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Kent captain Rob Key said that the really “hard work starts now” after his side drew with Leicestershire and collected the LV County Championship division two trophy

Mark Pennell at Canterbury18-Sep-2009
Scorecard
Kent captain Rob Key said that the really “hard work starts now” after his side drew with Leicestershire and collected the LV County Championship division two trophy. In intimating that Kent will need to strengthen their squad during the close season if they are to survive in the top flight, Key heaped praise on his injury-hit side and leading wicket-taker James Tredwell in particular.Yet if Key had written a script for winning the title on this the last day of championship cricket at St Lawrence for the summer, then his former team-mate Paul Nixon clearly hadn’t read it as he batted all day to deny Kent a ninth win of the campaign.Nixon, who played three seasons at Canterbury between 2000 and 2002, occupied the crease for a shade over seven hours in all to reach a career-best 173 not out and help wipe out Kent’s first-innings lead of 305.By the time the sides shook hands on a draw, Leicestershire had reached 350 for 2 for a modest advantage of 45-runs and Kent had toiled all day for only two wickets. Nixon featured in a record first-wicket stand against Kent worth 205 with Matt Boyce (98) that beat the previous record set by Maurice Hallam and Gerry Lester in 1956 by two runs.Boyce went soon after lunch when edging to slip against offspinner Martin van Jaarsveld then Tredwell held a return catch soon after to take his season’s tally to 65 wickets and send Josh Cobb packing for 28. It was to prove Kent’s last success of the day, if not their final celebration.The champagne corks popped soon after 4.30pm when the ECB’s managing director of England cricket presented home captain Rob Key with the trophy and winner’s cheque for £115,000.Afterwards, a phlegmatic Key said: “We got wins just when we needed them, but your life as a skipper is so much easier when you’ve got a spinner like James Tredwell in your side who can bowl you 30-plus overs in the first innings and get you wickets and that’s been a key to our success.”I’m muted in my celebration because I look at that banner and see Division two winners. I’m not taking away anything from the achievement because it’s not been easy this year, but it won’t go down in my career as one of the great moments.”It’s just part of the way forward, something we had to do to get back in the top flight. I still want to win the championship outright here, and winning the championship means the first division so the hard work starts now.”There is a difference in the standard and I’m pleased we’re going back to pitting ourselves against the best players in the county. It would be a big regret at the end of my career if we didn’t win the championship.”Key also heaped praise on Kent’s director of cricket Graham Ford, who returns to South Africa at the end of the month to be replaced by Paul Farbrace. Key added: “Graham has been fantastic. You never hear ‘Fordie’ giving himself any credit so it’s best that it comes from me.”His record speaks for itself. When he arrived we were one of the worst Twenty20 sides in the country, we’re now one of the best in one-day cricket in general. It was a real shame we got relegated in the championship last year because things could have been so different, but we’ve come straight back up and much credit goes to ‘Fordie’ and Simon Willis.”

Manchester United have been meandering of late, lacking clear instructions from their manager and drive from the players on the pitch.

Moments of individual brilliance have continued to hold Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sinking ship together so far this season, but things will have to rapidly improve if it’s to stay afloat in the long term.

And while the Norwegian has rightly been apportioned a large amount of blame for the Red Devils’ current struggles, his apparent lack of tactical nouse is not the only factor at play.

It’s believed that Solskjaer made his demands for a new holding midfielder clear to the club’s hierarchy over the summer, only for a centre-back and right-winger to be prioritised instead.

The pragmatic double pivot of Fred and Scott McTominay that proved so effective in previous years for the 20-time English champions no longer has the same effect, exposing United’s underperforming defenders with alarming regularity.

However, football director John Murtough may not have too cast his net too far in search of the much-needed solution to United’s engine room woes.

It was reported by the Manchester Evening News back in September that United’s hierarchy had identified West Ham United’s Declan Rice as a priority signing after missing out during the summer.

The England international had just enjoyed the best season of his career after playing a pivotal part in the Hammers finishing in sixth position in the top-flight table before being called up the Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad for Euro 2020.And the youngster carried his eye-catching form onto the international stage throughout the tournament, earning praise from several pundits, including Teddy Sheringham.“(He’s a player I see at a club like Manchester United) without a doubt. I thought Declan Rice was our outstanding player at Euro 2020,” he said.“I was very disappointed when he got brought off in the final, it was the wrong decision. We couldn’t retain possession when it was tough against the Italians — and he was one player who did retain possession.“He moved like a Rolls-Royce with the ball out of a problem and then found a pass after that. It’s invaluable to be able to do that and he showed what a top player he is. He’s a top player so he will be going somewhere quite soon.”The ex-United and England striker then lavished more praise on Rice and continued to link him with a potential move to Old Trafford, even comparing him to two former midfield greats of the club.“He’ll definitely be on Manchester United’s radar. He’s in the mould of Roy Keane and Michael Carrick, who were two top, top players, which you’ve got to have in midfield for Manchester United. So he’d easily fit in there,” Sheringham concluded.

Since then, Rice has taken his game to another level under the tutelage of David Moyes, bagging three goals and providing three assists in 13 appearances as West Ham currently sit in a Champions League qualification spot.

It’s arguable that United have never replaced Keane in the middle of the park since his controversial departure in 2006, with Carrick more of a successor to Scholes than the Irishman.

But Rice certainly has the drive and tenacity that Keane had in abundance and that Solskjaer’s charges are desperately in need of.

Only time will tell if the £62,000-per-week titan, who Gary Lineker dubbed “magnificent”, makes the move to Manchester, but he’s certainly a player that Murtough should be closely monitoring if he wants to catch up with his domestic and European rivals.

And, in other news…Forget Pogba: Man Utd lightweight who lost 60% of his duels was “exposed” vs Atalanta

Three days is hardly the ideal pre-season build-up for the defending Sheffield Shield champions. But that’s how long Victoria have been given to adjust from Twenty20 to four-day cricket after their off-season was dominated by preparations for the multi-mi

Brydon Coverdale29-Oct-2009Three days is hardly the ideal pre-season build-up for the defending Sheffield Shield champions. But that’s how long Victoria have been given to adjust from Twenty20 to four-day cricket after their off-season was dominated by preparations for the multi-million dollar Champions League Twenty20 in India.The Twenty20 squad members flew out from India last Friday, weighed down by healthy prize-money for reaching the semi-finals but also the disappointment of being comprehensively knocked out by New South Wales. Then came a couple of precious days at home, the start of four-day training on Tuesday, and a flight to Adelaide for this Friday’s Sheffield Shield clash with South Australia.”It’s a super challenge for our players to switch mindsets and the physical challenges are enormously different as well,” the coach Greg Shipperd said. “Instead of bowling four overs in a day they’ll have to bowl 20, 25 overs.”There’s no doubt we’re not as fresh as we have been in the past and across the season now our whole season has been concertinaed into a shorter space of time. So, less rest between games and our management and rotation of our players is going to be extremely important.”Eight of the players in Victoria’s 12-man squad for their Shield opener were in the Twenty20 unit in India, as was Dirk Nannes, who was representing Delhi Daredevils. Only Chris Rogers, Nick Jewell and Lloyd Mash have been at home throughout October, playing grade cricket and itching for their domestic season to kick off.The players need look only as far as their team-mate Aaron Finch for proof that quick adjustment is possible. Finch was part of the Champions League squad and arrived home on Friday, then a few hours later was in Geelong playing grade cricket and posted a healthy 138 from 143 balls.There are others who, like Finch, had little to do in India but run drinks and train in the nets. Among them was Bryce McGain, who seven months ago was making his Test debut in Cape Town and now finds himself fighting with Jon Holland for the role of Victoria’s No. 1 spinner.Form guide: Victoria in 2008-09

Shield – 1st

FR Cup – 2nd

Twenty20 – 2nd

Holland is in India with Australia’s one-day team but will be back in Melbourne in time for Victoria’s second Sheffield Shield game. It means that McGain, 37, is under pressure to deliver this weekend in Adelaide to show that he deserves to retain his state position throughout the summer.”Bryce is champing at the bit to play. This is a huge game for him to again give himself some confidence that those skills are still there,” Shipperd said. “We are really confident that they’re still there and we believe that if he is not the best spinner in the country, then he is a close second to whoever the other person may be.”Bryce is very keen to make the most of these first three or four [Shield and FR Cup] games while Jon is away and then we have got some selection headaches. That will help to put the pressure on the Victorian selectors to think long and hard about who’s the best for which situation, which form of the game we’re playing. We’ll need to delicately balance that as the season unfolds.”While Cameron White is with the ODI team, Victoria will be captained by David Hussey, who will be charged with giving the side a positive start after they reached all three finals in 2008-09. They did the same in 2007-08 but have only that year’s Twenty20 title and last season’s Sheffield Shield to show for the six final appearances.Unlike several other states Victoria have retained a settled squad this summer, losing only the limited-overs wicketkeeper Adam Crosthwaite during the off-season. But with men like Brad Hodge, Shane Harwood, McGain and Damien Wright in their mid to late 30s, the window for winning more silverware with this group will begin to close.Harwood, 35, is already having his workload managed and has been rested from Friday’s Sheffield Shield opener and will join the squad for the FR Cup game that follows. The next couple of months will be hectic for the Bushrangers, who must squeeze in five Sheffield Shield games and seven one-dayers before Christmas.Victoria squad Chris Rogers, Nick Jewell, Lloyd Mash, Brad Hodge, David Hussey (capt), Andrew McDonald, Rob Quiney, Matthew Wade (wk), John Hastings, Clint McKay, Bryce McGain, Dirk Nannes.

West Ham’s new head of recruitment Rob Newman could end their long hunt for a backup striker in the upcoming January transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes.net, the Irons are among several Premier League teams eyeing up a move for RCD Espanyol frontman Raul de Tomas in the coming months.

Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United are also keeping tabs on the 27-year-old forward.

It’s thought that the LaLiga 2 champions would command a fee in the region of €45m (£38m) with the uncapped Spaniard, formerly of Real Madrid, under contract at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat until 2026.

Worthy backup

It is no secret that a new striker is needed in east London – after all, manager David Moyes has gone into a very hectic campaign with only one recognised senior option in Michail Antonio, who has suffered from his fair share of injuries over the years.

The Hammers remain unbeaten in the Europa League and look a shoo-in to advance into the knockout stages, whilst they are also putting up a charge in the Carabao Cup, with the FA Cup to come later in January.

It means the Scotsman is in dire need of rotating his side but it’s a difficult task when your starting winger, Jarrod Bowen, is effectively Antonio’s backup, so he’s not getting enough rest either.

Therefore, the arrival of a new frontman should sit atop Newman’s priorities. And de Tomas would be an interesting option.

The 5 foot 10 marksman has proven to be a clinical goalscorer for the La Liga outfit in recent seasons, scoring 34 goals in only 64 appearances for the club, including six strikes in 11 games this campaign alone, as per Transfermarkt.

Only Madrid duo Karim Benzema (nine) and Vinicius Junior (seven) have found the net more times in La Liga than the Spaniard this season.

De Tomas is self-proclaimed to be “a pacey, competitive and technically-gifted goalscorer,” as per Los Blancos’ official website, so he’s obviously not short of confidence.

Valued at just €15m (£12.5m) by CIES Football Observatory, a swoop for £38m might be a little more than what he’s worth, so if Newman can haggle that down to a reasonable fee, then the Irons should look to sign the Espanyol talisman.

Moyes desperately needs a new signing up top and de Tomas could be the man to end the agonising search.

AND in other news, “My understanding is…”: Finance expert drops GSB claim, West Ham fans will be fuming…

Stuart Clark is preparing to step into state captaincy knowing that his chances of continuing his Test career could depend on injuries hitting Australia’s younger fast men

Cricinfo staff24-Nov-2009Stuart Clark is preparing to step into state captaincy knowing that his chances of continuing his Test career could depend on injuries hitting Australia’s younger fast men. While Clark is in Perth getting ready to lead New South Wales for the first time, his international colleagues are in Brisbane ahead of Thursday’s first Test against West Indies.Clark was part of Australia’s most recent Test team, the side that lost at The Oval and conceded the Ashes, although Doug Bollinger beat him into the 12-man squad for the Gabba. In his two Sheffield Shield games this season Clark has five wickets at 31.20 but at 34, his chances of further Test action have slimmed.”I feel what has happened in the last couple of weeks in Shield cricket has really given me some heart that I can still do it – and do it well,” Clark told the . “I think it’s all pretty simple: take some wickets and hopefully a spot becomes available.”There’s probably going to be an injury. The guys that played in England at different times did a really good job and deserve their spots. Doug bowled well in India, they went down that path.”With Brett Lee’s Test future uncertain, Clark’s experience could be valuable to Australia if the younger fast men falter this summer. Clark hopes he can be part of the team that aims to win back the Ashes in a year’s time.”I think that is one of the benefits of me playing if I do play, I have played a lot of cricket over the years and I have played quite a few Test matches,” he said. “I’m not sure if it will come down to that. It will come down to experience if I’m bowling well. If an opportunity arises, I think there is every chance I could get picked. Physically I’m fine, and mentally I know I still want to play for Australia. I definitely want to be part of the Ashes again next year after unfortunately losing them in England this year.”For the time being, he will have to content himself with the challenges of captaincy. In the absence of senior New South Wales players such as Simon Katich, Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke, all of whom are in the Test squad, Clark has been handed the opportunity to test his leadership skills against Western Australia.He begins his captaincy career with an FR Cup game on Wednesday and will follow it with the Sheffield Shield match starting on Friday. The challenge for bowling captains is knowing how many overs to send down themselves, and Clark is confident he can make the right calls with some input from the coach Matthew Mott.”I will do what I have always done – bowl when I need to,” he said. “It’s probably one of the harder things when you are captain, that there is so much else going on that you may neglect yourself. There are different times when it is between Matthew to work out when the best time to bowl is. I won’t just leave myself standing out in the field.”

A number of Norwich City supporters have been left impressed by reported managerial candidate Kjetil Knutsen after footage of his Bodo/Glimt side was shared via Twitter.

The 53-year-old has been strongly linked with the vacant manager’s job at Carrow Road, with Dean Smith and Frank Lampard also reportedly among the leading candidates to replace Daniel Farke, who was relieved of his duties within hours of Saturday’s win at Brentford.

Knutsen made history last year by guiding Bodo/Glimt to their first Norwegian league title and his team also made waves on the continent in recent weeks, thrashing Roma 6-1 in the Europa Conference League and earning a 2-2 draw in the return fixture at the Stadio Olimpico.

According to a report in the Eastern Daily Press, he is renowned as a process-driven coach with a clear footballing identity, his tactics revolving around a possession-based, high-pressing 4-3-3 setup.

Norwich fans impressed by Knutsen

Twitter fan channel Canary Cast shared a 72-second clip from the aforementioned thrashing of Roma which showed Bodo/Glimt playing an intricate, free-flowing move with a multitude of passes before a killer through ball resulted in a sumptuous goal.

These Norwich fans were impressed by what they saw and gave their backing to Knutsen being potentially hired as Farke’s successor.

“Completely missed this. I’m sold. Get him in now. Him or Favre. Let Villa have Lampard. Any team that can put 6 past a Mourinho team and then draw 2-2 in Italy deserves some attention.”

Credit: @MattMorriss76

“Graham Potter did ok coming to Prem from Sweden, so reckon it could work.”

Credit: @alexholliman10

“I like the look of this. Very Farke ball but with quick shifts in tempo to make breakthroughs. Would be really open to this as a fan”

Credit: @TwitchyTerryTV

“Looks just the way we play at our best. Would seem to be a perfect fit. Mattias Normann also used to be with Bodo/Glimt”

Credit: @Yellangreen

“Tzolis and Rashica will have a field day in a setup like this”

Credit: @J2arlow

“They even play in yellow! It’s perfect!”

Credit: @CanaryWundaboy

Robbie Joseph and Darren Stevens have both signed new contracts with Kent

Cricinfo staff16-Dec-2009Robbie Joseph and Darren Stevens have both signed new contracts with Kent.Joseph, a fast bowler, and Stevens, an allrounder, have extended their stay with the county until 2011.Paul Farbrace, Kent’s team director, said: “We are delighted that Darren and Robbie have extended their contracts with the club. Both are quality players and, with Rob Key, Martin van Jaarsveld and Geraint Jones recently extending their deals, the nucleus of the team is now taking shape.”As a club, it’s great for us to know that the players want to commit themselves moving forward. It’s also exciting from the team point of view because it puts us in a strong position, going into the 2010 season.”

Celtic defender Stephen Welsh has revealed he should be fit and available for selection against St Johnstone on Saturday, The Daily Record report.

The Lowdown: Injury scare…

Welsh made his fifth and sixth appearances for Scotland’s Under-21 side during the international break, captaining his country to a 2-0 win over Kazakhstan.

The 21-year-old kept his place in the side against Belgium on Tuesday, however, he limped off with minutes remaining, with St Johnstone man Glenn Middleton also needing to be withdrawn due to injury.

That left both players’ availability for the League Cup semi-final in doubt, but it now seems as if the Celtic man will be ready to go at Hampden Park.

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The Latest: Welsh’s comments

Welsh, labelled as ‘excellent’ by pundit Paul John Dykes, was talking to the media and addressed his recent knock, admitting he was replaced as a precaution and labelled the knock as an ‘impact’ injury.

“I’m fine. It was a knock when their player had a shot and followed through on us, but I just came off as a precaution. I’ll be fine for the weekend.

“You’re always worried when you feel a bit of pain, but luckily it wasn’t a twist or anything. It was just pure impact so I should be fine.”

The Verdict: Relief…

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that summer signing Carl Starfelt, along with Tom Rogic and Giorgos Giakoumakis, probably won’t be fit for the League Cup semi-final on Saturday, and with Christopher Jullien also still sidelined, having Welsh fit is great news.

He’s been the player who has filled in for Starfelt prior to the international break in wins over Ferencvaros and Dundee, so you’d expect he could once again partner Cameron Carter-Vickers at the back.

If he doesn’t quite make it, Postecoglou may have to turn to the experience of versatile ace Nir Bitton, as summer signings Liam Scales and Osaze Urhoghide are yet to start a senior game in green and white.

In other news: Ange now wants to sign another forward for Celtic in January; came through same academy as Rogic. 

The problem with Pakistan’s batting, according to the captain, is more about not going on to get big scores when set, rather than being out of form or poorly-equipped to handle Australian conditions

Osman Samiuddin in Hobart13-Jan-2010Pakistan’s batting problems on this tour have been well-documented. They crumbled under the pressure of a small chase in Sydney last week, but have struggled to compile decent Test match totals during the trip to New Zealand earlier.The problem, according to Mohammad Yousuf, is more about not going on to get big scores when set, rather than being out of form or poorly-equipped to handle Australian conditions. Yousuf himself is emblematic of the problem; he has had starts in most innings on this tour and looked in good touch, but has only one fifty to show for it. That is one of five fifties Pakistan’s batsmen have scored over two Tests, and nobody has yet scored a hundred.”There’s no doubt that my own form is better than any batsmen in the side at the moment,” Yousuf said. “Whenever I have come to Australia I have not been in as good form as I am now. When I go out to bat, the ball comes right off the middle. Maybe I am hurrying it a little but the big runs aren’t coming. I don’t think there is anything else. I was telling Waqar [Younis, the bowling coach] the same thing that I am feeling good but just not getting the big runs.”Through the tour, Yousuf has blamed Pakistan’s veer towards Twenty20 cricket as the root cause of failure: they have crossed 350 just twice in their last 16 innings and haven’t batted 100 overs even once on this tour. He said Pakistan’s batsmen lacked the patience for the longer format.”Our middle order is scoring fifties but nothing bigger and this will happen,” Yousuf said. “These guys are all young and if you look at their averages they are also low. All of us are in good form, but we need to score 350-odd then our bowling is good enough to get them.”The view is not shared by his counterpart Ricky Ponting, who believes Pakistan have just not selected the right players. “It depends who they pick, doesn’t it?” Ponting said. “They’re picking strokeplayers and dashers. They don’t have to pick those guys in their side. I’m sure there are other guys around Pakistan that can play Test cricket. Shoaib Malik is a great example, he’s someone who can bat long periods of time but there he is sitting on the sidelines.”It’s not all about every single young player in Pakistan having a Twenty20 mindset or a Twenty20 technique. There’s plenty of those players around. The two Akmals are the standout ones that are naturally aggressive strokemakers. They’ve got those two batting in the middleorder. I think the rest of them have got very sound Test match techniques. Look at the two openers – they worked really hard last week in Sydney in really tough conditions. Their No. 3 [Faisal Iqbal] looks to me to be a Test-match only sort of player, he doesn’t look like he’d really be a Twenty20 player, Yousuf’s the same.”I think that might be a bit of a, not an excuse, but they’ve only got a couple of batsmen in their line-up who you’d really say are more suited to the shorter forms of the game. We’re probably the same, we’ve got guys like Haddin and Watson that have started their careers in the shorterforms of the game and turned themselves into Test players.”[Umar] Akmal has looked Pakistan’s best batsman after Yousuf in this series, though he has thrown away starts on a couple of occasions. He is the side’s top-scorer in the series so far and was so in New Zealand before this.”He is too young, and has played just five Tests,” Yousuf said. “On this tour he has played very well and after this tour he will have more confidence. This is the best team in the world, difficult situations and conditions, everything difficult and when you go from here you perform well against other teams and get confidence. He has changed game a little and is a very clever player. He represents a good future for Pakistan.”

After a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Norwich City at the weekend in their latest Premier League outing after the latest international break, Southampton have been dealt a worrying injury issue that could impact their team for the next few weeks.

What’s the news?

Southampton midfielder Stuart Armstrong was not in the squad for the game at Carrow Road after picking up a calf injury before the game according to Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

This will surely be a big blow for the team and a big disappointment for the fans after the Scottish international had only recently recovered from a calf issue and managed to get some Premier League minutes under his belt before his first start of the season in their 1-0 win over Aston Villa earlier in the month.

Since joining the south coast club back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Celtic in a deal worth a reported fee of £7m, the 29-year-old has made a total of 109 appearances for Southampton across all competitions in which he has managed to score 14 goals and provide 11 assists in the process.

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Given how Armstrong was just getting back into the swing of things for Southampton and played in both of Scotland’s recent World Cup qualifying matches against Moldova and Denmark, this latest calf issue will surely be a big setback for the player.

His latest appearance for his country against Denmark saw Armstrong come off the substitutes bench and provide an assist for his club teammate Che Adams in their 2-0 win.

Hasenhuttl and everyone else at Southampton will undoubtedly be hoping that the forward will be able to recover from this latest setback as soon as possible and not miss too many games for the Saints. As they approach their winter run of fixtures the manager will want as many options in the squad available to him to help keep his side away from the relegation zone.

If Armstrong does end up spending another significant period of time out injured, Hasenhuttl will have to rely on the likes of Theo Walcott, Moussa Djenepo and Nathan Tella to step up to the plate and provide a suitable attacking threat while Armstrong is out recovering. Given their inconsistent nature, this injury blow will certainly leave their Austrian head coach gutted.

In other news: Possession lost x17: Southampton lightweight with 0 key passes let Ralph down vs NCFC – opinion