On the acceleration after lunch when 55 runs were scored in just seven oversWe discussed it at lunch. Decided to bat on for 10 overs after lunch, and look to be positive.On missing out on a possible centuryI’m not disappointed. I did what was needed for the team. We’re in a good position to win the game now, and I’m very happy.On the slow progress early in the morningWe started slowly, but there were also some good stops. It can get frustrating, but I wanted to carry on through to the end. That helped. It was important that Sourav [Ganguly] and I carry on.On how the pitch behavedIt’s not easy to bat on. The ball is staying low. It’s important to spend some time in the middle to be comfortable.On tackling MuraliHe’s a very experienced bowler. Our intention was to be as positive as we could against him, while also being aware that he has got the most wickets. I think I played him quite well.On whether he had made things difficult for the selectors, with Virender Sehwag due to come back for the next TestI have. Let’s see what happens. I’m not thinking of that now. I just went out there and did my best.On the turning point of the afternoonWhen Atapattu got out.On what his innings meant to himIt’s a very good feeling to perform in Tests, because that’s rated very high. If you can do that, then you’re there as a player. It’s given me a lot of confidence.
According to Glenn McGrath, Shoaib Akhtar’s king-size run-up has more to do with his love of playing to the gallery than a desire to bowl fast. McGrath weighed in to the issue after Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, had earlier pleaded with Shoaib to cut down on his approach, which slowed the game down and also drastically reduced the chances of him bowling long spells.And while McGrath accepted the fact that Shoaib, on his good days, could run through a side, he pointedly suggested that he was also capable of bowling “a heap of rubbish”. McGrath took 8 for 24 in the second innings at the WACA in Perth, demolishing Pakistan with the steepling bounce and accuracy that has underpinned his charge to 472 wickets in just 104 Tests.And while Shoaib laughed off suggestions that he pare down a run-up that starts in the shadow of the sightscreen – “Can a plane take off without a run-up?” he asked enigmatically – McGrath told the that the response was typical of Pakistan’s premier bowler. “He’s a showman, and that’s what he loves,” said McGrath. “Cutting that run-up down might take a bit away from that and take a bit away from who he is. Maybe that’s why he’s holding on.”I don’t know what I can say I am, a jump-jet or a helicopter or something. I think he could bowl just as quick off a shorter run. They say it’s [Akhtar’s run-up] 33 metres. Mine’s 23 metres and he looks a good 17 or 20 metres behind me, so I’d say it’s 40-plus. When you’re bowling six-minute overs it puts pressure on the other guys to get through their overs, plus you can only get through three or four overs at top pace before you really start feeling the pinch.”McGrath also reckoned that Shoaib needed to take fresh stock of his priorities, given how much the team relied on him. “From a personal point of view, my goal was always to be the best bowler, not so much the quickest, whereas I’m sure Shoaib’s major and only goal is to be the quickest bowler in the world, if not of all time,” he said. “He’s the type of bowler that can just rip through sides. He’s got that potential there but then he’s got the potential to bowl a heap of rubbish as well.”But having got in a none-too-subtle sledge ahead of the Boxing Day Test,McGrath admitted that, ultimately, run-ups were dictated by a bowler’s sense of well-being. “At the end of the day, a run-up has got to feel good for the bowler. I shortened my run-up and it felt ordinary, so I had to go back to my old one. Shoaib might be the same.”
Nottinghamshire have released batsman Guy Welton and offspinner Stephen Randall as the rebuilding process gets under way at Trent Bridge. Welton, 25, leaves after eight years on the staff while 23-year-old Randall has been with the county for the past five seasons.Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, said: “It’s a shame things have not worked out for them. They are two local lads who are totally committed to Notts cricket but it’s just that we don’t think they are the way forward for this club. They both want to continue in the game and I wish them all the very best for the future.”Welton has played more than 70 first-class matches for Nottinghamshire, scoring 571 runs at an average of 24.83 this season. Randall has had limited opportunities for first-team cricket with Australian legspinner Stuart MacGill in the squad, and has been restricted to limited-overs appearances only this summer, claiming four wickets in six appearances.”This is just the start of the rebuilding process,” explained Newell. “Clearly something has to be done because I totally accept that performances this season have not been up to the required standard. We have to make room to bring in players who are capable of doing very much better than we have this season.”Seamers Gareth Clough and Charlie Shreck have been offered new deals along with offspinner Paul McMahon.
Agha Akbar: “By selecting Shoaib Akhtar for the tour of Bangladesh, the PCB is taking on the ICC. It would not have done so unless it was confident of a strong enough defence to get the tearaway speedster exonerated.”
Following are the excerpts from the Department of Human Movement and Exercise Sciences, University of Western Australia’s report on Shoaib Akhtar’s bowling action:
i) His action from visual inspection is the same as was analysed in Perth in 2001 for the PCB.
ii) The abduction (or valgus posture) of the forearm at the elbow joint (outward orientation) and excessive extension (hypertension) at the elbow joint (backward bend beyond the arm being in a straight line) viewed during deliveryare aspects of his action that can not be modified. This was discussed at length in the [earlier] report.
iii) Viewing any three-dimensional action from a single video camera is a practice that should be avoided where possible, as it often leads to erroneous decisions being made based on perception rather than fact. The erroneous perception is due to the abnormal abduction and hyperextended elbow posture that occurs in Mr Ahktar’s bowling action. Any constant three dimensional angle when viewed from different single video camera angles will appear to flex and extend as the upper arm rotates about the line from the elbow joint centre to the should joint centre.
iv) Mr. Akhtar was born with an abnormal upper limb (bowling arm). This limb will always give the impression of an unorthodox position during delivery, because of his elbow’s hyper-mobility, which can attain 18 degrees of hyper-extension and 22 degrees of abduction. These angles were measured using standard anthropometric techniques. The hyper-mobility in Mr Akhtar’s joint was also reported by Mr Rhidian Thomasan, Orthopedic and Trauma Specialist in the United Kingdom.
v) Any time that Mr Akhtar rotates his bowling arm at near maximum speed, his forearm hyper-mobility will allow the elbow joint be forced into hyperextension. Subsequently, his forearm will also not form a straight line with the upperarm, like most bowlers, because of the abduction and hyperextension of the forearm at the elbow. No amount of practice or technique training can modify these two anatomical characteristics.
It is therefore clear that Mr Akhtar does not throw the ball, but bowls it with an arm that exhibits these two abnormal characteristics. We accept that umpires should at first be concerned about his action, however, after receiving the scientific data included in the report should be completely satisfied that he is not attempting to throw the ball. These data have been further supported by independent assessment from an English orthopedic surgeon. We therefore believe that Mr Akhtar should be permitted to bowl for Pakistan without further concern as to his action.
The Pakistani selectors have included Shoaib Akhtar in the 16-member squad to visit Bangladesh for a short two-Test rubber against minnows Bangladesh. It is a daring step, considering that Shoaib has already been reported twice in less than a year. And if he is reported again, according to the ICC rules he would be automatically banned for a year. That could seriously harm the already much-chequered career of the dashing fast bowler who has barely worked his way back to full fitness.
Maybe the PCB felt emboldened after the Indian Board’s belligerent stance over the Sehwag affair forced the ICC into a compromise. Or perhaps the latest report from the University of Western Australia, reconfirming its position, has given the Board the confidence to dare the ICC to take precipitate action against Shoaib, and then face the consequences.The point to note here is that the PCB already had spurned, with unconcealed disdain, the ICC’s offer for correction measures, with Michael Holding standing watch. Some noises were even made to support Shoaib if he wished to sue the ICC for unfair treatment, even before Dalmiya’s histrionics and the University of Western Australia standing by its earlier verdict. The argument for shunning Stage Two (the corrective measures) is that Shoaib action ‘cannot be modified’ due to excessive extension at at the forearm and the elbow joint.Logical course:Logically, the PCB perhaps already had a certain course of action in mind. Convinced that its stance was beyond reproach, and also that it had substantive evidence to have Shoaib acquitted for good, the PCB has decided to throw Akhtar in at the deep end to see whether the situation deteriorates further before the ICC Executive Board meeting in March. If it doesn’t, it would strengthen the hands of the PCB. If it does, and Shoaib is called again, the bull had to be taken by the horns in any case.In any event, the logical course is to get the issue resolved once and for all. A precedent exists in Muttiah Muralitharan who, once cleared, has not been hounded by umpires and referees around the world. Darrel Hair, the Aussie umpire who has questioned the actions of more than one Asian bowler, still thinks Murali’s action is “diabolical”. But despite penning such thoughts in his autobiography, he has desisted from raising a finger again. Meanwhile Murali has been allowed to ply his trade in peace, bagging a huge load of wickets at such a fabulous strike rate that he is likely to become the greatest spin bowler in game’s history.Double-standards: What has really been strange is the ICC’s attitude. The same evidence – the University of Western Australia’s opinion that an anatomical disorder made the bowler’s action seem illegal – which was enough to clear Muralitharan, is not being entertained in the case of Shoaib. It is a case of double standards, and is raising the hackles of PCB officials, making Chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia say in public that if Shoaib should want to sue the ICC, he would have the Board’s support.The Board has subsequently softened its rhetoric, not mentioning civil suits and court cases, but the issue will be up for discussion in the ICC Executive Board meeting in March. And it might be debated as heatedly as the Denness affair.The latest report (available with this scribe) of the three most authoritative voices of the University of Western Australia’s Department of Human Movement and Exercise Science on Shoaib Akhtar’s bowling reconfirms the conclusion reached in March this year. Both the earlier and the latest reports are with the ICC. But whether these will get Shoaib any permanent reprieve from the world body is a point of conjecture. This doubt and speculation is because the ICC, instead of opting for a logical course, has so far chosen to remain on the side of ambiguity while deciding on the issue. The sooner it decides to eschew from this policy the better it would for Shoaib, one of the few draw cards with the capacity to fill a stadium anywhere in the world, and for the game.
Michael Powell hit 70 n.o. to put Warwickshire in a strong position in theirchampionship match against Sussex at Edgbaston. They finished 259 runs ahead at 165-2. Powell was not unsettled by interruptions for showers which took 64 overs out of the day’s play and increased his scoring rate. Dominic Ostler (66 n.o.) provided firm support and in so doing became the season’s leading championship run-scorer.The showers seemed to affect Sussex more than the batsmen. Yet there is still some to go for Warwickshire to consolidate their lead in Division Two especially if they encounter the wet conditions of today. Sussex captain Chris Adams, who had been ill earlier, resumed his place in the side after tea. It was in the final hour that Powell and Ostler plundered the bowling to take their third-wicket partnership to 131.
Barcelona are still eyeing up a summer move for Leeds United star Raphinha, in whom Chelsea and Manchester United are also showing an interest.
The Lowdown: Raphinha on the move?
The 25-year-old was superb in Sunday’s dramatic 2-1 win at home to Norwich City, recapturing the form that he had been displaying earlier in the season.
Raphinha is Leeds’ top scorer in the Premier League with nine goals in 2021/22, and his reputation continues to grow across Europe and around the world.
The Brazil international has been linked with various moves away from Elland Road in recent months and a new update has now emerged.
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The Latest: Barcelona still keen on signing Raphinha
According to journalist Gianluigi Longari on Twitter, Barcelona look like the front-runners to acquire the winger’s signature, but Chelsea and Man United are also in the race
The Italian tweeted: “Barca still strong in Raphinha race. Chelsea obviously in stand-by. Also Manchester United are following Leeds ace.”
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The Verdict: Matter of time?
Raphina’s Leeds career does feel as if it is reaching its natural conclusion, even though there is still hope that he could sign a new contract at Elland Road.
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For starters, relegation to the Championship would surely make the decision for the Brazilian there and then, as playing in the second tier would simply not be an option for a player of his quality and likely ambition.
Raphinha must surely feel that he now belongs at a Champions League level – Michael Owen has described his technique as ‘perfect’ – and Whites supporters should be prepared for his potential exit this year, with the huge money set to be received for him likely to be the one main positive to take from losing arguably the club’s best player this season.
In other news, Phil Hay has given a key Leeds injury update. Read more here.
Anrich Nortje was just about finishing his pre-match media press conference ahead of South Africa’s fourth T20I against India in Lucknow when he received word that the city is also his new IPL home.Nortje was picked up by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL mini-auction for his base price of 2 crore (US$220,000 approx) and moves from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where he played two games last season. “This is news to me,” Nortje said, on being told he would be seeing a lot more of the Ekana Stadium. “I’ll see you guys soon then. I’m very happy.”The new IPL deal comes on the back of a challenging year for Nortje, who has only played 13 matches in 2025 and had not played international cricket for 17 months before this series. He played no cricket from October 2024 to May 2025 after suffering a back injury and missed both the SA20 and the Champions Trophy. He then appeared in two IPL 2025 matches before another stress reaction ruled out him of action for almost six months with a recurrent stress reaction. It was only last month, when he made his domestic comeback for the Dolphins, that Nortje was able to get consistent game time. He has since earned an international recall albeit without a wicket yet.Nortje’s four overs in the opening match of the T20I series in Cuttack cost 41 runs as he struggled to find rhythm but maintained speeds close to 150kph. He was rested in new Chandigarh and had a much better return of 0 for 14 in three overs in Dharamsala where the only boundary he conceded was an edge off Shubman Gill. Again, Nortje reached top speeds and appeared more comfortable with his disciplines as he found his way back at highest level.Related
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“It’s nice to be back, I really missed it and really enjoying my time here,” Nortje said. “I’m sort of happy with the progress. There’s still a lot of cricket to play. For me, it’s just to try and focus game by game, day by day, and just try and get better every day but I’ve really been enjoying the time back and it’s been great to be with the team.”This is Nortje’s first South Africa assignment under all-format coach Shukri Conrad, who was originally considering Nortje for a Test comeback last summer when Gerald Coetzee was injured against Sri Lanka. Nortje, who is no longer nationally contracted by his own choice, was then also sidelined with a niggle. Now that he has the opportunity to work with Conrad, much like another player who has returned – Quinton de Kock – he finds the environment welcoming and fun with a focus on playing with freedom.”With a new coach and how he’s been going about things, it seems to be going really well,” Nortje said. “I’m happy to be here. The team’s been doing unbelievably well the last year or two. There’s some fresh faces, there’s some old faces and guys have been sort of on the fringes for a while, are getting to play more cricket more consistently. Coming in and seeing how basic they keep things, trying to be as basic as possible, let the moment play out, assess on the park what to do. Guys are jamming really well, getting along very well, and everyone knows their role in the team. And I think that’s very important.”Under Conrad, South Africa have worked on creating depth around the national squad and adopted a horses-for-courses selection approach which has widened the pool of players that appear for the national side. That’s why Nortje came into consideration when express quick Coetzee was injured. It’s also why Nortje won’t play every match in the ongoing series as South Africa look for their best T20I bowling combination.”There’s a lot of competition as well, which creates opportunity and also creates a little bit of pressure for guys in the team, which is good. It’s what you want,” Nortje said. “That’s something that’s built up over the last year or two and it just puts guys under pressure, and a lot of guys have to fight for a spot, which is great. All in all, it’s just a lot of things coming together.”In the current T20 squad, Nortje is one of six seamers alongside Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman, Lutho Sipamla and allrounders Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch. Add the injured Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka and Nandre Burger into the mix – along with the likes of Coetzee and Lizaad Williams – and South Africa have an impressive pace battery that will leave them spoilt for choice when they select the T20 World Cup squad. Given that Nortje was their standout performer in the last edition of the tournament, in 2024, it would seem likely that, if fit, he’d be a shoe-in but the man himself is not so sure.”We go back into SA20 as well, which is quite a few games back-to-back, so I’m just trying to focus on every game and improve as much as I can, but obviously be realistic as well. So far I’ve been really happy with the progress,” he said. “Hopefully I can be in the squad but if not, for me it’s just to try and focus game by game, day by day, and just try and get better.”Nortje will play for Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) in this year’s SA20, after being part of Pretoria Capitals (PC) for the first three seasons.
Mohammad Kaif will lead a new-look Uttar Pradesh team in the Ranji Trophy and Suresh Raina will be the vice-captain.UP go into the season without left-arm seamer Shalabh Srivastava, Ali Murtaza and Avinash Yadav, who have all joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Srivastava has been a consistent performer for UP over the last few years. Moreover, the experienced trio of Rizwan Shamshad, Ashish Winston Zaidi and Gyanendra Pandey retired from first-class season last season. Pandey will coach the side this season, and Zaidi will be the team manager.Left-hand batsman Shivakant Shukla, left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta, and wicketkeeper Amir Khan, who were all tipped to join Railways this season, have chosen to stay behind and are all selected.Kaif and Raina, the two most important batsmen in the team, will look for support from youngsters Shukla, Ravikant Shukla, who captained India at the Under-19 World Cup, and Tanmay Srivastava, another India U-19 player.The bowling in the absence of RP Singh and Praveen Kumar, both representing India, and Srivastava, is without a spearhead. For Piyush Chawla, the first few matches will be crucial as he would look to draw his way back to the Indian team.Squad: Mohammad Kaif (capt), Shivakant Shukla, Ravikant Shukla, Tanmay Srivastava, Piyush Chawla, Amir Khan (wk), Rohit Prakash, Rahat Ilahi, Ratnesh Mishra, Praveen Gupta, Suraj Pratap Singh, Sudeep Tyagi, Tahir AbbasReserves: Parvindar Singh, Anshul Kapoor, Raj Singh and Abhishek Tiwari
69 – The third-wicket partnership between Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. It’s the highest for that wicket for India against South Africa in Tests, beating the unbeaten 60 the same pair put together at Kolkata in 2004.14.88 – India’s average partnership for the third wicket in Tests in South Africa, with just two half-century stands in 17 tries.22.77 – The average Indian opening-wicket stand in Tests in South Africa. In 18 partnerships they’ve only managed two fifty-plus scores, with a highest of 9044 – Tendulkar’s score in the first innings, his highest in nine Test innings in 2006. If he fails to get at least a half-century in this Test and the next, it’ll be the first time since 1991 that he’ll have gone an entire year without a fifty-plus score in Tests. (Click here for Tendulkar’s career summary in Tests.)0.86 – Rahul Dravid’s scoring rate against Shaun Pollock. In 28 balls, he managed just four runs. Pollock ended the day with 1 for 14 from 12 overs, an economy rate of 1.16 runs per over40 – The number of deliveries left alone by the Indian batsmen in the morning session of 14 overs
ScorecardIan Bradshaw grabbed five wickets and Travis Dowlin marked his return to first-class cricket with a responsible half-century as Guyana and Barbados shared honours on the opening day of their first-round Carib Beer Series match at the Everest Cricket Club.Bradshaw took four wickets in the post-tea session, including the important scalp of Dowlin who made 73 and stabilised the Guyana innings after they ran into early trouble on winning the toss. They were eventually dismissed for 241 and Barbados replied with 2 without loss in the one over they faced before the close.After Guyana slipped to 12 for 2 after an hour’s play, Dowlin pulled the home team around with partnerships of 53 for the third wicket with Krishna Arjune, who played solidly for more than two hours in making 37, and 62 for the fourth wicket with Andre Percival, who hit 39 on his recall.Dowlin, who was overlooked by the Guyana selectors for the previous two seasons, batted patiently and struck six fours and a six off 188 balls in 277 minutes’ batting before he miscued a pull off Bradshaw and was caught at midwicket. Bradshaw finished with 5 for 50 off 23 overs and was backed up by Ryan Nurse, who took 3 for 60 off 21 overs. Mahendra Nagamootoo, who averted a hat-trick after Bradshaw dismissed Dowlin and Neil McGarrell in successive balls, lashed an attacking unbeaten 42 off 45 balls that helped to beef up Guyana’s total. McGarell was brilliantly caught left-handed by the diving wicket-keeper Patrick Browne, who had an outstanding day behind the stumps with four dismissals.