تغلب فريق آرسنال على مُضيفه كريستال بالاس بخماسية لهدف، مساء السبت، ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

والتقى آرسنال وكريستال بالاس على ملعب “سيلهرست بارك”، بالجولة السابعة عشر للدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز “البريميرليج”.

وافتتح جابريل جيسوس التسجيل لآرسنال بهدف مبكر في الدقيقة السادسة، ثم تعادل إسماعيلا سار لكريستال بالاس في الدقيقة 11.

وعقب ذلك أضاف جيسوس الهدف الثاني له ولآرسنال في الدقيقة 14، ثم تعرض بوكايو ساكا للإصابة وتم استبداله في الدقيقة 25 من المباراة، وبدت إصابته في الركبة، وشارك لياندرو تروسارد بديلاً له.

وبحلول الدقيقة 38 سجل كاي هافيرتز هدف آرسنال الثالث ليحسم الشوط الأول بالفوز بثلاثية لهدف.

وفي الدقيقة 60 تمكن جابريل مارتينيلي من إحراز الهدف الرابع لصالح آرسنال، ثم أحرز ديكلان رايس الهدف الخامس في الدقيقة 84.

ولم تسفر المباراة عن أهداف أخرى ليحسمها آرسنال بالفوز 5-1، ويرفع رصيده للنقطة 33 في المركز الثالث بترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي، ويتجمد رصيد كريستال بالاس عند 16 نقطة في المركز 15. أهداف مباراة آرسنال وكريستال بالاس

أعلنت رابطة البريميرليج عن الفائز بجائزة رجل مباراة ليفربول وليستر سيتي في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز على ملعب أنفيلد رود.

والتقى الفريقان ضمن مباريات الجولة الثامنة عشر للدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز “البريميرليج”، وفاز ليفربول بثلاثية مقابل هدف.

شاهد أيضًا.. فيديو | هدف محمد صلاح الرائع أمام ليستر سيتي

محمد صلاح كعادته صنع الحدث، بعدما سجل هدف ليفربول الثالث في الدقائق الأخيرة ليستمر في صدارة ترتيب الهدافين برصيد 16 هدفًا بفارق هدف عن إيرلينج هالاند.

وحسب موقع الدوري الإنجليزي، فقد حصل على جائزة رجل المباراة بتصويت الجماهير، وباكتساح، محمد صلاح حيث حصد على 74.6% متفوقًا على أقرب منافسيه كودي جاكبو الذي حصل على 18.5%.

وسبق وحاز صلاح على جائزة رجل المباراة لفريقه ليفربول أمام تشيلسي وآرسنال وأستون فيلا وبرايتون وساوثهامبتون ومانشستر سيتي ونيوكاسل، وكذلك فولهام بالدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، قبل مباراة توتنهام الماضية أيضًا.

 

On head-to-head form, Sri Lanka clearly have the upper hand, India however, are playing at home; an advantage they haven’t made the best use of in recent times

George Binoy24-Oct-2005

Sachin Tendulkar’s return will add some much-needed experience to a batting line-up that is missing Mohammad Kaif, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly © Getty Images
The seven-match one-day series against Sri Lanka is a critical one for Indian cricket, and almost everything will depend on how the players, especially Rahul Dravid, the new captain, fare in a tough series against opponents who have not been in better form since the 1996 World Cup.Sri Lanka’s record in their last 50 one-day matches is fantastic – 34 wins and only 16 losses. And it gets better: in their last 25 games, they have won 19, a clear indication of a team on the rise. Sri Lanka haven’t toured India since 1999 but they’ve won seven of their last 11 games in the subcontinent outside home (four against Pakistan, one each against India, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh).India, on the other hand, have lost 24 and won 22 of the 47 ODIs that they’ve played at home since 2000. India’s tigers-at-home tag has taken a severe beating after 2001: they’ve lost 21 of their 37 games while six wins came against Zimbabwe and West Indies. To put a different spin on India’s home blues, they have won two, drawn one and lost four of their last seven ODI series at home (this doesn’t include the one-off BCCI platinum-jubilee match against Pakistan, which India lost). Look closer and you’ll find that both the wins came against Zimbabwe.Head to head, Sri Lanka have 11 wins to India’s seven in their last 20 ODIs. They have come up tops in five of their last six encounters against India. The solitary loss was in a match without Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas.Dravid will be determined not to let captaincy affect his batting, and he has his counterpart to look up to for the perfect example. Marvan Atapattu has averaged a stunning 52.67 over the last 12 months. All the Sri Lankan batsmen have healthy averages over the past year, while most of the Indians have struggled. And with Mohammad Kaif, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly not in the line-up and Sachin Tendulkar returning from a long injury lay-off, Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh will have to shoulder much of the responsibility for scoring runs.

Batsmen’s comparison over the last 12 months

Batsman Matches Runs Average 100s/50s

Sanath Jayasuriya 11 393 39.300/2 Virender Sehwag 25 874 31.301/4 Marvan Atapattu 11 474 52.671/4 Sachin Tendulkar 9 227 25.221/0 Kumar Sangakkara 20 626 36.820/6 Rahul Dravid 23 807 38.431/8 Mahela Jayawardene 15 442 44.200/4 Yuvraj Singh 19 678 39.882/3 Russel Arnold 8 182 36.400/2 Mahendra Singh Dhoni 19 525 37.51/2One of India’s major worries will be the form of Harbhajan Singh who has taken just 11 wickets in his last 17 games at an expensive 65.55 apiece. While a few Indian bowlers are inexperienced in the one-day format (even Irfan Pathan has played just two ODIs in India), the Sri Lankan slow-bowlers are experts at keeping the batsmen on a leash. On head-to-head form, Sri Lanka clearly have the upper hand, India, however, are playing at home, an advantage they haven’t made the best use of in recent times.

Bowlers comparison over the last 12 months

Bowler Matches Wickets Average Econ

Muttiah Muralitharan 13 20 23.753.86 Harbhajan Singh 17 11 65.554.67 ChamindaVaas 9 11 28.364.23 Irfan Pathan 12 17 30.824.97 Dilhara Fernando 11 11 36.734.64 Ajit Agarkar 9 20 18.654.82 Upul Chandana 13 19 25.374.54 Jai Prakash Yadav 5 3 46.004.60 Tillakaratne Dilshan 13 12 19.333.79 Murali Kartik 4 5 29.805.14

The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket

Steven Lynch14-Nov-2005The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket:

Shaun Udal: debutant at 36 © Getty Images

I recently read about Hasan Raza’s Test debut at the tender age of 14. Is he the youngest debutant? And who is the youngest to get a century? asked Aswin Chari from Singapore
Hasan Raza, who is playing in the current Test against England at Multan, is indeed the youngest person to appear in a Test match – he was only 14 years 227 days old when he made his debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe at Faisalabad in 1996-97. There is some doubt about his exact age, but independent tests at the time suggested that he was about 15, so the published date is not far wrong (if indeed it’s wrong at all). For a full list of the youngest Test players, click here. The 12th man on that list, Mohammad Ashraful, is the youngest to score a Test century – he was 16 years 364 days old when he scored 114 against Sri Lanka in Colombo on the third day of his Test debut.Shaun Udal is currently playing his first Test for England, aged 36. Have many people have been older on their Test debut? asked Jeffrey Cobb from Fareham
Shaun Udal was 36 years and 239 days old when the match started, making him the oldest debutant for England since John Childs, who was 81 days older when he made the first of his two Test appearances in 1988. In all 22 players have been older than Udal when winning their first cap for England: for a full list of the oldest Test debutants, click here.Why did Mark Boucher have the number 200 printed on the back of his shirt in the fifth ODI between South Africa and New Zealand? asked Aamir Masood
Mark Boucher wore the special shirt because that match at Centurion was his 200th one-day international. He is the fourth South African to reach this landmark, after Jonty Rhodes (245 ODI appearances), Shaun Pollock (244) and Jacques Kallis (224). For a list of those with most ODI appearances, click here.

Mark Boucher: only the fourth South African with 200 ODI caps © Getty Images

I read somewhere long ago about a Test played in the West Indies that was abandoned because the pitch was deemed unsafe to play on. Was that the only such occurrence? asked Prateek Goorha from Australia
It wasn’t actually that long ago – the match in question was the first Test of England’s 1997-98 tour, at Sabina Park in Kingston. There was less than an hour’s play – 10.1 overs in all – during which time England limped to 17 for 3, with the busiest man on the ground being their physiotherapist, who kept having to run out to players who had been injured by balls flying unpredictably off the rutted surface. I’ve always felt particularly sorry for Mark Butcher, who hadn’t expected to play, got a late call-up … and was then dismissed by an unplayable lifter. This is the only instance in Test history of a match being abandoned after it had started because of an unfit pitch, although there was one ODI that suffered this fate – India v Sri Lanka at Indore on Christmas Day, 1997.You wrote a couple of weeks ago about there having been only one Test in Multan – but surely there have been several played there? asked Siddiq Khan from Lahore
The question was in this column two weeks ago, and asked about grounds which had only staged one Test. What I meant was that there was a ground at Multan – the Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium – which had only staged one Test (against West Indies in 1980-81). Subsequent Test matches in Multan have been played at the new Multan Cricket Stadium. The current Test against England is the fourth to be played there.I know that Mohammad Azharuddin scored a hundred in both his first and last Tests – has anyone else done this? asked Neeraj Bhardwaj from Canada
Apart from Mohammad Azharuddin there have been three other batsmen have scored hundreds in their first and last Tests, and they are all Australians: the current Indian coach Greg Chappell, Reggie Duff and Bill Ponsford. This excludes any current players, and the two men – Andy Ganteaume and Rodney Redmond – who scored a century in their only Test match.

A review of Lord’s in the 21st Century

Edward Craig04-Sep-2006

MCC is an important and worthy organisation, no doubt, and many people may be unaware of this, picturing it as a stuffy old boys’ club. That the club feels it is misunderstood is as much to do with its history as its future. So why produce a lengthy corporate video that bangs on about the (extraordinary and eccentric) past while trying to claim it is a club for the future? And why, please why, make it 97 minutes long?The first flaw of the DVD is to base all its various chapters around last year’s Ashes Test which, apart from that first morning, does not make for happy watching to an England fan and, for the objective viewer, is not nearly as gripping as what followed.From this base it launches into a preachy explanation of what exactly MCC does and why it is great. And there are many interesting elements. The history of the club is rich and mysterious, Lord’s itself is a constant source of wonder whether architecturally or from a cricket perspective and interviews with the groundsman Mick Hunt and head of cricket John Stephenson are illuminating, if you are into the gritty side of cricket administration.But the DVD does not really know what it is. A highlights package for the Ashes Test (please, no)? An extended MCC advertisement? A history of Lord’s and MCC? A Lord’s love-in? In truth, it is all of these things and none of them. It might have been stronger had it settled on one tone.MCC still does fantastic work, especially developing cricket abroad, but it seems increasingly irrelevant to cricket “in the 21st century” – an image this DVD does little to shake.

Cricketers who have received knighthoods

Martin Williamson15-Jun-2007

Arise Sir Garry … Sobers is knighted by the Queen in Barbados in February 1975 © Cricinfo

The knighthood awarded to Ian Botham means that he joins a distinguished list of players, administrators and authors connected with the game who have received such an honour.Until recently, most knighthoods have come near the end of players’ lives, and until Don Bradman was awarded his CBE in 1949, it was the domain of the administrator. A further barrier was broken down in 1953 when Jack Hobbs, by then 70, became the first professional to be knighted, followed three years later by Len Hutton. Since then, with the exception of Gubby Allen in 1986, it’s been professional players who have ruled the roost.Most have to wait until they have hung up their boots. The first exception was the Rajkumar of Vizianagram, known as Sir Vijaya Ananda, or more simply Vizzy. He was knighted on June 15, 1936. It was a memorable month for him as 12 days later he made his Test debut as India’s captain at Lord’s. The fairytale ended there. An indifferent player, his captaincy owed more to his breeding and immense wealth and he undermined his team to such an extent that he was effectively ostracised from the game on his return home.Bradman’s Test career was over when he was made a Knight Batchelor on January 1, 1949 but he played two more first-class games as Sir Donald. He is the only Australian to be knighted, although it is reported that his predecessor as captain, Bill Woodfull, turned it down.In 1990 Richard Hadlee was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours on June 16 and five days later played for New Zealand in the Lord’s Test. However, like Bradman, he had not actually had his knighthood conferred on him while a player.The first person to be specifically honoured for services to the game was Francis Lacey, a fair cricketer but a powerful administrator and for 28 years the secretary of MCC. At least he had played the game.He was followed by the most anonymous name on the list, and one who had not played the game to any degree – Frederick Toone. His award was for fostering relations between “the Dominions and the Mother Country”. He had managed the MCC tours of Australia in 1920-21, 1924-25 and 1928-29. Sadly, he enjoyed the prestige for less than 14 months, dying in 1930.Arthur Mailey dryly noted that “the last bowler to be knighted was Sir Francis Drake”, and he was right until 1996 when Alec Bedser became the 16th cricket-related person but the first bowler to be knighted. Some pointed out that Gubby Allen was a bowler, but he was a good rather than outstanding player and was recognised for his administrative work.Neville Cardus was knighted for his services to journalism, not only for his cricket reports in the Manchester Guardian and his books, but also for his writing on music.Learie Constantine was knighted in 1962, primarily for his services as a barrister, politician and diplomat, and seven years later was made a life peer. Colin Cowdrey, knighted in 1992, was elevated to the peerage (Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge) five years later and remains the only peer created on the basis of his services to cricket. Lord Botham of Taunton is still some way off.People awarded knighthoods for services to cricketSir Francis Lacey, 1926
Sir Frederick Toone, 1929
Sir Vijaya Ananda (The Rajkumar of Vizianagram), 1936
Sir Pelham Warner, 1937
Sir Donald Bradman, 1949
Sir Henry Leveson-Gower, 1953
Sir Jack Hobbs, 1953
Sir Leonard Hutton, 1956
Sir Learie Constantine, 1962

Sir Frank Worrell, 1964
Sir Neville Cardus, 1967
Sir Garfield Sobers, 1975
Sir George Allen, 1986
Sir Richard Hadlee, 1990
Sir Colin Cowdrey, 1992
Sir Clyde Walcott, 1994
Sir Everton Weekes, 1995
Sir Alec Bedser, 1997
Sir Conrad Hunte, 1998
Sir Vivian Richards, 1999
Sir Ian Botham, 2007

A closely contested and wonderful Test series has been marred by Ian Howell’s poor umpiring

Sambit Bal12-Aug-2007

Wide of the mark: Ian Howell had a dreadful time at Trent Bridge, and has made plenty of mistakes at The Oval as well © Getty Images

It is a pity that matters outside bat and ball should continue to spoil what has so far been wonderful advertisement for Test cricket. The first Test was decided by the weather, and the second, which was won by a skilful and determined performance by the Indians, was overshadowed by jelly beans, player behaviour and inconsistent umpiring. And it will be a tragedy if umpiring becomes a decisive factor in this Test.Umpires deserve plenty of sympathy. Theirs is a thankless vocation and they are noticed only for their mistakes. Their actions are judged and damned by experts, journalists, and millions of viewers who now have the benefit of hugely sophisticated cameras and technologies such as Snickometer and Hotspot. But still, it’s not that difficult to tell when an umpire is not up to it.Simon Taufel, who invited the wrath of Indian supporters for denying Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly well-earned hundreds at Trent Bridge, is a good umpire who had an ordinary match. But it is difficult to say the same about his colleague in that Test. Ian Howell had a dreadful match at Trent Bridge, and it has only got worse at The Oval. It can be considered poor taste to pun on someone’s name, but given the number of he has made in the last two Tests, Howell has brought it upon himself.The ICC has a system in place to assess every decision an umpire makes during a match, and it is often trotted out that umpires get over 90 per cent of the decisions right. Of course, considering that they track every appeal and that teams are appeal-happy these days, Howell might still end up with fairly high percentage. But to anybody who has followed his finger, Howell has got more decisions wrong than right when it really mattered.Few things can be worse for cricketers, batsmen and bowlers alike, than to play in the knowledge that their fate hangs in the hand of an adjudicator who is consistently inconsistent. There are not-outers, none more famous than the legendary Dickie Bird, there are those who are trigger-happy – Dave Orchard springs to mind – there are those who are conservative about front-foot lbws and there are ones who are spinner-friendly. In many instances, umpires go by the pitch, and are likely to adjudge lbws on the basis of bounce. At Perth, for instance, batsmen can leave the ball on its length, safe in the knowledge that it will sail over the stumps.But how safe can a batsman feel when faced with Howell? Apart from his obvious tendency to give wrong decisions, it has been impossible to detect a pattern with Howell. May be it lies in his approach to tailenders. This morning he was happy to give Monty Panesar on the forward stretch against Anil Kumble. Panesar had no reason to quibble; he was dead in front. But on what account did he spare Paul Collingwood on the third day? Collingwood’s front foot was perhaps a few inches ahead, but as Ian Chappell remarked on television, if that wasn’t out, they might as well remove lbw as a mode of dismissal. And when he did give Collingwood out, the ball looked, irrespective of what you saw on Hawk-Eye, to be sliding past the leg stump.At Trent Bridge, he denied Panesar two lbws in his first two overs in India’s first innings. They were vital decisions, for they allowed Dinesh Karthik and Wasim Jaffer to swell the first-wicket partnership to 147, but he was happy to send back RP Singh and Sreesanth in quick succession: Singh looked out, but Sreesanth deserved the benefit of doubt.It’s futile labouring the point, but the lbw that he handed out to Ganguly has perhaps been the shocker of the series. Admittedly, the ball has been swinging exaggeratedly, sometimes changing path after passing the batsman. But this was a deviation palpably off the bat. If he didn’t hear the nick, he should have seen it. Was he late in looking up? If he was, it was a schoolboy error from an international umpire.Which raises the next question. Should Howell have been standing in the series in the first place? Of course, the ICC cannot be blamed for not anticipating the errors, but Howell is not part of the elite panel, and since no other international cricket is on at the moment, those appointing umpires had a full list to choose from. Were none of them available?It is sad that umpires rarely get the credit for a job well done. In that, they are like wicketkeepers. Matt Prior has become the object of ridicule after two bad matches; it’s only fair that the heat is now turned on Howell.Should umpire Ian Howell, who is not part of the ICC’s Elite panel, have stood in the Oval Test? Tell us here

Martin Williamson reviews the latest Ashes books offerings

Martin Williamson and Will Luke19-Nov-2006In his foreword to Cricket’s Burning Passion (see below), Michael Atherton writes: “In the aftermath of the wondrous 2005 Ashes series, a raft of cricket books appeared on the bookshelves. There were the usual gruesome mix of ghosted autobiographies, ghosted diaries and rushed, ill-considered reviews …”. Ahead of the 2006-07 series a number of books have been issued, as expected, but the quality is far superior than those Atherton refers to. In 2005, the writers were all up against tight deadlines as publishers sought to cash in. The current offering shows that the authors have had the advantage of having time to prepare, and the result in a much more enjoyable and readable selection

Stiff Upper Lips and Baggy Green Caps Simon Briggs (Quercus, 280pp)

So much has been written about the Ashes, especially since September 2005, that finding a fresh angle on such a well-documented history would seem to present an almost insurmountable challenge. However, Simon Briggs has managed to rise to the occasion, and the end result is a delightful offering which should appeal to both seasoned fan and relative newcomer. The strength of the book is that it eschews the worthy-but-dull statistics which often form the bedrock of such histories and, by concentrating on the colourful characters and events the result is an easy read but a far from unfulfilling one. If you want a potted history of Test cricket’s oldest continuous rivalry – and you want to be entertained into the bargain – then look no further.The Ashes Miscellany Clive Batty (VSP 146pp)

The problem with books of miscellany is that the originals have spawned some dreadful offspring with little merit aimed at nothing more than cashing in on the sales boom. In the last couple of months there have been two such dire offerings, so it was a delight to find that The Ashes Miscellany is a return to the well-researched and entertaining kind of book that made the genre so popular in the first place. The contents will appeal to both those who consider themselves well versed in Ashes history and casual cricket fans who want trivia to impress their friends in the pub. It would have been too easy to pad the book with well-worn anecdotes and page-filling statistics, but Clive Batty has avoided that short cut and produced a genuinely good publication.The Book of Ashes Anecdotes Gideon Haigh (Mainstream 376pp)

The delight of setting out on a review of anything by Gideon Haigh is that you know it will be a quality read, and this collection of quotes and book extracts is no exception. He has produced a similar offering before – his 1997 Australian Cricket Anecdotes is well worth snuffling out – and this follows a similar format. Some of the entries are familiar but many are not, and it is those that shed a new light on many events in Ashes history. What really makes this, however, is that Haigh has not gone down the route of reproducing pithy one-liners but has opted for longer extracts, and this allows the flavour of the writers and characters to come through and make a more lasting effect. I found the Bodyline section the most interesting, especially Douglas Jardine’s reflection on it and Bradman some years later. “You know, we nearly didn’t do it,” he said. “The little man was bloody good.” That last sentiment also applies to Haigh’s book.

Cricket’s Burning Passion Scyld Berry and Rupert Peploe (Methuen 206pp)

In his introduction, Michael Atherton notes that amid all the Ashes brouhaha in 2005, few actually knew much about the urn at the heart of all the fuss. The challenge for Berry and Peploe (the great grandson of Ivo Bligh, the man who regained the Ashes lost in 1882) was to bring alive a tour which took place 124 years ago. That they have done, and the end result is a remarkable story and a compelling read. Bligh is one of the game’s more colourful characters and those who toured with him – and almost all of them died young – are a fascinating rabble. And as for the urn? Well, there remains some uncertainty about its contents. Some say it is a burnt bail, others a burnt piece of leather from a ball. Most likely, however, it is ash from fires at Bligh’s run-down stately home – more than one tale exists of the urn being knocked over and the contents spilled and replaced from the fireplace by clumsy servants. The Ashes are possibly sports’ least intrinsically valuable trophy. This book helps to explain why they are priceless.Match of My Life Sam Pilger and Rob Wightman (Know the Score books, 240pp)

It requires something really unique for a new Ashes book to poke itshead above the masses. And though Sam Pilger and Rob Wightman’s lacks a certain gravitas, the 12 namesfeatured provide enough interesting and amusing anecdotes to hold thereader’s attention span. The premise is simple: 12 famous Ashes namesrecount their stories. The usual and the modern are all there: AshleyGiles, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer – but far too much has alreadybeen said about 2005, the series which apparently beats all that precede it.Fortunately there are others to address the balance and Neil Harveyopens the book’s innings. Written in his own words Harvey recounts hisfirst Ashes Test (he made 112in the first innings scored the winning run in Australia’s chaseof 404). It is written with candour with amusing stories of the tours -meeting King George VI and Keith Miller’s friendship with the currentqueen, Elizabeth – which comes as a relief. Langer’s, on the otherhand, is too misty-eyed; a syrupy tone is best left for the biography.And writing in the third person, which he does once or twice, is aninstant mood-killer too. Talking of killing the mood, Geoffrey Boycott- an inevitable name to appear in such a collection – ischaracteristically candid, although offers a little too much on hisown achievements. It’s Geoffrey, though, and therefore requiredreading. Overall, it is a crisp, brisk and enjoyable view intoplayers’ experiences of playing in the Ashes. It’s a little different,too, and therefore worth a look.

Too much happened on the first day at the SCG. Close to 30,000 people got to see a fine spell of left-arm seam, a tantalising display of off spin and a counterattacking partnership straight out of a classic western flick

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Sydney02-Jan-2008

Brad Hogg and Andrew Symonds looted India for 173 runs © Getty Images
Too much happened on the first day at the SCG. Close to 30,000 people got to see a fine spell of left-arm seam, a tantalising display of off spin and a counterattacking partnership straight out of a classic western flick. Six wickets fell before the clock tower showed two; all hell broke loose thereafter.The Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales are doing their every bit to discourage speeding but nobody seems to have briefed the Australian lower order about speed limits. This was a notorious case of hit-and-run; a great robbery in broad daylight. Hardly had India begun to smile when Brad Hogg and Andrew Symonds, almost like a couple of gangsters, began to loot. Only once have more runs been scored on the first day at the SCG and that was nearly 100 years ago.Like at the MCG, India’s opening day was one of two halves. But unlike at the MCG, where they had a poor morning and a good afternoon, the trend was reversed. And unlike at the MCG, the umpires had a blackout. Anil Kumble might have taken 376 for 7 at the start of the day – he had lost his spearhead to injury after all – but he wouldn’t be smiling at the end of it. While a set of officials spoilt a fine day, a couple of batsmen weren’t going to miss out.Symonds walks in to a loud ovation and manufactures shots that get everyone to raise the decibel levels. Until he entered there was hardly a cut shot played, but soon they were being struck with anger. And when Hogg began to cut at the other end India were made to run ragged. India must be made to take a new-year resolution: we will not leave the third-man region vacant.A new year brings a lot of promises but some things don’t change. For every talented seamer India unearths, there will be another nursing an injury; for every top order they dismiss quickly, there will be a tail waiting to spoil the good work; for every fine batsman emerging from the , there will be a poor fielder letting the ball slip through. India dropped two catches – one a tough skier at mid-on, the other a simpler one that dipped towards short leg – and could have had one more chance if someone more athletic than Rahul Dravid was placed at fine leg. Yuvraj Singh, supposedly their best fielder, embarrassed himself too often.But a couple of Singhs brought plenty of cheer. Both hadn’t done too much at the MCG but came into their own here. RP, 22 years and eight Tests old, led the attack manfully before Harbhajan rediscovered his mojo. Until Hogg walked in, RP had the measure of every left-hander by getting the ball to straighten after hitting the right length. Phil Jaques misread the bounce, Matthew Hayden was squared up, Michael Hussey prodded tentatively, and Adam Gilchrist followed him. Three of them, seemingly impressed with Sachin Tendulkar sporting a floppy hat after suffering an allergic reaction, edged to first slip.Ishant Sharma, just 19, made an early impression and could have easily had his first wicket when Symonds was on 30. A whole stadium might have heard the edge but that’s not what matters. Some teams think Steve Bucknor needs a hearing-aid; India might be more intent on a hearing.It’s rumoured (wrongly) that the 555-run stand between Herbert Sutcliffe and Percy Holmes prompted a businessman to start the cigarette company. Someone here would be tempted to start Benson and Edges. Ponting edged twice but Mark Benson heard neither. Where is the technology, screamed a billion people. But that also didn’t make a difference for the third umpire, with all the assistance he receives, managed to get one wrong again. Symonds was on 48. The rest, as they say, was savagery.

Trescothick’s neuroses are peerless and this book goes into great detail about them. Pity about the cricket

Patrick Kidd14-Sep-2008

Howard Clayton, the long-serving England Under-19 scorer, tells a story about the young Marcus Trescothick that sticks in the mind. Trescothick used to wear his England cap and blazer everywhere while playing for the Under-19 side and was teased for it by his team-mates. “It might be the closest I get to playing for England” was Trescothick’s proud response.Years later, and with 202 senior international matches behind him, an older Trescothick is contemptuous of age-group cricket. “A complete waste of my time,” he writes in his autobiography, annoyed that having to play for the Under-19 team in 1994 meant he was 76 first-class runs shy of becoming the youngest Somerset batsman to score 1000 in a county season.Such things should really not matter – not when you have won the Ashes and people still sigh: “If only Tresco were still playing for England …” That even now this one tiny record rankles hints at Trescothick’s fatal obsession.Cricketers do tend to be obsessives, as do cricket fans, but Trescothick’s neurosis is peerless. It is seen in his refusal to eat any meat except sausages, a trait which lent him the nickname Banger. His fascination with kit, particularly bats, is another obsession. Trescothick says that if he were ever on Desert Island Discs his luxury would be a cricket kit catalogue.Of course, getting Trescothick on a desert island would be tricky given his homesickness. The depression that afflicted him on England’s tours of Pakistan, India and Australia in 2005 and 2006 appears to have been based on obsession. When doubts and homesickness appear, as they can for any sportsman, Trescothick cannot let go. The first show of fear came when travelling on a school outing to Torquay. “I was terrified, irrationally so, and that scared me even more,” he writes.The condition returned heavily in Pakistan in late 2005. Being away from his wife and baby daughter hurt Trescothick and his depression was exacerbated when he visited victims of the Pakistan earthquake. Witnessing children in pain left Trescothick in floods of tears. The first Test, in Multan, could have been a highlight of his career. Made captain after Michael Vaughan’s knee injury, Trescothick scored 193 as England built a healthy first-innings lead, but chasing 198 to win they were dismissed for 175, the captain making 5.Trescothick reveals why his mind was not on the game. On the second evening of the Test his wife rang him in distress after finding her father unconscious outside their house. He had fallen off a ladder and was taken to hospital. Here Trescothick’s obsession is apparent. He had installed CCTV at home and could watch the images on his laptop. That night he sits in his hotel room and watches the footage of his father-in-law falling, hitting his head and passing out. Forward and back goes the tape as he watches the images repeatedly.The next day his wife asks him to come home but Vaughan refuses to release him. The guilt of staying, heightened by a bomb “scare” (just an exploding gas canister), haunts Trescothick, as does his daughter’s lack of recognition of him at the end of the tour. Undeniably the pain and anxiety of the Pakistan tour caused his breakdown in India a couple of months later.Of the 20 chapters in this autobiography, half deal with his illness, his counselling, his attempted comebacks, why he lied in the set-up confessional with Ian Ward on Sky, and the false rumours about his marriage. This, sadly, is what we want to know, more than his experience of the 2005 Ashes or any of his feats with Somerset.It is a shame, because some of the cricketing stories are fascinating, particularly how Trescothick almost manipulated a run-chase of 612 for Somerset 2nd XI against Warwickshire, run out for 322 with victory seven runs away. But in these celebrity-focused days it is the mental frailties of our heroes that we need to read about in minute detail. Obsession is a weakness of us all.Marcus Trescothick: Coming Back To Me with Peter Hayter
(HarperSport) £18.99