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Ehsan Mani: ‘This is the second most important event in the ICC calendar and we expect all the top players to be a part of it’ © Getty Images

Fearing that the forthcoming Champions Trophy could lose much of its star value, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has reminded its member boards of their commitment to send their best teams for the event.The ICC also scotched speculation that this would be the last edition of the tournament, particulary after India criticised its long-drawn schedule and expressed reluctance to participate in such events which they said were nothing but a waste of time and money. “We have no knowledge of any country not sending its best team. In fact, all member countries are committed to send their best teams available for the championship,” Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, told Press Trust of India. “This is the second most important event in the ICC calendar and we expect all the top players to be a part of it.” Mani said reacting to recent reports that Australia and England may not field their full strength sides in view of the Ashes series.The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held at four venues in India from October 7 to November 5 while the Ashes is slated to begin from November 22. But Mani did not think that Australia would hold back its top players for a tournament which they have never won in four previous editions. “I am quite sure that Australia will be there in full strength. They are determined to win this one. I am sure it would be the most competitive Champions Trophy till date.”Mani, who will relinquish his post at the end of the year, said the ICC would ensure there is no repeat of the ambush marketing controversy which has dogged this tournament in the last two editions. “We are taking all safeguards to ensure it does not happen again.” It was the ambush clause which had threatened to derail the last edition in England after it emerged that the personal contracts of some Indian players were in direct conflict to the interests of the official sponsors.This time, ICC preempted the problem by rejecting venues like Delhi because of their existing in stadia contracts with other sponsors. Mani also said the world body was banking on India’s immense support base to ensure that the tournament turns out to be a huge success. “Asia, and particularly India, is an important partner of ICC. It is the largest cricket playing country. It was our intention to hold the Champions Trophy in India in 2002. AC Muthiah (former president of the Indian board) was very keen for it but because of the uncertainties involved in tax exemption, we had to defer it. I am thankful to the Indian government for reaching out and granting us exemption this time around.”The tax exemption was an important factor in determining the location for this event and the Indian government’s decision is a massive boost to the game of cricket all over the world.” Asked whether the ICC was considering changing the format of the Champions Trophy in view of criticism that it defied the original concept of being a short knock-out tournament, he said, ICC did not believe in setting hard and fast rules.Mani dismissed suggestions that the championship was ill-timed and that the dew factor would have a huge bearing given that all the matches would be day-night affairs. “The timing of this tournament is hugely significant for all participating teams. It is a chance for players in every side to secure their places, it will give teams the opportunity to test their strategies and look at potential World Cup rivals. It will also offer followers of the game an insight into how each team is progressing. We decided to have all matches as day-night affairs in order to have an element of consistency. I think the relevance of dew would be much less at that time of the year as compared to the period between January and March.”

Jermaine Lawson will be back in action after a back injury © Getty Images

Jermaine Lawson, Jerome Taylor and Marlon Samuels have been named in the 13-man Jamaica squad to play against South Africa in a one-day practice match ahead of the five-match one-day series beginning on May 7.Lawson, whose career has been frequently hampered by injury, last played a Test in August 2004 against England. Taylor, who was named in the Test squad earlier, recovered from a back injury. Taylor and Lawson will be joined by Donovan Pagon, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh and Xavier Marshall.West Indies have lost the Test series, with the fourth, and final, Test starting today in Antigua. This will be followed by a practice match on May 5 in Jamaica.Squad
Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh (wk), Donovan Pagon, Xavier Marshall, Jermaine Lawson, Jerome Taylor, Bevon Brown, Odean Brown, Tyson Gordon, Gary Graham, Alanzo Harris, Nicarlo McFarlane, Jowayne Robinson.

Andrew Symonds is under consideration as Australia’s first genuine Test allrounder in a decade partly due to his bowling repertoire.Not since Steve Waugh finished his days as a regular change seamer in 1994 have the Aussies boasted a viable allrounder, but Symonds’s bowling versatility and the dusty, dry wickets of Sri Lanka have him on the brink of selection. Trevor Hohns, the chief selector, today admitted he was in the running for next month’s three-Test series in Sri Lanka.”While they’re both different games he’s in outstanding form at the moment,” Hohns, whose four-man panel will select a 15-man squad on February 20, said today. “He’s a very entertaining player and certainly will come into contention for the Test match part of the tour.”Although his powerful hitting highlighted his worth this summer, Symonds’s selection loomed due to his ability to bowl offspin and medium pace. His Test aspirations were strengthened not only by his remarkable limited-overs turnaround, boasting 1071 runs at 48.68 since his surprise selection for the 2003 World Cup, but also the likely return of Shane Warne.The biggest call of the Sri Lankan series will not be whether Warne tours, but whether he plays in the first Test with Stuart MacGill. If both legspinners play, and a batsman is not dropped to make way, Australia will take only two fast bowlers into the important series opener in Galle, on March 8. For that reason, Symonds is a strong candidate as a first-change bowling option and a spinner who turns the ball in the opposite direction to Warne and MacGill.Terry Oliver, Queensland’s coach, said that Symonds’s selection was important for Australia’s balance on wickets prone to spin. “If they were looking for versatility over there in Sri Lanka they’d be mad not to pick Andrew. He’s the best fielder in the country, with Ponting, is in sensational form with the bat, gives you good spin and seam bowling options and he has the ability to swing the ball Irish [reverse-swing] as well. I think it would be the right move. If he can get in there and establish himself in Sri Lanka, you’ve got the India tour at the end of the year – that’s the one frontier Australia hasn’t conquered “Symonds, who could bat at No. 6 or No. 7, allowing Adam Gilchrist a possible move up the order, would have the added advantage of being road-tested against Muttiah Muralitharan in the one-day series, starting next week.”He’ll be used to the surface and the bowlers and that will count in his favour,” Oliver said.Asked previously about Test aspirations, Symonds had said he hoped for an opportunity to show he could succeed at the top level.”I just want the one chance to prove it.”

The Tasmanian Selectors have today announced the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers team to play the Queensland Bulls in the Pura Cup match from Thursday, 19th December to Sunday, 22nd December 2002 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.CASCADE TASMANIAN TIGERS

Jamie COX (Captain)
Sean CLINGELEFFER
Michael DIGHTON
Michael Di VENUTO
Xavier DOHERTY
Adam GRIFFITH
Shane JURGENSEN
Scott KREMERSKOTHEN
Daniel MARSH
Scott MASON
Ben OLIVER
Damien WRIGHT

The 12th man will be announced on the morning of the match.The team is the same as the team that defeated Western Australia at the WACA on the first innings last week.Ben Oliver who is representing Tasmania at the ACB Cup match in Brisbane will return to Hobart today.

Having failed with spin at Dambulla, Sri Lanka ‘A’ are likely to go into the second four-day unofficial ‘Test’ against Pakistan ‘A’ beginning at the NCC grounds on Tuesday, with pace.Sri Lanka are expected to include three fast bowlers on the pace oriented NCC pitch which leaves room for only two spinners. They had three spinners operating at Dambulla.Two of the fast bowlers who are likely to make up the trio are AkalankaGanegama and Thilina Amarasinghe, who took 77 wickets between them bowling 478 overs to enable their club NCC emerge Super League champions.Knowing what the conditions at the NCC is like, both bowlers are likely to get the nod along with Suresh Perera, the SSC quickie who is coming back after injury. This would leave the spin department in the hands of skipper Thilan Samaraweera and left-arm spinner Sajeewa Weerakoon. Chandana Samarasinghe, the other leg-spinner may be the unlucky one. Samaraweera took ten wickets in the Dambulla Test and looked the only bowler who could win a match for his side.Although the pitch is expected to help the fast bowlers, it is in all probability a fair one, and will also give assistance to the spinners later in the match. The batsmen with the correct temperament and technique will score runs on it.Sri Lanka ‘A’s batting has been strengthened by the inclusion of the free-hitting opener Avishka Gunawardene, and middle-order batsmenTillekeratne Dilshan and Indika de Saram – all Test players. Dilshan will take over the wicket-keeping duties from Kumar Sangakkara who kept wicket in the drawn first ‘Test’. Opener Dhammika Sudarshana, Michael Vandort and Chimera Silva retain their batting spots for another game.Left-hander Gunawardene, unless Pakistan get him early, has the capability of tearing into the bowling. His style of play is more akin to the one-day mould. He cracked a half-century off 54 balls for Hatton National Bank on Sunday in the Mercantile knockout one-day competition.Also in excellent form in that match were Silva with an unbeaten 96 off 112 balls and Vandort, who made a fighting 53.The NCC pitch will definitely test the skills of these batsmen against the Pakistan seam attack, which bowled superbly on the lifeless Dambulla pitch.In helpful conditions Irfan Fazil and Yasir Arafat could be a handful.Pakistan will sorely miss tall paceman Shabbir Ahmed who is recovering from a groin strain that prevented him from bowling in the Sri Lanka ‘A’ second innings at Dambulla. If there is bounce on the pitch, leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, who took seven wickets in the first ‘Test’, will exploit it to the full.The teams:
Sri Lanka ‘A’ (from): Thilan Samaraweera (captain), AvishkaGunawardene, Dhammika Sudarshana, Michael Vandort, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Indika de Saram, Chimera Silva, Suresh Perera, Sajeewa Weerakoon, Thilina Amarasinghe, Akalanka Ganegama, Chandana Samarasinghe, Jeevantha Kulatunga, Gayan Wijekoon, Dinusha Fernando.
Pakistan ‘A’ (from): Hasan Raza (captain), Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umer, Faisal Naved, Qaiser Abbas, Misbah-ul-Haq, Humayun Farhat, Yasir Arafat, Irfan Fazil, Danish Kaneria, Kashif Raza, Azam Hussain, Salman Butt, Najaf Shah, Shabbir Ahmed.
Umpires: Tyronne Wijewardene and Lalith Jayasundera, Match Referee: Graeme Labrooy.

As per Football Insider, there has been a significant update involving Tottenham Hotspur and former fan favourite Mauricio Pochettino.

The Lowdown: Gaining traction?

Paris-Saint Germain’s failure to reach the Champions League quarter-finals has reportedly pushed him further towards the Parc des Princes exit door.

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Pochettino’s future as manager of the Ligue 1 giants is in major doubt ahead of the summer, coming amid recent speculation surrounding a get-out-early clause in Antonio Conte’s contract at Tottenham.

Calciomercato claimed that Spurs’ head coach is flirting with the idea of activating that clause, which would allow him to leave at the end of this season, even though his contract actually expires in 2023.

PSG have apparently made contact with Conte as they eye replacements for Pochettino, and according to Football Insider, the latter is now eyeing a move back to north London.

The Latest: Report makes major Pochettinon claim…

The report claimed Pochettino ‘would jump at the chance’ to rejoin Spurs this summer, with the Argentine also ‘expected to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season’.

Football Insider added that a source close to the 50-year-old has revealed that he would ‘love’ a fairytale comeback to N17.

The Verdict: Big news…

Amid the Calciomercato development involving Conte, it appears that Pochettino’s emerging willingness to make a return to Tottenham couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Italian has consistently dropped hints that he could leave the Lilywhites if chairman Daniel Levy doesn’t share the 52-year-old’s ambition for the club.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Pochettino is arguably the best alternative to Conte when taking into account his Premier League managerial experience and familiarity behind the scenes at Spurs, with former Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes also calling him a ‘football genius’.

The Telegraph reported that Levy has shortlisted his former manager as a number one managerial target if Conte were to leave, so this update could mean that Spurs would have no problem reaching an agreement for PSG’s £129,000-per-week boss.

In other news: ‘True’ – Fabrizio Romano backs Spurs development as he makes ‘£34m’ claim, find out more here.

	Brett Lee has been the stand-out bowler for Australia, and no batsman has been consistently able to stand up to him © Getty Images

After going at each other for the past two months, Australia and India clash in the first of three finals at the SCG on Sunday, and if recent encounters are any clue, expect some gripping cricket. Both have been involved in plenty of controversial moments on and off the field, adding to the entire drama which has made this last edition of the CB Series an enthralling affair.A look back at the league phase, which ended on Friday in Melbourne with Australia losing narrowly to Sri Lanka, indicates that though India had a much tougher time getting to the finals, both teams have had similar strengths and problems. Both the batting line-ups are yet to find fluency even after eight games, but their bowlers have been getting better with every match.In the four previous clashes against India in this tournament, Australia managed to win twice, in Adelaide and in Sydney, lost in Melbourne, while their first clash ended in a wash-out. Luckily for India they have had a valuable four-day rest after their previous game in Hobart, where they scored an emphatic victory against the Sri Lankans.After Australia’s defeat on Friday, Ponting admitted that the result has robbed them of some momentum going into the final, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni wants to ensure that India capitalise on that. “Australia look to dominate always so it’s important to put them under pressure and they have been under pressure,” Dhoni said at the SCG. “So I just hope we maintain that pressure.”Aware of the flat nature of the SCG wicket, both captains will not dither in batting first. Last time the teams met in Sydney, Australia piled on 317, the highest total in the tournament so far, and India, after a top-order collapse, scampered to within 19 runs of the target. Australia have maintained an almost unchanged team throughout, and their only likely alteration to Friday’s side is the inclusion of Matthew Hayden – who was rested on Friday – for Brad Haddin, with James Hopes slipping down to No. 7.For India, though, a few problems persist regarding team composition. Dhoni said there was still confusion about his final XI and the main concern remained the opening partner for Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar has opened with three different men in the eight games – five times with Virender Sehwag, twice with Gautam Gambhir and once with Robin Uthappa. India’s best start came in their second match, against Sri Lanka, when Tendulkar and Sehwag cracked a 68-run stand. The next best was 45 between the same pair in Canberra against the same opponents, but in the last four games India have had dismal starts of 18, 3, 2 and 20.

	Ishant Sharma: India’s success story of the summer © Getty Images

Apart from the 107-run opening partnership on Friday between Adam Gilchrist and James Hopes, Australia have faced the same problem at the top of the order. In the seven games when Gilchrist opened with Hayden, the pair managed a highest of 65, with a second-best stand of 33.A nagging concern has also been the form of two of their top batsmen, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds, both of whom have flourished in just one game so far. Despite the wobbly nature of their middle order Australia have secured five victories and much of the credit goes to Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey, who have withstood the opposition bowling onslaught time and again to consolidate and push the side out of danger.Calling it right at the toss has also helped the Australians, who have preferred to bat first and then call upon their magnificent bowlers to strangle the opposition. On the two occasions when they have chased a target, it’s been hard work: in the series opener, against India at the Gabba, Australia were 3 for 51 in the eighth over when rain ended the game; on Friday they were 0 for 107 in the 15th over chasing 222, yet managed to lose by 13 runs.The success story for both teams has been their bowling attack. Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh have proved to be constant thorns for the opposition, while Brett Lee has been an outstanding spearhead for Australia. He has bowled throughout the summer with a hostility that no batsman has been able to consistently stand up to. Lee’s closing spell at the MCG when India were chasing a small total was one of the best of the summer, while Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken and Hopes have offered excellent support.Just like in the Test series, the off-field banter has fueled the tension on the field. If it was the Harbhajan-Symonds clash that ignited the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Matthew Hayden’s comments on Harbhajan and Ishant have ensured there will be no love lost between the two sides on the last leg of the season. Sydney is hosting its annual Mardi Gras celebration on Saturday, and the CB Series final couldn’t have come at much better time. On the field, though, it’s likely to be much more than fun and games.Australia (likely)1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 James Hopes, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Brett Lee, 10, Mitchell Johnson, 11 Nathan Bracken.India (likely)1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), 7 Virender Sehwag/Praveen Kumar, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Ishant Sharma.

Lou Vincent’s World Cup: Two ducks, a century and a tournament-ending injury © AFP

Lou Vincent, the New Zealand opener, has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup after breaking his wrist during a practice session in Antigua. Hamish Marshall, who was involved in the State Championship final in Hamilton, has been called into the squad to replace Vincent. The ICC have approved Marshall as a replacement for Vincent making him the sixth player to be called up to a World Cup squad as an injury replacement.Vincent was hit by Shane Bond while batting in the nets and was taken to hospital where an x-ray revealed a fracture. Vincent had scored a hundred in New Zealand’s last group stage against Canada after making ducks against England and Kenya.Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand manager, said Bond was dejected at having ended his team-mate’s tournament. “It’s one of those things,” Crocker told . “It wasn’t a dangerous ball, just an error of judgment. Everyone is disappointed, particularly Bondy.”Marshall said with Ross Taylor also in doubt with a mild hamstring strain, he had been told he was likely to fit straight into the starting line-up. “That’s the indication they gave me, that with Rosco still out with his hammy, basically I’ll go straight into the game,” Marshall said on .”There’s a scenario I’ve got to deal with and see how I feel when I get over there but it shouldn’t be too bad.” New Zealand’s next match is against West Indies on Thursday.Peter Fulton looms as the most likely candidate to partner Stephen Fleming at the top of the order. Vincent’s problem arose just after the ICC’s Technical Committee approved Chris Martin as the replacement for Daryl Tuffey.Tuffey injured his right arm during New Zealand’s Group C match against Canada and was ruled out of the rest of the World Cup. The injury was in the same shoulder that forced Tuffey out of international cricket for two years. Mark Gillespie, who hasn’t played in the tournament because of a shoulder problem caused by a viral infection, came through his fitness test and was set to begin full training.

Jeff Thomson says Shane Watson does not get wickets. Here he dismisses Boeta Dippenaar at Cape Town © Getty Images

Jeff Thomson has scoffed at Shane Watson’s description as an allrounder by saying his bowling “plays blokes in”. Thomson made the claims at a sportsman’s dinner in Ipswich, Watson’s Queensland home town, and also doubted the ability of Mitchell Johnson, who is with the one-day squad in South Africa.Watson missed selection in the Test squad as Andrew Symonds’s mix of skills were preferred, and he was knocked out of the side for tonight’s fourth ODI against South Africa. Thomson told Ipswich’s he did not rate Watson. “He’s not an all rounder’s a***hole,” Thomson said. “He bats okay but his bowling is way below par at top level, so he’s not an allrounder … let’s get serious. To me, he plays blokes in.”The outburst will not help Watson’s confidence as he continues to make his recovery from shoulder surgery. Watson suffered a dislocation in his third Test against West Indies in November and he played the first three one-day games in South Africa, taking four wickets and making 53 runs.Watson has asked for a meeting with Ricky Ponting to discuss his omission from the Test side. “He wants to have 10 or 15 minutes and have a bit of a chat about things,” Ponting told . “It’s pretty important for me being the captain of the side and, more importantly, one of their mates, so I guess it’s good to hear it coming from me and not just the selectors. That’s part of the job.”Thomson questioned the bowling places of both Watson and Johnson, who delivered only three overs in the first ODI in South Africa. “Seriously, are they taking wickets? No,” he said. “In my day, you got picked for Australia for taking wickets … you didn’t get picked on some selector thinking: this guy might be able to play.”The choice of Shaun Tait gained Thomson’s approval, but he said Andy Bichel and Mark Cosgrove should be considered for the 2007 World Cup. “If I was a sole selector, I’d have Bichel in my team,” he said. “[Cosgrove] should have been in that Australian side six months ago.”

Scorecard

Shoaib Akhtar: A matchwinning performance that included getting Sachin Tendulkar out for his first golden duck© AFP

This firecracker of a Test match, nominally the first game of the Asian Test Championship but in spirit the decider of the drawn two-match series just played between the two teams, reached so many points of crescendo over five days as to leave its audiences marveling about it even after months.After electing to bat on the first morning, Pakistan were reduced inside nine overs to a ridiculous 26 for 6 by Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, and looked in danger of being all-out so quickly as to allow India to bat and take the lead before lunch.But now Moin Khan, a wicketkeeper who always seemed to reserve his best batting for moments of crisis such as this, appeared, and somehow managed to see off the quicks. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, the spin bowlers who followed, did not pose the same threat on a first-day pitch, and eventually Pakistan aggregated 185 before being bowled out. Moin’s distinctive game, structured around little flicks and dabs, swats to leg, and frenetic running between the wickets, brought him 70.The next day Sadagoppan Ramesh, enjoying a dream start to his career, raced to nonchalant 79, and at 147 for 2 India were in charge of all the control buttons. Then the air of calm and order was once again shattered: two veritable cannonballs from Shoaib Akhtar, charging in off a thrilling 30-yard run-up and straining every sinew, disposed of first the well-entrenched Rahul Dravid and then the just-arrived Sachin Tendulkar for an ignominous duck. It was Tendulkar’s first golden duck in Tests; stunned, the Eden Gardens fell silent. This double blow proved too much for India, who fell away for 223.The match was still only into the second day, and before close of play there was to be yet more drama. Srinath, steaming in again and slanting the ball away from the left-hander as always, took Saeed Anwar’s edge, but Mohammad Azharuddin at second slip spilled the catch.The next day belonged almost entirely to two men, one from either side. Running in tirelessly for over after over, Srinath finished with Test-best figures of 8 for 85 from 27 overs, pulling back Pakistan from a comfortable 262 for 3 to 316. For Pakistan, Anwar made full use of his `life’ the previous day and carried his bat for a punishing188 – also a career-best – full of flaying cuts and majestic drives on the up.This left India with a target of 279, far more than they would have imagined an hour into the first morning of the match. And indeed it was Pakistan, who had set India a target of similar size in the first Test at Chennai and won the game, who looed now as if they held the upper hand.The next day, Ramesh and VVS Laxman put on a century-stand for the first wicket, before Saqlain Mushtaq, the most influential bowler of the first two Tests, removed both batsmen.Even so, the game was again in the balance at 145 for 2 when Shoaib again swung it his team’s way, albeit unwittingly. Tendulkar had made a confident beginning, and looked to add a comfortable three to his score when he flicked his 13th ball, bowled by Shoaib, into a legside gap. But, turning to take the third run, he seemed not to see the bowler standing in his path until it was too late, and by the time he had extricated himself from the tangle he had been beaten by substitute Nadeem Khan’s throw from the boundary. It was probably the most important contribution made by Nadeem, Moin’s younger brother and a purveyor of innocuous left-arm spin, in his career.Enraged by the manner of Tendulkar’s dismissal, the crowd erupted and pelted the Pakistani fielders with various objects, and play had to be halted for over an over, during which Tendulkar himself emerged to placate the crowds. When play resumed, Shoaib was again in his element, and it always looked as if Pakistan’s strong bowling line-up would defend the target successfully. Shoaib finished with his second four-wicket haul of the match as Pakistan put the seal on a remarkable turnaround and triumphed by 46 runs.