Mike Watkinson will remain as Lancashire’s cricket manager until the end of the 2007 season, after signing a four-year extension to his contract.Watkinson, who was drafted in as England’s bowling coach for the tour to Bangladesh last October, began negotiations with Lancashire at the end of last season, but the deal was finally completed thisweek.”I have been happy with the progress which has been made, not only by the first team, but by Lancashire cricket in general over the past two years," said Watkinson. "Hopefully this will continue into the seasons ahead.””Mike is a Lancastrian through and through," added Lancashire’s chairman, Jack Simmons. "Success for the club is, I know, Mike’s main ambition. The contract extension represents security for him and shows the confidence the club has in his abilities.”
The Canadian Cricket Association is pleased to welcome Gus Logie as our Coach for Team Canada at the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.The WICB has reconfirmed that Gus Logie has been officially released to the CCA to take up a position as Coach at the World Cup 2003.Gus has now also confirmed that he will take up the position.ICC Global Development Manager, Andrew Eade, and High Performance Specialist, Bob Woolmer, have also been officially notified of this decision.The ICC will now be working with the CCA to finalize High Performance Training for Team Canada. It is expected that the team will leave a few days earlier for specialist final training in South Africa.Bangladesh, meantime, has reportedly also approached Gordon Greenidge, another former WICB professional , to assist them at the Cricket World Cup in South Africa.
A memorable day for Darren Thomas who recorded his maiden first-class century that assisted his side to a healthy total after they had slumped to 128-6 after winning the toss.With Adrian Dale, who also reached a century, he put on 163 for the seventh wicket. Dale had already scored 55 when his 26-year-old partner arrived at the crease but Thomas got off the mark with a pull for six and continued his belligerent demolition of the Essex attack who saw their earlier enviable position recede alarmingly thanks to the flailing bat of left-hander Thomas coupled with some wayward bowling.Dale was the first to reach his century having struck 10 boundaries but with his score on 113, he edged a lifting delivery to keeper Barry Hyam to give the persevering Andrew McGarry his third wicket.Thomas, having arrived at his half-century from only 40 deliveries, then faced a further 106 balls accumulating his next 50 runs, spending nearly an hour in the nervous nineties before reaching his milestone innings that embraced 14 boundaries including one six.He was unbeaten on 119 at the close with Glamorgan on 335-7 and in sight of their fourth batting point which had appeared so unlikely earlier in the day.Mark Ilott had dismissed Stephen James in the second over of the morning and the introduction of McGarry into the attack was rewarded by two wickets in successive overs for the 19 year-old who removed Matthew Maynard and Jimmy Maher.Michael Powell fell cheaply to Ronnie Irani before Dale and Keith Newell added 51 for the fifth wicket to ease the pressure on the visitors only for left-armer Ilott to strike back with two wickets before Thomas joined Dale to steal the show.
Celtic are closing in on a long-term deal for defender Mitchel Frame after fending off interest from Crystal Palace, The Daily Record report.
The Lowdown: Palace’s offer
Frame turned 16 back in January and currently plies his trade with Celtic’s U17 side. He was a wanted man back in the winter window, with Crystal Palace one of three Premier League sides to offer him a three-year professional contract.
The teenager is regarded as one of Celtic’s best talents coming through the academy, and it seems as if he is set to commit his future to the Hoops instead of pursuing a move south.
The Latest: Scott Burns’ claim
Scott Burns shared a story on The Daily Record on Tuesday evening, claiming that Celtic are close to completing a long-term deal for Frame.
The reliable reporter labelled it as a major boost for the club, with playmaker Daniel Kelly also on the verge of penning professional terms.
The Verdict: Good news
Celtic have lost a number of young talents in recent years, with winger Ben Doak set to join that list as he closes in on a move to Liverpool.
Therefore, this update on Frame is a welcome one, especially as the likes of Tottenham and Wolves offered him terms at the beginning of 2022 and Newcastle and Manchester City are just the latest clubs to be name-checked with an interest.
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Hopefully, the Hoops have a new Kieran Tierney on their hands when it comes to left-back Frame, and it appears as if fans should keep their eyes peeled for an announcement later this week.
In other news: ‘Unfortunately…’ – Journalist gutted ‘for Celtic’ as more exit news emerges from Parkhead.
ScorecardWest Zone made easy work of a target of 226 against East Zone in Hyderabad, finishing the match within 40 overs to secure the bonus point. Wasim Jaffer began the chase with an aggressive knock, Ajinkya Rahane kept East at bay during the middle overs, before Abhishek Nayar sealed the deal with a 27-ball 49.East, after opting to bat, started steadily with the openers Sourav Ganguly and Arindam Das adding 63 in 14 overs. Ganguly scored five fours in his 30 before falling to a tame pull and the rest of the top order failed to carry on after making starts. At 124 for 4, East were in need of a revival and it was Saurabh Tiwary who led the way with his second consecutive half-century, adding 65 for the fifth wicket with Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Tiwary, known for his aggressive batting, showed a lot of urgency in his 65, hitting four fours and two sixes.East lost their way in the slog overs after Venugopal Rao struck twice to send back Shukla for 25 and then Wriddhiman Saha for 3 with the score reading 198 for 6. There was no late-innings surge from the lower order to boost the total as East settled for a middle-of-the-road target.Jaffer began the chase in earnest, dealing almost entirely in boundaries. His 43-ball 48 contained ten fours and looked set for more before the seamer Shib Paul knocked back his middle stump. Parthiv Patel and Rahane added 57 for the third wicket to help West coast towards the target. When Rahane fell for 60, in the 31st over, West were well ahead of the required rate and an unbeaten stand of 69 for the fifth wicket between Nayar and Venugopal Rao finished things off in a hurry. Nayar smashed seven fours and a six in his knock.East face Central Zone at the same venue on Sunday while West head to Visakhapatnam to face North Zone in three day’s time.
It says much about how South Africa’s World Cup campaign has unravelledthat most of the questions Graeme Smith fielded at the pre-match pressconference concerned an alleged drinking binge hours after the team hadbeen easily beaten by New Zealand. Given England’s own alcohol-relatedwoes earlier in the competition, it was no surprise that someone snidely referred to Tuesday’s encounter as the Drinking World Championship.Whatever the billing, it’s a contest that South Africa simply have to win, and Smith was certain that it would be “a very explosive game”.South Africa lost their group game to Australia, but it was subsequentreverses against Bangladesh and New Zealand that pushed them to the brink of elimination. Losing the toss against New Zealand in Grenada didn’t help but Smith accepted that the team had to shoulder much of the blame.”We haven’t adapted as well as we should have,” he said. “We need a bit of luck as well. We haven’t always got the better end of the wickets, and haven’t played to our potential. But if we win the next three games, we win the World Cup. We haven’t achieved our level in this tournament, which has been disappointing, but we know if we perform, we can turn it all around.”They’ll certainly fancy their chances against a side that they’ve beaten 21 times in 34 matches – 11 defeats – but Smith conceded that England had the advantage of being more familiar with the conditions at the Kensington Oval. “England have played here before, this is our first time here,” he said. “Adaptability will be the key tomorrow. The pace and bounce will suit us but we’ve got to find our feet early.”His assertion that South Africa were the more consistent outfit iscertainly borne out by facts, and the one-day rankings, but all that will count for little in what has effectively become a knockout game. South Africa will ring the changes after the defeat against New Zealand, with both Justin Kemp and Charl Langeveldt coming into the reckoning. Robin Peterson appears set to miss out, as could Ashwell Prince if South Africa decide to play the extra bowler.Smith will be under the spotlight in more ways than one. Back in 2003,Nasser Hussain’s reference to him as Wotzisname provided the incentive for two magnificent double-centuries, and his less-than-shy approach hasn’t always won him admirers. Under his captaincy though, South Africa have gone a long way to ridding themselves of the choker tag.
It’s a long tournament, but we do have drinking rules. If we don’t go over it and push the limits, I have no issues.
“There’ll be a lot of heat and pressure on both sides,” Smith said. “If we win tomorrow, we’ll put a lot of things behind us. But winning tomorrow isn’t winning the World Cup. It’ll be a good start, take us to semis and we’ll take it from there.”Smith identified Kevin Pietersen as the chief threat. “He is one of the best one-day players at the moment,” he said. “He’s a vital cog in their set-up and we have respect for his cricketing ability. We’ll look to knock him over early. We have plans for him as we have for everyone else. We’ve got to be well prepared and we will be well prepared.”The incident in Grenada – It’s alleged that Smith and some of histeam-mates nearly came to blows with hecklers – was brushed aside, though it’s doubtful whether it will stay under the carpet if South Africa exit the competition on Tuesday. “I have no issue with some guys going out and blowing off steam,” Smith said. “It’s a long tournament, but we do have drinking rules. If we don’t go over it and push the limits, I have no issues.”According to Smith, the rules speak of “calming down two days before the game”, and he stressed that there wasn’t a problem within the squad. “We’ve been the quietest team in the World Cup, probably due to where we’ve been based,” he said with a grin, perhaps a reference to England’s antics in St Lucia. “Attacking our guys for one night of relaxation is not the done thing.”The incident has led to some like Kepler Wessels, who led South Africa at the 1992 World Cup, asking for stern action to be taken against theoffenders, but Smith wasn’t about to lose his Monday night’s sleep overthe comments. “It’s hard to find something Kepler doesn’t have an issuewith,” he said with a laugh. “He’s always there when we lose, and he’ssomewhere else when we win.”For the moment, he has far weightier issues on his mind. A month ago,South Africa were atop the one-day rankings and all was well with theworld. But if they slip up at this historic venue tomorrow, as they did so memorably against Walsh and Ambrose in their first post-isolation Test, 18 months of hard work and excellent results will mean almost nothing.”We’ve not played the cricket we are capable of,” Smith said withcharacteristic candour. “We’ve got to look at our cricket and see whywe’ve not played well.” On Tuesday, those last chance saloon headlineswill be appropriate in more ways than one.
Lancashire’s depleted attack put in a determined performances to leave their team with a healthy advantage over Durham. Without the services of Dominic Cork, who injured his ankle batting late on the first day, the remaining bowlers produced a concerted effort. Tom Smith again put in a commendable show following his three wickets on Championship debut last week and three more in the C&G Trophy. Here he claimed four important strikes including Dale Benkenstein, who was looking dangerous on 37. Gordon Muchall provided the major obstacles as he also continued fine early-season form by following his 213 against Kent with 102. But he was removed by Glen Chapple, who chipped in with three wickets, leaving Durham trailing by 144 runs.The Rose Bowl continued its reputation of aiding the seamers as Hampshire and Sussex traded blows. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistan paceman, claimed 5 for 63 as Sussex established a vital lead of 43. Robin Martin-Jenkins helped out with two wickets during an exceptionally tight spell as he conceded just 19 runs in 14 overs. However, the Hampshire attack struck back as James Bruce continued his encouraging start to the campaign although Chris Adams remains unbeaten and Sussex have a significant advantage of 192.Warwickshire took a firm grip on their clash against Yorkshire by claiming a 100-run lead. All the Warwickshire bowlers chipped in but Heath Streak led the way and set the ball rolling as he removed both openers. However, the key wicket of Darren Lehmann fell to the unheralded figure of Timothy Groenewald, a 22-year-old South African seamer making his Championship debut, who also removed Michael Lumb. Jason Gillespie, whose last innings was his unbeaten 201 against Bangladesh, came in at No. 10 and was left stranded on 6. With a healthy cushion behind them, Warwickshire built confidently with Neil Carter smashing 36 off 27 balls. Nick Knight and Jonathan Trott consolidated and stretched the lead towards 250.Middlesex against Kent at Lord’s. For a full bulletin by Will Luke click here.
Division Two
Essex continued to enjoy a run-fest against Glamorgan following the record-breaking efforts of Ravindar Bopara and Andy Flower on the first day. Flower fell early on, trapped lbw by Simon Jones, but the runs stilled flowed through Ronnie Irani and then Ryan ten doeschate, who brought up Essex’s third ton of the innings off 143 balls. There were some painful figures for the Glamorgan attack, although Ryan Watkins gave them something to smile about. His unbeaten 76 set up the Glamorgan reply after Darren Gough claimed an early scalp.Tim Murtagh and Nayan Doshi claimed three wickets apiece to hand Surrey a 126-run lead over Leicestershire. At 126 for 6, Leicestershire were facing the prospect of the follow-on but John Maunders averted that possibility with a fighting 87. Stuart Broad enjoyed a fine all-round day, firstly confirming the potential of his pace bowler with a maiden five-wicket haul, as Surrey lost their last six wickets for 35, before showing that some of his father’s batting skills had rubbed off with an 83-ball 24. He is certainly one to keep an eye on, but has a huge task to keep Leicestershire in this match when he takes the ball for a second time.In contrast to the run-filled opening day when Somerset racked up 406, today was dominated by the bowlers as Worcestershire slumped for 161. The clatter of wickets continued after Somerset declined to enforce the follow-on and crashed to 97 for 7, although they hold a commanding lead of 342. From 79 for 1, Worcestershire crumbled as Andrew Caddick claimed five. When Somerset batting again Marcus Trescothick suffered his fourth Championship failure in four innings, trapped lbw by Kabir Ali. Zaheer Khan, the Indian pace bowler, scythed through the order with four wickets, but it is probably too late for Worcestershire.
Scorecard Newly promoted Hampshire pulled off a 48-run victory against Gloucestershire early on the fourth morning to get their first season back in the top flight since 2002 off to a flyer. It was a win that had seemed unlikely yesterday, as Gloucestershire were coasting at 129 for 0 at the Rose Bowl, chasing 252 for victory. But after five wickets fell for 26 runs in the final hour last evening, Hampshire were very much in the hunt. They seemed to let the impetus slip, though, when play resumed on Saturday, as Stephen Adshead and Alex Gidman set about taking Gloucestershire in sight of victory. But when Chris Tremlett broke their sixth-wicket stand of 33, the visitors were back in trouble (181 for 6). Shane Warne struck next, taking his innings tally to 3 for 56, before Billy Taylor extracted bounce and movement to remove the last three wickets on a bowler-firendly wicket to end with a six-wicket haul. Scorecard The defending champions Warwickshire sealed victory against Glamorgan by an innings and 43 runs on the final morning at Edgbaston. Ashley Giles mopped up the tail with 3 for 85, as Glamorgan lost their last six wickets for 110 runs on a decent batting track. Resuming their second innings 153 runs behind Warwickshire’s towering total of 564 was always going to be a tall order for the visitors to overhaul, and Giles and Heath Streak took early wickets to reduce them to 217 for 6. But the No. 8 Darren Thomas struck a breezy 46 from 65 balls to lift them to 295 for 7, and neither was David Harrison going down without a fight – he added 23 from 37 balls from No. 9. But Glamorgan couldn’t avoid the inevitable and eventually rolled over just before lunch. Scorecard Mark Ramprakash struck an impressive 151 as Surrey and Sussex played out a predictable draw at The Oval. Jeremy Batty, Graham Thorpe and Ally Brown all struck half-centuries as the rain-affected match petered out to an inevitable conclusion. Ramprakash (151) and Thorpe (59) had steered Surrey through to lunch without any more upsets after they lost Richard Clinton on the fourth morning. Brown battered his way to an unbeaten 74 from 72 balls, with three sixes, before Surrey declared on 402 for 5.
England A finally had something to cheer on their tour of India with a convincing 187-run win against Tamil Nadu at Chennai. Even better news for them, and for Duncan Fletcher, the national coach, was that Simon Jones bowled them to victory with 5 for 31, thus taking 10 wickets in the match.After England A declared at 295 for 9, having adding 44 runs to their overnight total with a lead of 330, Simon Francis set them on the way with the wickets of both openers.The Indian batsmen then stood firm to go to lunch on 90 for 3 as Jones struggled to find his range, but after the break it was a different story. Jones proved too hot to handle as he blew away the middle-lower order in his five-wicket haul, and also boosted his chances of making the full tour of West Indies next month.England A’s next game is in the Duleep Trophy, India’s domestic first-class competition, next week at Jalandhar.
It has all the makings of a classic TV courtroom drama. On one side there is an England batsman represented by the wife of the Prime Minister. On the other, a venerated county cricket club, and the hearing before a panel headed by a distinguished lawyer with his own cricketing credentials.
Crawley- Lord’s date for hearing Photo CricInfo
But it is not fiction, nor is the case being heard in the Royal Courts of Justice. The venue is Lord’s, the date Friday 15th February and the case concerns John Crawley and his claim that he has, in effect, been constructively dismissed by Lancashire. The county refutes that claim and so, for the first time, the ECB Contracts Appeal Panel has been called in to arbitrate.30-year-old Crawley made his debut for Lancashire in 1990 before going up to Cambridge University where he enjoyed an outstanding cricketing stay. Coming from the same school, county and university as Mike Atherton, he was always expected to follow his mentor into the England side, and he did so in 1994. He became Lancashire captain in 1999 but was relieved of the post after the 2001 season, when his form with the bat suffered, and the side narrowly avoided relegation.It was at this point that relations between the player and his county were seen to be more than just strained. Crawley made it plain that he wanted away and issued a statement saying: “As far as I am concerned I am no longer a Lancashire player, and in fact Mike Watkinson has told me not to attend any training sessions involving the playing staff.”Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes countered, telling CricInfo: “There is a conflict between John and the club which we are still trying to iron out. As to the reports that he has been banned from the training ground, they are simply not true.”Claim and counter-claim then followed until Crawley gave official notice to Lancashire that he was invoking the clause in his contract that states: “If the Club shall be guilty of serious or persistent breach of the terms and conditions of this Agreement [i.e. player contract with the club] the Cricketer may, on giving not less than seven days’ written notice to the Club, terminate this Agreement.”Such a procedure requires the Contract Appeals Panel to sit. It was convened by the chairman of the Registration Committee of the ECB, David Kemp, who is sitting on the panel himself along with the representative of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, former Derbyshire batsman and now lawyer Tim O’Gorman, under the chairmanship of another eminent lawyer and cricketer, Francis Neate.Neate is a former captain of Berkshire who enjoyed a career in first-class cricket at Oxford University where he averaged nearly 40 as a right-handed batsman. In 1961 he took a century off Hampshire – one of the counties considered to be a leading contender for Crawley’s signature if he is allowed to leave Lancashire – and finished as the second Englishman in the first-class averages behind Ken Barrington. He became solicitor to the old Test and County Cricket Board, where one of his duties was to produce the constitution of the England and Wales Cricket Board.Since being asked to chair this panel Neate has had to determine its procedures, as the terms only exist in skeleton form and there is no precedent from which he can work. After each side has put its case, the three members of the panel will consider the evidence and decide on the outcome. There is a right of appeal, which somehow seems appropriate in a cricketing matter.Crawley has enlisted a big name to fight his corner. Cherie Booth, QC, is a specialist in employment law and, as wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair, should not be unfamiliar with causes that have a red rose as their emblem.
JackSimmons Photo John Dawson
Lancashire chairman Jack Simmons is adamant that he wants Crawley playing under the red rose of Lancashire next season, and for the duration of the four-year contract that he is not yet halfway through. Crawley, however, claims that there are “irreconcilable differences” between them and is equally adamant he will not play for Lancashire again.Now it is up to the panel to decide, but it is difficult to imagine how the player could be forced to see out the remainder of his contract against his will. Lancashire would no doubt be loath to continue paying someone who was unhappy, not performing and, potentially, having a disruptive presence in the club. And it would be tragic if a player of Crawley’s quality were lost to the game.To add an interesting twist to the tale, Francis Neate’s son, Patrick, has just won the Whitbread Novel of the Year award for his book “Twelve-Bar Blues”. Perhaps this case will ultimately provide enough material to constitute a book in its own right.