Pubudu Dassanayake has stepped down as Nepal coach, reportedly citing personal reasons. His last assignment with the side will be the WCL Championship matches against Papua New Guinea in November 16 and 18 in the UAE.The contract that had been offered to Dassanayake last year expired on June 15, 2015. However, the World T20 Qualifier in July, followed by the World Cricket League Championship led the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) to extend his contract until January 15, 2016.”It’s unfortunate. I have received an email from the coach stating that he has submitted a resignation letter to the general secretary and will continue till the WCL in Dubai [sic Abu Dhabi],” Bhawana Ghimire, CEO of Cricket Association of Nepal, said.Dassanayake’s decision will bring an end to his four-year tenure as Nepal coach, the highlight of which was the side’s maiden World T20 appearance at the 2014 edition.His stint with Nepal, however, has not been controversy free, with the Cricket Association of Nepal facing numerous administrative issues of its own including an investigation into the activities of some of its members.In March 2014, CAN had said that Dassanayake would get a year’s extension. However, due to the board being under investigation, he was only given an additional three months, which ran out in June, after which he left the country. In August, Dassanayake returned to Nepal after being invited by the government and was reappointed in September.
The England camp have admitted that James Anderson had been warned twice for running on the pitch before he was removed from the attack for a third transgression in the third Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.Anderson, England’s record wicket taker in Test cricket, appeared incensed when Aleem Dar, the umpire, notified the England captain that Anderson was to be withdrawn from the attack after two balls of the 100th over of the innings.In an angry exchange that continued beyond the end of innings, Anderson appeared to insist that he had been warned only once previously.But an ECB spokesman later confirmed that Alastair Cook, the England captain, admitted he had been warned twice previously about Anderson running on to the protected area. The first warning came after three deliveries of the 61st over of the innings; the second after four deliveries of the 94th over. All the warnings were captured by broadcasters.Law 42.12 – a section headlined ‘bowler running on protected area after delivering the ball – states that, on the first instance of any infringement, the umpire shall “caution the bowler and inform the other umpire.” They should also “inform the captain of the fielding side and the batsmen.”If the bowler contravenes again, the umpire is obliged to “repeat the procedure indicating that it is a final warning.”Aleem Dar, who his officiating in his 101st Test as an on-field umpire, won the ICC’s umpire of the year award for three years in a row (between 2009 and 2011).While the England camp have suggested that the umpires could, perhaps, make their warnings a little more obvious, they have effectively accepted the sanction. Coming, as it did, with nine wickets down, and with Ben Stokes requiring only one delivery to finish off the innings, it did not adversely affect them. Anderson, whose querying of the decision probably stayed just the right side of the line separated between ‘inquisitive’ and ‘argumentative’ is unlikely to face further punishment.There may be concern, however, at Anderson’s habit of running on the pitch – a habit that appears to be of increasing interest to umpires – and his apparent fury with the world and almost all upon it once he takes to the pitch. It is understood a team-mate recently made it clear in the dressing room that some were tiring of the latter.There has been illness within the England squad in recent days and it may well be that Anderson – and Stuart Broad, who bowled far below his recent high standards here – have suffered as much as anyone and deserve some patience. No doubt Anderson’s anger stems from his burning desire to perform for the team that he has represented with pride for more than a decade. He has more than earned the benefit of any doubt.As a new England side emerges, though – an England side keen to engage with its supporters and in the first flush of enthusiasm for international cricket and all it entails – Anderson’s anger jars and appears oddly out of step.
Julian Hunte, the President of the WICB, will meet with Allen Stanford during the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Stanford has been invited to the final by the ICC and a meeting between him, Hunte and ICC representatives is planned for September 23 in Johannesburg.The second Stanford 20/20 is scheduled for January and February 2008 and the WICB said: “A formal agreement has not yet been signed but the board has included the event in its 2007-08 calendar.”The meeting will also allow discussions of Stanford’s plans to take the game to an international level. During the first event in 2005-06 he had planned for South Africa to take on an All-Stars XI before the match fell through and there have been rumours of other teams being approached to take part in big-money matches.Meanwhile, the WICB is going to start advertising for a new CEO to replace Bruce Aanensen, who resigned from the post last week.Also discussed at the WICB board of directors meeting on Saturday was the creation of a Combined Campuses and Colleges Team which will take part in all future regional one-day and four-day tournaments.The board also agreed that a WICB-selected Under-19 team will play in all future regional one-day tournaments. The 20-member training squad for the Under-19 World Cup will play in this year’s KFC tournament. The regional season will start in with the one-day tournament in October 2007 and end in July 2008.
Chris Rogers and Marcus North posted double-centuries in a remarkable partnership that slipped five short of the Waugh brothers’ all-time domestic record of 464. The pair of Western Australian left-handers demoralised a Victoria attack including Shane Warne and was on track to eclipse the target set on the same ground by Steve and Mark Waugh 16 years ago when Rogers hit a Cameron White full-toss to Lloyd Mash at midwicket.While Rogers, who collected a double- and triple-century during the past English county season, was dismissed for 279, North remained unbeaten on 239, his highest score for the state. Their stand of 459 was the third-highest partnership for any wicket in Australian domestic history behind the Waughs’ effort and the unbroken 462 of David Hookes and Wayne Phillips for South Australia against Tasmania in 1986-87. It was also the biggest for the third wicket in domestic history, the largest overall for Western Australia and the first time two of the state’s batsmen registered double-centuries in the same innings.North struck 31 fours and two sixes from 302 balls while Rogers, who was at the crease for almost nine hours, accumulated 36 boundaries. The pair joined forces at 2 for 128 in the second session on day one and enjoyed a lifeless surface that did not help Victoria’s fast or slow bowlers. Warne managed only one wicket and delivered three consecutive bouncers in the first session to earn an immediate break from the captain White, while Shane Harwood left the field with a side problem.Justin Langer finally ended the damage at 608 and Victoria were quickly in trouble, losing Mash, who became Sean Ervine’s maiden first-class victim for the Warriors, and David Hussey before tea. The Bushrangers lost a further two wickets in the final session, Nick Jewell and Brad Hodge, to reach the close 462 runs adrift, with Cameron White on 51 not out.
Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, has said that England are favourites to win the three-Test series against Pakistan in October.”I think England are favourites,” Woolmer was quoted as saying by BBC Sport. “I don’t think we [Pakistan] play Test cricket as well as I would like. We’ve got a couple of problems we have to sort out before England come.”Woolmer also added that Pakistan had to improve in several areas of the game. “Our opening partnership, the format of how many bowlers we play, and our fielding and catching, are areas where we have to improve.”He also identified Michael Vaughan, the England captain, as the most important player for England on their tour of Pakistan. “I think the Andrew Strauss and the Marcus Trescothick opening partnership has been a particularly strong one. And of course, the one most important person is Michael Vaughan, who I think has captained brilliantly.”
South Africa A 307 and 168 for 3 (de Villiers 84) beat Zimbabwe A 186 and 286 (Vermeulen 77, Matsikenyeri 66, Taylor 57, Adams 4-99) by 7 wickets ScorecardSouth Africa A needed just over 12 overs to knock off the 55 runs they needed for victory on the fourth day of their match against Zimbabwe A. Abraham de Villiers, 64 not out overnight, added 20 runs to his score before giving a return catch to Waddington Mwayenga.Ashwell Prince (39 not out) and Neil McKenzie (10) motored on to complete an efficient victory, putting South Africa A 1-0 in the two-match series. The second four-day game begins on August 17, and will be followed by three one-day matches.
Yet to win a Test series in England since their return to international cricket, the South African team is going all out to ensure that they break this jinx. The latest initiative is the hiring of Ravi Shastri to help the South Africans deal with the English media. Shastri, a respected commentator and media personality, will arrive in South Africa later this week to conduct a one-day session with the team.Graeme Smith, South Africa’s 22-year-old captain, spelt out the reasons for hiring Shastri. Speaking to Beeld, an Africaans daily, Smith said: “We are fully aware of the poison pens that are being readied ahead of our arrival [in England]. That’s why we will leave no stone unturned to ensure that we are thoroughly prepared for what awaits us. We know we’re not going there as favourites. It’s not a coincidence that we haven’t been able to win a series there since we were re-admitted in the international cricket.”Ravi can guide us from a player’s point of view, as well as from a media point of view about what we can expect there. We know that it’s going to be tough and that there will be huge pressures on us, but we want to prepare in a way that will enable us to handle them.”Smith said that Shastri’s guidance could also help in improving relations between the South African media and the team. The South African squad received plenty of flak for the World Cup debacle, when they failed to qualify for the Super Six.Meanwhile, the South African board (UCBSA) has decided to terminate its contract with Goolam Raja, the team manager, after the tour of England. Raja was manager of the team for the last decade. Though recognised as an excellent organiser, Raja, apparently, wasn’t firm enough in dealing with the players. This decision is seen as another step by Smith, coach Eric Simons, and the selectors in their attempt to rebuild the South African team.
The celebrations in the wake of their Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy victory continue for Somerset County Cricket Club when the players parade the cup before the start of the Heineken Cup match between Bath and Swansea at The Rec on Saturday afternoon.The players visit to Bath gets underway at 11a.m. with a civic reception at The Guildhall where they will meet the mayor and other dignitaries from the noble city.They then move onto Bath Rugby Club where they will be entertained for lunch at 1pm. before receiving what will no doubt be a heroes welcome from the large crowd when the parade the cup before the start of the match.The Somerset players have already attended a reception held in their honour by the Mayor of Taunton Deane, been treated to a luncheon held in their honour by Somerset County Council at Mount Somerset Hotel at Henlade near Taunton, enjoyed a full house presentation dinner at The County Ground and also paraded the cup at Ashton Gate, the home of Bristol City.The celebrations after the 18 year wait for a trophy just seem to go on and on!
Kevin Roberts has emerged as a prospective replacement for the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, after taking the lateral step of resigning from the board of directors to join the executive management team.A former New South Wales batsman, Roberts was one of three independent directors added to the CA board in late 2012 as part of sweeping governance reform, but he has now turned his attention to a full-time role as executive general manager one team, strategy and people, directly reportable to Sutherland.Roberts was chosen as the man to replace Alex Wyatt, a club cricket colleague of Sutherland’s who had an eventful 18-month term in the role. Wyatt had been touted as a potential successor for Sutherland, who last year moved from the contracted role he had held since 2001 to a rolling employment deal that allows both him and CA more flexibility to part ways at a time of mutual choosing.Instead, Wyatt has resigned to return his focus to renewable energy and emerging technology. It was in these areas that he made his name and career, working extensively in Asia before taking on the CA role in early 2014.Since finishing his time with the Blues, Roberts has developed a strong corporate footprint, spending time with Adidas in Europe and also being charged with salvaging the fortunes of the stricken outdoors brand Colorado in Australia.More recently, Roberts has shared his CA board responsibility with a role as chief executive of the Australian-based sports apparel firm 2XU. He will be joining the executive management team around the same time as another independent director, David Peever, replaces Wally Edwards as chairman of the board.”Kevin is an experienced business leader,” Sutherland said, “with an outstanding track record in achieving alignment, managing change and building values-based work forces with a sharp focus on growth and high performance, which aligns with Cricket Australia’s vision to be Australia’s Favourite Sport – A Sport For All Australians.”In addition to his most recent role at 2XU, Kevin spent a number of years with the Adidas Group in Germany, rising to the role of Global Senior Vice President. Either side of his tenure at Adidas, Kevin led business transformations at Colorado Group/Fusion Retail Brands and Canterbury International.”Kevin brings with him a strong cricket pedigree and deep relationships within the game at club, state and national level. Kevin played youth cricket for Australia and first-class cricket for NSW, in addition to managing a former commercial partner of CA and being a CA Director over the last three years.”I am very excited about Kevin’s appointment – it is an extremely important role for Australian cricket and I firmly believe that Kevin’s experience, capability and passion will complement and further support cricket’s leadership, particularly across CA’s Executive Team, Leadership Team and our State and Territory CEOs.”Wyatt, who had shown combustible tendencies in a selection of on-field confrontations as a cricketer in England and Australia, was responsible for a broad area of responsibility after taking a role designed to replace those of Marianne Roux (now self-employed) and Andrew Jones (Cricket NSW chief executive).His major contribution was to push forward a “one team” strategy for the whole of Australian cricket that will be part of Roberts’ remit, an approach that urges all states to work as closely as possible with CA and each other. However there was also the publicised step of looking to create a more competitive market for international matches, leading to headlines suggesting that the MCG was in danger of losing the Boxing Day Test – a claim stridently denied by CA at the time.”I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Alex for his tenure,” Sutherland said. “During his time with Australian cricket, Alex has played an important role leading a number of key projects, including our work with State and Territory Associations around a unified working concept, entitled One Team. That process has and continues to bring about important discussion and debate on how cricket will best deliver on its vision and strategy.”Sutherland’s long tenure has led to speculation about who his replacement might be, with Wyatt once touted as a potential successor due to his business verve and desire to be an agent of change. The team performance manager Pat Howard has been mentioned as a man capable of taking after Sutherland, while Ben Amarfio, the head of communications, digital and marketing, is also thought to have ambitions to lead CA.However Roberts’ decision to vacate his board post – a position he was due to give up in 2016 – leaves him ideally placed to press for the role should he choose to. Like Sutherland, he has first-class playing experience in addition to his strong business record. For all its changes over the past 15 years, CA and its directors still appreciate a cricket pedigree, as evidenced by the tenure of a former Test cricketer in Wally Edwards as chairman and the ascension of Peever, who once faced the likes of Craig McDermott and Carl Rackemann as an opening batsman in Brisbane club cricket.
We all know there are teams, managers and players in world football who are more than happy to sacrifice the aesthetically pleasing side of the game in order to win. From Herbert Chapman to Jose Mourinho, certain managers have stressed that the game is about winning and the subsequent tactics they have used were as a necessity in their search for victory. However, is it possible that in modern football there is, with some teams, the tendency to swap substance for style?
For the past seven years Arsenal have been accused of just this. It is, however, an overly simplistic analysis of a team who have come close to winning, and should have won, a trophy on a number of occasions. Nevertheless, nobody could argue that Arsenal have not, to a certain extent, sacrificed an element of the functionality that made the early Wenger years so successful in search of a more idealistic form of the game.
The midfield giants of Vieira and Gilberto Silva were lost and replaced by Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini, Tony Adams and Sol Campbell were exchanged for more technically gifted centre halves like Vermaelen and Gallas and instead of the direct, no-nonsense style of Freddie Ljungberg on the wing the team now has players like Walcott and Gervinho who exude pace but often confuse themselves as much as their opposition.
Now, I know I’m being a little harsh and that obviously a lot of the better players retired or got too old and had to be replaced but it is undeniable that a change in strategy took place. Out went the height and the power and in came technical ability.
When Viktor Maslov introduced pressing in 1960s Ukraine many attributed him with the death of attacking football. His side’s athletic, hard working approach to the game denied the time and space on the ball that encouraged flair. Just as Maslov changed the way players trained and defended other managers like Rinus Michels with his ‘total football’ inspired a generation of modern managers to achieve success through playing football the ‘right’ way.
Football is about trends – trends in formations, trends in tactics. When one club sees another achieving success in a particular way it is only natural to copy that style. Even within the last decade we have seen teams copy the approach of both Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan and of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.
The difference between the two is that (arguably) whilst Mourinho’s tactics at Inter Milan or Chelsea can achieve success with the emphasis more on organisation or physical attributes, Guardiola’s relies more on technically gifted players.
Whilst the teams focusing on functionality, defensive strength and a collective sense of organisation are only in danger of becoming overly boring the teams that focus on movement, expansive passing and an exceptionally attacking style of play risk losing the balance and efficiency of the team.
Take Spain, for example. In their first game against Italy they played four defenders and six midfielders. Admittedly Fernando Torres’ form had been below par and David Villa was injured but the Spanish still had options. So consumed have their thoughts become with the success of the Barcelona team over the past decade that they considered it appropriate to play a team of Italy’s defensive calibre with no striker.
Now, I’m not saying that I necessarily disapprove of De Bosque’s attempts at innovation. In fact, I applaud them; and Cesc Fabregas, playing as a false number nine, did manage to grab a goal. However you can’t help but think that to play a real striker as the focal point of your attack in an international competition is totally necessary.
Spain changed this approach for the next two games and it seems wise that they did. The idea of playing with only midfielders is born from Pep Guardiola who has mentioned it consistently throughout the year. However, Spain and other teams looking to emulate Barcelona should consider how, as a consequence of tinkering with his team year after year in the quest for ‘perfect’ football Guardiola’s side have lost out to the practicality of Mourinho’s Real Madrid.
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Yes football is about trends –copying the successful ones – but clubs should be warned of the dangers of seeing aesthetically pleasing football as the end goal instead of winning. It is something that both Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola have been accused of more and more as time goes on and should act as a warning for the smller teams like Wigan and Swansea. What starts with players and managers appreciating the positive comments from the media about how they play their football can quickly turn in to a stubborn obsession in which they claim that that is just the ‘Arsenal’ or ‘Swansea’ way. In fact, no such ‘way’ exists. Before Wenger Arsenal’s ‘way’ was to grind out 1-0 wins.
I’m not trying to dissuade nor criticise for attacking football, clearly it is better to watch, but there are dangers associated with perpetrating delusions of grandeur and developing a certain football snobbery about the way that different clubs play their football.