Tag Futebol

Openers Shanto and Zakir saw off the day and left Bangladesh with 471 to get in two days

Hemant Brar16-Dec-2022Shubman Gill scored his first Test hundred, and Cheteshwar Pujara his first in 52 innings and the fastest of his career as India declared on 258 for 2, setting Bangladesh a target of 513 in the first Test in Chattogram. More realistically, they gave themselves two days and a bit to pick up ten wickets.In response, Bangladesh openers Najmul Hossain Shanto and Zakir Hasan saw off the 12 overs left in the day’s play.This was after Kuldeep Yadav, playing his first Test in 22 months and eighth overall, picked up his third five-wicket haul to skittle out the hosts for 150 in the first innings.Resuming the day on 133 for 8, Bangladesh could add only 17 more as Kuldeep had Ebadot Hossain caught down the leg side in the fifth over of the day to complete his five-for. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the other overnight batter, then tried to farm the strike even more but was stumped off Axar Patel soon after while going for a big hit. That gave India a lead of 254 but they decided against enforcing the follow-on.In the second innings, Khaled Ahmed and Taijul Islam opened the bowling for Bangladesh as Ebadot didn’t step onto the field. On Thursday too, after dismissing Shreyas Iyer, he was off the field for the rest of India’s first innings. With Shakib Al Hasan also not bowling, probably because of the rib injury he sustained during the ODI series, the hosts were left with just three frontline bowlers.KL Rahul and Gill, though, started slowly, accumulating only 16 runs in the first eight overs. Gill upped the scoring rate after lunch but Khaled broke their 70-run stand. Using the short-ball play, he first hurried Rahul and then had him pulling one to fine leg for 23.Khaled also hit Pujara on the body twice, but the plan didn’t work against Gill, who took the short ball on and hit the seamer for a four and a six. Later, as Khaled seemed to be tiring at the end of his seven-over spell, Pujara too pulled him for four.Shubman Gill got to his maiden Test hundred off 147 balls•AFP/Getty Images

Against spinners, Gill used the sweep shot to good effect, picking up three boundaries with it. He, though, had a scare on 70 when Yasir Ali pinged him on the pads. The on-field umpire ignored the vociferous appeal, and when Bangladesh opted to review it, they were told the DRS technology was down.Post tea, Gill and Pujara batted with even more intent. Gill moved to 99 with a reverse-swept four off Mehidy and two balls later hit him over mid-on for a one-bounce four to get to his hundred. He fell for 110 while attempting another big shot, but Pujara took over after that.Having reached his fifty off 87 deliveries, Pujara took only 43 balls more to get to his hundred. On the way, he used his feet against spinners to loft them over mid-off and mid-on, deployed the lap sweep on more than one occasion, and even brought out the reverse sweep as India eyed declaration.From the other end, Virat Kohli almost exclusively dealt in singles. He and Pujara added 75 off 73 balls in an unbroken stand for the fifth wicket, Kohli’s share in that being 19 off 29 balls.A misfield at mid-on took Pujara to the three-figure mark off 130 balls, and with that, India declared their innings as well.

Hasan Ali and debutant Mohammad Wasim impress for Pakistan with the ball

Himanshu Agrawal28-Jul-2021No result Incessant rain first reduced the first West Indies-Pakistan T20I to a nine-over shootout before eventually washing away the match. Pakistan had chosen to bowl first under cloudy skies with rain also predicted, but the teams raced off to the dressing room just after completing their national anthems. It took almost three hours for the rain to stop and the ground to dry, with the umpires then deciding to curtail the contest.But of whatever was played, Kieron Pollard and the Pakistan bowlers combined to ensure there was entertaining cricket while it lasted.Debutant Wasim has instant impact
All it took right-arm pacer Mohammad Wasim to land a blow was five balls, although that was not a wicket. In the second over of the West Indies innings, he pitched one short of a length on middle and off, and got it to angle in with the bounce on to Lendl Simmons, who missed his pull. The ball instead hit him on the right side of his neck, immediately inviting the physio on the ground, who decided to take Simmons off with a sling protecting his right arm.Wasim was taken off after that, but returned to bowl the seventh over. After hurting Simmons, he then had Chris Gayle caught at long-on as the bowler now brought out the slower ball. Gayle, who had come in after Simmons, played away from his body to try and heave that, but only found the fielder in search of rapid runs.Just wickets and sixes
Amidst a flurry of dot balls – which were 30 in total – and a bunch of extras, which contributed 14, there were five wickets claimed with as many sixes slammed from the third over until the eighth. Hasan Ali got two, while Mohammad Hafeez, Usman Qadir and Wasim all grabbed a wicket each. Nicholas Pooran cracked twin sixes off Hafeez, before Gayle deposited Shadab Khan over his head and Andre Russell dispatched Qadir over extra cover – all this, before Pollard got into Ali with a whip.Pollard provides late entertainment, but Hasan delivers too
Pollard arrived at the crease with one ball of the sixth over left, but watched from the other end as Gayle fell in the following over with West Indies’ run rate still under nine. With Pollard on strike, Ali was brought back for the eighth after foxing Evin Lewis off his first ball earlier in the innings. This time, Ali was whacked first ball over deep square leg as Pollard swung his bat to a good length ball on middle and leg, and despite not quite finding the middle of the bat, sent the ball sailing over deep square leg.But that was the only boundary Ali conceded off his two overs, digging the slower balls perfectly on a rain-affected pitch to keep the West Indies batters quiet. Ali then got Shimron Hetmyer three balls later – Mohammad Rizwan completed a good diving catch – with the hosts struggling for momentum amidst the numerous cutters from the visiting bowlers.Pollard was on 10 off 5 deliveries when only four balls remained in the innings, and the West Indies captain ensured they were well taken care of. A dot ball later, Shaheen Afridi pitched one short on middle and leg as Pollard pulled fiercely to bisect deep square leg and deep midwicket for four. After nabbing two more runs, he ended with a maximum by sending the ball crashing over deep square leg when he made room to a length ball on middle and off, and pulled with disdain. Although he got 12 runs off the last three balls, rain would have the final say with Pakistan not having to chase the total.

Medical experts say they need more time to finalise safety protocols against Covid-19

Umar Farooq02-Jun-2020Pakistan’s plans to bring its cricketers out of lockdown and back to training next week has hit a snag with more time needed to prepare a bio-secure environment to ensure player safety.Players and team management had already been briefed by the PCB’s medical panel about training under a controlled environment. The plan was to bring 25 to 30 athletes to the NCA in Lahore, where they would stay and train in pairs from early June onwards. Next, they would move across the road to Gaddafi stadium for a three-week camp that would include training in larger groups. Finally, those picked for the England tour would fly over in early July.The problem, however, is that the NCA’s lodging facilities currently have only 21 rooms available, where as many as 40 are needed to implement proper social distancing. Additionally, no one will be allowed to enter or leave the premises.The PCB remain hopeful of making it work and could look into splitting the camp between two venues. Another issue will be that some of the coaching staff are outside the country, such as bowling coach Waqar Younis is based in Australia and physiotherapist Cliffe Deacon, in South Africa.The selection committee has finalised a list of probables for the camp but will only admit those who test negative for Covid-19.The PCB is yet to reach out to the provincial and federal governments for support. But the board did come up with the return-to-training ground rules with help from various medical experts and guidelines put forward by the World Health Organisation.Dr Sohail Saleem, head of PCB medical panel, has been in touch with the ECB to confirm Standard Operating Procedures on how to run camps in these unprecedented circumstances. The ICC’s guidelines have also been incorporated into these plans, a final draft of which will be submitted to the ICC for review.All sport in the country has been on hold since March, and most of the cricketers were last active in the PSL. There have been reports of a few centrally contracted players going for nets but the PCB is believed to be unaware of those developments.There are currently 76,106 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Pakistan and cases are on the rise. Restrictions in the country are starting to ease with Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday announcing the reopening of many businesses and industries, including tourism. However, all contact sports, indoor sports clubs, indoor gyms, indoor sports facilities; sporting tournaments/matches (indoors and outdoors) remain shut. In case the government refuses to allow any sporting activity in the country, then the PCB is likely to request a special permission to ensure the England tour goes ahead.

Fast bowler Anrich Nortje has recovered from injury to earn his maiden call-up to the national side

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2019Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi, who has proven his fitness in the Momentum One-Day Cup after recovering from a knee injury sustained last year, has been recalled to South Africa’s squad for the first three ODIs against Sri Lanka. Anrich Nortje, who had hurt his ankle in the inaugural Mzansi Super League (MSL) last year, has also recovered to earn his maiden call-up to the South Africa squad.Hashim Amla has been left out of the squad, but a CSA release clarified that he wasn’t dropped and that he “remains a senior member of our squad”. Wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen and seamer Dane Paterson, who were part of South Africa’s squad for their most recent ODI series against Pakistan were also left out, as South Africa look to explore more options in the lead-up to the World Cup.

South Africa ODI squad

Faf du Plessis (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo , Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Rassie van der Dussen

Nortje hit speeds close to 150kph in the MSL and impressed the likes of Dale Steyn and Cape Town Blitz coach Ashwell Prince. Despite suffering an injury during the tournament, he was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for R 400,000 in the 2019 IPL auction.Ngidi is currently the second-highest wicket-taker in the Momentum Cup, with six wickets in two matches at an average of 13.66 and economy rate of 4.31.”It is great to have Lungi back in the squad after a lengthy period on the sidelines caused by the injury he suffered in the white-ball series in Australia last year,” selection convener Linda Zondi said. “His recent form for the Titans in the Momentum One-Day Cup has been most impressive and he is clearly match fit for international cricket again.”Anrich has also come back well from injury and we want to see what he can offer the Proteas after his highly impressive form in the Mzansi Super League. Outright pace is not something that you can coach, and he looks another exciting addition to our pace arsenal.”Seam-bowling allrounder Wiaan Mulder, who was a late addition into the ODI squad for the series against Pakistan, has been retained. Andile Phehlukwayo and Dwaine Pretorius are the other allrounders in the side while wristspinners Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamsi make up the spin attack.The batting wears a familiar look with captain Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock and David Miller leading the way. The five-ODIs series begins in Johannesburg on March 3.

Craig Overton came away with a massive bruise on his chest as a mark of his impressive efforts on debut but knows he needs to condition himself to the demands of Test cricket

George Dobell07-Dec-2017Craig Overton admitted he had never experienced a short-ball barrage like it but, despite the match result and a huge bruise, insisted his Test debut had been “good fun.”Amid the rubble of another disappointing England performance, Overton enjoyed an impressive debut. As well as claiming four wickets – including that of Steven Smith – Overton top-scored in England’s first-innings with a gutsy 41 not out and took a fine, diving catch at fine-leg. It was a display that impressed the England management and left Trevor Bayliss purring about “the fire in the belly” of his new recruit.While Overton was picked primarily as a seamer, it was arguably his batting that impressed most. Despite having been dismissed for a duck every time he batted in the warm-up games, Overton withstood a sustained spell of short-pitched bowling as well as anyone in England’s first innings and showed both courage and technique in adding 66 runs for the eighth wicket with Chris Woakes.It was a contribution that might well have convinced Smith not to enforce the follow-on and could have helped drag England back into the match. And it contrasted with the contribution made by Jake Ball, who was dismissed by short balls in both innings of the first Test and was the man replaced by Overton for the second Test.”I’ve probably not been peppered like that in first-class cricket before,” Overton said. “You might come up against one fast bowler in each side in a county game, but to have three like that is tough work.”But you have to expect that in Australia. I knew what I was getting into going out to bat in the middle. You could tell from the field; especially when Pat Cummins came around the wicket at me. I was pretty much waiting for it.”I think you have to enjoy it. It was good fun and I felt like I played it pretty well.”The one time he did not play it well cost him. Ducking into a good-length delivery from Cummins in the second innings, Overton saw the ball evade his chest-guard and take him on the rib cage. While he admits the blow remains “a bit sore and a bit bruised” he does not seem overly concerned that it could threaten his involvement in the third Test in Perth.”He [Cummins] didn’t say anything,” Overton said. “If you are hit in the chest you know it’s not going to kill you. It might give you a broken bone, but it’s not life threatening. It’s a bit different when you get hit on the head. That’s when you become worried.”Most of the Australia team are good lads and came up to make sure I was all right after I was hit. On the pitch they like to create a bit of a bubble and say a few words. But off the pitch they seem like pretty good lads.”I haven’t had a scan or anything. We think it’s just bruising. We are not too worried.””It’ll take more than that to slow him down,” Bayliss said with obvious admiration. “He’s a big fella. He’s not complaining.”While Bayliss and co. clearly like Overton’s spirit, they would also dearly love him to have an extra yard of pace. But while he will never be an outright quick bowler (unlike his twin brother, Jamie, who is recovering well from a stress fracture and is expected to bowl at the England players in the nets ahead of the Melbourne Test), they are hopeful he can sustain his pace for longer as he adjusts to the workloads required in Test cricket. He bowled 33 overs in the first innings in Adelaide – more than he had ever bowled in a first-class innings – and admits he will have “to get used to” such stints.”It is not common to field for 150 overs in first-class cricket back home,” Overton said. “And to bowl that amount of overs was a challenge. But it’s one I have to get used to.”I know I’m not the quickest – I am the first to admit that – so for me it’s all about control and little variations. The bad balls are going to be put away. It’s all about doing the basics right.”He will, at least, have a break this weekend. With only Moeen Ali, who has been out of sorts with the ball in the series so far, of the Test XI required to play in the two-day warm-up match in Richardson Park, Overton and the rest will be encouraged to take a complete break from the game. To that end, the midnight curfew – recently introduced as a result of Butt-gate – will be relaxed for a night or two.

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said his batsmen had given West Indies legspinner Devendra Bishoo “eight soft wickets” during their second-innings collapse on the fourth day of the day-night Test

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-20163:16

Want to be a team that closes the opposition out – Arthur

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said his batsmen had given West Indies legspinner Devendra Bishoo “eight soft wickets” during their second-innings collapse on the fourth day of the day-night Test in Dubai. Having taken a 222-run lead in the first innings, Pakistan were dismissed for 123 in 31.5 overs, losing their last six wickets for 11 runs. Chasing 346, West Indies were 95 for 2 at stumps with senior batsmen Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo at the crease.Arthur praised Bishoo but rued that the collapse had given West Indies a chance to win the game. He said Pakistan’s plan when they chose not to enforce the follow-on was to score about 180 runs in 45 overs and shut West Indies out of the match.”I am not going to take anything away from the way Bishoo bowled because he bowled really, really well,” Arthur said. “I thought we gave him eight soft wickets. We were cutting against the spin, some lazy shots. That is something we have spoken hard about because that’s not how we play the game. We worked so hard to get ourselves in front of the game and then in one session we lost 6 for 11 and that gave West Indies a sniff. We want to be better than that. We want to be a team that closes the opposition out when we get the opportunity and we didn’t.”The message was very simple: we wanted a score of 180 in 45-50 overs. We felt that would have given us 25-30 overs tonight and a full day tomorrow. So we were looking at 180 in probably 45 overs at the most and we played poorly.”Bishoo, whose returns of 8 for 49 were the best by a visiting bowler in Asia, said he had reflected on his performance in the first innings – 2 for 125 in 35 overs – and decided to bowl straighter, targeting the stumps, in the second innings.”Last evening I spent some time thinking about how I had bowled in the first innings and I was bowling most likely fourth-fifth stump and they were cutting the ball down to cover for a single all the time,” Bishoo said. “So I tried to bowl straighter on the stumps. I expected the ball to spin more on the fourth and the fifth days, and that’s exactly what happened. I used the rough a little and I tried to use the crease a bit more and tried to bowl more on the stumps.”Arthur said the batting implosion had forced Pakistan to play slightly defensively when West Indies came out to chase on the fourth evening. He said the team was working towards eradicating issues, like the sudden collapse, from their game.”We’ve batted really well, certainly through the Test matches in England I thought we were excellent, and we were brilliant in the first innings here. So that is something we are trying to eradicate. We want to get this completely out of our game. Consistency is something we need to keep working on, we are talking long and hard about it.”We were disappointed that we took our foot off their throat and gave them a glimpse into the game when we should have put them out of it. Because what that would have done for our spinners tomorrow is it would have allowed us to have close catchers for longer. So tonight we have a man at sweeper and we haven’t got a silly point to Bravo and that’s simply because the game is getting closer.”

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha has said that his team’s mentality has improved considerably over the last 12 months, especially since the start of last year’s series against Zimbabwe

Mohammad Isam04-Nov-2015Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha has said that his team’s mentality has improved considerably over the last 12 months, especially since the start of last year’s series against Zimbabwe. The home side was having a horrible 2014 until they beat Zimbabwe 3-0 and 5-0 in Tests and ODIs respectively, and have been a completely different side in 2015.”The mindset is the main difference from last time,” Hathurusingha said. “We were not sure of our ceiling. Now they have started to believe and they have proved themselves. Mindset is a huge thing in this game. We can see that it is different, in our performance.”Hathurusingha welcomed the approach of Shakib Al Hasan who said a couple of days ago that now they have to dominate Zimbabwe having thrashed them the last time. Bangladesh are currently 8-6 ahead in terms of ODI series wins over Zimbabwe.”It is a good mindset to have as a player, that is his confidence,” Hathurusingha said. “We played dominating cricket against ever team in the last three series. We beat them by seven or eight wickets or 80-odd runs. I think it is the way we play. If we play to our gameplan, we can beat any team with a big margin.”Hathurusingha also said that competition for places in the side has added to the new attitude of the players constantly pushing themselves. There have not been many times in Bangladesh’s cricket history that the senior team had players knocking on the doors for almost every position. A case in point is the inclusion of Al-Amin Hossain, a pace bowler who went through the grind of international cricket in 2014, and Kamrul Islam Rabbi, who has been tipped to be in the Bangladesh team for a while now, in place of the injured Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain, both having been playing regularly for Bangladesh.Not many half-cooked players now get called up to the Bangladesh team. Hathurusingha expressed that it would now be dangerous for any player to take his place for granted.”Having an internal competition is a good thing. Players know they have to perform,” he said. “Sportsmen are driven by challenges. The guys coming in are capable of doing a job. We are in a good situation in that regard.”There’s no meter to see complacency and there’s no complacency in our team. They are playing for the national team. No one is taking things for granted. There’s a lot of competition for the places. Whoever is taking things lightly, it will be a very dangerous situation.”Bangladesh’s recent dependency on pace is also likely to give Hathurusingha and the rest of the team management some food for thought. Traditionally spin has been the main difference between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.But the emergence of Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed, under Mashrafe Mortaza, means that the home side could choose either pace or spin to attack the visitors. Hathurusingha said that in most cases, Bangladesh would try to attack the opposition’s weakness.”We have been playing both ways according to the opposition’s limitation, I think we are equipped with both spin and pace,” he said. “We have enough spin to cause trouble for any opposition.”Don’t expect Mustafizur to come up every time we get someone, because he is unique. I am not putting any pressure on Rabbi. He is in the team on merit. He has been doing well in domestic cricket. He can do same thing if he is playing.”Hathurusingha brushed aside any concern regarding the form of Soumya Sarkar and Liton Das, who made 99 and 78 runs respectively in five innings for Bangladesh A in South Africa recently. Although Liton got two fifties for Bangladesh A in India in September, he still has only a single Test fifty so far. Soumya on the other hand was prolific against South Africa in July this year but has had his form taper off since then.”I don’t have any concern [about them]. Both of them are world-class players,” Hathurusingha said. “You have seen them performing at home really well. There’s no reason they can’t do it again. We are trying to give them as much opportunity and experience in different conditions. That’s why we sent them on A tours. They are young players with enough potential.”Form plays a part in a player’s mind, especially batters. When you come with a good score they have freedom. We always focus on the first 20 balls in any game. If you get into the game, they are equipped to play very well in international cricket. They know their roles better in the national team.”

Australia’s ruinous Test results in India have not dissuaded the architect of the plan, Don Argus, to rejuvenate the national team from his view that the world No. 1 ranking can be attained by 2015

Daniel Brettig06-Mar-2013Australia’s ruinous Test results in India have not dissuaded the architect of the plan to rejuvenate the national team from his view that the world No. 1 ranking can be attained by 2015. Don Argus, the former BHP chairman, authored the review released in August 2011 that overhauled the structure around Michael Clarke’s team, resulting in the appointments of Mickey Arthur as coach, John Inverarity as national selector and Pat Howard as the team performance manager.Those changes wrought promising early returns, but the retirements of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey left Clarke to lead a gapingly inexperienced side to India where the vagaries of playing on the subcontinent have contributed to a humiliating duo of defeats. Nonetheless, Argus told he was adamant that Australia were still capable of achieving for the sustained success striven for in his review, provided those in charge were not panicked into compromising on its dictums.’I wouldn’t compromise on that at all,” Argus said. “It’s like a five-year plan in a company – if you commit to something, you’ve got to get it, and all these players have committed to it. I don’t believe in blind faith. I believe in a lot of hard work, and it doesn’t come tomorrow. I think there’s a lot of effort going into getting this team to its goals. I’ve got great faith they will get to where they want to get to.”Stay the course, but also recognise the challenges that are there. We tend to fall back into thinking we’ve still got this side with seven champions in it. Maybe that will come again, but that just doesn’t come overnight.”Argus was largely supportive of the path taken by Howard, Arthur and Inverarity in following through on his directives, though he admitted it was “debatable” whether the area of spin bowling weakness was being adequately addressed. He stated that current impatience with the team’s results could not be allowed to change the path that had been committed to.”I think they have been quite bold in implementing a lot of the stuff and going down the recommendation path in the report,” Argus said. ”Everyone wants instant success … and the trouble when you go through a transition or succession phase is that impatience manifests itself into a bit of emotion. Up until this series, the guys have done pretty well in trying to unearth new talent and things like that.”Everyone is going to have to hold their steel here to get the ultimate outcome, because if you start thrashing around in water then you drown, and up until now I think they’ve held it pretty well. I think India is probably the toughest environment of all to blood new talent and that’s what is happening over there.”I’m not that despondent. I think it’s probably teaching the selectors a lot more about the strengths and weaknesses of the squad. I don’t think they could put together a better squad. They’ve tried a lot of people and you can add a few here and a few there, but they’ve gone about a process quite systematically that will get us there in the end, but it was never going to be a short-term fix.”Addressing questions about whether the selectors had adequately fulfilled his stated goal that performance had to be rewarded more consistently with national team representation, Argus said Inverarity’s panel had done so “by and large”, though Xavier Doherty’s Test recall after a barren home summer was a deviation.”Selectors will sometimes make subjective judgments for whatever reason … I’m sure they can justify their selections,” Argus said. “Up until probably that one [Doherty], they’ve stuck with what they’ve said they were going to do, and I think that has paid off for them.”They’ve won in the West Indies, they’ve comprehensively won two series at home [against India and Sri Lanka, but also lost to No.1 team South Africa], and they go to the toughest environment in the world with an inexperienced side in those conditions, and it’s tough.”Suspicious in the review of the impact that the then nascent Big Bash League may have on international performances and focus, Argus said compromises in the name of commercial gains would result in the team being compromised.”If you deviate from your priorities, if you compromise on your plan … you’ll always get caught out,” he said. “If Test cricket is the No. 1 game, and we say it is, that’s the way it is.”

The sentencing of Mervyn Westfield, the former Essex pace bowler who pleaded guilty to spot-fixing last month, has been adjourned for a week

Alan Gardner10-Feb-2012The sentencing of Mervyn Westfield, the former Essex pace bowler who pleaded guilty to spot-fixing last month, has been adjourned for a week until February 17 due to “administrative matters.”The hearing had been scheduled to start at 11am but was put back as representatives of the prosecution and the defence discussed details relating to the case. Eventually the session began at around 12.15, at which point Westfield’s counsel, Mark Milliken-Smith, asked for the adjournment. The prosecution offered no objection and Judge Anthony Morris agreed to the request.Westfield, 23, became the first English cricketer to be convicted of spot-fixing after submitting a guilty plea at the start of his trial at the Old Bailey, London’s central criminal court, on January 12. He admitted to accepting £6,000 in return for conceding a set number of runs off an over in a Pro40 match against Durham in September 2009.Westfield was paid despite failing to give up the agreed 12 runs – Durham managed just to score 10 from the over, the first of the bowler’s spell, in a game which Essex went on to win. The truth only came to light in 2010 when Westfield confessed to then team-mate Tony Palladino, now of Derbyshire, and showed him the money he had received.Palladino had been due to be the prosecution’s main witness in the case before Westfield decided to admit his crime, despite previous denials.

Paul Collingwood believes he has chosen the perfect moment to end his Test career, as England close in on an unprecedented third innings victory of their tour of Australia

Andrew Miller at the SCG06-Jan-2011Paul Collingwood believes he has chosen the perfect moment to end his Test career, as England close in on an unprecedented third innings victory of their tour of Australia, a result that will go a long way towards erasing the bitter memories of the 5-0 whitewash of four years ago, and bring Collingwood’s own career full circle after the role he played on his home Test debut at The Oval in 2005, in the game that ended Australia’s two-decade-long dominance of the Ashes.Speaking on the day he made his impending retirement public, Collingwood described his feat of playing 68 Tests as an “over-achievement”, and modestly stated that England’s ambition of becoming the No. 1 team in the world will be that much more attainable without him blocking up an end in the manner that he has made his trademark in the course of the past five years.”In many ways it’s a sad moment, but I honestly think it’s the right time, and in many ways it’s the perfect moment,” said Collingwood. “This is what I’ve been playing the game of cricket for, to be in a position against Australia in Australia like this. I know I haven’t contributed with the bat in this series, but I’m a very, very happy man.”At the age of 34, Collingwood knew he was on borrowed time at Test level. His last meaningful innings was against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in July when he made 82 alongside Eoin Morgan, the man most likely to take his place in the middle order. Since then, his returns have been disappointing, with 83 runs in the whole Ashes campaign including a final, frenetic innings of 13 on the third day at Sydney.However, the desire to make amends for the whitewash four years ago, when his career-best 206 at Adelaide was not enough to stop the Australian juggernaut, made him determined to extend himself for one last series.”This series has been a special series for me,” he said. “I think 2005, playing at The Oval, was a special game, and a special moment, but although I haven’t scored the runs out here I can barely take the smile off my face. It’s been something that I’ve been waiting for, for a long time. The last time we were here four years ago, I actually managed to score runs and we got beat 5-0. This time I much prefer it this way around, let me tell you!”Collingwood’s fighting qualities have earned him plenty admirers in the course of his Test career, even though he has been written off at the highest level almost as often as he has battled back to produce a career- or match-saving innings. Right at this moment, however, Collingwood believes that the same qualities that helped hold the side together in the difficult years that followed the 2005 triumph are holding them back right now, as their stated goal of becoming the world’s No. 1 Test team draws ever closer.”That’s one of the reasons why I’m moving on, to be honest!” he said. “Honestly, this team can go as far as they want to. As you can see from this series, our batting has gone from strength to strength. They can take a lot of confidence from the way they’ve played out here, but they can still progress and they are very eager to improve all the time. The work ethic that they have is fantastic, and that’s one of the things I’ll miss, but I’m very much looking forward to watch them in the future. They can be a very special side.””Obviously my form hasn’t helped, but I’m very realistic,” he added. “At the same time there are some great young players coming though, but if I wanted to progress and stay in this England cricket team, I was going to have to work very hard on technical things, and whether I’ve got the time and the ability to stay up with this England cricket team, I’m not too sure.”I’m very, very satisfied with the contributions over my Test career,” he said. “It mustn’t be easy to watch for some people at times, but I’ve fought hard, given my all, and as I said, this is the perfect moment. I’ve played the last year just to get into this series, and to be involved in a great England cricket team like it is at the moment, with some special players and some special characters, it’s a very proud place to be. I can safely say I’ve made the right decision at the right time.””A lot of people might find it difficult to believe I’d stay in the team that long. It’s taken a lot of effort, in many ways I’ve over-achieved, averaging 40. In many ways I’ve scrapped it out. I’ve had my ups and downs but I wouldn’t change a thing about how my career has been. Some of the players I’ve played with in that England dressing room have been exceptional, and I can safely say that the environment we’ve got in that dressing room is a very special place. That’s why it’s hard to leave, but it’s definitely the right time.”Collingwood has long had a reputation for putting the team first, and his delight at toppling the Australians was unmistakable, and not remotely dented by his personal shortcomings with the bat. In his opinion, it is the culmination of a mission that began on his first tour of the country in 2002-03, when the challenge was to transform England’s expectations against opponents that at times seemed invincible.”This is what we were trying to build towards,” he said. “At the time there wasn’t the belief we could beat Australia, and it was a culture that we had to turn around. It didn’t work last time around, but I honestly believe we have skilful cricketers in England, and we’ve got a culture that believes we can beat anyone in the world.”I think that part of the game, the mental side, the belief, is a huge part, and creating a culture like that in the dressing room is more important than a lot of the technical work you do in the nets. These guys have worked long and hard for that, but they can get better as well, and go from strength to strength.”Matt Prior, who scored his first Ashes century on the fourth day at Sydney, said that Collingwood would be greatly missed within the England dressing room. “The part of a cricketer you don’t see is the part away from the cricket ground,” he said. “Everyone will know the stats and the important innings he’s played, the great catches he’s taken and the wickets he’s taken. But it’s what a bloke like Colly brings to the dressing room, he’s definitely been one of the catalysts of why this team is where it is right now, and why the team spirit is like it is.”Collingwood admitted his motivation for making his announcement mid-Test was to scotch the whispers that had already begun to circulate, and also because he secretly believed that England might have won with a day to spare. And while he said that he had not intended to make a fuss about his departure, he admitted to feeling goosebumps in the final half-hour of the day, when England were pushing for victory with the Barmy Army in full cry.”I’m a softie really, to be honest,” he said. “I always said I wanted to bow out in England in front of English fans, but that felt like home tonight, with the atmosphere that was out there. It was very special. Someone said to me yesterday, I might not be too bothered about a massive swansong, but a lot of fans might be. When you look around the ground, you deserve to have those lasting memories.”