Michael Vaughan has accused the England management of freezing him out of the Ashes dressing-room last winter, and that his offers to share his experience with the team were rebuffed.In an interview with The Guardian, Vaughan, who was in Australia with the England Academy side for the early stages of the tour, said: “I was never involved at all in the Ashes and I think we could have used me more. I’m an Ashes-winning captain with a huge amount of knowledge on a lot of things and I wasn’t used at all. It was made clear that I was to be kept away from the team, and I understood the reason, but there were times when I think I could have helped.”Although Vaughan did not mention Duncan Fletcher by name, the implication that he was at the heart of the decision to sideline him was evident. Vaughan, who misses the first Test at Lord’s with a broken finger, also made clear that he was looking forward to working with Peter Moores, Fletcher’s successor. “Obviously this is the start of a new regime and I think it’s crucial that I’m around just to get a feel for the new regime and the way it works.”And he explained that the 0-5 drubbing in Australia and the poor World Cup campaign may have dulled the appetite of some players. “When you get beat so heavily, losing every session, every day – losing, losing, losing – then it’s got to have an effect. I don’t know any team that stays together when you are getting battered.
You talk about the wheels coming off … they’d fallen off at one point
“Then we went to the World Cup … didn’t start well, incidents happened, we really struggled and the coach went. The formula of the team started to get a little bit disgruntled. You talk about the wheels coming off … they’d fallen off at one point. It’s down to us to make sure we get those wheels back on and the only way we’ll do that is by getting together as a team, working hard and enjoying the game.”As for his own future, he said he was keen to carry on leading both Test and one-day sides. “It would be easy for me to sit here and say, ‘Right, you lot have got to me’, but I’m going to actually try and fight, take a few people on and see if I can prove a few people wrong. If I can I’ll be happy, if I can’t I’ll say, ‘You lot were right’, but at the minute I’m quite happy to have a fight. I really have a passion to try and play and my body feels fine. As long as I continue to go in the gym and get my leg stretch right, do the stretching, get in the pool, do the ice, I’ll be fine.”At the minute I’m desperate to do the work and play as much cricket as I can. I’d love to play for England for a few more years because I feel I’ve got a lot to offer.”
Ray Price, the former Zimbabwe left-arm spinner now playing for Worcestershire, has set his sights on playing international cricket again – for England.”My best years are still to come,” Price told the Press Association. “You learn so much with all those experiences you have gained from when you are younger. I just wish I could go back five or six years with the same mental approach I have now and apply it.”Joining the likes of Heath Streak in rebelling against Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), Price chose to resume his playing career in England where he was eligible to play for Worcestershire under the Kolpak scheme. Making his debut in 2004, he is nearly halfway through a four-year qualifying period to play for England.”You sit and watch the Test matches and one-day internationals, I really miss that, playing in the heat of battle, enjoying yourself in front of a large crowd and being under pressure the whole time,” he said.”You miss it. It’s a bit like eating cod and then having to go back and eat sardines. Once you have tasted it, there is nothing like it.”This is my second full year at Worcester. I have got two years after this and then I am qualified for England when I’ll still only be 32, 33 which is nothing for a spinner.”Look at Shaun Udal who is in his late 30s. I think it is really great that England gave Udal a go in India. He bowled so well on that India tour and it just showed that he has got so much experience under his belt.”
Sourav Ganguly has, over the last few months, often stated that India are the second-best side in the world. Now, he has the opportunity to see his team climb to that position in the official ICC Test Championship table – all he needs is a series win against Australia.Even a victory by a one-Test margin (1-0 or 2-1) will help India, currently in fourth place with 104 points, gallop to 111, ahead of England, who are now in second place with 109. In such a scenario, Australia will still maintain their top spot, but will slip from 129 points to 123. In fact, Australia are so far ahead of the pack that even if they lose all four matches, they will have a four-point lead – 119 to 115 – over India at the top of the table. On the other hand, a 3-0 win will boost Australia’s tally to 131, their highest-ever rating in the Test table.In the event of a drawn series, India will move to third spot with 108 points, while Australia’s total will slip marginally to 126.
Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds face ICC level-one Code of Conduct charges for dissent following an incident during the second one-day international against Sri Lanka on Sunday.Mike Procter, the ICC match referee, viewed videotapes on Monday morning of an incident in which Symonds was first adjudged to have been trapped lbw but later recalled after discussions between Peter Manuel, the umpire, and Marvan Atapattu, Sri Lanka’s one-day captain.A disciplinary inquiry will be held on Tuesday in Colombo during which the pair will have to answer charges that they showed dissent towards the initial decision. Gilchrist threw down his gloves, apparently in disgust, while Symonds is alleged to have shown his bat to the umpire before walking off.After the match, Procter had praised the actions of Manuel, describing his decision as “courageous”, and the sportsmanship of Atapattu, who had accepted that a mistake had been made and accepted Manuel’s decision to recall Symonds. “You have to take your hat off to Marvan [Atapattu],” he said.If found guilty, Gilchrist and Symonds could be either officiallyreprimanded and/or fined up to 50% of their match fee. The third one-day will be played under lights on Wednesday.
Australia v Namibia:Adam Gilchrist (AUS) needs 73 runs to complete 5000 ODI runs Andy Symonds (AUS) needs 95 runs to complete 1000 ODI runsMichael Bevan (AUS) needs 111 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Adam Gilchrist (AUS) needs 166 runs to complete 500 World Cup runsSouth Africa v Canada:Jacques Kallis (RSA) needs 52 runs to complete 6000 ODI runs Shaun Pollock (RSA) needs 164 runs to complete 2000 ODI runsMakhaya Ntini (RSA) needs 4 wickets to join the 100 ODI-wicket clubGary Kirsten (RSA) needs 202 runs to complete 1000 World Cup runs Jacques Kallis (RSA) needs 79 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs Lance Klusener (RSA) needs 129 runs to complete 500 World Cup runsLance Klusener (RSA) needs 3 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club Shane Pollock (RSA) needs 4 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Matthew Hoggard has been added to England’s list of injured players.The Yorkshire paceman must rest for ten days after suffering a suspected stress fracture of his left foot. He saw a specialist in Nottingham yesterday and will see another on July 20 with a view to him returning to action the following week.England physiotherapist Dean Conway said: “With ten days’ rest, we’re hopeful he will be available to begin bowling again soon.”Yorkshire, though, are pessimistic about an imminent return and even if Hoggard was given the all-clear, it would leave him desperately short of match practice before the Third Test at Trent Bridge starting on August 2.England overlooked Hoggard for the First Test at Edgbaston and released him in time to play for his county – although Yorkshire declined to pick him.Hoggard’s injury just adds to England’s fitness woes. Captain Nasser Hussain will miss the Second Test at Lord’s with a broken finger, as will batsman Michael Vaughan who has had keyhole surgery on his left knee. Both hope to fit for the Third Test.England are desperately hoping that Graham Thorpe will be fit enough to return at Lord’s. He was due to see a specialist today to determine whether he can begin training after calf trouble has put him out of action for five weeks.
Some of their recent performances haven’t been ideal, but Chelsea could still have a sensational season this year.
After all, Enzo Maresca’s side are still likely to qualify for the next round of the Champions League and secured their place in the League Cup semi-finals on Tuesday night.
Moreover, the Blues have managed to do all this without their most important player for most of the campaign: Cole Palmer.
The Englishman has been a total game-changer for Chelsea since he arrived in 2023, so fans should be seriously excited about reports linking the club with someone who’d be their most important signing since Palmer.
Chelsea working on most important signing since Palmer
Chelsea have made some significant signings in recent years, from Moises Caicedo to Enzo Fernández.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
However, it’s almost undeniable that their most important purchase of the Clearlake era has been Cole Palmer.
The Englishman joined as a highly rated but relatively unproven prospect, and over the last two and a half years has blown everyone away.
It’s hard to imagine just where the Blues would be today were it not for the 75 goal involvements he’s produced in his 104 appearances.
The West Londoners are unlikely to sign an attacker as potent as Palmer for quite some time, but they are now looking to make a signing that could be as game-changing.
At least that is according to a recent report from TEAMtalk, which claims Chelsea are interested in Marc Guehi.
In fact, alongside Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, the Blues have been in contact with the player’s camp and informed them that they are ready to offer him terms.
While the level of competition is far from ideal, the good news is that the Englishman will be available for free in the summer.
It could be an incredibly complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Guehi’s immense ability, one Chelsea should pursue, especially as it could be the most important signing they make since Palmer.
Why Guehi would be Chelsea's most important signing since Palmer
So, the first thing to say is that while Guehi has shown himself to be more than capable of scoring the odd goal here and there, his impact on Chelsea is going to look very different to Palmer’s.
However, there is every chance it could be as significant, and there are a couple of reasons why.
Firstly, if this season has proven anything, it’s that Maresca desperately needs more defensive depth, as while he has the bodies, he does not have the depth.
For example, Benoit Badiashille looked shaky against League One Cardiff City on Tuesday; Jorrel Hato is young and viewed as more of a left-back; and the less said about Tosin Adarabioyo, the better.
So, from a pure squad-building perspective, the Crystal Palace star would be a far better option than all three and help mitigate the club’s next injury crisis at the back.
However, the second reason the Englishman could be such a game-changing signing is the fact that he’s good enough to be more than cover – he could compete for a starting role.
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For example, despite still being relatively young at 25, he has extensive experience, having played 180 games for the Eagles, 59 for Swansea City, and 26 for England.
Moreover, his underlying numbers illustrate just how elite he really is.
According to FBref, the Abidjan-born “monster,” as dubbed by Palace reporter Bobby Manzi, ranks in the top 13% of centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for tackles and tackles won and the top 15% for passes blocked per 90.
Guehi’s Scout Report
Statistics
Per 90
Percentile
xAG: Exp. Assisted Goals
0.08
Top 2%
Goal-Creating Actions
0.27
Top 4%
Assists
0.09
Top 5%
Goals + Assists
0.18
Top 6%
Through Balls
0.18
Top 6%
Shot-Creating Actions
1.49
Top 6%
Key Passes
0.55
Top 7%
Penalty Kicks Won
0.03
Top 8%
Touches (Att Pen)
1.46
Top 9%
Crosses into Penalty Area
0.12
Top 13%
Switches
0.61
Top 13%
Tackles
2.06
Top 13%
Tackles Won
1.27
Top 13%
Passes Blocked
0.73
Top 15%
All Stats via FBref
Then, when it comes to the attacking stats, he ranks in the top 2% for expected assisted goals, the top 4% for goal-creating actions, the top 6% for through balls and the top 7% for key passes, also per 90.
In other words, the former Blues prospect is exceptional in all phases of play and could therefore do more than improve Maresca’s defence.
Ultimately, it won’t be easy, but Chelsea should be doing all they can to sign Guehi, as his skill set and experience could make him as game-changing as Palmer has been.
Chelsea flop is now looking like a more pointless signing than Gittens
Chelsea’s decision to sign the player is even more perplexing than the decision to sign Gittens.
Despite Australia’s decision to postpone their tour to Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) remains confident that future international commitments in the country will go ahead as scheduled.To fill the gap in the international calendar following the postponement, the PCB has invited Bangladesh to take part in a five-match ODI Series and a Twenty20 International in April. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has agreed in principle to the tour and the schedule will be announced shortly.Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, said he was particularly disappointed Australia made the decision without sending a security team, as had been planned, to assess the situation. “Our consistent plea has been that at least the ground situation here should be assessed by Cricket Australia, but they said that they had made independent assessments and the decision was based on that,” Ashraf told .Hours before the decision was made, two suicide blasts rocked Lahore, killing at least 20 people. Once thought to be a safe venue – it was on the itinerary for the Australia series – this was the fourth attack in the city this year, highlighting how much the situation has deteriorated.Ashraf, however, pointed to recent international tours as proof cricket and cricketers remain unaffected. “Our position is that these blasts have been happening for the last two years,” he said. “That hasn’t changed now and we have had four international tours to Pakistan recently, including South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia A. These are tragic incidents and paint a bad picture of the country, but they are targeted specifically at security institutions.”Pakistan is set to host the Asia Cup towards the end of June – the Indian and Sri Lankan boards have confirmed they will take part, though that was before Australia’s decision. As for the ICC Champions Trophy in October and the Asia Cup, assignments which may be affected by Australia’s pull-out and the generally unstable security environment in the country, Ashraf remained confident they would go ahead as scheduled.”We are very confident our cricket will continue,” he said. “The Asia Cup is very much on towards the end of June. Arjuna Ranatunga [the Sri Lanka Cricket chairman] and the Asian Cricket Council will be here soon to finalise plans for that. The Champions Trophy is on soon after that and the ICC will also try and ensure that all teams take part in that. India are due to come here at the end of the year as well.”The board is also working on plans to fill up its calendar over the coming months now that Australia has pulled out. With Bangladesh set to tour next month, the board has plans to host a tri-series in August. “A number of teams will want practice before the Champions Trophy,” Ashraf said, “so we are looking to invite sides over in the window before it as well.”
Ricky Ponting is hoping for a quick wicket in Wednesday’s semi-final because he believes Jacques Kallis will score more slowly than the openers. While admitting Kallis is one of the world’s best batsmen, Ponting wrote in his column in The Australian they have plans to restrict him in St Lucia.Kallis was criticised after scoring 48 from 63 balls in the group-stage loss to Australia in St Kitts after Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers swept South Africa to 160 in 21 overs. “We feel [the openers] are the key to their chances,” Ponting said. “But if we can get Kallis in there early, I don’t think they can get off to the same sort of start.”He is a very good player and has a great overall record, averaging 45.68 in one-day cricket, but against us it’s not so great. I feel we have also had the better of him in Tests. If we get our plans right to him, we can restrict him. We all know that if we bowl a certain way and put him under pressure, we can keep him reasonably quiet.”Ponting has noticed Kallis, who has 480 runs at 96 in the tournament, has been playing more shots since the Australia game, “which may have been the result of a rev-up from their coaching staff”. “Those runs, though, have come against bowling attacks that haven’t had the pace of a Shaun Tait reverse-swinging the ball,” he said. “The new ball is going to be key in this game.”Ponting also said Matthew Hayden might try a “repeat act” on Shaun Pollock, who went for 83 runs in ten overs in the previous encounter. “If we can take down the opposition’s experienced players, especially in their bowling line-up, like Matty took to Pollock, then that puts extra pressure on other guys around them,” he said.South Africa are deciding how they will use Pollock after he went for the worst figures of his career. “We have a plan with [Pollock],” the coach Mickey Arthur said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “I suspect he will take the new ball, but if there’s nothing happening, we will probably whip him off early and go for the pace of [Andre] Nel. It’s something we learnt from the last game.”Arthur hinted that Makhaya Ntini could sit out, owing to his ordinary form, with South Africa going in with an unchanged bowling line-up. “With Makhaya one knows what you are going to get because he bowls inswingers,” Arthur was quoted in Supercricket. “Therefore, there is no surprise element for the batsman. We have André Nel and his aggression, Shaun Pollock’s ability to limit the scoring and our two top wicket-takers, Charl [Langeveldt] and Andrew Hall.”Arthur said South Africa were “owed a bit of luck” after their previous near-misses in the World Cup, including the tied semi-final in 1999. He said there had been no discussion in the dressing room about the match, which included the key men Kallis, Pollock, Herschelle Gibbs and Mark Boucher.”When you get to the back end of these tournaments, you need your top players to have big games,” Arthur said. “The teams are going to be quite close so it’s going to be a bit of stability and a match-winning performance from one of them that could be the difference.”
Mohammad Azharuddin, the legendary Indian batsman, has said he has given up hopes of playing for India but was fighting his case in the court of law to get his name cleared from match-fixing.”I have no hopes of playing for India. But I want to get my name cleared,” Azharuddin was quoted as saying in Press Trust of India. “I am expecting that the final hearing of my case will be in May before the judgment is announced.”Azhar was slapped with a life ban while Manoj Prabhakar, the former Indian fast bowler also involved in the scandal, was banned for five years in 2000. The court exonerated Ajay Jadeja who was earlier banned for life by the Indian board.Azhar however, refused to comment on whether he was made a scapegoat by the BCCI. “The matter is sub-judice and I cannot comment on that,” Azhar said. “But I firmly believe that the whole issue was blown out of proportion. I was destined to play 99 Tests, that’s the way I look at it. If I can play 99 Tests, I could have played one more,” he said when asked if he was deliberately prevented by the BCCI from achieving a personal milestone.However, Azhar, 43, said he cannot be banned from cricketing activities. “I don’t need any permission from anyone to play charity or veteran’s cricket. I cannot play in BCCI or ICC approved or sanctioned tournaments. Veterans’ cricket is a different body that is neither controlled nor governed by the BCCI or ICC.”Meanwhile the Pakistan Senior Cricket Board (PSCB) gave a new twist to the Veteran Cup controversy, claiming it was the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which allowed Azharuddin and Manoj Prabhakar to play in Pakistan. Fawad Ijaz, the PSCB president and chief executive, told a news conference that the “Pakistan High Commission granted visas to the entire Indian cricket team, including Azharuddin and Prabakar, to travel to Pakistan for the one-day matches on the advice of the PCB.”When we applied for the no-objection certificate with the PCB, the names of the Indian team were clearly stated. The PCB issued us the NOC on the basis of which the Indians were issued visas in New Delhi,” Ijaz said. “Issuing of the NOC, followed up New Delhi granting visas clarifies that the entire Indian team is here with the permission and knowledge of the PCB.”Ijaz’s remark came in the wake of Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, disassociating his establishment from Azharuddin and Prabhakar’s visit. “The senior cricket board is operating on their own and they have invited Azharuddin and Prabhakar,” Shaharyar had said. “The senior board is not affiliated with the PCB so they are holding this series on their own.”The veterans’ cricket board of India today came out in support of Azharuddin and Prabhakar, saying both were technically eligible to take part in the veterans’ tournament against Pakistan.Chetan Chauhan, former cricketer and President of Board for Veteran Cricket in India, said: “Prabhakar’s five-year ban is over and Azharuddin is banned from playing Test and first class cricket. Veterans’ cricket does not fall under any of these two categories. So both are eligible to play.”The veterans’ series is more of a friendly one to improve relationship between the two countries. Since Azharuddin is playing all sorts of festival cricket, there is no harm in his participation in it,”However, Chauhan refused to draw any comparison between Malik, who was prevented from taking part in the series, and the two Indian players. “Salim Malik’s case is different, “he said. “In their country, Justice Qayoom Commission has banned him from all forms of cricket. So he is not eligible to play veterans’ cricket.”