenham Hotspur have set their sights on a new striker target in Roma star Tammy Abraham.
The Lowdown: Conte eyes striker move…
As reliably reported, Tottenham and manager Antonio Conte see the signing of a back-up to star striker Harry Kane as one of four priorities (Alasdair Gold).
The likes of Andrea Belotti and Alvaro Morata have been linked in recent months with Kane currently unchallenged and unsupported for the attacking role in north London.
It could be imperative for Spurs and Conte to have another option in the event of a serious injury to the England superstar with their eyes now apparently turning to Abraham.
The Latest: Spurs set sights…
As per Il Messaggero (via TMW), it is believed that Tottenham, and by extension transfer chief Fabio Paratici, have ‘already set their sights’ on the former Chelsea star.
Man United and his ex-club also hold a serious interest amid his fine debut campaign in Italy with the latter side possessing a €80 million (£67.6m) buy-back clause.
The Verdict: Big challenge…
It is little wonder Abraham has caught the attention of Spurs as he dazzles in Rome and earns the affection of both Jose Mourinho and supporters alike.
However, if Paratici and co. truly wish to sign the attacker, they will have to pay big.
Reliable journalist Sami Mokbel of The Daily Mail recently revealed that Roma are expected to place a £100 million price tag on Abraham this summer, a valuation which could well dent Spurs’ summer hopes.
If Tottenham did somehow do the very improbable, there is little denying he would upgrade Conte’s options, with pundit Alex McLeish calling him ‘phenomenal’.
He’s lived up to that tag in Italy with 15 goals and three assists in the league alone so far this season, and amid his huge hike in value, Spurs may be regretting not signing him when they had the chance last summer.
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The Telegraph explained that Abraham had been ‘offered’ and ‘made available’ to Spurs in 2021 with the price tag around that time amounting to £40m.
Now, it appears Paratici faces a much bigger challenge to sign him.
In other news: Conte now eyeing £25.2m-rated ‘game-changer’ who Spurs once agreed personal terms for…find out more here.